News & Features

iPhone 5 Plus NeatCloud Plus NeatMobile Helps Keep You Organized

As I work harder and harder to get away from using paper, I’m finding that a number of digital solutions are key to the process. For example, my iPad now lets me gather and read not only all my books but also many of the PDFs that I use. In fact, as Carly mentioned in a post last year, I use my iPad as my prayerbook when leading services. It’s convenient, it forces me to think through all of the specific cues beforehand (not that I wouldn’t anyway), and it’s easier on my damaged hands and wrists. This was the…


Skooba Design Offers New Products for Camera, Laptops and Cables; Pre-Order Now, Reviews Are Coming Soon!

Drawing on the same design cues we’ve seen in recent products, Skooba Design has just announced three new upcoming ways to carry, protect and organize your gear. It will, of course, come as no small surprise that we are looking forward to getting our hands on each. So what HAS Skooba rolled out? There’s the Photo/Tablet Traveler V.3. I’ve been doing a series of camera bag and case reviews and this looks like a great solution for carrying a lot of gear even when you want to travel light. Think of it as the amazing Laptop Weekender we’ve reviewed shrunk…


FL Studio Mobile 2 Video Preview

If you are looking for the best and most robust music studio app for the iPad, you have likely considered GarageBand, NanoStudio, and FL Studio. FL Studio Mobile offers a downscaled version of the popular PC electronic music-focused package – and while almost everyone loved the original, the lack of integrated sampling and limited editing and complete absence of a quality synthesizer were glaring omissions. With the upcoming 2.0 release (free for existing owners) Image Line looks to address these issues and more! As part of this they have released a couple of preview videos to show off new functionality….


ElementCase Sector 5 Case for iPhone 5 Is… Gorgeous

I absolutely love ElementCase’s iPhone case offerings. The cases look awesome. The cases feel awesome. And the cases always get attention. And the new Sector5 Case for the iPhone 5 is no exception. The rugged, industrial design is eye-catching and, even from the pictures, it is clear this is one tough case. Here’s what the company has to say, After a year of development and a huge launch of the Sector 4 FE, the iPhone 5 finally arrived and we were able to add final touches and begin production of the new Sector 5. The Sector 5’s super thin multi-link perimeter…


IK Multimedia Introduces DJ Rig for iPad!

When DJ Rig released back in March, aside from some early bugs that were quickly squashed, my biggest wish was for an iPad version. It was one of those things that was immediately obvious once you touched the software. IK Multimedia agreed and stated they were working on it – but like the rest of their stuff they wanted to get it right and not just ‘upsize’. Well, now DJ Rig for iPad is ready and available! Here is some of the press release highlighting features: Professional DJing for the first time on iPad • Familiar double Deck configuration with…


Your Mobile Devices are a Germ Haven, So It’s ionSwipes to the Rescue!

  One of the most useful sensory and interactive instruments in the human body are our hands and fingers. They help us easily manipulate our mobile devices, allowing us to communicate and plug into the virtual world around us. Ironically, hands and fingers are a double-edged sword, for in addition to allowing us to communicate virtually via our various electronic devices, they quietly and efficiently spread germs via physical handling of these devices. Germs. That catch-all  layman word covering bacteria, viruses, protozoa and some fungi. The stuff that gives Howie Mandel heebie-jeebies. In fiction, the cooties that annihilated wayard Martians,…


MOTU Releases Digital Performer 8 For Mac & Windows!

Back at NAMM in January MOTU (Mark of the Unicorn) announced plans for their flagship DAW (digital audio workstation) Digital Performer to jump to both Mac AND Windows with the release of version 8. Original release was planned for the spring, but today MOTU announced that both Mac and Windows versions are now available – and we also get pricing on the software and myriad upgrade deals! Here are some key new features: ?64-bit support – Digital Performer’s 64-bit support ensures that you can take full advantage of all the memory space in your computer for optimum performance from your…


Stream Muse New Album ‘The 2nd Law’ for FREE on iTunes This Week!

While most of us were not particularly enamored of the Muse Olympic theme or sure about the dubstep-y sounds previewed from their new album, there are millions of Muse fans waiting to check out the final product and hoping for the best. Well, before dropping $13.99 on iTunes to find out … you can stream the entire album for FREE this week on iTunes! As usual it is a single stream for the whole album rather than per-song, but it is a great opportunity to see what Muse has come up with for their latest release! Head to iTunes and…


Barnes and Noble Goes Hollywood

Barnes and Noble needed something big to compete against the Kindle Fire, and today they announced one part of what that might be: NOOK Video. Details are light, but it sounds like this will be a streaming and pay for download service. In fact, it sounds an awful lot like Amazon Prime Streaming… The big question here is software and price. B&N says they plan to offer NOOK Video to PCs, smartphones and tablets, so this sounds more like a whole new spinoff of NOOK offerings than a one-off designed to add value to the NOOK Tablet lines. Amazon Prime…


iOS 6 Brings Loads of SIGNIFICANT App Updates

By now we all know the mantra – when there is a new iOS update, prepare for the onslaught of app updates. It used to be surprising … now it is expected. I have probably updated 100 apps on my iPad since last week. [Oh, and I should mention that I LOVE the in-place updating!] But while some updates are just bug fixes and iOS 6 compatibility, others bring entirely new functionality. Significant functionality. And the funny thing is that it is hard to know what changes are major or minor when you see a list of a dozen or…


Apparently People Aren’t Happy with the NFL Replacement Referees!

If you have checked your Facebook newsfeed on the last few Sundays or Monday Nights (or Thursday nights for that matter), chances are you have seen some significant rants about the ‘performance’ of the replacement referees brought in by the league while the normal officials are in contract talk lockout. The talk isn’t just the normal grousing you would expect when your favored team loses – I have seen friends complain when THEIR team won about the job done against the opposing team. And it extends to players and coaches as well – here are a few quotes: Packers coach…


Give Your iMac or Thunderbolt Display a Lift with TwelveSouth’s HiRise

Twelve South has just introduced another great accessory for your iMac or Thunderbolt Display. The HiRise for iMac is “The first ever adjustable iMac Stand and Desk Storage System”. Here’s what the company has to say about it: HiRise radically transforms the look of your iMac or Apple Display by integrating the base into the HiRise itself, creating a bold, ultra-modern look. At first glance, people may think they are looking at an entirely new Mac. The surprises will continue when you flip down the magnetically secured faceplate to reveal hard drives, cables and keys hidden inside.The eye-catching stand is over-engineered…


Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013, a Video Quick Look

I’m not big into killing things so hunting – not for me. That being said, I do like a good shooting game. (I mean, the Hit Man franchise?!?! Awesome!)  I got to see Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013 the other night, and it is pretty amazing. The game has unbelievable graphics, a nice physical rifle to aim and shoot and the addition of heart rate monitors built into the gun itself. Activision’s Press Release puts it this way –“Prepare for a wildly exciting and heart-stopping hunt that challenges gamers like never before!” The impact of the heart rate monitoring is part…


Just say NO to Verizon Add-On Services!

My cubemate at work asked me a question about his wife’s phone, a Samsung Android device. See, his wife dropped her phone and her screen shattered, of course.  When the replacement arrived, we switched the SIM over, and everything was set … or so we thought.  All of her contacts were missing.  To make sure this doesn’t happen again, he told me that he was looking for apps to prevent this.  I told him he shouldn’t need anything for contacts beyond the syncing that happens with Gmail.  That’s when I checked his phone and realized it was set up to use Verizon’s…


Using a Seagate GoFlex Satellite Harddrive? Read This Before Updating to iOS 6.0

We’re big fans of the Seagate GoFlex Satellite wireless hard drives. We love the way they let us add tons of storage to our iPads, iPhones and iPod touch’s. And we love the way the company updated the firmware and made them even better a year after we first did our review. BUT, and this is an important “but”, if you have updated, or are going to update to iOS 6.0 you need to update the firmware on the drive. Thankfully it is easy to do. Just click here and follow the instructions. No OS update is without bumps along…


Rokform RokLock v3 Protective Case Adds Functions and More

We reviewed Rokform’s case for the iPhone 4S last summer and were super impressed with it. The design is decent on its own, but when you add in the functionality it offers, it truly impresses. (Read the review here.) Here’s what we had to say about it at the time: I didn’t think I would like this case… errr… system as much as I do. But I do! I like the looks. I like the flexibility. I like the number of different options that can be purchased to work with it. No, I don’t love the price which, if you…


Sprint Readies the Samsung Galaxy Note II for Release This Fall, Reports 1 Million 4G Devices Sold!

As noted before, this morning we heard from Samsung that they have coordinated with all five major U.S. carriers to bring the massive Samsung Galaxy Note II to market; now Sprint has followed up and announced that they will be launching the 16GB version of the device later this fall on their ‘Truly Unlimited’ network! The Galaxy Note 2 is the successor to the popular ‘phablet’ that was huge for a phone but small for a tablet yet found a solid global audience. The new version increases the screen size to 5.5 inches (from 5.3), has full 4G LTE support,…


Hands-on Review of AmpliTube 2.5 (now 2.6!) and Amplitube Fender 1.2

IK Multimedia recently released major updates to their AmpliTube and AmpliTube Fender amplifier simulation apps for iOS devices, which I wrote about here. If you follow Gear Diary, then you know that aside from a quick blurb we seldom do a ‘deep dive’ on a ‘point release’ update … but this time there was a reason! Read on and see if the new AmpliTube is for you! The Hype: • Full MIDI Integration. This feature allows users to control AmpliTube Fender 1.2 via standard MIDI controllers using an iOS MIDI interface such as iRig MIDI. This allows to remotely switch…


Apple iOS 6 Update Now Available for Download!

Today is iOS 6 release day, and as anticipated the update went ‘live’ close to 10AM Pacific Time. As often happens, the servers will get hit hard and make downloading and updating a slow and sometimes frustrating thing. Make sure you: – Have the space on your device – Have a good WiFi connection – BACKUP! – Have the time to leave the device in one place for the update Good luck and report on your experiences! My download is going s-l-o-w right now … If you want more details on the iOS 6 update, head to Apple!


Listen to Green Day’s Uno Streaming on Facebook!

Green Day is launching into a jam-packed year, releasing a trio of new records and embarking on a grand world tour. The first album ¡UNO! arrives on September 25th, but you can stream it for free right now at Facebook! Here is what they say: Hear ¡Uno! before it hits stores next week! Check out the advance listening party on the Facebook tab presented by Nokia Music and AT&T at http://smarturl.it/hearunonow On Mobile? Head back to a computer to take a listen! Let us know what you think in the comments below and share this post! You need to ‘Like’…


Vote For Brandeis To Host The “Today Show”

In my house, there’s a loose rivalry between Syracuse and Brandeis. They hardly compete head to head in anything, but since I went to Brandeis and my brother Andrew went to Syracuse, there’s a good natured sibling rivalry. It doesn’t help that we have older cousins who attended Brandeis and Syracuse, so the unofficial competition spans generations. Now Brandeis finally has the chance to pull ahead here, but I need your help! See, the “Today Show” is running a contest where they will film their fourth hour the week of October 12th at one of six schools: Brandeis, Ohio State…