To give me that 80′s retro gaming fix I have had my eye on an iCade from ThinkGeek for a long time. The iCade started out as a joke but it produced so much interest that it became a real product. It started out selling for $99. It is currently $79 but on Cyber Monday it dropped to $59. That was good enough for me. I ordered my very own iCade last Monday. I did the least expensive shipping and it arrived today.

You have to assemble it with 8 screws and an Allen Wrench but it only takes about 15 minutes. The control pad connects to the iPad via bluetooth and runs off two AA batteries.

You can also hook up an AC adapter but it is not included. There is no physical connection to the iPad other than sitting in a mock doc. You can pick the iPad up off the cabinet and the control panel still works.

The iPad can sit in the iCase in either a portrait or landscape mode so you can accommodate any game aspect ratio. It looks the best in portrait mode to be honest but is just fine the landscape as well.

The iCade is pitched from ThinkGeek to run with the Atari Greatest Hits app (iTunes Link) that comes with 99 classic games for $10. But the real beauty and retro experience comes if you have a jailbroken iPad. This is because there has been a MAME port for iOS for a long time called iMAME4all. Yes, you can play all the retro games via MAME on an iPad, iPHone or iTouch. But without real arcade buttons and joystick it is not all that authentic. I won’t go into setting up MAME on your iPad or downloading the ROMs but it rocks has hard a Journey.

After assembly we jump right into playing a handful of the classic. From my initial play there are only a few things that I wish were better. The joystick is an 8 way so if you have played 4 way games like pac-man or Donkey Kong you know that it is not the best action. But you really can’t get around this if you want to still be able to play the 8 way games. I also wish it had a true doc for the iPad to charge the battery. But this is not a big deal at all since the iPad well over 10 hours of battery life.

The coin slot is fake but it does server a purpose. Like all bluetooth devices you have to sync them with the iPad. The coin slot lights up when you make the connection. That is a nice touch. The overall build is great. The 8 screws do the job and the cabinet is solid. It has rubber feet on the bottom of the cabinet and they grips my bar top great. But Ella has nudged it when she play Donkey Kong.

I can see myself applying a few mods to the cabinet. The first is the graphics. I have access to a vinyl printer/cutter and could really do something cool on the side and front graphic. Also, I am thinking about swapping out the stock joystick for something a little stiffer. There is a little bit of play in the stick right now. I know Happ makes a switchable 4 way / 8 way joystick. Maybe I can get that working in the existing enclosure. I don’t see any option for a trackball so no option there. If I really want to get nuts on the mods I could add a lighted marquee. There is room and I am sure I could run the light off batteries. Then I could print a custom marquee. Another nice mod might be a speaker. I am pretty sure a single speaker would fit just fine in the back. It is not necessary since the iPad speaker is more than loud. Keep an eye out for future mods starting with a custom graphic treatment for starters.

Overall it is well worth the price, even at the current $79 I’d still buy it. Could I build this for less? Maybe just the cabinet but the iPad bluetooth connecting is were all the money goes on the iCade. Not sure I could build my own.

Here is a video Ella playing some of the classics. I have to say I love how it sits on my bar and it is perfect height while sitting on a stool. Ella has been playing Donkey Kong for the last 30 minutes and loving it. All I have to say is that I am glad the kids are getting Kindle Fires for Christmas because the iCade is just one more reasons for them to confiscate my iPad.

Growning up I had a BigTrak. This was what I thought of when I first saw the Qbo. The BigTrak was tank like vehicle that you could program to drive around. You set the distance and direction via a pad on the back. I loved that toy and did a presentation on it in school one year. Think Greek sells a scaled down version of the BigTrack that you can find here.

Specifications listed for the Qbo include:

Processor — Intel Atom CPU with Nvdia Ion GPU on Mini-ITX mainboard
Wireless communications — 802.11g/n with antenna; Bluetooth
Display/LEDs — 20 × 4 LCD display; 20 x mouth LEDs; 1 x nose LED
Webcams — 2 x “HiDef” webcams with 2 x “eyelids”
Microphones — 2 x omnidirectional; 1 x unidirectional
Speakers — 2 x speakers
Sensors — 4 x ultrasonic, 1 x sharp; 3 x infrared
Hardware controller — QPR1 (body) and QPR2 (head) PCB controllers
Servos — 4 x servos (up-down, left-right)
Motors — 2 x DC motors with magnetic encoder (170 RPM)
Wheels — 2 x rear wheels; 1 x front “Free” wheel
Power — 7.5Ah battery; autocharging dock station
Dimensions — 17.95 x 12.36 x 11.52 inches (456 x 314 x 292.5mm)
Weight — Approx. 19.8 to 24.3 lbs (9 to 11 k)
Operating system — Linux

Check out the latest video of Obo finding himself. Pretty cute robot stuff I have to say.

Also check out their Fender bass snowboard build and their Lethal Weapon Paintball build. The ETT team is just sick!

The review is what I was expecting. For the kids the Kindle Fire will be their movie watching, music playing, gaming on the go machine. Also, I think Noah will read on it instead of buying books. I am not expecting it to be a iPad killer by any means. For long summer vacation van drives it will be be perfect. Since I have been a Amazon Prime member for years it make a lot of sense. They have the Fire tied into their movie, music, and now apps store. I’ll give some personal details on the Fire after I get my hands on it in a few weeks.

Here is the video from The Verge site that sums things up nicely.

Today I find out that I will soon be in media server heaven. Plex has dropped their Google TV Plex app. I still don’t have the Google TV 2.0 update but it should him my machine any day now. This is brilliant to say the least. I don’t need to run any more cables or worry about resolution from my Mac Mini to a third monitor. It will soon all work right through Google TV. Christmas is coming early this year!

I can’t wait until Google TV rolls out the update to Iowa. They are releasing the udpate by state and I think I might get it today or tomorrow.

Right now all I can show you are screen shots from the Plex Blog. Expect a full review this weekend when I have the Google TV 2.0 update pushed.

Click the thumbnails to see the screenshots.

My goal is to control the music from our iPhones and iPad when I am out on the deck while streaming through a receiver from my iTunes collection. No wires or the need to go into the house to control volume or make selection was a must. I started by bringing up the Yamaha receiver from the bar in the basement. The receiver has been collecting dust since the home theater is operational. Next to our back door I setup the receiver. I will run the speak wire right through the wall and behind the siding outside to each speaker.

I have my Mac Mini in the basement with iTunes running. All my music is on that computer’s external hard drives so I need a way to get the music playing outside. To do this I picked up a Apple AirPort Express. I plugged this in right by the receiver by the back door. From the receiver I have a optical cable going into the AirPort Express. Once I setup the Airport Express on my AirPort Extreme network I configured the Express to work as a network extender. This simply allows me to have another point on my network that broadcasts a wireless signal. The Airport Extreme sits in the theater room and the Express is upstairs by the back door and receiver.

On my initial testing I only had so-so speeds outside on my deck with the Express inside the house. The network still has a hard time getting through the walls and glass to the outside deck. I normally get about 10 Mbps inside my house. With the Airport Extreme was inside the house and I was right next to the back door I am able to get about 3 Mbps. The walls kill about 7 Mbps and it gets worst at the far back of the deck. Luckily I have an outlet right outside my back door. I can take the AirPort Express and plugin it in outside. This allows me to get 7-9 Mbps out on the deck which is great.

It is super easy to just unplug the AirPort Express and plug it in outside when we are out there since it has no network wires. Here is a photo of the Express inside the house. You can see the optical cable going into the Express at the bottom.

Now here is a photo of the Express plugged in outside the house.

No other wires are need to plugin into the Express for me to stream music from the basement Mac Mini to the Express and out of the receiver that the optical cable is plugged into. I am going to have to run an optical cable connection to the outside of the house. I will get a plate and then run the cable through the wall to another plate inside. When I do have the Express outside I simple plug the optical cable into the wall and I am connected to the stereo inside the house.

I am using Plex on our iPhones and iPad set to AirPlay. This allows me full access to my music in a nice looking UI. I simply select the music I want to play, make sure Plex is set to output to AirPlay and the music plays wireless to the receiver upstairs and out to the deck. Here is a quick screen shot of Plex.

As soon as I have the deck speakers installed I will write up another quick review and a video of the entire setup so you can see it working. Now if summer would just come around and give us some decent weather I would be all set.

I am spreading everything out and this is the extent of my less than ultra light gear. I was hoping to avoid putting my CamelBak on for this one. I picked up a under saddle bag that is big enough for everything except the food and water that will go in my shirt and the the pump and tripod. Pump is necessary but not the tripod I guess. I think you can tell I am not out to blaze through the 100 miles but instead enjoy myself with videos and photos along the way. Here is a photo and the list below that.

What am I missing?

One Tube
Tire levers
Jethro Tule
Multi Tool
Patch Kit
2 CO2s
Pump
Leatherman tool

2 Energy Bars
2 Energy Shots
Water bottle

Long sleeve shirt
Helmet & Hat
Rain poncho
Cloves
Sun glasses

GPS logger w new AAA batteries
Flip with new AA batteries
iPhone & ear buds
iPhone backup batteries
Cash and ID

I am into most of the HBO series and don’t own a DVR. At times I have a hard time getting an episode I have missed. Those days look to be over with the ability to stream to our iPad. If content is on HBO it will be available to stream so there is no restriction on certain show and movies. I am pretty excited about this one! Oh, and movies are also on demand as well. Woot!

I think I need to figure out the iPad to TV/projector connection now. But I am hoping that the HBO Go website will just allow me to access everything via my Google TV connected to the 1080p projector. I will post an update as soon as it goes live May 2nd.

The newest one I am looking to help fund is the GoPano micro . I have several pano apps on my iPhone and use them ever so often. But there has not been any pano video apps that I am aware of so this is pretty exciting. The project consists of a case and a lens attachment. The interactive part is you can swipe your finger to control the video view. Very nice idea. Check out the video below for more details.

GoPano micro will be the third funded item. Very cool idea.

These will be great for getting some underwater and general playing on the beach shots. After a quick test you don’t want to be taking lots of photos with the waterproof cases on if you are not in water. You do shoot through the rubber so it is a bit “foggy”. I think that will not happen when submerged. You do still have full control of the iPhone with the case on it. Again, these are the Amphibian All Weather Case for iPhone 4
and the Eco Extreme Rugged and Waterproof Case with Built-In Speaker for iPod, iPhone and MP3 Players . I will do a follow up after we get back from Florida and tell you what I think of these. Right now I am happy withe the purchase. General build it great on both cases. The Echo is bigger than I was thinking but that is fine. Unless I am trying to go ultra light when riding my bike the Echo will make a nice music option when hitting the pavement on my fixed gear.

This one is more for listening to music on the beach. It is a bit heavy but it should work just fine for riding my bike with a little music this summer as well.

This photo below shows the space inside the case. It is not iPhone 4 specific and will work with any mp3 player. There is plenty of room even with the iPhone inside it. It takes 3 AA batteries so you don’t have to worry about draining your already weak iPhone battery.