How to make your own Karaoke and a cappella songs
Some people just don’t like Barbara Streisand. Sure, they say, she sings pretty well, but it could be done better. Not limited to Babs herself, but pick anyone. From Abba to Led Zeppelin, people excel...
View ArticleNon-violent video games
I recently went to relive my childhood arcade experiences. Expecting to relive my glory days, I went back to an arcade with bills clutched eagerly in hand. And man, was I disappointed. The majority of...
View ArticleScanGauge review: Save gas by adjusting nut behind the wheel
Where is personal responsibility? It’s tossed out the car window at 70 MPH. Gas prices are brain-numbingly, irritatingly high. Yet we putter through traffic in our 250-horsepower cars, drinking...
View ArticleFree ebooks, libraries and text reading software
Hollywood loves remaking successful books, and the last few years give many examples. Around the World in 80 Days, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and I, Robot are just a few. Trying to count...
View ArticleBlatant media piracy: Not just for south-Asian countries anymore
“The only cure for the fear of falling is to jump.” -Carl Jung Mike from Hotmail.com asks: “I know of people that download and copy songs and movies via the internet. They (and everyone else) seem to...
View ArticleBlackBerry Storm review
[Andy's note: After this article, be sure to see my review of the Storm2.] The BlackBerry Storm from Verizon Wireless (also called the BlackBerry 9530) is an excellent smartphone. Comparisons and...
View ArticleBlackBerry Storm2 review
This article is a continuation of my review of the BlackBerry Storm. Be sure to read that one first, particularly if you’re unfamiliar with the BlackBerry Storm. It’s a different enough cellphone...
View ArticleReview of Mobile TV by Verizon Wireless
Mobile TV is a recent and impressive offering by Verizon Wireless. The name itself is the perfect description: Mobile TV is TV streamed to a mobile device. Yes, it’s TV, including primetime as well as...
View ArticleComputer security scams, and how to test your antivirus software
“Your PC needs a tune-up – click HERE to begin!” “Make your PC go faster for FREE!” “You’re being spied on – protect yourself NOW!” What do these sentences have in common, apart from the gratuitous...
View ArticleMotorola Rapture review
The Motorola Rapture from Verizon Wireless is a slick-looking basic cellphone with one very handy (and not so basic) feature. When the clamshell phone is in closed position, the front display of the...
View ArticleMorphing pictures into video is fun, easy and free. Just ask Georgia Clobberts.
George Clooney and Julia Roberts, sittin’ on your screen, M-O-R-P-H-I-N-G. Morphing is used so often in movies, it’s become a science-fiction special-effect cliché. The hero, monster or robot stops...
View ArticleHow to read books on an iPod
The iPod does not have an ebook-specific reader, or just a text format good for reading ebooks. It’s unfortunate, because the style and capabilities of iPods make them perfect for such functions. Sure,...
View ArticleHelp listen for ET with SETI@Home
Silence falls over Proxima Post at the Top Secret Military Base. Eyes grow large as the control room loudspeakers broadcast a strange, warbling, gibbering sound. “Hold on… Enhancing…” A technician...
View ArticleAstronomy educational software takes you up, up and far, far away
Just for a moment, you need to be a superhero. For the trip we’re taking, you need to be Superman, Silver Surfer, or any super-duper fella with the ability to fly and who doesn’t need to breathe....
View ArticleBrainWave Generator software review: Boost your energy the old-fashioned way
My usual morning routine is to lurch out of bed, barely-awake, staring around confused as I try to figure out where and who I am. Though this method works well, I’ve had an enlightening experience: One...
View ArticleRoku review: Watch streaming Netflix on your TV
[Thanks to Howard Paul for his contributions to this review of the Roku.] If you’re a Netflix subscriber, you may have used the “Instant Queue”: instead of waiting for a movie to be shipped to your...
View ArticleLG Versa review
The LG Versa is a slick phone with common features implemented in a fairly unique way, and some unique features implemented very well. In some phones, this comes across as forced, or making the user...
View ArticleSamsung Alias 2 review: The first E-ink cellphone
The Alias 2 is a solid cellphone with one significant feature. That feature elevates the phone enough that I believe it’s currently the best of its class. That feature is “E-Ink”. Specifically, that’s...
View ArticleMiFi 2200 review: Verizon’s multi-user mobile hotspot
The MiFi 2200 gives you the ability to have your computer (or any WiFi-capable device) connect to the Internet using Verizon’s cellular data network. Put simply: get online from anywhere there’s a...
View ArticleHP Mini 1151NR review: The first netbook from Verizon Wireless
The HP Mini 1151NR is a new generation of laptop computers called a “netbook”. You’re going to be seeing a lot more of these! For those unfamiliar with what a netbook is, think of it as a small...
View ArticleBlackBerry Tour review
The BlackBerry Tour is a “world phone” from Verizon Wireless, giving users the ability to make voice calls in over 220 countries and get email and Internet in 175 countries. That’s a lot of places to...
View ArticleVerizon Song ID review and accuracy testing
Verizon Wireless has a feature on their cellphones that sounds very cool: while listening to music, you can let your cellphone listen for a few seconds, after which it will identify the song, artist...
View ArticleVerizon HTC Imagio review
The HTC Imagio is a great phone. There. I’ve said it. Now I’ll tell you why. In the tradition of techies everywhere, I’ll do so by making a list. There are three significant features making the Imagio...
View ArticleReview of the Motorola Droid from Verizon Wireless
The Motorola Droid is Verizon’s first smartphone running the much-touted “Android” operating system. The Android OS is fairly unique because it was built from the ground up by Google, and is released...
View ArticleHTC Droid Eris review
The HTC Droid Eris adds more ammunition to the increasingly frightening anti-iPhone cannon. In this case, we get another slick combination of Google guts and HTC skeleton, all running on Verizon’s...
View ArticleWireless network security basics
This intro to wireless networking setup and security is written with the assumption that the reader has a basic understanding of wired networks, because in terms of protocol, wireless works almost the...
View ArticleReview of Palm Pixi Plus, the Palm Pre, and Palm WebOS
[From left to right, we see the Palm Pixi Plus, then the Palm Pre Plus with its keyboard closed and extended.] I recently had an interesting experience: my Verizon media rep gave me a temporary demo...
View ArticleReview of the Motorola Devour with MOTOBLUR
The Motorola Devour is another phone in the steadily-increasing array of Android-powered smartphones, with a Google-designed operating system and application store. The Devour also comes with features...
View ArticleStress-testing and review of the Casio G’zOne Brigade cellphone
The full name of this phone is the “Casio G’zOne Brigade”. On the box, each of those three words is printed in a different font. To prevent confusion and annoyance, for the remainder of this article...
View ArticleHear messages over Bluetooth: Review of the DriveSafely MotoSpeak...
I’ve just been introduced to an excellent combination. Literally, within seconds of using it, I realized how much I’d wanted this kind of functionality. Unfortunately, it’s not available on my own...
View ArticleHTC Incredible review
If you’re looking for an Android-powered smartphone, the HTC Incredible is the one you want. If you’d like a proper analysis and more detail about the Incredible, of course keep reading. But if you’re...
View ArticleDroid X review
The Droid X is another of Motorola’s entries into the extremely popular Android smartphone market. Like most of the Android phones, this is a stellar performer – The Droid X is a phone where there’s...
View ArticleThe best digital camera for kids
My daughter loves to take pictures. It all started not so long ago, when she would see me or my wife take pictures with our (moderately-expensive) digital camera. “Can I take a picture, too? Pleeease?”...
View ArticleDroid 2 review
The Droid 2, as the name suggests, is the second iteration of the incredibly successful Motorola Droid. Since the first Droid, Google’s Android operating system has been a smash success. It propelled...
View ArticleMonaco mobile phone solar charger review: Power cellphones and small...
Many products today require USB charge cables. While there is no single standard in USB cable size, it’s still much easier today, with fewer proprietary charge cables for a cellphone. For the most...
View ArticleSamsung Fascinate review
The Samsung Fascinate is another great addition to the Google Android-powered phone lineup. Its notable features are size and performance. This is a smaller, lighter phone that uses the Samsung Galaxy...
View ArticleDroid Pro review
The Droid Pro is the next smartphone in the “Droid” series, a specially-designed combination of operating system and hardware from Google and Motorola. With the Droid Pro, while I feel the smartphone...
View ArticleGalaxy Tab review
The Galaxy Tab is an excellent adaptation by Samsung for their first entry into the tablet PC world. In this case, the Galaxy Tab has inevitable comparisons to the Apple iPad, and it should –...
View ArticleSolarVision NoiseHush N650 review: Solar bluetooth hands-free speakerphone
The NoiseHush N650 is a solar-powered bluetooth hands-free car speakerphone. That description is much easier to type than it is to say, but all those words are necessary. The NoiseHush is a great...
View ArticleAmazon Kindle 3 review
One of the most interesting things about this technology is that it’s so new and so revolutionary, the market hasn’t even agreed what to call it yet. And of those who seem to have settled on a name, no...
View ArticleMotorola Xoom review
The Motorola Xoom Tablet PC won CNET’s “Best of Show” award at CES 2011 for being “the most potentially disruptive technology”. While I think “disruptive technology” sounds more applicable to airport...
View ArticleAbobe Photoshop vs. Corel Photo-Paint: Why I switched
I’ve been a Corel user for a good chunk of my life. I’ve dabbled with the Corel Graphics Suite since version 6, released in 1995. Now I’m done with Corel Photo-Paint and am using Adobe Photoshop. From...
View ArticleHTC ThunderBolt review
The HTC ThunderBolt is an Android-powered phone that’s heavy on multimedia features, and is therefore heavy on fun. The phone is fast – performance was great for video playback and gaming. (The...
View ArticleWindows Phone OS 7 and HTC Trophy review
For those with the right needs (or perhaps those with the right sense of adventure) the HTC Trophy brings a double bonus. First, it’s a smartphone with world coverage, and is small, light and fast....
View ArticleReview of Plants vs Zombies for Nintendo DS
I love Plants vs Zombies, but in the case of Plants vs Zombies for the Nintendo DS, the port wasn’t done very well. Or rather, all the game elements are there, but with no attempt to compensate for...
View ArticleXperia Play review – PlayStation games on an Android smartphone
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play – which from here on out we’ll call the “Xperia” – is a cellphone well-designed for one thing, gaming. More specifically, it’s a Playstation / PSP emulator that does a...
View ArticleReview of Motorola Droid 3
The Droid 3 is the latest in the Motorola Droid lineup. Like the other Droid phones, the Droid 3 is distinctive. It’s a “blockier” design than most other smartphones out there. The Droid line takes the...
View ArticleKickstarter: Crowd-sourcing funding for makers and creators
Kickstarter is a very interesting service that could be the future of funding. It takes out the middle-man and provides creators with direct access to funding from the fans who want to support them....
View ArticleDroid Bionic review
The Droid Bionic is a high-powered, multimedia smartphone offering from Verizon Wireless and Motorola. Is becoming part of a trend mentioned by techie luminaries years ago, one that never really got...
View ArticleDroid RAZR review
The original RAZR cellphone was a clamshell flip-phone released by Motorola in 2004. for a time, they were very popular, being well-made, reliable, and a nice design (they were fairly small and thin,...
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