While some people consider drones to be a public nuisance, the truth is the safety and responsibility falls on the owner. In other words, if an owner is responsible and obeys the law, everything should be fine. Ultimately, these flying cameras have a lot of useful applications and should not be demonized.
Lending to the mainstreaming and public acceptance of drones, the Twitter-owned Periscope today announces that it is partnering with famed drone manufacturer, DJI, for live broadcasting. This is a planned future feature. Sorry, Android users, it looks to be iPhone-only.
Carpooling is apparently good for the environment, as less fossil fuels are used by having multiple people take one car. While I love the environment, I also love the freedom of having my own car while at work; being able to come and go as I want. Sorry, Mother Earth, but for the most part, ridesharing just isn't for me.
Where I don't mind sharing a ride, however, is for less frequent occasions, such as going to the airport or taking a taxi. Today, Uber announces a $5 uberPOOL ridesharing program in NYC. Regardless of your feelings for the environment, you can't deny the greatness of saving some money, right? Well, as long as the other riders don't smell bad.
The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are arguably the best smartphones on the market, although I am sure many Android and Windows Phone users will disagree with me. Yes, they are expensive, but when it comes to Apple, you often get what you pay for. In other words, you aren't just paying for the sum of the parts, but the overall positive experience.
With that said, you should always protect your investment. Replacing a broken iPhone -- especially if you didn't splurge on Apple Care -- is quite the costly affair. The best way to do this is with a good case. X-Doria's Defense Lux cases for iPhone 6S were pretty rugged, although a bit slippery. A lack of "grip" on the back made the iPhone something fairly easy to drop. Now, the company adds the Defense Lux Impression Cases for iPhone 6 and 6S. With rear dimples, it should alleviate the "slippery" concern of the non-Impression model.
My knowledge of horses doesn't extend much past watching Mr. Ed on "Nick at Nite" (Hello, Wilbur) as a kid. Equestrian activities are often reserved for the wealthy and gamblers -- two things I am not. I did go to OTB (Off-track betting) a couple of years ago to bet on a horse named after Tony Danza, but I digress.
One of the most popular horse racing events is the Kentucky Derby. Microsoft's Bing is now focusing its predictability-powers on it. Bing Predicts has been quite succesful in the past -- could this help folks win some money?
Building a computer is extremely fun. In fact, for some folks -- including yours truly -- the build itself can sometimes be more enjoyable than using the computer! Getting to select the case, components, and color scheme is very rewarding.
When I say "color scheme", I am not just talking about the outward appearance. The design of the inside is important too -- sort of like art. Picking SATA cables, SSDs and RAM sticks with matching colors can create something beautiful -- especially if you have a window case. Today, one of my favorite RAM manufacturers, G.SKILL, announces five new colors for its Trident Z Series DDR4 RAM kits.
When it comes to business devices, employees can often have a big impact on decision-making. In other words, they can influence IT and executives by expressing a desire for the same type of device they use at home. When Blackberry devices, for instance, fell out of favor with home users, they soon lost their luster in the enterprise too.
iPhone and iPad devices are wildly popular in the enterprise, but not only because employees love them. They are also very secure, thanks to things like touch ID and regular operating system updates. Apple has even partnered with world-class companies, such as IBM, which bolstered the positive perception for iOS. Today, Tim Cook and company announce yet another monumental partnership, this time with SAP.
Removable phone batteries used to be a very important thing to me. It is one of the reasons, at least initially, I shunned the iPhone for Android smartphones. Over time, however, this became less important, thanks to USB battery packs. Ultimately, I bought an iPhone and couldn't be happier.
The problem with these battery packs, however, is that the cable creates a bit of a mess; it looks unsightly to have a wire dangling from your pocket. Meanwhile, battery cases are often bulky, ruining the svelte nature of the phone. Now, SCOSCHE unveils its MagicMount PowerBank for Android and iPhone. By utilizing magnets, it can be easily affixed to the rear of the phone when needed, and removed when not. The super-short cable will prevent tangling too.
Samsung makes amazing products, and I'm not just talking about smartphones and tablets. I have one of its 4K televisions in my house, not to mention a washing machine and clothes dryer. These things work wonderfully, and create memorable experiences -- I recommend them highly.
Today, Samsung announces immediate availability of its smart refrigerator. What has historically been a large box designed to keep food and drinks cold, can be so much more. Its Family Hub fridge has a huge touchscreen, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and can communicate with your smartphone. It even has a built-in web browser!
One of my favorite places to shop is Kohl's. Now, I have many reasons, but primarily, I like its selection of affordable "Big and Tall" clothing. Yes, I'm a fat guy. Most of my wardrobe is bought there, including, quite often, my sneakers too. Heck, they even sell wonderful home goods, such as towels, coffee makers, and picture frames to name a few. It is a great "one-stop-shop".
An annoying thing about the Kohl's shopping experience, however, is carrying two cards for the retailer. You see, the company offers a charge card -- which is often required for the discounts -- plus a loyalty card for building rewards. I've often wondered why they do not just combine them. Starting today, thanks to Apple Pay, you can leave both cards at home, and get the benefits with just your iPhone.
When buying a computer monitor nowadays, there are many things to consider. While you might think the bigger the better, you would sort of be wrong. For a monstrous display, you also want a high resolution to go with it. A 43-inch monitor with 1080p, for example, would have blurry text and provide a poor overall experience.
Today, Philips releases its all-new Brilliance 43-inch Ultra HD LCD display to the USA market. This 4K monitor should prove wonderful for many things, such as gaming, photography, CAD, and general-use too. Best of all, the price tag is rather reasonable.
As the 2015/2016 school year starts coming to a close, students begin dreaming about summer vacation. Some parents, however, are already dreaming of something else -- the start of the next school term! As much as parents love their kids, having them home all summer can be a bit much, understandably.
While it is never too early to begin daydreaming about your kids returning to school, the same can be said about researching the next PC you will buy them. After all, you don't want to buy last year's model when the new ones are right around the corner. Today, HP unveils its all-new Pavilion lineup, perfect for 'Back to School' and beyond. If you are thinking about buying an affordable Windows 10 PC, the company's Pavilion portfolio offers amazing quality and value; you need to check them out.
When webcams first came to prominence, they were a grainy mess. Still, having the ability to video chat with another person over the internet was cool as heck. Nowadays, such cameras are used for even more things, such as business meetings, vlogging, and live-streaming over services like Twitch and Stream.me.
While many laptops and monitors have webcams integrated into them, they aren't always the best quality (ahem, Apple's brand-new MacBook with obsolete 480p quality). Luckily, third-party USB variants exist. One of the more popular manufacturers of these cams is Logitech. Today, that company announces its newest such model, the C925e, which is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Solid state drives are quite mature and ubiquitous nowadays -- the technology is no longer cutting edge. While some computers still ship with slow mechanical hard disk drives, SSDs are now largely the default option.
SATA based drives are slow compared to newer NVMe PCIe variants, but still more than fast enough for most consumers. These 2.5-inch SATA drives are often less expensive too, making them a wise option for OEMs looking to build low or medium-cost laptops. Now, SanDisk announces the Z410 -- a drop-in solution for manufacturers, featuring a capacity of up to 480GB.
The month of May is National Pet Month. As an animal lover, it is very important to me. It breaks my heart to think of unloved cats and dogs in shelters. Whenever that ASPCA commercial comes on TV -- the one with the Sarah McLachlan music -- I have to change the channel; it can literally make me cry.
If you are thinking of getting a pet, I urge you to go to a shelter, as it can save the animal's life. Logitech is upping the ante, however, as it is giving away free Logi Circle Home Security Cameras to those that adopt either a cat or dog from two specific places in May. Does a free home surveillance camera make you more likely to adopt a pet?
Holy cow, Microsoft makes it really hard to recommend its products lately. Windows 10 was a great way to wash the disgusting Windows 8 taste from consumers' mouths -- initially, at least. Unfortunately, the discovered privacy issues frightened many folks, causing them to delay upgrading.
The latest build has a wonderfully refreshed Start Menu, making me think that the company was back on track. Nope; I was wrong. Today, Microsoft announces an anti-competitive bombshell -- it is blocking all third party browsers and search engines from Cortana. Prefer using Chrome and Google? Tough luck. Firefox and Yahoo? Sorry. Microsoft just can't stop pulling boners, it seems.