Author: James Mowery

The iPad is a killer of freedom, innovation, and all things good with the Internet. But do you want to know the worst part? I am being entirely serious about that statement, and it is not funny at all. Of all the Apple products I have seen over the years, the iPad is, by far, the biggest disappointment, and the fact that so many people purchased it is absolutely horrifying — it proves that consumers are truly lacking in judgment and objectivity, and it proves that any device you slap an Apple logo is considered gold. So let’s run down the list of reasons that Apple has created a device that truly restricts…

I feel as if I am the only person on the planet who has never played Farmville. But after this story, I am more than happy with that decision.. A pre-teen boy living in the UK somehow managed to blow $1,400 on Farmville, one of Facebook’s most addictive games (and  you thought the few hundred extra for the phone bill was bad, hah). We spend money on food, groceries, gas, rent, and gadgets, right? But what value can a kid get from spending $1,400 in a virtual game? We have no clue here at Techi. But, seriously, what could this kid have gained? What did $1,400 buy him? Gosh, what does a $5 investment in this game…

The answer is $260. That is how much it costs Apple to manufacture an iPad device. That also means that Apple makes at least $240 every time someone has purchased an iPad — this is interesting to note, because it reveals that the iPad could have been priced even cheaper. Much cheaper. Apple still would have made a nice chunk of change, either way. However, we know that Apple marks up their products because they are considered “luxury” items, but it doesn’t seem quite right considering how much Apple claimed that they wanted everyone to own one of these things. After all, Apple is making a killing from…

Looking for a cool way to spend your life’s savings? For around $100,000 you can do just that by purchasing Hitachi’s encephalometer, a device that enables the user to monitor their own brain activity (making sense of the data, however, might be a bit more challenging). The scanner works by shining red light at your brain, and it is then reflected back towards the sensors (something about pointing lasers at your brain doesn’t sound right), and it then measures hemoglobin activity. That’s all medical jargon for simply seeing what goes on inside that big head of yours. We will all have an opportunity…

What do you do with a device that isn’t quite so useful? You throw it away! Okay, so you are not going to do that to your iPad, so we have an alternative: you could, quite literally, shelve it. Now we’re talking. The iBookend (again, with these “i” names), is a concept design by Dominic Wilcox that actually makes the iPad a useful device, and it is quite fitting as well. The iBookend would allow you to store your iPad in a book shelf and use it as a stand for your books. Quite handy. If only this accessory became reality… I would, only then, have a reason for buying the iPad, or not! [via LikeCool]…

If there is one thing that is clear, it is that the iPad has the hype. But it is also clear that it is not as great as we all imagined, and, even then, some think it isn’t particularly great at all. I have my reservations about the iPad too. However, instead of just listing reasons why we like or dislike the iPad, I wanted to offer people a look at some amazing devices that will make the iPad irrelevant — sure, the iPad will always be relevant because it is an Apple product (and Apple has devout fans). But the following gadgets will blow the iPad away in more ways than one. They are remarkable….

Many of us toss and turn in the middle of the night, but how often do we do that? No idea here. However, a cool gadget coming out of Japan might be able to help: they call it the Sleep Scan. It is probably the next best thing apart from going to an expensive sleep clinic, and it won’t hurt the wallet too badly either. The Sleep Scan (SL-501) will be priced at Â¥36,750 (that is approximately $391 in U.S. currency), and it works by having its user place it under themselves while they are sleeping. Simple right? While you are sleeping, the Sleep Scan measures specific data like your pulse, your respiration rate,…

iKnow this isn’t exactly official — as Apple’s big iPhone 4.0 event happens tomorrow — but there is word spreading around that Apple has another big announcement to make tomorrow, and it is about an advertising platform (yeah, no joke). As amazing as that will be, the name of this platform even more so: they are allegedly going to call it the “iAd” platform. iThink, however, that it is safe to say now that Steve Jobs is a little too obsessed with the letter “i” and with appending it to the front of other words, and this whole advertising platform is likely to receive the same abuse. It’s getting a little…

Technology is, in general, a great thing. It empowers us with information, entertains us with social activity, and allows us to explore our creativity. The mobile web plays its part in that equation, but it is something that many of us take for granted. Yet it is far more disappointing to realize that many emerging countries don’t have access to these services because of the immense data requirements and poor infrastructure. However, Vodafone and Opera are taking small steps that will have huge impacts, and it starts by leveraging what these companies already have. What these two intend to do…

Remember Tetris? We do! We remember playing Tetris on our Game Boys for hours and hours, all while attempting the seemingly impossible challenge of organizing virtual bricks into rows while they dropped faster as time went on. Oh what fun we had. Guess what? Tetris is making a comeback, and this time it is bigger, faster, more challenging, and more in-your-face than ever before. It’s the Tetris redux — reality style — and we want to play it right now. Unfortunately, there isn’t much information about the project, but it is apparent that someone took the time to create a large Tetris-inspired…