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News & Features February 3, 2012

Adonit JotStudio App Designed With Hardware in Mind

Adonit’s Jot and Jot Pro Stylus for the iPad is an unusual animal. We reviewed it here and had this to say What sets the Jot and the Jot Pro apart from the crowd is the disk at the top. Rather than having a relatively wide rubber tip for darting or writing the Jot and Jot Pro have a ballpoint tip that then attaches to a clear disk. The ball-point tip gives you accuracy while the disk protects the screen from scratches. It looks rather odd and does take a few minutes of adjustment but, after that, it REALLY WORKS!!…

Editorials, News & Features February 3, 2012

Susan G. Komen Foundation Feels the ‘Law of Unintended Consequences’ Firsthand

The first rule of a health-centric charity – don’t get political. UPDATE: The Komen group annouced they were reversing their decision, stating “it will “amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political.” “Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer. Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process,” the group said.” My wife did the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure a few years ago when we lived in the Boston…

News & Features February 3, 2012

Evernote for Mac Updated With Improved Note Panel, Tables, Checklists, and More

I was pretty critical of Evernote back in December when they released some iOS apps that just fell flat. I mean, a special app for food logs or exchanging personal information? They called it Evernote Hello, I called it Evernote NO! and I was pretty clear that Evernote needed to put their energies into their core business: the various Evernote apps and they way in which they can make note-taking easier. Well, thankfully, they have done just that and have released a new version of Evernote for Mac that offers some great improvements. What are they?

News & Features, Travel February 2, 2012

TripIt gets “iPadified” with New “On-Map” Interactions and Planning

Judie turned me on to TripIt about two years ago, and I have been a devoted user ever since. And today we got word that TripIt.com just got “iPadified”, and now “Travelers can interact with their trip plans on a map and create directions instantly online.” This is a new way for TripIt users to access trip maps and get directions and makes the service even more valuable than ever. As the news release we received explains, Now, when travelers log onto TripIt.com, they’ll have the option to view their itinerary alongside an interactive map, or select the traditional detailed…

News & Features, Reviews January 31, 2012

Sling Media Brings SlingPlayer to Kindle Fire!

Sling Media, makers of the SlingBox, today announces the availability of the SlingPlayer app for the Kindle Fire. What is the SlingBox? It is a device that works with all of your various set-top boxes to: allow folks to watch their TV from wherever they are with their PC, Mac, tablet or smartphone. And now, with SlingPlayer for Kindle Fire, they can bring their living room TV experience to their Kindle Fire tablets. The SlingPlayer software is already available for Apple iPhone and iPad devices, Android Phones, Android Tablets as well as for the Blackberry, Windows Phone and other devices….

News & Features January 30, 2012

Did Android Tablets GAIN Market Share … or Lose It?

If you look at the image above, you might come to the conclusion that Android tablets have made significant inroads against the iPad in the fourth quarter of 2011. That would be an incorrect conclusion, though one that many people are making. There are two problems with the conclusion. The first is that while Apple discloses ‘sales’, Android numbers are a combination of ‘shipments’, ‘% shipment increase from last year’, and ‘estimates’. In other words, real numbers against imaginary numbers. More on this later. The other problem is the idea of exactly what constitutes an Android tablet. I’ll answer with…

News & Features January 30, 2012

OS X Moves Yet Another Step Closer to iOS

If you still weren’t convinced that Apple’s desktop/laptop Mac OS X operating system and their mobile operating system iOS were moving closer and closer to one another here’s yet one more example. If you have a Mac go to software update and download the Airport Utility update. Once you do you’ll be greeted with a utility that will be rather familiar if you have used the recently release iOS Airport Utility.

News & Features January 30, 2012

‘Matthew’s Day Off’ Has Fun With Nostalgia for the New Honda CR-V

Despite loads of other successes through the years, Matthew Broderick will forever be tied to the iconic role of Ferris Bueller. And unlike some actors with hits from that same era (John Cusack in Better Off Dead, Val Kilmer in Real Genius), Broderick has never backed away from the enduring love of all things Bueller. So when I saw the teaser late last week that he would be appearing in a Super Bowl ad based around Ferris Bueller, I was intrigued. Now that the full commercial has been release … I just HAD to share!

Gear Bits, News & Features, Reviews January 30, 2012

Shootout! Touchscreen-Friendly Gloves – iTouch Touchscreen Gloves vs. Agloves

Cold weather and touchscreen don’t go together. More accurately, they did not go together until now. Yes, if you use an iPhone, Android device, Windows Phone or tablet there are now a host of touchscreen-friendly glove options on the market. We take a look at two such offerings in this video. From iTouch Touchscreen 3 in 1 Gloves: Stay Warm and Stay Connected: iTouchTM Touchscreen Gloves with conductive yarn in the fingertips allow you to use your iPod, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, eReader Touch and other touchscreen devices without having to take your gloves off in the cold weather. Witness the…

Music Diary, News & Features January 28, 2012

Google Music Adds ‘Download Purchases’ Button and It Is Still Astonishingly Bad

I have been fairly critical of Google’s Music service, largely for two reasons: first off it was ‘worst in class’ and made every other music service look great in comparison; and second because as a Google service there were legions of blind Google fanboys spewing effusive praise because it was free. That was 9 months ago when it was in Beta. Then it got out of beta and … it was still the worst music service available, just slightly less crappy than before. Now Google has made a major update to the service … they added a button. This button…

Music Diary, News & Features January 28, 2012

MusicPlayr Will Help You Discover Music

Late last year I heard about the MidemLab competition for promising music startups, which had finalists in the ‘music discovery’ category as follows: Music Discovery, Recommendation & Creation ChartsNow.mobi (UK) – mass market mobile music service MPme by Apsmart (UK) – curated internet radio musicplayr (Germany) – music discovery & blogging Navegas (Germany) – connecting the world of music tool Rexly (USA) – social discovery & recommendation Songs2See by Fraunhofer (Germany) – music game development SoshiGames (UK) – game-based social music discovery Twusic by LemonLab (Belgium) – Twitter music application Watzatsong (France) – crowdsourced music search engine WhoSampled (UK) –…

News & Features January 28, 2012

ZBoard, Like a Moped Only Way Cooler

Remember that moped you thought was the coolest when you were 14? No? Well, pre-drivers license, the idea of motorized transportation in any form sounded way cool to a lot of us. That even went for mopeds, until we actually bought one. Well this is like the moped but is a whole lot cooler.

News & Features, Travel January 27, 2012

JumpFromPaper Makes Real Life Feel Like a Cartoon with Seriously Ridiculous Bags

I loved the way “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988) and “Cool World” (1992) mixed cartoon elements into a real-world backdrop. I enjoyed the same effect as a kid, watching older Disney movies such as Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and Song of the South. There’s just something quirky and irresistible about imagining a world where cartoons can come to life; anything can happen! Evidently the minds behind JumpFromPaper feel the same. Created by Taipei-based design duo, Chay Su and Rika Lin, JumpFromPaper is a bag company that has produced a line of travel, camera, laptop and general gear bags which look like props from…

Events, Music Diary, News & Features January 27, 2012

Mark of the Unicorn Introduces the MicroBook II Audio Interface

Mark of the Unicorn had one huge announcement that I already covered, the note that the upcoming Digital Performer 8 would support Windows 7 as well as Mac OS X. But now we learn that MOTU is also introducing a new version of the well-received MicroBook audio interface. MicroBook was released in 2010 and was straightforward in design – 1/4″ inputs and outputs giving you a 4-in/2-out audio interface for your computer that delivered excellent sound quality and performance. So hwo did MOTU up their game for the new version? It is now a 4-in/6-out, giving you mich more recording…

Events, News & Features January 26, 2012

Make Your iPhone 4S Case mykase with Bodyguardz New Case Offering

Bodyguardz has come up with a great way to change-up and/or customize your iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S case in seconds. The mykase line offers a base case in black or white as well as interchangeable back plates that can reflect your mood or dress. They’ll even be rolling out an easy-to-use engine for making your own customized back plate. It is pretty ingenious and definitely worth a look. So here’s what Bodyguardz has to say about it. Three piece case with interchangeable sides, bottom and back. Base available in gloss white and matte black. Multiple colors and designs available…

News & Features January 25, 2012

Ubuntu’s HUD: A New Way to Use Your Linux Computer

Yesterday Ubuntu’s community manager, Jono Bacon put up a post calling for people to test their brand new idea for the Unity interface they currently use. They call it HUD. HUD will be included in the next relse of Ubuntu, version 12.04, code named “Precise Pangolin”. With HUD, you can do many different things like post to Twitter, Search your web history or find a drop down menu in Firefox or any other app. You can do some of this even if you don’t have that app loaded. Above is a video that shows you just what you can do…

News & Features January 25, 2012

Wait … Apple TV Is More Popular Than Roku?

There is always loads of data to mine in corporate earnings announcements, and yesterday’s Apple announcement is no different. Dan covered the highlights including iPhones, Macs, iPads and iPods … but I noticed a mention at GigaOM about AppleTV sales. Apparently AppleTV sold 1.4 million units during the last quarter. I really didn’t think too much about that because I am constantly reading about how more and more game consoles are serving as full-service home entertainment systems since they can run Netflix, Hulu and more. I also just assumed that Roku and other ‘set top boxes’ were dominating much like…

News & Features January 25, 2012

Appigo’s Notebooks for iPad, a Quick Look and Exclusive Interview

One of the companies that I got to know when I was writing for an iPhone review website was Appigo. Appigo released a task manager, ToDo shortly after the App Store went live and it has been a mainstay on my iOS devices ever since. Appigo is a small outfit that makes quality apps. They are relatively slow to release new products and, over the last few years have proven their commitment to quality and adding value to apps customers have already purchased. Some time after they released ToDo the company also released Appigo Notebook. It was a simple, easy…

News & Features January 25, 2012

Case-Mate Phantom First Impressions

I am hard on my phones. Really, really hard. Honestly, it is a miracle my iPhone is unscathed; by 4 months into owning my Droid it had gone down the stairs twice and out of my pocket multiple times. So far the iPhone has been lucky, but every time I slip it in my SPIbelt for a run or fiddle with it while walking the dog, I feel like I am tempting the smartphone destruction gods. So, as soon as Case-Mate’s Phantom arrived, fresh from Judie and Dan at CES, I slapped it on my phone. (Literally — I received it…

News & Features January 25, 2012

New Meme ‘2/10 Would Not Bang’ … C’mon, You Know Someone Like That! [NSFW-ish]

One of my best friends from childhood who ended up transferring into my college and joining my fraternity was excellent at finding a dozen reasons why ANY girl, no matter how wonderful or smart or funny or beautiful, was fatally flawed. So I laughed out loud when my older son shared this with us last night, and immediately my wife and I called out that same person’s name! Apparently this meme is becoming ‘a thing’, and over at Uproxx they have a slideshow of a number of beautiful women with tiny or imagined or potentially paranoid ‘flaws’ pointed out. Here…

News & Features January 24, 2012

Apple By the Numbers… Wow… Simply Wow.

In case you missed it, Apple is doing well. (Okay, ridiculously understated and then some.) Yes, Apple reported revenue of over $46 billion and saw its profit exceeded $13 billion for the quarter. That translates to $13.87 earnings per share. For comparison sake, at this time last year the company earned $26.74 billion, or $6.43 per share. Yeah, wow. ‘Nuff said. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook was positive but also a bit understated in saying We’re thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads, and Macs,”. “Apple’s momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products…