Chargers to provide power for your devices

Innergie sent a couple of products for us to take a look at…

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The mCube Slim is a power adapter for laptop computers.  Using AC Input from 100 to 240 volts of alternating current (AC), it can deliver direct current (DC) at:  between 15 to 17 volts (at 4.06 amps), 18 to 21 (at 3.3 amps), and 5 volts at 1 amp for USB devices.

It’s 100x57x18 mm (3.9″x2.2″x0.7″), and only weighs 150 grams (5.2 ounces).  Though it will fit in a pocket, a travel pouch is provided for:  the unit, the AC Input Cable, and the DC Output Cable with it’s assortment of adapter tips for connection to devices.  If one of the tips included with the unit doesn’t work for a device, “…we will arrange for a free compatible tip to be sent to you…”  You can check to see if a particular unit is compatible with the mCube Slim by going to their website and clicking on the “Check compatibility” link.

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The mMini DC 10 is a power adapter for use in vehicles with 12 volt outputs…

It has two USB ports that deliver 10 watts of power at 2 amps.  (At 69mm x 23mm x 25mm, and weighing only 22 grams) It’s another item that can be put in your pocket to keep your power hungry mobile devices fully charged and ready to use!

 

Jigsaw Puzzle Game, The M, Coming to iPhone (April 14th)

I recieved a press release about a new game for iPhones…

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Jigsaw Puzzle Game, The M, Coming to iPhone April 14th

…you get to choose from a 16-piece or 25 piece puzzle…you can choose a jigsaw mode or a slider puzzle mode…you can choose the difficulty level of the game. With the difficulty level increasing, other challenges are added to make the puzzling more fun. The rotation option was added to the jigsaw mode which allows you to change the direction of the puzzle pieces making the puzzle a little more complicated to solve.  You may have to try a few spots, rotating the pieces a couple of times, until you find where the puzzle piece fits.

 

…You just slide the puzzle pieces around the board.  When the puzzle is finished, you’ll be able to see how long it took to solve it…

 

 

The M will be available in the App Store for 99 cents.  Though there is also a FREE version, this version does have ads that pop up each time you play a puzzle.  When this happens, you have to touch the ad, then touch skip…

The game comes complete with OpenFeint and the ability to log into Facebook and brag about your scores…a series of major updates are in the queue to keep your gaming fresh and fun in the future.

 

Tax Procrastinators According to Intuit

Taxes can be an incredibly easy task to accomplish yet many of us put it off like a visit to the dentist. The Reasons can be assorted but we like to think that many that put off the filing till the date due just want to wait till the last possible minute to cut a check to the feds or it could be in fact to stem the flow of tears from the possibly diminished income from previous years.

Regardless, One of the companies to make it easy to file for both federal and state taxes and in some cases even file for free is the folks at Quicken. The have done some research and put together the Biggest Tax Procrastinators and surprisingly for the 5th straight year Houston is ranked the Biggest Procrastinator! In fact the state of Texas rules the list!

In the Study that Intuit put together they discovered that 27 percent of tax filers wait until the final two weeks before submitting thier tax documents. This year those filing are even granted an extra three days to file! April 18th 2011. Here is the list of those procratinators courtesy of Intuit,

1. Houston: Houston, we have a problem! Locals landed in the top spot in five of the last 10 years.

2. Chicago : Windy City residents are unable to move from No. 2 for the second year running, possibly due to food comas induced by all the deep dish pizza-eating.

3. New York : For the third year running in the No. 3 spot, New Yorkers in the City that Never Sleeps take a nap until tax time.

4. Austin : Busy Austinites, so burned out from festival-hopping, put off their tax duties – landing in the top five again.

5. San Antonio : It seems one of the biggest military centers in the U.S. needs more soldierly discipline this time around, popping into the top 10 for the first time since 2008.

6. San Francisco : Known as innovators for all things tech, San Franciscans are doing their taxes only a bit quicker, moving down one spot from No. 5 despite their connected reputations.

7. Seattle: It looks like all that rain is washing out more than mail routes for 7th place Washingtonians. Despite their commitment to java hot spots, filing taxes online before the tax deadline clearly isn’t a top priority.

8. San Diego : When you’re wearing sunglasses 24/7, it’s hard to even see your taxes, let alone file them. San Diegans file just a bit faster due to peer pressure this year with TurboTax headquarters right down the street.

9. Los Angeles : Starving actors hanging out in this town are too busy looking for some nosh. It’s no wonder they dread filing their taxes!

10. Dallas : They say cowboys ride alone, but Texans managed to lasso in four cities on this list — including No. 10, Dallas.

Dropping off the top 10 list this year: Las Vegas

The Wannabes

Extended List 11-20:

11. Las Vegas, Nev.

12. Washington, D.C.

13. Portland, Ore.

14. Atlanta, Ga.

15. Phoenix, Ariz.

16. Philadelphia, Pa.

17. Orlando, Fla.

18. Jacksonville, Fla.

19. Tampa, Fla.

20. San Jose, Calif.

The Makers of TurboTax reported that the the list was determined by the number of tax returns electronically filed via the TurboTax Online service between April 14 – 17, 2010. Thanks Intuit for the study, I was going to wait to read it but decided not to procrastinate!

Creative’s New Socialize HD AF Webcam Easy and Nice Looking!

Photo of the product box for the Socialize HD AF
The Socialize HD AF

Yesterday Afternoon we received one of the latest Webcams from Creative, the Socialize HD AF. There are a ton of great features with this Webcam which go beyond the clear picture and small footprint of the webcam. We know that the average user for this webcam will be getting it to connect with friends and relatives across the country or in some cases, calling the user from the garage home studio to the dinner table (Sorry Gloria!).

I connected the Socialize HD AF to my laptop first to see how it would work with a minimal of settings. The Minimum system requirements for the camera call for an Intel Pentium Dual Core or AMD Equivalent at 1.6ghz with 1GB of RAM and Windows 7, Vista or XP SP2 or Higher but will also work on the Mac OS X 10.5 AND Linux Kernel 2.6!

 The settings on the laptop were basic with 1Ghz AMD 3200, 2GB of RAM and we were able to install the camera without running the install CD. To benefit from integration with the Socialize HD AF, users will want to install the included software which allows for one touch recording or photo taking and installing to YouTube or Photo Bucket. I wasn’t a fan of the integration of the facebook uploads which were giving the Creative App a little too much freedom with my wall. The ability to take photos with the Live Central 3 Interface is non complicated to use and gives users the option to record video or snap a photo and even adjust the quality in which to do so. Even on the Laptop with the minimal requirements we were able to use the photo overlays to create some fun graphics as well as video avatars to enhance a fun creation. We only had a couple of them on the laptop that wouldn’t allow it. On our Production Behemoth in the office we were able to use all the features and the results of streaming video in 720p was impressive. 

The Small footprint of the Creative Socialize HD AF
The Creative Socialize HD AF Webcam

I was also impressed with the Wide Angle glass lens which captured more and provided a nicer picture then the previous webcam on our desk. Photos are capable to capture at 10MP which means users could blow them up to 8×10 rather easily. This is not native however and is handled through software enhancements. A Responsive auto focus feature can be used for those that do not want to manually adjust focusing.  A 4x Digital zoom is also available with this camera which featured a lengthy USB 2.0 Cable.  While more powerful, the camera features a smaller footprint then previous webcams and folds up nicely for transport with your mobile computer. A microphone on the camera picks up audio quite well and allows the user to speak at regular levels and still be heard. for those parents concerned with the kids accessing a web-cam, Parental Control with password protection is also available with this unit.

For those looking for 1080p HD Video, Creative has another camera on the market for this type of capturing, the InPerson 1080. The Suggested retail pricing for the Socialize HD AF  is 69.99 on the Creative Website.  For More Information take a look at http://www.mylivecam.com

Splashtop OS is speedy and light on your computer

My Cr-48 Chrome Notebook hasn’t arrived from Google…yet. Larry…Sergey…where is the love? I’m still waiting…

But, Splashtop has “splashed-down”:

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…Splashtop OS, a lightweight, web-centric operating system optimized for notebooks and netbooks…Splashtop OS is a browser-based “companion OS” that co-exists with the Windows operating system…

…It is available as a free download from Splashtop: http://www.splashtop.com/os.

Key benefits include:
* Fast – starts in just seconds, way before Windows;
* Safe – combines a lightweight Linux platform with the Chromium browser;
* Convenient – includes all core plug-ins, such as Adobe Flash, pre-installed;
* Smart – automatically imports critical settings from Windows for streamlined set-up;
* Personal – allows you to easily customize the environment with thousands of web apps, extensions, games and themes from the Chrome Web Store.

http://www.splashtop.com/press/splashtop-os-featuring-chromium-browser-and-bing-search-now-available-for-download-on-major-notebooks-and-netbooks

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After I downloaded the initial setup file from their website, executed it…and the download of 315.2 MB began. Not a pleasant surprise:  we should be informed that a much large file needs to be downloaded BEFORE executing the initial setup file.

After Splashtop installed, I restarted the computer into it…it takes about one minute for it to fully load the desktop.

I wish Splashtop would allow for the downloading, and saving, of the 312 MB file to a specific location: I am interested in installing it on other computers, but don’t want to again need to download the 312 MB file…I want to put it on a portable drive.

And, I wish there were a version of Splashtop that could be run from an USB drive…