Brian Fagioli

Last month, a young child in my family celebrated her sixth birthday, so I decided to buy her a Nintendo 3DS. Unfortunately, I discovered that the 3DS is only recommended for children 7-years in age and up as the 3D can negatively affect their vision. Sure, you can turn the 3D off with a slider but it is too easy for the child to enable it again; even by accident. And so, I ordered the generation-older DS console instead as a safety precaution.

Today, Nintendo announces a solution to my conundrum, the Nintendo 2DS -- a handheld console which does not offer 3D. The video game company says "the new Nintendo 2DS system gives you all the features of the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, minus 3D viewing. And the price makes the world of Nintendo games even more accessible."

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I am a huge NBA fan (Go Knicks!). Unfortunately, I cannot play worth a lick. However, that may soon change. Today, a company called Wireless Sports announces a product called Hoop Tracker -- a watch that tracks and improves your basketball skills.

According to Wireless Sports CEO Jason Duke, "practice is the key to success in a sport like basketball, and since it’s impossible to have a coach on standby twenty-four-seven, having a tool like Hoop Tracker can be invaluable for tracking progress and improving overall technique".

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Apple users tend to like Apple things. Typically, the user's experience will be the best when all of their hardware is Apple. However, Google is hoping that iOS users will change course and shun the Apple TV in favor of its inexpensive Chromecast device.

Today, Google took a big step towards its goal by releasing a Chromecast app for iOS. Will it be enough to lure Apple users from the Apple TV?

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A great thing about the iPhone (or iPod touch) is it can be used as a business tool or as a toy. While some people use it strictly for email and work, others use it to play games such as Angry Birds and Candy Crush Saga. For those such users; kids and kids at heart, Belkin has announced new cases to complement the fun aspect of the iPhone -- LEGO Builder Cases.

According to Belkin, "the back of the Builder Case carries a true LEGO baseplate -- this is considered the key foundation to the LEGO play experience. The baseplate is made by LEGO factories to LEGO standards and is integrated into the case in a way that’s durable and comfortable for everyday use. Other features of the case include a semi-flexible outer frame for shock-absorption, button protection, and unobstructed access to audio ports and speakers".

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When it comes to modern PC gaming, you can never have too many buttons. Sure, there is an argument to be made that less is more on game controllers. However, hardcore-PC-gamers need any advantage they can get in today's fast-paced first-person-shooter world. Logitech is aiming to help these gamers to, well, aim, with the new Logitech G602 wireless gaming mouse ($79.99).

Logitech says, "the newest mouse in the Logitech G lineup, the Logitech G602 Wireless Gaming Mouse sets a new standard in wireless gaming. Without cords, clutter, or interference, the mouse’s lag-free wireless connection and unprecedented battery life allow better, uninterrupted game play. Featuring two modes, Performance and Endurance, the G602 Wireless Gaming mouse delivers 250 hours of non-stop battery life when in full gaming mode -- Performance mode -- and more than 1400 hours of use in non-gaming mode -- or Endurance mode".

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On June 14, the people of Iran exercised freedom when they voted for a new President in the country's election -- a great moment. However, they are now able to exercise yet another freedom -- to download the free Android app of their choice.

Now Google announces to developers that "starting today you can make your free apps available in Iran". That's right, Iranians can now download free apps from Google's Play Store.

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In 2007, Apple ushered in the touch-screen smartphone era with the iPhone. Sure, there were touch-screen smartphones before it, but Apple's device was a revolution. However, with the launch of the original iPhone also came the launch of critics. The lack of expandable memory, copy and paste and removable battery was largely lambasted.

In 2008, the first Android smartphone was launched by HTC, named the Dream or G1, depending on the market. Android was able to capitalize on the iPhone's perceived shortcomings by offering the features that the iPhone didn't. However, fast-forward to 2013 and Android devices are slowly losing removable batteries and SD card slots. While Android is busy removing features, Apple has added them -- copy and paste. In other words, Google has slowly removed the features that differentiated its device from the iPhone. So, at this juncture, what is the point of Android?

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About 3 months ago, my heart was aflutter for Google's Play Music All Access. I was so enamored that I declared iTunes dead. While it remains my favorite streaming music service, there is still not an iOS version. I am typically an Android guy, however, there is a fourth-generation iPod touch in my family that gets use too -- mostly for music.

This week, I discovered a new addition to the crowded streaming music category, called Radical.FM. The question becomes: is it a worthy addition to iOS?

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iWork for iCloud beta was originally only available for developers (or people with developer accounts), much to the ire of the fruit-logo company's eager and loyal following. Today, without any fanfare, the cloud-based Office platform is now available to all Apple ID users.

Apple describes the service by saying "iWork has always been the best way to be productive on the Mac. And iWork for iOS made it easy to create beautiful documents on iPad and iPhone. With iWork for iCloud we’re bringing Pages, Numbers, and Keynote to the web -- on Mac and PC. And thanks to iCloud, your work is always up to date on all your devices".

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I can't get these words out of my head. I've been repeating them over and over. No, I am not going crazy (I hope), I have been using Motorola's newest flagship Android device, the Moto X -- "OK Google Now". This device focuses heavily on voice interaction -- particularly with those words that have found a home in my brain.

There was a lot of hype and buzz leading up to the big unveiling of this device. The closest comparison from a hype perspective is the original iPhone. My colleague Joe Wilcox recently released a book, titled "This Book is not a Kindle Single (The Rejected Essay)", which makes mention of the Moto X in comparison to the iPhone as seen in the below excerpt.

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While many people dislike the Windows 8 Modern UI, it is easily avoidable by installing a third-party Start menu replacement like Classic Shell. However, this is generally bad for Microsoft as it fragments the user experience and potentially steers users from the Microsoft Store. Today, the software giant was dealt another blow as Lenovo partners with Pokki to pre-install that company's Start-menu replacement software on the ThinkPad and IdeaPad line of computers.

"We’re excited to announce that the #1 PC maker in the world, Lenovo, will be shipping Pokki on new Windows 8 devices worldwide! In other words, you’ll soon be able to buy a brand new Lenovo laptop or desktop with our full Pokki software suite integrated and ready to use out-of-the-box!", says Pokki. Yikes, Microsoft cannot be happy!

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Now that Outlook.com is actually working, Microsoft can redirect its focus on improving the service rather than fixing it. Today, the tech-giant announces that they have improved the management of aliases on the web-based email service.

"Several years ago we launched the ability to rename or to add aliases to your account, which gave important flexibility to manage these changes. But we found that these tasks were a little too monolithic. For example, sometimes you wanted to sign in with one alias but use another to send mail or display on your Xbox. So we started working to break these tasks down to give you more flexibility", says Eric Doerr, Group Program Manager for Microsoft account.

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When the Google+ Photo app was released as a Pixel exclusive in June, many Chromebook loyalists (including myself) were dismayed. Since the Pixel was so expensive, it felt as if non-Pixel users were being punished for buying inexpensive devices. Surely my $249 Samsung Chromebook can handle a photo app!

Today, Google announces that the app is available for all Chromebooks -- including us in the cheap seats.

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Today, the MHL Consortium (Nokia, Samsung, Silicon Image, Sony and Toshiba) announces that the MHL 3.0 specification has been finalized. According to the consortium, "MHL technology is optimized for mobile and it allows you to send uncompressed high definition video and up to 8 channels of surround sound from your MHL smartphone or tablet to any digital TV or display, all while charging your device."

"With double the bandwidth compared to the previous specification, MHL 3.0 delivers 4K (Ultra HD) resolution and a wider color gamut to create a more brilliant visual experience, solidifying MHL’s growing presence in the living room. By using a bi-directional channel that’s significantly faster than MHL 2, the new specification enables concurrent 4K video and high-speed peripheral support of mass storage and input devices such as a touch screen, keyboard and mouse", says the group.

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My relationship with Windows 8 is very tumultuous; sometimes I love it and sometimes I hate it. However, this is due to the inherent problem with Windows 8 -- depending on what you are doing with it or what hardware you are using it on, the experience is different. I have used Windows 8 devices that are wonderful and others that are horrible. I often ponder, what if there was a device that could change based on what I was doing? I am happy to say, such a device exists and its called the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S.

The name "Yoga" is very appropriate as the convertible laptop offers multiple positions. No, I am not talking about the downward-facing dog -- this device can be a laptop, tablet and desktop. Lenovo calls these modes "Laptop", "Tablet", "Tent" and "Stand". However, "Tent" and "Stand", in my opinion, have duplicate functionality -- I refer to both of these as "Desktop Mode".

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