News & Features

Oregon Scientific ATC Chameleon Dual Lense Action Camera Gives You Eyes in the Back of Your Head

We’ve all seen those first-person action videos of guys and gals flying down the slopes, jumping out of planes, or slashing through the whitewater on their kayaks.  These videos are entertaining and provide the viewer a peek at exactly how it would look if you were risking your own neck out there, without all the danger and adrenaline.  The problem with these videos, however, is that you can only capture one angle on the action, unless the camera is behind held in hand.  Oregon Scientific is looking to change this with their new Oregon Scientific ATC Chameleon camera, the world’s…


SpotLite 2.0 Helps You Keep Your Eye on Spot

My dog Porter is generally a good dog, but he has his moments of being a bit bratty. Mostly we joke he thinks he’s a person, and every once in a blue moon he catches his reflection, remembers he’s actually a dog, and misbehaves accordingly. We don’t have him microchipped, in part because he’s a rescue who was shot with BB’s as a puppy, and the idea of inserting more metal into him, even a microchip, breaks our hearts a little bit. But we do watch him like hawks when he’s not leashed outside, especially in the backyard, since you…


Roku Releases the Roku 3

After what seemed like an eternity Roku has released a brand new streaming box today.  The Roku 3 finally does away with all connections for old standard definition TV’s in this iteration making the box HD only.  It has HDMI, Ethernet, USB and a power port and that’s it.  The new box has beefed up hardware and improved searching on the device itself.  Roku promises that the user interface on the Roku 3 is the most responsive they have designed as well.  One last bit of news for the new Roku 3 is that the wireless remote now includes a…


TrackingPoint Releases Precision Guided Firearm iOS Simulator App

We first broke news of TrackingPoint and their Precision Guided Firearm system during this year’s CES. The system is a custom-built rifle and scope combination that makes long-range shooting much more accurate. Using the XactSystem, shooters tag, track and hit their target with pinpoint accuracy. TrackingPoint has just released Precision Hunter Lite which allows iOS users to experience their revolutionary technology. The free application is basically a first person shooter that replicates the Precision Guided Firearm experience. Using the head’s up display, users practice utilizing the XactSystem to successfully make ethical shots at extreme distances. Users choose their quarry then…


Early Thoughts on Ubuntu Touch

At lunch today I was able to load up a version of Ubuntu’s touch based OS on my Asus EeePad Transformer, because I had come across a post on the infamous XDA forums from a hacker who has actually gotten this to work.  Well … it works in that it boots! 🙂  So I decided to try it, just to get an idea of how good or bad it might be. I am actually a little surprised at how much of Ubuntu Touch works, but I’m even more surprised by how much of it doesn’t.  Keep in mind that it’s a developer…


Ham Radio to be Featured in Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing on ABC

I’ve watched Last Man Standing all season this year and am really enjoying the series in its second year.  One of the reasons I was attracted to it was that the character Tim Allen plays, Mike Baxter, is an Amateur Radio Operator.  He has been given the tongue in cheek call sign KA0XTT.  The “XTT” stands for Ex Tim Taylor.  Icom America has provided radios for his shack at his workplace, a fictional store called Outdoor Man which is styled very much like outdoor stores like Cabela’s.   So far, the radios have only been props at Outdoor Man but that is about to change.  In…


US Postal Service Delivers Muscle Cars Forever

The US Postal Service recently announced the release of a new set of commemorative Forever stamps celebrating five iconic muscle cars from America’s motoring past. The five vehicles being honored – 1966 Pontiac GTO, 1967 Shelby GT-500, 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda, and 1970 Chevelle SS – all represent America’s adventurous spirit of the muscle car era as these vehicles rumbled and roared their way into the hearts and minds of driving enthusiasts. Artwork for the stamps was created by Tom Fritz, who said he based his work on photographs of the iconic cars, using bright-colored oil…


Polaris eBike Makes You Go WHOOSH!

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of commuting by bike. It’s not practical for my job, unfortunately, but it just sounds very appealing to combine exercise with commuting — plus it’s far cheaper than using a car. I have a few issues with using a bike as a main vehicle, though: One, I would constantly worry about being sweaty, and two, I am a very poky bike rider. Even on a fully tuned up bike, there are children on tricycles who would zip past me! If I were in a position to seriously try biking every day work, though,…


Papertrell Aims to Turn Reference Books into Apps

In general, I tend to shy away from the “app-ification” of eBooks. If it’s a book, I want to just sit down and read it. I like eBooks, but I don’t need unnecessary videos, music, etc. However, the exception is reference books, cookbooks, and anything else where it’s not a linear process to read from point A to point B. These books do very well as apps, and the work to create them is often more complex than just digitizing text. Papertrell is the company that works behind the scenes to take a regular book and turn into a reference…


Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 Up Close and Personal

Today was Day Two of Mobile World Congress, and Judie has been busy walking, talking and seeing all the new wares being rolled out in Barcelona. Along the way she got some hands-on time with the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0.   We brought word of the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 the other day, and it looks rather compelling. It offers a 1280 by 800 pixel resolution, runs on a Squad-core Samsung Exynos processor and has a full 2GB of RAM. The device will come in 16GB and 32GB variants but both will offer expansion via a microSD slot. A 5MP…


HDTV Shopping, What’s Necessary and What’s Hype?

Sarah and I are HDTV shopping (our old TV is the size of a coffee table and weighs as much as my first car). I understand the basics of HDTV like 720p vs 1080p. But when you get into features like Smart TVs, and when you look at the price difference between buying, say, a Samsung TV versus a Vizio, what’s worth considering and what’s just hype? I was lost, so I turned to the experts at Gear Diary for some HDTV shopping advice and tips: Joel McLaughlin My take on HDTV Shopping? My next TV I will not look at whether it’s…


ASUS PadFone Infinity Is a Phone and Tablet in One

During the first day of MWC, ASUS showed off a number of new products. The ASUS PadFone Infinity is a powerful quad-core, LTE-equipped smartphone and redesigned tablet into which it docks. The tablet looks like any old tablet from the front but, flip it over and you’ll see that its brains actually come from the companion phone docked into it. The phone portion of the ASUS PadFone Infinity is a 5″ 1080p handset with a Snapdragon 600 processor. The phone runs Android 4.2, weighs 141g and has a 2400mAh battery. With 2GB of RAM, the phone will be offered with 32GB and…


ASUS Fonepad is a Supersized Phablet

I’m still kind of smitten with the Samsung GALAXY Note 8, but the ASUS Fonepad looks kind of tasty as well. The ASUS Fonepad is a 7″ Android tablet running Android 4.1.2. Like the GALAXY Note 8, the ASUS Fonepad can also function as a phone. (That functionality may not be available in all markets and all carriers. We will see how that plays out once the device begins shipping.) Now let’s admit that Judie looks kind of silly holding this 7″ tablet to her head as a phone. She wouldn’t be seen dead doing so in real life and neither…


Melitta Pour Over 1 Cup Brew Cone Review

I love my Keurig.  It’s my morning companion almost every day.  A cup or two of coffee and I head out the door to work.  Once I get to work, I also get another cup or two of coffee while I read through my e-mail.  Well, recently I had to move offices from one building to another. In my new work place, the cost of the coffee club was more than the old place and it didn’t include sweetener and creamer.  So, I decided I needed to go on my own with the coffee and spotted one of these Melitta Pour Over…


Huawei Ascend P2 has Speedy 4G LTE

When choosing a smartphone these days one of the key “features” worth considering is speed. After all, with smartphones now serving as powerful on-the-go pocket computers having a fast, ever-present connection is key. The Huawei Ascend P2 promises just that. Judie went hands-on at Mobile World Congress. Here’s a look. The company is calling the Ascend P2 the “World’s Fastest 4G LTE Smartphone”. It features a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor and LTE Cat 4 that can offer speeds of up to 150 Mbps. The phone is just 8.4mm thick and sports a 4.7″ IPS HD in-cell touch display. Of course…


PowerSkin PoP’n Pop on Power Battery Charger Pops on the Power

When I first saw the PowerSkin PoP’n Pop on Power Battery Charger (say that one five times fast!!) I didn’t think much of it. To me it looked like a clunky means of doubling your iPhone 5’s battery. Judie disagreed. Now that Judie saw and handled the PowerSkin PoP’n Pop on Power Battery Charger at MWC I have to admit she was right and I was wrong. Yes, the PowerSkin PoP’n Pop on Power Battery Charger is actually a rather ingenious way to quickly and easily double your smartphone’s battery charge. The PowerSkin PoP’n Pop on Power Battery Charger holds…


SpareOnePLUS Emergency Mobile Phone is Ready for Any Disaster

I sure wish I had had the SpareOnePLUS after SuperStorm Sandy took out most of the power in my area last fall. Sure, Elana and I had charged up all of the eternal batteries we had on hand and immediately went into “smartphone power conservation mode”, but the SpareOnePLUS Emergency Mobile Phone would have made our smartphone-worries disappear. Judie got her hands on one last night during an event at Mobile World Congress. Let’s take a closer look. SpareOnePLUS Emergency Mobile Phone gets its power from a single AA battery. So long as it is in range of a GSM cell…


Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 – It’s a Handful!

  For the past few weeks I’ve been using a Samsung GALAXY Note 2 on and off. I’ve been quite surprised how impressed I am with the huge phone/diminutive tablet. Sure, it’s a bit too large and clunky to really qualify as a phone but, after using it for a while, it actually doesn’t seem overly large. It has a huge beautiful screen and I am absolutely wowed by the S-Pen. Mike didn’t love the Note 2 and was critical of the limited number of apps that work with the included pen. I’m not nearly as troubled by it. No,…


HP Slate7 Marks HP’s Return to the Tablet Market

HP’s journey into tablet-dom didn’t turn out all too well the first time. Sure their tablet running WebOS gained some traction, but that was only after they dropped down to fire sale prices. Well Mobile World Congress in Barcelona just saw HP announce their return to the tablet market. This time out HP is going with the time-tested Android operating system and the budget price of just $169. Will they have a winner on their hands? Only time will tell. The HP Slate7 promises to be an affordable Android Jelly Bean tablet sporting a sweet spot 7″ diagonal screen. Designed…


Avadon 2 The Corruption Prepares to Bring Epic Fantasy RPG Back to the iPad

Spiderweb Software brought us the first full-scale, hardcore RPG with Avadon: The Black Fortress, now Jeff Vogel with the announcement of Avadon 2 The Corruption prepares to bring epic fantasy RPG back to the iPad! The game is the middle of the planned Avadon Trilogy, and you return to the Black Fortress as a spy and warrior fighting those who are the enemies of Avadon. Your word is law and your power is great, but your foes are powerful as well and you will need to use all of your skill and cunning to thwart the threat. In Avadon 2:…


Ultima Forever Quest for the Avatar Gets a First Video Preview

There are classics, and then there are CLASSICS … and Ultima IV is one of the absolute classics in all of gaming. I have played it several times through the years, but owing to age and technology changes it is a difficult game for younger gamers to really enjoy. Now it is coming back as Ultima Forever Quest for the Avatar, launching on iOS in the spring of 2013. We have known about the game for a while, but now we get some first looks and a video sneak peek! Much of the classic Ultima world is maintained, though now…