Google Advance Sign-in minus the Key Fob

in ,

Have you ever had to carry around an annoying key fob for either World of Warcraft of E*Trade or any other banking site just to complete an authentication process?  It gets annoying and every now and then you might misplace the darn thing.  Google is now making it easier. Since we carry our mobile device almost everywhere and have it on our persons while using "the internet," Google, over the next few days, is rolling out, a chance to sign up for their new 2-step verification.  By activating the feature on your Google Account Settings page, within the security section, every time you sign into your Google account, it will now prompt you for your password followed by an expiring numerical code obtained on your personal mobile phone.  Google will either call you with the code, send you an SMS message or provide you the choice to generate the code for yourself with a mobile application called Google Authenticator on your Android, BlackBerry or iPhone device.

Just it case it gets to be a little too tedious for you, Google has included an easy button / check box toggle to "Remember verification for this computer for 30 days"so that you won't need to re-enter a code... for another 30 days.  Granted it negates the whole 2-step but hey, as long as you keep your phone on ya and your computer free from phishing, you should be good.  It hasn't been included under my settings just yet, but when it does, I'll get right back to you with an update.  For now, download the Google Authenticator for iPhone here at the app store.

via The Official Google Blog

In Review: Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxes

in ,

Bonhoefferwas my first e-book purchase in the Amazon store for my new Kindle 3G Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G + Wi-Fi.  What a way to break it in!  It is a fairly tough read spanning 591 pages in the print version and chronicling the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor/prodigy who came into his prime just before and during Hitler's reign over the country.  It's a story deep in theology and heavily weighted toward a Christian point of view as you might expect.  Bonhoeffer was part of the German civilian minority that opposed Hitler's rise to power from the very beginning.  The Bonhoeffer family has a deep and influential history in Germany that provided Dietrich with the means and connections to maximize his effectiveness in his efforts against Hitler inside and outside of Germany and later would influence his treatment in prison. Bonhoeffer's view on Hitler's rise to power is best summed up in an excerpt from Timothy Keller's forward to the book.

"How could the 'church of Luther,' that great teacher of the gospel, have ever come to such a place?  The answer is that the true gospel, summed up by Bonhoeffer as costly grace, had been lost.  On the one hand, the church had become marked by formalism.  That meant going to church and hearing that God just loves and forgives everyone, so it doesn't really matter much how you live.  Bonhoeffer called this cheap grace.  On the other hand, there was legalism, or salvation by law and good works.  Legalism meant that God loves you because you have pulled yourself together and are trying to live a good disciplined life.  Both of these impulses made it possible for Hitler to come to power."

Bonhoeffer was an early detractor from the Nazi regime as was his upper class and highly influential family.  He ministered to people inside and outside of Germany both before and during Hitler's rise to power and used that as a platform to help spread the word on the atrocities that Hitler and the brutal SS were committing.  In the beginning of the war and to some extent until the end many of the horrific acts by the Nazis went unnoticed by the world.  Bonhoeffer would eventually play a role in the assassination plots to kill Hitler, including the famous Valkyrie plot that would seal his fate.

I found the book inspiring at the deepest levels.  Dietrich was devoted to his ministry, his family, his country and his friends until the very end.  Even at the moment of his own execution, by direct order from Hitler himself in one of his final self-centered moves in the last weeks of the war, Dietrich remained true to his values and dedicated in his faith.  A German doctor overseeing the executions observed, "I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer.  At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the steps to the gallows, brave and composed."

As I said before this book is build upon a theological foundation and accommodates the Christian reader though I would recommend it for anyone as the story is a remarkable account about a selfless man who died for a purpose greater than himself without hesitation.  Once you get through the thorough background of his life and the detailed build up necessary to understand the extent of his sacrifice you will be rewarded with a moving, purposeful ending that will leave you wondering if you can ever read another book again.

Here's a YouTube video summary.

If you'd like to support this blog, buy this book now using the Amazon link below!

The First App for Mac Worth Buying

in , , ,

I've been using Sparrow for a little over 5 months in beta and today, Sparrow has launched it's veritable 1.0 for $9.99 on Apple's Mac App Store.

Primed for Gmail centric users, 1.0 takes the look and feel of the browser translating it to an app that closely resembles Twitter's Mac client (formerly known as Tweetie for Mac.)  A joy to use, it's robust interface easily replaces what Apple's Mail client lacks.  While still lacking IMAP support for other providers, Sparrow is readying version 1.1 converting it to a full-featured mail client that will be compatible with other IMAP services. Download it today and change the way you communicate!

For others wondering if a "lite" version will be released, as noted by @sparrowmailapp in response:

@splee Yes, Sparrow Lite has been submitted at the same time than Sparrow and hasn't been reviewed yet by Apple.

HP Lets Loose...this Summer

in ,

Officially announced this morning, the trio that HP promised surfaced as their new HP Veer, HP Pre3 and HP Touchpad; a phone for fun, a phone for business & play and a tablet that touts webOS 3.0. All using the famous touchstone induction charging, these devices are set to hit the street with the Veer in Spring '11 and the latter two, this Summer of 2011. I'm rather disappointed that HP isn't able to capitalize and beat Apple to market with their iPad 2 looming this Spring as well as the potential unveiling of the iPhone 5 in June; It's going to be a tough break and a wasted opportunity at market share. But back to the rundown starting it out with their baby.

The HP Veer is poised as the runt of the trio measuring at 3.25" in height and targeted at the minimalist user clocking in at 800Mhz by Qualcomm's MSM7230 processor. Packed with a full QWERTY keyboard, great e-mailing capability, Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE network with HSDPA 7.2/HSUPA 5.76, the Veer is equipped with a 2.6-inch multitouch screen w/ a "vibrant" 18-bit color, 320x400 resolution. Other features include the now standard 5.0MP camera w/ added video functionality, 8GB of memory and built-in A-GPS.

On the other hand, the HP Pre3 packs a heavier punch with its Qualcomm MSM 8x55 1.4GHz processor, 512MB RAM and 3.58-inch multitouch screen with 24-bit color and a 470x800 WVGA display. Accompanying the 5.0MP is an LED flash and HD (720p) video recording functionality along with a front VGA camera for those interested in conference calling.

The newest kid on the block is of course HPs TouchPad. Taking advantage of Qualcomm's Snapdragon dual-CPU APQ8060 1.2GHz monster, HP has poised this device to take on summer's iPad 2. Running webOS 3.0 alongside a 9.7-inch XGA capacitive, multi-touch screen w/ 18-bit color at 1024x768 resolution, you'll be able to play games, e-mail and video conference using the 1.3-megapixel webcam. Choosing either a 16GB or 32GB model, the TouchPad is packed with Beats Audio which should produce some good quality stereo while posted on the Touchstone dock.

The most exciting revelation comes from the next generation of of Touchstone technology. Tapping the TouchPad with the Pre3, you can share a URL or even receive text messages and answer phone calls. All these technologies are set to make HP standout but already plagued with inconsistency and a unreliable timeline of product releases, it's going to take time and a specific consumer to make a switch or start believing. You can even say that HP is on the same ground of some of America's automobile makers. That's just my take. What's yours?

Google Translate for iPhone

in

It's Tuesday and on the heels of Google's Shopper App comes Google Translate for iPhone.  With all the recent native Google Applications being released for iOS, you'd think that Apple and Google are best buds again.  Maybe it has to do with Eric Schmidt being ousted...I don't know.

The biggest awesome is that you can speak the text and Google will try it's best to translate your phrase or word in 15 different languages.  Then, if you desire, one can play back and hear the desired translation!  Granted it hasn't been setup up for my parents native language, Tagalog, but hey, I'm sure that voice support will come soon.  In the mean time, have at it!

I'll admit that when I speak a certain English sentence, it doesn't capture the exact phrase but it's better than nothing when lost in a foreign land!  What do you plan to use the app for?  Translating that Spanish paper you have to write or ordering sushi?

Description

Translate words and phrases between more than 50 languages using Google Translate for iOS. For most languages, you can speak your phrases and hear the corresponding translations.

With Google Translate you can:

* Translate text between 57 languages * Translate by speaking the text instead of typing it (15 languages) * Listen to your translations spoken aloud (23 languages) * Display translations in full screen mode to make it easier for others nearby to read * Star your favorite translations for quick access even when you’re offline * Access your translation history even when you’re offline * Spell out the translation of non-Latin script languages (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, etc..) in Latin characters to read it phonetically (e.g. Pinyin, Romaji) * View additional dictionary results for single words or short phrases

Translations between the following languages are supported:

Afrikaans, Albanian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Arabic, Basque, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Filipino, Finnish, French, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Irish, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Welsh, Yiddish

Bay Area for the Day: January 9th

in ,

"Let's go somewhere tomorrow." - adelle"San Francisco?" - elijah (w/ hidden agenda in mind) "YAY!" - adelle (unknowingly excited)

I will admit that after I told her my idea, she was just as equally excited. The agenda was to include a flight from San Diego to Los Angeles in order to get a direct flight into San Jose airport, have brunch with a awesome friend, make a quick trip to the Menlo Park Telsa Store and maybe, just maybe run into the Model S, then make it to the city for a day of hanging out with another friend of awesomeness background ending it with a direct flight from San Francisco back to San Diego.

To summarize, the flights were open and timing was immaculate! Accommodating a trip to the farmers' market, grabbing a bite to eat at a local hotspot for brunch, a stop over at Apple's HQ in Cupertino, a quick "ohh and aww" session at the Tesla Shop in Menlo Park, then a train that was scheduled to not only depart within 5 minutes of our arrival but was destined to be in Mission Bay Area at another perfect time for pick up...it couldn't have been any better! Adelle and I even grabbed a Red Velvet Hot Chocolate at Coffee Bean and made it to the 3D IMAX showing of Tron: Legacy at the AMC Sony Metreon! I mean, minus the chance of having the Tesla Model S present or a test drive of the Tesla Roadster, or a run in with the man, Steve Jobs and a tour of Apple HQ, it really made out for a great day.

Enjoy the pics!  The only reason why this post is a month back is because you can't necessarily post up or presence right?  I mean, aren't most reality television shows delayed by a couple of months?  e.g. Kourtney & Kim Take New York | E! Online

Digital Books as Apps = Physics Heaven

in , , ,

If you're in the game of writing, authoring and releasing a book within the next year, don't go all 1.0 and turn to iBooks, Amazon or the onslaught of various publishers for some ebook / hardcover / paperback setup.  Check out Push Pop Press! Launching their teaser  site yesterday, Push Pop Press is starting their campaign to transform your book into an experience!  Started by the talented designer, Mike Matas of Apple iOS fame as well as the Delicious Library, and engineers Kimon Tsinteris and Austin Sarner, Push Pop Press is poised the game and is definitely off to a running head start.

Books that let you explore photos, videos, music, maps, and interactive graphics, all through a new physics-based multi-touch user interface.

As you can see from the teaser site and /or image below, the possibilities are amazing with pinch to zoom and in app video rendering.  For a more in depth look and commentary, check out John Gruber and his early testing! // Daring Fireball: Push Pop Press //

Kickstarter: Custom SLR Split Strap

in , , ,

Yet another awesome project to "back" by one of the first guys that we "backed" on Kickstarter by Custom SLR. A great group of SLR enthusiasts putting together another awesome idea for all those hobbyists, professionals and geeks that carry bags. Something so simple as this Split Strap used to string around an expensive camera or laptop. If you've been looking for a replacement for that the crappy one on your laptop bag, gym bag or your european man bag, help these guys out! Who knew that a swivel and a vent could be prove that much utility? Pay close attention though, there are quite a few different Split Straps based on the "backing" level. The first lists at $20 for cameras then the rest are as follows; $22 for laptop bags, $24 for larger duffles, $26 for guitars, $28 for the gliding Split Strap for those SLR enthusiasts, or $30 for the Split Strap arm sling. I know that's a lot of options, but hey, we all have the need for 'em. If you feel like going the distance, pledge $150 and get all the various straps that Custom SLR has to offer. Pictures are embedded throughout the Kickstarter website.

Kickstarter: Vere Sandal Company, USA - 2011 Collection

in , , , ,

If you aren't familiar with the idea behind "Kickstarter," get to know them. Behind every good idea, project and dream is the need of funding. With the help of ordinary citizens such as yourselves, you can be your own "Angel Investor" and make these dreams come true. I'm proud to put forth that we have supported two successful funded projects which are just now being shipping and will have pictures and reviews of both. The two were C-Loop - Camera Strap Mount Solution and the now very famous TikTok+LunaTik Multi-Touch Watch Kits. If you want in, you can jump in on this next project whether or not you are thinking about buying a pair of sandals. I mean, why not support these guys and pick up a $25 pair. If you leather, go for the $50 backer! You might just ended up saving a little money and helping a company do it the American way! They are cheaper than most of the elitest brands out there such as Rainbows (which are now made in China rather than San Clemente, CA and even have a good sense of patriotism. Support 'em just as we have at adellelijah. =)

Just Saying...Tesla Model S

in

Watch Tesla's Model S "Alpha" run around the block! It's been a while since we've seen various updates on the Model S and then suddenly *BAM!* In all it's glory, here's the amazing video. I can't wait to test drive this beast hopefully later this year or early 2012! If you need a refresher, hit up the Model S Specifications page here.

Model S Alpha Hits the Road from Tesla Motors on Vimeo.

Model S, engineered from the ground up as an EV, is meticulously designed for superior aerodynamics, stability and handling, crash safety, performance and range. Before Model S enters production it will have been thoroughly tested using both computer simulations and test vehicles. Tesla will complete two vehicle testing phases, Alpha and Beta. The Alpha phase began in 2010. Here is one Alpha driving in California.

Summary of the Verizon iPhone Announcement

in , ,

Biggest news is that the Verizon iPhone 4 will double as a WiFi hotspot allowing for 5 devices to connect and use up the 3G CDMA data.  Other than that, normal pricing coming in at $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB all coming out on February 10th.  Let the madness begin!

Oh yeah, by the way, if you are already a Verizon Wireless customer, you can pre-order on February 3rd.  No signs of the white iPhone but apparently it will have VZ Navigator and VCast pre-installed.

Another “V” Day for History

in , , ,

Did you take a vacation right after New Year’s and miss out on all the CES news?   If you did, don't worry about it.  However, the biggest news to break out from Las Vegas was nothing that was introduced at the world famous convention but instead trumped its very existence.  More specifically, on Friday afternoon, privileged members of the tech press core, minus one naughty iPhone 4 prototype buying blog, received invitations for a special event in New York with Verizon serving as their host.   A matter of fact, Verizon even held their usual unveiling of products at their CES Press event but completely stayed away from the words iPhone or Apple saving it for a separate day. Insiders privy to this announcement have already drawn conclusions that it will mark the day that Verizon will introduce their version of Apple’s fourth generation iPhone.  Over the last few days, other tidbits have risen about the event.  From data plans said to be remaining “unlimited” at $29.99 a per device combating AT&T recent introduction of tiered data plans and further speculation of what models and whether or not Steve Jobs will show up are floating all over the internet.

Causing various controversy, ranging from Gizmodo’s ban from future Apple press events to the now famous Antennagate scandal, this device is marked to be a breath of fresh air for the iPhone 4.  Not only with the placement of the external antenna but most importantly the capability to take advantage of a network that has yet to experience the deluge of iPhone users and their hormongering data habits.

Questions range from mobile voice and data pricing plans, to Early Termination Fee costs, will the new iPhone have LTE capabilities or come equipped with the standard 3G CDMA technology, will it be capable of simultaneous voice and data and is there something special accompanying the set date of January 11, 2011?  I mean, we've also already read around that the iPhone 4 won't be for sale until the end of the month, so why now?

We’ll all know for sure in less than 12 hours so stay tuned for a summary of today’s exciting event right here on adellelijah.com.

Hey Lady! -- Shoes / My Review

in ,

Choosing my shoes for my wedding was one of my favorite parts of wedding planning. There were so many options to choose from - Stuart Weizman, Christian Louboutin, Badgley Mischka, I wanted one of each! But when my friend told me about these twins he knew and their shoe company, Hey Lady, I was curious. I google’d them and after a few minutes of browsing their website, I was already torn between three pairs. What makes their shoes special is not only are they adorable, they are comfortable - a match made in shoe heaven! Of course it was hard to feel the comfortability of the shoe through their website, but with features like a full insole of Nasa-developed shock-absorbent Poron performance memory foam and lined in soft 100% lambskin leather, I was sold. I ordered my pair of Yes, Ma’ams with a few hints and suggestions from Jessica, one of the twins. She was nice to enough to correspond via email with questions I had about sizing and heel height - something you would never get from those high end shoe designers. She was so helpful and I eagerly awaited for my shoes to come.

My shoes arrived in a cute box with a handwritten note from Jessica. She enclosed pads for the shoes because the flower detailing on the shoes has been said to be rub on the toes. After inserting the pads, I tried the shoes on and loved the overall look immediately. The shoes were a little on the stiff side, but would loosen with wear.

The first comfortability test of the shoes came with my dress fitting. I wore a 15 pound ball gown that needed about two and a half hours of fitting time. My seamstress, Ruby, worked tirelessly pinning layers of taffeta and tulle. When she finished, she asked me what kind of shoes I was wearing. She told me most girls would not have been able to endure the 2+ hours without complaining. I told her my feet felt great! She then asked me for more information on the shoes so she could recommend them to the other girls she tailors wedding dresses for and I was happy to do so.

The second test was during my dance lessons that I took with my dad for our Father Daughter waltz. After getting through the hour long dance lesson, my dance instructor, John, asked how my feet were doing and of course, they felt great. He was shocked, but was impressed at the comfortability of the shoe.

The final test came on the big day. I was able to clock in 10 out of the 12 hours in my Hey Lady shoes. I lasted through an hour long ceremony, four hours of picture taking, a rhumba with my husband, a waltz with my dad and a handful of songs on the dance floor. I probably could have lasted the whole night, but the weight of my dress and the sheer exhaustion took its' toll.

My Hey Lady shoes were an essential part of my big day. They were comfortable, stylish and my feet thanked me at the end of the night.  I would highly recommend these shoes to anyone getting married or anyone wanting an amazing shoe for a any occasion.

Check out the site: https://www.shopheylady.com/



photos by Hey Lady and Zelo Photography

Migrating from AT&T to Verizon? What it'll take...

in , ,

To start, it just so happens that Adelle had her iPhone 4 ripped off from her while walking through the Atlanta Airport. Since then, she has reverted back to a hand me down / kindly donated Blackberry Curve suffering various withdrawls from using an aged handheld. It hasn't been pretty and it hurts me to see her not be able to play Words with Friends or check Facebook and Twitter every moment she gets. Being a "valued customer," AT&T is offering us the lower price of $399 to replace the stolen iPhone the stolen iPhone 4 but I keep on coercing her to wait until Verizon's unveiling. Hesitantly, she has agreed and now the question comes to, "Will it be worth it...what it will take and why?" Back in July, when AT&T and Apple announced the iPhone 4, many owners of the Apple iPhone 3G found themselves at a crossroad. Do I upgrade to Apple's new God phone and deal with the crappy service for 2 more years praying that it will improve or just wait till next year when Verizon and Apple announce they've copulated. I made the decision to just dive in and stick it out because honestly, the iPhone 3G experience was just getting to be awful, irritating and frustrating. Buying everything in twos, one for me and one for my significant other, I bought two new iPhone 4s online, renewed our awesome unlimited data contract which by the way still costs an arm and a leg, sold the previous models at a price that paid off the upgrade and have been feeling good ever since. Win-win right?

The experience with the phone was tremendously better but the overall network experience was still (is) lacking. With the looming prospect of a better network, I set out thinking of the economic costs. Currently, we both have unlimited data plans under AT&T which is worth the figurative bird in the hand. If I were to terminate in next February (that's about 8 months proration at $13.54/mo = $108 from the $325 gets me to about $217 for each contract), I'm guessing I can sell my iPhone 4 32GB for around $400 canceling the ETF and then I'm out of pocket another $199 x 2 plus whatever Verizon offers on their plans. Simple math, not much of a hassle and I'd assume that I'd be happier on the new network.

But what will it take? If Verizon has an unlimited data plan for iPhones, I'm in. If they are somewhat more affordable / cheaper and unlimited...I'm in. Shoot, if they pay my ETF, I'm in. I'm willing to forgo the crappy AT&T service and will even help others switch, scouts honors, but for now, we haven't seen any changes or any kind of caving in from the big V. Instead, all we have seen is their continued arrogance in being the the best and now the Rules the Airwaves Campaign? Pure crap I say. Trust me. No Droid phone or campaign you have released has wanted me to change. Its all been for naught when trying to lure others away.

If Verizon wants to capitalize on this earthquake announcement and take in the massive tsunami wave of customers who are eagerly willing to sign away their lives and wallets for two years, they can take advantage of it but the time is NOW! If I was a shareholder, I'd be bothering Mr. CEO and texting him non-stop. The bottom line is, by offering something that current unhappy AT&T iPhone customers want, we will migrate! SO DO IT ALREADY!

Just my usual rant, but hey, I'm just saying. Happy weekend!

TEDWomen: How to Succeed? Get More Sleep

in ,

Browsing through some of the latest video offerings from TED Talks, I came across this presentation by Arianna Huffington talking about unlocking success.  Providing a simple solution, Ms. Huffington encourages us to "get enough sleep." Not only do we feel better, but our thoughts are clearly leading us "to a more productive, more inspired, more joyful life."  Watch the video below and be inspired.  Now only if I can follow this mantra.

Review: Contour Showcase for the iPhone 4

in , ,

Nearly six months has passed since the debut of the iPhone 4 and up until two days ago, I've been forced to either go naked or use Incipio's Silicrylic Hard Shell Case with Silicone Core which, by the way, didn't even prevent the front glass from spiderwebbing from a 3" drop! Lucky for me, Apple has been there time and time again. In case you didn't get it yet, adellelijah is an Apple fanboy/girl but then again, we love anything we can get our hands on to review! Two years ago, I reviewed the Contour Showcase for the iPhone 3G which was the best and only case that I recommended for the iPhone 3G/S.   It wasn't until the day that I took mine off that my iPhone 3G suffered a devastating front glass crack after being dropped.  It was within a 24 hours of taking off the case that I dropped it hat making a $75 mistake.

Onto the review.  Packaging as always remains the same as previous generations and if you don't take a close look at the name of the specific case you are purchasing from Contour, you might just end up with a something else besides the Contour Showcase iPhone 4 offering Premium Protection.  Priced as one of the most expensive offerings, it comes with a holster that doubles as a flip out stand for enjoying movies or FaceTime moments and of course, the case itself.  Made of a light weight polycarbonate, and bordered in a rubberized finish, Contour boasts that its case is shock absorbing.  You can clip it into the holster face out of face in for some privacy vertically or horizontally and whatever your choice, you can't go wrong as this is the best of the best.  Appropriate holes for all necessary access and covers for the sleep / wake button and volume buttons offer superb tactile feedback.

The Showcase protects every edge of the iPhone 4 as well as offering a full clear cover for the back.  Without the White iPhone 4, I guess it doesn't matter whether or not its clear, but it still gives hope to showing the world that you have the latest and greatest mobile phone. Gone is the top quarter plastic layer from the previous generation leaving unobstructed views when using the front facing camera. When plugging in the Apple charger or USB cord, the case doesn't come in the way of the connector although, other connectors might have issue with the spacing available.

One of the biggest differences from the previous generation Showcase is placement of a side latch which effectively does a great job of keeping the device in the case.  The case snaps in closing from right to left which is a little backward but I'm guessing Contour did that so you can properly get snug to the volume buttons. Holding it in your hand actually makes for a comfortable fit and doesn't get in the way. Occupying the space in your pocket, the case doesn't feel too bulky.

A negative change is the absence of a thumb latch which helps you take the phone out of the holster.  This makes it a little harder to remove the device in case and with the holster doubling as a stand, Contour degraded the actual utility of the clip itself.  Since day 1, I've already had the entire phone in holster come off of my belt in the car, on the aircraft while sitting down and even when wearing a jacket bending down to pick up a pen.  Good thing the jacket kept it from falling to the pavement.  I've taken pictures of the clip and if you look closely, it's rounded off which doesn't provide much of a grab to the belt.  I have to admit that this is really bothering me lately as it always feels like the holster + phone can be easily snatched away.  I actually don't like it one bit.  The holster makes for a perfect stand but then again, it might as well not be called a "holster."

Conclusion: Even with the short comings of the holster causing a little frustration, I'm giving the latest Contour Showcase my personal recommendation as the case to protect your Apple iPhone 4. This is my 3rd case housing my iPhone 4 and you can bet your dollar that this is my last. I've included a barrage of photographs below. Click on any of them for a larger shot. Because of the holster not living up to 100% of functionality, I am forced to give it a 9/10.

Ugg Abilene Boots

in ,

So the other half of adellelijah told me I could only buy another pair of Ugg Boots if I reviewed them.  I quickly said yes, mostly because I had already bought them, hehe. I saw them last year during the Nordstrom Half Yearly sale, but since we were in the midst of dropping dollars on our wedding, I admired them from afar.  About a month after we got married, the boots were still waiting for me at Nordies and I just so happened to have a $20 coupon from Nordstrom - it was a sign!

The boots do run on the small side - a few online reviews said this as well.  But they are very stylish - I get compliments every time I wear them, and comfortable - I’ve worn them for hours and my feet are still feeling great. They are perfect with leggings, skinny jeans, and even shorts. I hope the cold weather hangs around a little longer so I can wear these boots more!

picture provided by zappos

Christmas Tech Setup: Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect TV Mount Kit by PDP

in

adellelijah received a spoiling of amazing gifts for Christmas. If you boil it down to the details, Christmas struck early with a new Apple MacBook Air, a Kindle 3 w/ Lighted Red Leather Cover followed by a little more indulgences; a Tiffany Aquamarine Necklace and an Xbox 360 250GB Console with Kinect with a few games.  Staying true to tradition, there was a small unboxing ceremony followed by "the setup." Over the past few years I have stayed away from Microsoft's Xbox 360 as well as Nintendo's Wii and decided to skip Sony's Playstation Move but the Kinect, in my honest opinion kills it!  It's the only reason why I even caved in and because of the Kinect, I had to have it...to review of course.

Adelle and I opened and setup the new Xbox 360 with Kinect at her parents house the night of Christmas Eve because I was eager to play it at home and practice my dance moves.  We enjoyed playing with family and getting everyone to partake in Dance Central sweating off the amazing dinner.  The setup: big open space in their family room connected to their huge Sony Projection 60" television.  It was fun and easy.  Once we headed back to our small 700 square feet apartment, playing on the 46" Samsung 8000 LED television proved to be a little bit of a hassle starting off with the Xbox 360 Kinect TV Mount Kit.  This is where this story begins.

The technical advisor at the Microsoft Store in Fashion Valley told me that I should have the device mounted at a height of 2-6 feet and PDP's solution was what they used on their display out front.   The box even mentions that it fits televisions sized from 27"-60".  Initial setup conclusion...wrong!  Finding the VESA screws holes were easy.  Choosing between the four different screw sizes was easy.  Connecting the appropriate legs together and hooking them up was easy.   Too bad it didn't fit as described.  The legs didn't extend the height of the television so I had to use the top screws and mount it with a large gapping hole at the top which seems like it would perfectly accomodate a normal LCD television.  The entire kit just doesn't seem like that I have an LED television!  I have to say that this solution is a 2/5 stars type setup and for $39.99, it's just a ridiculous price point.  Maybe I'll just make my own?

So far, through the last few days, I have encountered some problems with calibration due to the small play space, but I'll be fine turning it more as the days go on.  If you haven't already tried it out, play some Dance Central!  It'll help you with all that extra holiday weight you put on!