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Reviews June 22, 2010

Chrome Vega Utility Bag: Little Messenger Packs Big Punch

Chrome recently reached out to see if I’d be interested in reviewing some of their bags. The company, which was founded in Boulder Colorado 14 years ago, makes stylish bags (among other items such as shoes and apparel) that are not only meant to perform at a high level but look really good while doing so. One look at the Chrome website, and I knew I wanted to review some of their stuff. The catalogue includes a wide range of bags, most of which are modeled after the “messenger” style, but they’ve got a few wild-cards too. The company, which…

Reviews June 22, 2010

White Leather iPad Case Review: Classic Apple

White is the quintessential Apple color. Both my iPhone 3G and 3Gs are white and I’ve owned a bunch of white iPods too. White accessories just make me think Apple so it was with a certain amount of nostalgia that I began to test the iPad Leather Flip Case – White from GearZap.com. Let’s face it, we all can’t afford $200+ Vaja leather cases for our iPads. For many the expense of the iPad alone just about breaks the bank. But you still need something to protect your invest and why shouldn’t it be something that looks good while doing…

Game Diary, Reviews June 22, 2010

Mahjongg Artifacts, a PSP Mini Game Review

The Hype: A prequel to Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2, the Story Mode of Mahjongg Artifacts introduces players to the start of the adventure through graphic comic scenes. As players explore five ancient cultures and master more and more complicated Mahjongg layouts, they will uncover lost relics as well as special tiles that will help them in their quest. The Classic mode of the game will allow players to choose which layouts and tile sets they want to complete, while Endless Mode constantly produces a never-ending arrangement of tiles, which will provide a limitless challenge. The Reality: As I mentioned at…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear June 22, 2010

2010 Chrysler 300C SRT8

During my lifetime (thus far) I have witnessed Chrysler, Dodge and the late Plymouth (R.I.P.) deliver a wide range of vehicles, taking consumers and enthusiasts on a wild roller coaster ride. Ultimate highs courtesy the likes of Super Bee, Barracuda, HEMI (of course) and Viper and bottomless lows, a.k.a. K car, Jeep Compass and bankruptcy (twice). They even invented an entirely new segment known as the minivan and sent Lee Iacocca golfing with Snoop Dogg. Most likely, the future will be just as storied as the past, especially with the approaching stiff fuel economy standards. What is to become of…

Reviews June 21, 2010

How Spike Brand’s Doggy Style Shampoo, Microfibre Towel and Jerky Treats Saved the Day

Kevin and I recently returned from San Francisco to find that Daisy Duke, our Great Dane puppy, had managed to pick up what seemed like thousands of tiny little ticks while being boarded at her breeders. We all live in the country and we’re having an exceptionally hot early summer after an extremely wet spring which followed a rather mild winter (are you still with me?), so I’m really not surprised that ticks are currently enjoying a population explosion. Daisy is treated monthly with Frontline, and her breeder had just bathed her with insecticidal shampoo before we picked her up…

Reviews June 21, 2010

Lenovo A63 Desktop Computer Review

I could sum up this entire review in one word (Whoosh!), but I think Lenovo would not be happy. Nor would you, since you clicked through to a review intending to find out more about a product, and not just that’s it’s very fast. So let’s get started in on the Lenovo A63 desktop and what makes it so impressive that it left me with “whoosh” as my description! First of all, a bit of a disclaimer: I am geeky, but not great with hardware. I know how it works, I know how to troubleshoot the basics, but I’m…

eBooks, Reviews June 20, 2010

Kobo Android App Review

The Kobo Android app is finally out! It is the first major bookstore besides eReader to have an app for the Android platform, and it offers some major advantages, as well as some serious drawbacks. Read on for my review! First of all, there’s some benefits to Kobo’s system. They believe your book should be available wherever you are, on whatever platform you’re using. So similar to Whispersync, you can start a book on your smartphone and continue it on your computer or another device like the iPad. Unfortunately, at this time the Kobo Reader does not have any sync…

Reviews June 19, 2010

The Artwizz Alustand Makes Your Laptop Bouncy??

Artwizz’s Alustand has some pretty good looks. It’s got that Macbook like metal and a crystal like plastic piece that connects both aluminum parts together. It looks like it might be sturdy, but in my opinion, it falls short. I love that you can collapse it down and stick it in your laptop bag. If you have a Apple Bluetooth keyboard, the whole package will go nicely in your bag. Both aluminum pieces nest and I am not exactly sure where the crystal piece can go, but it’s not difficult to find a spot in your bag. Unfortunately, when it…

Game Diary, Reviews June 19, 2010

First Impressions: OnLive Gaming Service

I have written here and here and here about the OnLive gaming service, which was announced over a year ago as a way for gamers with relatively modest computer hardware to run the latest and greatest games in HD. The service was supposed to release on June 17th, but folks sporadically started gaining access on the 18th – which is when I got access to the service. I’ve had the chance to get some play time with the service and wanted to give you some first impressions. The service runs on most reasonably powered Macs or PCs without any issue….

Reviews June 18, 2010

You Can Run but You Can’t Hide- Find My iPhone, An iPhone App Quick Look

Apple’s update of MobileMe brings the new email look that has been in Beta to the masses. It is a huge improvement. It also coincides with the release of the Find My iPhone iPhone app. The app is universal so it works equally well on an iPad. (Perhaps it should be called Find My iOS Device???) Here’s a quick look at it in action. When you start the app it shows you all the devices on your MobileMe account. It can take a few seconds to locate the device and, obviously, those with a GPS chip (ie my iPhone or…

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Coming to iPad!

Game Diary, Reviews June 17, 2010

The Netbook Gamer: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (2003, RPG)

I made a big deal in my Neverwinter Nights Netbook Gamer about how that game had reignited my love for role-playing games after nearly a decade away. But I also mention that there was a reason I picked up Neverwinter Nights in the first place – I was enjoying the recent Star Wars games and was really looking forward to the promise foretold in Knights of the Old Republic previews, but wanted to get a feel for the state of the RPG again to see if it was even worthwhile for me to give the upcoming Star Wars RPG a…

Reviews June 16, 2010

M-EDGE Touring Jacket for iPad Review

For my final M-EDGE iPad case review I wanted to share a video from my YouTube channel. The M-EDGE Touring Jacket is a neoprene sleeve that’s lined with gray fleece. It fits the iPad just about perfectly. Not so tight that you feel as though you need a crow bar to get your iPad in or out and not so loose so that the iPad gets jostled around. Here’s what M-EDGE has to say about it: The M-Edge Touring Sleeve for the Apple iPad is the must-have accessory sleeve for the active iPad user. The Sleeve, made of durable and easy-to-clean neoprene,…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear June 16, 2010

LaCrosse driving force behind modern Buick

With Buick being one of the four remaining cornerstones of the General Motors family, executives in the division find themselves in a difficult but familiar dilemma: Deliver competitive vehicles that attract new buyers while not alienating a loyal demographic. The new Buick LaCrosse is completely redesigned for 2010 and is built on global architecture at the Fairfax plant in Kansas City. It offers all-wheel-drive, a suite of advanced intelligent personal technologies and safety features and choice of (eventually) three engines. “The new LaCrosse builds on the success of Enclave as the next step in Buick’s renaissance and great attention to…

Reviews June 15, 2010

Review: Pocket Radar

I have mentioned my coaching exploits many times. I just finished my twelfth season as the head girl’s fastpitch softball coach. We had the best regular season in school history staying undefeated until losing in the state playoffs. One thing that has really changed over those twelve years is pitching. High school pitching now is as good if not better as some college pitching when I started coaching. With the pitching rubber only 43 feet from the plate, the speed of the pitching is a huge issue in my line of work. Most teams own a radar gun to not…

Game Diary, Reviews June 15, 2010

Shift for iPhone/Touch

Once again my weekly app store search has brought yet another game. This week’s choice combines subtle, simple graphics and a cool soundtrack with platform game play and puzzle strategy into a truly addictive and unique gaming experience. Shift utilizes simple, yet intuitive controls to guide the character through each level. The game usually costs $.99 but has been free the past couple of days. Shift’s graphics are extremely simple, yet work amazingly well. No fancy 3D rendering or colorful puzzles, just black and white. Much like Spy vs. Spy, the game is entirely in black and white which is…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear June 14, 2010

At nearly 70, Jeep is still the one.

Jeep has such a storied and legendary history while also being the one brand most synonymous with offroad. For nearly half a century the iconic runabout carried American servicemen and women to and from their assigned posts and in recent decades the Jeep Wrangler has garnered more “best of” awards in the offroad segment than all competitors combined. Several years back Jeep decided to expand the platform a bit, stretching the chassis from two doors to four, giving birth to the Wrangler Unlimited.

Reviews June 14, 2010

Nixon Newton Satisfies My Inner-Geek Review

I’ve always wanted a Tokyo Flash watch but just haven’t pulled the trigger and ordered one. Partly because their designs are so intricate I’m worried I won’t be able to figure them out and partly because I’m a person that doesn’t like waiting. I need that immediate satisfaction. So when I stumbled upon the Nixon Newton while shopping at my local mall the other day I snatched one up. The Newton features a two-hand quartz movement with an LED light and rotating disc. No numbers on this watch. You’ll actually have to think about the time when you glance at…

Game Diary, Reviews June 14, 2010

GearGames Retrospective: 5 PC RPG Games That Defined The Year 2009

Last month I provided an introduction to the series I am now kicking off for real: a look back at the last decade as seen through the lens of a PC Single Player RPG fan. Now after getting all of the full reviews completed for my top games for last year, it is time to begin the journey in earnest by looking at five games that shaped the genre in 2009! As a reminder of what I’m doing, as we enter a new decade I thought it was worth taking a look back at the last decade and what has…

Reviews June 13, 2010

Reeder- Finally An iPad RSS Reader I Can Love! – iPad App Review

I’ve tried them- RSS readers for the iPad that is. Seriously… I have tried pretty much every RSS reader that is available for the iPad. Why? Because the iPad is the perfect platform for catching up on numerous feeds quickly and easily and I don’t love the Google Reader web interface. Yes, I’ve tried them all and have been disappointed in all of them for one reason or another. In the end I started using the iPhone app Reeder and applying the “pixel-doubling” to it. The text and images weren’t the ebst but the RSS reader had everything I wanted…

Reviews June 12, 2010

Belkin Dualfit Armband As a Droid Case

Since there are no specific Droid armbands, I had to get creative to find a way to carry my bulky phone while I run. A bit of google-fu led to some posts over on Droid Forums about iPhone and iPod Touch cases holding the Droid reasonably well. I’ve been using a Belkin Dualfit for the last few weeks. How does it stack up as a Droid case? Read on to find out! First of all, the Droid is a heavy phone. It’s fine when you’re carrying it in a pocket, but on your arm, you definitely notice the weight right…

Reviews June 11, 2010

Feuerwear Jack Vertical Messenger Bag Review

Earlier this month I had a chance to review one of the most unique bags I’ve come across, the Feuerwear Scott Laptop bag, which is made from recycled fire hose. Feuerwear was also kind enough to send along one of their Jack Vertical bags after I mentioned that I thought it would be the perfect fit for the Apple iPad. I prefer vertical style bags to the more traditional horizontal briefcase or messenger style. Vertical bags just seem easier to carry and they’re more of an “eye-catcher.” The Jack is no exception. Since each Jack bag is handmade, you’ll select…