October 22, 2014

Review: CoolStream Duo

CoolStream DuoAbout a year ago, we took a look at Auris’s freeDa, a small Bluetooth receiver that connected to most 30-pin Dock Connector-equipped accessories, allowing you to stream audio over Bluetooth. In the time since, there have been even more competitors (not that the freeDa was the first), one of which is the CoolStream Duo, a $40 music receiver that tries to do a few key things well.

September 1, 2014

Review: Wink Hub & GE Link Lightbulbs

GE LinkI’m a sucker for gadgets—ever since the earliest days of running SchwarzTech, I’ve always been at odds with if I really needed something, and the desire to have a new toy to play with. From a financial standpoint, I feel like I’ve mostly made reasonable choices on purchases (I still haven’t gotten any sort of smart watch yet), but I’ve always been fascinated with the home automation side of things. Products like the Philips Hue have been out my reach for just dipping my feet in the pool, but GE’s new Link bulbs, priced at $15, piqued my interest…

March 17, 2014

Review: Avatron Software Air Display 2

Air DisplayI often have my iPad sitting on my desk displaying something when I’m not using it—usually it’s some sort of entertainment media, a weather map, or stock quotes. Still, there are times when I feel like it’s just displaying something to justify its presence on my desk. Avatron Software hopes to give your iPad (or iPhone, Android device, Mac, or Windows PC) another use by becoming a second display for your computer. Air Display is a tool aimed at anyone that could temporarily use some extra screen space…

January 28, 2014

Review: Realmac Software Ember

EmberIn the days that Macs featured rainbow-colored Apple logos, there was a handy tool that lived in the Apple Menu—the Scrapbook. The idea was that you could use it as a place for images, text, sounds, and other content that you could later paste in documents. Unfortunately, with the transition to OS X, Scrapbook didn’t make the cut. Realmac Software has sort of resurrected the idea with Ember, a $50 Mac app and free iOS app combo…

June 17, 2013

Review: Muzzy

MuzzyiTunes is one of Apple’s oldest pieces of software, actually predating OS X as far as consumers are concerned. Because of this, and numerous ways that developers can improve upon Apple’s experience, there have been tons of ways to use iTunes without directly using iTunes. Muzzy, a new free app, tries to offer some additional features directly from the menu bar…