August 2012


Kitty Cam? More Like KILL Cam!

Do you have a cat? We have two – an outdoor cat we’ve had since he was a few weeks old (and is now 12) and one indoor cat we inherited from my sister-in-law when they moved halfway across the country two years ago (supposedly a two-week babysitting … but I digress). Is your cat a hunter? Ours is – he regularly brings home mice and moles and rabbits and chipmunks and squirrels and birds and … you get the picture. To date, our biggest concern has been that he delivers these as presents to our dogs (12-pound Norfolk Terriers)…


Noreve Saint-Tropez Leather Case for Lumia 900 Review

What is it about fine leather that so many people just love? Is it the look? The smell of a well-made leather product? The tactile quality? All of the above? I don’t know, but I do know that Noreve Saint-Tropez satisfies all of the above as evidenced by the Nokia Lumia 900 case I received from them. For those unfamiliar, Noreve Saint-Tropeze of Saint-Tropez, France, nestled in the south of France on the coast between Marseille and Cannes, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. (For the culinary inclined, this is loosely referred to as part of Provence.) For the history buff,…


Apple and Samsung Profits Go to 11!

Imagine if you put $100 in $1 bills up for grabs in a classroom science experiment competition, with money divided up based on overall score decided by the rest of the school. You come into the room and ask for reports from the top 5 scorers. The first one hands you $71; the next one hands you $37 … wait, WHAT?!? That is right – Apple and Samsung combined for 108% of the total smartphone profits for the quarter. How does that work? Well, it means that the rest of the industry LOST money. Also, look at the market share…


Afternoon Video, G-Form iPhone Case Base Jump

Sure, this video is an advertisement for G-Form’s protective iPhone case but that doesn’t mean it isn’t awesome… or that these guys aren’t nuts. Yeah, flying through the air after jumping out of a helicopter and wearing an outfit that gives you wings isn’t my idea of fun. Neither is dropping an iPhone from that same helicopter. But the question is… does the iPhone survive? Here’s the video and the description. Gary Connery joined world-renowned fellow wingsuit and base jumpers Brett Kistler and Jamie Flynn on the Eiger in Switzerland. Suited up in G-Form’s extreme protective compression gear, the team…


Sonos Adds Support for Amazon Cloud Player and… It is a Big Deal

Amazon is making some big moves with its Cloud Player music service. They recently improved the way the system works and now lets you scan your music in much the same way iTunes Music Match does. Now word comes that Sonos has added support for Amazon Cloud Player. As they explain, YOUR MUSIC. EVERYWHERE. FROM THE CLOUD TO YOUR COUCH. Import and securely store your entire music library in the cloud Search, browse and play every song, album and playlist in every room with the Sonos Wireless HiFi System Amazon MP3 purchases are automatically stored in Cloud Player, and you…


Apple’s New ‘All on the iPad’ Commercial Reminds Us Again It Is an iPad World

Depending on what market you are looking at, Apple controls ~68 – 72% of the tablet market. That is a level of singular dominance well beyond the monopoly of Google Search, as a comparison. And the funny thing is, I STILL don’t trust the Samsung numbers, so the iPad share might be higher! Of course, with the successful launch of the Google Nexus 7 (and countless tales of difficulties trying to return or exchange same), we can expect to see the numbers shift somewhat – though it is pretty clear that sales of the Nexus 7 will obliterate the Kindle…


Maybe the Athletes Are Making Water Balloons?

Have you heard about the latest Olympic scandal? No, it’s not more doping accusations. And no one else threw a badminton game. But it is hitting the Olympics where it hurts- their pocketbook. See, the Olympics have sponsors for everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. So the organizers were quite unhappy to discover that non-Durex condoms were being distributed to athletes! According to the Guardian: London 2012 are investigating how a bucket of unofficial condoms found its way into the athletes’ village without official consent. The Australian BMX cyclist Caroline Buchanan tweeted a photograph of the bucket, which featured a sign…


Are We Bored Yet? A Video Gear Chat

The other day Chris published a post entitled, “In an Apple and Everything Else Funk“. As he noted in it Lately I’ve been in a funk. I thought, at first, it was an Apple funk. I thought it might be about the fact that Apple today doesn’t seem to have the same excitement and vision as it did under Steve Jobs. I thought it might be about a sequence of products that is becoming very evolutionary instead of revolutionary. I thought it was about Apple and where it might be heading. But it’s more than that. It’s about where the…


This Video of First Class on an Emerates Airlines A380 Will Have You Hating Coach More than Ever

I hate flying. Hate it. And I hate flying Coach even more. At 6′ 1 1/2″ the fact that he seats are getting closer and closer is not only annoying, it is downright uncomfortable. And when I’ve flown coach to Israel… ouch!!!! I have, thankfully, taken that long flight in Business First a few times and it made a huge difference. Regardless, even then I hated flying. What could make me like it more? Something like what Emerates Airlines offers in 1st Class on their A380. You know, it is the little things, like a fully stocked bar, gourmet food…


Gear Diary’s Best Apps for…Photography

With so many apps in the iTunes App Store it has become all but impossible to find the best of the best. To help you find the best apps we are beginning a series of posts highlighting some of the apps we personally use and rely upon. Our process is completely unscientific. We ask the Gear Diary team to list up to three apps in a specific category… something like “Best Apps for… Photography” and then collate the responses. Those that get multiple mentions go toward the top. So what are our favorite iOS photography apps? Camera+: It’s been at…


iPad Mini Oh My Aching Wrists, Let It Be REAL!

I’m sitting outside reading and checking the site on my new iPad. (Okay, and I’m also playing through Kingdom Rush for the third time. They really NEED to come out with Kingdom Rush 2 already!!) And while I’m really loving my iPad, I am hoping the rumors about the iPad-mini are actually true. Sure, as we noted here, the smaller iPad makes sense from a market perspective. It would fill the gap that currently sits between the $199 iPod touch and the $399 iPad 2. And sure, it would let Apple compete with the likes of the Google Nexus 7…


MacBook Pro Retina? Tom Bihn Has Over 17 Ways to Carry and Protect It

Judie loves her MacBook Pro with Retina Display. I love my MacBook Pro with Retina Display. And any of my friends who bit when Apple announced their “best Mac ever” love it too. Yes, the new MacBook Pro is a fantastic computer. And while it still weighs significantly more than the MacBook air it is lighter, and therefore more portable, than that standard MBP 15″. If you are going to carry the laptop you are going to want to protect it… in style. Tom Bihn has more than 17 different options among travel bags, backpacks, briefcases, and messenger bags for…


Storybundle Brings Indie eBooks, Readers, and “Pay What You Want” Bundles Together

When I was a kid I was a voracious reader. Obviously I still am, but when I was 11 my parents had a harder time keeping up with my reading habits. I distinctly remember being over the moon with excitement the day my mom signed me up for “The Science Fiction Book Club”, a discount mail order service that got me several free books as gifts with membership, plus a new book each month! In fact, I think I still have some of those books in a box in my parent’s basement. Anyway, I can’t help but consider the legacy…


Exploring the Captivating Carlsbad Caverns

Have you ever been to Carlsbad Caverns? If not, and assuming you like exploring, then you owe it to yourself to go. Nestled in the Guadalupe mountains about 150 miles North East of El Paso, Carlsbad Caverns is worth the drive from just about anywhere. So how were they discovered? The story goes that in 1898, a 16-year-old cowhand named Jim White [most likely] entered the caverns for the first time. Who knows exactly who was the first to find the cave entrance, but by the time he died in 1946, Jim was known unofficially as “Mr. Carlsbad Caverns” for his “exploration,…


2012 Audi A6 Blends Athleticism and Elegance

When Audi was preparing to release the seventh-generation A6 luxury sports sedan, it knew the marque was an improvement over the model it replaces. How much better? Winning the International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) for 2012 AND the coveted red dot award honoring benchmarks in quality for starters, not to mention year-to-date sales increases topping 123 percent for the model. Yeah, it’s that good. Audi’s trophy case is filling nicely since introducing the 2012 A6 model last fall, placing an emphasis on athleticism and elegance. It competes with the BMW 5-Series and E-Class from Mercedes along with the new GS…


Zoom Microphone and Accessory Pack Review

I purchased the Canon T3i after speaking to a number of friends and reading a great deal on the web by way of reviews. There were a number of excellent options available in my price range but the T3i seemed to best fit the bill. I ordered through Amazon and got a good price on a Canon T3i kit (body and lens) and an additional telephoto lens. I’m happy with the decision. No, I’m very happy with the decision. In fact, I like everything about the camera… except the audio when shooting movies. That, in a word, stinks. The audio…


Nom Nom Paleo Recipe App Review

Sarah and I are attempting to improve our eating habits, and a big part of that is adapting a more “Paleo” style of eating. This means cutting out grains, sugar, legumes, and focusing heavily on protein, fat, fruit, and vegetables. We can come up with some basic recipes on our own, but we would get bored quickly eating the same few dishes. One of my friends has been advocating the Paleo diet and recommended the “Nom Nom Paleo” app for the iPad, and I am thrilled that he did! The app itself is visually stunning. You can flip through recipes…


I-MEGO’s Signature Headphones Bring Powerful Audio and Artistic Edge to Modern Music Lovers

For many of us, headphones have become such a huge part of our everyday experience. They are now far more than simply a way to listen to media. On top of listening to music and podcasts on the go (or when your spouse is asleep next to you), headphones have become a way to express our personal style. My students and athletes sport headphones in many colors and styles; each of them truly reflecting that individual’s personality. In fact, I often think the appearance, not the audio quality, of the headphones is the reason they choose one pair over another….


Rick Ross ‘God Forgives, I Don’t’ Review

I love all sorts of music, and appreciate the opportunity I have to listen and review so much great stuff. I am also blessed with two kids who share my love of music and have taken things I played for them and ran with them to discover new artists and areas to enjoy. For my older son Danny it is the love of Rap and Hip-Hop, initiated by my playing stuff from NWA and A Tribe Called Quest for him, and now taken to the point that he has an iPod full of the genre and is in touch with…


Good Movies Actually Do Better at the Box Office

Conventional wisdom would say that movie-going crowds reward some of the worst movies with some of the highest box office grosses, particularly during the summer months. In fact, there are web sites devotes to that very premise. It is an interesting and amusing thought … but is it TRUE? That is what one person looked to answer, using available data and statistical analysis. Here is the setup: It is common to argue that there is a divide between critics and audiences. Critics prefer arthouse dramas, preferably in black-and-white; audiences like things that go boom. Thanks to countless explosions and few…