Nate Adcock

Author Details

Nate Adcock's picture

Author Details

Nate Adcock

Nate Adcock is a system and integration engineer with experience managing and administering a variety of computing environments. He has worked extensively with mobile gadgets of all shapes and sizes for many years. He is also a former military weather forecaster. Nate is a regular contributor for the iphonelife.com and smartphonemag.com blogs and helps manage both websites. Read more from Nate at natestera.tumblr.com or e-mail him at nate@iphonelife.com.

Sleep deprivation in our always-on, social media-saturated world is a problem that is only growing as we add more tech to our homes. It affects our performance on and off the job and can result in significantly adverse health effects, particularly as we age. I have dealt with my share of sleep issues over the years, due to regularly traveling and working different shifts at my job. Although I don't have any magic-bullet solutions, I can offer what I’ve found to be the most helpful apps, gear, and tips for lulling you to sleep.

Why would you line all your tablets, smartphone (and whatever else charges) on a dock in front of you? There are a few cool reasons that you may not have thought of, besides just charging them. If it seems silly to even have a tablet anymore (or an iPod), hear me out. In the right conditions, two tablets are actually better than one. Two tablets with an iPhone sandwiched in there is majorly empowering (looks cool, anyway)! Udoq, which is being featured on Kickstarter launch in the U.S. gets more than a few things right to make multi-device docking interesting.

Styluses are not much in style anymore, the Apple Pencil still being a somewhat enigmatic and premium exception. That doesn't mean you can't buy good ones for an affordable price. Those of us addicted to scribbling, old-fashioned note-taking, doodling, or sketching know the good ones. A good stylus pen, like a fine pen, has a certain weighted balance and comfortable feel that makes it practically seem to disappear in your hand. The Lynktec Apex Fusion Stylus pen ($59.99) is one such fine electronic handwriting implement.

I finally broke down after the last Apple event and updated my original iPad mini with a new iPad mini 4. The mini is not only great for travel, it is completely viable as a miniature laptop. For on-the-go computing, it has replaced my old netbook (that I now use to run classic arcade games in a cocktail table cabinet). Anyway, the new mini needs a decent iPad mini keyboard case in order to act more like a laptop, and ZAGG has one of the best iPad mini cases. The ZAGG folio case (from $89.99) turns the new mini into an even more powerful tablet!

Cloud-based storage is now an everyday thing, and I have reviewed several services at iPhone Life over the years. However, newer options are always becoming available, and if you are looking to back up, sync, or share your important data, then you might want to check out this review. Mainly I will focus on a lunchbox-sized storage gadget from Western Digital called the MyCloud Mirror ($309.99), but I'll also share some other options that I have tested.

The ZAGG Dropguard case ($24.99) and InvisibleShield Glass Luxe ($34.99) is a perfect combo for assuring iPhone protection. The case attractively snugs over the backside and edges, while the shield slams down a force field of layered protection to the screen front. The new iPhone is here and you will want a quality case and screen protection combo to protect that 6s. ZAGG will have your iPhone's back. We'll also give you some tips to prevent smashing your screen.

The Wordflex Touch Dictionary (free) is the most beautifully rendered touch-based reference technology you will hold in your hand. I only barely exaggerate how amazing it is to use. The last thing I want to do when researching a topic or looking for word substitutes (like the word "amazing"—I so overuse that word) is have to crack open an actual dictionary or thesaurus. It's both boring and silly in 2015. Why not watch the English language and it's various phylum unfold in graceful symmetry on the iPad screen!? The new version is now available without the need to spend one's shekels to attain it. Witness the beauty after the break!

IK Multimedia made the iRig 2 ($39.99) product available last week and sent us a review unit to test out. The iRig is a guitar interface that allows you to process signals from any electric guitar and listen to the output on your headphones. It now can send signal out to an amp or PA. I tested the iRig with several of my guitars running into a Line 6 Flextone and a Roland guitar amp, as well as with headphones. I also tested it up against the iRig Pro HD model, and have to say it performed nearly on a par with the fancier iRig model!

This is the follow-up post to our first edition of the Indie Project corner, where we talk to indie product developers who are crowdfunding and implementing a new project related to iOS. In Part 1, we interviewed Gene Aikens of the Power Company on the early success involving his recent campaigns on Indiegogo. In this edition, we are following that up with a product review of his iPocket Drive.

This is the first Indie Project Corner post, a regular feature we will be undertaking to showcase noteworthy indie development efforts (mostly iPhone-related). It's not easy to get a crowdfunded product off the ground, as any who have done it will tell you, and iPhone Life wants to help by interviewing entrepreneurs and getting the skinny on what makes their products the best. In this first edition, we interview Gene Aikens of The Power Company, maker of the Smart Card, and the iPocket Drive. Gene sent us an early review sample of the iPocket Drive to check out. If you are looking for an alternative to network or cloud-connected storage, you will want an iPocket Drive! Gene shares some great insights in part one of this edition.

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