Search Results for go further with ford

SMS Audio Street by 50 Wired Headphones review

Last week we posted a review of the a-JAYs ONE+ headphones. (Read it.) They sport a flat, tangle free cable, a selection of different ear cups, an in-line microphone and audio controller and, the most unusual package I have seen in a pair of headphones. At under $70 they were definitely a step up from something like Apple’s standard earbuds but they were far from my favorites as they included as many negatives as they did positives. One of those issues was the complete lack of a carrying case. That, however, was nothing compared to the static introduced when the…

Gear Bits

The Irony of Idiotic Idiots and the Rush to Be FIRST!

I hadn’t planned a direct reaction to the Supreme Court upholding all aspects of the Affordable Care Act (calling it ‘Obamacare’ is a pejorative term that shows clear bias), as it isn’t the focus of the site and there wasn’t a direct ‘hook’ that made sense. Well, there wasn’t until the announcement and the hour or so after it … and then there were TWO interesting developments! First, when the ruling came down, I saw a quick notification across my iPad; since I was on my PC I headed to CNN.com to check out the news and see what was…

Game Diary, Reviews

Order Up! for PlayStation 3 Review

This virtual kitchen simulation PlayStation 3 game features a chef (male or female) working up the professional ladder in the island setting of Port Abello complete with multiplayer options, 3D viewing options, and PlayStation Move compatibility.

News

GE Releases the X400 Digital Camera

GE’s X400 digital camera is now available. It brings power and performance at an incredibly affordable price that is below $130. It has a 2.7″ LCD screen, a 15X optical zoom, a 27mm wide-angle lens and offers an impressive 14 megapixels. The camera also offers over 20 unique shooting modes and a “high dynamic range, which adjusts light exposure for more detail in both light and dark scenes”. Optical image stabilization is also present, helping to reduce blur and get you the best pictures possible. As Paul Meyhoefer, vice president of marketing and product planning, notes, We have seen phenomenal…

eBooks, Editorials

Does Anyone Buy eBook Readers for the Hardware Anymore?

There’s an interesting (and honestly, inevitable) trend in the book world lately: no one’s talking hardware anymore. Yes, there’s new devices, and sales are touted when they’re impressive. But the big announcements that come up again and again are “ebook sales are increasing by these triple digits/these authors are making this much money through ebooks/we have this many free ebooks, etc”. Plus, all those lovely ebooks are available on tablets, computers, smartphones and dedicated ebook readers…so does it pay for a company to offer the hardware without the ebooks anymore? In my view, the answer is no, and I think…

Game Diary, Reviews

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…

Editorials

Quiscence Music Reminds Us of the Value and Cost of $1

I Have written about the various Humble Bundles that not only do something good by bringing attention to deserving Indie developers, they also donate a portion of their proceeds to charity, making it an all-around great deal. But as was brought to my attention after the first one was announced, copies of those games were quickly found on file sharing sites! Imagine that – something you could get for $1 … but you STILL have to steal it! Quiescence Music offered up all of their existing lessons and tutorials and other resources as a $1 one-week trial. More recently Quiescence…

eBooks, Reviews

The Gear Diary Kindle Fire Tablet Review

November 15th saw the release of what will quickly become the #2 selling tablet of all time: the Amazon Kindle Fire. Since then we have seen plenty of ‘race to be first’ reviews, but my goal was to spend some time integrating the Fire into my life before completing my review. This week we also saw the usability study that looked at the issues around the 7″ screen specifically with the Fire but related to mid-sized tablets in general. Dan and I each got one that arrived on the 15th: Dan’s has already gone back to Amazon, while I have…

eBooks, Editorials

Kindle Fire Usability Study Speaks to the Entire 7″ Android Tablet Market

The web is abuzz today with the ‘Kindle Fire Usability study from UseIt.com, which can be summed as stating that “Amazon.com’s new Kindle Fire offers a disappointingly poor user experience.” Here are a few points of note: Fat-Finger Problem Makes Mobile Sites Superior The most striking observation from testing the Fire is that everything is much too small on the screen, leading to frequent tap errors and accidental activation. You haven’t seen the fat-finger problem in its full glory until you’ve watched users struggle to touch things on the Fire. One poor guy spent several minutes trying to log in…

Reviews

iPhone 4S Case Review: Element Case Vapor Comp

A phone as awesome as the iPhone 4S ought to have a case that is equally awesome. Right? So when I knew my iPhone 4S was on the way, I reached out to Element Case to see what they recommended. The response? The company’s Vapor Comp would be just the thing! We’ve had a chance to check our Element Case’s offerings before but the Vapor Comp offered something new. It LOOKS like the Vapor we previously reviewed, but it has an entire non-metallic side that ensures the best signal strength possible. It also has a new bumper-type insert running along…

Reviews

The Fila Skeletoes 2.0 Review

To best describe Fila Skeletoes, you need a bit of background. When I started running last year, I became enamored with the barefoot running concept but found my feet just couldn’t adjust to it. So I tried Vibram Five Fingers, which were great for walking around but didn’t work well for me for running. After a great deal of experimenting with shoes, I finally settled on a lightweight pair of normal running shoes, paired with wearing Vibrams for casual use. It puts me in the odd position of being neither fish nor fowl; not really part of the “barefoot running”…

Music Diary, Reviews

Music Diary Review: Miles Davis – Tutu 25th Anniversary Edition (2011, Jazz)

Miles Davis – Tutu When I was in high school and discovering the music of Miles Davis, I had started with a Workin’ & Steamin’ two-pack album (1956) and the 1966 classic Miles Smiles. Then one of the first things I saw was Miles as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in late 1981 playing Jean Pierre. The next day I bought ‘The Man With The Horn’ and ‘Live Evil’, meaning I had a cross section of his ‘first great quintet’, ‘second great quintet’, 70’s electric period, and his brand new release. I also quickly discovered that back in…

Reviews, Travel

The Aligata Nude Beauty Big Weekend Travel Bag Review

When I travel by plane, I use a virtually indestructible LuggageWorks rolling carry-on. It’s great for getting through airports and attaching my other bags to, and I never have to worry about it being damaged when gate-checked because it’s extremely durable and already ugly as sin. Did I mention that it’s also ridiculously heavy? LuggageWorks bags have a metal frame around their bottoms and backs which is part of why they last virtually forever, but it means that the 22″ version I have weighs 15 pounds when empty and can weigh 30+ pounds when fully packed. Although it is just fine for airport…

Editorials

To iPad or Not to iPad?

It’s simply the latest variation of that popular topic: is your [thing] better than my [thing], or is it the other way ’round? Wine, or beer? Ford or GM? Tastes great, or less filling? Mac or PC? “Firefly” or “Buffy”? (“Firefly”, dammit!) Yesterday, your faithful Gear Diary team was hashing over the topic of iPad, or Android tablet. As you might expect with a collection of Appleheads, PC mavens, UNIX and Linux folks, and all the rest, it got heated, involved, and nerdly. It started with a friendly discussion between Francis and Joel as to which device Joel might…

Music Diary, Reviews

Music Diary Review: Yes – ‘Fly From Here’ (2011, Rock)

Yes – ‘Fly From Here’ My son had a couple of tag lines all ready for this one based on the terrible Asia recording “Omega” from last year: – Just Say No to Yes – Fly From This Record The bad news is he didn’t get to use them. The GOOD news is that means this is actually a good album! Let’s take a look at the first new Yes release in a decade! Summary: While reading the Bill Bruford autobiography early this year I ended up reloading music from Bruford, King Crimson and Yes on my iPod and going…

News

ARCHOS Unveils Fastest Tablets with G9 Tablet Range

Archos pulled a bit of a stunner today with the announcement of new tablets that feature a huge amount of both raw speed and storage capacity. The speed comes from OMAP 4 processors with an ARM® Cortex™ dual-core A9 running at an impressive 1.5 GHz. The large storage comes from a Seagate Hard Disk Drive (HDD) with 250GB of capacity. According to the release: The 8” ARCHOS 80 G9 and 10” ARCHOS 101 G9 are powered by AndroidTM 3.1 “Honeycomb,’’* the latest Android version. ARCHOS G9 tablets come with Google’s full suite of mobile applications and Android MarketTM, giving users…

Music Diary

Music Diary Notes: Lady Gaga Sells 1.1 Million – Who Wins, Who Loses?

A week ago I could have told you two things: first that Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’ would debut in the #1 spot, and second that the Amazon ‘giveaway’ would push an awful lot of copies. What is the source of my mystical powers? The fact that even I, as a non-pop music person, knew the release date and other pertinent details long before the launch. I cannot imagine that anyone with any regular exposure to commercial TV or radio or the internet who didn’t know about this. How over-the-top was the promotion? From an article at MTV News: no…

Music Diary

Music Diary Flashback: In 2001 the Music Industry Thought They Could ‘Make MP3 Obsolete’

Despite growing up in the era of the LP and 8-track tape, in many ways it is hard to remember a time since the dawn of the digital era before the MP3 was a legitimately purchasable format. Sure we all remember the Napster days with fairly rampant piracy made easier by the rise in broadband adoption, but there was a fixation on those downloading files illegally over the internet due to the newness and general fascination with all things ‘net’ related back then. It seemed that even then the RIAA was simply scapegoating piracy way out of proportion with what…

Editorials

Tablets the Answer to Smartphone Distraction in Classrooms and Meetings? Could Be!

There is an interesting article that appeared in yesterday’s Financial Times. The article makes the point that smartphones are a tremendous distraction when used in meetings and classrooms. The cure? Tablets like the iPad and Motorola Xoom. Before you dismiss it hear the author out. The article picks up off of an MP delivering a speech in the House of Commons using his iPod. (As someone who uses the iPad for services, weddings and funerals this isn’t all that newsworthy for me but, then again, I’m far from the norm.) Shortly thereafter the Speaker of the House said that he…

Reviews

Android Device Review: Motorola Atrix, Laptop Dock and Media Dock

It was my last day at CES 2011 and we had already had quite a full morning. I was exhausted, but Francis just kept pushing. “I want to go see Motorola. I want to go see Motorola.” And he kept whining, “I want to go see what Motorola is offering and I want to go now.” He wore me down. So I acquiesced. Okay, so perhaps that’s not exactly how it happened. In actuality it went something like this: Francis – “Hey Dan, what do you say we go check out Motorola?” Me – “Sure.” And, thanks to Francis, we…

Reviews

The Wilson Electronics SignalBoost DB Pro Cell Phone Signal Amplifier Review

I live in a rural area which is fantastic for wide open spaces and natural beauty … yet not so great for timely FedEx deliveries or wireless service. We have much better GSM (AT&T & T-Mobile) coverage than CDMA (Sprint & Verizon); 3G is not here yet, so we must be content with EDGE. The nearest tower is several miles away from our home, and our area is hilly, so although we do get a cellular signal, it can be weak.

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