hardware

Current Status of SmushBox and Smush Mobile My original review of the SmushBox is over here. As I’m writing this I’ve currently just gotten my SmushBox back online after 6 months of downtime.  What happened?  A lot.  The most significant event occurred in the fall of 2014, when Tom Ketola announced to the Smushbox Forums (now offline), and to the various backers, that their business model of unlimited SMS texting and the agreement with T-Mobile was not going to work out.  There were too many logistics with invoicing, billing, and chasing people down for payments.  I can only imagine.  He notified everyone that they would be terminating their contract with T-Mobile and that we were on our own...

Appears that with the coming of OS X 10.9 Mavericks, we are once again faced with various peripherals that cease to function correctly. I often do work that requires a serial port.  I’ve carried a Keyspan USA-19HS with me in my briefcase for close to a decade (maybe more).  I’ve always been able to get it to work properly, but recently, with my upgrade to a 15″ MacBook Pro Retina Display and subsequent upgrade to OS X 10.9 Mavericks, my trusty little friend may have met his day.  Keyspan does not show a driver that supports OS X 10.9 and loading the 10.8 driver resulted in no change from not having the driver. I...

The PadPivot is a “Lap and Desk Stand” for the iPad and other tablet-sized devices.  I had purchased an original iPad the previous year and had kept looking for a nice desk stand and/or way to hold the iPad, the PadPivot seemed like a good idea. Kickstarter Info Kickstarter Site: PadPivot Lap and Desk Stand Date Funded:  2011 March 14 Total Backers:  4,823 Total Raised:  $190,352 vs. Goal:  $10,000 Date Backed:  2011 January 31 Backer Level:  PadPivot Kicker Level Backer Price:  $35.00 Item Received:  May 2011 My Site Credits:  https://www.padpivot.com/welcome/hof Item Current Whereabouts:  In my basement somewhere Retail Info Where to buy:  http://www.padpivot.com Retail Price:  $39.99...

The C-Loop was my introduction to the Kickstarter service.  If you don’t know, Kickstarter is a way for potential inventors / service providers to crowdfund their ideas.  It provides a great jumping off point for innovators and inventors to fund their ideas so they can become reality. Kickstarter Info Kickstarter Site: C-Loop Date Funded:  2010 December 14 Total Backers:  1428 Total Raised:  $63,163 vs. Goal:  $15,000 Date Backed:  2010 November 29 Backer Level:  $35 or More Backer Price:  $35.00 Item Received:  January 2011 My Site Credits:  http://www.customslr.com/pages/c-loop-contributors/ Item Current Whereabouts:  Still attached to my DSLR Retail Info Where to buy:  http://www.customslr.com/products/c-loop Retail Price:  $39.95 Would I...

On March 27th, I was listening to the Security Now podcast (Security Now #397 – “Listener Feedback #164”), when Steve Gibson mentioned a Kickstarter project called the SmushBox.  He described it as “Mark [Thompson] wanted an automated way of sending and receiving SMS messages for his own web-based stuff that he’s doing.”  Hmmm, I thought, “So do I”. So on March 30, 2013, I pledged at the “SMUSH KIT, LATER” level for $250, which included an “activated SmushBox, installation and management software, cables, unlimited texting with unlimited keywords”.  The SmushBox project promised, “unlimited 2-way SMS texting, unlimited mobile subscribers, with no contracts or hidden fees.”  Unfortunately, in the three days since Steve mentioned it on his podcast, they had sold...