December 2012 archive

Panasonic DMR-PWT520 Blu-ray Disc Player & Hard Drive Recorder Review

Another quick update. For those of you looking to get your first hard drive recorder (or PVR/DVR) then you might want to read this article I wrote on Panasonic Australia’s blog about the DMR-PWT520 Blu-ray disc player and hard drive recorder. If you’re looking to add digital recording capability to your home theatre setup while consolidating …

Continue reading

Checking Out Qi Wireless Chargers

While I don’t have a need for another charger, I have been curious about seeing how well they actually work given their supposed standardisation when used with compliant devices such as the Nokia Lumia 920. They are a bit pricey compared to regular chargers and simple USB cables so whether or not you can justify …

Continue reading

A Smarter Cellular Modem

In previous articles, I have written about cellular modems and their usefulness but beyond providing a connection to the internet they don’t do much else. When you next upgrade your smartphone then you might want to consider hanging on to your old handset and using it as a cellular modem with a mobile broadband SIM …

Continue reading

Apple iPad mini Unboxing

Here it is, the unboxing video of the Apple iPad mini! It really came as little surprise with the success of seven inch tablets in the market in the Android space that Apple wanted to get a slice of the action. Coming in at the top end of the seven inch range at 7.9 inches …

Continue reading

Incoming Gadget – Apple iPad Mini

My wife has had some issues with her iPhone 4S lately when playing music in the car with the volume randomly turning itself down. Obviously, this is counterproductive to listening to music and so we had to find a solution. Unfortunately, Apple was unable to replace the device as the moisture indicator had been activated …

Continue reading

What’s the Dot in a Circle Icon in Windows Phone 8

You might notice when you fire up particular apps on Windows Phone 8 that you might see an icon at the top of the screen that looks like a circle with a dot in the middle of it. Perhaps not the most self-explanatory icon but here’s what it means. All it means is that an app …

Continue reading

Hard Case Cover for Nokia Lumia 920

Despite the Nokia Lumia 920 receiving some feedback about general robustness against being dropped it can’t hurt to give it a little bit of extra protection so you keep it in good condition even if something unfortunate should happen. Anyway, I found a great cover on eBay for AU$1.74 which will do a good job at …

Continue reading

Steam’s Big Picture Looks Awfully Familiar

Just wanted to share an observation regarding Steam and one of its latest updates. In the top right hand corner of the Steam client on Windows there is something that says “BIG PICTURE” with four arrows surrounding it just adjacent to the three icons representing the different views available. Of course, being curious about it …

Continue reading

Graduation Day – Instant Photography

Well, it’s official – I have graduated and I’ve got the testamur to prove it (that is the bit of paper with my certification on it). I got to parade about in academic regalia for a few hours and have some photos taken of myself with my wife and parents to remember the occasion. Not …

Continue reading

University Graduation Day

I have written about my studies before so I won’t cover well trodden ground again but when this post publishes I will have just sat down in Adams Hall at UNSW Canberra (UNSW@ADFA) for the graduation ceremony. It really is amazing what you can do with a computer and a connection to the web in …

Continue reading