The Raging Tech

VideoJug How-To: Avoid Trapped Arm Whilst Cuddling

VideoJug offers a wealth of information and How-Tos in video format on almost any subject. As they say, if they don’t have it, you don’t need to know how to do it.

I first learned about VideoJug from Thrillist Nation, an e-mail newsletter I subscribe to (via Thrillist.com), and this one seems particularly useful for anyone who may at some time or another, cuddle up next to a significant other.

How To Avoid Trapped Arm Whilst Cuddling In Bed

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3.5 (1 person)

Tags: Cuddle, Trapped Arm Syndrome, VideoJug

Emmersive Sci-Fi Podcast “The Leviathan Chronicles”

The audio book has long been a literary tradition pretty much since the first years of audio recording. When radio became widespread, serial-format shows were often broadcast in the evenings after most American families had finished dinner and were settling down.

Now, we listen to broadcasts in all sorts of ways: iPods, streaming audio, the radio, satellite radio, or via a subscription online such as a podcast (which can in turn be played on an iPod or in iTunes or another audio player).

The serial-format radio drama still exists today! A neat one I recently discovered called “The Leviathan Chronicles” is divided up into chapters, available as episodes of a podcast online.

From what I can tell from the first chapter, it appears to be about a Chinese and an American sub that wind up in the same trench at the same time. An accidental firing sets off some sort of an energy pulse below the surface of the ocean. A year later, a government agent is called in to investigate what happened, because the signal from under the ocean was answered… from space.

So far, the presentation is pretty engaging. The background audio sounds like the ocean up against the outside of a sub wall, so you feel like you’re actually listening in inside a submarine. Also, instead of just a straight read-through, there are actors reading the lines of the characters, and a sexy female British voice reading the narration.

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3.4 (2 people)

Tags: iTunes, Leviathan Chronicles, Podcast, Sci-Fi

10 Reasons to Care Less About the iPhone

With all the hullabaloo about the second-gen iPhone 3G, and the insane amount of press coverage Apple is getting nowadays, I thought I’d release my own statement about why I could care less about the iPhone, along with a couple reasons why I’d love to have one.

10. Mobile Browsing & Location-Aware Apps are handy, but way overblown.

Yes, it’s neat to get on Facebook, MySpace, Jott, Remember the Milk, Digg, Slashdot, Fandango, and the like from your iPhone; but given the price-tag it’s easier just to plan ahead. The world existed before mobile web. Yes, you’re more productive. But I find it freeing to map out things ahead of time and come prepared for things.

9. Small Hard Drive Size

Yes, I realize I’m committing blasphemy here, but even though Solid State Drives are awesome, they’re just too small for the price point. If I’m supposed to put movies and videos and my entire music collection in just 8 or 16 gigs, I’m going to need to do some media dieting.

8. Early Adopters Tax

See my post about the Early Adopters Tax over at Tech Jaws. Those who felt the pain on July 11th or those who saw the iPhone price drop dramatically after they’d already shelled out $600 for a first-gen know exactly what I’m talking about.

7. The Best Features Still Require Jail Breaking Your iPhone

While Apple has done the right thing, so to speak, by releasing the Apps store for the iPhone and iPod Touch, that still limits you to their selection of Apple-approved apps. It wouldn’t be that bad if they’d just get on the ball with partnerships for more popular applications previously jail-broken.

6. More Google Love Needed

We’ve got love from Google for both maps and triangulation with faux-GPS (new models have true GPS I believe), but what about an iPhone version of Google Earth or Google Docs? What about Picasa integration? I will admit, GTalk is nice to have though.

5. Carrier Exclusivity

It’s been said that AT&T is subsidizing the costs of the newer iPhone models by raising the data plan required with activation. But what about other carriers and customers locked into contracts with other companies? Exclusivity for a while is one thing, but I don’t want to pay a cancellation fee to switch to inferior service coverage (in my area, at least, Verizon is king of the air) and then shell out another $300 to purchase the iPhone.

4. My 5th Gen Video iPod and LG VX9900 Still Work Fine

You may not have an iPod or any sort of mp3 player yet, and maybe your cell phone sucks. I just paid a lot of money a year or so ago for my cell phone, and a lot more for my iPod when I purchased my Mac Mini two years ago. They both work fine, and in a pinch my cell phone plays mp3s off the MicroSD card. I don’t need the two combined, because I hardly ever need both at the same time. Plus, the iPhone doesn’t fit my current accessories, so I’d need to get all new accessories. That’s what they count on for profits.

3. The Competition is Heating Up

A number of newer features such as Exchange integration are making the iPhone hot for business people, but honestly, there’s a slew of other phones that have been doing Exchange (yes, non-Blackberries) for longer and do it better.

The Samsung Instinct looks pretty slick, has a pretty touch-screen interface, and is getting rave reviews all around. Verizon has their new mirror-front phone that’s so reflective and shiny it’s sure to distract the A.D.D. gadget-hunters for the next few months.

2. The Gyroscope

One of the neat features about the iPhone and iPod Touch are their ability to sense which way you have them turned, and rotate the screen accordingly. This is due to a gyroscope inside the device. What it doesn’t do is recognize properly when you lean it straight forward parallel to the ground, and turn it left or right. Which means if your screen is rotated one way and you want it the other, it has no idea until you turn it straight up again. This bothers people who hold their phones at a right-angle to their bodies when dialing or doing anything else versus holding the phone out in front of them upright.

1. Battery Life

So, you can flip your phone back into 2G mode if you’d like to conserve some energy, only turning it on if you need it. But let’s face it, a few hours of talk time before dying is not going to cut it. It’s the same thing that’s happening with laptop battery life these days. It seems the more advanced we try to make devices the worse the power management gets. At this rate, you’ll have to start charging your phone twice a day instead of once every 3-4 days like it used to be.

Over all, I’d say the iPhone is still a great phone, but possibly not the best bang for your buck. A purchase like the iPhone is more about gadget-lust and aesthetics than a practical and useful tool. Not to mention letting it out in public is likely to get you mugged if you live in any sort of non-rural city.

I give Apple applause, however, for the improvements made in the second edition, including the flush earphone jack that no longer requires an adapter piece or special Apple iBuds. 3G is definitely a plus and I’m sure a welcome addition to the featureset for recent customers. And style enthusiasts surely appreciate the choice between black and white casings.

The iPhone - love it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments.

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2.1 (2 people)

Tags: 2nd-gen, 3G, iPhone, Second Generation

The Dark Knight in Theaters Friday

The latest installment of the newest Batman re-telling hits theaters this Friday, July 18th! Heath Ledger is being nominated for a posthumous Oscar for his performance as the Joker, Christian Bale is back as the new Batman, Michael Caine returns as Alfred, and Morgan Freeman makes his short appearance as Gadget Guy (I can’t be bothered with silly things like research).

Several viral marketing sites attempt to bring depth to the new movies, with sites like WhySoSerious.com and IBelieveInHarveyDent.com letting visitors “in” to the Gotham City world.

I don’t know about any of you, but as excited as I was about the new Joker, I’m doubly excited about seeing Aaron Eckhardt as Harvey Dent, aka Two Face! Some photos are “leaked” around the internet of what he looks like post-accident, but I think they’re all photoshopped forgeries. If you pause the Hi-Def version of Trailer 4 on the scene with Harvey Dent holding a gun beside his face, you can see where he’s been burned around the edges, especially near his chin, and his suit is strikingly different on the side that’s barely visible.

My original impression was that we’d meet Harvey Dent in this film, and then see him turn into Two-Face later, but now it looks as though we may see a Two-Face by Friday’s new release!

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2.5

Tags: Batman, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

American Beer Giant Budweiser Bought By Belgium Company

Look, I’m not one to drink Budweiser unless there’s just nothing else around. It tastes like pisswater and makes you feel full and bloated. It’s generally not the smoothest thing in the world.

But this morning on both NPR and WNOX Knoxville’s Talker I heard that they were bought in an almost 50 billion dollar deal with InBev, a Belgium-owned beverage company that produces Stella Artois. InBev claims that none of the US breweries will be shut down, and St. Louis, Missouri will still be the headquarters of the North American region of the company.

The big debacle seems to be that Budweiser, or Anheuser-Busch, is perceived as an all-American beer and by selling out to a foreign company, they’re somehow letting America down. This is also on the brink of the news that the SABMiller Corporation and Molson Coors Brewing will be merging their two U.S. corporations. The man on the radio this morning made a good point though - it’s all about doing what’s best for the shareholders. At the end of the day, they don’t care what America thinks about the deal because they’ve already gone home with the big pay check.

Another caller on the WNOX show stated that Budweiser was America, like apple pie or baseball games or Chevy, or beatin’ your kids with a belt, or living in a trailer… you get the point. I think what everyone is missing is that nothing’s really going to change. If you like Budwieser beer, keep drinking it. It’s going to keep on tasting the same. At the end of the day, the brew is still made in America, still made by American people, and still keeps workers in jobs. The big difference is the profits all go to Belgium.

If that bothers you, then stop drinking it. Support local microbreweries by drinking their brews instead. They probably taste better anyway. Or try out Sam Adams - they have a huge selection of flavors to choose from, and they’re as American and patriotic as it gets for big beer business.

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Tags: Anheiser-Busch, Anheuser-Busch, Belgium, Budweiser, InBev, Stella