Technology, iPhone, Mobiles, Nokia, and Gadgets

Review: iPWR Backup Battery for iPhone and iPod

Short version: The iPhone may be good at a lot of things - but one thing its definitely not known for is its good battery life. It definitely has better battery than some devices (we’re looking at you, T-Mobile G1), but it still pretty terrible. If you’re a heavy user, you’ll want a backup battery - but there are oh-so-many of them to choose from. Which one’s the right one for you? If you’re carrying an iPhone and an iPod or two, the iPWR backup battery is a solid pick.

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SHIFT: What’s wrong with broadband in America

Show of hands: How many of you saw Miss California, Carrie Prejean, answer Perez Hilton's question about gay marriage at the Miss USA pageant? For those who answered yes, how many of you saw the video of her on a computer or mobile device instead of a TV? Exactly. That's the power of broadband, and it's the future of the mass media. No surprises there. From iTunes to Hulu, the last few years have seen an explosion of online video, much of it now in HD. The future of online is video, video, video. That future is assured, but there's real danger of that future being delayed, at least in the United States.

You may have heard about Time Warner Cable's plan to introduce metered pricing for broadband access, and its reversal of that plan after it caused an online revolt. TWC's idea was stupidly executed, but in any case it was only a symptom, not the problem. Just like fact that the U.S., the inventor of the Internet, ranks 15th in the world for broadband speeds — that's a symptom, too.

What is the problem? Read on.

Play Left 4 Dead 4 free 4 24 hours

Update: Left 4 Dead is currently discounted on Steam's website at 40% off (from $39.99 to $23.99), but just for this weekend only.

If you haven't tried playing Left 4 Dead yet because of the price, or aren't sure about the game in ...

Aquawall Wandaquarium is the fish tank of slow death

The generally therapeutic impact of aquariums is well known, but many people don’t the like the hassle or the size of a real fishtank. Aquawall has tried to to get around this by creating the Wandaquarium — a wall-mountable display intended to provide the interior decorator with a maintenance-free aquascape.

As an aquarium hobbyist, this type of product sickens me. The creators of this system attempt to tell consumers that the tank is self-cleaning, and needs a water change only once a year. This is completely untrue. Regardless of if the display has live plants or not (and this appears to be set up to have them) the water will still need to be changed consistently to provide the fish with a healthy environment.

Selling for $1450, this fish-killing device should not be purchased under any circumstances. While it does look very modern, it just another ill-advised case of form over function. I’d go so far as to compare it to the infamous “goldfish shoes” of the disco era.

[via Dvice]

Dolby Pro Logic IIz: Taking a second listen

Recently, Steve Guttenberg, our resident audio guru, took a listen to the first AV receiver to offer Dolby Pro Logic IIz. And he wasn't impressed.

Pro Logic IIz is the latest surround format from Dolby Labs. This one utilizes "height speakers" placed above the left and right front-channel speakers. The configuration Guttenberg tested utilized a 7.1 configuration (a standard 5.1 setup, plus 2 height speakers), but Pro Logic IIz is designed to support 9.1 as well (7.1 plus 2). That will presumably be supported in future

According to Dolby's Web site, the advantages of Pro Logic IIz are as follows:

With Dolby Pro Logic IIz, rain in a movie now seems to be actually falling on the listener's roof, concert videos bring a more intense sense of being at the performance, and orchestral works deliver more palpable depth, power, and connection.

In games, the added dimension increases the realism and immerses players more deeply than ever in the action.

Because it processes only nondirectional sounds for the height channels, Dolby Pro Logic IIz maintains the integrity of the source mix and the effects are always appropriate to the material. The added dimension complements the sound from the rear-surround speakers, adding spaciousness while honoring the original intent of the content creator.

Alas, Guttenberg could barely hear a difference when Dolby Pro Logic IIz was engaged: "The height speakers didn't make a discernible difference. I couldn't hear them at all, so I increased the height speaker volume by 3 decibels. Still no difference."

Needless to say, Dolby and Onkyo (the maker of the TX-SR607, which is the first IIz-compatible hardware) weren't too happy with that evaluation. So, we told them we'd give it a second chance, with more ears in the room.

For Round Two, Steve Guttenberg (again), Executive Editor David Carnoy, Senior Associate Editor Matthew Moskovciak, and I crowded into the CNET audio room. ...