eBay iPad App Actually is Awesome

"eBay pushed out version 2.0 of its iPad app a few days ago."

Not exactly known for apps but eBay has really come out with a great one with their latest update. And I have to agree with the reviewer when he asks Facebook if they are listening. I hate the Facebook iPad app. They need to hire the same guys that did the eBay app.

Need a Translation App That Works? Try SayHi

"Talking to someone who doesn't speak English? (Or a language that's other than your native language.)Well, finally, there's an app for that."

It works pretty well if you talk slow per the review. But it is highly rated in the app store and it's on sale now in iTunes for $0.99 USD

AT&T Announces Home Security Service Called Digital Life

"AT&T has announced a new home security and automation service called Digital Life that comes with an iPad and iPhone app with a bunch of security and remote control options."

I like these home automation set ups, makes it easy to monitor things in case you aren't home. And with this one you actually get them to install and monitor. If you are in Dallas or Atlanta, you might want to go to the AT&T site for this since those areas are the first to go live this summer.

Coming to the US: Kyocera Rise, Qwerty Slider with ICS

"Kyocera is looking to regain a foothold in the US smartphone market, and curiously enough, it's doing so by catering to niche audiences. First we saw the Hydro, a waterproof handset, and alongside it is the Rise, which features a sliding QWERTY keyboard."

The Kyocera Rise should be an inexpensive phone with the latest version of Android for people who mainly want to do texting. It's CDMA so you can look for it on Sprint or Verizon. It has a 3.5" 320x480 resolution IPS LCD screen, 512MB of RAM, 2GB of built-in storage and it comes with a 2GB MicroSD card. It has a single-core 1GHz Snapdragon S2 processor that should feel very fast especially with such a low screen resolution. It also has a 1500mAH battery that should provide plenty of juice to get you through the day on this device. We don't know which carrier it will go to but my guess would be Sprint.
It's great to see Kyocera ready to ship the Rise with Android 4.0 but it's really too bad they gave it a screen that's so small and has such a low resolution. Really, I can't believe any manufacturer would release any phone with a lower screen resolution than 480x800. At least they put the needed system buttons on the phone so you don't need to waste more of the screen just to show the system buttons. The keyboard looks like the keys are nicely spaced and I always like having an inverted T layout for the arrow keys but I'm also a fan of a 5 row keyboard so you don't need to use a function button to get numbers.
Are you looking for a lean, mean, texting machine? Are you OK with the screen size and resolution? Check out the hands-on video after the break!

Kate Brooks on the iPad

"There's never been a shortage of hidden objects to find on the iPad, but now you'll at least have the help of Kate Brooks."

Looks like a fun game, and initially it is free to begin, you will have to deal with an in-app cost of $4.99 USD to continue the game. Sounds reasonable if you can play it enough at the beginning to tell if you really like it.

Olympus Announces Tough TG-1 iHS

"Olympus has announced the Tough TG-1 iHS, a high-end rugged, waterproof compact camera. The main selling point of the camera is its 25-100mm equivalant F2.0-4.9 zoom lens. The TG-1 is tougher than previous Tough models, being waterproof to 12m (40ft) and shockproof from a height of 2m (6.6ft) and will have optional waterproof fisheye and telephoto converter lenses available."

What is iHS supposed to mean? Anyway, this is a new Tough camera with increased specifications from the previous models. In particular, the 4x 25mm-100mm equivalent f/2.0-4.9 zoom lens is faster than many other cameras in its class, especially at that wide end with the f/2.0 aperture. The camera has a 12 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor which is stabilised, a 3" VGA OLED screen (but in Pentile layout), 1080p video mode coupled with a 10 FPS still shooting mode at full resolution or 60 FPS at 3 megapixel, and built-in GPS. As with a rugged camera, it features waterproofing and shockproofing. The camera also promises to feature AF technology from the PEN cameras, so hopefully it will be quick (I do suspect the technology is more on the software side). Oh and what modern Olympus camera is without the Art or Magic Filters? Available in June for US$400.

Adobe's Creative Cloud Subscription Service - Worth It?

"Today is a big day for Adobe. Not only is the company officially unveiling the next versions of virtually all of the applications in its Creative Suite, but Adobe is also launching its Creative Cloud online offerings. This marks a major change in how Adobe is selling and marketing its flagship product: while the company will continue to offer a shrink-wrapped version of CS6, it's also introducing a subscription service with this update. For $49/month with an annual subscription or $79/month for month-to-month memberships, users can now get full access to any CS6 tool, including Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and AfterEffects. The suite will also include Adobe's new HTML5 design and development tools Muse and Edge, and will be deeply integrated into the company's tablet apps. Users will be able to download and install these apps on up to two machines."

Adobe recently announced the newest release of Creative Suite, the sixth version (CS6). As shown in the graphic above, there are numerous feature enhancements across all the products in the suite. Upgrading even one of the Abobe apps can be an expensive proposition for most people. Personally, I have a copy of Photoshop that is a few revisions behind, but would like to upgrade it. It is probably a good time to do so from a functionality perspective. What is intriguing with this latest release of apps, is that a new option purchase option is available. Called Creative Cloud, this new purchase option is actually a subscription service. For $49/month (US) with an annual subscription or $79/month (US) for month-to-month memberships, users can now get full access to any CS6 tool. For me, this is an incredibly tempting offer.
The Read link article has all the details about the new edition of Creative Suite, and the new subscription service. Once you've had a chance to read it, drop back here and let me know if you think the subscription service is a good deal.

Windows 8 DVD Playback Will Require Extra Media Center Pack

"Here is something interesting, you may already know that Microsoft plans to sell Windows Media Center as a separate paid pack, but now the company has just revealed that Windows 8 will also stop the support for DVD playback."

If you want to watch DVD movies on your Windows 8 computer in the future, you will have to get the Media Center Pack or the Windows 8 Pro Pack. The basic consumer version of Windows 8 will not include the ability to playback DVD movies. Microsoft's reasoning behind the omission is that more and more consumers are getting content from streaming sources so DVD playback is no longer on the top of the required capabilities list. No word on the pricing of the Media Center Pack yet.

What Can HTPC Users Expect From Intel's Ivy Bridge

"The ability to cram in more and more transistors in a die has made it possible to have both the CPU and GPU in the same silicon."

AnandTech has posted their review of Intel's Ivy Bridge from the perspective of a HTPC user. They looked at refresh rates, decoding and rendering benchmarks, network streaming capabilities, power consumption, etc. Their review is pretty comprehensive and should be a must read for anyone wondering if they should update or keep what they have.

Pentax K-01 Reviewed by Digital Camera Resource Page

"Aside from its unique looks, the K-01 is also a full-featured interchangeable lens camera. It has a 16 Megapixel CMOS sensor, K-mount lens support with built-in image stabilization, lots of manual controls, a boatload of scene modes and special effects, an HDR function, and 1080p video recording."

When the Pentax K-01 was announced, I mentioned (right in the headline no less) that Pentax cannot seem to do mirrorless cameras right. Well, in addition to all the issues that come with sticking to the K-mount instead of developing a new mount for a large sensor mirrorless camera (fat body due to large flange distance for the mirror box, slow AF with some lenses not designed for contrast detection autofocus), Pentax seems to have some terrible quality control issues here. Jeff Keller has a long history of reviewing digital cameras, but I don't think I have seen him point out so many issues in one review before! Nevertheless, if you are still interested, you can read the review, where the output from the camera is actually quite good, but given all the other issues, I think there are better mirrorless cameras out there.

Amtrak Using iPhones to Scan Tickets

"Here's a modern twist on a time-honored tradition for train travelers. Since last fall, Amtrak has been training conductors to use an iOS device to scan passenger tickets on some selected routes, including Boston to Portland, Maine, and San Jose to Sacramento, California."

You can either print out your ticket before hand, or just show the ticket barcode on your iPhone screen so they can scan it. Going paperless, I love it.

iOS Update 5.1.1 Released

"Apple has just released iOS 5.1.1 update for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. This update fixes a number of bugs, including a particular annoying one affecting the iPad 3 which resulted users losing access to their cellular data connection until they rebooted their tablet."

The biggest fix is for the bug that causes problems on the new iPad when switching between 2G and 3G networks. But the annoying bug that is supposedly fixed is the one I've experienced, namely the one that displayed the "unable to purchase" message when you actually have purchased the item. You can find out more at Apple about this "first ever" iPad 3 update.

Microsoft Welcomes You To Your Home

""More than a decade ago, Microsoft execs, led by Chairman Bill Gates, were touting a future where .Net coffee pots, bulletin boards, and refrigerator magnets would be part of homes where smart devices would communicate and inter-operate. Microsoft hasn't given up on that dream."

Desktop computers, check. Laptops, check. Gaming console, check. Mobile phone, check. Home automation... it looks like Microsoft is intent on offering services for every aspect of your life. Their latest innovation comes to you in the form of HomeOS, a home automation system. Home automation is nothing new, and there are numerous specialized companies ready to offer you fancy, expensive automation systems so you can stand outside your home constantly turning your lights on and off from your phone. If you have an appetite for tinkering, there are more home grown solutions such as LinuxMCE, that while it handles media streaming, also integrates with many other things such as automation and security. Apple is slowly approaching this sort of service as well though right now, it seems mostly just focused on media.
I think that HomeOS could go really well, especially if it integrates with Windows Home Server. It would not make sense if you needed two separate servers to handle your home server-like needs. I have to wonder if there is a great use for this, as them young ones seem to be living a much more mobile lifestyle than before, and whatever you have at home is not as relevant anymore.

Clean Up Some Space by Clearing Up Your Dropbox Cache

"I use Dropbox to sync files across my Macs, but also to collaborate with others using shared folders. One day, I discovered that the disk space on my MacBook Air had dropped substantially."

Once he started poking around he found some files that he didn't really need, all within the dropbox.cache file. Simple but something I hadn't really thought about. I guess this happens in a variety of programs, such as Chrome, so it makes sense to find out where these hidden files are and if you really need them.

Griffin and Crayola Kid Friendly Headphones

"First revealed in January at CES, Griffin and Crayola are now shipping their volume-limiting, kid-friendly MyPhones ($25) and MyPhones Earbuds ($15)."

Very cute and definitely kid friendly. Check out the article for pictures of the earbuds, very clever. Available now on the Griffin site.

AluPen Pro Stylus

The AluPen Pro is a combo ballpoint pen and rubber tipped stylus. The product comes with a replaceable tip for when the little rubber bubble wears out. Also has a small carrying case to protect the stylus and keep it from scratching anything in a bag."

Great option if you are looking for a stylus, since it also has a pen for those times when you need to actually write something down on paper. Best of both worlds. It's available now for around $36.00 USD