Favorite Things: DODOcase for iPad 2

Posted on January 21, 2012

Sleek. Elegant. Sophisticated.

You could use those three words to describe the DODOcase for iPad 2, but then I’d be forced to call you a pretentious schmuck.

As soon as I got my iPad 2 I knew exactly which case I wanted for it—the DODOcase. I’d read the glowing reviews about it on blogs like Engadget and TUAW, but (more importantly) it fit my own personal criteria. I wanted an iPad case that would do the following:

Look great
Protect the front and back of my iPad
Not announce to the entire world that I have an iPad

I’m happy to report that the DODOcase succeeds on all counts.
For the uninitiated, the DODOcase looks like a large Moleskine notebook.

DODOcases are made using traditional bookbinding processes right here in the good old US of A. The do a fantastic job of telling their own story here.

For about six months I’ve been extremely satisfied with my DODOcase purchase. The other day, however, I noticed that the bamboo frame of the case had a large crack in one of the corners and was precariously close to falling off completely.

I wrote a quick note to customer service describing the issue and explaining my concern that the case hadn’t lasted longer. I also and attached the image below to my note.

One minute later, I had a response. That’s not a typo. That’s not an exaggeration. Let me say it again. One minute later, I had a response.

The email was from a real, live human being who apologized for the problem, thanked me for sending them the picture and provided full resolution in their first communication.

The customer service agent advised me that super glue might work, but also offered to send me a replacement. I chose the latter and three days later I had my new DODOcase.

DODOcase Bookplate

Ever since advent of overseas call centers fueled by large corporations’ rise in apathy over the care of the people who buy their products and services we have come to expect poor customer service. Sadly, a company that cares about those who pay its bills is the exception and not the norm.

DODOcase is that exception. They are the Nordstroms of iPad cases. They sell fine products at a premium, but not only are you getting an excellent product, more importantly, you know that they will stand by their products and treat you right.

I’ll warrant that my DODOcase gets at least as many stares as my iPad itself. Everyone compliments me on my handsome notebook and if when they get the chance to look inside they’re even more impressed.

Are you willing to pay more for a premium product or premium customer service? Have you found a company or product you like that offers both? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

DODOcase wins TUAW Best of 2011 award for iPad cases (tuaw.com)
President Obama likes his iPad 2 wrapped up in a DODOcase (thenextweb.com)
DODOcase Adds Monogramming, Auto Wake/Sleep Magnet To Their iPad 2 Cases (techcrunch.com)
Customer Love: DODOcase (mailchimp.com)

Quick Tip: Reorganize Channels on Your Roku Homescreen

Posted on May 20, 2011

Image via PDFuu.com

One of the things I love about the Roku is its ability to add and remove channels on-demand. Beyond just Netflix and Hulu Plus, this means that I have a much more granular level of control over what access to entertainment we have in our home.

One thing I struggled with in the past, however, was organizing my home screen—whenever I added a new channel there just didn’t seem to be a quick and easy way for me to get it placed in an order that made sense to me.

Image via my flickr.

You see, when you add a channel to the Roku it doesn’t ask you where you want it. Your new channel is unceremoniously plunked at the far left.

The only way I could figure out how to reorder my channels was to delete them and add them again in the order I wanted them to appear. This wasn’t very elegant or efficient.

So, after a highly productive two minute chat online with Roku’s Tech Support, I resolved the issue and would like to share the results with you.

Just Press *

Using the Roku remote, browse to the channel you want to move.

Image via my flickr.

Press the Options button (outlined in red).

Image via my flickr.

A popup menu will display. Select the option to “change channel position” and press the OK button.

Image via my flickr.

A dashed line will appear around the channel’s icon. Press either the Left or Right buttons on your remote to position the channel.

Image via my flickr.

When you’re satisifed with where the channel is press the OK button.

Image via my flickr.

Repeat steps 1-5 as needed. Smile smuggly, knowing that your Roku channels are finally in precisely the order you like them.

Image via my flickr.

According to the Roku Tech Support rep, this feature isn’t documented in either their manual or on their help site (I did check beforehand). Please also note, this tip works only with the Roku XD and XDS models.

Did this help you love your Roku a little bit more? Sound off in the comments below.

Roku says up to 20 percent of users cutting the cord (lostremote.com)
Internet TV On The Rise: Roku Hits 15 Million Channel Downloads (readwriteweb.com)
Roku Now In Big Retail Stores (crunchgear.com)

Who Said Sketch Comedy Was Dead?

Posted on April 7, 2011

Sketch Comedy is most definitely not dead (despite all attempts made by Saturday Night Live over the last ten years to kill it).

If you want confirmation, look no further than this brilliant clip from BBC One‘s The One Ronnie—My Blackberry Is Not Working!.

Wow—I loved that!

The writing is great, the timing is fantastic, and the performances were hilarious.

Image via Wikipedia

There used to be Two Ronnies, but one of them passed away, unfortunately. The surviving Ronnie, (Ronnie Corbett), is a beloved comedic icon in his native UK.

I’ll definitely be looking for more of both the One and the Two Ronnies.

What did you think of that clip? What’s the funniest sketch you’ve seen lately? Sound off in the comments below.

Confucius for the Internet Age

Posted on August 15, 2010

This is my favorite fortune cookie text ever.

Yes, I am that big of a geek.

iPhone Fail

Posted on March 22, 2009

Now that some of the initial hype over last week’s big iPhone 3.0 announcement has died down I thought it would a perfect time to reflect on iPhone 2.0.

I’m not talking about the iPhone 3G, this is way earlier. In a time before the Web was 2.0 and when 56k was still considered a decent connection speed, even before Apple’s OS had an X in it. Back then I worked for a company called BigPlanet.

BigPlanet’s core business was to have completely computer illiterate (and inept) sales persons market the “iPhone” to folks who wanted to get on the Internet, but didn’t know how to do so, or why they really wanted to get on it in the first place.

The iPhone sold for around $299 and came with a 2 year contract for BigPlanet’s less than stellar ISP service ($29.99/month for Internet plus and additional $5 for iPhone connectivity). Sounds like Apple and AT&T might have taken a page out of this playbook.

Infogear, the company that produced the iPhone was bought by Linksys and then eventually passed on to Cisco. This is where the grounds for the infamous Cisco vs. Apple suit came from.

Anyways, a while back we went up to Dallas to visit some friends and I noticed that they still had an original iPhone in all of it’s dilapidated splendor. I couldn’t resist taking some pictures for posterity’s sake.

I really can’t do justice to how pathetically craptacular the iPhone actually was, but I’ll try. In addition to being a phone, you could (in theory) use the small, gray-scale, touchscreen to browse the Web. The iPhone was capable of rendering basic HTML and some JavaScript, and was a complete piece of junk. You could navigate either by using the built-in qwerty keyboard or using a stylus on the touchscreen.

Behold, the iPhone in all of its majesty!

Tilt screen down