We’re NOT Shaving with a Motorola DROID RAZR, We’re Giving One Away! – “Mother’s Day Special” – Cast of Dads Podcast

While Mother's Day has come and gone, and yes, all of the Cast of Dads were able to plan ahead to treat the moms (and wives) of our lives to their special day, we do have a "Mother's Day Special" after the day went by. And, this episode marks a great milestone for the Cast of Dads - we have a sponsor (Motorola and their new Android RAZR). Let me cut to the chase here - we are GIVING ONE AWAY! All that you have to do is listen to this podcast and then head on over to this episode of the Cast of Dads… [more]

We’re NOT Shaving with a Motorola DROID RAZR, We’re Giving One Away! – “Mother’s Day Special” – Cast of Dads Podcast We're NOT Shaving with a Motorola DROID RAZR, We're Giving One Away! - "Mother's Day Special" - Cast of Dads Podcast

Seagate Storage Review Roundup: Thunderbolt Adapters for the GoFlex Line & the Satellite Wifi Portable Storage Solution

I have been evaluating 3 different storage solutions from Seagate for the past few months, two of these involve the new super high-speed Thunderbolt connection and one is designed to provide a huge amount of portable hard drive space for mobile devices via a Wifi connection. As we, as consumers, are creating more and more large sets of digital data in the form of multimedia files like high-resolution photos or high-definition videos, having places to store these types of files is critical. And if… [more]

Seagate Storage Review Roundup: Thunderbolt Adapters for the GoFlex Line & the Satellite Wifi Portable Storage Solution Seagate Storage Review Roundup: Thunderbolt Adapters for the GoFlex Line & the Satellite Wifi Portable Storage Solution

The 2012 Chrysler 300S Exudes Confidence & Style with some Technology & Performance Thrown In

I have driven a sedan now since 1998. It's a great form factor for a 4-5 person family, especially if your children are younger. As they grow up, sedans might not be a preferred choice, until the kids have flown the nest. But as a second car, a sedan is a definite solid addition to the family fleet of cars. For 10 days, I got to play around, elegantly I might add, in the 2012 Chrysler 300S sedan. It was, for lack of a better word, solid. Not only does the outside styling look refined in a slightly… [more]

The 2012 Chrysler 300S Exudes Confidence & Style with some Technology & Performance Thrown In The 2012 Chrysler 300S Exudes Confidence & Style with some Technology & Performance Thrown In

Old Fashioned Content Delivery About New Fashioned Technology – Scholastic Discover More “Technology” Book

I usually write about technology and gadgets. Anything bright and shiny really gets my attention, so much so, that I have little to no time to read books as most of my reading is confined to trade publications and articles. My children, however, especially my youngest daughter seem to LOVE reading, which is exciting. However, I just got my hands on an advanced copy of new book coming out soon by Scholastic as part of a new series called "Scholastic Discover More." The book that caught my attention… [more]

Old Fashioned Content Delivery About New Fashioned Technology – Scholastic Discover More “Technology” Book Old Fashioned Content Delivery About New Fashioned Technology - Scholastic Discover More "Technology" Book

How To Create a “Work” Menu Like Office 2004/2008 in Microsoft Word 2011 for Mac

While I truly like Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac (you can see my review of it here on the Microsoft Office for Mac Blog), there are some folks who have complained about a feature being removed from previous versions, specifically, the “Work” menu that was present in previous versions of Word in Office for Mac (2004 & 2008). Personally, I never used that feature, simply because I didn’t need to. The “Open Recent…” menu item was just fine for me and I also really try to organize my… [more]

How To Create a “Work” Menu Like Office 2004/2008 in Microsoft Word 2011 for Mac How To Create a "Work" Menu Like Office 2004/2008 in Microsoft Word 2011 for Mac

We’re NOT Shaving with a Motorola DROID RAZR, We’re Giving One Away! – “Mother’s Day Special” – Cast of Dads Podcast

by Michael Sheehan on May 16, 2012

in Cast of Dads, Cellular, Consumer Electronics, Family, Gadgets, General, Hardware, Mobile, Opinion, parenting, PodCast

Post image for We’re NOT Shaving with a Motorola DROID RAZR, We’re Giving One Away! – “Mother’s Day Special” – Cast of Dads Podcast

While Mother’s Day has come and gone, and yes, all of the Cast of Dads were able to plan ahead to treat the moms (and wives) of our lives to their special day, we do have a “Mother’s Day Special” after the day went by. And, this episode marks a great milestone for the Cast of Dads – we have a sponsor (Motorola and their new Android RAZR). Let me cut to the chase here – we are GIVING ONE AWAY! All that you have to do is listen to this podcast and then head on over to this episode of the Cast of Dads website to enter. We put the RAZR to the test during Mother’s Day and talked all about it, as well as other Mother’s Day festivities. Alas, we couldn’t use the RAZR for shaving but heck, that could be coming someday! A true “dad’s smartphone!”

Cast_of_Dads_episode_specialmom2012

We are also calling this a special episode because not all of the Cast of Dads were present. Max was out sailing with his son – what a cool and special occasion! But we covered a lot of other really fun topics – can you say trains, home movies, graduations, getting back to nature and scuba diving? We never know what direction the podcast will go, and that’s what makes it fun!

And thanks again to Motorola for sponsoring this episode. In fact, I’m using the Wifi tethering option to write this post!

The Topics

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Seagate Storage Review Roundup: Thunderbolt Adapters for the GoFlex Line & the Satellite Wifi Portable Storage Solution

by Michael Sheehan on May 15, 2012

in Apple, application, Consumer Electronics, Gadgets, General, Hardware, iPad, iPhone, Mobile, Opinion, Review

Post image for Seagate Storage Review Roundup: Thunderbolt Adapters for the GoFlex Line & the Satellite Wifi Portable Storage Solution

I have been evaluating 3 different storage solutions from Seagate for the past few months, two of these involve the new super high-speed Thunderbolt connection and one is designed to provide a huge amount of portable hard drive space for mobile devices via a Wifi connection. As we, as consumers, are creating more and more large sets of digital data in the form of multimedia files like high-resolution photos or high-definition videos, having places to store these types of files is critical. And if you are like me, you don’t simply need to store these files, you want to create more media with them. You want to edit video and stream music. And you need to be sure you have that storage available and it needs to be fast.

GoFlex-portable-thunderbolt

In this review, I’m actually going to talk about three storage solutions from Seagate, specifically:

  • GoFlex Satellite
  • GoFlex Desk Thunderbolt Adapter
  • GoFlex Portable Thunderbolt Adapter

I’m first going to talk about the Thunderbolt solutions. Thunderbolt is a technology that many multimedia (and Mac designers) have been clamoring for for a long time. Not only does it allow for super fast data transmission & throughput speeds of up to 10 GB per second, it can actually do a whole lot more. You can also daisy-chain up to 7 devices, power some of them and not lose any throughput in the process. So, think about hooking up your Mac, to a Thunderbolt display and then to a hard drive or even a few Thunderbolt hard drives, and you probably can tuck away a few power cords in the process since for some devices, the power is provided through the (expensive) Thunderbolt cables. This is a new standard that Apple is adopting to replace FireWire 400/800 and to compete against USB 3.0.

[click to continue…]

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The 2012 Chrysler 300S Exudes Confidence & Style with some Technology & Performance Thrown In

by Michael Sheehan on May 9, 2012

in auto, General, Hardware, Opinion, Review, video

Post image for The 2012 Chrysler 300S Exudes Confidence & Style with some Technology & Performance Thrown In

I have driven a sedan now since 1998. It’s a great form factor for a 4-5 person family, especially if your children are younger. As they grow up, sedans might not be a preferred choice, until the kids have flown the nest. But as a second car, a sedan is a definite solid addition to the family fleet of cars. For 10 days, I got to play around, elegantly I might add, in the 2012 Chrysler 300S sedan. It was, for lack of a better word, solid. Not only does the outside styling look refined in a slightly edgy manner, the interior was packed with luxurious comforts that you might find in cars twice the price. And this blending of styling and comfort was supplemented with performance and bolstered by technology.

HTD-2012-Chrysler-300S-259

What first grabbed my about the 300S that I drove was the color choice for interior and exterior. The outside was a rich, dark black which looked really sleek. And the interior is what I really loved. The S version has red leather seats so the combination of the black and red fit right at home with HighTechDad, my preferred colors.

HTD-2012-Chrysler-300S-298

As with most autos these days, the 300S has a keyless entry system, meaning that you simply put your keys in your pocket and forget about them. The doors automatically unlock when you put your hands on the handle and you can lock all of them by simply pushing on a button on the handle. Inside, there is a push-button starter, another common feature on many newer cars these days. Let me tell you, it is so difficult now to go back to my tired old car and have to fumble around in my pockets to get my keys. There have been times recently when I simply forgot to take them out and didn’t understand why the doors didn’t automatically open.

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Old Fashioned Content Delivery About New Fashioned Technology – Scholastic Discover More “Technology” Book

by Michael Sheehan on May 7, 2012

in Book, Consumer Electronics, Family, Gadgets, General, Hardware, Opinion, Review, Tech News

Post image for Old Fashioned Content Delivery About New Fashioned Technology – Scholastic Discover More “Technology” Book

I usually write about technology and gadgets. Anything bright and shiny really gets my attention, so much so, that I have little to no time to read books as most of my reading is confined to trade publications and articles. My children, however, especially my youngest daughter seem to LOVE reading, which is exciting. However, I just got my hands on an advanced copy of new book coming out soon by Scholastic as part of a new series called “Scholastic Discover More.” The book that caught my attention in particular was one called “Technology – How today’s technology really works” by Clive Gifford.

scholastic-discover-more-technology-cover

Targeted towards the “Expert Reader” (ages 9-13), the “Technology” book actually was one of the first books that I have picked up and “read” in quite a long time. I put “read” in quotes because it is actually more of an advanced picture book than a book of literature. However, that doesn’t mean that it is better or worse in any way. In fact, the book is not only engaging, but it is truly educational. And, as with books about any type of technology, I would have thought that it would be instantly out of date. In fact, it is pretty current and discusses and breaks down the latest technology trends in easy to understand examples (complete with bright and shiny pictures as well). And, to top it off, each book comes with a unique code that allows you to download a digital companion to it.

Technology-ebook-cover

The structure of the “Technology” book is unique. For starters, it is broken up in to chapters around certain subjects and within each subject are sub-sections. The primary sections (and some of the sub-sections – I did not list all of them) are: [click to continue…]

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How To Create a “Work” Menu Like Office 2004/2008 in Microsoft Word 2011 for Mac

May 4, 2012
Thumbnail image for How To Create a “Work” Menu Like Office 2004/2008 in Microsoft Word 2011 for Mac

While I truly like Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac (you can see my review of it here on the Microsoft Office for Mac Blog), there are some folks who have complained about a feature being removed from previous versions, specifically, the “Work” menu that was present in previous versions of Word in Office for Mac [...]

Read the full article →

Take a Piano With You Wherever You Go With The Line6 Mobile Keys For PC, Mac & iOS

May 1, 2012
Thumbnail image for Take a Piano With You Wherever You Go With The Line6 Mobile Keys For PC, Mac & iOS

When I was young, I played the piano. I was ok at it, did plenty of recitals and learned enough over 5 years to be able to still do some sight-reading even now. My middle daughter, who is 10 now, is quickly surpassing my skills, although for a while, I was able to sight-read some [...]

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Get Freedom from Pollen this Spring with the Honeywell HPA-150 HEPA Tower Allergen Remover

April 30, 2012
Thumbnail image for Get Freedom from Pollen this Spring with the Honeywell HPA-150 HEPA Tower Allergen Remover

With Springtime comes change. Hills start getting greener, trees start having leaves emerge from their dormant branches, flowers start opening, eyes start getting scratchy, noses start running, sniffles replace tabletop conversation, sneezes disrupt the normal flow of life. Yes, with Spring comes pollen and allergies. It’s pretty hard to get away from it unless you [...]

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Behind the Scenes: Filming My LG Techorating Home Entertainment Living Room Makeover

April 27, 2012
Thumbnail image for Behind the Scenes: Filming My LG Techorating Home Entertainment Living Room Makeover

It’s been a few months now since LG contacted me to find out if I was interested in participating in a head-to-head competition with another “daddy blogger.” It wasn’t a challenge of wit or writing or sports (well not really) – it was a challenge to see whose living room could be “techorated” better by [...]

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