Archive for October, 2009
Make culinary music with a mandoline slicer
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
If you cook frequently, you might want to check out our new ConsumerSearch report on the best kitchen mandoline slicers. Most mandolines look like flat graters, but many have feet that hold the slicing plane, or runway, at a 45-degree angle. The bottom half of the mandoline is usually fixed, while the top half pivots to allow for slices of varying thickness. Some can also make crinkle and waffle cuts, dice and julienne. The best mandolines are simple to operate, and they allow you to make dozens of uniform slices in a matter of minutes, cutting down the time it takes to prepare gratins, stir-fried meals, ratatouille, apple tarts and other dishes.
Pass the tissue? Drive it over here instead
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
(Credit:
Rakuten)
Hang on. You’re coughing and sneezing your lungs out, and you want ME to come inside Ground Zero to pass you a tissue? No thanks. Four little letters and numbers: H1N1.
Fortunately, we have Rakuten’s Running Tissue Box to come to the rescue. Using a standard …
This week in Crave: The super-spooky edition
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
Too busy cobbling together your Balloon Boy Halloween costume to keep up with Crave this week? Fear not! The weekly roundup has arrived.
• Nintendo supersized its gaming handheld. Here, all your DSi LL questions answered.
We admit it, we’re scared.
(Credit:
Trossen Robotics)
• We deconstructed the Droid. …
Can you top these iPhone Halloween costumes?
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
Not only is the Apple iPhone a consumer and reviewer favorite, this year, it’s pretty much the coolest Halloween costume we’ve seen. Via the gang at TUAW, we give you Reko Rivera and John Savio in their incredibly awesome iPhone getups. The 85-pound costumes feature 42-inch LCD TVs taking video from John and Reko’s actual iPhones, which the guys can actually use to change what everyone sees on the big displays. Power comes from car batteries mounted inside the costumes, which not only supply juice to the LCD TVs, but also keep Rivera and Savio’s iphones charged while they’re out winning costume contests. Total amount spent on the two costumes is around $2,000, and the full backstory is posted on Savio’s YouTube page, where you can watch the costumes in action. Trick or treat, everybody!
Man fakes moon landing in own garage for $800
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
(Credit:
Jonathan Worth/PopSci)
I know most of you out there think we landed two Americans on the moon in 1969. Well, let me tell you that you’re wrong. It’s all a hoax! It was done on a sound stage and George Clooney and Dan Aykroyd were involved!
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Get cozy with comics on your iPhone
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
If you’re a fan of comic books, you should also be a fan of the iPhone. Apple’s smartphone is home to several neat comic-book apps designed specifically for those who want to enjoy harrowing stories of their favorite heroes in the Digital Age.
I’ve sifted through the many apps related to comic books and found a handful that you’ll want to try out. Whether you’re a DC Comics fan or you’re partial to Marvel, I think you’ll like what you find in these apps.
Get your comic on
Clickwheel Comic Reader if you plan to read comic books on your iPhone, the Clickwheel Comic Reader will be able to satisfy that desire.
When you start using Clickwheel Comic Reader, you’ll be able to sift through comic books and find one you want to read. The app doesn’t have many of the classics like those you would find from an app like Comics or iVerse Comics (see below), but it does have some comic books you might care about. Either way, the app displays all your favorite content in full color on your iPhone. And since it’s free, it’s probably worth trying out if you don’t mind reading a relatively small collection of books.
If you want to read some comic books, Clickwheel might be your choice.
(Credit:
Clickwheel)
Comic Envi If you’re more into comic strips than comic books, we have you covered too.
With the help of Comic Envi, you can check out some of your favorite comic strips. You can check out old, well-known comic strips, Web-only offerings, and more. You have the option of viewing them in a slideshow or by moving them with your fingers. You can also check out the daily updated strips or some of the titles in the archive. It’s a neat utility, but beware that you will need to pay 99 cents to get it.
Check out Comic Strips with the help of Comic Envi.
(Credit:
Comic Envi)
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Originally posted at Webware
Dog buys 5,000 Xbox points
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
Perhaps you are one of those who saves your credit card information on your Xbox remote so you can buy points at the very time your mood demands them. Perhaps you also have a dog. Then this story from Fox News will be important to you.
Greg Stroke and Christine …
Originally posted at Technically Incorrect
Lightroom 3: Bring on the time-lapse videos
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
Adobe Systems released the first Lightroom 3.0 beta only last week, but already people are adapting the software for their own ends. In Sean McCormack‘s case, time-lapse video.
Time-lapse photography, for those unfamiliar with it, compresses a sequence of still images into a movie that appears to speed up the passage of time. It’s how nature documentaries get those clouds scudding over the mountains and the sun racing across the sky.
Most of us use just a small fraction of what our software can do, but McCormack is one of those people at the other end of the spectrum who figures out how to push software well beyond the built-in feature set. In Lightroom’s case he took advantage of its ability to export a sequence of shots as a video, a feature designed to let photographers create easily shared slideshows.
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Originally posted at Deep Tech
MP3 players with memory expansion
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)
In the beginning, MP3 players relied heavily on memory-card expansion slots, because built-in memory was painfully scarce. My, how the times have changed. Nowadays, internal flash chips offer up to 32GB of storage, and memory-card expansion slots–which almost exclusively take some form of SD media–are merely …
Hands-on with DJ Hero
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
As the music games genre overflows with add-on packs for Guitar Hero and Rock Band (and too many plastic guitar variations to count), consumers might be feeling a little gun-shy about adding a turntable to the mix. Smartly, however, Activision has countered the skepticism by adding what might be the best video game soundtrack of all time to DJ Hero.
Ninety-three tracks (double the amount on The Beatles: Rock Band) of unique mashups and remixes from some of the world’s most renowned DJs are not only great listening, but each one takes two excellent source songs to make music with. That’s actually 186 songs floating around somewhere in this game.
Scott:
The turntable in DJ Hero almost feels like an afterthought compared with the track selection, but it’s solid and thankfully compact, with a free-spinning platter that’s extremely smooth. The plastic buttons, crossfader, and other knobs feel a little jiggly, but the rubber feet beneath will make sure the controller stays put on a table.
To make music in DJ Hero, a very similar-looking “notes approaching” interface is repurposed to resemble a spinning record. Three different note-tracks are controlled by pressing colored buttons on the plastic turntable, just like Guitar Hero or Rock Band. You can also scratch the notes by pressing and turning at the same time.
On the left side of the controller, the crossfader is activated during certain zig-zaggy cues in the track, and alternates the two tracks. Above that is a “euphoria” button that is DJ Hero’s version of “star power.” Beside that is also a knob that either controls pitch effects during some sections, or selects sound effects in another portion of gameplay. As you can imagine, it starts to get complicated. DJ Hero might have one knob too many, but it adds to the feel of deck manipulation, and keeps your hands pretty busy. The end result–awesome hip-hop–is worth the effort.
Months ago, we were skeptical about DJ Hero–we worried that it was shameless music game exploitation. We were wrong. The effort has been exceptional, and that level of incredible musical talent should earn DJ Hero serious consideration this fall, perhaps even over the latest Rock Band and Guitar Hero entries.
Jeff:
The real star of DJ Hero is without a doubt the music. The game boasts 93 mashup tracks that are sure to appeal to music tastes of all kinds with some of the most renowned DJs in the business lending their talents to the game.
So how does it play? DJ Hero is an interesting beast as its wireless turntable controller must be played on flat surface. We found success laying it on an ottoman while sitting on a couch behind it. For the most part, the tapping, crossfading, and scratching works, but you may have a problem with the button closest to the center of the faux record. Since it’s anchored so closely to the center, it’s tougher to scratch than the outer buttons. Regardless of how you orientate the controller, that last button may give you a problem.
The crossfader is also tough to master as its center position is not as easy to detect as you might think. During songs you’ll have to switch it left and right, but we wish the center was more noticeable just by feeling its position–a definitive notch here would have helped.
DJ Hero may have less of an appeal to the more mainstream Guitar Hero franchise fan; it’s a different demographic that this game is trying to reach. That combined with the intimidation of finding room for yet another plastic accessory and its $120 price tag may turn off prospective buyers.
Dan:
We’ve spoken before about the threat of guitar game fatigue, with semiannual installments of music games vying for consumer’s increasingly stretched dollars. Successfully injecting a little new life into the genre, DJ Hero is the biggest sea change in music games since the addition of drum kits.
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Tiremaker Bridgestone develops flexible e-book reader
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
(Credit:
Bridgestone)
When not making tires, Bridgestone is working on e-book readers so flexible they’d probably survive being driven over. They’ve even got a prototype ready for testing, but no plans to commercialize the slender and bendy device at this point.
The reader (press release in Japanese) is …
New Apple iMacs plagued by choppy Flash video playback?
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
(Credit:
CNET)
After reading Engadget’s report citing recent complaints about Flash video playback mucking up system resources on the latest 27-inch Apple iMacs, we decided to test out the claims using our own system. Users on the Apple Discussion threads noticed a bug in the Flash Player that bogs …
Listening test: Audio-Technica’s new ATH-ANC7b QuietPoint noise-canceling headphones
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
(Credit:
Audio-Technica)
Last year, we reviewed the Audio-Technica QuietPoint ATH-ANC7 noise-canceling headphones, and editor Jasmine France thought they were a good value, offering decent, but not great, sound for the money. Well, when we heard that Audio-Technica was releasing a new, improved version of these headphones with a “b” tacked …
Klipsch Image S4i a great buy for iPhone owners
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
The Klipsch Image S4i earphones are nearly identical to their sibling, the Image S4. They not only provide the same comfortable fit and stellar sound quality, but also offer the added bonus of an integrated mic and call answer button, as well as volume controls and remote playback for the …
Originally posted at iPhone Atlas
Skullcandy Icon 2 earphones: Anything but boring
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
Some people prefer earphones that blend in so much no one can tell they’re even being used, while others like their ear cans to stand out from the crowd. If you fall into the latter crowd, the Skullcandy Icon 2 headphones will probably be right up your alley. This …
Originally posted at iPod accessories
Why your 3-year-old needs an iPhone
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
I am not concerned about the future, only because I am told that humans will soon be in the clutch and thrall of robots and perfect harmony will be enjoyed by all. However, I must register the initial frisson of disturbia I experienced on reading a report from the Boston Globe magazine that suggests the iPhone may be a wise toy for 3-year-olds.
No, this is not some mocking suggestion that those who use an iPhone do, indeed, have the minds of children less than 4. It is, rather, a fascinating analysis of what happens when you just hand a 3-year-old an iPhone with the initial aim of keeping the little rodent in your life quiet.
It seems the iPhone’s happy, colorful design is not only a great attraction for a little child’s imagination, but the keyboard tends to suit tinier fingers rather better than larger ones.
Indeed, there is a considerable possibility that the iPhone might just help in children’s education, something app developers have not been slow to realize. The Globe tells us that 60 percent of the apps in the education section of the iTunes store target extremely little people.
Now I know there will be those who worry that if you give a little one an iPhone they will be zapped with gamma rays and all sorts of deleterious electronic waves that will seep into their brains and be an enormous health risk.
One might heed the words of Dariusz Leszczysnki, a researcher for the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland, who told a Senate subcommittee: “In my opinion the current safety standards are not sufficiently supported because of the very limited research on human volunteers, children, and on the effects of long-term exposures in humans.”
But most of the things parents give children to keep them quiet carry a certain risk to health: plastic toys that kids lick, bite, and try to swallow with the result that all sorts of paint and gunk might enter their bodies; candy that children lick, bite, and try to swallow with the result that they then put on weight; and let’s not even start with the quality of teenage babysitting in the world.
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Originally posted at Technically Incorrect
Hands-on with Envizen’s portable DVD player with DTV tuner
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
You probably haven’t heard of Envizen, but it’s one of several off-brand companies putting out new digital portable TVs to replace all the obsolete analog units that were toted to sporting …
Palm Pixi clears FCC
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
Besides a slew of new LG phones, the biggest news out of the Federal Communications this week is the approval of the Palm Pixi. In light of its November 15 release date, the Pixi’s appearance here is not surprising. We also spied the Google Android-equipped LG GW620.
Because the …
Originally posted at Dialed In Podcast
Home Depot drills home efficiency message with 15% discount
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
Between now and November 8, if you have an old drill — even one that’s not working — you can bring it to your local Home Depot and trade it in for a 15-percent discount on a new lithium-ion cordless drill. The promotion is part of Home Depot’s “Eco Options” drive, which is focused on getting customers to use more energy-efficient tools, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. We’re kicking ourselves because we recently tossed a couple of old drills that hadn’t worked in years during a recent garage clean-up. If your current drill is old and busted, don’t make the same mistake we did. This might a good time to upgrade.
Will Sears’ $80 doorbuster sewing machine have you stitching pretty?
by Talk about Deal on Oct.31, 2009, under Review
A basic sewing machine is a great gift for a Project Runway wannabee; most non-fancy mechanical machines can be had for about $100. But a lousy sewing machine will leave a novice more discouraged than inspired.
We’ve read good reviews for some of Kenmore’s sewing machines in the past, but is the Kenmore 19106 featured in the store’s leaked Black Friday circular a good deal?
The answer? This machine is cheap, but totally untested.
Our recommendation: Get a sewing machine with a known track record like the $90 Brother XL-2600i.
