Looftlighter

We geeks are always eager to tap into our inner caveman or cavewoman and light a few fires. So when a gadget comes along with a ridiculous premise, but promises to start fires, who could resist the smoldering temptation to try it out? Coming out of Sweden, Looftlighter looks like a giant curling iron but uses super-heated air to light the fireplace or backyard barbecue. Once lit, if you continue to press the button, the Looftlighter turns into a mini-flamethrower and spreads the flames across the wood. Within a few moments of turning it off, it’s cool to the touch. Looftlighter has a few drawbacks. The three-meter power cord limits where you can use it, even with an extension cord. So, while campfires are out, barbecues and fireplaces are fair game—but only if you’re willing to hand over $80. The high price tag will burn many people, though the time you save in lighting fires in seconds and a charcoal pile in under five minutes could make it a nice investment for a master griller. $80. www.looftlighter.com.

Firesteel

What’s going on in Sweden that they need to create multiple odd ways to start a fire? FireSteel was originally developed for the Swedish Department of Defense, but now everyone can create 5,500°F sparks with the flick of a wrist. By scraping the attached metal piece or a knife down the stick of magnesium alloy, a series of sparks shoot off that are ideal for lighting gas camping stoves or barbecues. The sparks, which look like fireworks going off in your hand, don’t jump very far so it’s a little more difficult to light wood or kindling. Perhaps the biggest advantage is that FireSteel will work when wet, unlike many conventional fire starters. At the size of a car key, the FireSteel is portable and the magnesium alloy lasts for up to 12,000 strikes, so the $15 price tag is very agreeable. It may not become your go-to gadget for starting fires, but the ease of use, size, price and reliability almost demand a spot in your hiking backpack. $15. www.lightmyfire.com.

Primus Camping Fire Starter

One of the easiest ways to start a fire is to use an accelerant. Instead of splashing lighter fluid over a campfire, a portable propane torch, such as this offering by Primus, is the key to reliably igniting wood. Sure, you wouldn’t pop this guy out for the backyard grill, but the ability to keep a steady, strong flame at the push of a button makes it a good choice as a go-to fire starter for camping trips. Not as small as the FireSteel, this can still fit nicely into the camping supplies. Just ensure that you check the propane tank before hitting the road. $41. www.primuscamping.com.

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Gunnar Advanced Gaming Eyewear

Many gamers have been crippled by dry, stinging eyes, which is why Gunnar’s glasses claim of alleviating strain on the eyes seems like a back-of-the-comic-book scam. Funny thing is it’s not. Gunnar lenses use geometry, tint and a special coating to reduce glare and fatigue and increase contrast and sharpness on digital screens. All these technologies have flashy and incorrectly capitalized names that could amount to mumbo jumbo if not for the fact that they work. After wearing them during a five-hour Arkham City marathon, I didn’t feel like Joker just sprayed my eyes with his lapel flower. Available in a variety of frames, they’re comfortable enough to wear for hours but the amber-tinted lenses might cause a fashion faux pas outside the man cave. Unfortunately, while you won’t notice the slightly yellow tinge to everything as your dodging bullets and sneaking up on an enemy, once you relax during a cut scene you’ll wonder why Catwoman looks a little jaundiced. Starting at $79. gunnars.com

Sensei Pro Grade Laser Mouse

If a soldier’s gun misfires in the field, they may suffer. If your mouse mis-clicks during Team Deathmatch, you die … virtually, anyways. It’s just a game, but why take the chance? Steelseries’ Sensei mouse nicely walks the line between a highly specialized gaming mouse and a cheap, three-button thing you’d find at your grandparents’ house. A sleek size, it avoids the Hummer-esque qualities leftover from early-’90s joysticks: massive heaps of oddly shaped plastic with dozens of buttons. However, there is still a lot of room for customization as it features seven buttons and a scroll wheel and, through a downloadable engine, more functionality than the average gamer will require. In addition, it boasts a 32-bit ARM processor to keep up with your frantic clicks and pans. The software is nice, but it wreaked havoc with my low-tech keyboard. With plenty of features and a not-incredibly-insane price, it can please casual and hardcore gamers alike. Not convinced? Did we mention it lights up—what else do you want? $89. steelseries.com/sensei

Logitech Clearchat Stereo Headset

As the games pile up, the bank account suffers, so never underestimate value. Logitech is a go-to name for solid but not quite awe-inspiring hardware and this headset/microphone combo is no exception. When many gaming headsets creep close to $200, $25 is a steal, but remember you get what you pay for. Unlike some sets for this price, it has in-line volume controls so there’s no need to fumble with software while taking down a raid boss. The audio and mic quality are perfectly fine for barking out orders to squadmates in Battlefield 3 or yelling, “Don’t stand in the fire,” over Vent, but don’t expect Dolby surround sound. If you’re the type of person who demands top-quality headphones, chances are you already own them. For everyone else, these are well worth the price—think of all the games you can buy with that $175 you saved. logitech.com

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The tablet

iPad

At the iPad’s release, it was among only a handful of tablets, and their versatility, color touchscreens, and media options clearly distinguished them from e-readers with their black-and-white displays designed to mimic print publications. If you’ve yet to decide whether an e-reader or a tablet is right for you, there has never been a more confusing time. Tablets, such as the iPad, offer full-color touchpad screens that bring Star Trek’s PADD device to life. Grab a movie off iTunes, or download the Netflix app, and your tablet is a portable home theater system. And, yes, you can download books and turn it into an e-reader, but it’s a very expensive e-reader. If an e-reader is a 2009 Toyota Camry, an iPad is a 2012 Lamborghini. They will both get you from Point A to Point B, but the iPad will get you there faster, with more bells and whistles, and turn a few heads on the road as you watch your bank account drain, Starting at $499; Apple.com/ipad.

The e-reader

Nook Color

Barnes and Noble’s color e-reader recently updated its operating system (OS) to run a modified Android OS. It’s not the Android that many new tablets are running today, but the change brought apps an improved web browser and email client to the Nook Color, morphing it from a $249 e-reader into a $249 mock-tablet—emphasis on the “mock.” The slow processor will give some people 14.4 Kbps flashbacks, the app store doesn’t offer Netflix or Hulu, and there is no 3G connectivity, so you’re cut off unless you have wi-fi. Still, the Nook Color supports almost every e-book format so regardless of where you purchase a novel, Nook Color can display it—something the iPad and Kindle are hard pressed to claim. In the end, Nook Color is a fancy, touchscreen e-reader but nothing more. However, if you’re more interested in learning why the caged bird sings than making the birds angry, a flashy e-reader may be the ticket. $249; bn.com/nookcolor.

The hybrid

Kindle Fire

The Nook Color’s Android update went a long way to bridge the gap between e-reader and tablet, but on Sept. 28, Amazon seemingly dammed the river and bulldozed over the gap entirely. Kindle Fire, set for release on Nov. 15, has a 7-inch color touchscreen and a dual core processor to take full advantage of the Amazon Appstore and Amazon Instant Video, which has more than 100,000 movies and TV shows. Kindle Fire is just under $200. Kindle Fire seems the perfect hybrid. All of the media, browsing and gaming of a tablet with Amazon’s e-book library behind it. The latter may be the most important factor. Since this is Amazon’s device, they can push it and its content in the same way Apple works with iTunes/iBooks. Kindle Fire won’t burn up the iPad, but it will provide an affordable alternative for people who want the speed, Flash (pun intended), and content of a tablet without the sports car lifestyle or bank account. $199; Amazon.com/kindlefire.

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Taylor Classic 1-Inch Instant Read Thermometer

Many years ago, I spent countless hours in restaurants, not in front of computers. I honed the skill to determine if a protein was rare, medium-rare or well-done just by giving it a slight push and feeling the give of the flesh. These days, I can type perfectly while blindfolded, but I need to fall back on a trusty thermometer to discern the difference between a rare and medium pot roast. Even when working on the line, I always carried Taylor’s simple thermometer as a back-up. A gadget in the most basic of definitions, Taylor’s thermometer should be a quick go-to for any home chef or grill master for its control and reliability. The stainless steel five-inch stem is durable so you can pop it into a chicken thigh on the grill for a quick check or leave it lodged in a pot roast in the oven for a constant gauge. Unlike digital thermometers where you need to trust the readout, the simple manual calibration takes the guesswork out of a Sunday barbecue. Proving that sometimes the best gadgets aren’t $600 touch screens of proprietary limitations, Taylor’s thermometer functions on ancient, universal principles and retails for less than $4.

Target Digital Fork Thermometer

Arguably the best retail store in the universe, Target offers a digital thermometer. It contains enough bells and whistles to separate itself from a one-button medical thermometer, but not so many as to become a confusing universal remote. Largely plastic, the seven-inch thermometer comes with interchangeable one- and two-prong attachments. The idea is that you can measure and flip your meat at the same time, but skewering anything heavier than a hot dog makes for a precarious venture. The redeeming quality of this thermometer, read-outs that convert the temperature into doneness based on the meat you’ve selected by cycling through eight options, may also be its downside. It’s helpful for people who haven’t memorized the Fahrenheit difference between medium and well for a pork chop, but the temperature consistently recorded five to seven degrees higher than the calibrated Taylor thermometer. If I were a conspiracy theorist, I would say that the manufacturers intended this, picturing a future lawsuit from someone getting sick after eating chicken that this thermometer reported was fully cooked. Still, if you’re not fussy about a little wiggle room in your reading, this makes a great last minute $20 gift.

Kintrex Digital Infrared Thermometer with Laser

Designed for in and out of the kitchen, Kintrex’s infrared thermometer enters the ring at a slight disadvantage. But, come on, it has a frickin’ laser beam! The joy of pointing a laser-sighted gun and pulling the trigger to take something’s temperature is unmatched. With a quick draw from the included belt holster, I eagerly took the temperature of everything I could lay my sights on—if you’re curious, my cat’s head is 1.7°F hotter than her butt. Capable of registering temperatures between -76°F and 932°F, this is the only thermometer of the three that can double as a candy thermometer handling the high temperatures necessary to make candies or work with a deep fat fryer. When you’re working with a fryer whose optimum temperature begins at 350°F, the ability to measure from a distance counts adds a measure of safety. Unfortunately, without a probe, the thermometer really just reports surface temperature, so if you want to find out if the center of your steak is still red, good luck. At $45, it’s almost five times the price of a candy thermometer, but the safety and cool factor could justify the purchase if you pull taffy more often than you grill tuna. Plus, frickin’ laser beams.

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Rift

Trion Games

PC

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then Rift is trying to woo the Hell out of World of Warcraft (WoW). The massive multiplayer online game is the latest in a line of games very closely resembling the current king of the MMO hill, WoW. However, unlike all the other clones, this one is actually a great game. There’s no denying that this fantasy-based role-playing MMO pulls many components from WoW, to the point that the default hot keys are almost exactly the same, but Rift sets itself apart in a few important areas. The most important is regular Player versus Environment (PvE) world events in the form of rifts and invasions. Both are essentially waves of attacking enemies, but rifts are localized and invasions can take over the entire zone. They’re hard to avoid, which gives them a realistic feel—you have to deal with them whether you want to or not. Additionally, Rift drifts toward a more serious and dire approach than WoW. The graphics are more realistic, and you won’t find as many in-game jokes and pop culture references. If WoW is Harry Potter, then Rift is Frodo Baggins. Still, you can’t deny that in many ways this game boils down to a loose remake of WoW. As remakes go, it’s incredibly good, but after only six months—compared to WoW’s almost seven-year run—it’s hard to tell if Rift can create the most important thing for an MMO: A community of loyal players. At the very least, Rift gives WoW players a new dish to snack on between the same meals they’ve been eating every day for the last seven years. Riftgame.com; Retail varies, monthly subscription required.

Bastion

Supergiant Games

Xbox Live Arcade

Small, independent video game developers continue to make Roger Ebert look like an old fool after he decreed that “video games can never be art.” One of the latest examples to reveal Ebert as cranky, out-of-touch and small-minded, is Bastion, an overhead action title with a touch of role-playing mixed in. Many people are throwing around the word “dynamic” in relation to this game because the world, story and narration evolve and spring to life as you beat down baddies while trying to decode the mystery behind the Calamity—a cataclysmic event that ripped apart a world and left it devoid of citizens. The graphics are slightly stylized, a watercolor hue rests upon the landscape, and it’s really cool to see the floating islands you’re exploring grow as you walk across them, but one of the most talked about features is the dynamic narration. A Billy Dee Williams-esque voice narrates the hero’s actions and provides exposition as the story unfolds. The narration could be annoying if it announced every action you took. Instead it pops up from time to time against a beautiful score to provide insight, warnings, and revealed pieces of the mystery. The gameplay is nothing special—your basic attack slots and upgradeable weapons and abilities—but the unique approach to the storytelling pulls you into a world you originally know nothing about, a perspective that matches the hero’s making the story all the more compelling. Sure, Ebert may not think it’s art, but he gave three stars to Cowboys and Aliens—do you really want to trust his opinion? Xbox.com; $15.

Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection

Midway (original developers)

Xbox Live Arcade

Misspelling “combat” for almost two decades is the last thing parents are concerned with when it comes to one of the original fighters. This collection is a port of Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II—the roman numerals make it classy—and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3—not as classy as its predecessor but considerably more ultimate—and that’s all you should expect. Does it need more? No. The nostalgia of one of the most infamously violent series is enough. At the time of its original release, the “life-like” violence, which, by today’s standards looks like a flipbook compared to reality, outraged parents and secured the game a place beside the hidden Playboys in a young teen’s room. It’s amusing to see that the button combos for the Fatalities—uniquely graphic ways to kill your opponent—are still ingrained in our gamer brains. By today’s standards, the controls are clunky, and the graphics are worse. However, with online matches and a low price point, the bloody battles will appeal to a new generation of children—children whose parents had to sneak away to the arcade or wait until their parents were gone to pull out this forbidden game. Therefore, the only question left is for the parents of this new generation: Will you remember your clandestine childhood and let your kids engage in kombat trusting they’ll turn out OK in the end, or will you run to check under the bed for kontraband? Xbox.com; $10.

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iTunes

If you’ve never installed Apple’s iTunes on your iPod, iPhone, iPad or computer, then you probably own a Zune—and your opinion on mp3 software doesn’t count. One of the—if not the—most prolific mp3 software programs, iTunes’ reach and straightforward controls are its biggest benefit. Users can create playlists or use the Genius function to turn the responsibility over to Apple. By selecting one song, Genius creates an appropriate playlist based on your selection. Sometimes an odd song sneaks in, but if you’re so lazy that you can’t make your own playlist—the new millennium’s mix tape—you don’t deserve a perfect set. While iTunes is sturdy and reliable, it doesn’t play well with others. Apple’s proprietary mindset means that you won’t find it on game consoles, most mobile phones, or third-party mp3 players. Other programs and retailers such as Amazon and Napster have learned to work around iTunes roadblocks, but it’s a one-way street. At this point, it’s hard to shake iTunes completely for another program, but there’s heavy competition on the horizon and iTunes’ days at the top of the charts may soon be a one hit wonder.

Google Music

In May, Google threw its hat in the music business by introducing a beta for a cloud-based mp3 program. Cloud-based programs store information, in this case mp3s, on non-local servers so any device can access them. Since the user interface (UI) is web-based, any device that can connect to the internet through a browser is now a Google music player, even an iPhone. On a computer, the UI is clean and smooth. Though it’s not called Genius, Google Music offers the same functionality for creating playlists based on a single song selection. Like Genius, it’s not perfect. I get that nothing in the world compares to Rebecca Black’s “Friday,” but at least try to create a playlist around it. It’s also incredibly easy, but very time-consuming, to upload all of your songs to the cloud. I don’t want to say a bad word about Google—mainly because when they turn evil, rise up, and take over the world I don’t want my negative comments to appear on, well, Google—but on mobile devices, the site is hard to navigate. Gmail remained in beta for more than five years, so the potential for Google Music to rise up and take over mp3 programs—and not just the world—is staggering.

Amazon Cloud Player

It makes sense that the place you buy music—no, not Borders—also offers a way to listen to it. As with Google Music, Amazon’s offering is a cloud-based program and contains much of the same functionality as iTunes and Google Music. The UI is clean but not as smooth and polished as Google Music is, and some album artwork, notably Spice Girls’ Spice, didn’t transfer correctly. There is less functionality than Google Music and iTunes. For instance, you can’t make “smart” playlists, but one extremely nice feature is the ability to re-download your library, which turns the cloud player into a backup drive, as well. On the flip side, big-name cloud servers are more likely targets for hackers, so the reliability as a backup drive is questionable. It’s more accessible than Google Music, which still requires an invite from current users, but accessibility will only take you so far. In the end, the program that effortlessly integrates music into our life through a variety of devices is going to win. My long-term money is on Google Music—and I’m not just saying that because the sleeping giant is watching what I write.

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Groupon

While not the first website to offer rotating daily deals for restaurants, hotels, outdoor activities, and health and wellness fun, Groupon remains the most prominent. Covering the world from Utah to the United Arab Emirates, Groupon promises up to 90 percent off but, in reality, it’s usually closer to 50 percent off. When you purchase a deal, as with most deal sites, you pay up front and receive a voucher to use within a set number of months. Many businesses count on the fact that people will buy on impulse and forget to use the voucher, so keep your deals organized. There are plenty of local deals, but it’s also worth keeping an eye on other cities when planning a vacation. The user interface on the site seems slightly counter-intuitive, but the iPhone and Android apps are clean and easy to navigate. Recently, to try to distinguish themselves from the growing number of competitors, the site introduced Groupon Now. This service offers deals that must be used in the next 24 hours. The number of deals spread out over the world makes this the perfect go-to site to check out savings. Groupon.com.

Living Social

Living Social attempts to carve a niche in the online deals market with more big-name offers. Instead of the mom-and-pop bookstores and community yoga clubs that Groupon often features, Living Social tries to focus on brands such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble. They still hit the local hot spots, but because they don’t flood each day with deals, this seems a much more selective service. The iPhone app separates the offers into Daily Deals and Escapes, an arguably unnecessary distinction, but it’s nice, when you’re looking for a restaurant, to pop into Daily Deals and not worry about the $400 bed and breakfast weekends offered in Escapes. One advantage of Living Social is if you refer three friends to a deal, you receive it free, so there’s an incentive to spread the word. Living Social’s website is more atrocious than Groupon’s. It takes multiple clicks just to switch cities. Can you survive on Groupon without Living Social? Yes. Can the same thing be said for existing solely on Living Social? No. It’s a great service that puts together some nice packages, but it’s a specialty grocer next to Groupon’s supermarket. Livingsocial.com.

Facebook Deals

Whenever the massive social network does something, people take notice. So, last November when Facebook announced they would be getting into the online deals market, people paid attention. Unfortunately, they’ve yet to see anything very impressive. The deals are only available in five cities, the closest to Reno being San Francisco, and they’re easy to forget because Facebook has them hidden on the home page. You can’t even access them through the iPhone app. If you do stumble upon the deals and happen to be in one of the five cities, the deals are just as good as Groupon’s offerings. However, the frequency at which they change seems to be considerably less. If Facebook ever manages to expand their deals to as many cities as Groupon, you can imagine that they’d be a powerful force to reckon with. Unlike any other startup bargain website, Facebook already has the attention of 600 million people. Facebook.com.

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The RN&R’s Gadget column returns after a two-year hiatus. This week, we compare online video streaming services. Related websites: Amazon.com Netflix.com Hulu.com/plus

Netflix

I share books, beer and my life with my fiancée, but I do not share control of my Netflix. The online video streaming service is the backbone of many people’s entertainment schedules. At $7.99 per month, the site offers television shows and movies across multiple platforms such as PC, mobile phones, game consoles, Roku boxes and internet-enabled TVs. The content is largely based on what’s on DVD, which is their biggest advantage and disadvantage. While Netflix has more than 200 episodes of Murder, She Wrote, you wouldn’t find last week’s episode of Castle. Netflix is always adding more content as it negotiates with networks and production companies. Mad Men drops this summer, but viewers often have to wait for months after movies and television seasons hit DVD before they appear on Instant. For people looking to replace cable, Netflix isn’t the fix. Netflix is to cable what libraries are to airport bookstores; one is going to offer a wealth of older content with limited access to the blockbusters, and the other is pure mass-market titles. Users can subscribe to Netflix’s traditional DVD service to supplement their streaming options, and by the time they plow through 156 episodes of The Twilight Zone, last season’s blockbusters will be streaming across Netflix Instant.

Hulu Plus

One threat to Netflix’s reign is Hulu’s premium service. Launched in November 2010 as an addendum to the site’s free content, the service boasts 16,000 ad-supported episodes from 400 series and shares Netflix’s price point at $7.99 per month. The main selling factor is the wealth of current television. While Netflix subscribers occasionally wait months for past seasons, Hulu Plus often has the most recent episode to air on television on the site within 24 hours. It’s a promising service, but unfortunately, the service is nothing more than that: promising. The catalog pales in comparison to Netflix Instant, the Xbox 360 has a streaming lag, and the user interface is clunky anywhere but the PC. The majority of the problems revolve around the queue: You can only add an entire season through the PC, and there’s no way to manually rearrange shows, and, on Xbox 360, the seasons are listed by episode, not grouped by show, so if you want to find a recent episode of Bones amidst 700-plus episodes of Saturday Night Live, good luck. Hulu Plus offers “hundreds of movies,” but don’t expect to be overwhelmed by recent blockbusters. Still, most of the downsides are technical frustrations and not lack of good, current content. Smooth out the user interface, and the price point will make it a serious competitor not just for Netflix but for cable providers.

Amazon Instant Video

You may know Amazon as the website that personally visited every brick-and-mortar bookstore and karate chopped the doors closed, but the site also has its eyes set on the streaming video market. Though it’s been through a couple of iterations since 2006, the current model is an amalgamation of competitors such as Netflix, Hulu Plus and Blockbuster. Users can rent or own, as a stream or download, a mixture of blockbuster movies and current television. Available on the PC, Roku, and internet-enabled televisions, the service has yet to come to game consoles and mobile phones, which may be holding it back. The content is fairly extensive, enough for the average viewer, and the user interface is simple and effective. Unlike most streaming providers, Amazon Instant Video isn’t a monthly service. Users can purchase titles or seasons individually, so it’s a viable option for people who just want to catch a few new movies every month, but it can get quite pricey (expect $1–$2 per episode). In addition, members of Amazon Prime, a yearly paid service that offers free shipping and other benefits, have access to roughly 5,000 titles. A great option if you missed one episode of your favorite show, but if you’re looking to replace cable or fill a weekend: stick with Netflix or Hulu Plus.

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