News & Features

HDtracks Offers a Master Quality Music Experience for the Masses

Music Diary, News & Features

HDtracks Offers a Master Quality Music Experience for the Masses

I was recently cleaning up some Iomega Jaz disks and came across a folder with stuff I used to keep on my Pocket PC devices. In there was a bunch of music I had ripped from CDs to store on Compact Flash drives from 32MB to 256MB as my devices progressed from the HP 430se to the Jornadas and iPaqs. For some reason I decided to listen to some of the music, and it sounded AWFUL! The undersampling was atrocious, and the lossiness was readily apparent. Of course, the compression schemes used by iTunes, Amazon and others is much more…

No More "Either Paper or Tablet" Decisions Thanks to the New Booqpad mini

News & Features

No More “Either Paper or Tablet” Decisions Thanks to the New Booqpad mini

Booq has just announced their new Booqpad mini, an iPad case that combines protection for the iPad mini with the tried and true efficiency of paper and pen. As booq explains, the Booqpad mini “allows you to conveniently keep your business cards, stylus, pen, cash and other important documents close to your iPad mini, as well as your important hand-written notes. Booqpad mini: • Easily stores pen, stylus, cash, business cards, paper notepad, and iPad mini, all in one elegant folio • Is designed symmetrically for left and right-handed users • Secures and protects iPad mini, providing in case access…

Geeksphone to Ship FirefoxOS on Developer Hardware Next Month

News & Features

Geeksphone to Ship FirefoxOS on Developer Hardware Next Month

  The biggest criticism I have of Android and iOS challenger UbuntuOS is that they made an announcement with no hardware that was even close to shipping.  Well, the Mozilla project has gone a step further and announced that they will have not one, but two developer phones to ship next month with the new FirefoxOS. The Mozilla Project announced the Keon and the Peak, both to ship next month, and they will be made by an up and coming company called Geeksphone.  Both phones are very similar in design with the Keon being the lower end of the two phones with a 3.5 inch…

Quirky Ham Radio Gadgets from Yesteryear: The Wouff Hong and the Rettysnitch

News & Features

Quirky Ham Radio Gadgets from Yesteryear: The Wouff Hong and the Rettysnitch

Well, the Wouff-Hong is not so much a gadget, but it has been a part of Ham Radio lore since 1930’s.  What is a Wouff Hong?  According to 1930 edition of The Radio Amateur’s Handbook: The Wouff-Hong is amateur radio’s most sacred symbol and stands for the enforcement of law and order in amateur operation. The story goes that T.O.M. ( The Old Man) wrote stories in the American Radio Relay League’s magazine, QST,  titled Rotten Radio.  It excoriated bad operating practices using caustic humor and satire.  It was in one of these stories that the Wouff-Hong was born.  It wasn’t…

The Good and Bad of HDMI Switching

News & Features

The Good and Bad of HDMI Switching

This holiday season was the season my family finally made the jump to HD TV.  I absolutely love HD TV, and I am really looking forward to watching NASCAR and actually being able to read the tickers!  As result of getting the TV, I ended up receiving or giving products that needed an HDMI connection to the TV.  We got an Xbox 360 for Luke and I, plus I was given a Roku 2 XS and a Blu-ray player for Christmas.  One of the things on my Amazon list was a Kinivo HDMI switch as I knew right away I…

World's First iOS Guitar/Bass Multi-FX System with Wireless Foot Switch Hardware

Events, Music Diary, News & Features

World’s First iOS Guitar/Bass Multi-FX System with Wireless Foot Switch Hardware

Last year from NAMM we got the iRig Stomp, which was able to control AmpliTube effects chains from a robust ‘stomp box’. It was clear that we would soon be getting a full effects board worth of controls, though I wouldn’t have expected the first one to be wireless! JamUp Pro XT and AirTurn have teamed up to power the first BlueTooth wireless multi-effects pedal system for iOS. Check out the demo video: I have not used JamUp’s app yet, but this looks intriguing – I will keep an eye on NAMM reports to get more hands-on details for this…

The Tricorder Could Be Just Around the Corner

News & Features

The Tricorder Could Be Just Around the Corner

I love Star Trek.  One of the things I like the best about Star Trek is the gadgets, and the gadget I have always thought was the coolest was the Tricorder.  There were, of course, two different Tricorders.  One was used to look at items in the environment to get away teams the info they needed to find people, to discover other objects and more.  The other is the Medical Tricorder that Dr. McCoy, Dr. Crusher and Dr. Bashir used to determine the extent of a red shirt’s injuries and other medical uses.  Now the Xprize foundation, with the help…

Make Your Face Perfect With The GoateeSaver

News & Features

Make Your Face Perfect With The GoateeSaver

Facial hair is becoming more the rage for today’s man. It seems that many men from their 20’s to 40’s are now growing beards and goatees. I grew my first goatee just out of high school and have had facial hair ever since. I currently sport a full beard, but for many years I had to groom and shape my goatee. Many think that having facial hair means less shaving, but that is far from true. While less area must be shaved, it takes great skill and diligence to keep a beard of any sort shaped and trimmed to perfection. There is nothing…

Former Atari CEO to Save U.S. Operations from Bankruptcy?

Game Diary, News & Features

Former Atari CEO to Save U.S. Operations from Bankruptcy?

In the world of games there are always winners and losers … recently Atari’s U.S. operations lost the financial game to use one of their lives to win the possibly win the survival game later. After some nice anniversary celebrations last year for the 2600 and Pong, Atari made their Chapter 11  announcement on January 20, 2013. The reason? Separate from their French parent holding company Atari S.A. (formerly Infogrames). In 2010, Atari leveraged their popular game franchises to shift its work from retail game titles to digital games for Android and iOS and Android. The method worked as they saw…

Moog Releases Details of the 'Sub Phatty' for NAMM 2013

Events, Music Diary, News & Features

Moog Releases Details of the ‘Sub Phatty’ for NAMM 2013

The NAMM Winter Show for 2013 runs from January 24-27 and will showcase the best in music technology. We won’t be there, but will try to cover the coolest tech-focused music production gear coming out of the show. The question in 1993 was ‘why would you want a two-oscillator analog synth’ … but in 2013 there isn’t even a question anymore, you simply NEED this sound! Regardless of advances in digital simulated, the Moog Filter sound has a depth that cannot be emulated as well as the original instrument. So when leaks came about Moog introducing a new affordable analog…

GCW Zero - Open Source Gaming Handheld

Crowdfunding, News & Features

GCW Zero – Open Source Gaming Handheld

Have you ever looked at the Playstation Vita or Nintendo 3DS and thought that they look great, but you would rather have a handheld gaming system that ran inexpensive open-source games but had physical control buttons? That is the concept behind the GCW-Zero: Open Source Gaming Handheld. Project Title: GCW-Zero: Open Source Gaming Handheld Status: Active Closing Date for Funding: 1/28/2013 URL of the Project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gcw/gcw-zero-open-source-gaming-handheld  

Korg iPolysix Review - Bringing Classic Analog Synth to iPad

Music Diary, News & Features, Reviews

Korg iPolysix Review – Bringing Classic Analog Synth to iPad

Type of app: Music app Platform/where to buy: iPad; available in the App Store Developer: Korg Description: ?Polysix polyphonic synthesizer, replicated on your iPad ?Use the newly developed Polyseq polyphonic step sequencer to control the Polysix ?A music production environment including two Polysix units, a drum machine, and a mixer ?Dual Kaoss Pads with chordal support make it easy for anyone to play analog synth sounds ?Polyshare powered by SoundCloud lets you publish, share, and remix songs with iPolysix users Major features: Way back almost 30 years ago I was trying to set up a home electronic music studio. I…

APC Releases Rock and Paper Computers

News & Features

APC Releases Rock and Paper Computers

  The Raspberry Pi has been openly embraced by the hacker community for all sorts of projects.  From roll your own set-top boxes to Amateur Radio uses, it’s become a fast favorite of the hacker community.  Not to be outdone, APC has released two new computers that are sure to peak interest of the hacker community and anyone who wants a nice, simple computer without worry of viruses or other malware. The Rock computer is a board only device that runs a customized version of Android 4.0 that is designed to work with a keyboard and mouse.  The Rock has a Via…

Etón Proves Nature Is Pretty Darn Good at Empowering Innovative Technology!

Events, News & Features

Etón Proves Nature Is Pretty Darn Good at Empowering Innovative Technology!

Hurricane Sandy knocked out power for much of New Jersey, and at our house we lost power for about a week. Unfortunately, it was the same week we were scheduled to move out, so we found ourselves doing all the last minute packing in the dark. Luckily we weren’t totally on our own, as my handy Etón emergency radio kept us happy with music, a flashlight, and the chance to top off a smartphone once in a while. Basically, it was the first thing we grabbed when the power went out and the very last item we packed. So I was…

Are Subway's 'Not Quite Footlongs' the Next Class Action Lawsuit Fodder?

Gear Bits, News & Features

Are Subway’s ‘Not Quite Footlongs’ the Next Class Action Lawsuit Fodder?

Not too long ago Apple iTunes customers got a voucher for a few dollars based on a settlement from a lawsuit. The lawsuit came after Apple shifted pricing on music from $0.99 per song to a $0.69/$0.99/$1.29 tiered scheme to appease record labels. Suddenly gift cards that said ‘Buy 10 Songs’ would only buy 7 or 8. Now we have word that there is quite an online uproar over Subway ‘footlong’ subs not quite measuring up. According to the Yahoo article the trouble began when “a very precise customer, identified as Matt Corby of Perth, ordered a footlong sub and then…

Targus iNotebook Shines at CES 2013

Events, News & Features

Targus iNotebook Shines at CES 2013

While at CES, we spent some time visiting with Targus. Among the new items they were showing off was the $179.99 iNotebook, which “seamlessly transmits your handwritten notes to your iPad using the included sensor and pen.” If it sounds too good to be true, then you might want to check out this quick demo of Judie writing on paper and seeing the text rendered on the iPad in real-time. The iNotebook wirelessly transfers handwritten notes and sketches to an iPad using Bluetooth technology. It requires no special paper and is compatible with standard A5 and 8” x 5” notepads. That…

Gumdrop Put Their iPad Where Their Toughness Claims Were at CES!

Events, News & Features

Gumdrop Put Their iPad Where Their Toughness Claims Were at CES!

Gumdrop is part of the growing set of case makers targeting people looking for a tough but attractive way to protect their iOS devices. Sure, their cases are attractive, come in multiple colors and styles, and cover all sorts of devices from iPhones to tablets. But what really makes Gumdrop stand out is their willingness to demo how tough their cases are with a solid softball-style underhand, as they did for me at CES: If you’re a butter-fingers (or regret that smartphones aren’t tough enough to handle a dramatic toss across a room), be sure to check out Gumdrop Cases!

Timbuk2's 2013 Lineup Brings Organization and Power on the Go

Events, News & Features

Timbuk2’s 2013 Lineup Brings Organization and Power on the Go

During CES, Judie and I had a chance to spend some quality time with Timbuk2 checking out all of their 2013 offerings. We were there for quite a while since there was quite a bit to see. Check out the extensive gallery for a look. Among the most interesting current products are a laptop messenger and laptop backpack that not only hold and protect your gear, but also power it up on the go. As the company explains, Timbuk2 has partnered with Joey® Energy to offer the first series of purpose-built bags with a power supply to charge a variety of electronics while…

Cancel Tonight's Plans Because Temple Run 2 is Hitting the App Store Today!

Game Diary, News & Features

Cancel Tonight’s Plans Because Temple Run 2 is Hitting the App Store Today!

One of the earliest mega-hit iOS titles is getting a sequel tonight!  Temple Run was extremely easy to play, with its swipe left or right to dodge, swipe up to jump, and swipe down to slide mechanics.  It was also one of the first endless runner type games and really started the craze, as we’ve seen innumerable games of this genre hit the app store since. Imangi Studios has developed the upcoming follow-up along with help from Fuzzycube Software.  The Temple Run formula seems to have been left unchanged, as you’ll still be tilting to grab coins and swiping to…

iSmartAlarm Puts Your iPhone in Charge of Security

Events, News & Features

iSmartAlarm Puts Your iPhone in Charge of Security

One of the really cool parts of being at CES was the chance to check out accessories and products that are up and coming. Of those, there were more than a few that hooked into the ubiquitous iOS ecosystem. We carry our iPhones and iPads everywhere, and companies are taking them beyond just email and Angry Birds machines to a whole new level. In the case of  iSmartAlarm, they’re looking to turn your iPhone or iPad into part of a home security system! We stopped by their booth at CES and they were kind enough to give us a quick…