Zabius M Mobile Gaming Headset
Manufacturer: Genius
MSRP: $49.99 (Internet price: $35.24)
Zabius M
Zabius M is a great sounding pair of earphones. They are packaged in a black box with shooting flames, acetate windows, and a red scorpion logo. Inside, the earphones have flat black and red cables with chrome accents. They are contained in a black zippered case with a metallic red carabiner. All very racy, but why the style attitude?
I’m puzzled by the term “Gaming” when used in marketing materials for a tech product. What exactly are Gaming Mice, Gaming Headphones, and Gaming Mousepads? I suspect that it doesn’t have as much to do with performance as it does with demographics, edginess, and glitz.
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Sound Blaster SR20 ROAR Wireless Bluetooth Speaker – Review
Company: Creative
Price: $150
This new and remarkable portable speaker from Creative Technology changes everything. For $150, Creative Sound Blaster SR20 ROAR is the best wireless (or wired) one-piece speaker ever. It is no exaggeration to state that SR20 is comparable to a $350 or $400 speaker, with ROAR’s price less than half its value and performance.
Brydge + Keyboard with speakers for iPad 2, 3, 4
Company: Brydge
Price: $99.00 MSRP
The Brydge keyboard series has an interesting background. Begun over two years ago with a KickStarter campaign, the Brydge keyboard initially received favorable reviews by both consumers and reviewers. However, supply problems arose with the company and things faltered. Fast forward to this year and change came to the Brydge. New ownership took over and looked at what was good and made some changes to update the product line to keep up with the iPad and to provide much improved customer service.
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Adobe Lightroom mobile iPad photo editor is really good – Nemo Memo
Adobe’s Creative Cloud just got more creative and less cloudy. You can perform all essential image edits on an iPad easily on photos from the iOS Camera Roll, Photo Stream, and other sources.
Lightroom mobile was developed to be a companion to the computer version of Adobe Lightroom for professional-quality image work. Lightroom mobile for iPad is included with an affordable Creative Cloud subscription, and stands alone as a do-anywhere photo fixer using the iPad’s convenient touch interface. (The iPhone is also supported, but I don’t recommend using it for photo editing or enhancing except in emergency situations, due to the small screen size.)
Took longer than usual since we had to start over because SOMEONE (or just Guy) said something inappropriate and in poor taste though not on purpose. He’s (Guy) just an idiot sometimes. This is the last week to enter the contest for a copy of LEGO MARVEL Super Heros so send your email to enter to “contest@mymac.com” and don’t forget to say LEGO MARVEL and MyMac in the header. Gaz and Guy debate whether to be buy new, refurbished, or used when you need that next Mac.
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Guy’s App Pick: RedLaser QR scanner from eBay free as in give us personal info free
Gaz’s App Pick: SnapSeed
People’s Pick: Paperama a recommendation from Michael Cassel free with in app purchases
Rocki Play
Company: Rocki
Price: $49.00
Around a decade ago, more or less, I wanted to revisit my teenage years by shopping ebay and finding and buying, my all-time favorite boombox, a Panasonic RX-C39. I LOVED this boombox so much! It was perfect for me. Stylish, good sound (for its time and for not as discriminating ears as I have now), and it was a present from Santa! I was not interested in carrying around my boombox; I wanted one that would fit on my headboard above my pillow. More, I really wanted detachable speakers so that I could place each speaker on either side of the bed, and aim it at my head for optimal listening enjoyment. And because my parents bedroom was right next to mine, I would, at night when they were trying to sleep, put each speaker right next to each ear and turn it down to the lowest volume. You could not hear the music at that volume from two feet away, let alone another room through the walls. But for me, it was very loud! Prince’s Purple Rain never sounded so good to me as a fifteen year!
Portable Bluetooth Speaker
Manufacturer: Inateck
Amazon (US) price: $16.99
Portable Speaker
The little speaker that could. Here’s an impressively small speaker for impressively little money. It doesn’t deliver audiophile quality sound, but for a little speaker, it does what you’d expect for about half the price of its nearest competitors.
Microsoft goes low-end PC, while also laying off 18,000 people. IBM and Apple announces a partnership, Manuel Noriega sues Activision, and we have two top ten list of most evil companies.
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OWC Mercury Pro External Blu Ray Burner
Manufacturer: OWC
MSRP $167.99
Physical media is dead, right? Well, I think we should just wait a moment here. There are still tons of great uses for physical media today. One of the best I can think of is for backing up. However, with today’s large files CDs and DVDs don’t hold enough data. It’s now time to think about Blu-ray. Blu-ray may conjure up thoughts of the latest Hollywood films, but you can fit quite a few gigabytes on a Blu-ray disc.
Easy-switch Bluetooth Keyboard K811
Logitech
$100 US or £80 UK
Most keyboards are functional but some are more than that. The mini USB charged Logitech K811 Bluetooth keyboard falls into the latter category. The market place is filled with keyboards and keyboard covers, so what makes the K811 standout? This stylish Bluetooth keyboard can be paired with three different Bluetooth devices and switch between them effortlessly. Three things make it stand out from the crowd: flexibility, portability, and ease of use.
Link for iPad Shoulder Bag
Company: STM
Price: $59.95 on ebags.com
Do you like to carry your iPad or tablet with you wherever you go, along with iPad accessories and other items, but hate using a large backpack or briefcase? Well, have I got a bag for you!
The STM link for iPad Shoulder Bag has become my new favorite bag. That’s not surprising, as I love the STM Cable Wrap, reviewed here last summer by my son. If you need or want a bag with numerous pockets, you’ll be thrilled with the link.
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Can you believe the show is under an hour? We sure couldn’t. LOTS of listener feedback, a contest, and a debate on whether or not we should set up a Patreon link for those that might want to contribute to the madness.
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Guy’s App Pick: ecoFeed from ecoObs.com. Simple RSS editor that doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of other programs but is about 1/4 the cost. $9.99
Gaz’s App Pick: My Love Hate relationship continues with RR3, and here’s why
People’s Pick: A tip from Allister on how best to use Find my friends in iOS. How to fix it: Don’t tap on a friend in the list. Just tap on the map view itself and move the map as you want. Then tap on the chosen friend on the map. The display will now be exactly the same as the above method but won’t scroll or zoom when you refresh!
Blumoo HomeBase and Mobile App
Company: Flyover Innovations
http://www.blumoo.com
MSRP: $129.00
Requires: IOS device (iPhone 4S, iPod Touch 5th gen, or iPad 3rd gen or newer with functioning Bluetooth) and an audio receiver with a spare analog input. An Android 4.0 version of the app is also available.
Putting a home media center can be a daunting task. I can personally attest to this. It’s not just the complex tech gear, but the many choices available to the hapless consumer. All I can recommend is to do what I did: research like crazy.
For many people, the Flyover Innovations Blumoo system might just be the best thing for a universal remote control system with a few twists that I’ll get into shortly.
The Blumoo system consists of two components: the HomeBase with connecting cables, and the Mobile App, which is used to control your home media center.
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What does the TSA, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, the Mac community, and game consoles have in common? (Besides the obvious) They are all topics on this week’s edition of the TechFan Podcast with Tim Robertson and David Cohen!
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Please Remove Your Shoes (Netflix Link)
Justin 6,000 mAh Power Bank
Manufacturer: Innovative Technology
MSRP $29.99
There are chargers and there are chargers. Dozens are available in a bewildering array of quality and power levels. The Justin Power Bank at 6,000 mAh is a reasonable choice. Anything lower will feel a bit underpowered for charging most phones and small devices.
NoteBook 4
Developer: Circus Ponies
Price: $49.95 directly from Circus Ponies. $59.95 from the Mac App Store.
NoteBook 4
Circus Ponies NoteBook predates the Cloud. One of the many reasons I like this app is because my data resides on my Mac, not in a cloud somewhere.
Gaz is off watching cars race that DON’T belong to NASCAR (the HORROR!) but Karl Madden comes on to talk about the future of various Apple products and lots of tangents that Guy went off on (because that’s what he does). You can find Karl’s probably more rational podcast Mac and Forth here.
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Guy’s App Pick: BeLight’s Printfoloio bundle include Swift Publisher, Business Card Composer, Disc Cover, Label and Addresses, Image Tricks Pro – $70
Karl’s App Pick: Audio Hijack Pro (Digital Amoeba) in conjunction with Soundflower (Cycling 74) – These two apps make my podcast so much easier.
People’s Pick: From Allister Jenks…Monty Python’s The Ministry of Silly Walks By Boondoggle Studios $1.99 I’m sure Gaz will appreciate this one. It’s a hit in our household. Simple enough to operate, hard enough to master, voiced by John Cleese!
FileMaker Go 13
Developer: FileMaker, Inc.
Free from the App Store (works with FileMaker 12 and/or 13)
FileMaker Go 13
FileMaker Pro is the database manager for the Mac; there is also a PC version making it dual platform capable. I have used FileMaker since [gasp] its Claris origins. It is my go-to app for organizing contacts, projects, inventory, organizations, including my reviews for MyMac. I have successfully run corporate product development departments using FileMaker.
FileMaker Go 13 is a companion app to FileMaker Pro 13 that allows the use of your FileMaker databases on iOS devices. As an example, I have a 900-record contacts file called ROLO that I use daily on my Mac. When I travel, I am able to take that file along for instant reference on my iPhone and iPad. My ROLO has twenty-two different layouts and all of them function on my iPad as expected. The Find commands work well as do all of the buttons. Below is the Mac file (left) and the same file on the iPad (right).
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iHome FIT Sport Ear Buds
Company: iHome
Price: $24.99
The iHome Fitness Innovation Technology, FIT, is a line of audio products for active use or while lounging on your sofa. The iB11 2-in-1 sport ear buds that I reviewed are on the lower end of the line which made me curious about the higher end ear buds.
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LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
Company: Feral Interactive, Inc.
Price: $29.99
Web link
Mac App Store link
As the resident “LEGO Video Game Reviewer” here at MyMac.com, it’s my job to review all the new LEGO video games that come out on the Mac. The best part? They are some of my favorite games. The problem? I usually already own the game on the Play Station months before it is released on the Mac. But that’s okay, I will suffer through playing again for the sake of our readers.
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