BookBook encases your MacBook Pro
Not sure how many of you have been robbed out there. Perhaps your car, your home, your person, but if you have, then you know the traumatic experience of feeling violated. It’s this raw emotion that someone violated your personal space. Now for some of us, depending on what they took, it might take us longer than others to get past it. But how many of us actually remain in a constant state of paranoia?
It appears that the designers of this little product for Mac Book Pros has not gotten past their loss because they created the BookBook. The BookBook, retailing for $80, is a supposed crafty way of deterring thieves from taking your Mac Book when you’re not home. Creating a facade that to the untrained eye looks like a stack of random books, in actuality it’s a sneaky case where you’ve stored your Mac Book Pro for safe keeping.
Put it away, or use the elastic corner wraps to secure your Mac Book while you use it inside the case, either way if perfectly functional. The distressing and such is customizable to the person making the purchase, but how many of us have books like this on our bookshelf. I feel like I need another set of books that I can pull on to reveal a hidden room behind the bookshelf.
In either case, if you like this style of pulling a ruse on would be thieves, then take the plunge and pick one up. Personally I’d like to know if it comes heavily cushioned inside so that when thieves clear out my books to the floor my Mac Book Pro will remain safe and secure…just saying.
While terrestial radio has suffered severe losses in listenership, satellite radio and applications like Pandora and Slacker have been on the rise. The transition was bound to happen as listeners sought after a la carte style music that played exactly what they wanted. The ability to make your own stations is the next step in this hierarchy of listener ownership of the digital airwaves.
So where does terrestial radio stand these days? Radio stations still maintain an online presence, now offering their streaming content direct from the website. So while advertisers begin to shift with the transition, radio struggles to stay relevant these days as the primary source of information, entertainment and our favorite music.
It was years ago that I was introduced to a little application called Earthtuner. I think it was around 1997 when I came across this application that allowed me to find radio stations from around the world. I remember this clearly because I loved listening to stations directly streamed over the computer from other countries. In the days before iTunes, music apps, and stations with stream content there was Earthtuner, my virtual connector to anything I wanted from around the world.
More recently there is a similar application called Antenna that runs on the Adobe Air platform and offers up similar services to Earthtuner. The application allows users to search a database or interactive map of thousands of stations. User will be able to search by country, genre, or by clicking on any area on the map. Leave ratings for other users as you browse the most popular stations that others have recommended for you.
Do apps like this make terrestial radio interesting again?
Antenna allows you to stream stations from around the world.
*Medical websites should never take the place of professional medical advice.
Online medical sites are all over the net. Some are more trustworthy than others, but as we seek medical advice online, it’s important for us to know our symptoms. More often than not I’ve seen people scare themselves with their paranoia of what they think they have based on very general information. Let’s try and avoid that shall we?
I’ve recently been made aware of a new medical site called MedHelp which focuses on determining your likely issue based on the layers of symptoms you go through in order to pinpoint as close as possible the exact nature of your situation. Now it’s not to be taken as concrete law, but it gives you a better idea of things you can discuss with your doctor.
The site instantly offers you the top 50 symptoms that commonly come across the site, but you also have the option of typing in your issue in a search engine. The layers of options that come after your initial search breakdown whether it’s for kids, adults, age ranges, gender, and then other more drill down options for better return of results. The site may look like other medical information sites, but at the top you get options like common tags, medical dictionaries, drug information, and videos which I found pretty useful.
Sites like this are just another example of how even a regulated industry like the medical field is becoming more online oriented, and while these sites become more popular, don’t forget to visit your doctor for more accurate, professional care!
Sprint in partnership with Clear have taken the 4G world by storm. Unfortunately 4G is not everywhere, nor is it that reliable. It has nothing to do with the companies in question, but mostly due to the lack of towers, which are going up as quickly as they possibly can. While service might be spotty, when you are able to access 4G you definitely know you’re in the fast lane.
But what if you can’t keep a constant 4G connection? No worries, the Sprint Overdrive is here to ensure that you can connect to 4G and should your connection drop it transitions to 3G no problem. This instant transition ensures that your web experience is not interrupted and will probably happen without notice.
The Sprint Overdrive 4G/3G Mobile Hotspot device can share it’s connection with up to five devices via Wi-fi. The internal battery is another bonus for those long trips if you’re looking to keep your laptop, or any other mobile device online at all times.
The device retails for $100 and reminds me of the Verizon Mi-Fi 2200. While the Mi-Fi 2200 is the size of a credit card, the Overdrive is bigger. The Mi-Fi also does not offer 4G connections, so this added edge (when you can get it and keep it) is worthwhile.
Sprint Overdrive 4G/3G Mobile Hotspot
I’m know I’m not the only one that has stepped out and saw someone talking to them only to discover that instead of talking to me, they are talking to someone inside an ear piece. You don’t discover this until you look like a fool doing the smile and nod, or the hand signals for “you talking to me,” or maybe even some of us had spoken out loud in response to something we thought they were saying to us. From our perspective we’ve mistaken this individuals for mentally disturbed individuals, but still the ear piece seems to be a highly popular item for cell phone users and Jawbone continues that tradition with their new release.
The release of the Jawbone Icon ($100) sets the stage for more than just a piece of technology that supposedly makes it easier for you to take your calls. Instead it goes for more than function it goes for form as the Icon looks to be more a piece of jewelry rather than a piece of technology. Coming in various colors and styles, the Bluetooth device looks to break away from the faux pa of wearing headpieces that has become the punchline for many comedians. The Icon sports a Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR functionality, 4.5 hours of talk time with an internal rechargeable battery.
Jawbone Icon merges gadgetry with jewelry functionality.
A nice feature is the Noise Assassin 2.5 noise eliminator which is supposed to keep the noise out and your calls clear. We’ve seen variations of this in the past, but this new updated version presumably is something to behold. Another interesting addition is the MyTalk software platform where users will be able to customize their settings of the Icon thanks to downloadable programs. I’m interested to see how this works, but it does making adjustments to your headset a lot easier.
Storage, storage, storage, everyone is looking for ways to maximize their storage space without taking up lots of unnecessary space. I’m not quite
sure why key chain drives are still being developed with all the cloud storage options available like DropBox, Zumodrive, and the dozens of others out there. Nevertheless, key chain drives are becoming extremely small and now the Tuff-’N'-Tiny from Verbatim maximizes both storage space and size.
The drive is penny thin and is resistant to dust, water, and static discharge, ensuring this rugged little drive does not lose your data. The drive comes in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB sizes, depending on how many everyday files you need. For those using Windows machines, the device also comes password protected to ensure an extra measure of security for your stored information. It’s compatible with all USB ports and comes with a lanyard to connect to your keys or your mobile phone.
This little portable gadget seems like the premier choice for storing data, but personally, I’d be afraid to lose it. Sometimes smaller is not necessarily the best thing. Still, there’s logic behind the design and Verbatim is known to build solid hardware.
Foursquare and other geo-location based apps are becoming extremely popular. There are two sides, one for the user, and the benefits for the business, and when working hand in hand, create an extremely positive relationship. Foursquare allows users to check-in where they are at and race with other local users to become “Mayor” of their location. Based on mobile devices it makes it easy to move around town and check-in as you go.
Most recently users have been looking for a rich desktop experience, something that Foursquare does not offer on their site. They offer options to change settings and such, but not a way to claim your location. Now that has changed thanks to a small development company that’s created FoursquareX. The desktop application, for Mac only, is an OSX based application that allows you to check-in but also allows you to see where your friends are based on an interactive map. Reading deeper into the way this application works, users will be happy to know that it offers the following beneficial features:
- app runs in the background, sending you notifications when updates and check-ins are made
- appears to use a Google map app and overlays your friends icons to show their location
- if you’re looking to meet new people, you’ll be notified when people check-in whether you know them or not, giving you the chance to say “hi”.
Take a look if you’re a Foursquare fan and let us know what you think. So far I’m happy with it, and hope to see some type of port to the actual Foursquare app on the mobile because I can see this becoming a fully functional aspect of the mobile app.
*These thoughts are just my personal observations based on what MySpace has done recently with the acquisitions and how I see it positioning itself. Will this prediction prove itself true? Only time will tell, but I’d like to hear your thoughts on MySpace and what you think these acquisitions could mean.
Recently MySpace has been making acquisitions that seem to point to a possible transformation of the service. Since it’s inception in 2003, when eUniverse employees looked to take key features from Friendster and create a new social network, MySpace has been extremely popular. Claiming dominance in the space for many years, just recently being surpassed by Facebook, MySpace has now been seen as the social networks for young teens and entertainers.
More recently MySpace has become stagnant, and I think that’s something we can all agree on. Many of us have left MySpace behind to join other social networks that offer more interactive functionality. Moreso, social networks themselves as transitory since we are likely to go where all of our friends are in order to connect. Right now the big player is Facebook and in the past year we’ve seen that social network make many changes not just in how it works, but also in the layout and the way it displays content. Where has this left MySpace?
MySpace acquired imeem not too long ago in order to beef up it’s MySpace music library, a move that many will say was a positive one in terms of business, but a failure in how they treated the existing imeem community. Nevertheless imeem content has been successfully ported over and MySpace music can claim a more robust listenership due to this change.
The newest acquisition is SocialPlan from Slingshot Labs, which appears to offer a much more diverse calendar planning process. The hopes is that it will create a stronger foundation for the much underused and under performing Events category for MySpace.
So it begs the question, is MySpace planning a big release of some sort? The interface and the way it display has long been something that many users would like to see change. The UI is not intuitive and the site as a whole feels crowded with little flow in the design. My thinking is that a new site debut would be amazing. Integrating all the aspects that it’s acquired and built in for a much more functional experience. This might be wishful thinking, but a redesign would be welcomed and perhaps much appreciated by the current, albeit shrinking fan base. In either case, if MySpace wants to remain a player in the social network race, it’s going to have to “go big or go home.”
The Onion should be familiar to just about anyone surfing the internet. Since it’s launched it’s become a favorite parody site for our real news
The Onion: Our Front Pages
headlines. So integrated into pop culture, even real news outlets have been duped enough to report Onion articles as real news. Their writers are witty, intelligent, and funny, creating a dangerous combination to write snarky articles that are a mirror to the world that we so rarely get to see.
To celebrate their success, and what they call their “crackerjack reporting”, The Onion is releasing The Onion: Our Front Pages ($19). The book
will house some of the best headlines to include “Clever bumper Stickers Resolve Abortion Issue” and “Last Literate Person On Earth Is Dead At 98.” Over the years they’ve done amazing work in making us see things for what they really are, and getting under the skin of topics that some companies and higher ups would rather people just forget. But that’s not how The Onion operates.
The book will take a look back at this Wisconsin-based company’s humble beginnings and their climb into pop culture icon. With over 300 pages of witty humor and outrageous articles, there’s plenty of humor to keep you busily flipping the pages.
Owle tripod with iPhone mounted.
The iPhone has set the standard for a lot of how we use our mobile devices. While competitors have tried to topple the giant from their throne, few have come close. We’re capturing photos and video more often with our mobile than any other device. As much as we love digital cameras, or digital video cameras, for everyday use we’re using our mobile devices to capture the moment. So perhaps now it’s time to upgrade your iPhone to the next level of video and photo capturing.
The OWLE iPhone Video/Rig is a professional tripod that houses your iPhone snugly and steadily to capture the moment on a whole new level. While it does take the mobility aspect out of the iPhone experience (you do have to lug around a tripod now), the OWLE iPhone Video/Rig offers up a snug casing for your device when it’s not on the mount, but when it is, that’s when the tripod’s offerings come into full effect. The rig offers a ribbed casing with a screw mounts on the corners, standard 37mm lens threading with an included 0.45x wide angle/macro combination lens, a shoe mount on top, and an included mini boom-mic for improved audio. Now that’s a powerful rig for your already powerful mobile device.
The rig is currently retailing for $130, but it’s a great addition to any serious recording you might be doing, especially if all you have is your mobile.
iPhone mounted on the Owle tripod.
For those of us that are exploring browser options, there’s a lot out there to choose from. With all the pros and cons, the plugins that Firefox
Top 5 Google Chrome plugins.
features makes it hard to break away. We’ve become so accustomed to customizing our experiences in Firefox that when we try other browsers we naturally try to do things that we did in Firefox. Obviously we’re quick to realize that we’re in another browser, and not the Firefox we remember, and naturally we quickly close out and go back to the browser we’re so familiar with.
Now with Chrome on the scene there are noticeable speed differences which make Chrome a more appealing browser in terms of search, but can we mimic the same functionality. The answer is yes and no. Yes in that there are plugins for Chrome that are useful, but also no because these plugins are slowly making their way to users.
But if you’re on Chrome and loving the experience like I am, then here are five plugins that will get you started on the right foot.
AdBlock
The familiar plugin is just as powerful as it is on Firefox. Block unecessary pop-ups, be warned if something wants to load on your page and never worry about surfing the net again. It takes a little doing, but you can get instructions on how to get those ads blocked here.
GreaseMetal
If you’ve installed Grease Monkey on your Firefox browser you know just how useful those little scripts can be in customizing your overall experience. Well Chrome users can now integrate this functionality very easily by just following these easy steps.
Download YouTube Videos
Last night the team at Crenk gathered around to share some of the top video downloaders for Firefox, so it was a natural that one of the plugins today would be a natural fit for Chrome. To gain the same experience of capturing your favorite videos, be sure to install this Chrome video download plugin and give it a try. Some code customization is required.
Bookmarking Plugins
If you’re looking to bookmark your findings on Digg, StumbleUpon or Delicious straight from your browser, then be sure to take a look at the plugins and how you can once again make them a vital part of your search experience.
Twitter Plugin
A Twitter plugin is probably one of the most requested additions to the browser. Until recently there were few options, but now Chrome can boast it’s own Twitter plugin to allow you to update and catch up on updates without leaving your browser window.
So these are some of the most highly requested plugins. It’s not necessarily as easy as with Firefox, as some customization is required, but for those of us savvy enough to experiment with our browsers, the end goal could be big payoffs!
Firefox is home to many browser plugins.
Firefox plugins are extremely useful. I’ve made the switch to Google Chrome as an experiment to see if I can live without the plugins, but I find myself opening up a second browser from time to time because the plugins are just so useful. I for one love capturing video from sites for a variety of reasons. It’s not always easy, especially if it’s a Flash embed, you’ll more than likely end up having to remember the URL or bookmark it in order to come back to it.
Well for those of you who have not been made aware of some of Firefox’s handy plugins to pull videos from the sites you visit, Crenk is sharing the top four plugins we think you’ll want to use in 2010 to get the videos you need.
This is the mother load in terms of what you can capture on sites. Not only can you capture videos from the site, but you’ll also get photos, and audio files. It’s not always the most user friendly plugin out there, but when you need to mass download content from a site, this plugin is hard to beat. I include it only because it’s so versatile, but the rest are going to be straight video downloaders.
This unique downloader is one that I just plugged into my browser last week. What I like about it is that I’ve yet to come across a site it can’t strip the video from. I surf a lot of sites and not everything is posted on YouTube so we’re not sharing only YouTube plugins only because we figure our audience wants something a little more diverse. Ant.com definitely falls into the diverse category, not only offering you the ability to download but also the ability to instantly watch what you download in their built in video player. It’s a nice way to make sure you got what you wanted without having to dig into the folders on your system.
This no nonsense downloader claims to be able to download from 200+ sites. While other plugins simply mention that it’s rare when their plugin does not download videos, at least this one gives you a good idea of how many sites it’s been put up against. Most of us, being creatures of habit, will explore the same video sites over and over again, so once we know it works on those particular sites, we’re golden. The plugin pulls from sites such as YouTube, Dailymotion, Break, and more, but it also has the power to pull mp3’s, mp4’s, and flash games.
A nice combo in this plugin. You get the ability to capture movies, but also capture that Flash video that was once unattainable due to the format. This particular plugin takes out the complexities by making it easy as one click. With one click you’re downloading content from popular video sites, but you also have the ability to capture games, much like the Flash Video Downloader above.
