Favorite Tablet Apps: One of them has to be Zinio

| July 25, 2013

After participating in a smartphone and tablet mobile device survey today and analyzing the apps that I regularly use, only a handful stood out. One app that has impressed me as each subscribed magazine issue arrives is Zinio. I’m not sure that I’m totally ready to give up the trip to the mailbox for the […]

Tinkering with the IPad app Uncrate

| April 29, 2013

2014 Volkswagen GTI on Uncrate – link Volkswagen XL1 on Uncrate – link

Tech Friday: iOS apps stuck in updating mode

| April 19, 2013

Sometimes the iPhone or iPad will get stuck in updating mode from the App Store and no matter how many “kills” of the app or rebooting of the device the app continues to show a stuck progress bar or “waiting” message. Often an easy fix: On the home screen, tap the icon until you see […]

Streaming HD feed from the iPad to my TV thru HDMI

| April 4, 2013

While setting up the iPad with my new (old 30 pin version) AV adapter and Kiosk Pro app, I decided to check out the new Slingbox on my workshop TV. Wow … it streamed from my HD cable box over WiFi just fine and improved the quality of the picture too. As for programing the […]

SlingPlayer updates coming to iPhone and iPad

| March 27, 2013

Glad to see updates for SlingPlayer, but considering I have the “350” and my biggest complaint has yet to be addressed — no “audio-only” — I’m still disappointed. Not everyone lives in 4G or LTE land! Even the original Slingbox had support for audio on all devices including my Palm Treo!

The 1994 tablet sure resembled today’s iPad and clones

| March 25, 2013

In the 1980s I worked for a division of Knight Ridder Newspapers in Akron, Ohio call Portage Newspaper Supply Co. (now McClatchy Company). Portage handled central purchasing for the chain’s 58+ newspapers with nearly everything that was needed to produce the printed paper, as well as a few independent products (I believe all that is […]

Is the new RAM Mount clip going to hold up?

| December 3, 2012

After the first RAM-Mount iPad holder broke at the clip, I called the customer service line and they gladly replace the previous plastic part with a new “slightly beefier” clip ($9 shipping charge). I’m still not convinced the new part (left) will hold up for the long term as it is still a bit snug […]

The Ram Mount for the iPad has a weak point

| November 20, 2012

My Ram Mount iPad car mount has a weak point and I am wondering if I’m alone or if this is a design problem? From what I can tell, the weak point is where the latch makes a 90-degree turn (see photo). Initially it was very tight to snap the roller-latch mechanism to hold the […]

Apple refreshes line of Macs and introduces the iPad Mini

| October 23, 2012

Watching the Apple news trickle in this Tuesday afternoon after munching down my small but FREE piece of pizza from Dominos (National Sampling Day) … and that’s a lot cheaper than the starting price of $329 for the 7.9” iPad Mini. Price aside, it looks like another great Apple product and leave a little room […]

Apple’s iOS 6 is available for download to many devices

| September 19, 2012

Ahead of the “hopeful” Friday delivery of a new gadget, the iPhone 5, I figured I’d give the new Apple iOS 6 a try on my iPad2. The download was made available this afternoon, but was a bit slow … which is no double due to it being 561 MB and that a “couple” other […]

Android and Apple iOS devices to be less similar in the future

| September 9, 2012

After Samsung’s recent lost to Apple in federal court, Android users will start to see a few changes to the look and feel of their phones and tablets and those being designed by Apple. One would assume that the individual manufacturer’s tweaks to Google’s Android — skins –will be modified from the current attempt to […]

One thing is for sure, Apple knows how to make money

| September 7, 2012

I read a simple article reviewing where Apple ($AAPL) makes their money … product mix, not geographic location. Anyway, I thought it was interesting that they make over 70% of their total sales (trailing 12 months) on the iPhone and iPad … that in comparison to Macintosh computers, software and services and even their Music […]

Jury says Samsung infringed on six patents held by Apple

| August 25, 2012

It’s no secret that I’m a long time Apple user and have done my part in supporting the company as computer and gadget buyer and as an $AAPL shareholder, but I’m also rebellious when their eco-system boxes out competitors. I dislike Apple telling me what software I can and can’t install on my computer devices […]

Cheap protection for the back of an iPad

| May 8, 2012

I couldn’t resist spending $3.35 on a plastic snap on slim fit back at Amazon to put on my iPad. I’ve be semi-pleased with the non-skid surface (not sticky) when holding the tablet for reading outside the case and now no long cringe when the aluminum back slides on a rough surface. For just a […]

Losing your smartphone, e-reader, tablet or notebook computer

| April 28, 2012

Airlines say they are warehousing hundreds of iPads and other tablet computers and e-readers left behind by travelers. Carriers try to reunite the devices with their owners but are often thwarted by the lack of ID tags, password protection and Apple Inc.’s reluctance to track down owners based on serial numbers. — WSJ   Scott […]

A test to see how well the Hana video plug-in works

| April 22, 2012

Testing the Hana plug-in with H.264 mp4 files. This first is with the Kodak Zx5 at the lowest setting. (iPad compatible) HANA PLAYER REPLACED in 2019 ADD — Test 2: Palm Pre raw video upload test

New video embed compatible with Apple devices

| April 22, 2012

I’ve been using embedded flash video for everything up to this point on my blog and unless the services like YouTube offer Apple H.264 mp4 versions, viewers have been out of luck with my posted video. I spent a few hours looking at different option and will give Hana FLV Player a try. Hopefully it […]

Tech Friday: The new GetPocket ReadItLater service

| April 20, 2012

http://www.getpocket.com ReadItLater.com is/was one of the better services for saving web pages for later reading or archive research. I’ve used a couple different services over the year on the computer, but have found the new ReadItLater better than most — and the free services is excellent. It is now called Pocket (getpocket.com) and has an […]

Test recording a little audio with the iPad while mobile

| April 19, 2012

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Tech Friday: Zite – a personalized magazine app for the iPad

| April 13, 2012

There are a number of news reading and article assembling type apps available for computer, phone and tablet platforms. I’ve looked at a few, but tend to shy away since they collect too many articles. Zite is a free one for the iPad (and iPhone) that I’m starting to like … probably because I’m only […]

My Apple iPad 2 and Kensington keyboard/folio thoughts

| April 7, 2012

Here are a few more first impressions … well I suppose second impressions … as I start to incorporated the “new to me” Apple iPad 2 in my daily use. One of the additions wanted was a bluetooth keyboard and some kind of case, so added the Kensington KeyFolio Pro2 bluetooth keyboard and folio/case. The small […]

Enjoyed tethering with the iPad during a busy week of travel

| April 6, 2012

I spent the week traveling “primarily” using the new to me Apple iPad 2 as my personal computer and am working on a longer version of “my impressions” that I’ll either post tonight or Saturday. I CAN say that I now understand why the tablet niche is dominated by the iPad and have to admit […]

Finally decided on a tablet – a lightly used Verizon 64GB iPad 2

| March 26, 2012

Those of you who read my blog once in a while know that I’ve struggled to decide which way to go when it comes to eReaders, Android tablets or iPads (or smartphones for that matter). I’m no longer on the fence; as timing would have it, a family member of one of my customers upgraded […]

Temperatures of the new iPad are warmer than the iPad2

| March 20, 2012

Since I already use a sometimes hot smartphone, very hot Gateway notebook and have a smokin’ hot wife  (oh, scratch that last Pastor Joe “NASCAR” Nelms plagurized line) … I’m not sure I’m anxious for another “temperature” hot device? Hmm, the discounted iPad2 is looking better all the time. It looks like we weren’t the […]

Do you really want to wait in a line for the new iPad?

| March 16, 2012

I’m not planning on going to Walmart to stand in line at 12:01AM to buy the new iPad, but would like to end up with one at some point. From the reports I’ve been reading, the battery life is still excellent (10 hours), the retina display unbeatable (super sharp) and the added weight/thickness hardly noticeable […]

The new iPad – the 3rd generation. Surprised? Not really.

| March 8, 2012

Apple introduced their highly anticipated “new iPad” and although most of the specs were as expected, CEO Tim Cook didn’t reference it as the iPad3 … just the new iPad (although it is the third generation). A few leading features are the new 9.7 inch retina display with 2048-by-1536-pixel resolution, a class leading 10 hour […]

Taking count of my Apple life after the passing of Steve Jobs

| October 6, 2011

   I’ve been thinking about the passing of Steve Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) and realized that there wasn’t enough time to include all I wanted over a lunch hour. First, his innovative vision, business savvy and keen sense of “what customers wanted” have earned him a place in my list of […]

Kindle Fire and new eInk readers from Amazon

| September 28, 2011

Stopped to check on the big NYC coverage from Amazon for their new eInk Kindle Touch reader device and highly anticipated Kindle Fire 7″ tablet device. A couple surprises are the “Silk” browser and pricing at $199. For those looking for a competitor to Apple’s iPad … look elsewhere. The new Kindles are more of […]

WSJ’s Walt Mossberg has a few thoughts on the HP Touchpad

| June 30, 2011

Although Mr. Mossberg is rightly critical about some of the shortcomings regarding HP’s late entry into the tablet computing market with the webOS Touchpad, he had a few complements too (LINK). Clever Interface I like the interface a lot. Instead of a screen full of app icons, the main screen of the TouchPad’s operating system, […]

“Me thinks” early HP Touchpad pre-sales must be slow?

| June 30, 2011

While I continue to put of buying new technology including a phone, computer, a low cost e-reader (yesterday’s post), I continue to ogle the HP Touchpad and Apple iPad. Wouldn’t you know that HP is tempting me … June 28, 2011 Early adopters: your new TouchPad just got $50 closer When the first webOS phone […]

Sorry HP, but my enthusiasm is Slip Slidin’ Away

| June 20, 2011

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Still pondering the need/want of a tablet or reader

| June 15, 2011

It is hard to believe, but yesterday was the first chance I had to play with an Apple iPad – thanks @jwestwood. I surprised at just how snappy the large touchscreen was on her second generation tablet as compared to my aging Palm Pre. I especially liked the optional Logitech Bluetooth cover/keyboard … although the […]

Eye-Fi SD X2 cards play nicely with the Apple iPad

| April 21, 2011

I’ve enjoyed my older Anniversary Edition Eye-Fi SD card for a couple of years now and have appreciated the way it uploads photos to my waiting computer via my home wi-fi access point. I’ve been watching Eye-Fi innovations and have often thought how much much more convenient it would be to have photos uploaded directly […]

Apple CEO Steve Jobs says US will have iPad2 on March 11th

| March 2, 2011

The big tech announcement today came as Steve Jobs introduced a follow up iPad 2 to Apple’s previous tablet success. Apple has pretty much been the only game in town since the introduction of the iPad. This year’s model isn’t necessarily full of surprises, but does hold the price point while adding a camera, some […]

HP-Palm’s new tablet device needs a better name

| January 25, 2011

So the HP-Palm gadget many though might be the “PalmPad” is not going to receive the blessing of the United States Patent and Trademark Office; they sees the too close to other trademarks? (Palm, Palm Pre, etc) It sort of looks to me as if HP needs to go back to the ‘slate’ devices – […]

Newsday and the iPad app

| September 10, 2010

While still not quite ready to buy another gadget, I’m thinking a better time to adjust to using an eReader, iPad or tablet device might be winter? 😀 [flv:Newsday_and_the_iPad_app.flv 490 265]

Rethinking eReaders after hauling around fat books

| July 21, 2010

I met my daughter at the Barnes and Noble bookstore tonight and had a chance to play with her electronic Nook reader again, but this time in the store. I have to admit for reading, the screen is excellent and reading text easy even for my presbyopia. Reading from the eReader has me re-thinking that […]

One year with Palm webOS and the Pre smartphone

| May 17, 2010

It seems much longer than a year, but the Palm based webOS smartphone has been out for almost 1 year  on the Sprint network. It has expanded to Verizon and recently to AT&T and is available through carriers in Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, Irerland, Spain and France. Still, between the recession ridden economy and stiff […]

B&N Nook gets an upgrade and is selling better than Kindle

| April 26, 2010

Since my daughter left her Barnes and Noble Nook at home, I took advantage of updating to the much speedier and improved version 1.3 software. The eBook reader has substantially improved its page turning and now has a less than exciting web browser. I’m not sure I’d use it for much more than very light […]

Apple iPad is made available to the public today

| April 3, 2010

Once more Apple has inspired their devoted advocates into waiting in long lines for the chance to get a limited number of “first” iPad tablet computing devices — link. Many believe that the new product will usher in a new wave of computing, one that is slotted between the smartphone led by the Apple iPhone […]

What are you really getting with eBooks?

| February 13, 2010

With my daughter at home for a couple weeks while doing an M3 year “exploratory” at Children’s Hospital here in Cincinnati, I had the chance to use her new Barnes and Noble Nook to read a book. After the newness wore off and the expense of paying for digital ebooks and publications took hold, I’ve […]

Good products, better advertising and best placement

| February 1, 2010

Apple not only makes great products that their customers love, but does and even better job of advertising and creating ‘buzz’ with product placement. Here’s the new iPad being showcased by Stephen Cobert at the Grammy Awards.

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog