If you haven’t already heard, or discovered for yourself: Monster cables are a rip off — especially when it comes to the world of high definition digital cables. Salespeople at your local electronics store (and Monster itself) will do their best to convince you that, to get optimal video and audio quality out of your new hi-def system or video card, you need that top of the line, $150 6-foot hdmi cable. What most probably won’t tell you is that the store gets a much higher profit (and salespeople get more commission) on your expensive cable purchase than they do from your new LCD TV or Playstation 3. What they also won’t tell you is that you will get the exact same results from a $10-$20 HDMI cable that you will from it’s super-expensive counterpart.
Author: Bobby Travis (page 42 of 51)
Bobby isn't 40-something, but is a strong supporter of the Grown-up Geek kind. He's a loving husband and father first, but is also a freelance writer, productivity nut, operatically trained singer, and (not-so) closet geek.
Check out his random thoughts, wackiness, and Instagram pics on Tumblr, Twitter, or Google+-- or just head over to bobby-travis.com.
So far, we’ve been avoiding all of the iPad chatter here at 40Tech, choosing not to get involved in the sweeping web-wide hype that it’s generated. Admittedly, some of that avoidance is fuelled by the fact that we don’t own a single iPad between us – but we hear good things. Personally, the slowly withering anti-Apple in me is inclined to wait until version two of the iPad is released, hoping for an even better experience (and a self-facing camera for video chats), but this new piece of tech/giant iPod Touch (or iPhone) has taken the worlds of techies and reg’lar folk by storm. I know this because both my mother and my wife (mother of my child) have expressed an interest in getting one. So this begs the question: Did you get your mom an iPad for Mother’s Day?
Credit given where credit’s due, Ubuntu, and other Linux distributions based on Ubuntu (like Linux Mint and Jolicloud which we will cover soon), have made massive strides in terms of features and usability. The features and raw speed of Ubuntu’s latest release (10.04), Lucid Lynx, are very enticing to the tech curious, especially those who like software alternatives and getting stuff for free. Be warned, however, if you are not familiar with the background workings of Linux (Ubuntu or otherwise), even a shiny new integrated help manual may not be enough to get you to jumpship.
When Google Wave hit the world last year, it came with many oohs and ahhs and an onset of geeky people like me and you — then reality set in and, for many, Wave lost its appeal. People complained that it was slow and confusing, often in the same breath as praising it for being brilliant and innovative.
The biggest issue, however, that kept Wave from mass adoption, was that people just couldn’t figure out what to use it for. In an effort to address such concerns and continue building out the platform, Google has released several major feature updates over the past months; the most recent of which aims to increase the usability of Google Wave by adding use-templates for new waves, and the ability to remove a user (including yourself) from a wave.
Hit the jump for details.
A few weeks back, while researching for my comparison review of Shelfster and Evernote, I stumbled upon another alternative to collect information and organize your life: Springpad. I had the pleasure of speaking with the CEO and co-founder of Springpad, Jeff Janer (formerly of Third Screen Media and Britemoon) — and I have to say, Evernote user or not, Springpad may have a place in your life.
To test this theory against my normal giddy excitement for new tech, I got my wife to try it — and, let me tell you, if my wife can find a new piece of tech both useful and exciting, then it may just be one of the best bits software to appear in a long, long time.