Logitech Harmony Remote – $99.00 #giftideas via #ozbargain
- Photo: LogitechShop
Read MoreGive your family one-touch access to home entertainment.
- One press of the Harmony One’s colour touch screen and you’re watching a DVD or your favourite TV channel.
- Sculpted, backlit buttons placed in logical zones make it easy to navigate – even in the dark.
- The ergonomic shape fits comfortably in your hand. As it’s rechargeable, you never need to worry about changing batteries.
- Harmony One replaces up to 15 remotes, reducing clutter and complexity in your living room.
- Supporting more than 5,000 brands, this smart remote controls home-entertainment devices you have today or will buy tomorrow.
Apple release ‘iTunes Match’ in the US. Rest of World left waiting for release date.
Apple today have released the long-awaited iTunes Match service for U.S. iTunes fans only. iTunes Match has been bundled and released with the recent iTunes 10.5.1 update. Unfortunately, there is no release date for Australia (including Rest of World), however I am confident that before the end of year, we will see this service pushed out to UK, Canada, Australia and Beyond.
What is iTunes Match?
For US$24.99/Per year, iTunes Match is an iCloud based service, and with over 20 Million songs for matching, iTunes Match will analyse your iTunes library, matching songs, and uploading non-matched content to your iCloud service. If a song is matched, it becomes available to you to download to any of your devices linked to your iCloud account via iTunes. If a song is not matched, it is uploaded in its current format, ensuring that your existing music is not compromised in quality. In addition iTunes match will replace any lower quality version of an existing songs with higher quality 256k version.
Read More“iTunes determines which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store. Any music with a match is automatically added to iCloud for you to listen to anytime, on any device. Since there are more than 20 million songs in the iTunes Store, chances are, your music is already in iCloud. And for the few songs that aren’t, iTunes has to upload only what it can’t match. Which is much faster than starting from scratch. Once your music is in iCloud, you can stream and store it to any of your devices. Even better, all the music iTunes matches plays back from iCloud at 256-Kbps AAC DRM-free quality — even if your original copy was of lower quality.”
Apple Adds Multitasking Gestures for Original iPad
In a previous blog post I mentioned, Apple have included in the IOS 5.0.1 update to include Multitasking Gestures for Original iPad (1G). Using four or five fingers on your iPad screen, Multitasking Gestures allow you to swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar, pinch to return to the Home screen, and swipe left or right to switch between apps.
How-To Enable Multitasking Gestures:
To Enable this Option on your iPad;
1. Access the ‘Settings’ menu,
2. Tap on ‘General’,
3. Locate the ”Multitasking Gestures” option, and select On..
Note: Blogger “Cocoa Box Notes” has advised that there are known issues with Multitasking if you are using the Penultimate or other Handwriting Apps.
If required, once enabled, you can disable Multitasking Gestures at any time, by accessing the ‘Settings’ on your iPad. In the ‘General’ settings area, look for ‘Multitasking Gestures’, and disable the feature.
Using four or five fingers on your iPad screen, Multitasking Gestures allow you to swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar, pinch to return to the Home screen, and swipe left or right to switch between apps.
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Belkin Conserve Insight.
In an era where we are all trying to save a buck, and save the planet at the same time, a good place to start is in your own backyard, or for most of us, inSide our very own home.
With the increase of gadgets and technology usage in the house, I’m sure that we have all seen an increase in spend across our energy bills.
Conserving power can save you money, however how do you keep track of the amount of energy that your gadgets & technology around your house are drawing, and how this converts to dollars spent rather than saved.
Belkin have released a great line-up of consumer based products to help you Conserve energy within your home, and take control of your energy usage within your home.
Conserve Insight™ Energy Use Monitor
To find out how much electricity your television, laptop or washing machine is using, “Belkin’s Conserve Insight Energy Use Monitor” helps you keep track of your energy use by showing how much electricity your devices really cost-in watts, dollars, and carbon dioxide.
The Conserve Insight sits between your power socket, and your electronic device, and tracks the amount of electricity that is being consumed, and calculates this by providing an estimated total cost, including carbon dioxide (CO₂) produced.
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- Make better energy decisions: See how much different devices cost to use on a yearly or monthly basis
- Know your environmental impact: Shows power-plant CO2emissions produced to use your device on a yearly or monthly basis
- Easy to read: 6 ft. cord allows you to read display at eye level or place on a table
- Customizable: Use the preloaded average electricity rate or enter your own rate off your electric bill;
- Set the CO2emissions rate for your specific region
- Tracking feature: Tracks your actual device usage over time and projects the cost of operation
OlloClip for iPhone 4s and iPhone 4
After being blown away by the amazing Photo ad Video examples I have seen around the net taken on the iPhone 4S, I was searching around Google today for Camera accessories that have been created for the iPhone devices, and cam across the OlloClip for iPhone4.
At US $69.95, The OlloClip is a multilens clip on device that attaches itself to the corner of the iPhone 4S that enables you to shoot macro, fisheye and wide-angle photos and videos on an iPhone 4 or 4S. Although it does not allow you to use the clips with a case or iPhone bumper, the unit is very steady, and locks in to place without any hastle. The OllocClip ships with a Microfibre carry bag, that also doubles as a lens cleaner. 
The Wide-Angle lens is great for when you need that extra field of view, approximately double that of the normal IPhone.
The Macro lens applies roughly a 10X multiplier and allows you to focus the iPhone within 12-15mm of the subject. The Macro lens is cleverly concealed within the olloclip and can be accessed by unscrewing the Wide-Angle lens that is normally attached to it.
The Fisheye lens captures approximately a 180 Degree field-of-view and produces some striking images. The OlloClip can be purchased from the company website, and is available in Black or Red.
[VIDEO] – OlloClip introduction video: iPhone 4 Quick-Change Lens System
Image Source: OlloClip
Read MoreWhere Have All The BookShops Gone?
In an era where the Australian book industry has felt the pinch from the economy downturn, and most of Australia’s largest book and publishing retailers have gone in to voluntary administration, you may find yourself wondering around your local shopping complex asking yourself… Where Have All Of The Bookshops Gone? More recently I walked from one end of the city to the other looking for a Father’s Day present, only to come across one bookstore that was still open, which unfortunately did not even have the book that I wanted in store, let alone stacked high amongst the mountain of other best sellers, and novelty items alike.
With the increase in popularity of online sales from leading Australian and overseas book retailers, and the introduction to market of Electronic Book Readers (Commonly known as E-Book’s), the average consumer is now seeking alternative methods of purchasing and reading books, magazines and educational materials, over traditional hard and paper back books. According to booksellers, by 2012, one in every three books will be delivered electronically, and since 2010, e-book reader sales in Australia have tripled to date. If e-book sales continue at this increasing rate, they alone will represent 20 to 30 per cent of the total retail book market.
If you are looking for an e-book reader for yourself, or are looking for some present ideas for that loved one, we have put together a list of everything you need to prepare yourself for your next shopping trip.
Purchasing your first ebook Reader
Purchasing an e-book reader in not a simple exercise as there are many factors that you will have to take into consideration. Yes, budget aside; firstly check out what is it that you are looking for in a device?
Do you only want to read books, or are you looking for other features including reading magazines and newspapers? Surfing the Internet? Playing Music and Video’s? Other factors to take into consideration are Screen Size, Document Formats, storage, connectivity Options and more importantly how much you are planning on using the device.
If you are a book lover, and enjoy reading many books, then maybe you should consider an eBook reader which uses eInk screen technology. eInk technology is best suited for the regular reader, and is great for travelling, as it has great battery life, and has very low power usage when in use.
eInk technology is also great for the outdoors, as you can read in even the brightest of sun lights.
1. AMAZON Kindle 3G – From $159
The Amazon Kindle is a leader in the eBook reader market, and has been since it’s release. The Amazon Kindle features a 6-inch screen and features E-ink technology. on the kindle provides a high contrast and 16 shades of grey to accommodate different light environments.
The AMAZON Kindle has 4GB internal memory on board which equates to around 3500 eBooks, newspapers, magazines and blogs. The Kindle is available in Wi-Fi or 3G, providing you with the flexibility to download content whilst you are on the go, travelling on holidays, or commuting to work or school on public transport. Out of the box you are setup, no wires or cables required, and ready to shop online via Amazon’s extensive online bookstore. With free built-in 3G connectivity, the Kindle uses the same wireless signals that cell phones use, but there are no monthly fees or commitments.
The KOBO Touch is one of the newest products on the market, and has some great features that set it apart from other reviewed items such as the touch screen, dictionary integration, microSD expansion, Pearl eInk screen and more importantly, battery life of up to one month. The KOBO also (thanks to recent upgrades), has the fastest page turner alongside the AMAZON Kindle and the new Sony Reader Touch.
3. Sony Reader Touch – From $179
If buttons and menu’s are not for you, then try Sony’s flagship eReader Touch. This is a premium product amongst many other eBook readers, and has a 6 inch glare free, eInk touch screen which works effortlessly, turn the page with a swipe of your finger, zoom in and out by pinching fingers together or apart, or find the meaning of a word by using the built-in dictionaries. Purchase books through the online Sony store or download up to 1200 eBooks to via USB or Wi-Fi to the internal 2GB memory. External memory slots allow extra storage space for eBooks and media. With a built-in dictionary, you can double-tap on a word anywhere in the eReader, and it opens the dictionary definition.
Thanks to the Apple App Store, the Apple iPad will not only let you read books from the various online book stores, but immerse you in many other features that are on offer. The iPad unlike most eReaders has a rich LCD colour screen and is priced at the higher end of the market, due to its added functionality and inbuilt technology. The difference between Apple’s iPad and the Amazon Kindle is that both models have an inbuilt 3G mobile data transfer.
For those who can afford it, and have a need for the additional features will have a great user experience with the ability to read eBooks by flicking between pages, watching videos and taking advantage of the million + applications on offer. Unlike eInk technology, the tradeoffs for the iPad’s LCD colour screen are that it’s more difficult to view the LCD screen in sunlight, and due to the extensive in build technology, has only around 8-10 hours of battery life.
As featured in the Bayside Life Magazine – Oct/Nov 2011
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