Hasta La Gadget!

Earlier this year, we did bring you word on the HP Slate 6 VoiceTab that was set to hit India later in 2014, which it did, and within the same calendar year, here we have HP rolling out that particular tablet’s successor, where it has been uncreatively called the HP Slate 6 VoiceTab II. For those who are curious to know whether the HP Slate 6 VoiceTab II is going to function as a real significant upgrade compared to its predecessor, you will be disappointed that this is not the case.

As at press time, it does seem as though the differences between the old and new are minimal, with the software version and rear camera making up ground in the newer model. Do expect the HP Slate 6 VoiceTab II to run on Android 4.4 KitKat right out of the box (instead of 4.2 Jelly Bean as with its predecessor), while the 5MP camera at the back has been upgraded to capture 8MP images while you are on the move.

The remaining hardware specifications, such as 3G connectivity, a 6” IPS display with 720 x 1280 pixels resolution, a 2MP selfie camera, a quad-core 1.2 GHz Marvell PXA1088 processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB of internal memory, and a 3,000 mAh Li-Po battery remain the same, not to mention dual SIM card support.

HP Slate 6 VoiceTab II Disappoints , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

On Sunday last week, after a wonderful screening of Back on Board: Greg Louganis, I had an opportunity to indulge my other passion, acting! We had a wonderful backers’ reading of Spring at the Willowbrook Inn. It was great to play with the amazingly talented actors Sean McDermott, Justin Lore, and Jason Patrick Sands under the guidance and direction of Scott Wojcik. Spring at the Willowbrook Inn is a lovely play written by Jonathan Van Dyke and Douglas C. Evans. It’s a sweet, touching love story spanning from the late 1960s, addressing the pain of the mores of the time (real and imagined), to today, where marriage equality is a reality. It was quite the emotional journey.

I know for many it was quite a jump to see me go from Olympic diver to actor, and yes, I have seen many an eye roll — “Oh, not another one!” — but performing is where it all began for me. I was on stage by the time I was 3, singing and tap dancing. I have quite a number of acting credits to my name, mostly theater — Cinderella, Jeffrey, Nunsense A-Men, and Dan Butler’s one-man show The Only thing Worse You Could Have Told Me… — but some film: Touch Me, Watercolors, Saber Dance, and the soon-to-be-released Entourage: The Movie.

The point I’m trying to get at is this: Don’t give up on your dreams! Do what you love! I will continue to engage in activism for human rights and HIV education and awareness, and I will continue pursuing my passion for the sports of diving and dog agility. Speaking of the latter, I have the lofty goal of making it onto a team competing in the World Agility Championships with my next puppy — whenever that might be, as I know the commitment that entails. In preparation, I’m doing my homework by following my mentor in the sport of dog agility, Susan Garrett.

We often impose limitations on ourselves based on the influence of others. Listen to your heart and follows your dreams. As I have said in the past, if you reach for the stars and don’t encounter a few clouds, you aren’t reaching high enough! Go for it! Don’t limit yourself. Follow your heart and your passions. The ones who love you will support you unconditionally; anyone who doesn’t support you doesn’t really love you.

Namaste,
Greg Louganis

This week I talked with Justin Luke Zirilli about his new book, The Gay Gospel, a survival guide written specifically for 20-something gay men that tackles everything they need to know after coming out. It’s a first-of-its-kind guidebook addressing dating, sex, breakups, family issues, personal finance and more. Zirilli is one of New York City’s leading gay promoters, presenting three of the largest weekly gay dance parties with his nightlife company BoiParty. In The Gay Gospel he draws from his personal experience surviving his own tumultuous 20s, and from the countless requests for personal advice that he receives from party guests and friends alike. A quick, easy, fun read with no-nonsense and sometimes hysterical nuggets of wisdom and advice, The Gay Gospel is a bible for young gay men wading into adulthood.

I also talked with Zirilli about his spin on LGBT issues. When asked what he would like to see happen for LGBT equality in the next few years, he stated:

I would absolutely like to see marriage equality in all 50 of the states. I would also love to see the end of discrimination in the workplace for those in the LGBT community. We have very simple beginnings. I live in Manhattan, and it’s still hard to believe there are certain states where your very identity can endanger your ability to work. We start there, and from there we can go anywhere else. That is absolutely, for me, the most important thing to get nailed down in the next few years.

LISTEN:

Justin Luke Zirilli is the president of the New York-based gay nightlife company BoiParty, which he co-owns with his business partner Alan Picus. He is also the creator of “Gorgeous, Gay and Twenty-Something,” a private international Facebook group now comprising over 8,000 members. Besides The Gay Gospel, Zirilli has authored the bestselling gay novels Gulliver Takes Manhattan and Gulliver Takes Five. Recently he also launched a new fragrance, Pink Boi. He lives in New York City with his boyfriend, mashup DJ JoeRedHead.

For more information on Justin Luke Zirilli, visit justinlukenyc.com.

Listen to more interviews with LGBTQ leaders, allies, and celebrities at OUTTAKE VOICES™.

Download interviews on iTunes.

As a reluctant HIV-positive activist, I am often bombarded with the secret misgivings of closeted HIV-positive men from across the country. No matter how much or how little they know about HIV or how short or how long they have been living with the virus, there seems to be only one singular concern on their mind: They are afraid of being rejected by a potential love interest because of their HIV status. These boys are looking for answers, but they are afraid of the one they might get.

You are going to be rejected.

It is true, and it is going to happen eventually. Someone is going to shut you down before they get to know you because you are living with HIV. It sucks, it isn’t fair, and there is nothing that you can do about how they feel.

But maybe you think you can overshadow the fear that your potential mate has of HIV. You think that you can charm someone with your personality and dazzle your date with your dashing good looks so much that they just won’t be able to let you go, HIV status be damned. You think maybe if you wait a couple of beats before disclosing your status, they will get to know you and look past your HIV symbol. You speak softly and explain that it doesn’t make a difference, that your viral load is undetectable, that it is totally safe.

But make no mistake: If he is the kind of guy who would shut you down before a first date, it doesn’t matter how cute you are or how hard he laughs at your jokes. There are some people who are either blindly fearful of anything in the gay community with a plus sign attached to it or, for whatever reason, shallow enough to reject you because of the social stigma that comes with the package. Either way, you might as well be reciting the national anthem of Ethiopia, because his ears turned off the second you said “HIV.”

REJECTED.

It is hard to accept that some people are unwilling to give you a chance because of something that you cannot change. But there is something you can do about how you react to it.

Stop equating rejection with loss.

You didn’t lose anything, and you most certainly saved the time you would have wasted on a guy who wasn’t right for you. Whether you are HIV-positive or not, the first step to having a healthy outlook on love and relationships is to realize that you are happier by yourself than miserable with the wrong man.

Everyone gets rejected, whether you are HIV-positive, too short, not short enough, too quiet, too loud, a slob, a clean freak, too attached to your mom, not attached enough, whatever. It doesn’t matter. You most likely have voided a relationship for a reason as shallow as an HIV status before, and you will most likely do it again. The key is to do it without malice, to be respectful of other people for who they are, and to not hold it against someone for not wanting you.

Now, regarding the whole “love” thing: People fall in love with those who have love for themselves. You may not realize it, but you already have a boyfriend, and he is staring right back at you in the mirror. If you are constantly wondering whether you will ever find love again and think of yourself as a lost cause, you need to slap yourself right across the face, because you are the worst boyfriend you could have. And guess what? The guy you have a date with is going to notice.

If you can’t treat yourself with the respect you deserve, you can never expect anyone else to respect you, much less want to call you his boyfriend. Conversely, self-respect and self-love have ways of placing you in just the right place to meet the one who is right for you.

The only way to ever be sure if he is the right man for you is to be certain that you aren’t with him just because you are worried he might be the last one who would want the job. You should be with him because he truly makes you happy and you don’t have a problem with walking away if that ever changes.

Rejection is a part of life, and, if exercised properly, it can be a healthy and affirmative practice. You should reject anyone who makes you feel as if you aren’t good enough. You should reject the notion that you aren’t deserving of happiness, love and nothing less than fireworks. Most importantly, you should reject the notion that anyone worth your time could possibly reject you for being HIV-positive.

Fall in love with yourself, then get your ass out there and meet someone worth it.

When a trackpad isn’t precise enough for your computing needs, you likely turn to a mouse. When a mouse isn’t precise enough either, the folks behind the Flow wireless controller are offering an alternative — a puck-shaped device that uses a combination of gesture control and touch sensitivity to take things up a notch. Flow features a high number of … Continue reading