TechGrid

iPad 2.0 wishlist

by MattD on March 2, 2011 · 1 comment

Today’s tech news will be dominated by the iPad 2.0 announcement. Here are some reasonable items from our wishlist for the device.

Front facing camera – could care less about a rear facing camera, but one on the front will be essential to take facetime to the next level.
Ability to stream content from an authorized Mac on the local network. This whole process of physically syncing is bothersome. I want my iPad to act like my Apple TV when it is on my home network. I should be able to browse my Mac iTunes directory and play a song or video by streaming it to the device.
Option for longer passcodes. Let’s face it, a lot of our personal data is on these devices now. Protecting it with a 4 number passcode seems a bit 1989. Apple should give users an option to enable a longer passcode or dual authentication (gesture and passcode in sequence)
HDMI out. Not gonna happen.
Better screen resolution, RAM, and processor performance – all very likely.
A consistent form factor or I DON’T WANT TO HAVE TO BUY A NEW CASE!!!
iTunes subscription streaming music service.
Wireless proximity sync. If I’m on the same network as my Mac, allow me to sync in the background.
More disc space. 128GB please.
Dual carrier wireless – one device capable of operating on Verizon or AT&T

My guess is we’ll get about 50% of this list today, but we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for more.

Tagged as: Apple, Featured, iPad

8 reasons why the Swedish House Mafia documentary Take One is brilliant

by MattD on January 5, 2011 · 0 comments

If you look at the DJ Magazine list of top 100 DJs for 2010 you’ll see one track gets a substantial number of kudos as the top song of 2010. That song is One by Swedish House Mafia which was released in early 2010l and went on to kill it on the dance floors across the world.

Documentary filmmaker Christian Larson followed the Swedish House Mafia (comprised of successful DJs Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello, and Axwell) for over a year leading up to the premiere of One at the Miami music festival. It is an entertaining 45 minute romp behind the scenes of one of the hottest acts of 2010. Here’s eight reasons why we love it: [Read more …]

Tagged as: DJ

The best way to spend Black Friday

by MattD on November 26, 2010 · 0 comments

Your mileage may vary…

Why I won’t be buying any Beatles songs on iTunes

by MattD on November 17, 2010 · 0 comments

BookBook MacBook Pro Case

by MattD on January 28, 2010 · 0 comments

The exclusively Mac accessory company TwelveSouth has released a hardback leather case cover for MacBook Pro computers that looks like a well aged leather-bound book.

I had the opportunity to travel with one of these cases for my MacBook Pro 13″ this past week and it performs a very simple function very well with a unique style and elegance you rarely see in accessory products like this.

The BookBook provides great protection for your laptop without being overly bulky. In addition, the external sides are hard enough to provide form to messenger bags that don’t have dedicated laptop pouches. I really liked the styling of this case the quality of materials from the leather exterior to the zippers is exceptional. [Read more …]

Waterfield Designs Muzetto wins the 2009 bag-off

by MattD on November 11, 2009 · 0 comments

My day to day laptop bag is overloaded and heavy. I need something that will fit just the essentials for a quick trip to the coffee shop or a few days at a conference. That was the problem statement that led to the 2009 bag-off contest that compared 5 different bags in an attempt to find the best performing small messenger bag.

[Read more …]

Why Draconian DRM sucks and Adobe sucks even more

by MattD on November 7, 2009 · 1 comment

I’ll admit to coveting an Android phone today. Not because it is a better device than my iPhone (it isn’t) and not because I want to be on the Verizon network. I was interested in the Droid phone because I am getting extremely frustrated with protectionist DRM systems and the policies Apple is using to keep applications like Google Voice out of the App Store. [Read more …]

Tagged as: Adobe, DRM, Featured

MiFi is the new WiFi lightweight champion

by MattD on May 27, 2009 · 3 comments

As frustrated as we were with the Cradlepoint wifi gateway, it was still the best solution for sharing EVDO over wifi. However, the cradlepoint lost that title in the first ten seconds of the first round when squared off against the new Verizon MiFi.

The MiFi is a beautiful device, both in terms of appearance and performance. After a quick initial set-up it just worked flawlessly creating a bubble of wifi everywhere I went. Want to watch SlingBox on your iPhone? No problem with the MiFi. Want to make SIP calls via your iPod touch or Nokia N810? Both worked instantly. [Read more …]

Chill Pill mobile speakers

by MattD on November 4, 2008 · 0 comments

I’ve lamented many times over the lack of truly portable speakers for travel. By definition, truly portable means they need to fit into my laptop bag easily without taking up too much space and can be powered by my computer or an adapter I already carry. I’ve tried several different variations, but none established a permanent residence in my gear bag until I was introduced to the Small Dog manufactured Chill Pill. [Read more …]

G1 initial review

by MattD on November 3, 2008 · 0 comments

I’ve been using the new T-Mobile/Google T1 Android phone for a week and have a few initial observations.

First, this is a decent phone with a nice feature set. It is able to make calls, browse the web, get email, and has some basic GPS functions. However, the phone comes off as lacking a certain sense of polish. In fact, the best analogy I can think of is that it is what I would expect a next generation Palm OS to look like if they hadn’t fallen off the face of the earth. In a week of use, here is what I have found: [Read more …]

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