Caffeine – MiniReview May 23, 2010
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Computers, First Look/Reviews , add a comment
Caffeine. Need. Caffeine.
Another random little Mac application. And yet, so useful. To ask a simple question – ever have to download some really big file (say, Portal) or need to sync, backup or restore your iPod (a task taking slightly less time then the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy). But even more annoying, is when you’re doing this on a laptop. A laptop, which goes to sleep to conserve battery life after around 15 minutes. So, you’re stuck either messing around with your battery settings or waiting at your computer for hours. Enter Caffeine. Caffeine is a little application that sits in your menubar, and has one purpose. Click on the little coffee cup icon, and your computer stays awake – no screensaver, no sleep, nothing. Hence the name, Caffeine.
It works flawlessly though, and is absurdly useful. Streaming an episode of Chuck from Hulu? Caffeine, eat dinner, and enjoy. Converting a movie? Caffeine. It’s singularly purposed, but incredibly useful.
So, go on – download it here. It’s free, so you’ve got no excuse. And next time where you’re trying to process a video for history class at 4 AM – at least you’ll be able to keep the computer awake.
Doubletwist – iTunes for Your Phone February 24, 2010
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Apple, Cell Phones, Computers, First Look/Reviews, Mp3 players and iPods, Music , add a comment
Doubletwist – like iTunes, for non-Apple stuff
The age-old issue: you, like nearly everyone else, uses an iPod for music – be it Touch, Nano, Shuffle, or Classic — and you are very happy with using iTunes for syncing and so on. But unfortunately, unless you have an iPhone, the iTunes program is quite unhelpful when it comes to your phone. Unlike your iPod, you can’t just plug in to your computer and sync your music, and while phones have separate applications for syncing media, lets face it – getting everything to work, getting your music from iTunes…its annoying– especially every time you get a new phone.
Enter Doubletwist. iTunes for everything else- literally. Able to recognize and import your iTunes library (even playlists), Doubletwist is compatible with a whole slew of companies and devices – PSP, Zune, Nokia’s, LG’s, Motorola’s, etc. True, it’s not compatible with everything – but it’s certainly more then an iPod and it does a great job syncing. The interface is simple, and familiar to iTunes’, and features the drag/drop method we all know and love. Videos – provided they aren’t purchased (and therefore, DRMed) from iTunes – are converted into a suitable format and synced. Photos – same deal. (Note: iTunes Plus songs, without DRM, are fine)
Best of all – it’s not only a Mac application – Doubletwist is for Windows as well. It also has features for sharing – or “twisting” as they call it – media with friends and family, as well as integration with the Amazon MP3 store.
If you’d like Doubletwist, check it out on the site here to see if they support your phone or device. Also, you might want to check that you have a USB cable to connect your phone to your PC. Finally, if you’re looking to keep a fair amount of songs, look into getting a MicroSD card, so you have memory to store ‘em.
And next time your iPhone toting friend is bragging about having his music on his phone – you’ll have the last laugh.
SyncMate for Mac – Review November 24, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Computers, First Look/Reviews , 1 comment so far
Sync is a wonderful thing….
Recently, I was given the opportunity to try out a rather nice application called Syncmate for Mac, which, as the name implies – does Sync. From a Mac. But seriously, this program is incredibly useful – at least, to me, and I suspect most of you other teens out there, at least, those of you with Macs.
Dropbox – Free Storage, Anywhere November 2, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Computers, First Look/Reviews , add a comment
The coolest box ever.
There are a few apps on my computer that get the honor of running full time – things like iTunes, Tweetie…. and Dropbox. As the name somewhat implies, Dropbox is free online storage– 2 GB, to be exact. After a brief sign up on the site, you now own your personal Dropbox which you can upload to and download from via the Web, as well as add and delete files.
But perhaps the coolest part is their desktop app. Available for Mac, Windows, and Linux, it’s basically a folder as well as a mini-app which syncs all info when opened. Simple, really. And, being a folder, it acts like a folder – easy to use.
This synchronization is the highlight purpose of Dropbox. Personally, I use it to keep certain files available to me everywhere – a few of my favorite songs, a couple important school notes, some of my pictures – the stuff I want to have at my fingertips at all times. Dropbox shines in this regard – because of the whole folder system. Add an mp3 to my Dropbox on my Mac, and I can get it from my Window’s netbook on the go. Need to go over those notes on my way to school? There’s an iPhone/iTouch app, so you’re covered there too. At school, and need that important essay you wrote? Just use the website. It’s pretty awesome. Also, there’s the ability to make a file Public – so you can pass a download link to your friends if they need a file from you. And again, it’s all free.
You start with 2 GB and can upgrade that to up to 3 GB by referring people. The Desktop apps are free, iPhone app’s free – its pretty sweet, and highly recommended.
Now, those of you who DESPERATELY need more then the 2-3 GB? You can upgrade to 50 or 100 GB at $10 or $20 a month respectively – if, say, you need to have your whole computer with you everywhere.
So – interested? Check out Dropbox here. (iPhone App here [Note - iTunes Link])
New MacBooks and Other Fun Stuff! October 21, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Apple, Computers , 3comments
Let there be Shinyness!
Whoa. Apple today decided to unleash a whole slew of new stuff. Foremost among them, an updated unibody white plastic MacBook (see above pic). Like the 13″ MacBook Pro, its now carved out of a single hunk of plastic, and is packing the new LED screen, glass multitouch trackpad, slimed down design, and updated specs, starting at 2.26 Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 2 gigs of RAM, 250 GB hard drive, at the same price of $1000. Not bad at all.
Next! New Mac Minis. The little Mac has gotten yet another specs boost (it got one earlier this year as well. You can see our review on the early 2009 Mac Mini here), with now at $600 you get an upgraded 2.26 Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of RAM, and an 160 GB hard drive, and at $700 you get an even faster 2.53 GHZ C2D, 4 GB RAM, and 320 GB hard drive, making the Mac Mini, as it was, the cheapest way to go Mac. (kinda… provided you aren’t gonna spend money, on, you know, screens, mice and keyboards… if you need some of those, well then this next Mac is the way to go). Also announced was a Mini Server Edition, with no disk drive and instead a 1 TB (or 1000 GB) hard drive, meant for small business owners (any teenaged small business owners out there…?)
The new awesome iMac
But the big player, (and big is very much intended here) is the new updated iMacs, at 21.5 inch and a MONSTER 27 inch beast. Notable is the option for Intel’s new i7 chips in a quad core configuration which is awesome (basically you’ll be getting great speed and power for your Mac while not killing your electric bill. Apple uses the same Core i7 chips found in new laptops in the iMacs– helps keep the sleek design and low power usage– and you can check out our post on the HP Envy 15 and Pavilion dv8 laptops from IDF for full details on all the greatness that is Intel’s new Core i7). Also interesting, is that the screens on the new iMacs support video-in. So you can use your lovely, massive LED widescreen display on say, your new MacBook. Specs on these things are beastly – check ‘em out here.
The new “Magic Mouse”
Finally, peripherals. Apple’s got two new ones here – a new mouse, this time dubbed “The Magic Mouse”, which looks like it fell out of Star Trek, and eliminates the trackball for, you guessed it, multitouch gestures. Haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but it looks pretty cool. Also added was a new, sleek and aluminum Apple Remote, to match the current line of aluminum iMacs and MacBook Pros.
…Phew. That’s everything. Anyone out there buying new Mac stuff now? Sound off below readers!
Live from IDF: LoJack from Absolute Software September 29, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Computers, IDF , add a comment
Over our time at IDF, we had the chance to meet up with Absolute Software, the maker of the laptop recovery tool LoJack. What, you ask, is LoJack? If you’re a laptop owner probably one of the most useful pieces of software out there for laptop owners. LoJack exists because a warranty can only take you so far; what would happen if your laptop got stolen? (cue dramatic music)…
LoJack software is here to catch the thief and save the day (and more importantly, your laptop). Basically, you install the app, (most computers actually have it built in on a factory level, which allows a greater level of security – check the list here), and every so often, once you activate it by, well, buying the software, it’ll check in with LoJack on a daily basis. If you report your computer as being stolen, the program reports in more frequently, enabling LoJack, (who works with local police), to retrieve your computer. Which, as you probably realize, is pretty awesome. The more costly Premium Version has the additional feature of allowing you to remotely wipe your data on the computer, before it is returned, as a just in case feature. Also included in the premium is insurance – if they can’t get your computer back, they’ll give you up to $1000 for a new computer.
As a teenager, I think that the appeal of this is obvious – I carry my laptop everywhere, and I’d have no way of finding it if it was ever stolen. So for me, it’s pretty awesome. Thankfully, I haven’t had to try out their services, but they do note a rate of 3/4 laptops recovered.
LoJack is both Windows and Mac compatible, and costs $50 (1 year subscription) or $100 (3 years) in stores for the Standard Edition, [its cheaper on their site as a digital download], and $70 (1 year) or $120 (3 years) or the Premium Edition.
But, stick around – later in the week, we’ll have three copies of the LoJack Premium Edition (3 years) to give away. So check back here soon!
Tweetie for Mac – Review April 28, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Computers, First Look/Reviews , add a comment
Tweetie – Favorite Twitter App
At long last, atebits, the programmers behind my favorite iPhone Twitter app, (also named Tweetie) have made one for the Mac. (Sorry Window’s users – no Windows version is currently planned). And of the numerous Twitter-ing Apps I’ve been playing with, trying to find one I actually liked, Tweetie has gone and taken the slot, and the reserved spot on my dock.
Why’d I choose Tweetie? What makes it better then say, Twitterific or Eventbox (my old app)?
First is functionality. Tweetie has a few things that make it significantly nicer then anything else I’ve used:
- Conversations – take a tweet, and double click, and you can see all the tweets and @tweets that lead up to it – saving you from following something tweet by tweet back to the source. Very handy.
- Search – Search also is quite powerful – you can search your tweets, your friends tweets, and the entire twitter for trends of tweets, then comment on them as you please.
- Multiple Accounts – I use two twitter accounts – my own and the official Teentechblog one. Tweetie allows me to keep both up, and switch between them with just a click. Very smooth and impressive.
So those are a few functionality reasons. But a part of it is also design. Tweetie is one of those apps like Stickies and iTunes that live perpetually open on my computer. Tweetie looks and feels like a native app, as well as running very fast – never slows down.
Also, Tweetie tracks all the menu’s you’re going through in a Timeline on top – i.e.: if you’re on the homepage, and check out a conversation you had with a friend, then you have to send that buddy a tweet on something else he said, going to his feed, then to another conversation from there – it’s all tracks on top, and a click on any segment will return you to that point. Very cool, and useful.
Tweetie is available in 2 flavors: free, which, although add supported, has all the features of the paid version, as well as the $15 paid version. Being a teen, who doesn’t have $15 to spend when there’s a free version around, I’m currently using the free, and the adds are fine (popping up in the feed once in a while). So at the very least give it a whirl.
Oh, and check us out now on twitter: teentechblog.
Are you a Mac or a PC? April 12, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Apple, Computers , add a comment
By now we’re sure you’re familiar with Apple’s “I’m a Mac” and Microsoft’s Laptop Hunters’ and “I’m a PC” ad campaigns (honestly, both are everywhere– online, on TV– they’re all over the place 
), and we here at TeenTechBlog wanted to know which one you are.
Me? I’ve been a PC guy my whole life, though I will admit, Mac’s are awesome, and when my bro’s PC died, I convinced my parents to get him a Mac Mini (see our review here ). I gotta say, I really envy Macs sometimes (ok, with using Vista– I envy them a whole lot 
), but they aren’t perfect either (their prices, for example, are really high, and I had to convince my folks that it was worth it in the long haul, claiming it will work for years without the hassle often associated with a Windows Vista PC. And I particularly went with the Mac Mini because they were the cheapest Mac for what my bro’s next computer needed to do).
Chaim? He’s a Mac guy, BIG time. And he’ll be the first one to tell you it too He loves Macs and pretty much all things Apple.
Charlie? Strictly a PC. He says he has yet to find a good enough reason to switch over to Apple from his beloved Microsoft.
Now we wanna know your thoughts, you a Mac, PC, or you don’t know and really don’t care as long as it gets you on the internet and works with your iPod? You can either vote in our cool little poll here, or sound off in the comments about your personal computer of choice (as well as what you mostly use it for). Don’t know of the ads? Click the more link to see 2 of them!