This is your last chance to submit a comment to win an iPhone wood case. Be sure to leave a comment on this linked post. Oh, and be sure to download the UNEASYsilence iPhone app. Pssst, there is an Android version coming soon!
There are times that I look at things and say – “That not how I remember them.” I usually chalk it up to my ever fading memory, but thanks to the “shrink ray” products we are used to buying are ACTUALLY getting slightly smaller hoping people don’t notice.
This stuck me as funny. Here is a roll of Scotts toilet tissue (You know, the ones that you buy at Pice Club or Costco 1,000 at a time). It turns out that new rolls of paper have shrunk from 4 1/2 inches to 4 1/8 inches. That’s 8.3% less product for the same price. Way to literally cut costs.
Now, we know every respectable geek has to wear a tie. Problem with wearing your tie is it ends up getting into all sorts of trouble. Taking a swim in your cup of soda, tied up in the fuser of the laser printer, don’t get me started about the paper shredder. So, the only way to tame the tie is to either tuck its tail on the inside of your shirt (that doesn’t work so well) or use an old “grandpa style” tie clip.
I say, NAY to that!
Enter the $1.50 Tie-Down.
The Tiedown is the classy yet invisible solution to your necktie problems. Made from 100% post consumer recycled plastic, the Tiedown will fit any shirt’s buttons and strap down your beautiful tie through the horizontal brand label on the back, hiding your tie tail, centering your tie and sharpening your look.
Neat!
Sometimes it pays to read the small print. On Google’s official website announcing the “pushy” Google Mobile application, they announced push notifications for GMail and Google Calendar. Everyone assumed that you will get popup reminder for GMail, well you assumed wrong.
Lets quote the fine print.
Ever missed an appointment or important email because you were away from your desk? Now Google Mobile App can help with push notifications from your Google account to your iPhone — an icon badge shows you’ve got new mail in Gmail, and Google Calendar event reminders appear right on your home screen.
Well, thats as clear as mud – but if you carefully read you will only get an icon badge that shows you’ve got new mail in Gmail and only get Google Calendar event reminders that appear right on your home screen. So for those who keep waiting for those popups saying you have a new email – you’re gonna have to hold your breath longer.
I’ve had a love hate relationship with Flash from the get go. It’s used to create beautiful media rich web applications to really enhance websites, but it also drags anything its installed on to a halt. Seriously, every update that is supposed to make Flash “faster” makes it more bloated and slower. Even the new GPU enabled Mac plugin I’m using just kills the computer – and I’m not using a slouch of a machine either (i7 baby!!!). Then, there are the out of control, privacy invading flash cookies that take over your browser making it like the wild west. I decided to sit it out – I’m done with it!
Having using iDevices since 2007 (and being a previous PalmOS lover) Flash kinda seems like second thought to me, so I made the plunge and deleted the plugin. Adobe has setup simple instructions on their website on how to do it. Restarted, and WOW my browsing experience is worlds faster. CPU usage has plummeted and surprisingly webpages all looked the same. I think we reached the level of web maturity where designers are no longer using Flash and embracing open standards. Sure here and there a YouTube video won’t work. But hey, I left Flash installed on FireFox so if I need it I have it. But for my primary web browsing, I’m Flash free! Anyone else want to take the plunge?
It’s very rare that I get excited about a case, ever rarer when I get excited about a covering. I’m a guy who doesn’t really buy cases or covers for his gadgets and gizmos – BUT this Karvt cover really blew me away.
What Karvt does is they get real wood (they offer choices of Bamboo, Cherry, Pine and Walnut), hand sand and stain it, add some really good 3M adhesive (that doesn’t leave marks on your phone if you ever want to pull it off) to make a product that I think really classes up your iPhone.
I opted to only apply the back covering but included in the $25 price is a hand cut front panel too. The covering is fully compatible with Apple’s bumper (if you like that added protection). They offer wood skins for both the iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4 as well as limited editions for the iPad and all MacBooks.
Worth a click to check out their site – buts what’s really cool is in conjunction with Karvt we are GIVING AWAY one free iPhone skin. All you have to do is leave a comment in this post and on Friday 8/27 one of the guys from Karvt will select a winner! So please drop a comment below! UPDATE: Oh wait, it gets better… The folks at Karvt have doubled down… We are now giving away two!
This gets points for novelty, creativity and plain coolness (heh!). Say goodbye to traditional ceiling fans with this 5-stage filtering system that cleans and circulates over 2,000 cubic feet of air every minute. Unlike traditional ceiling fans the blades are completely enclosed, but also unlike traditional ceiling fans it costs $399.95 and a replacement set of filters is between $42.50 and $52.50.
WOA, Look at this behemoth! Somewhere in Times Square this 10″ burger, smothered in pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce and a Tuscan pesto sauce (in a pizza box to match) is served. All for a mere $13. Obviously, this heart attack in the making is meant to be shared with several tourists people.
Bon Appetit!
Yesterday, I unboxed and documented the setup of the Monsoon Vulkano “god box.” So after playing with it, I have some first impressions.
The firmware is very rough around the edges. After plugging it in the unit went into a reboot cycle until I learned I had to press a button very quickly to begin the setup process. Then proceeded through a very slow firmware update (which had no release notes), so I’m not sure what was fixed. The UI shows ambition but on a big HD TV the edges are very rough and needs some polishing – but thats cosmetic. One curious thing is the buttons on the remote don’t really do what you expect them do sometimes. For example, when watching something in the YouTube app – the ONLY way to quit the YouTube app is to press power. But it doesn’t shut off the box – just quits the app. Odd.
The quality on the streaming and recording is really good though (gives my Sling Catcher HD a run for its money). I feel kinda limited not being able to use a client on my Mac but I’m told it is due VERY soon. So I can’t vouch for the quality of the locally stored recordings – but if the recording and playback is any indication I’m going to be in sore for a pleasant surprise.
If you are getting fed up with your SlingBox (and aging Sling Catcher) after a firmware update or two, it can be a REALLY nice box.
