It’s no secret that if you live or work in an area that isn’t in the middle of a strong cellular coverage zone, your mobile phone signal is going to suffer. That’s one of the things I knew I would have to deal with when I moved to the ranch, but I wasn’t about to let it be the deciding factor.
Update: This contest is now closed, and the winner has been announced on Facebook. Thank you for playing, and keep an eye out for more Gear Diary giveaways! =) Whether it is via AirPlay or through my Sonos system, I’m into wireless music these days. I love not having to physically dock a device in order to get the music flowing. More than that, I love being able to keep my device with me and then, regardless of where I am in the house, change the track or the volume. The problem is that the least expensive Sonos speaker component…
One of my students asked to interview me the other day. He’s writing a school paper on why Apple is so successful, and his mother suggested that with my “Apple obsession” I might be a good person with whom to speak. She’s actually right, since I am, in many ways, the poster child for what Apple has done during the past few years. You see, I never thought I would use a Mac. In fact, when I met Elana she was in art school and was using a Mac. It was only when her computer died that I convinced her…
The Nintendo Wii exclusive game Rhythm Heaven Fever challenges essential gaming reflexes as well as your musical rhythm.
If you are anything like me, there is plenty of gear that you carry everyday. All of this stuff may not be used daily, but it has to be available since you never know. I am totally guilty of carrying too much stuff with me back and forth from work or on trips. With that said, carrying the gear is an important task. My favorite choice of bags is always a laptop backpack. Maybe it is the fact that I spend the majority of my time at a school so backpacks are everywhere or maybe I just like the way…
This morning I was feeling great after we got a lot of outdoor time and exercise due to the unseasonably warm weather this weekend, and I really pushed myself on my morning jog (based on my speed I can’t bring myself to call it a ‘run’), and so by the time I got home I was really winded. I checked my heart rate to be sure I was in my normal range before doing my indoor workout. Imagine if I could just check my heart rate anywhere I went using my smartphone and just having it look at my face!…
We all know that iOS is not the king of customization, but sometimes a little change is a breath of fresh air. I have been through the jailbreak stage with plenty of themes and fancy alternate icons, each time causing my phone to become deathly slow. About the only way iOS users can set their devices apart is through custom lock screens and backgrounds. It is fun to have some pictures of my kids or a cool Apple background, but it still is not exactly custom. As I scoured the app store this week I came across a little gem…
In it’s first month of availability, Vintage Camera, a simple, straightforward photography app, was downloaded by more than 3 million users and was one of the most downloaded free apps during the holiday season. Vintage Camera, developed by Presselite, is available for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and requires iOS 4.0 and later. It is offered as a free download in base form with the professional version priced at just 99 cents in the Apple App Store. Vintage Camera, now in version 1.2, utilizes a square format for image capture and offers choice of after effects the user can…
Want more for your money? This arena-based, futuristic first-person shooter game, which was originally free, has now been remade for Xbox Live Arcade and is now available for 800 MS points.
I have had some ups and downs with the Treasure Seekers series – the first game was fun, the second I criticized for lacking direction, and I loved the third game on all levels. So how will the latest entry fare? Let’s take a look!
When it comes to making a great gaming mouse, only one thing matters: precision. Precision and feel. OK, so I am not going to continue the ‘Spanish Inquisition’ line, but suffice to say that unlike just a few years ago there are many hurdles to making a successful gaming mouse. Let’s see how Raptor did! The Hype: The optical sensor of the M3 operates with precision accuracy at ultra-fast speeds up to 500Hz and 1600 dpi, and the dpi settings can be adjusted to 3 different levels: 400 dpi, 800 dpi, and 1600 dpi. The extra large Teflon mouse sliders…
I am still finishing up my dual review of The Bard’s Tale – I had been working through the PC game for a retrospective review when the iOS version launched, so I have now completed both! But the game just got a HUGE update that makes it a more compelling buy than ever – and trust me, it is already a great game! Here are the notes from the update: New Features: • Includes the original classic game The Bard’s Tale I: Tales of the Unknown! • Earn free gold through TapJoy offers! Spend gold on in-app-purchases, or buy in-game…
The other day we looked at one of two DBest speaker sets I have been using for the past week and a half. Here’s what DBest has to say about their products: The most important thing in music are not the lyrics, but the way of receiving. The way music is transferred determines how much we like our music. To be short: the better the quality of our speakers, the better we can enjoy music! DBest speakers provide premium sound quality that is considered the finest in the world. This way they can give you maximum pleasure listening to your…
The Knack – Get The Knack As a disclaimer, this album isn’t actually ‘mine’ – or at least I didn’t buy it. My brother grabbed it back in 1979 and it got heavy play from him that I honestly have a hard time separating which songs were actually popular on radio. When my parents were getting ready to move out of the first house they had bought when were just little kids and move south, they packed up all of my large record collection and I grabbed it in boxes and bags and moved it into a closet in our…
We reviewed the Skullcandy Fix In-Ear last summer. (Read the full review.) The $69.99 earbuds sound quite good and I continue to enjoy using them. The company happens to make earbuds in a variety of price-ranges and that includes the $19.99 Skullcandy Chop Buds. For under $20, though, how good can the things actually be? Add in the fact that these “sport” buds have a fairly rigid ear loop and it isn’t difficult to imagine that they are both uncomfortable AND mediocre. BUT are they? Read on.
Michael posted about the NSA’s version of Android complete with its own app store. Well, the NSA is not the only government agency looking at bringing out their own version of an open source product. The Department of Defense has one too in the form of a über lightweight version of Linux called Lightweight Portable Security or LPS Linux. I created a virtual machine using Virtual Box intending on doing an install, but LPS Linux is a live Linux distribution. That means, you either burn the freely downloadable image to a CD or you make your own bootable USB drive…
Recently I reviewed Virtual City for the Kindle Fire, finding it the first mis-step in the franchise for me – while the content was there, the performance was laggy on my Kindle Fire even compared to the normal Android version. Since I had loved the Android version of Virtual City Playground, my big concern was that Virtual City playground would suffer the same fate – so let me assure you that it does NOT. Virtual City Playground brings the full Virtual City experience, and is a pleasure to play! Let’s take a look! The Hype: Virtual City Playground allows you…
; We reviewed the LifeProof case for the iPhone 4 and 4S a short while ago. (You can read the full review here.) The LifeProof case is intended for people who lead a busy, often rugged, life. After all, it is water, crush, dust and… life proof. (It is, however, thin and light enough for any and everyone to use.) Since it is perfect for a variety of activities it only makes sense that the company would offer a number of different cradles for keeping the case… and your iPhone… safe and secure. Here’s a video look at three of…
Since getting my JawBone JamBox some months ago I’ve had a “thing” for small Bluetooth speakers. Most recently I’ve been using two offerings from DBest. Here’s what DBest has to say about their products: The most important thing in music are not the lyrics, but the way of recieving. The way music is transferred determines how much we like our music. To be short: the better the quality of our speakers, the better we can enjoy music! DBest speakers provide premium sound quality that is considered the finest in the world. This way they can give you maximum pleasure listening…
The phrase ‘going postal’ has become such an entrenched part of our cultural identity that it faces the possibility of losing any real meaning. Case in point: my son mentioned that his best friend’s girlfriend had broken up with him, and he ‘totally went postal’ in the locker room – which to him just meant that he flipped out. But for those of us who have been around longer, the phrase has a more specific meaning tied to workplace violence in which someone unleashes a murderous rampage. It started in the mid-1980s in a string of Post Office shootings, but…
I am sure, like me, few of you are ever without your phone. Basically, we have all come to rely on the ability to contact each other 24 hours a day. Texting is probably the easiest since a quick message can easily be sent with the understanding that the receiver will answer at fist convenience. Sometimes a text just does not convey a message that requires a certain tone. A small group of my hunting buddies like to communicate via voice messages. It is not always convenient to call and leave the message, so we rely on phone apps. After…