Review: Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera

Cisco may have shuttered the doors on the Flip camera, but there are many other cameras out there that are still available that are as good or better than the venerable Flip. Today I am going to take a look at the Kodak Zi8, which I recently purchased with a gift card I received from Judie for my birthday [Aww, that’s awesome! ~ Judie]. I’ve always wanted a dedicated video camera, and my old Aiptek died long ago. The Zi8 was high on my list for many reasons, and even though it’s not the latest and greatest, I thought I…

Reviews

Review: Lowepro Compuday Photo 250 Backpack

I love gear bags, especially backpacks. The great thing about a gear bag is that I can carry more of my stuff. I have a backpack for my DSLR as well as a backpack for my MacBook and all of the items that go with it. Just the other day we took a short family trip and my wife was amused that I had to carry two backpacks with me. She asked why I did not just find one that could fit all of my stuff I was taking. Well, lucky for me, I was able to review the Compuday…

Reviews

Android Phone Accessory Review: PowerSkin Battery Case for MyTouch 4G

Battery life continues to be the bane of smartphones. The technology hasn’t significantly improved in quite some time, which is problematic because the power and functionality of the small devices has increased exponentially. This results in some state-of-the-art devices with battery life that can only be described as horrific. There are a few options for how one might address the current situation but none of them are particularly good. Manufacturers can slow down their devices so they use less power or they can increase the size of the battery. Neither is a particularly good solution. Users, on the other hand,…

News

Hulu+ Arrives on XBOX Live Today! Hooray or Meh?

Hulu+ is available on your Mac or PC, your set top box such as the Roku we have (but alas not Apple TV), your iPhone or iPad, and your Playstation 3. With the computer devices you can use the ‘standard version’ for free but gain much greater access to programming with the $7.99 monthly fee. On other systems you need to have a ‘Hulu+’ account to access anything – though you can get a trial account on most systems. Now you can finally catch up on those episodes of Glee on your XBOX 360! Some background on Hulu: Hulu’s ambitious…

News

HBO NO! A Rant in Pictures

HBO GO for iOS is live and available for free in the App Store. It is awesome. You can watch HBO movies on the go. You can watch some of HBO’s amazing series. (I am totally into Game of Thrones!) You can watch HBO comedy, you know, the ones where the funny people don’t need to censor their language or content. You can even watch HBO “late night” programs… If you are into that sort of thing. Yes HBO GO is a GO… Unless it is a NO GO… Which is the case if you pay out the nose to…

Reviews

Review: ToddyGear Smart Cloths

Did you know the average American family now owns 24 electronic devices? Yup, 24 devices and guess how many of them are covered with smudges, grime and… worse? Pretty much all of them. And when germs are mixed in with the smudges watch out since it has been shown that germs can live on touch screen devices anywhere from 1 day to 1 month. Take, for example, my iPad 2. That’s pretty gross isn’t it?? (And it is the reason I prefer NOT to let others handle my touchscreen devices.) That’s what is great about the Toddy Smart Cloths. The Smart…

Reviews

Einstein’s Pedometer Gets Tested by Gear Diary!

I majored in philosophy in college, and my high school physics class trip to Great Adventure could be summed up as “WHEEEEEEEEEE” rather than “So that’s how Newton’s 2nd Law of Gravity works on ‘Scream Machine.’” So while I understand that Einstein’s theory of relativity involves time and that if you launched into space at the speed of light and came back you’d be less old than if you stayed on Earth, I can’t tell you why. Or whether you get the same benefit going 80 instead of 65 on the highway. However, like all things in life, there’s an…

Music Diary

Music Diary Notes: Wolfgang’s Vault Now Offers Videos!

I love Wolfgang’s Vault as a great way to listen to live recordings of great artists in Jazz and Rock. We’ve written about it here and here and here. Back in January they added a bonus video from Miles Davis … but now they are going further by bringing concert video to the Vault! Here is their info: We’ve brought you over 60 years of the world’s rarest concert memorabilia. We’ve streamed countless hours of live concert recordings. We’ve chronicled the ever-changing landscape of popular music in our editorial pages. And now, with great pleasure, we give you our latest…

eBooks, Editorials

The New York Times Ethical Dilemma

I love the New York Times “Ethicist” column, but this past weekend they ran a question that brings up many ethical dilemmas, including a conflict of interest for the Grey Lady herself. First, the question: I’m a 24-year-old freelance journalist who’s still somewhat dependent on my parents. And I’m on nytimes.com dozens of times a day. My parents are print subscribers and thus have access beyond the pay wall. Need I buy my own subscription? Also, if I buy online access, can I share the password with my live-in girlfriend, even if I move to New York for the summer?…

How to Do It Yourself!

iPhoneography update: Going HDSLR (almost)

During my recent shift in gear and equipment from days gone by to the modern era I began to collect all the little hardware that was either loose or just kind of hanging around with other stuff. In a moment of inspiration this week I dumped a pile of it out and began assembling a rig for providing me with better iPhone images and video. Hand-holding a device that small and light does not bode well for “expert” imagery so adding a handle or a bit of heft here and there would certainly improve things.

Gear Bits

You Know You’re a Geek When …

We are in Massachusetts for three nights for a friend’s wedding…yet somehow a weekend trip required a MacBook, a netbook, a Kindle 3 and a NOOKcolor. Oh, and not pictured: an HTC Incredible and my Motorola Droid. When I met Sarah she didn’t even have a smartphone; apparently geekery is contagious!

Game Diary, Reviews

Wii Game Review: Monopoly Streets

As I have said before, my family loves playing board games, and rather obviously I am a big video game fan – something I share with my kids (my wife, not so much). So video-board games seem like an obvious attraction for us. Monopoly Streets is the latest one we have tried, involving family and friends once again to see how it compares to sitting around a table. Read on to find out! The Hype: Monopoly Streets reinvigorates the classic game of fortune in a whole new format. Explore the streets of your favorite town as you journey from the…

Game Diary, Reviews

Clowning-Around for iPhone/Touch

As a huge fan of Angry Birds, I have come to love puzzle/physics games. I really enjoy the thought process to release an item on the screen to begin a series of events that solves a goal. The games take planning, critical thinking and a bit of skill. As I searched the app store Clowning-Around caught my eye reminding me of the Atari 2600 game Circus. Upon further inspection, it actually reminded me of Cut The Rope and Angry Birds all rolled into a cool circus theme. Let’s take a look at Clowning-Around for the iPhone/Touch. Roll up, roll up,…

Music Diary

Pop Goes The Music Diary: Everything Wrong is Wrong Again

Last year I reviewed Katy Perry’s CD “Teenage Dream “ and said: Let’s just be honest here: I would bet that Katy Perry spend much more time keeping her body in shape than working on her vocal range, breath control, or pitch. But that is pretty much the point – Katy Perry is a pure pop sugar package: an attractive young woman who gets packed into skimpy, tight-fitting clothes (Daisy-Dukes, bikinis on top?), and sings very catchy songs written by others to work around her limited vocal skills and allow her to perform them live without sounding awful while strutting…

News

Pioneer HDJ-500T-K DJ Headphones Great for Listening and Handsfree Calling Too!

I’m always on the lookout for a good pair of comfortable, great sounding, good looking headphones and this new offering from Pioneer caught my eye. The HDJ-500T-K are a “multi-functional entry level DJ headphones that can be used for DJing, leisure music listening and now hands-free calling.” The latter functionality is arrived at thanks to two included, interchangeable cords: a coiled cord for DJ/relaxation listening and a straight cord with an integrated microphone for use with a smartphone. As David Arevalo, senior marketing manager, Professional Sound and Visual Division for Pioneer Electronics (USA) notes “Consumers are always looking for accessories that…

Gear Bits, News

A Mac Keyboard Accessory I Really Want: the Mobee Magic Bar

Mobee Magic Bar Both Elana and I use an Apple wireless keyboard with our MacBook Airs when we are at home. We love the keyboards and the flexibility they offer but we hate the wastefulness of constantly having to replace the batteries. Sure we could use rechargables and and we were about to get a system when I saw this: The Mobee Magic Bar. The Mobee Magic bar offers a USB-powered recharge dock for your keyboard that lets you cut the cords but then, when needed, charge it up once more by simple plugging it into the computer. It looks…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

2011 Chevrolet Cruze a ‘Sound’ Choice

Last summer we got our first drives in the all-new Chevrolet Cruze. Recently we spent a week behind the wheel of a 2LT RS model with the new turbocharged 1.4-liter inline four-banger. (The base engine for American Cruze models is a 1.8-liter producing the same horsepower – 138 – and both are backed by six speed manual or automatic transmissions.) Our tester had the automatic gearbox connected to front drive underpinnings and we found the turbo 1.4 quite satisfactory in rural and urban driving conditions with minimal noise, vibration or harshness transferred to the passenger compartment. Despite being called a…

Editorials, News

GD QuickRant: TSA Redefines Terrorism …

Image courtesy of IVCaffeine … To Include Being Unhappy With Their Unconstitutional Screening Practices. Over at CNN there is an article that highlights a recent move by the TSA to categorize profiling of those who are unhappy with the potential added security screening as ‘potential threats’. There is also a video report. Here are a couple of quotes: the TSA‘s crack behavior detection officers are now on the lookout for “anyone who displays arrogance or expresses contempt for the screening process.” Why? Because scientific anti-terror detection techniques have now apparently revealed that complaining about poor treatment from airport security indicates…

News

ArchPort YogiStash Flip Flops Sport a Light, a Bottle Opener, and It Can Carry More!

When you are at the beach, there are only so many places that you can tuck an ID card or some spare cash; keeping a bottle opener handy can be a chore as well …. but no more! Here to help is the ArchPort YogiStash, a flip-flop with a stash compartment just under the arch. Available in blue or gray and in sizes that will fit most men and women, the YogiStash retails for $54.95 — about on par with other popular flip-flops without all the extras. These look like the pair to bring when you are trekking around on…

News

Movie Ages

While quoting lines from movies is as old as the ‘talkies’ themselves, over the last few decades movies have become so ingrained in our cultural fabric that they have become part of our identity. My family uses lines from Airplane!, Star Wars, Monty Python and many, many more on a regular basis. So I thought this comic was really cool … and a bit scary. It is best if you read from top to bottom … especially if you are over 35! Source: xkcd

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