Tuesday
May112010

A Tale of Two Car Kits

DateTuesday, May 11, 2010 at 10:04PM

MagellanTomTom

I don't have an iPhone because they aren't on Verizon yet but I do have an iPod Touch that I wanted to try turn-by-turn GPS on. So I purchased apps from Navigon, Magellan and TomTom. Then, since the iPod Touch doesn't have GPS built-in, I had to purchase car mounts that do have GPS receivers.

I purcahsed the Magellan Premium Car Kit for iPhone and iPod Touch on April 15th for $130 and the TomTom iPod Touch Car Kit (there is a seperate one for the iPhone) on May 1st for $150.

They both work as advertised but the TomTom side of things has more cons. For example, the TomTom app only works with the TomTom mount. Software prevents the app from working with the Magellan mount. Furthermore, you must remove the cover/case on your iPod Touch to use the TomTom mount.

Both mounts allow the iPod Touch to access GPS signals. Google Maps and every location aware app can use the information. The Magellan, Navigon and TomTom turn-by-turn GPS apps work great with the TomTom mount as mentioned above. All apps work with the Magellan mount too except for TomTom's app. Thankfully, the Magellan mount doesn't require you to remove your cover/case from the iPod Touch.

Each mount supports Bluetooth and they both sport an extermal speaker. The speaker on the Magellan is on the bottom and the TomTom speaker is on the back. Both mounts can be rotated into a landscape position as desired.

AuthorWesley Hester | CommentPost a Comment |
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Tuesday
May112010

No Name Brand Access Point Gets the Job Done

DateTuesday, May 11, 2010 at 9:15PM

I purchased this tiny Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n wireless access point/router back on April 30th from Amazon to use on trips to places with wired ethernet.  Dispite the fact that it literally has no manufacturer name, I took a chance on it for $40.  I'm personally just going to use it as an access point and to that end it delivers.  I've kept security off on it to make connecting devices to it ultra quick and easy.  My iPod Touch loves it at 150 mbps (max) using the optional antenna on the go.

This travel size gadget has a sliding switch to go from AP, WDS (bridge + repeater) and client modes so there is no need to make changes in a browser while connected to it.  There is one additional ethernet port on it which makes it a router when used in conjunction with the wireless.  Security includes: WEP 64/128, WPA, WPA2 mixed, 802.1x and 802.11i.  It even has wireless QoS, 802.11e, WMM and WPS support.

 

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Monday
May102010

Slacker Radio Crowned King of Music

DateMonday, May 10, 2010 at 3:38PM

I've beening using an iPod of some sort or another for a few years now to enjoy my favorite tunes.  Before my iPod era, I spinned CD's and before them cassette tapes.  I only handled a few 8-track tapes when I was very, very young but they weren't mine.

Now streaming radio music is about to overthrow everything that has come before (for me anyway).  I can actually see not buying as much music from iTunes for sure.  Even a collection of my favorite music has become stale over time and newer music costs money.

Of course the best versions of streaming internet radio cost money too.  I'm currently using Slacker Radio Plus for $47.88 a year ($3.99/month).  The "Plus" adds the following features over the "free" version: ad-free listening, unlimited skips, mobile station caching and complete lyrics.  The key feature for me is the mobile station caching.  During the night or anytime, I can have the mobile app version of Slacker Radio (not the iPod Touch version yet) download a number of stations: as much as my phone's memory card can hold.  The next day, I can go anywhere and play the stations back without a Wi-Fi connection or a cellular signal.  All the while, I'm discovering new songs without having to pay for each and every one of them.  There is even a search to go straight to a particular song or artist.  Also, unlike radio I can sneak a peek of what each next song will be if I want and there is the skipping song feature I mentioned early.

I've tried Pandora Radio, Last.fm, Rhapsody and others but to me Slacker Radio is the best.  I'm not interested in listening to news or sports on the radio (I have the internet) so even Sirius XM is going away.  I've beening using Sirius XM's mobile app on my iPod Touch to stream their stations over Wi-Fi but their monthly price is too high.  I have a XM Radio satellite antenna and receiver connected to my A/V system but don't see any reason to keep it because I can simply connect my iPod Touch with Slacker Radio app to it instead.  Oh and my Sony BDP-N460 Blu-ray player has Slacker Radio on it too.

Try the free version of Slacker Radio and you will not be disappointed.

RECOMMENDED

AuthorWesley Hester | CommentPost a Comment |
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Saturday
May082010

Blu-ray Movies @ CHT

DateSaturday, May 8, 2010 at 4:11PM

 

May 1, 2010

  • Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
  • Avatar
  • Collateral
  • District B13 / District B13: Ultimatum
  • Dune
  • Elizabeth
  • Elizabeth: The Golden Age
  • Fantastic Mr. Fox
  • Fist of Legend
  • The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
  • Iron Monkey
  • Jet Li's Fearless
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy
  • The Men Who Stare at Goats
  • Minority Report
  • Red Cliff
  • The Relic
  • Saving Private Ryan
  • Sherlock Holmes
  • Tombstone
  • Toy Story
  • Toy Story 2
  • Twilight: New Moon
  • Where the Wild Things Are
  • Whip It

 

April 30, 2010

  • 2012
  • The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
  • Astroboy
  • The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
  • Clash of the Titans (1981)
  • Dirty Harry Collection
  • Funny Farm / Spies Like Us
  • Gentlemen Broncos
  • Grumpy Old Men / Grumpier Old Men
  • Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
  • Ninja
  • Ninja Assassin
  • Planet 51
  • Ponyo
  • Possession
  • The Princess and the Frog
  • Shrek the Third
  • The Vampire's Assistant: Cirque du Freak

 

  Death Watch (22 HD DVD titles to be replaced by Blu-ray)

  • American Gangster
  • Babel
  • Balls of Fury
  • Blades of Glory
  • Breach
  • Dante's Peak
  • Disturbia
  • Evan Almighty
  • The Frighteners
  • The Good Shepherd
  • The Jerk
  • Knocked Up
  • Mr. Bean's Holiday
  • Mystery Men
  • Notting Hill
  • Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
  • Shooter
  • Sleepy Hollow
  • Stardust
  • Streets of Fire
  • What Dreams May Come
  • White Noise 2

Invelos Software has released an update for DVD Profiler, the program I use to catalog all of my movie titles.  The latest version is 3.6.1 build 1392 and includes several new features listed here.

To view the entire CHT movie archive, click on the Movies (Invelos) link to the right underneath Navigate.

AuthorWesley Hester | CommentPost a Comment |
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Wednesday
Mar172010

Mobile Air Mouse Pro: HTPC Couch Control

DateWednesday, March 17, 2010 at 4:08PM

Instantly transform your iPhone or iPod touch into an air mouse, trackpad, and wireless remote for your computer! Sit back and surf the web, browse your photo library or control your music player from the comfort of your couch. Our air mouse uses the built in accelerometer to translate your hand motions into mouse movements on your screen. It can also operate as a trackpad, allowing you to control your computer with a single finger. Suddenly your iPhone has become an essential part of any home theater PC and a presenter's best friend. Using an innovative application notification system, the iPhone will always know what applications are running at any time and show the appropriate keys for that program, providing you with a single screen for controlling ALL your media and web applications. Source

For the price and the tagline above, Mobile Air Mouse Pro is a bargain and works well to control my HTPC.

Features

  • Accelerometer based mouse
  • Trackpad with vertical and horizontal orientation
  • Media keys with volume and eject controls
  • Web keys
  • Application switcher/launcher
  • Application notifications
  • Unlimited custom media and web remotes with scripting capabilities
  • Remote keyboard with modifier keys
  • Function keyboard with arrow keys
  • Oversized numeric keypad
  • Programable hotkeys (can be set to run a program or keyboard combination)
  • Scroll pad
  • Multitouch gestures (supports scrolling & right click)
  • Remotely wake up and put your computer to sleep
  • Password protection
  • Custom sensitivity settings
  • Foreign language keyboards
  • Supports Bonjour or static IP
  • Works over Bluetooth PAN (requires carrier support, currently not available on AT&T)
  • No screen size limitation. Works with multiple monitors
  • Works over WIFI, no line of sight limitations
  • Built from the ground up for Mac and Windows

RECOMMENDED

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