sense

Editing and adjusting images manually can be quite time-consuming. But what if you could process multiple images automatically? Photo Sense for Mac offers powerful yet easy-to-use tools for effective, automated, and fast photo editing. However, there's a steep price to pay for such a basic application.

Photo Sense for Mac comes with a free demo version, which is limited in features and adds a watermark to saved images. The full version costs $33.99. The app, itself, is very light, and the installation is quick and easy with the usual drag and drop. Upon running the app, a quick … Read more

My series on living with four different activity trackers returns to the Fitbit because there's a new Fitbit in town, the Fitbit Flex. The new wristband version of the Fitbit corrects some of the deficiencies I found with the Fitbit One, such as tracking my standup paddleboarding better and making me feel more motivated to hit my daily activity goal.

The Flex sells for $100, just like its clip-on sibling, the One. It weighs about half-an-ounce, and never felt heavy or uncomfortable around my wrist. But getting the clasp to close takes a little practice. Like Brian Bennett in … Read more

Next in my series on living with four different activity trackers, the Jawbone Up.

It gains high-marks from me for having an attractive design, a great app, and fun social integration. But it surprised me in not tracking one of my "non-step" activities as well as I expected.

The Up sells for $130, comes in eight colors and is worn around your wrist. It's available in three sizes and weighs just under 1 oz. I've never found it uncomfortable or heavy to have on. It's also water-resistant, like the Nike FuelBand, so there's no … Read more

There will be times when you want to resize and crop a batch of photos, such as after a vacation. Manually doing it yourself is both tedious and time-consuming, but Resize Sense for Mac provides an easy fix. With some simple settings you can set up this app to automatically go through each and every photo and perform a resize and crop.

The app is free to try, but it saves each image with a watermark. Once you purchase and register the product for $13.99, you will have full access to all features and there will be no watermark. … Read more

For the HTC One, HTC designed a news feed widget called BlinkFeed that pulls in top stories from around the Web, as well as social feeds, such as Twitter and Facebook. It's a good-looking piece of software, and for better or worse, HTC makes it your default home screen on the HTC One.

But if you're less than thrilled by BlinkFeed, I'll show you how to better customize the stories that it pulls in, or even remove it from your home screen.

First off, tap the home button to make sure you're at the top of … Read more

Continuing my series of life with four different activity trackers, it's time to talk about the Fitbit One.

In what will likely disappoint several of my Fitbit-loving friends, it's my least favorite of the tracking devices I'm using because I do so many "non-step" activities. But the Fitbit does have a lot to offer, and I have high hopes for the forthcoming Fitbit Flex wristband.

For now...my life with the One.

Fitbit currently sells two trackers. The basic Fitbit Zip ($60) tracks steps taken, calories burned, and distance traveled. The Fitbit One that I've been using ($100) adds tracking of stairs climbed, hours of sleep, and sleep quality. A wristband version, the Fitbit Flex, will be out in the coming weeks. I'll be looking at that in the near future.… Read more

The next generation of Android phones is coming, and you can't ignore the HTC One with its beautiful design that makes Apple fanboys drool. So we're taking the two of the best designed phones on the market and throwing them inside the Prizefight ring!

Does the iPhone 5 still have enough in the tank before its next refresh to hold off the hard-charging HTC One?

Or will the next generation of Android phones and HTC's cleaned-up Sense UI reign supreme in 2013?

Which is your Prizefight King of the Ring?

As covered in my introduction, I've been living with four different activity trackers as part of an ongoing test. It's time for a close-up of how one of them works: the Nike FuelBand. The tracker has managed to be both my favorite and least favorite of the devices.

The FuelBand is a simple, lightweight device (about 1 oz.) that you wear around your wrist. I found it fairly comfortable, quickly forgetting I had it on, even when typing.

The band costs $150 and is available in three slightly adjustable sizes. Data can be synced via a … Read more

In the space of two weeks, I've gone from not tracking my steps, calories, or activities to using four different devices that do so. I'm all in! Over the coming weeks, I'm going to be sharing more about how each device works in real life.

It's been a fascinating journey so far, and I'm anxious to get into the write-ups. I'll detail what it's like with each unit, then do an overall comparison at the end. But before I start on that, I feel that an introductory piece is in order.

The devices … Read more