Uber is the future of city travel

We were finishing coffee and dessert with my nephew at a restaurant in Washington's DuPont area and it was time to consider our options to get back to our hotel.It was a good opportunity to check out Uber. 

Uber is a company that provides on-call car rides in 26 cities in the U.S. and 20 more in Europe and Asia. Strictly speaking, Uber cars aren't taxis. They are privately-owned vehicles that operate under a city's rules governing limousines, not taxi cabs. But they compete with taxis on price and convenience. Fans of Uber's service say it's more accessible, reliable, comfortable and convenient than a traditional taxi ride.

We got a new Toyota sedan, a friendly driver, a reasonable fare billed directly to my credit card and a receipt on my phone that included a map of our route.

Read more about Uber in my column for MyWell-Being.com.

By: Ric Manning On 10/15/2013

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Logitech's do-it-all remote control

If your entertainment room has a TV, stereo system, DVD player an other equipment, you probably also have a stack of remote controls. in my house, we keep a basket on the coffee table just to collect remotes.

But that was before the arrival of the Harmony Ultimate Remote. This new remote from Logitech can replace almost any remote and squeeze multiple remotes into one. Logitech says the remote will control of up to 15 devices and will work with more than 5,000 brands and 225,000 devices.

You have to do a little groundwork to start. First you make a list of the brand names and model numbers for the devices you want the Harmony to control. Then plug the Harmony into your computer, enter the list and you're ready to go.

you can select each device to control it separately or set up functions for the things you like to do. For example, you can compress three steps -- turn on the TV, the stereo and the DVD player -- into one function called "Play a DVD." The remote will also tune your television or radio to your favorite channel.

Here's one more trick that I like. The Harmony Ultimate works with a hub device that can also communicate with Apple or Android smartphones. With Logitech's free app installed, everyone in the house can have their own personalized remote control.

The Harmony Ultimate costs about $300 at Amazon.com. That makes it one of the most expensive universal remotes available. But it's also one of the most versatile.

By: Ric Manning On 10/09/2013

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A woofing good time with the Go-Go Dog Pal

My dog's especially happy when he's running through an open field. I do just fine sitting on the sidelines with a cold drink. Now I have something that keeps us both entertained. The Go-Go Dog Pal is designed to give a dog plenty of exercise while you take it easy.


The Dog Pal is a radio-controlled vehicle, like the four-wheel tricks and other remote-controlled toys. But this one has a larger frame than most RC cars. And it's encased in a sturdy plastic cover that conveniently looks like a grinning woodchuck .

My guy sniffed the robocritter, jumped back when he moved, then set off in hot pursuit when Chuck started to roll. It was pretty easy to keep the Dog Pal out ahead of the posse. On a smooth, flat surface, it can hit speeds up to 22 miles an hour.That's fast enough to outrun even an Australian Shepherd.


The Dog Pal survived a couple of flips and minor collision with a tree. But I learned that it's not indestructible and it works best on open ground, away from obstructions.

Go Go Dog Pal costs about $230 at amazon.com. That's certainly not cheap. But the rule in our house is, nothing's too good for the dogs.

Here's a YouTube video that shows the critter in action.

By: Ric Manning On 10/07/2013

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Heavy sleeper? Screaming Meanie will blast you out of bed

Have you ever overslept and missed an early-morning flight or an important meeting? I've found the cure for heavy sleepers. It's called the Screaming Meanie and it will blast you out of bed with the power of an air raid siren.

The Screaming Meanie is a battery-powered clock combined with an adjustable high-volume alarm. For lighter sleepers, set it at 70 decibels. That's comparable to a dog barking. To wake the dead, choose 120 decibels. That's like great seats at a Kiss concert.

The Screaming Meanie can also be a comfort when you're sleeping in an unfamiliar place. The alarm can scare away an intruder or be your call for help.

You can find Screaming Meanies in a variety of colors for about $35 at amazon.com and other online sources.

By: Ric Manning On 10/05/2013

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How to get a BOOM out of Bluetooth speakers

With music collections packed into our portable devices and streaming service offering made-to-order mixes, wireless Bluetooth speakers have become our sound system of choice. They're more portable, convenient and often less expensive than cradles or plug-in powered speakers.

But a frequent complaint about wireless speakers is they're not powerful enough. Just two of you relaxing on the back porch? Just about any wireless speaker will keep you entertained. But if you're at the beach, around the pool, at a park or a party, you need something with a lot more muscle.

I think the folks at Logitech may have solved that problem with the Ultimate Ears BOOM. Built in a tube-shaped case that's about he size of a tall soda can, the BOOM is durable and easily portable.

And, boy, can it crank up the volume. This is the loudest and clearest of any Bluetooth speaker that I've tested. UE says the speaker has a maximum volume of 88 decibels, about as loud as a motorcycle or a power mower. If that's not enough, a free UE app lets you link a pair of BOOM speakers, with stereo on each or splitting the left-right channels.

The speaker was easy to pair with both my mobile phone and my tablet and its rechargeable battery is designed to last up to 15 hours between charges. I also like it's convenience. It comes with a small metal loop that can be attached to a clip or cord. It's size also makes it an easy fit for the bottle holder on a bicycle.

The BOOM speaker costs $199 and can be ordered in a variety of colors from amazon.com or from the Ultimate Ears website.

By: Ric Manning On 10/03/2013

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Louisville's Hacker Hostel

My friend Richard Meadows looked at a four-room shotgun house in Louisville's Portland neighborhood and saw something no one else would see: a site for the city's first hacker hostel.

Richard and his wife, Suzi, renovated the house, adding some special touches including a five-foot conference table, a wall-sized whiteboard, two sets of bunk beds and a Wi-Fi network. Oh, and the wall outlets have USB ports for charging cables.

Hacker hostels have popped up in other cities, including several in the Silicon Valley area. Meadows sees the house as a place where coders and entrepreneurs could gather for meetings and coding sessions and give out-of-towners an inexpensive place to crash.

The Louisville hostel was profiled in  this week's LEO Weekly and in an post at Insider Louisville.

By: Ric Manning On 10/02/2013

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Apple and Microsoft: The retail experience

Microsoft store at the Pentagon City Mall

Two computer stores in the same mall. One had five or six customers, the other was jammed with people. You can probably guess which was rocking and which was chilling.

It was a little before 5 p.m. last Friday when I found myself at the Pentagon City Mall near Washington, D.C. With some time to kill, I was delighted to discover that the mall was home to both an Apple store and the more rare Microsoft store.

I hit the Microsoft store first. It looked familiar. There were big square tables with displays of phones, computers and accessories. Peppy young people in bright t-shirts were answering service questions and putting merchandise in trendy-looking blue logo bags.

Where had I seen all that before?

Maybe it was one floor up at the Apple store. It also had tables displaying phones and computers and it's own cadre of earnest people answering questions, demonstrating products and putting items in white logo bags. Except there were lots more sales people and customers in  the Apple store.

Apple store in the Pentagon City Mall

The Pentagon City Apple store was just like others I've visited in Louisville, Paris, Chicago and London. When have you been in an Apple store that wasn't jammed?

Of course, Apple was just coming off its big fall iPhone announcement. And I wasn't surprised that I to wait my turn to fondle the "unapologetic plastic" case on an iPhone 5C and see if the gold iPhone 5S felt any different than the plain black 5 in my pocket (it didn't).
   
But Microsoft also has new products to promote, especially the Surface 2 tablet that runs a mobile version of Windows 8. A couple of people were test driving the tablets, but no ones were jostling to get their hands on one. And a nearby table holding different models of Microsoft's phones was completely deserted. Most of the action in the store was in a back corner where a young couple was an Xbox soccer game on a big screen monitor.

That's too bad. I thought the tablet and the phone looks and function very nicely. And the price tags were much more attractive than the ones on the tablets and phones one floor up. But not attractive enough to get me to buy one.

In the end, I left the mall with one new piece of equipment, a charging cable from the Apple store. The best part of that transaction was getting my receipt by email and an agreement from the sales woman that, yes, $19 is an outrageous price to pay for a [pair of plugs and a meter of cable. 

By: Ric Manning On 9/30/2013

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Streamer face-off: Roku, Apple TV and Chromecast

Google's Chromecast costs $35

When I first went looking for a device to stream movies and music from the Internet, there were two major options to choose from: a Ruku LT box for $50 or Apple TV for $100.

Now Google has entered the mix with Chromecast, a gadget the size of a thumb drive that plugs into a TV's HDMI port. It checks in at an eye-catching $35.

I've spent some time with all three streamers and I can tell you they are not all equal. There are pretty good reasons why their price tags vary as much as they do.

Roku's entry-level LT modet costs $50

First, let's look at the technical specs. All three support high-definition images, but the Ruku delivers 720p while the Apple and Chromecast do HD at 1080p. All three work with Wi-Fi, but Apple TV also has a jack for an Ethernet cable. You get a remote control wit the Roku and Apple TV, but not with Chromecast.

Now, what about programming? All three come with access to Netflix, so that's a wash. Here are the other major streaming services for each device:

• Roku: Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, HBO Go, Pandora, Spotify, Vudu, NHL and Major League Baseball.
• Apple TV: Hulu Plus, HBO Go, YouTube, Watch ESPN, Vimeo, NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball and anything from iTunes.
• Chromecast: YouTube and anything from Google Play.

Yes, that Chromecast list is rather short. But it will also stream anything you call up in the Chrome browser on your PC or Mac computer. It doesn't work with the mobile version of Chrome. Not even the one for Android devices. Not even the one on Google-brand tablets.

Apple TV costs $100

So, here'e my take:

If you're mostly interested in streaming Netflix and YouTube, the Chromecast is a great deal at a great price. And I expect it to add more services in the future.

If you're an iPhone and iPad user, the Apple TV makes a lot of sense. In addition to the branded services, it will also work with varios apps and it will stream movies and music stored on your computer.

The Ruku, with a good lineup of services and an affordable price tag, falls somewhere in-between.



  

By: Ric Manning On 9/23/2013

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