Tag Archives: 30 Seconds Of Tech

Balls, Phones and Games

  By Alex | March 29, 2011 - 2:06 pm | 30 Seconds Of Tech, Published
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Another busy day sees yet more content going live. First up, at CNET.com.au, a review of a very nice trackball. I’m going to be sad to see this one go back, frankly:

Kensington Orbit Trackball with Scroll Ring: “The design of the Orbit ball makes it stand out from the trackball crowd, which traditionally goes for a bright red design that usually ends up giving off a distinct Hal 9000 vibe.”

Then in the 30 Seconds Of Tech field, business is picking up. Firstly, yet another S-themed 30 Seconds:

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And then an entry brought to you by the letter ‘N”

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(and yeah, I know, the music’s the same in both of them. You weren’t here for the disco, were you?)

Finalist time and floating away…

  By Alex | March 28, 2011 - 4:13 pm | 30 Seconds Of Tech, Published
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I nearly — but not quite — forgot to blog the fact that, once again, I’ve made the finalist cut for the IT Journalist Awards (informally known as the “Lizzies” for reasons that I won’t go into here. I miss the bronze lizard statues, though). This year, they’re being sponsored by Microsoft, which formally makes them the Microsoft IT Journalism Awards For 2010.

Anyway, I’m in the finalist categories for Best Reviewer and Best Consumer Journalist.

My competition? Well, for Best Reviewer, that’d be Adam Turner, Angus Kidman, Campbell Simpson, Craig Simms, David Braue, Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson and Ty Pendlebury. For Best Consumer Journalist, I’m up against Adam Turner, Andrew Ramadge, Angus Kidman, Asher Moses, Jennifer Dudley- Nicholson and Nick Broughall.

Wow. That’s an insanely talented bunch of folks to even be considered in the company of. It all happens next Friday night, which leaves me pondering; should I once again live tweet the event?

While I ponder on that one, a quick video that came out of a trip I went on with Canon last week. Not so much 30 Seconds Of Tech, more 30 Seconds Of Floating Around.
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Shiny phones, shiny drives and… Weird Al?

  By Alex | March 23, 2011 - 2:41 pm | 30 Seconds Of Tech, Published
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An opinion column, a review and a quick video. Or, in other words, I’m rather busy.

First up, at Hydrapinion, I’ve mused on the ethics of recording acts in concert, by way of Harvey The Wonder Hamster:

Weird Al, Copyright and Camera Confusion: “Have I missed a common consensus about what’s acceptable with portable gadgets and concert going?”

Then at CNET, I’ve reviewed a drive that doesn’t much sound like a drive. Every time I say its name out loud, it sounds to my ear like the attack cry of an Anime character:

Kingston HyperX Max 3.0: “So you feel the need for speed? Kingston’s HyperX Max 3.0 USB will deliver it, but you’ll pay a premium for all that velocity.”

And finally, courtesy of the launch today, a quick look at Telstra’s latest addition to its smartphone range, and another addition to the growing stockpile of 30 Seconds Of Tech pieces.
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Doods, MacBook Pros and a whole lot of video

  By Alex | March 8, 2011 - 8:18 pm | 30 Seconds Of Tech, Published
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It’s been an astonishingly productive week. Possibly because my brain is gearing up for the second half of March, where I’ll be even busier but significantly less productive (if you know why, you know why. If you don’t, you probably don’t need to know).

Over at CNET.com.au, another uDraw title got a going over:

uDraw Dood’s Big Adventure: “With 60 levels, Dood’s Adventure certainly is big. It’s a crying shame, though, that it’s not very good.”

At MacTheReviews, I’ve tested the new, shiny, Thunderbolt-Underpants-Wearing 2011 MacBook Pro:

MacBook Pro (early 2011): “For lo, through its magical and revolutionary technology, Apple has summoned the god of thunder and lightning, Zeus himself, within your MacBook Pro.”

And all of this while I was actually out of my office all day, attending product launches and events. Which led to a bit of video work. But instead of just one 30 Seconds Of Tech, you get a hefty three to pick from. What’s more, in startling news, and contrary to all we’ve seen go on before, one of them doesn’t even start with the letter S… although most of them do.
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It’s all gone a bit Tablet-centric

  By Alex | March 2, 2011 - 2:24 pm | 30 Seconds Of Tech, Published
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As a multi-purpose freelancer*, I often find that my writing duties revolve around certain themes. One day it’s all Apple, the next it’s all printers, then AV suites, then… well, you get the idea.

Today’s theme would appear to be Tablets. First up, at CNET.com.au, a review of an iPhone/iPod speaker dock… that also takes iPads. Really.

Philips Fidelio DS8550: “Philips’ excellent iPad-compatible dock comes with good sound and plenty of features that put it a step above the average music-centric speaker dock.”

Then at Hydrapinion, I ponder on whether, despite having touch built in from day one, Windows 7 has missed the entire Tablet phenomenon:

Has Windows 7 missed the Tablet Tsunami? “I’m rather reminded of the old Infocom Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy game that tasked you with having tea and no tea simultaneously…”

Keeping with the Windows 7 tablet idea, another entry in the 30 Seconds Of Tech series, this time looking at the Samsung 7 Series tablet. For those keeping score, I’m aware that the series to date has been a little Samsung-heavy, but that’s to do entirely with exposure. Any vendors willing to show me their shiny new gear are entirely and absolutely welcome to do so. It’s more of an oddity that every single vendor so far has started with the letter “S”. Must do something about that.

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*Rumours that I have an optional attachment for removing stones from horse’s hooves are as yet, unsubstantiated.

30 Seconds Of Tech: Sandisk

  By Alex | February 22, 2011 - 4:35 pm | 30 Seconds Of Tech, Published
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The 30 seconds of tech concept evolves a little. A deliberate challenge: Can I make a thirty second video about a tech product that, underneath the surface has some nice numbers, but is externally very bland?

Still experimenting with the format and getting a few details, such as the requested superimposed subtitles in there. Thoughts, comments and offers of more exciting gear to film gratefully accepted.

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30 Seconds Of Tech: Samsung Galaxy Launch

  By Alex | February 14, 2011 - 8:50 pm | 30 Seconds Of Tech, Published
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An experimental idea I’ve been kicking around in my head for a while now. I attend a lot of product launches, and get some good hands-on time with products. It’s typically not enough to form a proper review, but it is good for showing off products. And that’s what thirty seconds of tech is meant to be all about. Not so heavy on the detail, or for that matter the lingering shot. Just the shiny, shiny gadgets and gear.

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