23
Aug
wm_IMG_1580

When it comes to speakers, cost can make a huge difference. Cheaper speakers tend to pack lower-grade materials, while more expensive ones tend to pack better. But every now and then, you'll find a true gem; a speaker that performs well above its price range. And luckily for me, the Satechi Swift is such a gem.

Portable Bluetooth speakers in particular are a dime a dozen, though the most well known is undoubtedly the Jawbone Jambox. It's a good speaker, but with a retail price of nearly $200, you're paying for panache as much as you are for sound. What makes the Swift so special?

22
Sep
swiftkey-x

A new version of SwiftKey X has been released to private beta testers, and it brings quite a few improvements. Chief among them: the ability to learn from your blog via RSS - certainly a nifty feature. Other highlights include better error reporting, general performance improvements, and a number of bug fixes. The update also brings a new novelty feature in the form of the "My typing heatmap," which keeps track of keystrokes and displays a "heatmap" of the keyboard.

What's new in this version?
New features:

  • Autocaps toggle - now choose whether your sentences begin with a capital letter or not
  • Better personalization - SwiftKey can now learn your typing style from your blog
  • Language switching - easy transitions between (e.g.) English and Russian keyboards, just slide the spacebar
  • More stats about how you type with SwiftKey - and more links to share them
  • My typing heatmap - cool visualization shows how you use your keyboard

Improvements:

  • Alternative character selection - now select with a slide rather than a new tap (this works for smileys too)
  • Instant language updates - refresh your language list to see new languages and new updates as soon as they are ready
  • Various layout and user interface usability improvements.