Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 8, 2010 | 1 Comment
As some of you know, I have a baby on the way. In fact, the wife was due yesterday, but that didn’t happen. What you probably don’t know is that I’m also an intense car guy who is buying a crew cab truck in the next few months, and outfitting it with enough technology to run my business on the road. In that plan, I imagined having a baby seat in the back with monitors in the headrest, so that Kevin Jr (no really, that’s his name) can watch Barney while we drive across the country.
Of course, that was the plan before January 27th, because now I think that I’ll just get an iPad for KJ and call it good.
With the iPad, he can watch his favorite shows, play games or even learn how to write, all from the comfort of the backseat. Sure, it’s a fragile thing, but in a year or two, the first gen iPad would be perfect for a developing child. Plus it’s portable, so he can take his fun with him wherever he goes.
This idea was cemented a little bit more after meeting with a buddy of mine this past weekend. He’s got two kids of his own, and up until recently, had a GMC Denali with a similar setup to what I was envisioning. Turns out the truck was stolen twice in one year, and each time they stripped it down, taking out the headrest monitors and stereo. Now imagine if he had an iPad for each child, or even just one mounted in the middle. When he parked his truck, he could just take the iPad with him, and maybe the thieves would want to go to the next truck.
Is it an expensive toy for a kid? Sure, but by the time I get one for the kid, he’ll have a first-gen model, while I’m working on a third-gen, and I’m sure he’ll be fine with an OG iPad. It’s recycling at it’s finest.
It may be a bit pricey, but I think we’re going to be seeing more of this in the future.
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 8, 2010 | 1 Comment
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 8, 2010 | 1 Comment
Way back in November, I did a post about iPods and Your Car, where I discussed some of the options out there for iPod integration into your car or truck. At that point, I figured I had seen the end of iPod integration into the vehicle. Then today, I saw something on TV which made me think about it a little bit differently.
Chop Cut Rebuild is a show on the Speed Network, where they take a few different cars and build them from projects into full show vehicles over the course of a season. Today I watched one of the final episodes on their ‘40 Mercury build, where they finished up the build and installed the stereo. I can’t find the full episode online, but if you check out this clip (particularly at the 0:58 mark) you’ll see the stereo they installed.
Most cars use a head unit; something that has a CD player, FM stereo, navigation, or even a DVD player. In this car, there was an iPod Touch. That’s it.
Technically, this blew me away. I started thinking about how a traditional head unit works, how it gets power, turns on amplifiers and gets sound to the speakers. There are usually separate channels for the front and rear speakers, and sometimes an output for the subwoofers. Using an iPod meant that you wouldn’t get a traditional surround sound with front and rear channels, but you would get stereo from side to side, even if you used a headset adapter. The only thing you’d have to wire would be a way to turn on the amplifier, but you could do that with a relay from the ignition.
This concept is going to be huge among classic car and truck owners. That’s because most older cars can’t fit modern stereos, so they require some cutting to the factory dashboard. That’s a big no-no among hardcore enthusiasts, so most of them install the stereo in the glove box or in a custom box under the dash. By doing this with an iPod touch, they don’t have to do any cutting, and have something small and portable that can come with them anywhere they go, adding to the security of it all.
What do they give up making this trade? Well, there’s no FM radio, but there is navigation (if you use an iPhone, anyways), a video player, plus thousands of music selections on hand without carrying CDs. And technically, you could get satellite radio if you have a constant wi-fi connection, which although unlikely, might be an option if you’re parked for long periods of time.
I think we may be seeing more of these installs in the future. It’s not the perfect option, but for the builder who wants a simple and clean stereo without any fuss, this is an easy way to do it.
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 8, 2010 | 1 Comment
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 8, 2010 | No Comments
File this one under: “I don’t know how I missed this, and it’s probably old news.”
I was working online the other day, while my wife was sitting at the next desk over, working on installing Windows 7 onto her Dell (FYI: it took her 4 hours to do it, and she spent a good amount of time with tech support). Once she was done, she reinstalled Firefox on her machine and said to me, “Kevin, did you know that Firefox has personas now? You can customize the look of the browser. Kinda neat.”
I imagine the blank look on my face was the first sign that I was clueless.
Turns out, Firefox has personas now. What’s that? The team at Mozilla has taken the basic concept that iGoogle uses for their custom home page and expanded it to the browser itself. Choose from personas on their site, or create your own using the tools on the site.
It’s not for everybody, and not every persona looks amazing when competing with your bookmarks and the like. But if you find something you like, give it a shot. It’s free, and only takes a few minutes to install.
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 8, 2010 | No Comments
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 5, 2010 | 2 Comments
A few weeks ago, we were contacted by Pelican about their new i1015 water resistant case. Always down to review a new product, we asked for a review copy and they sent us out one for free for evaluation.
At first glance, this is just a generic case. It’s not designed specifically for iPods or iPhones, or really any electronic device. Instead, it’s built as a do-it-all container that’s water resistant, dust proof and crush proof.
You can’t tell me something is crush proof and not expect a test.
More after the jump.
more
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 5, 2010 | 2 Comments
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 5, 2010 | 1 Comment
I’m a fan of Google. I use Gmail all the time, Google Maps is my co-pilot, and I use Google Reader and Alerts to get info for this very website. What I don’t like however, are Google’s other software, Chrome and Android. I can’t get used to Chrome, and Android just does nothing for me. It’s like dating a really hot chick who can only talk about potato pancakes. Sure, she’s fun to take around and show off to your friends, but you end up wanting to smother yourself with a pillow every time she opens her mouth.
But enough about my ex.
Thank you, I’ll be here all week. Tip your waitress.
CNNMoney is reporting that Google is working on a tablet of their own, which would run on the Chrome OS. From the article:
The tablet running Google Chrome OS would also include a virtual keyboard at the bottom of the screen or a keyboard that could be opened in a separate window that could be placed in different areas of the screen. Applications would be placed at the bottom edge of the screen and could be opened with an upward dragging motion.
When Google first announced that it was building an operating system, the company said it was focusing on the netbook market. Though Chrome OS’ developers said they are still primarily focused on netbooks, the operating system “could eventually scale to a wide variety of devices,” including an iPad-like tablet computer.
“Google Chrome OS is still in development and we are constantly experimenting with various user interfaces to determine what designs would produce the best user experience,” said a Google spokesman.
A lot of people criticize Apple for having such harsh controls over their hardware and not allowing anyone to install their OS onto just any old computer, but this is one of those instances where it makes sense. Ever play with an HTC-build Google G1? Maybe you have a Droid and you love that battery cover that just falls off whenever you pull the phone out of your pocket? Apple controls the hardware so they get quality control in the mix as well. Google, not so much. This tablet may have the best OS in the world and dominate over the iPad, but if it falls apart in your hands, what’s the point?
This thing might be coming out later this year, but who really knows. Until it does, I’ll reserve judgment.
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 5, 2010 | 1 Comment
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 5, 2010 | No Comments
A few weeks back, I posted about the big delay with the 27-inch iMac. There have been reports of yellowing and flickering screens since their debut, so the delay wasn’t particularly shocking. Now though, there’s another wrinkle to the story.
Gizmodo is reporting that those who decide to return their iMacs back to Apple are getting back roughly 15% on the purchase as an apology. It basically covers tax and shipping for the item, so depending on where you bought it and your tax rate, things may change around a little bit. From the article:
15%. Cash. So on a $2000 machine, we’re talking about a $300 apology straight from Apple customer support. From the handful of reader anecdotes we’ve received thus far, it sounds like you need to be a repeat iMac returner who’s dealt with multiple 27-inch iMacs that have been busted in some way (but they may accommodate first time buyers as well, we don’t know). One reader had multiple yellow screens, then received another new model with broken Bluetooth. He took the 15% and just returned it.
Now I love the concept of the 27-inch iMac. It’s got great screen real estate, looks amazing in person, and has lots of power. But between the issues with cracked screens, yellowing and flickering issues and everything else that’s happened to the poor iMac so far, I don’t think I’ll be buying one anytime soon.
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 5, 2010 | No Comments
Posted by: RJ Huneke on Feb 4, 2010 | No Comments
Read the answer to many intriguing questions in the free “Riddles” application for the iPhone. Hours of intelligent and, at times hilarious, fun can be perused with swipes on the screen.
“A certain crime is punishable if attempted but not punishable if committed. What is it? –babblingbrooke
“Answer: suicide.”
This composition of millions of riddles is clever and diverse; there are short riddles, long riddles, funny ones, dramatic ones and, of course, awful ones. Riddles randomly appear on the iPhone upon opening, and the user can choose to see the answer to the provocative query, or push to go to the next one.
There is also a rating at the bottom of the screen that gives a number to those who voted for thumbs up or down for each particular riddle. If the user pushes either hand then the vote is recorded and informs them that they have successfully done so, and then the App instantly brings up the next bright quip.
The only detriment to the “Riddles” App is this: Upon opening, the application gives you a pop-up window asking if the user would like to: “Download Weird Laws For FREE!!!” Though harmless, this is annoying and an abnormal addition to an iPhone App, which could have been done without. “Riddles” is great, so for constant users I might just download the other damn App too, just to shut it up!
IMPULSIVE Review Grade: B+
Posted by: RJ Huneke on Feb 4, 2010 | No Comments
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 4, 2010 | No Comments
It looks like someone at AT&T has been hitting the sauce, because all of a sudden, they’ll let anything go over the 3G network. First it was VoIP, now they’ve given the go-ahead to Sling to use the network for their popular Slingbox. All this from this article at the NY Times:
But all that is about to change. AT&T announced Thursday morning that it will now allow the SlingPlayer iPhone app to stream live over its 3G network.
“Since mid-December 2009, AT&T has been testing the app and has recently notified Sling Media — as well as Apple — that the optimized app can run on its 3G network,” said the carrier in a press release.
Sling, in addition to various consumer groups, had complained to the Federal Communications Commission that AT&T’s policy was discriminatory, since other applications, such as Major League Baseball’s, also stream live video over AT&T’s 3G network.
AT&T appears to have recognized that its position was indefensible and relented.
I’ve never used the Slingbox, but the concept always intrigued me. Watch my shows from home on the road, just on my laptop. When the iPhone App was first introduced, I figured it was a perfect mix and almost went out to buy one, but limiting it to Wi-Fi crushed the deal for me. Now though, it looks like this may be a more viable option.
Sling will be putting out an update to the iPhone app soon, and it will be free to those who already have it.
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 4, 2010 | No Comments
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 4, 2010 | No Comments
Just yesterday I was lamenting the lack of magazine support on the iPad, but maybe I just have to wait a little bit longer. Turns out that textbook manufacturers are flocking to the iBookstore, ready to put their wares online.
Here’s a highlight from the article at the Wall Street Journal:
The iPad also will be helped by the interest that schools have always had in tablet-form computers. Science teachers, for example, could use them for taking lab notes, which often use a combination of sentences, charts and mathematical equations, while others could use them on field trips. “This is the beginning of handheld education,” said John Lema, chief executive of ScrollMotion.
I’ve said it before, but I think this is one of the spaces where the iPad can truly shine.
Imagine you’re back in college (or going to be in college, whatever) and instead of carrying 75 lbs of books and risking back injury with every step, you’re carrying a 1.5 lb iPad with all your text on it. And of course, you can take notes on it too, using the keypad. Imagine an integrated highlighter to highlight the good points, and even an app to record your lectures. Talk about making the learning process easier.
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 4, 2010 | No Comments
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 4, 2010 | No Comments
Just a few days ago, I put up a post about changes to the iPhone OS, stating that VoIP is now good to go over 3G, making programs like Skype good money-saving options for long distance calls and the like. Of course, at the time, Skype had nothing to say about it. Now however, that’s changed.
Yesterday, Skype put up a post on their blog about the changes to the SDK. Here’s a highlight:
You may have seen other apps offering calls over 3G, but we’re holding ours back for a little bit longer. Why? So that we can give you the very best audio quality we can. When our 3G-capable Skype for iPhone app is released, it’ll let you make calls in wideband audio, giving you greater clarity and fidelity – because that’s what you expect from Skype.
Sounds like good news to me. I’ve only used Skype once, but apparently a bunch of my relatives have the program. And now that my wife is just days away from giving birth, I see us using Skype a lot more in the future.
Posted by: Kevin Whipps on Feb 4, 2010 | No Comments
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