EQUIPMENT
Mac Fans Now Sports Fans: EyeTV HD Ports Cable To Apple iPhones and iPads
Posted by Jonathan in EQUIPMENT on 05-24-10 No Comments
Mac users have hipness wired. They would never be caught dead in a pre-2007 Toyota, or Armani suit, but that doesn’t mean they’re not sports fans. Elgato’s EyeTV HD is a long awaited sports fix for Mac users. The plug-in DVR for Macs came out with an HD version today that streams live cable or broadcast TV to your computer and out to an iPhone or iPad. Premium channels are supported.
You will pay $200 for the privilege. But the code looks packed with nice features. There is a remote, some slick plug and play modules. About the only dinger is users will almost certainly be investing in storage pretty darn quick; since at these file sizes hard-drives will fill up fast.
Can’t catch all the playoffs on that iMac of yours? Here’s where they go.
The Work Out Pocket Protector
Posted by Jonathan in EQUIPMENT on 05-23-10 No Comments
Don’t even try to pretend like you are not at least tempted to try this geek-to-the-max work out accessory. But clearly the folks over Quirky know the market for the Fit Kit.
For a lousy $25 you get the deep inner satisfaction of having your cell phone, media player or iPhone wrapped in sport neoprene. Then you get not one but TWO compartments perfect of crap like lip balm, tokens, and well … condemns . You know whatever. But wait, there is another two pockets for money, credit cards, transit cards and yes more porn. And two more straps perfect for dangling headphones, keys and a porn filled jump drive.
Never mind you look like you are on some strange new dialysis machine or taking part in some a Lost experiment, you will have all you stuff whenever and wherever you work out.
What is not to love?
Order Comes to Messy Dugouts: The Designated Hanger Cleans Up Bats and Gloves
Posted by Jonathan in EQUIPMENT on 05-22-10 No Comments
Baseball might be the American pastime. But it is also the American Pigsty.
Baseball players at all levels seem to take pride in making their dugouts, benches and other “places des games” a complete and utter mess.
Enter the Designated Hanger. For $17, a Banks Oregon compan, Hooks Inc, will sell you a metal fitting that hangs from any old wire fence. The flat tool has a slot for a bat, a hook for a helmet and even a spot for an equipment bag or two.
Rocket science the thing is not. But then again neither is baseball. Personally, I think it’s pretty slick.
The New Sports Store: Target?
Posted by Jonathan in EQUIPMENT on 04-30-10 No Comments
Does Colbert shop at Target? If he is looking for sporting goods, he prolly should. Turns out the maker of really odd commercials, is one heck of sporting goods store if you know where to look, at least for some items.
I was shopping in the store last week and here are some of the decent deals I found.
The bottom line is, if you are considering running out and getting some basic gear, and all you have is a big box store handy, Target is probably the place to shop.
- Junior Franklin OPP Korn Toss. $19, down from $22.30
- Spaulding Street Basketball. $13
- Leather Rawkings Softball Glove. $18
- Sportime Teardrop Sportimer. $9
Not bad.
Garmin Gets Its Sports Groove On: The Forerunner Line
Posted by Jonathan in EQUIPMENT on 04-19-10 No Comments
Looks like the iPhone is having a positive effect on sports watches: Long-time GPS maker Garmin, feeling the pain of smart phones getting all navigational, is cranking off some sport watches.
And they actually don’t suck.
Earlier this month, Olathe, Kansas-based Garmin International (now that’s a small town where getting lost is just not an excuse) came to market with the Forerunner 110. A sport watch in a condom sort of thang which at first blush, could not be any more throwaway for GPS. The wrist-mounted unit comes with a positioning chip built in, some decent access and data technology branded as Garmin Connect, and some features like heart monitors and such. But with Suunto, Seiko and now Nike in the game, I personally was asleep before I finished the press release.
But …
The clipping sat on the desk and I finally got around to reporting on this thing and sure enough, Garmin is becoming a GPS-enabled training device sleeper. Besides being not bad looking, its line of wrist-mounted computers has some nice add-ons. Most important is the claimed 8 hours of battery life! EIGHT! Being the uber-nerd I am, I have been messing with GPS-enabled wrist computers for about a decade, and I can tell you as Dick Tracy as they all seem, almost all GPS watches share one sorry little secret: crap battery life. The idea that I could actually get a full day out of this sucker, well that’s a game changer.
What is even more interesting is Nike, Suunto and Seiko are, for sure, feeling this pressure. And you can expect them to fight back with slick nav watches of their own. So this summer, I plan to let my geek flag fly and start wearing more wrist-mounted nav.
It’s good to be a geek.
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Episode 48 — “Spain’s Putting HGH In The Water”
Dan makes it back from the beach alive, so we break down the cutting edge in NFL Preseason analysis: Old school print mags. Blum is agog at the Triple Crown winner in auto racing. Dan talks up the X-Games. And we wonder what drug is in the water in Span. They’re winning everything, everywhere. (24.1 MB. [...]
Episode 47 — “Lance is Gettin’ Screwed”
Dan takes a much needed vacation poolside so Blum flies solo this week. Seth The Technihilist calls in with the latest scoop on tech tools to keep his Pirates awful. Blum plays the Old Course, on Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online, that is. And we throw a techno-bone to Lance: There’s no way he doped [...]
Episode 46 – “Show Em Your Big Fly Stick”
Dan and Blum give it up to King George Steinbrenner. then Blum breaks down some big bats for big home runs. And Dan gives us the skinny on EA’s NCAA Football 11. And finally what a royal jerk Lebron really is. (7/15/2010. 29.1 minutes)
Episode 45 – “They’re All Takin’ Drugs”
Dan, Blum, and Seth wonder out loud what the world needs with Sirius’ new all fantasy sports channel. Dan gets sucked into the Back to the Future vibe and brings us sports technology in 2015. Blum sees an All-Star conspiracy in Kevin Youkilis not getting on the All-Star team. And with Floyd Landis spilling his [...]
Episode 44 – “The age of free stuff is over”
Can Sports Illustrated save themselves with a fancy iPad app? Plus: Why high school can’t afford to protect their football players with modern helmets, a look at what FIFA could do with goal-line technology, and Jonathan found some “interesting” items at the Outdoor Retailer Show. [7/1/2010, 30:29m]
Episode 43 – “This is the geek’s delight”
Seth, the tech nihlist, thinks 3D television is just going to be a rich guy’s thing and has a long way to go. Plus: Jonathan philosophizes on technology and the ever-changing sports medium, Dan got to play with the Xbox Kinect and wants to have its baby, and a little airplane tech from the Red [...]
Episode 42 – “We make the invisible visible”
TSC brings in Ron Imbriale from Flexxcoach to discuss their innovative software/video solution for regular athletes. Plus: The inflatable motorcycle crash suit, a discussion of Abby Sunderland’s failed around the world sailing trip, and we look at what ESPN on the Xbox really means for sports fans. [6/16/2010, 31:32m]
Episode 41 – “I was detained, I was almost ejected”
Jonathan recounts his story of trying to take pictures at Yankee stadium. Plus: Seth, the Tech Nihlist, joins us to discuss the NCAA’s rules on texting and other technology, Jonathan’s ideas on how to do instant replay in baseball, and Dan tells us where and how to watch the World Cup on any device. [6/9/10, [...]
Episode 40 – “This sounds geeky and it is geeky but it’s important”
Jonathan was in his watchtower surveying the TVs of tomorrow and reports back on what we can expect in our homes and stadiums in a few years. Plus: Our feelings about The Danikapolis 500, the controversy surrounding the Adidas World Cup ball, and we take a quick look at Lacrosse equipment technology. [6/2/2010, 27:05m]
Episode 39 – “If you don’t like the game, drop your nachos on it”
The new Madison Square Garden is coming, complete with… skybridges? Plus: What Google TV could mean for sports fans, what kind of gear does it take to climb Mt. Everest (hint: it’s a lot), and why the PGA has their heads up their you-know-what when it comes to allowing new technology in golf. [5/26/2010, 29:42m]
