Reviews

iPad Game Review: Mystery of the Crystal Portal

Game Diary, Reviews

iPad Game Review: Mystery of the Crystal Portal

I had bought Mystery of the Crystal Portal for my iPad when I was heading out on vacation. While I was quite occupied with Puzzle Quest 2 on the DS, I love the occasional ‘hidden object’ game, and have been VERY happy with stuff from G5 games (like Mahjongg Artifacts) … so I figured I’d give it a try. When I came back I got a message from G5 noting that the game was being released as a PSP Mini and offering me a review copy, which I quickly accepted! I figured that I would be able to quickly decide…

PSP Mini Game Review: Mahjongg Artifacts Chapter 2

Game Diary, Reviews

PSP Mini Game Review: Mahjongg Artifacts Chapter 2

Not long ago I reviewed the recently released Mahjongg Artifacts, which was a sequel to one of the earliest PSP Minis, Mahjongg Artifacts Chapter 2. Recently Sony announced that more than 1 million PSP Minis had been downloaded worldwide … and guess what game was #8 on the ‘top ten most popular’ list? That’s right – Mahjongg Artifacts Chapter 2! So to celebrate that achievement the kind folks at G5 have provided us a review copy of their hit game. The Hype: Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2 is one of the most popular mahjong games on PC now available on PSP…

MyJobChart Web Site Review: A Fun Way To Track Kids' Chores

Reviews

MyJobChart Web Site Review: A Fun Way To Track Kids’ Chores

Anyone who is a parent knows the struggle of keeping your wonderful kiddos on top of their chores.  As the father of two young and arguably crazy boys, it seems that we could spend the entire day cleaning up their messes.  There are many strategies to getting the younglings to take care of their chores and I think I have tried them all.  The problem in my house is not getting the kids to help out but more of them cleaning up then dragging out a different room full of toys five minutes later.  They seem to not mind helping…

Speck PixelSkin HD - Review

Reviews

Speck PixelSkin HD – Review

My search for the “perfect” iPhone 4 case that strikes just the right balance between protecting my iPhone, reducing the chance of an antenna issue and maintaining the thin design of the handset has brought me to check out Speck’s new PixelSkin HD. Designed with their well-received PixelSkin cases in mind, the PixelSkin HD uses smaller “DPI” (read- smaller boxes in the design) and is made from a significantly harder material. From Speck- Patterns and textures can turn “plain” into absolutely fabulous. PixelSkin HD has a shiny polished back with matte pixel overlay, creating an eye catching, sophisticated, and modern…

Speck PixelSkin for iPad - Review

Reviews

Speck PixelSkin for iPad – Review

The folks at Speck keep rolling out new cases for the Apple iPad. This time around they sent a review unit of a case that uses their increasingly familiar pixel design and brings it to a skin that wraps the iPad in a thick protective layer shielding everything but the screen. Let’s take a look. From Speck: The tactile pixel texture and perfect amount of “squish” is what makes this rubberized iPad case so grippy in-hand and famously protective. Works great with our ShieldView screen films. When I first opened the case and took a look at it I talked…

Wowee One Portable Speaker Review

Reviews

Wowee One Portable Speaker Review

There is a constant issue I am on a quest to resolve.  With all of these wonderful mobile devices and streaming music etc, I have spent a lot of time listening to my media on what are, at best, sub-par speakers.  My iPhone, iPad and even MacBook Pro are all amazing devices, but none provide audio of acceptable quality.  I do have several speaker devices around the house that sound great but none of them are particularly mobile.  Recently the folks at Wowee One allowed me to review their new Gel Audio mobile speaker unit.  The company promises full range…

Ooma Telo, Handsets and Advanced Services- Review

Reviews

Ooma Telo, Handsets and Advanced Services- Review

I love my Ooma. I know, I know; when you hear the name you think of Letterman- “Oprah-Uma, Uma-Oprah”, but Ooma isn’t a comedy bit. No, Ooma is a phone service that lets you buy hardware once and then get unlimited calls within the US and low cost calls internationally for the life of the unit. I’ve written about Ooma before, and while at CES in January, I previewed some of their upcoming services. Now I’ve had a chance to use the Ooma Telo and new features in my own home, so let’s take a look. But be warned… there’s…

The Netbook Gamer: XIII (2003, FPS)

Game Diary, Reviews

The Netbook Gamer: XIII (2003, FPS)

Wait – wasn’t XIII called out specifically in this article a couple of months ago? Yep – but through perseverance I managed to get it uninstalled and re-installed and properly running … so naturally I played it again and am here – well, quite frankly I’m here to stop you from bothering! XIII is one of those milestone games that tells a good and bad tale from my gaming life. I was very interested in this game based on what it offered – a quality FPS presented in a stylistic graphic novel presentation with a compelling story of mystery and…

Graffiti One Comes to Android!

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Graffiti One Comes to Android!

If you were a Palm OS fan, you were probably a whiz with Graffiti, the shorthand text input system. In college, I took all my notes on my Palm M100, and I used Graffiti so much my pen and paper notes were in an unholy mix of print scrawl and Graffiti. So when I saw this morning that Access had released Graffiti (the famous, original, pre-lawsuit with Xerox version) for Android, I practically danced in my cubicle. It is everything I had hoped it would be and more! I was very skeptical at first since Graffiti is so stylus-based, but…

Ford Fusion update: A really good 'Sport'

News & Features, Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

Ford Fusion update: A really good ‘Sport’

The Calendar had not quite read 2009 yet but I remember a chilly day in Michigan when the good folks over at Ford introduced us to our first 2010 model – the Fusion, complete with hybrid and sport versions. Ford Motor Company invited journalists up to its Dearborn world headquarters in December, 2008, for a “hush-hush” sneak peek of some of its new product, and this included the made-over 2010 Ford Fusion lineup. For 2010, engineers and designers gave the midsized sedan entirely new front and rear clips as well as totally refreshing the interior. In addition, powertrain upgrades have…

Case-Mate DIY Case for iPhone 3G/3Gs Review: Create Your Own Mastercase

Reviews

Case-Mate DIY Case for iPhone 3G/3Gs Review: Create Your Own Mastercase

Custom cases are all the rage. Several companies have emerged over the last year allowing users to create their very own custom case by uploading their personal photos and images to a web-based program which the company then turns into a case; this allows the end-user to make a case that’s truly their own. Case-Mate‘s revolutionary “I Make My Case” program which launched at CES 2010 really set the standard for case image manipulation allowing users to take art work from the Case-Mate site and alter it to their liking, mixing and matching pieces to make each case one of…

Build-A-Lot for iPhone/Touch App Review

Game Diary, Reviews

Build-A-Lot for iPhone/Touch App Review

This week’s Blue Plate Special brings me a first…  The app was completely chosen by my wife.  My wife often plays the games I choose or she uses them, but rarely does she tell me about an app. So, I was playing poker the other night with all of the coaches and I texted her a few times expressing my woes of a slowly shrinking supply of chips.  The fact that she did not respond was not an issue, but about an hour later she replied, “Sorry, I saw your crying messages but I found this game that I can’t…

Case-Mate Venture Case/Stand for iPad - Review

Reviews

Case-Mate Venture Case/Stand for iPad – Review

The other day we brought word that Case-Mate was rolling out a new case/stand for the iPad. The $89.99 case looks to combine real protection, style and function. The case was just announced last Friday but is already shipping. We now have one in hand so let’s take a look… From Case-Mate: Introducing the Venture case, where form meets function. The beautiful Venture case comes with stand built into it. Simply unsnap the cover and it folds back under itself to create a stand that will prop your iPad up. So you no longer have to awkwardly try to hold…

RadTech I-Sight Review: Let There Be Light

Reviews

RadTech I-Sight Review: Let There Be Light

If you have significant other and you sleep in the same bed chances are it’s happened to you at least once. It’s nearing bedtime but one of you just isn’t ready to go to sleep yet. Do you like to read in bed? A lot of us do, it’s probably where I do most of my reading. But does your partner get frustrated when your bedtime reading because it means leaving lights on so you can see? Enter the RadTech I-Sight. When I do early morning running in the winter/fall it’s sometimes still dark outside. What do I do to…

Daniusoft Media Converter Ultimate Converter and Ripper Review

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Daniusoft Media Converter Ultimate Converter and Ripper Review

In case I haven’t bored you enough by mentioning it, I do a lot of travel.  Three-four times per month, I fly between my family in Austin, and my job in Sunnyvale in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I’m not complaining–at least I’ve got a job!–but it does leave me with a lot of time on my own waiting.  Waiting for planes to board, planes to get where they’re going, trains to arrive, trains to get where they’re going, etc.  And so I spend a lot of time watching movies and TV shows on my iPhone and laptop. Which is…

The Speck PixelSkin for iPhone 4 Review

Reviews

The Speck PixelSkin for iPhone 4 Review

There’s no question the iPhone 4 needs a case most of the time. The glass is more delicate than we were initially led to believe, and then there is the antenna issue that continues to dominate online tech chatting. Thankfully a host of cases for the newest iPhone have been rolling out. One of the latest is a new version of an old favorite, Speck’s PixelSkin. Let’s take a look. From Speck: The tactile pixel texture and perfect amount of “squish” is what makes this rubberized iPhone 4 case so grippy in-hand and famously protective. There are rubberized touch-thru button…

iAngle Review: Won't Stand for Serving Just One Purpose

Reviews

iAngle Review: Won’t Stand for Serving Just One Purpose

In the ever-expanding world of “i” accessories, there are plenty of single purpose items.  Versed General seems to have said “pshaw!”  to that and are offering up their iAngle for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  It’s a stand!  It’s an earbud accessory!  It comes in black or white and it’s $9.99!  One side of the iAngle works as an earbud wrapper, but turn it over and it will act as a stand, holding your iDevice at a good viewing angle. Versed General was nice enough to send us a black iAngle for review.  I have to say, it’s just as…

Review: iLuv iMM178 Vibe Plus- Dual Alarm Clock w/Bed Speaker Shaker for iPhone

Reviews

Review: iLuv iMM178 Vibe Plus- Dual Alarm Clock w/Bed Speaker Shaker for iPhone

iPhone/iPod speaker docks are multiplying around my home and at the office. And for good reason. Since I’m not an audiophile the music that is pumped out of a relatively inexpensive speaker dock is usually just fine for me. But while a simple speaker dock is fine for my office (I use a bluetooth system that I love… more on that another time) in my bedroom I want something that also includes an alarm clock. The other day I took a look at one that offers good sound. It costs $150, sounds good but isn’t compatible with iPhone due to…

NOX Audio Specialist Headphones Works For Gamers and Office Workers

Reviews

NOX Audio Specialist Headphones Works For Gamers and Office Workers

I found almost the perfect headset for both gamers and office workers. What am I talking about? The NOX Audio Specialist headphones that’s what! Let’s go over the basics. First, the NOX Audio headphones comes in a great case that has some structure to it. This is great for those who just want to protect their headphones while they are in their backpack. Opening the case reveals the headphones themselves. They fold so they can fit in the case and the cable itself is detachable and can be secured in the case. The cable looks like a microusb on one…

ShirtsMyWay - Custom Shirts Designed and Ordered From Home Review

Reviews

ShirtsMyWay – Custom Shirts Designed and Ordered From Home Review

A few years ago I lost a good bit of weight thanks to the South Beach Diet. From a health perspective it was good. From a wardrobe perspective however… well that was a different story. Suddenly none of my suits fit. It was the same story with my dress shirts, and replacing them was going to be an expensive proposition. I happened to mention my need to go shopping to a co-worker, and she told me that her father gets all of his clothes custom-made and often for far less than he would if he were shopping “off the rack”….

How to complete your Ram Heavy Duty fashion statement? Accessorize!

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

How to complete your Ram Heavy Duty fashion statement? Accessorize!

This past winter I ran my first review of the new-for-2010 Ram Heavy Duty pickup line. (Notice I did not say “Dodge Ram” as the vehicle brand. Remember, Chrysler has chosen to spin its truck division apart from the Dodge world and simply call it “Ram.”) It was a Ram 3500 Crew Cab duallie 4×4 in SLT trim. Since then my driveway has been blessed with two additional Ram HD test models, each sporting some nifty accessories to help consumers further personalize their individual vehicles.