Author Archives: Stephen Hackett

Messenger Bag Review

The Tom Bihn Daylight Briefcase is not the largest or most robust bag there is, but for carrying my iPad, some key accessories and my personal items to a meeting, coffee shop or coworking space, it's pretty great.

Backpack Review

The $170 backpack from everyone's favorite Seattle-based, Made-in-the-USA bag company isn't the largest backpack on the market, but for someone with my needs — basically something *just* bigger than a messenger bag — it's hard to beat.

Pinswift for iPhone

There are numerous Pinboard clients out there for the iPhone, but Pinswift is my new favorite. The iOS 7-only iPhone app features a clean design, but isn't void of personality. The app syncs and searches quickly, and ships with robust x-callback-url support. Pinswift is $4.99 in the iOS App Store.

The MacSparky Email Field Guide

David Sparks is a legend among men. In addition to being an attorney, half of Mac Power Users and blogger, he has written several great ebooks. His most recent — released last night — is a beast. At 300 pages with nearly 1.5 hours of video screencasts and 200 screenshots, the book covers the world of email. Chapters include: The Email Problem Tactical Email…

Doxie Flip Mobile Scanner

While going paperless is easier than ever, scanning more personal things like photos, albums and notebooks isn't as easy as it should be. The folks at Doxie have set out to change that with their new Doxie Flip Mobile Scanner. Unlike the Doxie One and Doxie Go, the Flip is flatbed scanner. Unlike traditional flatbed scanners, the Doxie Flip is small and…

Knock

TouchID bring easy unlocking to the iPhone, but what about the Mac? Why are we stuck using passwords like animals? Well, the cost of the future is just $4. Knock is a new app that allows you to unlock your Mac by taping your iPhone. Using the low-power Bluetooth chip found the iPhone 4S, 5, 5C and 5S, Knock pairs to your…

Slow Fast Slow

The boys at Studio Neat are back, and this time, with a new app. Slow Fast Slow brings slow-mo video capture to the iPod touch, iPhone 5 and 5c, but even on the 5s, enhances the experience with an awesome user interface. Beyond the slow motion, the app can speed up video as well. Here are some of the technical details: Records…

OS X Mavericks

Today, Apple released the newest version of OS X, dubbed Mavericks. While I wrote up a whole giant review over on 512 Pixels, I did want to highlight a few of the features here: Better power management: Thanks to things with complicated names like "timer coalescing," OS X Mavericks should run longer than Mountain Lion on notebooks. iBooks: Apple's brought the iBookStore…

The Fitbit Force

If the FuelBand isn't your thing, the other powerhouse in personal fitness tracking — Fitbit — has also updated their wrist-based offering. The Fitbit Force is a revised version of the Flex, which took Fitbit's step and sleep tracking to an all-new level. The Force adds better support for counting stairs, but the headlining feature (for me, at least) is the inclusion of a…

The Nike FuelBand SE

Nike's refreshed its FuelBand for the holidays. The new FuelBand SE has a similar LED grid display and still syncs Nike "Fuel" — not actual steps — to your iPhone over Bluetooth. This year, however, that Bluetooth connection has been updated to version 4.0, taking much less energy. The new bands can be ordered with a splash of color and is available in…

Boxie

The T&T gang are all huge fans of Dropbox, but the company's iPhone app is beginning to feel a bit dated not only in look and feel, but in terms of functionality as well. Boxie is a new app that bring a much better — and better looking — Dropbox experience to the iPhone. The app makes it easy to navigate and move…

Terminology 3 for iOS

Terminology, the best iOS dictionary app on the market, turned 3 yesterday. The all-new version is a $2.99 universal app that sports an all-new iOS 7 UI, but so much more. In addition to a great offline dictionary and thesaurus, Terminology 3 can search Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Google and other common reference sites. With iCloud, the app can sync favorite terms and histories…

Launch Center Pro for iPhone

There are a lot of automation tools out there for the iPhone, but Launch Center Pro may be one of the easiest to set up and use. Not unlike Automator on the Mac, Launch Center Pro's interface uses easy-to-understand menus to link actions together. If you need more power, you can type or paste commands, but for many actions, it's not required.…

The Tools and Toys Lightning Cable Roundup

Ask any iPhone 5 or recent iPad owner about the Lightning cable, and they'll probably still roll their eyes. While the new connector is technically superior — both smaller and easier to use — than the 30-pin Dock Connector used before it, many iOS users had tons of accessories that relied on the older technology. Then there's the price. Apple's first-party cable…

The Life Hack Poster

While the term "life hacks" has gotten kicked around a lot over the years, a new Kickstarter project by Alex Croft breathes new life into the phrase. The 24x36 inch poster is well designed, featuring white and black art over a beautiful blue. Each "hack" is told as a fun little story around a big owl. Guides on CPR, the Heimlich maneuver,…

Nock Co. Pen Cases

Nock Co. is a new startup by Jeffrey Bruckwicki and Brad Dowdy focused on creating beautiful, functional pen accessories. Their initial Kickstarter project features numerous products. Ranging from the The Chimneytop, a mini pop-up case with a single zipper for 6-7 pens to The Brasstown, a zippered roll case for pens, pencils, small tools and more. All of Nock Co's items are…

Design Crazy

There are a lot of books about Apple's history. However, most of them end at the iMac in 1999 or the iPod in 2001, which is disappointing. This is starting to change a bit, though. The $1.99 Kindle book Design Crazy: Good Looks, Hot Tempers, and True Genius at Apple by Max Chafkin over at Fast Company includes interviews more than fifty…

Buca Boot: Flexible Secure Storage for the Urban Biker

The Buca Boot is a new Kickstarter project designed to make biking with items easier than now. While saddle bags, cases and more exist, the Buca Boot is a new lockable, waterproof, handsome rig that's designed to be more flexible than products out there. The Buca Boot fits any standard bike rack, so no drilling is required on your bike frame. The…

Evernote Essentials 4

Evernote's a great tool, but it can be confusing. Between tags, notebooks, stacks and search, there are a lot of different ways to use the application. Over the years, Brett Kelly's Evernote Essentials has been the go-to book for how to get started and excel at Evernote. Today, with version 4, Evernote Essentials is better than ever. Chock-full of hints, use cases,…

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