Jim Merithew - page 2

Embrace the new Kindle Paperwhite for reading bliss

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Get a gazillion books at your fingertips day and night with the Kindle Paperwhite.
Get a gazillion books at your fingertips day and night with the Kindle Paperwhite.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Best List: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

My wife is a voracious reader. And a bit of a hoarder.

So I tried to convince her to start reading ebooks on her iPad mini, instead of constantly bringing home new books from the book store. But it was not an easy transition. Partly because she loves to support our local bookstores and partly because she didn’t love the reading experience on the iPad.

Into the house comes a Paperwhite and all that changed.

A great mountain bike helmet gets even better for your brainpan

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Protect your gray matter with Smith Optics' Forefront bike helmet (now with MIPS), and maybe toss in some cool shades, too.
Protect your gray matter with Smith Optics' Forefront bike helmet (now with MIPS), and maybe toss in some cool shades, too.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Best List: Forefront bike helmet with MIPS by Smith Optics

There’s MIPS in that there Forefront. Smith Optics’ Forefront mountain bike helmet has been around for a bit and has gotten excellent reviews from both the media and the man on the trail.

Now Smith has added the latest buzzword in safety — MIPS, or Multi-Directional Impact Protection System — to the award-winning lid.

Pocket Keyboard unfolds into traveling text machine

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Plunk the Zagg Pocket Keyboard in your backpack for typing on the go.
Plunk the Zagg Pocket Keyboard in your backpack for typing on the go.
Photo: Milo Kahney/Cult of Mac

Best List: Zagg Pocket Keyboard

The Zagg Pocket Keyboard is for anyone desperate to carry the bare minimum. Well, the bare minimum would be to skip the keyboard altogether, but if you are looking for the convenience of an external keyboard without the hassle of carrying one, look no further.

One of our favorite headphones goes Bluetooth

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Bowers & Wilkins' P5 Wireless headphones make us believe in Bluetooth.
Bowers & Wilkins' P5 Wireless headphones make us believe in Bluetooth.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Best List: Bower & Wilkins P5 Wireless Headphones

Damn, I love Bluetooth.

Crap, I hate Bluetooth.

Bluetooth is the Jekyll and Hyde of technology. One minute it is your best friend and confidante; the next it is the most evil of evils. Actually, it is the other way around. As you are trying to find the device, and pair the device, and make sure the device stays paired, Bluetooth is some super-annoying technology. Then, once your devices have made nice, the relationship is repaired.

Ol’ fumble finger finds perfect protection for his iPhone 6 Plus

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The Otter Box Defender series brings peace of mind.
The Otter Box Defender series brings peace of mind.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Best List: Otter Box Defender Case for iPhone 6 Plus

It happened again yesterday: My beautiful, coveted iPhone 6 Plus found itself airborne, tumbling through time and space. I think it knew where it was headed — I certainly did. I could hear the horrifying noise even before it happened. The inevitable bone-chilling sound of my iOS 9 goodness coming in Force Touch contact with the tile.

I do this often enough to know my cat is running short on lives. This time I lucked out again, but I know the shatter is inevitable. So I’ve turned to the grandfather of iPhone protection: Otter Box and its almost-bombproof Defender series.

The only thing better than beautiful bikes? Innovative bike gear

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DeRosa carbon fiber road bike
Found on the floor at Interbike was this beautiful Italian goodness in the form of a blinged-out DeRosa.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

LAS VEGAS — If you need proof that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the bike industry, look no further than Interbike. The massive bike show here is an undeniable indication that innovators are still plugging away in their garages, trying to build the next big thing and prep it for Kickstarter.

Independent innovators are making cargo bikes one at a time, marketing lightweight welding masks to protect riders from the rain, and dreaming up helmet inserts for the world’s great sweaters. Cult of Mac takes one more lap around the convention center hall …

The greatest (bike) show on earth

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Uvex's Variotronic sunglasses darken up at the touch of a button.
Uvex's Variotronic sunglasses darken up at the touch of a button.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

LAS VEGAS — If you noticed a substantial drop in leg-shaved and Lycra-clad bicyclists on the roads in your part of the world it is because they are all taking a spin in Sin City.

They didn’t come for the penny slots, forced air and big-ass beers, though. They made the pilgrimage to Vegas to attend the annual mega-bike show known as Interbike. It brings out industry giants like Giro and Shimano, but the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well too, with small builders and garage tinkerers showing off their latest big ideas.

Cult of Mac walked the show floor on day one look at it all. Here is some of the coolest new stuff we found.

#ProTip: The upside to jailbreaking your iPhone

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Jay
Jay "saurik" Freeman, maker of Cydia, says there are legit reasons to jailbreak your iPhone.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac is at WWDC and AltConf, fishing for ProTips. The world’s biggest gathering of Apple developers is a rich hunting ground filled with alpha geeks, experts par excellence. What’s a ProTip? A ProTip is a nugget of knowledge, a little bit of expertise from someone in the know — a pro.

SAN FRANCISCO — Has Apple ever contacted you? This is one of two questions gray-hat hacker Jay “saurik” Freeman gets asked all the time. It happens so often, he has thought about putting it on a T-shirt.

“I have been contacted by Apple twice — once about a job and the other time a 50-page response to request sent to the copyright office,” he told Cult of Mac after his AltConf presentation on copyright in the digital era.

Motorcyles, Star Wars and pigeons: 8 more Instagram feeds to follow

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Surfing on motorcycles.
Surfing on motorcycles.
Photo: Aaron Brimhall/Instagram

This we week we got lost in the vast oasis of Instagram searching for some great photographers to recommend. We wandered down the road searching for fun feeds featuring motorcycles, adventurers, dogs and, oddly, pigeons.

What we found, once again, was how many people are using this amazing visual delivery tool to tell their stories. Sure, we found a ton of poorly done selfies and cliche sayings, but check out what cool stuff we found for you this week.

Baseball, guitars, food and fishing: 8 Instagrams to follow right now

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Tech commuter, probably.
Tech commuter, probably.
Photo: Joe Pugliese

Regardless of what interests you have in your life, there is probably an Instagram feed for whatever your proclivities might be. Into rockabilly or baseball or even stamp collecting? You can undoubtedly find a couple of interesting photo feeds.

Since searching Instagram can be a frustrating and time-consuming endeavor, we have started to do it for you. This week we bring you feeds for baseball fans, vagabonds, parents and a couple of others.

Zwift wheels its virtual bicycle racing platform into open beta

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Journalists and bike geeks gather at the Rapha Store in San Francisco for Zwift’s launch in September 2014.
Journalists and bike geeks gather at the Rapha Store in San Francisco for Zwift’s launch last September.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Zwift, which calls itself an “online fitness entertainment gaming platform,” has finally opened up its virtual roads for anyone with a bicycle on a trainer to ride.

The virtual bicycle racing platform lets riders hook their two-wheelers up to their computers (Mac or PC). Then they receive real-time data about their ride — including speed, cadence and even power — and can match their performance against another rider who is using Zwift at the same time.

Kahney’s Korner: Cultmaster lays down an Apple Watch rant

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In the first Kahney's Korner, our fearless leader rants and raves about the Apple Watch.
In the first Kahney's Korner, our fearless leader rants and raves about the Apple Watch.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

So here we go. A new video series featuring, of all people, our Editor and Publisher Leander Kahney.

You’ve heard him on the CultCast. You’ve read his books.

You’ve been educated, entertained and occasionally enraged at his stories here on Cult of Mac. And now he is going to come into your lives in talking pictures with his new video series, Kahney’s Korner. The format is pretty loose, but he is never at a loss for words, so this should be pretty fun.

Unicorns, horror and bikes: 8 Instagram accounts to follow right now

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adam-jones
A detail of Adam Jones' art for new Red Hare album. Photo: Adam Jones/Instagram

Instagram has become riddled with so many photos of kitty cats, inspirational sayings and kitty cats spouting inspirational sayings that it has become nearly impossible to find fun and interesting feeds to follow without spending hours staring at your iPhone. So we did it for you.

This is not so much a “best of” list as a starting point that should open your mind to what else is out there in the great big Insta-world.

Last-minute Mother’s Day gifts to make your mom giddy

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Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The Moshi Urbana is stylish on the outside and filled with nerdy goodness on the inside. Perfect for mom. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Photo:

We know all you good boys and girls have had your Mother’s Day gifts wrapped and hidden in the basement for weeks and weeks, but the staff here at Cult of Mac has been so busy covering all the Apple Watch that the holiday crept up on us. So we thought we would share our last-minute Mother’s Day gift guide with you, in case you’re in the same sad boat.

Let’s be honest, though, most of these items come straight from wish lists of the Cult of Mac wives, so even if you already picked out the perfect Mother’s Day gifts for mom, who doesn’t like a “just because you rock” gift?

Moshi Urbana briefcase (above) — $149.95

Smart, stylish and surprisingly spacious, Moshi’s Urbana briefcase will swallow a 15-inch MacBook and still have room for mom’s iPad, books and everything else she always seems to have on hand during a time of emergency. The Urbana offers plenty of pockets for organizing the essentials, plus water-resistant protection from the elements. Geeky enough to make a nerdy mom happy, while stylish enough to not be embarrassing.

Buy from: Amazon

This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.

ILE Equipment bags are made in America but big in Japan

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"Inspiration comes in weird places," says Eric Fischer, owner of ILE Equipment. Photos: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

BERKELEY, Calif. — ILE is big in Japan. The California bag company has found a market with the Japanese bike website Blue Lug, and the collaboration keeps pushing ILE into new bags, materials, hardware and color choices.

Eric Fischer, 26, launched ILE (short for “Inside Line Equipment”) out of his apartment four short years ago. He was racing bikes, buying fabric and making bags one at a time for himself, his friends and friends of friends.

“I always liked making things, but building buildings didn’t seem scalable,” Fischer told Cult of Mac. “Making bags seemed more like a painting rather than building a house.”

Ms. Pac-Man, Frogger and beer, all on tap at Ground Kontrol

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A pair of gamers take their chances in Time Crisis II, while another patron gets his ass handed to him playing NBA Jam. Photos: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

PORTLAND, Oregon — The glowing light from the beer signs in the window reflects off Bear’s face. He is standing guard tonight at one of Portland’s favorite hot spots, and the line stretches down the street.

A motley-looking cast of characters wait patiently for their chance to get past security. But they are not here to see a punk or metal show, or even for a hot DJ. They are in line to rid their pockets of quarters playing Ms. Pac-Man and other vintage video games at Portland’s Ground Kontrol.

With 60-plus video games and almost 30 pinball machines in operation — all at the price they were circa 1985 — it’s no wonder the arcade is packed with gaming nerds.

New outdoor gear preps you for nature’s nastiness

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Outdoor Retailer's version of the Kodak Photo Spot is a eye-popping orange sleeping bag thingy for two. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

 

SALT LAKE CITY — Mother Nature’s got a million ways to make your life miserable. Luckily, the outdoor industry is filled with innovators, entrepreneurs and inspired inventors working incessantly to make your adventures more epic and less stressful.

The sheer number of companies hawking advanced snowshoes, crampons and things made of Merino wool proved a little mind-numbing last week at Outdoor Retailer 2015, the industry’s largest convention.

Everything from stitch-free puffy jackets to shoes made with Michelin tire technology were on display in the giant convention center, but we waded past the immense numbers of mannequins and bowls filled with enticing fresh fruit (rather than convention-standard Red Vines) to bring you a few of the more interesting gadgets, clothing items and even a new camera strap for your micro 4:3 camera.

Siri: Your personal resolution wrangler

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Let Siri help you keep your New Year Resolutions. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Let Siri help you keep your New Year's resolutions. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Photo:

I asked Siri to set a 6:30 a.m. alarm so I could get this article written before my morning spin class. And that got me wondering what other things the young woman on my iPhone 6 Plus could do to help me meet or exceed my plans to dominate in 2015.

After my wake-up alarm, I told Siri to “call me ‘Champ.'” What better way to get our relationship started than to establish a motivational nickname? I was going to go with “Tiger” or “Hero” or “Shnoogems,” but decided “Champ” was the least embarrassing if Siri shouted it out in public.

Road-ready gifts for bicyclists

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If any of these 7500 riders at Levi's Gran Fondo are on your Holiday shopping guide, we have some suggestions for you below. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
If any of the 7,500 riders at Levi's Gran Fondo are on your gift list, we have some suggestions for you. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

We here at Cult of Mac love bicycles almost as much as we love our iPhone 6 Pluses and iMac Retina 5Ks.

Maybe it’s the feeling of almost flying. Or the passionate design coming out of the bicycle industry. Or maybe it is just the idea of being a part of something else that drives intense passions in people. Whatever it is, we love it.

So we scoured high and low to bring you a list of crazy gift ideas for yourself or for your two-wheeled companions.
Take a look, but remember to take a deep breath before firing up your Apple Pay.

Powder-ready gifts for ski lovers

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Colorado is getting the early season powder but the cloud full. Photo: Jakob Schiller/Cult of Mac
These gifts will get any skier ready for the powder. Photo: Jakob Schiller/Cult of Mac

Here in Northern California we’re still awaiting our first real snow dump of the year.

And while we have our fingers crossed and have been diligently doing our plyometric exercises, we’re still left with plenty of time to build up a big old lust for some new 2014 ski schwag.

Cult of Mac has put together a gift guide for that special fresh-powder chaser on your list. Or, you know, for yourself.

Here’s to a knee-deep powder year for all of us.

Release your inner iPhone 6 artist with Paper Camera app

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Paper Camera is just plain fun. Plenty of photo apps let you apply filters after the fact, but this one performs its manipulative magic inside your camera, transforming your images in real-time before your dazzled eyes.

The filters are robust, offering a nice variety of cartoon- and painting-style choices to help make even the most uninteresting photographic situations colorful, graphic or both. And Paper Camera supports the same wacky filter set for videos you shoot.

We love the fact that the app saves both the original file and the filtered version to our library so we can do what we want with the original.

Dirty emoji make sexting simple (NSFW)

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Sexting made visual with the help of Flirtmoji. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Sexting gets visual with Flirtmoji. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

With packages of dirty emoji filed under group headings like Teen Dream and Fetish 101, the artistically perverted designers at Flirtmoji are ready to help the masses up their sexting game.

Anatomically correct emoji, plus classic icons of the sexual revolution such as the rainbow flag and a banana wearing a condom, will make it easy for you to make yourself perfectly clear.

This bizarre drone decomposes upon impact

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Photo: CNASA/Ames
This drone will decompose in T-minus 10, 9, 8 ... Photo: NASA Ames Research Center

While we wait for Amazon to figure out how to drone-deliver our next order of energy drinks or iPhone cases, NASA has been busy coming up with a way to make sure when a quadcopter crash-lands somewhere there will no need to panic about the environmental impact.

That’s because they have made a drone from fungus.