Review: Dolly Drive – Online Backup For Apple Time Machine

During our boring time in Vegas attending CES, we came across a bunch of guys that were surrounded by sheep. Now, if it wasn’t for the fact they were also surrounded by gorgeous Apple computers, Mike and I probably would of just walked on by. They asked us their questions on how we back up, if we use Time Machine and so on and so on. After hearing their talk for a few minutes, it clicked. Mixing a “set it and forget it” service like Time Machine with cloud based storage is ingenious. It makes sense.

I’ve been using Dolly Drive for the past couple weeks, and with their presence this week at MacWorld, I wanted to dive into what I think about the cloud guys with the cute little sheep logo.

Hop on in and find out more about Dolly Drive and online Time Machine back-ups…

Check Out This Awesome To-Do/List App, “Clear”.

We’re not usually too captivated by simple “to-do” apps but a new app from Mac outfit Real Mac Software” has us drooling over just that. “Clear”, as it’s being called, introduces an intuitive and downright awesome way to browse through, add/remove/edit, and organize your daily tasks all while being presented in a pleasant and eye pleasing design.

The colored bans you see above correspond to importance with the topmost, red bars offering up the most time critical tasks. As you move down the list in importance the bars fade in color. Adding new tasks is as simple as pinching outward on the display. Pinching inward moves you back out to the main list where you can expand upon the simple to-do app; things such as grocery lists, a list of movies to watch, etc can be entered into Clear.

Clear is listed as “coming soon” on their website along with a simple email sign-up box for notification once Clear is ready to go.

Check out a quick demo of Clear in action after the break and let us know what you think…

Minecraft Themed LEGO Set Gets The Green Light!

LEGOs are pretty much one of the greatest memories I have of childhood. Many a night were spent building completely random objects and interjecting healthy amounts of fantasy. But alas, we grow up and move to other things. For myself, gaming took over what little spare time I have.

While I haven’t been the biggest player of Minecraft, it is interesting to see the ever increasingly awesome displays of ingenuity and patience that some Minecraft players are displaying like this crazy 1:1 replica of the entire world from Zelda: Ocarina Of Time. But what’s got me most excited currently is the new Minecraft edition LEGO sets that will soon be coming out.

The idea was born through LEGOs homegrown “CUUSOO project” which aims to attract interest to their products by giving normal people like you and I a chance to submit ideas for new LEGO projects. The benefit, of course, is having your design/idea picked and mass produced. To sweeten the pot, LEGO even gives people whose ideas are chosen a 1% commission on all sales.

For now, LEGO is remaining mum on when exactly we can actually buy some Minecraft themed sets. But rest assured, once we get word of their release date/pricing, we’ll be sure to share it with you.

HTC Rezound Getting New, Non-ICS Update “Soon”.

The recently reviewed HTC Rezound wasn’t perfect when we prodded it back in early December. But as the first phone to feature that wonderful 1280 x 720 resolution, we were awestruck. And soon it’s getting better!

VZW has announced that a new update for the HTC Rezound is “coming soon”. Though, before you get too excited we must stress this is not an Android 4.0 ICS update, but instead a performance/bug fixing release. The update includes:

• Updated signal strength meter to 5 bar Received
  Signal Strength Indication (RSSI)

• Screen Timeout issues while connected to Wi-Fi have been resolved

• Resolved issue with Mobile Hotspot data stalling while multiple users are
  connected

• Improved audio quality during voice call

• Reduced forced closures related to the People application

• Improved device stability reduces continuous resets

• Resolved issue with Task Manager stopping Mail background servic

Not exactly the update we were hoping for but at least it’s something.

AT&T Roadmap Leaks. Nokia Lumia 900 Scheduled For Mid-March $99 Debut.

If the AT&T roadmap BGR’s source slipped them is correct, I’m going to have an awfully hard time keeping my two-year upgrade discount open for the next-gen iPhone. Reason being, AT&T is apparently planning to launch the 4.3″ and LTE equipped Nokia Lumia 900 on March 18th. This phone oozes gadgety sex appeal as well as a fresh take on the mobile OS compliments of Windows Phone 7. Of course, what’s even more exciting than a release a mere ~2 months away is the price: $99.

For a flagship phone from any manufacturer irregardless of OS, this is insane. Microsoft and/or Nokia must really be desperate to fast track marketshare. And what better way than a fire sale from the get go? Yeah. The duo could lose a fair chunk of change form practically giving their phone away because let’s face it, AT&T isn’t about to eat the cost. Ultimately, a move like this could be huge for the Windows Phone platform.

Consider my fingers crossed.

As for whatever else was on that leaked roadmap — BGR hasn’t mentioned anything yet. But if I had to guess, assume a few high-end dual and quad-core Android devices alone with a new iPhone too. But for now, my eyes are on the Lumia.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Build For Droid RAZR Leaked. Motorola UI Tweaks Trickling In.

What you’re looking at above is the first (unofficial) look at Android 4.0 ICS for the Motorola Droid RAZR. From the looks of things, the lack of complete and utter destruction points to this being a very early build. Don’t worry. There’s still plenty of time for Motorola to muck it up. But if it were our choice, we’d love to see the company push out ICS and forgo the heavy-handed UI customization in favor of a more complete, and graphically pleasing stock experience.

The source code over in the DroidRAZR Forums isn’t flashable — We know you were thinking that… — but is at least something for eager RAZR owners to poke around in.

Thoughts?

Rumor: Next Gen iPhones Running Around Foxconn With 4″ LG Display.

When Apple sailed through last summer without a new iPhone in sight, tech gurus cried out how it was going to be devastating for Apple’s market share and bottom line. But as we’ve seen over the last few days, nothing could be further from the truth. Along the same lines, Apple usually keeps to a pretty rigid yearly upgrade cycle for most of their hardware, the iPhone being a chief example of such a schedule. So after last years October release common sense would indicate the next-gen iPhone dropping October 2012. Right?

According to a new post on 9to5 Mac, Apple is going to throw us a curve ball by moving back to a summer release for the next-gen iPhone. Citing a “reliable” and close source, Foxconn is already prepping production for the iPhone 4S’ successor, and even claims to have seen many different (slight) variations of the next-gen device floating around. The source is quick to note, however, that none of the spied models are the “official”/final next-gen iPhone.

Considering Apple’s long held tradition of secrecy, the multi-device demos floating around isn’t surprising. What’s more exciting is that the source claims the new iPhone is longer/wider than the iPhone 4/4S thanks to — drumroll please — a 4″ display (one of which is supposedly manufactured by LG). The source also notes that the device is uniform in thickness (read: not tapered/teardropped as previously rumored).

We’re not so sure Apple would go a mere 8-10 months between major iPhone refreshes. But…stranger things have happened. We’re going to keep a few grains of salt close by just in case. You?