Reviews

Game Diary, Reviews April 15, 2011

Gear Games Review: Desktop Dungeons

What are you doing for lunch? How about playing a great dungeon crawl game (aka a ‘rogue-like’)? That is exactly what Desktop Dungeons promises … but can the free game deliver? The Hype: Fight your way through a fantasy dungeon in 10 minutes or less Classic roguelike play re-imagined as a single-screen puzzle game Unlock loads of classes, races and challenge dungeons for awesome replayability Online leaderboard allows you to compare yourself against other players Deep, challenging, randomly-generated gameplay The Reality: When you first start Desktop Dungeons, you are presented with the simple screen below. You can choose your race,…

Reviews April 14, 2011

Review: BlueAnt S3 Compact BlueTooth Speakerphone

One of the more interesting Bluetooth accessory manufacturers that I’ve encountered over the last year is BlueAnt. I wasn’t all that familiar with the company until the fall, but they have been making some impressive moves with regard to product design and innovation, and I’ve been quite impressed with their offerings. Currently their portfolio includes car speakerphones, the S3 and S4, with the S3 being the lower end of the two. Lower end does not, however, mean “not awesome”, since both speakerphones have impressed me quite a bit. Today we are going to look at the S3 and then follow-up…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear April 13, 2011

2011 Volkswagen Grand Caravan … or is it the Chrysler Routan?

Oops! … I did it again. I played with your heart. Got lost in the game. As the Brittany Spears song lyrics above suggest, someone “did it again.” Volkswagen. Once again they raise my ire as they deliver a minivan model “imported from Detroit” … literally. I am speaking of the Routan/Grand Caravan. When they first launched Routan a few years back I expressed in words that my opinion of the brand slapping their badge on someone else’s work was not winning any accolades from me. To be fair, this is a very good minivan and ALL the credit goes…

Reviews April 12, 2011

The Swingline Stack-and-Shred Cross Cut Shredder Review

This is my husband’s and my pile of things that needed to be shredded; it started in a drawer, was moved to a shelf, and eventually ended up in a bag under our bed. What’s in it? Everything from those “convenience” checks that credit card companies seem to think we can’t live without, to credit card applications that simply need a signature and mail-back to be approved, to health insurance settlement statements, to all those bit of paper that have numbers, names, addresses and other information that get scribbled down when we are trying to be efficient. Why were we…

Game Diary, Reviews April 12, 2011

iAssociate 2 Review

When iAssociate came out on the IOS, I played through it and enjoyed the game. Some of my students recently asked if I was playing iAssociate2. I had not been playing and decided to download the free application. The next thing I know, I am trying to figure out word associations literally every spare moment I have. In fact, the game has become somewhat of an infatuation with the students. It is not rare to be sitting in class or walking down the hall and hearing “What is a 7 letter word that goes with crazy, insane and mad?” I…

Reviews April 11, 2011

Retrospective Review: Revisting WebOS and the Palm Pixi Plus

With the upcoming HP WebOS tablet and Pre 3 smartphone featuring great-looking features such as touch-sync, it is interesting to take another back at WebOS as it exists today. Recently I came upon a nearly free deal for a no-contract 8GB Palm Pixi Plus which I was easily able to activate on Verizon to test. I used the Pixi as my sole phone for two weeks, enough to develop some things I loved about the phone and WebOS … and some things I didn’t like so much! The Hype: The thinnest Palm mobile phone yet, the Palm Pixi Plus for…

Game Diary, Reviews April 11, 2011

PC Game Review: Magicka

Humor is something we see way too little of in games – it seems every new release is dark and gritty and full of epic seriousness. Not so with Magicka, a game that looks like a classic RPG but plays more like an action-adventure – and takes nothing seriously from start to end! But does it end up like the great TellTale adventure games, or the unfortunate Bard’s Tale remake? Let’s take a look and find out! The Hype: Magicka is a satirical action-adventure game set in a rich fantasy world based on Norse mythology. The player assumes the role…

Reviews April 11, 2011

iPad App Review: Swapsies

I am slowly warming up to having my two boys, ages 3 and 6 use my iPad. It is not that they cannot understand how it works, but that I see all of the things they tear up and choose for my gear not to be one of those items. The iPad has proven to be a wonderful tool for children with the number of learning apps and games. I recently had the opportunity to review Swapsies using my sons as my trusty sidekick reviewers. Let’s see what they thought. Swapsies is a matching game app for kids three years…

Reviews April 10, 2011

Ecamm Printopia for Mac Brings AirPrint Capability to iOS Users with Older Printers

When Apple announced AirPrint for iOS devices, I could almost see Steve Jobs’ point about the “post-PC era”. Being able to print from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch (newer devices with iOS 4.2 or later) wirelessly sounded great. Indeed, Google’s Cloud Print functionality for their Chrome browsers works in a similar fashion. But then I found out how limited the supported list of printers was. Heck, even those of us with Apple Airport Extreme wireless routers that have attached printers could not use AirPrint: AirPrint only works with a network connection to an AirPrint-capable printer. A printer connected to…

Reviews April 8, 2011

Review: Tekkeon TekCharge MP1860A Dual Port Power Pack

Of all the commercials that Apple has run the one that ticked me off the most involved the iPhone 4 and its battery life. Yes, Apple ran an ad telling us how amazing the battery life of the iPhone 4 is and, while it is BETTER than other phones there really is no smartphone I have used that I would say has “great” battery life. That is the reason I still need to carry an external battery with me wherever I go. There are many out there but the one I am currently carrying comes from Tekkeon and I am…

Reviews April 8, 2011

Review: Magellan Premium Car Kit and iOS App for iPhone and iPod touch

My iPhone makes a great portable GPS system. This is particularly important because my car does not have a built-in GPS system, and my daily work has me going to a variety of locations with which I am not always familiar. Using the iPhone as a GPS works rather well for the most part. It starts up in GPS mode rather quickly, locks in on satellites fairly efficiently and does quite a good job of holding the signal once it does. There are a few significant shortcomings however. Chief among them is the impact using the GPS on the iPhone…

Game Diary, Reviews April 8, 2011

Game System Review: Nintendo 3DS: Part 1

The Nintendo 3DS handheld game console offers immense features, clamshell-like design, customization, options and exploration to keep gamers busy until the upcoming online feature update in late May 2011.

Game Diary, Reviews April 8, 2011

Gear Games Review: Atari’s Greatest Hits … and You Thought It Was Just an April Fools Joke!

Just last week I posted a nice review of the Pong home entertainment system … and everyone thought it was a joke! But not Atari – they just released a new game called ‘Atari’s Greatest Hits’ on the iTunes App Store. But is it any good? The Hype: Atari’s Greatest Hits brings the best of retro gaming to iOS with 100 Classic Atari Games. This suite brings you the hottest Arcade and 2600 titles from Atari. For those who love the classic gaming experience this handheld breakthrough is sure to guarantee hours of fun. What we feature is: • 18…

Game Diary, Reviews April 7, 2011

HellOut!-Volcano Adventures for iPhone/Touch

I started checking out this game searching for my Blue Plate Special app and was not sure if it could make the grade, but after a few minutes of playing I started getting hooked and found myself trying to beat more and more levels. HellOut!-Volcano Adventure reinforces my theory that simple, fun game play along with easy controls makes for an enjoyable IOS playing experience. Let’s take a look. The idea of this game is quite simple, but conquering it has proven to be another story. Your job is to guide a small dragon up to the top of the…

Gear Bits, Reviews April 7, 2011

FireFox 4 for Mac – Not Quite There Review

I have been playing around with FireFox 4 for the Mac, since I absolutely adore the Windows version and it has replaced Chrome on my main PCs. My experience hasn’t been all that great – I tend to run loads of things all at once on my Mac and have found the performance … lacking. Turns out I am not alone, as a new review from Macworld shows that while FireFox 4 is much better than the last version, it still lags Safari and Chrome in terms of key performance. Here are a few graphs they shared: I highlighted my…

Reviews April 6, 2011

Review: Amplicom US PowerTel 601 Wrist Shaker Offers Room to Roam

Hearing loss is something many of us never think about, yet at some point in our lives we will either experience it or know someone who does. For me, it’s my father-in-law as he uses a hearing aid these days (although we think he turns it down quite often to tune some of us out). Amplicom USA is addressing hearing loss issues through technology in their telephone products, both corded and cordless. They recently sent out a new product designed to expand the activity range of folks who are home-bound for fear of missing a phone call and being without…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear April 6, 2011

Ford Taurus Ready to Serve and Protect

Every time a certain co-worker logs on to a computer at work I see his wallpaper of a map of a special place called “The Dragon’s Tail.” “Hey, I’ve been there,” I tell him. “What kind of bike were you riding,” he queries. “Bike? We were testing the new Ford Taurus SHO – and it rocked.” Yes, add taming the Dragon’s Tail to the list of things the new Ford Taurus – in SHO trim – can do. It is also the next Police Interceptor sedan package. Will it work as the next workhorse for the men and women in…

Reviews April 5, 2011

System 76 Gazelle Professional Ubuntu Laptop Review

Even though I work in a technology field, not often do I get a chance to look at brand new technology right after it comes out. It is even rarer that companies choose to ship laptops with only Linux on them. Companies like Zareason and System 76 are making it easier and easier to get a system that runs Linux 100 percent with every single piece of the hardware working from day one. When System 76 offered to send a loaner of their brand new Gazelle Professional based on Intel’s new Sandy Bridge chipset, well I jumped at the chance!…

Reviews April 5, 2011

Review: Seagate GoFlex Slim Performance Drive

Judie’s and my first meeting at CES 2011 was with Seagate. (We posted about it here.) Toward the end of the visit we came upon a hard drive that was as stylish as it was function. At the time all we were allowed to write about it was this: Concept drive – We also saw a drive that is not yet named but will be out late spring (pictured above). The concept drive is super thin and will be $99.99 for 320. Black for PC. Silver for Mac. Also has premium backup for data security. This is an image of…

Reviews April 4, 2011

Review: PadTab iPad Mounting System

When the iPad 2 was released I went to put my original iPad 64GB + 3G on eBay. I was immediately presented with an option to sell it directly and, in the process, pay no shipping or fees. I loved the idea of not having to hassle with an auction and the possibility of being scammed so I accepted the offer. The transaction went through and I was sans iPad 1. My iPad 2 came and I love it. I still had some great accessories for the original iPad though and after a few days, realized I missed using them….

Reviews April 4, 2011

Desktop PC Review: Hewlett Packard HP Compaq 6000 Pro All-in-One

Recently I have reviewed the Hewlett-Packard (HP) Elitebook 8440w Mobile Workstation and the Elitebook 2540p, laptops with powerful Core i7 processors, solid graphics systems, a business focus, and a price tag higher than what a typical family would want to pay. So when I had the opportunity to look at an all-in-one system with a list price just over $1000, I was thrilled to get the opportunity – but a little concerned about what I might think about the lower-priced system. The Hype: Capable. Integrated. Designed with enterprise class performance, manageability, and stability in an integrated form. Get a desktop…

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