“Review” collection
Discover rigorous, hands-on evaluations and real-world testing of the latest consumer electronics and household tools. These “Dad Approved” assessments provide factual, objective insights into device durability, performance, and value to help you make informed purchasing decisions.
HTD Tech Briefs
View all →September 29, 2010
Buying A New Car? Here’s My Shopping Strategy with my own Dealer Incentive!
This past weekend, the transmission of my 2001 Honda Odyssey died. The car has over 130,000 miles on it and has done a fairly good job raising our family. It sort of reminds me of the latest "Modern Family" episode (see "The Old Wagon") where they just can't seem to part with the old family "junker", at least until it…
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September 23, 2010
Blazing New Trails with the TomTom XL 340S GPS
Earlier this summer, my family and I headed out on a week long family vacation up to a Dude Ranch in Northern California. As part of the trip, we had a new traveler with us, someone who would guide us on our way, let us know when we were going to arrive and provide a source of tech for the…
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September 20, 2010
Book Tour & Giveaway: The Klutz Book of Animation – Stop Motion Video Made Easy
Have you ever wondered about how Wallis and Grommit or Mr. Bill and Gumby or Davey and Goliath or Christmas shows like Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer were made? Well it's a pretty simple but incredibly painstaking process called stop motion animation. It is sometimes known as claymation if the objects are made out of clay. Regardless, the premise is simple.…
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September 16, 2010
Parallels 6 is Some Serious Tech Mojo for Mac Virtualization – Run Windows on your iPad or iPhone
I was lucky enough to get early access to the new release of Parallels (version 6). To put it bluntly, I was and still am impressed. Let's face it, virtualization has been around for quite a few years. Currently on the Mac platform, VMware and Parallels have been playing a leapfrog game, one upping each other on features, performance and…
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September 7, 2010
Giveaway & Review: Move All Your Remote Controls to the Logitech Harmony One!
I have long been an advocate and user of universal remote controls. I mean, who wants to have a drawer or table top full of remotes that you have to juggle around to control various devices. Nowadays, many remotes that you receive with a new TV or a cable box do have the ability to control a couple of other…
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September 3, 2010
Vacations, Teddy Bears, Breathalyzers and Pictographs – “Back From Vacation” Cast of Dads Podcast #30
We took a week or so off to enjoy time with our families and get ready for the start of the school year. But once we all got back on the phone this week, we definitely had a LOT to talk about in our latest Cast of Dads podcast #30, "Back From Vacation". Note: we are always looking for sponsors!…
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August 31, 2010
The Portable HD Video Recorder Smackdown (PART 2): Sony Bloggie vs Kodak Zi8
Last year around this time, I posted a head-to-head review between the Flip Ultra HD and the Kodak Zi8. Little did I know that it would become such a popular video on YouTube (it currently has over 94,000 views!). So, given that success and because of several comments to me on that video, I have decided to do another head-to-head…
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August 30, 2010
The BACtrack S75 Pro Pocket Breathalyzer – Don’t Leave Home Without One!
About a month ago, I did something pretty dumb. I had too much to drink at a neighbors house and on the way (WALKING) home at 2am, I tripped and fell in my driveway, landing on my forehead, which resulted in 18 stitches and a wonderful scar that I will use to for "crazy drinking" stories and kid lectures for…
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August 25, 2010
Develop Locally & Publish into the Cloud with Microsoft WebMatrix & GoGrid Cloud Computing
DISCLOSURE: I work at a Cloud Computing Infrastructure Service Provider (GoGrid) where I get to evaluate and talk about various solutions coming from our company as well as from our partners. I normally don't cross-post articles, unless I feel that they are relevant and can provide a service to multiple audiences. Over the past few weeks, I have been evaluating…
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August 24, 2010
DropCam is the Ultimate, Easy To Set Up, Security Webcam, Digital Baby Sitter & NannyCam
I have played around with a couple of IP-based Wireless Webcams (from Linksys and Panasonic), and while I'm pretty good usually at figuring out how to configure and work devices, IP webcam configurations are still a bit too complicated for the general public, in my opinion. For the most part, they are difficult to set up and harder to stream…
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August 20, 2010
Belkin’s Bluetooth Music Receiver is the Ultimate Music Extender from your Bluetooth Device to Your Stereo
On the way home from picking up my daughter from an activity, I decided to do some Pandora streaming in my car via a Bluetooth connection. As the Pandora station was playing a lot of great songs, when I got home, I wanted to continue hearing the song selection that was playing, so I was thinking of the best way…
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August 17, 2010
Create Your Own Personal Cloud Storage with Seagate’s GoFlex Drives & GoFlex Net
I have always been a proponent of the Cloud and various consumer services that utilize Cloud Computing. In fact, I work as the Technology Evangelist for GoGrid, a company that provides Infrastructure in the Cloud, essentially a way to get your own personal datacenter in minutes. As I write this article (which will go on my blog on a Cloud…
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