Dunno

Dunno is a personal research tool that does the leg work for you. Sure you can find what you are looking for on a search engine, but Dunno will categorize and sort the results into a comprehensive and easy to follow index. It also saves your previous topics, so you can always jump right back to where you were working last. Highly recommended for students, but also a great addition to anyone's iOS device.

~Ben

Cool shirt, bro.

Here are a couple favorite geek culture shirt sites:



Enclothe.com




GoodJoe.com
This is a community based t-shirt company that donates much of it's profits to fundraising efforts.

~Ben

Awesome iPad Games Now!

Here are three fantastic games to liven up your iPad:




Mutant Storm
I absolutely love this game! It's a twin stick shooter - Wait, wait, hold on! I know what you are thinking, but this shooter is truly exceptional. It's not like those millions of Geometry Wars clones that are clogging up the App Store. Mutant Storm offers a unique style of design and gameplay that the others just can't match, and above all else, it's fun! The fidelity of the control is spot on, which is something most shooters on iOS lack, and the challenges come naturally instead of ramping up to the point of frustration. This is a great game for the hardcore and casual gamers alike. Available on all current iOS devices.




Kingdom Rush
Tower defense games come and go, and can be difficult to distinguish the good from the bad. Kingdom Rush stands head and shoulders above the rabble. A comic book inspired design, engaging and fun gameplay, varied units and levels with many upgrades and strategies to employ. This is my current favorite TD game on any device. Right now, it's only available on the iPad, but the developers have said that it is on it's way to the iPhone and iPod as well.




Pocket Planes
Here's a fun little game to suck every minute of your life away. Pocket Planes comes from the makers of Tiny Tower, and offers much of the same style of gameplay, but is more satisfying. Instead of just growing your Tower ever upwards, you start with small airline and grow it into a global commuter and cargo empire. Select and manage planes, locations, routes, employees, passengers, cargo, vendors - everything you can imagine to dominate the airline industry and get those cute little people where they need to go. Available on all current iOS devices.
~Ben

Apple's Podcasts Vs Downcast

Many of Apple's updates and improvements to their iOS platform stem directly from 'borrowed' concepts and software from third party developers. The new Podcasts app from Apple is yet another example of this. Podcasts is a podcast catcher, much like Downcast and many others, that allows the user to search, add, subscribe, and edit podcasts all without having to sync with a PC or Mac.




Apple's Podcasts app offers a much more visually pleasing interface than Downcast, but unfortunately it doesn't seem like it was quite ready for launch. The app is slow, buggy, and still lacks a great many features that other podcast catchers offer. It's a good start, but the Podcasts app is, as of now, just not good enough to replace Downcast.
So don't toss out Downcast just yet! Apple's first attempt at a podcast catcher falls well below the bar. Maybe things will change with an update or three or maybe even iOS 6 - We'll just have to wait and see.

~Ben

MINI and the Mystery of the 2013 Hardtop

Even though the "new" MINI Cooper line has been around 2001, there have only been two platforms made from which all but the Countryman models were built upon.

For example, here are the two different platforms for the Cooper S model:

R53 - 2001 to 2006









R56 - 2006 to 2012









The R56 platform was longer, taller, and wider than the R53, made significant changes to the interior and exterior, as well as a beefier engine with a turbocharger instead of the R53's supercharger. To this day, gearheads argue over the improvements made between the two. While the R56 offers more interior room and more horsepower, the R53 is more efficient, handles slightly better, and is closer to the classic MINI models.

BMW and MINI have been extremely tight lipped in regards to the new platform being launched this fall. Not much of any news or details have been leaked, other than nebulous comments that make it sound as if the new 2013 MINI Hardtop will make even more significant changes than the previous platform change, including around a 40-50hp difference. During an episode of White Roof Radio, it was also brought up that BMW reps were telling MINI sales people that diehard MINI owners would "probably not like the new platform."

Who knows what the new model will bring, but I'm excited to see it! I was hoping that it would be unveiled during the MINI Takes the States Rally, but so far the only thing announced to be there has been the new GP and the Clubvan (both based on the second platform).

~Ben

2012 E3 - What Caught My Attention

E3 has been losing relevance for years now, and this year, it's really starting to show. Not only is it too early for Sony and Microsoft to start their next-gen console push, but it was apparently too early for Nintendo to reveal any of the more interesting games for the Wii U (that we know they are working on). More to the point, the smaller and independent developers have all pretty much ditched E3 in favor of PAX and Comic-Con. Despite this, I still managed to find a few titles that blew my mind, and I can't wait to see these on store shelves:




Watch Dogs
IGN Link
This games looks like a dream come true! I can easily say without a doubt, that this is my most anticipated game for next year. It's got that 'near future' cyberpunk look and feel to it that so many of my favorite books and movies have like Neuromancer, Bladerunner, Ghost in the Shell, etc.. I haven't been this excited about a game for a very long time.





Borderlands 2
Official Site
Borderlands came out of nowhere and quickly became one the top favorites of this generation. It really turned the idea of a shooter on it's head and introduced fantastic dungeon crawling RPG elements, a comic book style of design, and a great sense of humor into, what was for a long time, a rather stale genre. Borderlands 2 is not only more Borderlands, but a bigger,faster, and more wub wub version of Pandora! I can't wait to lose hundreds and hundreds of hours chasing down loot!





Assassin's Creed 3
Official Site
I'm not much of an Assassin's Creed fan, but wow, this game looks fun! I'll happily ignore the goofy controls and tacked-on sci-fi story while running through a snowy forest to kill red coats all ninja style.





The Last of Us
Official Site
The post apocalyptic zombie shooter is a worn and tired genre, but this game is taking that setting to a more dramatic and thrilling place. Adventuring through a rich, yet ruined, landscape and struggling to survive, takes precedent over blasting zombies with shotguns. I like to think of it as The Walking Dead comic meets Ico.

There are certainly more games I'm looking forward to, like Beyond Two Souls, Star Wars 1313, Dishonored, and South Park's RPG, The Stick of Truth, but these are my favorites so far.

~Ben

Here is your new remote:

My parents' universal RF remote (Aeros) has been losing functionality for some time now, so I've been searching around for the best replacement available. I think I've found it.

Logitech Harmony 900



Not only is this an RF remote (Radio Frequency - Meaning it will work through walls, unlike IR, InfraRed), but it sports a touch screen, and is quite easy to program.

Click here to watch CNET's review and compare prices.


~Ben

A Great Week to be a PlayStation Plus Member!

Every week comes with free games in PlayStation Plus, but the week of E3 really stands out this year. Here is what is up for download right now, completely free:

inFamous 2
Little Big Planet 2
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Sideway
Virtual Fighter V Final Showdown
Ratchet and Clank All 4 One
Warhammer 40k Space Marines
Just Cause 2
Saints Row 2
Hard Corps Uprising
Choplifter HD
Zombie Apocalypse Never Die Alone
...and some Minis that nobody ever plays.


~Ben

JackThreads!

It's no secret that I've been seriously getting into shape lately, and with that change comes the fact that I'm now drowning in my clothes. I need a new wardrobe! The stores in the mall are too pricey, discount chains like Old Navy are junk, and so I've turned to the nets. After an exhaustive campaign of searching for decent threads at reasonable prices, I've chosen my new favorite - JackThreads! Highly recommended! Check them out using my link below:

http://www.jackthreads.com/invite/benender1

~Ben