So Freaking Neat!

For those of you who care to know: yes, the inventors of the Float did meet their funding goal on Kickstarter by the date set, so the device is set to become a reality. We will let you know more about the product, including the price, as details become available.

A month or two ago, when we were highlighting the Kickstarter website, we spotlighted one product in particular that caught our fancy: the Flote, an adjustable stand for the iPad2. Now, from another favorite site, The iPad Fan, comes news of a similar product at an even more affordable rate. And it doesn’t need funding; it’s all ready to go, and you can order one today.

The product is called the SpiderArm, and like the Flote, it supports the iPad on an extension arm for ease of use in multiple situations. Unlike the Flote, which comes as one free-standing floor base and extension, the SpiderArm comes with two bases, neither of which is designed to set freely on the floor. One base is a small unit that can be screwed into a desk or wall as a permanent fixture; the other is a clamp structure for use on a table, desk, etc., as a temporary fixture. Neither base is considered a floor fixture, unless you want to drill screws into your carpet (my wife just gave me the dirtiest look at that last suggestion…err, comment).

With two bases and three extension/adjustable arms, the SpiderArm is more mobile than the Flote, and considerably less expensive ($80.00, as opposed to at least a few hundred when the Flote makers reveal a retail price). But the workmanship is just as excellent.

Check out their website for full details and photos. A SpiderArm could free some considerable desk space and add an interesting touch to your office or den.

Here we go again – more magazines, although only one is a February issue.

PC World

• Laptops of 2012: What to Expect - a preview of what to expect in the coming year in light of increasing laptop sales.
• Going Beyond the To-Do List – a look at several project-management apps currently available.
• Play Hard, Stay Safe – data security tips for game players.
• Reviews: Blu-ray Players
• Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet – gentlemen, start your engines!
• Secret Windows Fixes – a quick guide to fixing PC problems.
• The 20 Best Airports for Tech Travelers – no, we’re not going to list them here. Buy the magazine!
• Laptops as Light as Air – ultrabooks are given a closer look as they start to proliferate.

iOS 5 Apps, Tips & Tricks – a stand-alone magazine produced by MacLife, this publication brings you all the latest info on iOS 5 and OS X Lion (including 80 tips for each) plus reviews of the most important/popular apps currently available. 

Beckett Guide to Phone Apps – a hefty magazine compendium of apps for all smartphones, including Android, Apple and Blackberry, along with articles on the Amazon Kindle, Nook Tablet and other popular devices utilizing apps. Apps are grouped by category, such as productivity, fitness, etc. Some free apps here are very definitely worth trying.

For the last few years, Fringe has been our favorite TV show of weird. Twisted plots, twisted characters – gotta love it! But something has happened this season, and the show has lost a lot of its appeal. Perhaps it’s the twist about Peter Bishop, which has changed some of the other characters’ personalities – in particular, that of Walter Bishop (played brilliantly by John Noble), who has become more dour and a lot less impish in his behaviors.

Now comes word that the series, plagued by dropping ratings, may be playing out its last season. So we began looking for a new series that would slake our desire for weird and intriguing, that could replace Fringe if the worst occurs. And we may have found it in a new series that began this week: Alcatraz. Like Fringe, it follows a task force set up to pursue unusual cases; and like Fringe, there’s more to what’s happening than appears on the surface – an underlying mythology of weird goings-on that continually twists and turns into more convoluted storytelling.

Basically, the show rewrites history in postulating that 300+ inmates of Alcatraz were not relocated when the facility closed, but rather simply disappeared. Fast-forward to the present, and the missing cons are showing up in San Francisco – without having aged a day since 1963. Into this situation blunders a young cop who starts to uncover the truth and is grudgingly recruited into a task force to handle the weird process of recovering the ageless cons (who, in turn, are getting help/direction from an unknown source). Her new partner in this venture is an Alcatraz expert (played by Jorge Garcia of Lost fame) who has written four books on the prison, which, of course, are now seriously flawed by the emerging truth.

Add to the mix a project leader (Sam Neill) who knows more than he’s telling, and you’ve got an ensemble cast that invigorates what could have been a dull, if strange, procedural. And really, besides Sam Elliott, is there any actor who can do authoritative and growly-voiced menace better than Neill? I don’t think so.

After watching the 2-hour premiere, I’m impressed enough to continue viewing to see how this drama plays out. Sarah Jones may be a relative unknown to many viewers, but I suspect that, like Anna Torv on Fringe, she’ll make her presence known in a forceful way as plot lines unfold.

Give Alcatraz a watch, and see if you don’t agree. With Fringe still running, this may be the best one-two punch of weird on TV since Twilight Zone and Outer Limits.

Back in November, I wrote about the Griffin Tablet Stand, a small device for holding your tablet/iPad in place on your desk. Now Belkin has come out with its Mini Dock for iPod and iPhone. Like the tablet stand, it collapses into a flat, easy-to-carry piece of equipment (that you can pop into a pocket); unlike the tablet stand, it can also be used to charge your iPod or iPhone.

Just pop open the small, gunmetal grey backing and raise the dock connector, and you’re ready to set your iPhone up. A built-in, wrap-around USB cable can then be plugged into a computer, laptop or USB wall connector to charge and/or sync your device. I’m finding this device enormously useful, as I take several calls  each day while using my laptop, and this little gem lets me touch a screen and talk without fumbling for my phone in its case and without having to leave my computer and my work.

The Mini Dock is available wherever Belkin products are sold. I bought mine up at Walmart. Pick one up and make life a little easier in the office!

Some February magazines are already on newsstands. So here we go with highlights: 
MacLife
 

• 5-Minute How-To: Safari – a one-page article on improving browser experience on Safari.
• Reviews (page 64) – included: Kindle Fire; MacBook Pro (15-inch core i7); Firefox 8; iTunes Match; and Rosetta Stone Language Course (Spanish).
• Catch Up with iCloud – another “everything you need to know” article, just in case you missed the hundred or so similar articles in January.
• Sweet Dreams are Made of These – a look at what Apple is coming up with in the future (hopefully); I really want an iDesk when it becomes a reality.

 
Macworld
 

• Back Up Your Photos in the Cloud – essential info for digital photographers; features Iomega, Seagate, Pogoplug and others.
• iTunes Match: What You Need to Know – more information on Apple’s new music service.
• 2011 App Gem Awards – 32 of Apple’s most popular apps are highlighted, by category.
• Editors’ Choice Awards – an assessment of the editors’ picks for the best (Apple-related) products of 2011.
• Pocket Projector for iPhone 4 – just a less-than-quarter-page sidebar about a new product from Texas Instruments and Brookstone that looks kind of neat. Less a case than a clip-on accessory, it still is cool in its ability to project images from your iPhone, even if it doesn’t provide much protection. If we get one here at SFN, we’ll give it a spin for you.

Popular Photography (Feb. 2012) 
The Latest in Lenses – a look at the latest glass from Sigma, Nikon, Pentax and others; includes a useful “glass glossary.”

 
Winter in Wyoming – cold-weather shooting tips, with emphasis on Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks; informative sidebar on page 57 on how to cope (for you and your equipment) with the cold weather.
 
Hip Bags (page 18) – round-up of five camera bags that double as sidebags (handbags or sacks).
 
 
Peterson’s PhotoGraphic Digital Photography Guide, Vol. 13 – Peterson’s, once a monthly publication, is now issuing a series of periodic “guides” that each focus on an individual aspect of photography (lighting, exposure, etc.). While each of these guides are excellent primers for new and experienced shooters, this latest edition focuses on iPhone photography, with articles on using your iPhone for shooting, sharing photos, best apps for processing and enhancing photos, and a dozen other ideas and techniques. If you’re looking for ways to enhance your iPhone photography, this is the most up-to-date source for you.

Sax Rohmer’s iconic villain, Dr. Fu Manchu, is coming back in a big way this year. Titan Books is publishing/reprinting the entire line of Fu Manchu books as trade paperbacks for the first time in over twenty-five years. These pulp thrillers have largely been out of print for much of that time; only the first three novels were in the public domain and therefor published separately or in omnibus form by various publishers. 
Now Titan has concluded an 11-book deal that will bring all of Fu Manchu’s adventures back into the public eye and introduce the Devil Doctor to a whole new generation. Some, I’m sure, will be offended by the more racist, or at least ethnically condescending, remarks in these works; most, I hope, will read the books in the context of the early-twentieth century sensibilities and beliefs of the era. Taken in that spirit, these adventures are ripping yarns that can be read quickly and enjoyably by fans and neophytes alike.

 
Amazon is taking per-orders now for the first three books. The first book, formerly released in this country under the title The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu, will be released on February 14, 2012, under its original British title, The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu; the second, The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu, will be released the same day.

 
The Hand of Fu Manchu will be released on May 14, 2012, presumably to be followed at regular intervals by the remaining titles in the series. The price for the first three books is listed by Amazon as $9.95 each.
 
I have read the first three novels, and I can definitely recommend them as fast and thrilling reads. All three books began life as a series of short magazine stories, which Rohmer then combined with some literary connecting tissue into novels. Thus the books have a disjointed feel about them that takes a little getting used to: every twenty or so pages (3-4 chapters), a mystery comes to a climax and solution, with the following chapter seemingly jumping into a new adventure. Keep in mind that each book represents a “campaign” of terror by Fu Manchu aimed at numerous “enemies” of the Si Fan/China, and the novels will seem much more cohesive.

 
Buy these books! And encourage Titan Books to continue in their reprint of the entire series.

Looking for articles on a particular subject? Here are some highlights of various magazine articles for this month:
 
MacLife

• Social Networks Today – a look at the top social networking sites with their good and bad points. 
• iPhone 4S – a complete review of the latest iPhone and its functions. 
• Tiffin DFX 3.0 Photo Editor – a review of Tiffen’s latest photo-filter software. 

 
Macworld

• Comparing iPhone 4S Wireless Plans – kinda self-explanatory. 
• Up Close with iOS5 – review of and guide to Apple’s new mobile operating system. 
• Welcome to the iCloud – a start-up guide to Apple’s online service. 

 
Laptop Magazine

• Amazon on Fire – a complete review of the Amazon Fire 
• Ultimate iCloud Guide – a guide to…wait a minute…this looks familiar. 
• Password Management Apps – an assessment of six programs that protect passwords and data. 

 
iPhone Life

• iPhone 4S  – another guide to the newest Apple smartphone. 
• iCloud: What You Need to Know – OK, so now there’s no excuse not to know this stuff inside and out. 
• iOS5: 25 Tips and Tricks – the  title says it all. 
• Top 5 Biking Apps for iOS – for the bikers among you. 
• From Snap to Presentation – a guide to iPhone photography. 
• The Best iPhone and iPad Car Mounts - once again, the title says it all. 

 
PC World

• Virtual Assistants – an assessment of four programs. 
• Square vs. Intuit – a comparison of the two mobile credit-card scanners. 
• Android Tablets: Finally Ready? – a look at tablets other than the iPad. 
• Which Tech  Brands Can You Trust? – covers laptops, cameras and other electronic devices. 
• 48 Great Mobile Apps – for iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone 7. 
• Six Reasons to Use Cloud Services for Small Business. 

Readers of this blog know that we love the classic Universal monsters and that we collect action figures of the same. Sideshow Toys produced a line of eight-inch figures that were so detailed that you could see Lugosi in their Dracula and Karloff in their Frankenstein monster – but that line ended long ago and now those figures are collectors’ items commanding hundreds of dollars in the secondary market. 

Readers also know that we highlighted a (relatively) new figure of the Creature from the Black Lagoon last year. This figure was available on several sites, which we also highlighted, including Creepy Classics and MyMovieMonsters.com, along with a new figure/interpretation of the Mummy. These figures are also available at many comic-book shops.
 
Now comes the release of two more monster greats from the same source: Dracula and the Frankenstein monster! And with them, we’ve tracked the site of the producers of these gems: Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles. Again, the detail in these figures is astonishing, even if the company doesn’t have the rights to use the Lugosi and Karloff likenesses. But, as with the first two figures, it’s the accessories that make a difference. The Monster comes with a lab table that needs some (simple) assembly (and captures the look of the 1931 film’s equipment), and Dracula comes with a wolf at his side.

Check out Diamond’s site – they do more than Universal horror figures: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ghostbusters, even 24′s Jack Bauer – they’re all here and more.