Reviews

The May 15th issue of the Support Alert newsletter has an interesting article on converting PDF files into Word documents. Initially, the newsletter author, Ian Richards, tested a couple free online conversion services, then he got readers with seven different commercial products to convert his sample document.

He called the results "fascinating" and found that "the products varied markedly". The most expensive product produced one the worst conversions. Overall, he likes Zamzar, a free web-based conversion service, saying "Most users who have only a casual need to convert PDFs to DOC should save their pennies … Read more

When Take-Two released GTA IV to the masses last week, some wondered just how big this game would be. Most analysts pegged the eventual first week sales at around $400 million and thought that was a huge week. But in an interesting turn of events that should press Take-Two's asking price higher, the company is poised to announce that it realized over $500 million in revenue in just the first week of Grand Theft Auto IV's availability.

But before it was met with such success, GTA IV garnered some of the biggest hype we have ever seen in gaming. Unlike any other title released in recent memory, the story of Niko Bellic and his rise in the criminal underworld achieved blockbuster status and quickly realized the full potential of a title that can totally change the way we're expected to think of gaming in general.

With that in mind, I entered the world of GTA IV wondering what would confront me. Would it be just another example of debauchery and disregard for humanity like some critics believe or a title that would change the way I think about gaming?… Read more

Ted Landau

April 2008

It's that time again. Time for me to check out the current status of creating an emergency boot drive ? this time one with Leopard installed. Let's cut right to the chase: the ease of creating these startup drives continues to move in one direction: from bad to worse.

Creating a pint-sized custom startup drive, with your own selection of utilities, was a breeze in Mac OS 9 or earlier. It became much more difficult in Mac OS X, but was still manageable, all the way through Panther. With Tiger, most previously successful methods would … Read more

Went to see Martin Scorsese's new concert film Shine A Light with the Rolling Stones, and I have to admit the aged rockers put on a good show. Sure, Mick and Keith's life-long love affair with the blues is still going strong, but their music has become strangely soulless. They jump around, make faces, and the energy level is high, but I didn't care. I've seen it all before, better--the Rolling Stones are now just a machine, reveling in their own outlaw, devil-may-care ethos, a mere simulation of their former selves. Kinda makes me glad the … Read more

The CD may be on its way out, but music and concert DVDs are doing just fine, thank you very much! Late last year I wrote a feature for Home Entertainment magazine running down some of my favorite music DVDs of all time. They were all "live" recordings--there wasn't a single MTV style "music video" in the bunch. This is an abridged version of the article, check the Home Entertainment website to check out the complete article. Oh, and I've added a few DVDs that didn't make the article.

Led Zeppelin

With a … Read more

On Sunday, I went to a meet organized by Head-Fi, a national headphone club.

The vibe at the Bayside, New York, event was relaxed as I sampled the mind-expanding sounds of Grado, Sennheiser, AKG, and Stax headphones, driven by awesome headphone amplifiers, some of which were commercial products. Some were one-offs, built by their proud owners.

A few of the amps were portables, and the standout was the superslim MiniBox D ($79) from Head-Direct. This little thing pumps up the power of iPods with amazing gusto, and while listening to Head-Direct's Yuin PK2 earbuds ($79), the sound was remarkably … Read more

[Friday, March 20th]

Ted Landau

March 2008

Planon's DocuPen RC800 ($299.00) is a handheld portable scanner. At about the length of a straw, the thickness of a cigar, and weighing less than 2 ounces, it's indeed very portable. It works on battery power, with its own built-in memory, completely untethered from any computer. This means you can scan items whenever and wherever you and your DocuPen may be, even if there is no computer in sight. Later, when you are back at your desk, you transfer the scans to your Mac (via a USB connection). Unlike most … Read more

In my previous blog posts titled "Disappointed with DirecTV" (part 1, part 2) I described the problems I've had getting my DirecTV equipment upgraded for compatibility with the company's new MPEG-4 satellite broadcasts.

Today, I'll be reviewing the centerpiece of this upgrade: DirecTV's HR21-700 digital video recorder (DVR).

Since there's a great summary of the features of this product in this PDF from dbstalk.com, I won't try to rehash all the details. But I do want to describe my experiences using this gizmo, and compare it directly to my older HR10-250 … Read more

A few weeks ago, I sat down with Super Smash Bros Brawl expecting more of the same. Instead of a compelling storyline and an interesting platform-esque experience, I expected a Melee redux. Instead of a slew of characters and fantastic combo moves, I expected another button masher. Instead of one of the best games released this year, I expected an average title that does little to push the series forward. I was wrong.

Let me get this out of the way -- Super Smash Bros Brawl is a fantastic game that you should buy as soon as you can come up with the $50 (and Wii) it takes to play this title.

Super Smash Bros Brawl is the result of years of time and effort put into a game that does all of the big things right and only fails on some of the smaller, less important facets of the title. And it's that dynamic that not only propels this title to instant greatness, but helps set a new tone in the industry.… Read more