Seamus Bellamy

Author. Journalist. Curmudgeon.

So much of what Neil Gaiman has to say here jives with what I’ve discovered through damned dear experience.

The Wirecutter: A Handheld GPS For the Wilds

       

I can tell you that, after nine hours of research and careful consideration, Garmin’s GPSmap 62s is the handheld GPS device you want to buy. It’s tough, easy to use and for the number of essential features it offers, can be had for a very reasonable price. 

Want to know more? Check out my full review over at The Wirecutter.

TabTimes: The best stylus for iPad or Android tablets

                        

If you own a tablet, you likely already know that not every situation you use it in will be served well by tapping and swiping away with your fingers. Sometimes, in order to get the results you’re after, there’s nothing else for it but a stylus.

But which one should you buy?

After testing a number of them, Adonit’s got my money, thanks to the excellent build quality of their Jot Pro stylus. It offers a great balance of style, comfort and price. To see how I arrived at my decision, why not take the time to read my full review of the best styluses currently on the market over at TabTimes?

Rumor Roundup: What Will Apple Reveal at WWDC 2012?

         

$1599 for a single ticket? Surround myself with enthusiastic developers, marketing types and fanboys of the highest order for days at a time? So many events to report on that I wouldn’t have time to sleep or eat like a regular human being? Where do I sign up?

Seriously though, the World Wide Developer’s Conference is almost upon us once again, bringing with it, a plethora of Apple flavoured surprises. I’m not attending, but I can tell you a little bit about what to expect from this year’s edition of the Apple’s annual code monkey love-in. Head on over to Mac|Life and take a look.

Editor’s Eye Showcase: Swing

       

It’s nice to feel wanted. I just received word that a short piece of fiction I posted to Fictionaut a few weeks back titled ‘Swing’ has been chosen for the community’s Editor’s Eye Showcase. Francis Lefkowitz, the showcase’s curator, had this to say:

One of the baseball greats, or maybe all of them, used to say you had no choice but to “just keep swinging,” especially when you’re in a slump, and sooner or later you’ll start connecting again. As Mr. Bellamy shows in this potent storypoem, the advice applies for all sports, maybe for all of life. And it’s no metaphor even if it is one. Such a solid sense of flesh and impact here.

Interested in reading Swing? You can do so here.

Six Star Trek Technologies That Became a Reality

       

There’s a Star Trek uniform in my past. There’s a Star Trek club back there too. I’m not proud of either of them, but they do serve to remind me that there’s wasting my time and then there’s REALLY wasting my time. While I’m not as much of a Trek fan as I was in my early teens, I still enjoy the show in small doses. More importantly, I appreciate what the show stood for, and how many of today’s best and brightest were inspired by it.

If you head on over to Techopedia, you’ll find a feature I recently pulled together on six technologies featured on Star Trek that inspired some of the real world hardware that we take for granted today. 

The Wirecutter: The Running Headphones I’d Buy

                     

If you’re in the market for a decent pair of headphones that’ll stand up to the by product sweat and abuse that come part and parcel with your fitness regime, I recommend picking up the Sennheiser Adidas PMX 680i Sports Headset. It offers a great balance of price, sound quality and durability. 

For a deeper dive of why I dig them, head on over to The Wirecutter.

Rumor Roundup: iPad Mini

There’s been scuttlebutt about Apple producing a smaller iteration of the iPad since before there was an iPad. Crazy right? Steve Jobs would never have let it happen while he was alive but Steve isn’t alive any more, is he? In light of the success of Amazon’s seven inch Kindle Fire, I feel there’s a pretty good chance that Apple might opt to crank out a smaller iPad with a less painful price point in order steal back some of the marketshare they’ve lost. If you head on over to Mac|Life, you’ll find my roundup of the history of the rumours surrounding the iPad mini. Will the damned thing ever see the light of day? 

Time will tell.

Interview: Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains

                                                 

I first met and played with The Chieftains 16 years ago while they were in Nova Scotia putting together an album titled Fire in the Kitchen. It was a strange, wonderful experience that has leave me feeling gobsmacked and honoured every time I think about it to this very day.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise then that I jumped at the chance to speak with Paddy Moloney about the band’s latest album Voice of Ages. The interview is running as the cover story in the June issue of Irish Music Magazine, wherein we discuss, the band’s 50 years of making music together, the failings of the modern music industry, the triumph of young musicians and a whole lot more. 

Interview: Cameron Tofer of Overhaul Games

Like a lot of other gamers, I remember Baldur’s Gate fondly. In a gaming world ruled by first-person shooters and flight simulators, it was a breath of high-fantasy fuelled, nerdy fresh air. When I heard that the classic was coming to iOS this summer, I was thrilled—and scared: it ate up so much of my time back then, I can only imagine what having it back will do to my level of productivity now. 

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Cameron Tofer of Overhaul Games, about the efforts going into brining the game to a new platform and a whole new generation of gamers. It’s available for the reading over at TabTimes.

The Wirecutter: Best iPad Keyboard Case

I’m of the opinion that a full-sized wireless keyboard beats out a keyboard case for the iPad every time, but if you’re hellbent on finding the ultimate portable typing experience for your tablet then you’ll want to pick up a Logitech Ultrathin Wireless Keyboard Cover. It won’t be available in stores for a few more weeks, but when it drops, it’s gonna be great. Take a peek at my explanation as to why over at The Wirecutter.

The Wirecutter: The iPad Keyboard I Use

Since I got my mitts on a MacBook Air back in 2010, I haven’t used my iPad for much else other than reading, gaming and the occasional tweet or email. Despite the number of keyboards I’ve reviewed for work, when I do have to up my tablet-based productivity game, I return to The Apple Wireless keyboard time and time again. Over at The Wirecutter, I explain why.

Lost Children Charity Anthology Update

It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned the Lost Children: A Charity Anthology. To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve thought about it too. That said, I’m still proud to have contributed a bit of fiction to the project. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, all profits from the book go to a pair of children’s charities in the United States and Scotland. Despite its slipping out of my mind’s eye, the both the ebook and the print edition continue to sell at a steady click. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, there’s no time like the present. 

TabTimes Tablet Keyboard Roundup

It’s been a busy month for me in the keyboard department. With two separate looks at keyboards designed for use with tablet computers for two different websites (the second one should be published any day now), I’m feeling pretty knowledgable of what makes for a great mobile typing experience. 

Today, TabTimes published my roundup of a number of tablet centric keyboards and keyboard cases for Android, iOS and QNX devices. While I’m not wild about any of them, they all serve a purpose of will meet the needs of one group of users or another. Which of the seven keyboards was my favorite? You can read up on it here.

What keyboard do I use when I’m typing on my tablet? None of the ones mentioned in the roundup. I’ll end the suspense for you in a few days.