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Newstips Electronic Editorial Bulletin Issue # 2010-06e
There is no independence from news
In this issue:
CPU survival is less sweat with Antec's cooler Kuhler... The
Definitively better economy of Al for singles... Fixmo can make
even silent mode rings distinctive... Franklin Touch 'N Solve
is/isn't child's play... Iconosys Texting protextion [sic]... For
the hottest thing in non-digital LCDs, just Boogie... Tiffen's
Smoothee at Line Show... Special Report: School textbooks as a
killer app ... Reviews: Spot clips, Potty Patch, Aroma Home
Screen Wipes, First Degree burn cream, WowWee Paper Jamz... plus
our commentary on our calls
CPU survival is less sweat with Antec's cooler Kuhler
In stores in July, the new Antec Kuhler CPU cooler in concert
with current-generation CPUs is a marriage made - well, if not in
heaven, it's still nowhere near as hot as that other place. A
uniquely aggressive geometry of find & fan blades lets it push
more CPU heat out into a greater air volume than earlier designs
can manage. Ask Veronica. Contact: Veronica Feldmeier, Antec Inc.
(Fremont, CA) 510-770-2150 vfeldmeier@antec.com
http://antec.com
The Definitively better economy of Al for singles
Definitive is not the only speaker maker to offer
single-enclosure 5-channel surround sound speakers for home
theater, but anybody can hear the big difference between the
usual plastic box sound bars & the audio that emerges from a
Definitive solution. The long & the short of it for the
Definitive SSA-50 ($1099, 46" long, visually designed for 50"
screens) & SSA-42 ($799, 40", for 42" screens) is something
called Al, short for aluminum. Aircraft grade extruded aluminum
keeps the housing from becoming a resonant element in the speaker
design while simplifying the driver design for enhanced spatial
array performance. From a consumer's perspective, the cost of
separates could easily become a lot more than this & spousal
approval would become unlikely. If you have the ear & the gear to
evaluate & review any Definitive system, Paul can arrange a loan.
Contact: Paul DiComo, Definitive Technology (Owings Mills, MD)
410-363-7148 paul.dicomo@definitivetech.com
http://DefinitiveTech.com
Fixmo can make even silent mode rings distinctive
Distinctive ring tones aren't very useful for telling you that
somebody special is calling when your handset is in silent mode,
but Fixmo Tools for BlackBerry ($20 with a year of updates) can
give you another option. Its Call Indicator can make let you
tailor slow, medium or fast LED blinks in red, blue, green,
purple or yellow. Even cooler, that's just one of 10 tools in the
kit. Get one from Rick - it's worth reviewing. Contact: Rick
Segal, Fixmo (Toronto, ON) 416-414-9726 rick@Fixmo.com
http://Fixmo.com
Franklin Touch 'N Solve is/isn't child's play
The newest in the Franklin Learner Series is their handheld Touch
'N Solve ($13) 11-game LCD touch screen handheld challenge to any
word worker's self-worth. You won't find any kids (even our age)
who find these 11 word games too easy & that challenge will hook
them into using this addictive little doodad to exercise & tone
up their language skills. Ask Aline. Contact: Aline Boutin,
Franklin Electronic Publishers (Burlington, NJ) 609-386-2500x4434
aline_boutin@franklin.com http://franklin.com
Texting protextion [sic]
Welcome Iconosys with a growing family of economical products to
help protect drivers from texting temptations while not upsetting
their friends' or families' expectations. Search engines will
show you their involvement in a series of products for smart
phones that detect driving speeds, audio-respond with more or
less "driving now, catch you when I'm done" messages but silence
any alert to incoming texts. There's a lot more to the story, but
start there & feel free to grill Wayne. Contact: Wayne Irving II,
Iconosys Inc. (Laguna Hills, CA) 949-322-3540 wi@iconosys.com
http://iconosys.com
For the hottest thing in non-digital LCDs, just Boogie
Father's Day at Brookstone lit the fuse on fans for the fantastic
Boogie Board ($35) paperless note tablet; here's a note to take
it from freaky to geeky: it isn't digital. It's chemical, optical
& a little analog. The whole pad is a single pixel; drawing on it
squishes the liquid crystals under the stylus out of alignment &
a line shows. Hitting erase sends a brief Voltage spike that
lines the fluid up again & blanks the slate. Get one; ask Kevin.
Contact: Kevin Oswald, Kent Displays (Kent, OH) 330-673-8784x161
koswald@kentdisplays.com http://KentDisplays.com
Tiffen's Smoothee at Line Show
Less than $200 will put a Steadicam under an iPhone, Droid or
Flip (with support for more choices to come) when the new
Steadicam Smoothee ($199) ships late this year, just in time for
the Holidays. CEA Line Show attendees got a peek last week; ask
Hilary for photos & info any time. Contact: Hilary Araujo, Tiffen
Company (Hauppauge, NY) 631-609-3216 haraujo@tiffen.com
http:/.tiffen.com
Special Report: School textbooks as a killer app
The ingredients are everywhere: school kids with bulging
backpacks, a textbook publishing industry shackled by almost
unpredictable requirements for physical inventory & schools with
limited budgets for system-provided texts. There's potential here
for a "killer app" but it's not the first jump-off for most
conclusions. It takes more than a capable e-reader to solve this;
it also takes appropriate agreements involving mutual revenue
sharing & licensing protections (but not the Nazi variety; a
family that pays for one kid to buy a textbook today can normally
hand it down to a sibling without paying for it again & that's
one practice that should survive). The killer app here is a
fabric that borrows some of the lessons from music & video
licensing, some from the revenue sharing agreements in the
practices of companies like Apple & Amazon, but still has a large
dependency on the abilities of parents & school systems to make
new investments in devices. Universities & prep schools are the
first places we might expect to see this emerge, if their
critical mass is big enough to interest all parties.
Special Report Bonus Review: Spot clips
There's more than a little MacGyver to the Spot line of clips for
mobile accessories. It starts with a small plastic alligator clip
with a tiny chock that swings into the end you squeeze & blocks
that end open, keeping the clip-end tight. One arm of the clip
may have a tiny slide-on paper clamp (clamp to a vent slat) or a
plastic post shaped like a headset plug that can attach a handset
or player or other mobile device to it. The other end has one (in
the Spot One) or two (in the Spot Two) rubber loops on riser
posts; you can snug earbuds into the deuce & wrap a wire around,
stick a Bluetooth earpiece into the single, etc. One way or
another (if you don't lose any pieces), there's a way to clip
what you carry onto vents or clothing or seat belts or visors or
cup holders to keep them at hand. Bottom line: Clever little Spot
clips are versatile & provide new alternatives for not letting
your gear get loose.
Special Report Bonus Review 2: Potty Patch
It's not just more workers at home; it's also more workplaces
inviting people to bring their dogs or more long workdays that
don't get you home until too late. Those made us see a
productivity factor in dealing with workplace pet messes. Our
editorial call got a response we had to try: Potty Patch "indoor
bathroom for dogs". The base is a rectangular catch-pan that's
supposed to hold (we haven't measured) almost a gallon of liquid;
above that, a perforated grate lets liquids pass through & has
top-side spikes for the top layer, artificial grass with an
open-weave backing. We can't vouch for a dog seeing it as grass,
but it's different enough from carpet or hardwood to be a
trainable target. Emptying the tray can be awkward (imagine a
cookie sheet carrying lemonade), but better that than the floor &
you could always stick an absorbent training pad in the tray to
make cleanup easier still. Bottom line: with Potty Patch, you
don't have to watch your step as much in any office or home
workplace.
Special Report Bonus Review 3: Aroma Home Screen Wipes
When's the last time your monitor smelled lemony fresh? There's a
menagerie of little stuffed animals with chamois tummies & a
lemon zest scent designed as screen cleaners. In offices where
almost everything gets borrowed, it's nice to know that the
little duck screen wipe is yours when the guy with the elephant
or the lady with the tiger can't find their own & borrow yours.
We should mention, yes, we tested it; it does a good job of
quickly clearing dust & smudges from monitors. Bottom line: Aroma
Home Screen Wipes may be cute little stuffed animals, but they're
not all play - they really work.
Special Report Bonus Review 4: First Degree Burn Cream
We would love to be able to believe in magic, but over the years,
magic has proven untrustworthy. We see a lot of terms that sound
like hocus pocus, words like homeopathic & active naturals. When
we put out an editorial call for grilling accessories, one
response was from First Degree "Therapeutic" (quotes ours) Burn
Cream. The 3 listed "active" ingredients are all plant extracts.
We tried applying it to a sunburned arm area & found that it
wasn't especially effective except perhaps as a moisturizer. The
Mayo Clinic recommends not applying ointments to a burn; the
Cleveland Clinic suggests an aloe vera cream or antibiotic
ointment may help skin recovery around minor burns. Every source
suggests cold running water as the best first response for minor
burns. We asked for any real science that could justify the
curative claims of the product we got, but so far have not
received anything. Bottom line: for now, our take on First Degree
Burn Cream is caveat emptor.
Special Report Bonus Review 5: WowWee Paper Jamz
From the house that brought us those amazing little plastic
robots & dinosaurs comes some intriguing get-me nag-bait for
kids. Paper Jamz (not sure why the name) Drums & Paper Jamz
Guitar are toys that make a musical noise that won't come out bad
(not overly loud either) in the hands of even the most inept kid
(or adult) musician. The surfaces of the drum kit & guitar are
touch sensitive; each offers lots of modes from playing canned
tunes to freestyle, rhythm, karaoke & more. Bottom line: the
WowWee Paper Jamz Drum Kit & Paper Jamz Guitar are lots of fun,
easy to use & just might trigger a kid's interest in learning to
play for real.
Our calls
As you know, just because we make an editorial call doesn't mean
any relevant responses to it will ever arrive, nor any products
or info we request, but we wanted to share some of the things we
recently asked for in case any of this can help your own
coverage. Recent calls include: new tech in pet cleanup products,
new tech in household or small office first aid, inexpensive end
user audio test gear, summer gadgets & gizmos, first-apartment
tech, train-taker tech, new fly-killer gizmos, suit savers &
"un-camera" attachments. Contact: Martin Winston, Newstips
(Novelty, OH) 440-338-8400; marty@Newstips.com
http://Newstips.com
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Newstips Bulletin [Novelty, OH] +1.440.338.8400 http://Newstips.com
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