News & Features | Gear Diary

The Ceton infiniTV 4 – The Better Way to Watch TV

Photo courtesy of Cetoncorp.com If you’re like most Americans, I’ll bet you watch TV on occasion. Probably more than occasionally. In my household, we watch TV everyday. We have hours upon hours of shows that we record on the DVR and we don’t want to be tethered to just one TV in the house. If you’re like me, you have a multi-room HD DVR hooked up so that you can record shows on one cable box and watch them throughout your house. You can watch the game in one room and your wife can watch last night’s installment of Honey…

News & Features

Google Maps Has Returned to the App Store for the iPhone!

What to my wondering eyes should appear, but Google Maps for iOS, with turn by turn so dear! Yes, that’s right. Yesterday Google Maps was reintroduced into the Apple App store, so now your supported iOS device of choice can now (re)enjoy Google Maps to your heart’s content. Many users were very unhappy with the removal of Google Maps with iOS 6, and the problems with Apple’s own Maps app. There is now cause for holiday rejoicing as enthusiasts can hop over to the App store and install their new, improved copy today to get to where they need to…

News & Features

Even More Arrested Development Coming Soon!

I have a few shows I really love. When I’m home sick, nothing makes me feel better like a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon. But there’s one show I can watch over and over and over, that never stops being funny, and that seems to have new jokes even when I can’t remember how many times I’ve watched it: Arrested Development! So needless to say, I am beyond excited at the latest news about the Netflix revival of the series. Not only is it coming back via Netflix, which we’ve known for a while, there was just so much good…

News & Features

ArchetypeMe Makes Finding New Content Fun and Personal

Finding new things to read online can be remarkably difficult. Everyone has their “usual” websites, via RSS, or Flipboard, or Twitter. And there are sites like Stumbleupon that give you fun random ideas. But it can be hard to set the parameters for new sources just right — either you’re looking in too broad an area, or you get so focused on a narrow niche that you miss out on finding anything new and different. That’s where ArchetypeMe.com steps in to make your morning news and coffee routine that much more interesting. What is ArchetypeMe? It’s an approach to content…

News & Features

Knomo’s iPad mini Folio Looks Lovely

Knomo, makers of some of the more sophisticated laptop bags I’ve seen, has just introduced their newest accessory, the iPad mini Folio. Available in black, cognac, and red (or rather — teaberry), the iPad mini Folio is composed of “full-grain leather and tough moulded plastic”. Some of its features, beyond being slim and protective, are that it “can be used in 3 ways: to protect your iPad on the move, opened into upright position for viewing movies, folded into raised position for typing.” The form-fitted rubberized case provides easy access to the iPad mini’s headphone jack and speaker, as well as…

News & Features

A Dodo Mini for the iPad Mini

I’ve been debating whether to get an iPad Mini. So far, I’ve been able to hold off on what is likely inevitable. All of the new iPad Mini accessories are not helping, however. Take, for example, Exhibits A and B, DODOcases bookbound cases and Durables Sleeve for the iPad Mini. We’ve reviewed DODOcase products before and liked them. I’ve always thought that their designs looked rather interesting and these are no exception. The bookbound cases come in a variety of colors and styles, so you can select something that best fits your tastes. They look like hardbound books, with…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Cool British Video Reminds Us of the Difference Between ‘Climate’ and ‘Weather’

“Another 10 feet of snow fell on Buffalo last night … derp … so much for Global Warming” – it is something most of us hear in one form or another on an annual basis, and makes us choose between (a) shaking our head and walking away, (b) hitting the person upside the head with a crowbar or (c) trying to explain the difference between ‘weather’ and ‘climate’. Fortunately we now have a fun video from The Armstrong & Miller Show out of the UK that reminds us of the difference … and the penalty for failing to heed that…

News & Features

Augmented Reality is Tech You Should Know About

Anyone who refers to Augmented Reality as a ‘new’ technology hasn’t done their research. The past twenty years have been littered with entertainment gimmicks that loosely use the technology. That being said, modern innovations are providing the framework with which to more fully integrate this type of tech into our daily lives. While creations bordering on the concepts of augmented reality have been around since the sixties, it wasn’t until 1990 that a Boeing researcher coined the term as we understand it today. For those in the dark, augmented reality refers to a blurring of the lines between what’s real…

News & Features

Element Releases the Atom Case for Samsung Galaxy S3

The Samsung Galaxy S III is a slick and sturdy phone, but no phone is indestructible – therefore we need cases. Element Case is known best as an iPhone case company, but as that market continues to get flooded with cheap imitators they have branched out and are now making a case for the Samsung Galaxy S III called the Atom. Here are some details: While we’ve always been thought of as the iPhone case company, we’re widening our horizons with this, our first offering for the Samsung Galaxy S3 smart phone. The all new Atom follows in the footsteps…

News & Features

Does The Shutdown of “The Daily” Mean Anything For Digital Magazines?

New broke this week that “The Daily”, Rupert Murdoch’s iPad-only newspaper, was being shut down. The four people who read it were probably heartbroken. Sarcasm aside, the real question is whether the death of The Daily is indicative of a larger issue. Businessweek brought this question up, pointing out that Newsweek plans to go all-digital in the shadow of a nasty fall from grace for the competition. At the same time, as Slate points out, an iPad-only newspaper was naturally limited, which probably also hurt The Daily’s chances of survival. Still, The Daily died due to a myriad of reasons,…

Game Diary, News & Features

Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition Arrives on iPad!

For the past week or so I have been working my way through the PC version of Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition from Overhaul Games. And it is the same as the absolute classic I played in 1998 – but better. So I was thrilled this morning to see that the iPad version was released! It had been delayed due to a bug discovered just before App Store submission, saying “iOS build had a game-stopper bug. With current estimate for app store approval, that puts us into next week. We’re doing all we can.” Next week arrived – and now the…

Game Diary, Music Diary, News & Features

Video Game Soundtrack Nominated for Grammy Award

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. That’s the nomination that was just received by Austin Wintory, the composer for Thatgamecompany’s excellent PS3 game Journey. Let me be clear, this is history being made, as this represents the first time that a video game soundtrack has been nominated for the prestigious Grammy Award. While the aforementioned category is usually reserved for film scores, it appears that interactive media is also eligible, and that this could become a landmark year for the industry. This revelatory announcement comes in the wake of MoMA’s recent video game acquisition. Despite the ongoing argument over the validity…

Music Diary, News & Features

New T-RackS Custom Shop Available from IK Multimedia

IK Multimedia’s T-Rack software allows you to build custom effects processors as plug-ins to soup up your sound. Now they have come out with the latest version called T-RackS® Custom Shop version 4.0 – and it has a load of new features including five new analog-modeled and digital processors, the Custom Shop, and more. The Custom Shop is IK’s online gear shop, which allows users to purchase gear models from within the T-RackS software itself. Here are some more details: 5 New T-RackS Processors, CSR integration, Improved Sound The new T-RackS CS includes five brand-new processing modules. Four belong to…

Health and Fitness, News & Features

That ‘Warm Feeling’ of Nostalgia Might Just Be Real

Have you ever had a pleasant sentimental thought and felt ‘all warm inside’? Turns out that feeling might be an actual physiological response, at least according to some research cited over at the Greatist. Here are the basics: Researchers conducted five separate studies to see if there was a connection between nostalgia — a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past — and physical warmth. •In the first study participants kept a journal for 30 days. Results showed they recorded more nostalgic thoughts on colder days. •In the next, volunteers were placed in either a cold, comfortable, or hot…

News & Features, Reviews

Mophie Juice Pack for Samsung Galaxy SIII Hands-On Review

If there is one constant in life, it is that portable electronics don’t ever have enough battery life. With each new product we get new features that beg for more power, so regardless of what the manufacturers do to extend battery life … our usage always seems to keep up! Enter Mophie, a company that has had great success making iPhone battery cases for several years. Now they are branching out with their first non-iPhone case, for the hot-selling Samsung Galaxy SIII. Mophie sent me one to check out – let’s take a look! The Hype: Get the most out…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Virgil Guitars Create The Most Elaborate Custom Made Guitars Ever Built!

Looking for an amazing gift for the guitar person in your life? How about an amazing looking guitar that is also designed by and for guitarists? That is what Virgil Guitars is offering. Here is what Virgil Mandanici says about his inspiration: An artist and guitarist since the 1970’s, Virgil Mandanici set out to make guitars that would be exceptional in tone and playability first and foremost. After 35 years of playing guitar, he decided it was time to craft guitars that would feel, play and look better than anything anyone has ever played before – thus Virgil Guitars was…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Ogaco Gadgets Introduces the iKazoo

There are controllers for just about everything that utilize touch, motion, and breath. Now we get one that integrates all of these, and utilizes the latest Bluetooth protocols to interface with just about anything! The first thing you might think when you hear ‘iKazoo’ is … what IS it? Here is an explanation from the creators: iKazoo is basically a gadget compatible with any electronic device with a camera that lets anyone, from beginner to professional make and play music and a whole lot more. Music, games, art, sports and fitness are just some of the applications you can use…

Gear Bits, News & Features

RIP Jazz Pianist Dave Brubeck at 91

Picture of Dave Brubeck from the 1984 JVC Newport Jazz Festival, taken by my friend Jeff. Chances are you know the song ‘Take Five’. You might not immediately call it to mind, but when you check out the video below you are almost certain to say ‘oh yeah, THAT song!’. Congratulations – you have absorbed a lesson on extended harmonies and advanced time signatures! Brubeck was a major figure in jazz and music for several reasons: – He brought jazz to academia at a time when only classical music was studied, and moreover gave students something to think about and…

Events, Game Diary, News & Features

Are Video Games Art? MoMA Answers with New Exhibit

It’s the question everyone’s asking nowadays: can video games be considered art? Should they be? While it’s been over two years since film-critic Roger Ebert blew up the debate with his now-famous commentary, the fight rages on. This time, it’s New York’s Museum of Modern Art that’s taking a side. In the past, curators and critics alike have been hesitant to put a label on gaming. Pundits of established artistic disciplines were the worst offenders, often heard dismissing the industry in favor of their own respective fields. Ebert’s notorious quote that “video games can never be art” unleashed what has…

Editorials, News & Features

Release Windows ARE Stupid … But They Don’t Justify Piracy

Most people know of the popular trope called ‘Step Three: Profit’, in which an idea is started, no plan is developed, but there is an expectation of profit in the end. A random example from South Park: Step 1. Collect underpants. Step 2. ? Step 3. PROFIT The reason I bring that up is that in a recent article at MondayNote the author basically makes the point that release windows are stupid. What is a ‘release window’? It is the decision by a company to make their content (movies, TV shows, albums, etc) available at different times in different countries…

Editorials, News & Features

Living with the Nokia Lumia 920 – The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

A few weeks OK I bought a shiny new Red Nokia Lumia 920. Generally, I love it, although I am STILL waiting for my wireless charging base to show up. It’s not perfect, in some ways far from it, but the overall approach the OS takes to delivering apps and services is a good one for the way that I want to work – most of the time. But the journey has been a little bumpy with things needing some serious attention from Microsoft, Nokia, or both. I have most recently been an iPhone user, and a Lumia 900 (Windows…