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There are some days when my insatiable need for USB charging outlets surprises even me.  It seems every couple of weeks I have ANOTHER device I need to plug in to charge frequently; and the devices I do not need to charge frequently ALWAYS need to be charging when one of my critical devices is dead or dying for more power.

I installed a 6 port USB hub under the lip of my desk; hoping to cure my need for USB ports/plugs but I learned quickly that USB hubs just don’t deliver the juice fast enough to revitalize my high drain electronics.

A few months ago, I contacted RAVPower, the folks that provide us with a lot of hardware to review here about essentially a “power extension cord” for USB power.  Something with a lot of plugs with plenty of juice to push power to my greedy devices.  The apologetically said that they didn’t have anything like that yet, but they would let me know if they did in the future.

The future is now and they were happy to send me one for review. Read more

About Shane Monroe

Shane R. Monroe has been doing technical and social commentary writing for over 20 years. Google+

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In an attempt to bring more of the fairer sex to Review Lagoon, I’m trying to cover more female-gender-friendly products here on the site.  I got the idea from a co-worker who borrowed my monster RavPower PB-13 power bank (read my review) in an emergency to charge her phone.  She said she would love something like this, but the PB-13 was just too big and heavy for her to carry around.  I did some research and found the “lipstick” style Luster Series RP-08.  It even came in a color that my co-worker liked.

While it is easy to discuss this as a “girl power” product, it could just as easily supplement the male market’s power needs on the go.  If numbers aren’t your thing, skip down to Girl Power? below. Read more

About Shane Monroe

Shane R. Monroe has been doing technical and social commentary writing for over 20 years. Google+

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Credit: themodernmage.com

When you think of the term “die hard gamer” or “hard core gamer” (or any number of these labels that are thrust upon the gaming consumer that relate to people who really love video gaming) you typically have a mental picture painted.  Some 18-29 year old, living in their parent’s basement – wired up to a cerebral brain implanted headset trash talking to “friends” they’ve never met.  They are probably still in their underwear; chewing on a piece of day-old pizza – playing the latest rendition of the endlessly spawned first person shooter.  No sunlight is allowed in the room – the windows implicitly covered.  If they have a car, their gaming rig probably costed more than it did – a big screen, low-latency flatscreen and some receiver special ordered because it has 4 HDMI inputs instead of 2.  Every current and last gen console (except those made by Nintendo because, like – those are kiddie systems, dudebro) is rigged up and there are discarded Live, PSN+ and various redemption cards scattered on the floor.

How am I doing so far?  Fairly representative? Read more

About Shane Monroe

Shane R. Monroe has been doing technical and social commentary writing for over 20 years. Google+

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Around the holidays, a lot of people get new technology.  As the prices come down and availability goes up – it is more and more likely that some folks got their first Android device this very Christmas.  But just because they are new to Android doesn’t mean they are new to technology.

This article isn’t for the new casual user of Android.  We’re not going to list Flipbook here.  You’re not going to find Candy Crush Saga, Instagram, Netflix or HBO to Go on our list.  In fact, there will be no games listed here at all.

Instead, we’re going to take a look at the “power” apps for Android – presented for the first time or new Android user.  If things like FTP and RSS are foreign to you or you don’t know why you need a file manager on a phone – this article isn’t for you.

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About Shane Monroe

Shane R. Monroe has been doing technical and social commentary writing for over 20 years. Google+

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Perhaps you just got your first Android device for Christmas; a nice HTC One Smartphone or maybe a gorgeous new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1.  Sure, you’ve been scouring the internet for hot apps, fun games and some Android sites (like our very own Green Robot Gamer site) but what you may not have noticed about your hot new toy is that it comes with an IR (infrared) Blaster built in.

Hmmm … what COULD you do with THAT?

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About Shane Monroe

Shane R. Monroe has been doing technical and social commentary writing for over 20 years. Google+

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I have a lot of media.  I own several thousand DVDs and Blu rays.  I have collected a lot of media from the internet.  I prefer to OWN (and store) the media I have.  I don’t like Netflix and I don’t like Hulu.  These aren’t solutions for me.  I am paying a lot of money a month for a fast internet connection and I have a lot of stuff I’m storing on my own – not the cloud.  I don’t want to have to UPLOAD my stuff to the cloud to get it …. I AM my own cloud.

… and I’m not alone.  Millions of others prefer to buy, store, rip and maintain their own private collections – for a variety of reasons (see my article on Digital Distribution for my thoughts).  Unfortunately, the issue with being your own cloud …?  Companies aren’t interested in writing top quality software to let you access it.  Your options tend to rely on some proprietary media friendly NAS (like a Synology Diskstation) which suffers from fairly immature software on mobile devices or some sort of specialized delivery system for ONE component of your media (like Subsonic; great music gateway – poor video gateway).

Worse yet, if you plan to SHARE your content with family and friends?  A whole new can of worms is opened.

Take all of these issues and then try to solve ubiquitous playback from TV, web, phone and tablet?  This has been a pipe dream for some time.

Enter Plex Media Server Read more

About Shane Monroe

Shane R. Monroe has been doing technical and social commentary writing for over 20 years. Google+

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Certain things about technology make me mental.  I constantly get asked, “What is your problem with x?” or “Why do you hate y?”  I figured it would save time if I could just link to an article that explain what makes me crazy about tech-related services and concepts.

This is the mind-numbing technology that I would change in a heartbeat if I were In Charge(tm); in no particular order. Read more

About Shane Monroe

Shane R. Monroe has been doing technical and social commentary writing for over 20 years. Google+

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Every year, our power needs grow. Tablets get bigger, phones get more needy. Portable power is pretty much a must for anyone travelling or for someone that works away from a power source all day.

The good news is – there are hundreds (if not THOUSANDS) of choices for portable external battery chargers. The bad news is – they are not created equally and may not reasonably meet the needs you bought them for.

When buying an external battery like the RAVPower 14000 mAh PB-13 (from now on, just PB-13; about $40 from Amazon), you need to consider four major things; how long it will last, how powerful is the output, what sort of quality of battery are you getting inside – and finally, how long will it take to recharge? Read more

About Shane Monroe

Shane R. Monroe has been doing technical and social commentary writing for over 20 years. Google+

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After my review of the RAVPOWER WiFi Disk/Power Bank (RP-WD01) I was asked to take a look at another, similar product, the HT-TM01 (from now on, just HT) – this time the promise of actual ROUTER ability was added, making this device useful in all new situations.

The HT promises four main functions; a 5200mAh power bank for refueling your USB charged devices, a wireless access point/bridge to share one wifi connection with multiple people, a router (R-45 connector) for wired connectivity and finally a Network Attached Storage (NAS) solution – allowing you to wirelessly share a portable USB drive wirelessly.

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About Shane Monroe

Shane R. Monroe has been doing technical and social commentary writing for over 20 years. Google+

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I wasn’t really in the market for a Bluetooth speaker, but my wife was interested in something for her classroom.  Something small, cheap, portable and easy to use – something she could take to school (she’s a teacher) and use to listen to music when class isn’t in session.  Since her students have light fingers, she really wanted something she could afford to lose.

Of course – she wanted all this AND it needs to sound great.

Looking for something under $30, I ran across the TT-SK01 at Amazon. The TT-SK01 (just TT from now on) comes in a box smaller than you think.  When you open the small box, you find a little black “egg”.  It’s little, solid but not too hefty and rather attractive as cheap electronics tend to go.

Further inspection of the box reveals a short, multi-language manual that actually tells you exactly what you need to know – in honest to goodness English.  Finally, there is a flat, USB cable included – again, remarkably decent quality for a cheap Chinese piece of electronics.  Mine is even red.  Nice compliment to the black egg. Read more

About Shane Monroe

Shane R. Monroe has been doing technical and social commentary writing for over 20 years. Google+

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