Technology & Business
Beartooth will allow you to use your cell off-grid
There are times when you will be off-grid (camping, disasters, remote location work, etc). You could use satellite phones to stay in touch with your team but that can get costly very quickly. A company called BearTooth claims to have built a smartphone sleeve that turns it into an FRS style radio that uses unlicensed bands to communicate (it seems to convert your cell into a high priced software controlled FRS radio). It will allow you to have voice conversations, send text messages and send your geolocation information.
Travel Tip: LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt hard drive review
The Physical <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/86909891b5.jpg" alt=""> If you travel frequently, you know how important it is to carry an external hard drive. This is useful for on the road backup but also to carry your data (considering most modern high end laptops are still based on 250GB SSD drives.) But your typical made for home hard drive will have a difficult time putting up with the rigors of travel. Enter the Lacie Rugged Thunderbolt hard drive (also has a USB 3.
IOS 8 means Apple can't unlock your device for law enforcement
The slow and consistent Snowden leaks about how everything we do is monitored, recorded and analysed is freaking some people out. And this extra customer push may be what was needed to finally improve on-device security for our most personal devices (aka smartphones). Apple announced (link) that IOS 8 is a big move for IOS device security because it is now "technologically impossible" to access data stored on a passcode or TouchID locked device. Apple says they can no longer bypass device security.
Travel Tip: Essential iPhone apps every traveller should have
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2500”] Image by Andrew Butitta used under Creative Commons License [/caption] I love my smartphone because it simplifies or amplifies so many aspects of my life. The smartphone has become an indispensable travel tool. It make every part of travel easier from reserving your airline seats, to buying show tickets to getting around a foreign city. There are thousands upon thousands of travel apps available. I will try to share some of the more useful ones with you.
Apple to livestream Sep 9 iPhone announcement
Every major Apple event is a thrilling adventure for technology enthusiasts. Will the announcement be a simple evolution or will we see the start of a revolutionary new product category? Apple has finally confirmed that they will livestream the event on their website (link) for everyone (with the appropriate config) to watch. Everyone agrees that this will be the unveiling of the iPhone 6 and possibly the iWatch, iHat, ipatch (whatever format their new wearable takes). Everyone's favorite (mostly) accurate analyst, Ming Chi Kuo, also believes we may see an updates iPad Air (but I think this last one is much less likely).
Jackery Bar Review
Portable battery backups are an incredibly useful category many users ignore. In the last 30 days, I have used one a couple of times and was thankful to have it every time. I used it while camping in the woods, while travelling to LA and when a day seemed to be neverending. Ultimately I test dozens of these portable battery backups everyday and this time around it's the Jackery Bar's time. Physical I was actually impressed at the weight and size of this device.
Can I get good sound from cheap headphones?
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2500”] Image by Anemone Jones used under Creative Commons License [/caption] Headphones (or earphones) come in all shapes, sizes and budgets. You can use the cheap ones included with your smartphone or buy $1000 audiophile ones powered with a headphone amp. A question I hear often is "Can I get good sound from cheap headphones?" Good is very subjective and means different things for different people but the simple answer is YES. A $20 pair of cans won't sound as good as a $1000 pair but more often than not, it will be good enough for most users (especially since the source is often a compressed MP3 played through a weak headphone amp in a smartphone or PC).
What to expect from Apple's next desktop and mobile OS
At the 2014 World Wide Developer conference, we learned that Apple plan's to release a slew of new integration feature between its desktop operating system (Yosemite) and IOS 8. Many of my "normal" users (less technical) users asked for a simple summary so here goes: AirDrop - This is a file sharing feature that currently works mobile device to mobile device. Apple will open this feature up to its desktop platform making the exchange of files, photos and other digital assets as easy as drag and drop (as long as the devices are nearby on the same network).
The best laptop for your elementary student
Most of us over the age of 30 have this false belief that the ideal laptop is powerful, with lots of ports and runs Windows. The reality is that most of what we do (except running powerful games) no longer requires that type of expensive machine. The new generation of computer users want to watch online streaming movies (Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, Vimeo, etc), perform basic photo editing (you can use sites like PicMonkey.com), write basic documents (with Google Docs or Microsoft Office Online) and have a sleek light device with all day battery life and minimal maintenance.
3 apps you need for your next road trip
There is something fun and exciting about road trips. They are a great way to discover wonderful places and people. So I wanted to share my top 3 iPhone (IOS) / Android apps every road-tripper should download now. GasBuddy <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/1c51936d42.jpg" alt=""> Gas Buddy is a free app that helps you find the cheapest gas in your area (Canada and US). It is a great way to decide whether to fill up now, somewhere on your route or at your destination.