News & Features

First Look: The Omega Constellation Time Computer I Takes Horology to a Whole New Level

Gear Bits, News & Features April 1, 2011

First Look: The Omega Constellation Time Computer I Takes Horology to a Whole New Level

It just doesn’t get any better than this! Geeks and Watch aficionados alike have been eagerly waiting the Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology found in the Omega Time Computer, and it is finally here — just in time for Father’s Day and graduation! Available in 14K white or yellow gold-filled, or 18K solid gold for those who want the very best, the Omega Constellation LED Time Computer I has a gorgeous and futuristic red LED dot display, and it is accurate to within five seconds a month. What is an LED and how does it work inside this watch? A…

Exclusive: Fire Goes Mobile! This is Hot!

Gear Bits, News & Features April 1, 2011

Exclusive: Fire Goes Mobile! This is Hot!

Fire! It cooks our food and warms our caves. Fire! It keeps the predators away and let’s us see when the flaming ball of light goes away for a time. Fire! It can be hard to start and, once going, an ever-present job to keep stoked. Fire! We don’t want to live without it but living with it can be a pain. Until now! Yes, for the first time starting a fire is as simple as rubbing one magic stick on a piece of black paper. It is magical. It is revolutionary. It is the most important advance since flint….

First Look: I-Mate JAM Pocket PC

Gear Bits, News & Features April 1, 2011

First Look: I-Mate JAM Pocket PC

I have seen the future of mobile phones and it comes from… Dubai!?!? Yes, this phone comes from the up-and-comer I-mate, a company that is set to take the mobile world by storm and promises to be on top for decades to come. When I first took the Jam out of the box I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking at. Is it a big phone or is it a small computer? Well, in actuality it is both. The i-mate™ JAM is the smallest Windows Pocket PC available. It includes GPRS for Internet or remote office access, and features…

New Calculator, "The Abacus" Announced!

News & Features April 1, 2011

New Calculator, “The Abacus” Announced!

It never fails. You’re taking the lunch order for your office, and everything is fine until the total runs past $20. Suddenly you can’t just use YOUR fingers and toes, now you need to include your coworker’s dirty feet too. And who wants to be near that many stinky toes right before lunch? Luckily, a non-fingers and toes based calculator has been announced, the “Abacus”. Way more portable than a stone slate, and you can even customize with multiple colors! Support your favorite March Madness team as you add! Check out the link below for some more information, and then…

Substrata Takes Wooden Cases to a Higher Level

News & Features March 31, 2011

Substrata Takes Wooden Cases to a Higher Level

Substrata is about to release one of the prettiest wooden cases I’ve yet seen; this one is not for the iPhone 4 however, it’s for the iPad. I’ve gotta tell you — I’m a fan! Substrata is releasing six new cases for the iPad 2, all handmade at our shop in Portland, Oregon. We have an update of our original iPad case design, revised for the iPad 2 and two entirely new designs heading into production now. We are taking orders, and our first batches of cases will finish up production near the end of April for shipping in early…

Help Define SMB Purchasing Habits and You May Win a ThinkCentre M75e Desktop Plus Two 19’’ Monitors

News & Features March 31, 2011

Help Define SMB Purchasing Habits and You May Win a ThinkCentre M75e Desktop Plus Two 19’’ Monitors

photo credit: spike55151 If you don’t mind filling out a simple online survey form, then you may be rewarded with a ThinkCentre M75e desktop plus two 19’’ monitors for your time! Ivy Worldwide is gathering information on small and medium-sized businesses’ technology purchasing habits. This is the second SMB survey that they have conducted, and this time the goal is to gain a “deeper insight not just into what information sources are important to SMBs, but also what triggers the action of purchasing (or not) once a potential buyer is feels him/herself to be well informed about a product or…

Adventures in Customer Service- Apple and Spilled Crystal Light Edition

Editorials, News & Features March 30, 2011

Adventures in Customer Service- Apple and Spilled Crystal Light Edition

I thought of a number of different titles for this post. One was: “No Use Crying Over Spilled Lemonaide”. Another was “MacBook Airs and Crystal Light Do Not Mix”. Another was “Apple, I’m Sorry for all the Nasty Things I Have Said and Thought” Then there was “I’m an Idiot” Eventually I settled on simply using “Adventures in Customer Service- Apple and Spilled Crystal Light Edition”. Here’s my story. I did not have a good morning. I woke up not feeling particularly great and immediately had a number of phone calls with people who are in the midst of challenging…

iPad Accessory News: Joule Chroma iPad Stand for iPad and iPad 2

News & Features March 30, 2011

iPad Accessory News: Joule Chroma iPad Stand for iPad and iPad 2

Of all the stands for the original iPad, Element Case’s Joule stands out as the simplest but most aesthetically pleasing iPad stand we reviewed. Here’s what I had to say about the original version: So what do I think of the Joule? I love it. It is beautifully made and remarkably useful. It is simple yet functional. When the iPad is not inside its low profile means it won’t take up much space AND it looks good. The three angles provided by the various cuts in the back let you have your iPad at the perfect angle for whatever use you…

Random Cool Flowchart: How to Have a Rational Discussion

News & Features March 28, 2011

Random Cool Flowchart: How to Have a Rational Discussion

If you put on any so-called ‘discussion’ show over the last decade or so you would have heard a level of discourse that sounds like you put two people with opposing views in recording chambers and told them to state their case without supporting data other than the other side are idiots, pretend to listen for 30 seconds occasionally and then talk over the other person saying pretty much that they are an idiot with idiotic ideas but that is what you’d expect from such idiotic people. In other words, whatever avenues for thoughtful discourse existed when I was younger…

iOS 5.0 Release Pushed Back to Fall? Just Proves Apple Still "Thinks Different"

News & Features March 27, 2011

iOS 5.0 Release Pushed Back to Fall? Just Proves Apple Still “Thinks Different”

The blogosphere was buzzing yesterday when word came that Apple might hold off on releasing iOS 5.0 until the fall. What does this mean? Why would Apple break such a long tradition that goes all the way to… January 9, 2007. Okay so maybe it is not such a long-standing tradition, but you know what they say: “Do it once it is innovative; Do it twice and it is redundant; Do it a third time and it is a tradition.” By now an annual hardware and OS update is a TRADITION. Why would Apple mess with tradition? But it is…

Google Plays "Hide the Honeycomb"

News & Features March 25, 2011

Google Plays “Hide the Honeycomb”

I am not a developer or a computer science person, so everything beyond the basic user experience is sort of like magic to me. But even as a former philosophy major, I know there’s a huge number of people out there who spend unpaid hours digging through Android’s guts to provide more services and software to the average user. And that much of that is thanks to Google being committed to open source and sharing Android with the world. Or it was… According to BusinessWeek, Google is holding back from sharing the full source code for Honeycomb with everyone who…

iPad App Update: Evernote App Update Brings Snapshot Notes to iPad 2

News & Features March 24, 2011

iPad App Update: Evernote App Update Brings Snapshot Notes to iPad 2

I have to say that I’m finding more use for the cameras on the iPad 2 than I expected. More than anything I’m glad to now have the same functionality across all my iOS devices. That means I don’t have to think about which device I want to use for which task. If I can do something on my iPhone I can do it on my iPod touch. If I can do it on my iPod touch I can now do it on my iPad. And, thanks to an update to Evernote’s iOS app that is more true than ever….

Random Cool Video: Someone at 'Secret Life' Lost the Thread ...

News & Features March 24, 2011

Random Cool Video: Someone at ‘Secret Life’ Lost the Thread …

When the show ‘Secret Life of the American Teenager’ debuted in the summer of 2008, it presented viewers with an intriguing scenario: a 15-year old incoming high school freshman got pregnant her first time having sex when she was at summer band camp, being seduced by an older boy who had a ‘bad boy’ reputation. The show’s first season addressed how everyone involved, from family and friends to the girl and boy, dealt with the issues of teen sex and pregnancy. For my wife and I, it was a great way to share a ‘question raising’ experience with our tween…

Going Bananas for Banana TV

News & Features March 21, 2011

Going Bananas for Banana TV

Apple’s AirPlay is getting a lot of use in our home these days. I have a number of Airport Express units around the house and each is attached to a set of speakers. With them I can now start music playing anywhere I want from any iOS device by simply starting the music and selecting that room’s AirPort Express from the AirPlay menu. It is simple, it is quick and it makes great use of our WiFi network. That’s why I jumped at the chance to buy the new program, Banana TV. What is Banana TV, and why am I…

Ways to Help Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Victims: Jawbone & John Zorn Relief Efforts

News & Features March 20, 2011

Ways to Help Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Victims: Jawbone & John Zorn Relief Efforts

Everyone shares the pain and difficulty of the people of Japan dealing with the horrible tragedy, and many of us look for ways to help out in whatever way possible. Judie wrote about some ways to help, I mentioned some here and here and here and here, and more ideas keep pouring in every day! Here are a couple more of the latest! First off, Jawbone – whose Icon bluetooth headset I use every day – is providing $50 for every Red Dot JAMBOX bought between now and April 15th. But you need to purchase it on Jawbone.com for the…

Antec Enters the Home Audio Business with SoundScience rockus 3D | 2.1 Speaker System

News & Features March 18, 2011

Antec Enters the Home Audio Business with SoundScience rockus 3D | 2.1 Speaker System

3D TV is all the rage right now but what about 3D sound? That’s where Antec’s new SoundScience ruckus 3D/2.1 speaker system comes in. The rockus™ 3D | 2.1 speaker system creates a personal home theater experience that brings the power and realism of 3D audio together with the clarity and accuracy of high-fidelity music.  3Dsst™, soundscience’s 3D technology, actively analyzes incoming stereo audio signals and intelligently places them into a 3D sound field. The results are a personal theater experience with realistic, immersive 3D sound for your movies and games from 2.1 speakers – whether it’s the impact of…

One Month Later, Verizon Owns 12% of the iPhone Market

News & Features March 16, 2011

One Month Later, Verizon Owns 12% of the iPhone Market

Last month I wrote about a new tracker that shows the comparative data used by the iPhone on Verizon and AT&T and uses that as a comparison for the number of active phones. The initial data set was likely skewed by the ‘new user effect’ of folks over-using their data plan as they signed up for the new Verizon iPhone. A month later, however, it is clear that regardless of non-existent retail lines at launch, there have been HUGE Verizon iPhone sales, and folks are making great use of those phones. The latest data shows Verizon with a greater than…

Kobo's "Spin to Win" Contest

News & Features March 15, 2011

Kobo’s “Spin to Win” Contest

The good folks at Kobo LOVE contests. It seems every month they have a new promotion out there, and they clearly have fun making each one more interesting than just clicking a link. This time it’s a spin-the-wheel type contest like at the Jersey shore, but without the grease and Axe Body Spray odor. You can win everything from discount coupons to ebook readers to the chance at staying in a super-nice hotel. Sure beats just clicking “like” on a Facebook page! Here are the full details from Kobo’s blog, and you can enter daily through March 20th. Good luck,…

U-Bar- Mounts Your iPad 2 on the Wall and a Whole Lot More

News & Features March 15, 2011

U-Bar- Mounts Your iPad 2 on the Wall and a Whole Lot More

One of the reasons I considered keeping my first generation iPad now that I have an iPad 2 in hand is the fact that I have a host of different methods for securing the original iPad to the wall, on my treadmill and more. The range of accessories I have at my disposal for the first generation device add a tremendous degree of useful functionality to it. While I have no doubt the same options will be available for the iPad 2 they currently aren’t on the market. No surprise since the new version only became available last week. Well,…

Apple's iPad 2's Camera Placement and Software Features Show Apple Still "Thinks Different"

News & Features March 11, 2011

Apple’s iPad 2’s Camera Placement and Software Features Show Apple Still “Thinks Different”

(image courtesy of Apple) Apple’s iPad 2 adds new hardware, including a front and back camera. What is interesting is the difference in where and how their front facing camera works, compared with other upcoming tablet offerings. Apple, in typical Apple fashion, was “thinking different”. Rumors that Apple would be adding front and back camera to the iPad 2 were circulating for months, and now we know it is true. Apple almost had to put both cameras in, as all other tablet manufacturers are putting them in. It’s essentially become a “required” feature. So, what makes Apple’s approach so different…