Convenience Archive

  • Apple patent shows Bluetooth headset with built-in media player

    Apple patent shows Bluetooth headset with built-in media player

    Posted on October 29, 2009 | No Comments
    Writing about patents really ought to be banned, since so many companies file so many patents every year that it's silly to cherry pick this one or that one, drawing attention to something that may never exist. Be that as it may, today an Apple patent was discovered that shows a wireless headset that includes a media player. Think of it as “a Bluetooth” with a built-in MP3 player.

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  • United States Postal Service goes mobile

    United States Postal Service goes mobile

    Posted on October 22, 2009 | No Comments
    Sometime yesterday, the one and only United States Postal Service launched a mobile-friendly website – m.USPS.com – for any web-enabled mobile device. Hooray! The new mobile site sports the USPS’ most “popular [online] functions” including Track & Confirm, Post Office locator, and everyone’s favorite application (according to the USPS itself), ZIP Code lookup. So why go [...]

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  • Review: iFrogz Timbre earbuds w/mic and Luxe case for iPod touch

    Review: iFrogz Timbre earbuds w/mic and Luxe case for iPod touch

    Posted on October 20, 2009 | No Comments
    DSC_0806 Short Version: What we've got here is a failure to communicate iFrogz's Timbre headphones w/mic and their iPod touch 2G & 3G Luxe case. In a nutshell, the Timbre headphones (which work with both the iPhone and iPod touch) provide decent audio playback, a reasonably comfortable fit (thanks to the three different ear bud choices), and the convenience of a built-in microphone for voice memos, Skype, etc albeit for the slightly higher than desirable price of $49.99. As for the Luxe, it is mediocre at best with a suspect design and very little going for it, especially considering it runs $29.99.

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  • Blu-ray player sales up 13%, which is modest, I guess

    Blu-ray player sales up 13%, which is modest, I guess

    Posted on October 19, 2009 | No Comments
    Surprise, surprise, more people are buying Blu-ray players this year over last year. I guess that's to be expected. In all, retailers have ordered 13 percent more Blu-ray players this year. That's 3.3 million for those keeping track. So this brings the total amount of Blu-ray players - including PS3s - in American households to a whopping 11.7 million and in nearly 25% of homes that own an HDTV when considering that 45 million US homes have high-def sets. Yeah, that's cool. But I still don't want a Blu-ray player.

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  • Secure your data with encrypted USB drives

    Secure your data with encrypted USB drives

    Posted on October 8, 2009 | No Comments
    USB media represents a double-edged sword: on the one hand, data portability is an extremely useful thing; but on the other hand, data portability can be a gigantic liability for your business operations. You can try to train your users not to put sensitive data on USB drives, but chances are that convenience will win out over security, and your data will slip out on USB media anyway. And then it's all too easy for USB media to simply disappear: I can't count how many thumb drives I've lost. New products are coming soon to help solve this problem.

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  • Happy Birthday, CDs

    Happy Birthday, CDs

    Posted on October 1, 2009 | No Comments
    The Compact Disc was quite a revolution when it came out. With a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz and a 16 bit rate, CDs marked the shift to digital music. Unfortunately, it seems to have fallen from being the playback medium of choice. These days, people either buy vinyl records because "they sound better" (especially when played on your vintage hipster record player you bought from Urban Outfitters) or MP3s online for the convenience. And noone even thinks about cassette tapes anymore.

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  • Sony and Best Buy team up on the ALTUS wireless audio system

    Sony and Best Buy team up on the ALTUS wireless audio system

    Posted on August 18, 2009 | No Comments
    Because everyone including your mother wants to rid their world of wires, Sony and Best Buy have new audio systems that feature…wireless audio! The ALTUS audio line includes basic setups like wireless computer speakers, iPod docks, and even multi-room a systems through a little add-on.

    The $500 ALT-SA32PC has two wireless speakers controlled by a USB [...]

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  • Fun Polaroid Simulator Will Waste Many Hours

    Fun Polaroid Simulator Will Waste Many Hours

    Posted on July 8, 2009 | No Comments
    The Polaroid is dead. It was killed by the digital camera, which obviated the Polaroid’s headline feature — instant photos — by making them even more instant, and even better, by making them free. Which is a shame, as the Polaroid had another appeal. The photos it produced had a certain look to them, a vignetted, [...]

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