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Reviews January 27, 2012

Incipio M&M’s feather Case for iPhone 4S Review

Aren’t these just the cutest iPhone 4S cases EVER!?!?! These are the Incipio M&M’s feather cases and they are more than just a tasty-looking way to protect your iPhone. The cases are based on Incipio’s popular feather line of cases. The feather is “Incipio’s answer for a low-profile protective cover. Measuring approximately 1mm in thickness, the feather is our slimmest case, offering sleek protection without the added bulk of traditional cases.” Read on for a closer look and a chance to win one!

Game Diary, Reviews January 27, 2012

Spirit of Wandering – the Legend, HD iPad Game Review

I was still warm in the afterglow of the awesome iOS game ‘Letters from Nowhere’ from G5 Games when I started another hidden object game from G5 Games called Spirit of Wandering. Given the innovative style of the former game, I really didn’t expect Spirit of Wandering – a stock standard hidden object adventure – to live up. Let’s see how it did! The Hype: Sail the seas with a pirate captain in search of her missing love in this adventurous, hidden-object quest! After an attack by the Flying Dutchman, the crew of the Spirit of Wandering and captain’s companion,…

Reviews January 27, 2012

vlock Video Clock for iPhone/iPad: Watch Videos and Time Go By!

Back in the ’70s and ’80s there used to be a series of commercials for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups that featured a person with a chocolate candy bar and another with an open container of peanut butter. The inevitable collision of the two oblivious eaters resulted in them exclaiming “You got your peanut butter in my chocolate!” and “You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!” resulting in the product slogan “Two great tastes that taste great together.” That’s what came to mind as I played with vlock (v. 5.1) from XVision. There are a number of clock apps available…

Reviews January 26, 2012

iTunes App Store App Review; PDF Forms Impresses!

We’ve come a long way since Thomas published his amazing post How To View PDF Files on an iPad. Now you can’t just view them but you can edit and manipulate them too. There are a few options in the iTunes App Store for editing PDFs and a new one was just announced. PDF Forms lets you sign a document, add text, highlight text, surround text and images and more. This was just going to be a news post until I actually tried the app.

Reviews January 23, 2012

The Phosphor Appear Rose Gold Crystal Watch with Clear Nylon Bracelet Review

I reviewed the red Phosphor Appear last year, and I had so much fun with it that I bought one in black. Recently Phosphor began combining their popular Appear watches with nylon bracelet wristbands, and the result has been a bit of a transformation. Before, the Appear relied upon a leather wristband that had to be bucked — in my case on the last hole; now there is a lightweight and fashionable bracelet which can be sized (by removing individual links) to perfectly fit even the smallest wrists. The bracelet Appear features a modern, fashionable resin band finished with a metal deployment…

Events, Reviews January 20, 2012

Sony Bloggie Live at Hoover Dam, a Video Demo

Image taken with the Bloggie Live Judie received a Bloggie Live video recorder last week at CES and we brought it along with us to take some images and video while at Hoover Dam. As the video demonstrates, this diminutive Bloggie Live takes some amazing video and is incredibly easy to use.

Events, Reviews, Yum Log January 20, 2012

Happy Hour Bottoms Up Timepiece and Opener- A Gear Diary Video Look

Right before we left for CES we received a review sample of the Happy Hour Bottoms Up Timepiece. The Bottoms Up is a nice-quality watch with a large, impressive face, a wide, comfortable band and… a bit of a surprise. Here’s a look with a video that will make clear what is special about this watch.

Game Diary, Reviews January 19, 2012

Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky PSP Game Review

I often say that I don’t play my PSP nearly as much as I used to, and don’t touch my DSi at all anymore. Recently that changed with the PSN release of Final Fantasy VI (which I will be reviewing soon). Before playing that game I needed to clear out some storage space on my PSP Go and wound up starting to play The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky gain. I had played the UMD version of the game and reviewed it elsewhere when it came out nearly a year ago, and subsequently bought the PSN version ……

Game Diary, Reviews January 19, 2012

Letters From Nowhere iPad Game Review

How much did I like the new iOS game ‘Letters from Nowhere’ from G5 Games? Enough that after the cliff-hanger ending I immediately went to Big Fish games and grabbed the Mac version of Letters From Nowhere 2! Let’s dig right in! The Hype: Mysterious letters and a sudden disappearance keep you on your toes in this Hidden Object journey that is filled with unexpected twists and turns. When Audrey learns of her husband’s disappearance, she struggles to keep hope alive. She has all but given up when mysterious letters begin arriving at her doorstep. Plunge into this dramatic story,…

Music Diary, Reviews January 16, 2012

Vinyl Re-Visions: The Who – Who Are You (Rock, 1978)

The Who – Who Are You OK, so I admit that I am cheating here – Who Are You is available on CD, and in fact I have owned it on CD for more than 25 years. But let me explain – I bought this album in 1979 after Keith Moon had died and I had seen ‘The Kids Are Alright’ for the second time in theaters. At the time The Who were really popular on rock radio, and actually there was a special cut of Who Are You for AM radio which asked ‘Who the heck are you’? But…

Game Diary, Reviews January 15, 2012

Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World iPad Game Review

From the moment I started playing Kaptain Brawe I felt as though I was transported back in time to the days of the classic LucasArts adventures such as Sam & Max and Grim Fandango … but with excellent graphics and great touch controls! Let’s take a look! The Hype: Step into this whimsical point-and-click interstellar adventure and see what it takes to be a real Space Police officer! In this alternate reality, get ready to embark on a journey filled with quests, conspiracies and general chaos. You will have to step into the shoes of the brave Kaptain Brawe and…

Game Diary, Reviews January 14, 2012

The Magician’s Handbook: Cursed Valley for iPad Review

Hidden object adventures continue to evolve on the iPad, with PC games being ported that are more complex, more interesting and have better stories. The latest one to try to capture iPad gamer’s interest is the Magician’s Handbook. Let’s see how it does! The Hype: Remove the evil curse in this captivating adventure by finding hidden objects in the dark and mysterious Cursed Valley! The fabled “Magician’s Handbook” has fallen into your hands. You are beckoned to a dark and desolate place whose true name has long been forgotten. Search beautiful, hand-painted backgrounds for cleverly- hidden enchanted objects. Use special…

Game Diary, Reviews January 13, 2012

Neverwinter Nights 2 for the Mac (App Store Version)

Neverwinter Nights 2 (NWN2) arrived late in 2006 on the PC, and the Mac version took about sixteen months longer to arrive on Mac OS X. In fact, the first expansion for the PC game arrived before the Mac port, but unlike the expansions for the original Neverwinter Nights there is not a simple way to get ‘Mask of the Betrayer’ (or ‘Storm of Zehir’ or the ‘Mysteries of Westgate’ adventure pack) running on your Mac. I had thoroughly enjoyed the PC version of NWN2 when it was released, declaring it the best RPG of 2006 over Oblivion and Gothic…

Game Diary, Reviews January 10, 2012

Tiny Token Empires iPad Game Review

I reviewed Tiny Token Empires on the Mac a couple of months ago, and found it a wonderful game that easily earned its $25 price tag. Now it has moved to the iPad and after a chance to play it through again, I can confirm that it is well worth the $9 price of admission. Let’s take a look! The Hype: Tiny Token Empires is an amazing mix-it’s a puzzle game, « Match 3 » game and turn-based strategy game. The player plays one of the five major ancient empires: Rome, Greece, Egypt, Persia, or Carthage. By developing cities and…

News & Features, Reviews January 9, 2012

iMainGoXP iPad Speaker Case Review

I have been fairly happy with the quality and volume of the speakers in my iPad 2, but I wouldn’t begin to pretend that they can fill a room or substitute for an external speaker system. I will typically hook up to a home setup somewhere in the house, something like the Orb Audio setup I recently reviewed. But that isn’t a portable solution, so when I got the chance to look at the iMainGo XP iPad speaker case I jumped at the offer! So let’s take a look and see how it performs! The Hype: iMainGo XP is an…

Game Diary, Reviews January 9, 2012

Special Enquiry Detail: The Hand that Feeds Mac Game Review

I already reviewed the iPad and Android versions of Special Enquiry Detail: The Hand that Feeds and absolutely loved it … now that the Mac version is out and I have played it, let’s take a look and see how it compares! The Hype: Try your hand at investigating a crime, crack the case and catch the criminal in this perplexing hidden-object game! Detectives Turino and Lamonte have been assigned to a new investigative unit: Special Enquiry Detail. Their first case is the shocking death of the daughter of wealthy benefactors. Under pressure from the Captain and the Mayor to…

Music Diary, News & Features, Reviews January 9, 2012

Vinyl Re-Visions: Steve Lacy – The Wire (Jazz, 1977)

Steve Lacy – The Wire When I first thought about doing a ‘Vinyl Revisions’ series, there were three records that came to mind: Anthony Braxton’s Five Pieces 1975, The Art Ensemble of Chicago’s Reese & The Smooth Ones, and this record. I already looked back at the Braxton record, and will soon finish my look at the AEC record, but both of those share something missing from this record – a digital release! That is right, Braxton’s record was released as part of a massive collection a few years ago, and the AEC record appeared for a very short time…

Reviews, Yum Log January 6, 2012

The SodaStream Home Soda Maker Overview and Review

Early this week preparations for CES went into high gear. I commented to the GD team that during the week a staple of my diet tends to be either sugar-free Red Bull or FiveHour Energy and that, upon arrival, I may buy a case of each. I also made an offhand comment that a box of FiveHour Energy is rather pricey. Bryan chimed in that he has a SodaStream and one of the available mixes is an energy concentrate. It would, he noted, be far more economical. Two days later I joined the ranks of the SodaStream users. Funny thing is,…

Reviews January 5, 2012

T-Mobile Nokia Lumia 710 Windows Phone Review

Nokia has long been one of my favorite hardware manufacturers because they consistently have devices with a better than usual build quality, their phones typically have strong radios, and they usually throw in a few excellent features not easily found elsewhere — like the built-in FM radio transmitters and Zeiss optics cameras many of their media phones sport. Like everyone else, I watched with interest when Nokia and Microsoft partnered up in February 2011; I wanted to see what types of designs these two titans would create, and I hoped that this would mean a bigger (and better) selection of Windows Phones from which consumers…

Reviews, Yum Log January 5, 2012

Blacktop 360 Portable Griddle/Grill/Fryer Review

When you first see the Blacktop 360 Portable Griddle/Grill/Fryer, it’s hard not to think it’s a gimmicky product. I mean it just screams “As Seen on TV” thanks to its claim to be the Swiss Army Knife of your tailgating needs with a propane grill top, a griddle for frying or warming and even a 20 oz. fryer basket. But upon further inspection, darned if it doesn’t live up to its motto, “Tailgating Turned up to 11.” Let’s take a closer look. First of all, if you order one of these via mail order, be prepared to tip the Fed…

Reviews January 5, 2012

The Drobo Data Storage System Review

Last fall I applied for and received a grant that will allow my synagogue to build a new technology lab. Within the next few months we will have a number of iMac desktop computers and a host of iPads being used by our kids and adults alike. In fact, I’m working on a special tutorial program for students becoming bar and bat mitzvah that will run on the iPad. It uses the awesome iOS application MentalCase. More on that at a later date. When I found out we were getting the grant, I reached out to a number of companies…