Articles by Joel McLaughlin

The Safetag.me Review

Have you ever lost your keys and not found them? How about your cellphone? Safetag.me aims to make it easier for you t connect you back with your misplaced keys or phone or anything else you can attach a tag to. Does it work? Let’s find out. The Safetag.me kit comes in a kit of two decals and one tag you can attach to your keys. When you get your kit in the mail, you go to the Safetag.me web site to register your tags. When you do, you will indicate what the tag is attached to and whether you…

Reviews

TP-Link AV500 Gigabit Powerline Adapter Starter Kit Review

WiFi, 3G, and 4G connections to our devices have frequently spoiled us with almost universal access to data. Nine times out of ten, if I am connecting to the internet it is in a wireless fashion. However, there’s always that one old desktop that you want to run Linux on or an old non-connected game system. Or maybe you just want to set up another wireless access point on the second floor of your home, but you don’t have a wire or a way to run a wire through your wall. That’s all changed with devices like TP-Link’s AV500 Gigabit Powerline…

Gear Bits

Happiness is a Maple Bacon Donut: Happy SysAdmin Day!

Yesterday Twitter had a pretty major outage. Even though it wasn’t the best moment for the SysAdmins who work for Twitter, it’s something I appreciate when I see the hard work they do. I am also a SysAdmin and today someone did for me what I think is the best thing ever. They bought our team donuts. Why did they do that today? Well today is System Administrator Appreciation Day. Today is the day that you should set aside at least a few minutes to appreciate all the hard work that your SysAdmin does to keep your system or favorite…

How to Do It Yourself!

Building a Simple Ham Radio Antenna without Soldering

One of the first things you might want to do after getting your Ham Radio License is talk on the radio. However, there are many things you may have to do to get that done depending on what kind of radio you purchase. If you purchase a handheld radio, you likely already have an antenna included in the box. These radios typically will have 2 m and 70 cm bands on them so the antenna is small enough that they usually include one right in the box. Even my Yaesu VX-7R included an antenna that works on the 6 m…

News

Google Brings Out Nexus Q

Just saw this on Google+ just a moment ago right before Vic Gundotra took the stage at Google IO. The Nexus Q is a social streaming media player made for Google Play at home. When you have an Android phone or tablet on your home wifi network, you and your friends can send songs to the Nexus Q and modify the playlist as it’s playing. The Nexus Q will be available in 2-3 weeks and should be about $299. Update: Some more features have come up during the keynote about the Nexus Q. The Nexus Q will also allow multiple devices to stream simultaneously….

News

Watch the 2012 Google I/O Keynote Right Here at 9:30 PDT

In a few hours, Google will have the opening keynote for the 2012 edition of Google I/O and you can watch it right here on Gear Diary. What will they announce? The only thing we know for sure is that Android 4.1 will probably be talked about, since they have the statue erected at the Googleplex. In fact, Google has released a really cool video of Googlers assembling the statue. So, for now, take a look at that. Comment below as the keynote unfolds, and look for a summary of the announcements later today right here on Gear Diary.

News

Ahead of Google I/O, the Jellybean Statue Arrives

In case you didn’t know, every time Google is ready to issue a new version of Android, there’s a new statue that shows up outside of the Googleplex. We had Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich. It’s been all around the web that the next version would be code-named Jellybean, and that it will be version 4.1 with the Galaxy Neuxs getting it first. Well, today the Jellybean statue has shown up at the Googleplex, leaving all but the official announcements for sometime tomorrow during Google I/O. Also, they will likely be introducing the first Nexus tablet, named the Nexus 7….

News

TP-Link Brings Out New Power Over Ethernet Switch for Businesses

My experience with TP-Link is more from the SOHO and home product networking lines. Those routers and switches have had good performance and have been reliable in my home environment. TP-Link also has products for the enterprise as well. That also includes the new power over Ethernet Layer 2 switch they just brought out, namely the new TL-SG3424P switch. This switch packs in: Power over Ethernet supply up to 320W Complete lineup of layer 2 features, including 802.1Q tag VLAN, Port Mirroring, STP/RSTP/MSTP, Link Aggregation Control Protocol and 802.3x 4 combo SFP slots Provides high performance, enterprise-level quality of service,…

Reviews, Travel

TP-Link TL-WR702N 150Mbps Wireless N Nano Router Review

A long time ago Apple released the Airport Express. I have always wanted one of those, and I still kind of do for other reasons. While the Airport Express does more than just WiFi and networking, its price is still a bit high. I am sure there are even some who just want something of a similar size that JUST does networking. Well, TP-Link has brought out something that is even smaller than Apple’s Airport express. In fact, it is so small I can even fit it in a small pocket on the case I used to carry my…

Gear Bits, News

MacBook Pro Retina Draws on MacBook Air, and It Isn’t Entirely Good News

The great site iFixit has done the tear down of the new MacBook Pro with a Retina Display that was announced at the 2012 WWDC, and we find that it has more in common with the MacBook Air and iPad than any MacBook Pro before it; in other words, the RAM is SOLDERED in place. This means that you had better order as much as you will ever need now, as you will be stuck with what you have installed. Furthermore, the SSD is yet another proprietary format. So upgrading it in the future is going to require someone to…

News

LinuxMint Project Releases the mintBox, a PC the Size of a Router

I have long been a fan of Clement “Clem” Lefebvre’s distribution of Linux that goes by the name LinuxMint. LinuxMint is based on the popular Ubuntu distribution of Linux and also has a version that is based on the Debian distribution of Linux. LinuxMint is sleek and sticks to a traditional desktop style interface unlike Ubuntu’s Unity Interface and the new interface that the Gnome Project introduced with version 3. LinuxMint uses a desktop called Cinnamon which is based on Gnome 3. Imagine my total surprise when my friend Linc Fessenden shared on Facebook the new mintBox hardware which has to be…

News

DryCASE’s New Backpack Keeps Your Gear Dry and You Happy

As a frequent rider of mass transit, specifically buses, I have to be prepared for the elements. This includes making sure my gear remains safe if I happen to incur a sudden downpour or get caught in a snowstorm. While my current gearbag, a Swiss Gear Cobalt does an ok job but I still wonder with the thunderstorm season upon us here in Central Ohio. That’s why the bag above from DryCASE peaked my interest. The bag is the DryCASE Waterproof Backpack. This bag has many features a lot of bags don’t that will help the stuff inside stay bone dry as…

News

ZaReason’s ZaTab: A Tablet That Honors Your Freedom

Many tablet makers ship their Android tablets with locked bootloaders, and some don’t even provide an unlock utility for allowing the hacker types, like myself, to load custom ROMs like CyanogenMod. Well, my friends at ZaReason are now shipping the ZaTab, which not only has an unlocked bootloader, but will eventually ship with CyanogenMod 9 which is the latest version based on the Android Open Source Project, specifically Android 4.0.3. If you want to be a developer on the ZaTab, you can purchase one now with no OS on board. If you aren’t a developer, then you can put your order in,…

Editorials

Open Letter to Verizon: When Silence Is a Bad Thing

Dear Verizon, First, before I go on, let me say that I am pretty pleased with my Galaxy Nexus. I want to say this before I go into this short, but justified, rant. I say this because what I am about to say may be considered negative towards the device itself. That’s not the case. It’s a great device even with some of the issues I have. Verizon, my issue is squarely with you. Since the release of Android 4.0.4, it’s been swirling around the Android blogs and forums about when this version will, if ever, get to the users…

Gear Bits, How to Do It Yourself!

When is a ROM Update an Official Update? The Verizon Galaxy Nexus Edition

As a Verizon Galaxy Nexus owner for merely a month, one thing that I have learned is that you can not expect to have the update from Google at the same time as the GSM version. Here I sit one month in, and it’s been five months since the launch of the phone on Verizon … and I still have Android 4.0.2. Why? Funny you should ask. I have too. In February, there were many posts about the Verizon version of the phone “losing” it’s developer phone status. Many of the posts were quickly updated as Google stated that it…

News

Why I Chose the Galaxy Nexus

About a month ago I was in the market for a new phone. My Droid 2 was at the end of its useful life, and I was ready for a new smartphone. There was a lot of debate between my friends over what would be better, and it came of shock to no one that I chose the Galaxy Nexus. The Screen The number one feature of the Galaxy Nexus wasn’t the 4G network; although that is a plus, the screen is what truly won me over. I say this knowing that the Nexus has a pentile screen. I, quite frankly…

News

Turntable.fm for Android Now Available

Well it took a while, but Android finally has a Turntable.fm client. What is turntable.fm? It’s basically a chatroom with 5 turntables. Each DJ steps up to the table with a queue music. The DJ position moves to the right when the current song is done playing. If you just feel like listening and thumbs upping or downing the music while you chat that’s fine too. It’s great fun and now you can do it on your favorite Android device. Check it out on Google Play!

Gear Bits

How Can Brick & Mortar Stores Get Better and Stay in Business?

Going through my feeds yesterday, I cam across a piece by Josh Smith on Gottabemobile.com on “3 Ways Retail Can Embrace Mobile to Profit and Thrive” and it got me thinking: Is that all there is? There has to be more and I thought up of a few more things that can not only make the shopping experience better by embracing mobile and technology but help the business too. Free WiFi Josh said in his article that Free WiFi would be cost prohibitive; yet I’ve seen many stores do this, and I think it’s a brilliant idea. Regional grocery change…

Gear Bits

Amateur Radio Apps for Android

A mobile phone is a valuable tool that can be used for many things, even Amateur Radio. I thought I would provide a short over view of some of the apps that are available on Google Play. As there are always new apps, I will probably do another post as I come across them. If you have apps that I miss, let me know so I can check them out. EchoLink for Android In my post regarding on what kind of ham radio to buy, I briefly mentioned Echolink. Echolink is a internet based method for communicating on ham radio repeaters all…

Editorials

iPhone 4S vs Galaxy Nexus: Which Will I Pick?

Those who have been following me on Gear Diary know that I was an early Android lover. I had the very first Android phone, the G1. While it was not without its foibles, I loved the phone even with it’s Jay Leno chin and chunkiness. About 18 months ago, I replaced my beloved G1 with a Droid 2 and switched from T-Mobile to Verizon. Early on, I was extremely satisfied with my Droid 2. It was easily faster than my G1 ever was. I was able to run applications my G1 would choke on and I never had an issue…

Gear Bits, How to Do It Yourself!

Got a Weird Icon in Your Android Notification Area? Here’s How to Remove It

I have only had this happen twice, and it has annoyed me to no end until I figured out what was causing it. What I am talking about are two different issues caused by the same piece of adware; one issue is a weird icon appearing in your Android notification area. Another is an icon just showing up out of the blue on your main Android home screen. What causes this is an app called Airpush. Airpush is an evil adware app that does this to help fund application developers. Airpush is not an app in and of itself, but can…

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