“General” collection
Access a diverse collection of miscellaneous technology reviews, specialized DIY tool assessments, and unique lifestyle articles. From niche electrical equipment to general digital organization tips, this section covers the broad spectrum of a tech-focused life.
HTD Tech Briefs
View all →July 31, 2009
Consumer Heads-Up Displays May Be Sooner Than You Think with the “eyePhone”
I have been thinking about the recent release of iPhone OS 3.1 Beta 3 to the iPhone development community and the fact that there is now the framework and APIs for "augmented reality" applications available for programmers. What are "augmented reality" apps? Basically, applications that use the iPhone's camera as well as GPS, compass and accelerometer to produce visual interactivity…
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July 24, 2009
Review: “Eyes On” with the Dell Adamo 13
I was originally going to have the title of this review be "Hands On with the Dell Adamo 13" but I realized that laptops, notebooks and netbooks are really a dime a dozen these days. While the innards of a laptop can be very similar, what I think sets many laptops apart are their design, functionality and aesthetics. There are…
Read more →July 20, 2009
Altec Lansing’s Orbit MP3 Speaker Means High Quality Sound yet Inexpensive Portability
The nice thing about cell phones and MP3 players these days is that they hold a ton of music and they are extremely portable and functional. But the problem is, most players either don't have a speaker or if they do, it is only good for a conference call now and then and not really for playing your music or…
Read more →July 16, 2009
The Belkin N1 Vision: A Wireless Router Built for Speed as well as Display
If you are like me, you have your wireless router tucked away in a closet, at the top of a shelf or under a desk somewhere. I have one of mine on top of a kitchen hutch because it's in the center of the house, high up (for better reception) and close to the DSL connection. The other is tucked…
Read more →July 14, 2009
The DO’s and DON’Ts of Customer Service in a Social Media Age
How many times have you had a bad customer service experience? More than 50% of the time? I will bet that you think that it's much higher than that even. Most of us tend to remember poor customer service experiences than good ones. It's easier to gripe and complain about someone NOT doing something to your satisfaction than it is…
Read more →July 7, 2009
Review: Double your iPhone’s Battery with the Mophie Juice Pack Air
I am a hard-core iPhone data user. My AT&T account shows that I have downloaded 5.4 GB and uploaded 1.1 GB worth of data since I received my first iPhone. I suck through batteries like there is no tomorrow, so much so that I actually had to return my first iPhone because the battery just wasn't holding a charge because…
Read more →July 1, 2009
5 “Hidden” iPhone 3.0 Firmware Tricks
I have been playing around quite a bit with my new iPhone 3GS and the apps and firmware therein. I can't say enough positive things about the release so I wanted to write about a few items that people might not know about because they are buried away or not immediately apparent. I'm sure there are many people who have…
Read more →June 30, 2009
My Wife’s Father’s Day Shopping Challenge
It's been well over a week since Father's Day crossed our paths. I pretty much killed myself trying to get reviews out on some of the products that I have received over the past couple of months that I thought would be good gifts for Father's Day. Since Father's Day has passed, I have been slowing down a bit. However,…
Read more →June 23, 2009
How to Fix Apple Mail Not Saving Passwords – Keychain First Aid
Recently I was plagued with having to repeatedly enter and re-enter my passwords on some of my email accounts using Apple Mail. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. I would get asked to enter when sending email from a certain account as well as when trying to receive email from a completely different email account.…
Read more →June 22, 2009
Restore Missing iPhone Applications after 3.0 Firmware Upgrade
I was excited like many others to get the new Apple iPhone firmware 3.0 update last week. Installation was not an issue for me, even after coming from a jailbroken 2G (original) iPhone. That is, until I started looking for some of my applications. For some odd reason, there were several of my applications that had just disappeared. I finally…
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June 19, 2009
Find Your Way with the Magellan RoadMate 1470
The last gadget that I'm going review right before Father's Day is upon us (see my other Father's Day reviews here) is something that every Dad would love to receive. But heck, if you are reading this review after the "magical" day, just know that you can bring a smile to any dad's face and even a tear to his…
Read more →June 18, 2009
Sennheiser’s MM 50 iP Headphones are Music to my Ears
I have been using the Apple-issued iPhone headphones for over 2 years. Only for a brief period did I use some Sony Headphones with an adapter for the microphone. The Sony's got a bit beaten up in my daily transportation routine so I was back to my standard issue Apple headphone. Music sounded great, clear, clean and crisp...that is, until…
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