GearChat

GearFest GearChat #1, Tablet or Notebook? Which One When?

While together this past weekend the editors took some time out to talk tech. We’ll share the conversation/s over the next few days. Each of us brought a tablet, a notebook and at least one smartphone along with us. Two used the tablet almost exclusively while the others traded off between them fairly evenly. In this first one we talk about when and how we choose to use one or the other. Has your tablet become a primary productivity tool for you? Let us know in the comments.

Editorials

To 7″ iPad or Not to 7″ iPad, That is the Question

The Gear Chat began with this message to the team… Okay, this is ground we have covered before but it really deserves a new Gear Chat so… 7″ iPad. Interested or Not Interest? I commented: Me, I’m interested. As Mike has said, the 7″ form-factor is quite nice. Easy to carry, good for books and “big enough” for most tasks. Yes, it will offer less productivity functionality than the iPad but I already used my iPhone for much of my work and then finish on the iPad or Mac and this would be better. I love my iPod touch and,…

eBooks

Will The Nexus 7 Tablet Impact the Kindle Fire and NOOK Tablet?

When Google announced the Nexus tablet, I was surprised to see they didn’t seem to be aiming for the iPad. With a $199 starting price and a 7 inch form factor, Google is clearly taking aim at the devices that have defined the Android tablet market thus far; e-reading based tablets like the Kindle Fire and the NOOK Tablet both run off Android, but use their own proprietary app and content stores, and Google wants a piece of that pie! So I posed this question to the other Gear Diary editors: Carly: How much will the Nexus tablet pull…

Gear Bits

The Hunger Games, Hit or Hype?

image courtesy THG – The Hunger Games Blog at http://thg-thehungergames.blogspot.com/ It seems that everywhere you turn people are talking about the release of the feature film The Hunger Games this week. Here at Gear Diary, we are the same way and we have been burning up the wires talking about it too! Some have read the books, some not. Some think it’s all hype, some not. In the end, we decided to share with you our thoughts going into the release of this high-profile film! Read on…

News

Tales from the Apple Store

(image courtesy Macrumors) The other day Judie and I were in Manhattan for the Dell/Intel create work inspired event and we decided that we needed to make a pilgrimage to the Apple Store at Grand Central Station. If you have not been there you should make a point of stopping in the next time you are in Manhattan. The place is amazing. To have such grand open spaces as the terminal and then to have the Apple store fill in the different rooms on the balcony is nothing short of impressive. Traditional grandeur filled with the most innovative new technology –…

Editorials

Judie’s in Barcelona at MWC and We’re Here in the US with Gear Chat 2012

We’re back with the next episode of Gear Chat. In today’s podcast we’ll talk about the Dell/Intel event Judie and I attended last week, Carly will talk eBooks, Mike talks gaming and music, and Thomas and I discuss a variety of topics including Android and iOS apps of the week.

Editorials

Gear Chat 2012 Episode 3; Hear the Mountain Lion Roar

We’re back with Episode 3 of Gear Chat 2012. This time out we’ll talk about OS X Mountain Lion, iPad 3 rumors, Evernote Hello, iPhone case fails and more. In addition, Carly will bring the latest in eBook news and Mike will let us know what is new in the world of gaming.

Editorials, Reviews

Gear Chat 2012 Episode 2, Tablets, Apps and Games… Oh My!!

We’re back with the next edition of Gear Chat. This time out Mike is bringing us some gaming news and Thomas and I talk tablets, apps and iPad 3.

Editorials

Is the iPad 3 in Your Future? A Gear Chat

Yes, it is that time of year. The annual iPad announcement and release is likely on the way and, with it, the flurry of rumors are in full force. Moreover, as we have seen in recent year, these rumors are often accompanied by slightly blurry spy shots of various components. We saw a supposed back plate for the iPad 3 and today the supposed hi-res display has emerged. We do our best to stay away from rumor and innuendo (although sometimes we just can’t resist) but that does not mean we aren’t thinking about what we want in the iPad…

Editorials

Gear Chat 2012- We’re Back!!

It has been over a year but Gear Chat is back and we’re talking tech. In this first episode Thomas and I talk about the Samsung Galaxy Note, the Series 7 Slate tablet and what configuration of Apple computing products is best. Future episodes will include Gaming and eBook segments and much more. We also want to hear from you! What content do you want covered? What questions do you have? Would you like us to do the podcast as a live, call-in conversation? We want to know. Happy listening and, as always, thanks for sharing via Twitter and Facebook.

Reviews, Yum Log

The SodaStream Home Soda Maker Overview and Review

Early this week preparations for CES went into high gear. I commented to the GD team that during the week a staple of my diet tends to be either sugar-free Red Bull or FiveHour Energy and that, upon arrival, I may buy a case of each. I also made an offhand comment that a box of FiveHour Energy is rather pricey. Bryan chimed in that he has a SodaStream and one of the available mixes is an energy concentrate. It would, he noted, be far more economical. Two days later I joined the ranks of the SodaStream users. Funny thing is,…

Editorials

To iPad or Not to iPad?

It’s simply the latest variation of that popular topic: is your [thing] better than my [thing], or is it the other way ’round? Wine, or beer? Ford or GM? Tastes great, or less filling? Mac or PC? “Firefly” or “Buffy”? (“Firefly”, dammit!) Yesterday, your faithful Gear Diary team was hashing over the topic of iPad, or Android tablet. As you might expect with a collection of Appleheads, PC mavens, UNIX and Linux folks, and all the rest, it got heated, involved, and nerdly. It started with a friendly discussion between Francis and Joel as to which device Joel might…

News

Gear Diary Video Round-Up

Last week saw us post a larger number of videos than ever. In them we took a first look at the AT&T Status phone running Android 3.2.2, Carly talked to us about the benefits of Chromebooks and why they might be a great choice for you and we launched not one but two contest/giveaways. Missed any of them? Well we’ve gather all of them together along with links to each post… Gear Talk: iPad 2 Case Roundup Read It! Judie’s Orbino Padova for iPad 2 Has Arrived: Here’s a First Look Read It! Gear Giveaway: Judie Attended Intel’s Upgrade…

News

HP’s WebOS Announcements

We’re all Palm fans from way back in the day. So while none of us are currently using WebOS, we were all excited to follow HP’s recent announcements! Of course, big geeks that we are, everyone had their own opinion on the new entries to the smartphone and tablet world … Carly Z: Anyone else following the HPalm stuff? Amazing what HP’s deep pockets can do. Francis Scardino: yeah, works out for us…(greedy consumers) The touchpad looks awesome. Touchstone support is a winner. No cords for you. Carly Z: All that phone<–>touchpad integration is awesome. They are out-appleing apple! Francis…

Editorials

Tim Cook, AppleInsider and Boundaries

Dan: The conversation started early this morning when I read a post over on Apple Insider that just didn’t sit well with me. Apple Insider calls Tim Cook the most powerful gay man in Silicon Valley I wrote to the other editors This just offends me. Do we get articles that begin… “Most powerful heterosexual but currently celibate after his third nasty divorce” or “Most powerful 37 year-old virgin although we have no doubt she is straight”. ??? Who cares if he is straight or gay when it comes to running Apple… and who’s business is it anyhow? Judie: I…

Editorials, Events

Gear Diary at CES Brought to You by Google

We hope you enjoyed Gear Diary’s coverage of CES 2011! All of the editors of the site worked with various devices, but they all had one thing in common: Google. Yes, Gear Diary at CES was brought to you by various Google OSes and services. What were our favorite Google-y gadgets? Read on to find out! Carly My day job is fairly restricted, and so I don’t have access to anything behind the scenes at Gear Diary on my work PC. Thankfully, I have the CR-48 Chrome OS computer, and that made my life very easy all week while Dan,…

News

How ‘Just a Big iPod’ Changed Our Computing Lives!

For the second time in two days I was giving a technical talk: one at night in a public setting, the other to a project team at work. In both cases I needed to note some questions, discussions, take contact info and jot down some ‘to do’ tasks and follow ups. It was only when someone said something in each case that I even realized – all I brought with me was my iPad. It has been nearly 8 months since the release of the iPad, and I cannot imagine going anywhere without it. Through numerous discussions I know that…

News

Gear Chat: Rotation LockGate. Seriously??

The other morning I read a post by Warner Crocker about his being upset over the change in the iPad’s screen rotation control between the original version of iOS on the device and the new version 4.2.1. Warner referred to it as a “boneheaded move”, and he went on to write this: Where Apple got stupid is in changing the screen rotation control from the hardware switch on the device’s side to one that is now only accessible from the multi-tasking dock. I use my iPad mostly in portrait mode but there are some Apps that work better in landscape…

News

Gear Chat #17 Is Live…

On Gear Chat #17 Larry and Dan talk new iPods, iPad apps and more. Dan sent his iPod nano back and explains why… Larry finds that the iPod touch has the worst single feature of ANY Apple product and offers details. That and much more on the 17th episode of Gear Chat. Intro Music- Lean On Me- Sounds From the Ground Solarstone’s Chill Out Remix… Editorial note- we refer to questions as to whether or not the Apple TV was delayed during the episode which was recorded prior to said devices shipping earlier today.

Editorials

Gear Chat #16- New iPods Coming… New Gear Chat Already Here…

Larry and Dan serve up Gear Chat 16… In this podcast we talked about Apple’s September 1 announcement hits and misses, the new Kindle, iPhone and iPad apps and a new iPhone case company that understands good customer service… Intro Music- Lean On Me- Sounds From the Ground Solarstone’s Chill Out Remix…

Editorials

Larry and Dan Serve Up Gear Chat #15

In Gear Chat #15 Larry and Dan talk about their experience with the Magic Trackpad (one kept it, one sent it back), chat about the current Apple hardware rumors and more… Elements app for Dropbox ($4.99) Get it HERE. Fastever ($1.99) Get it HERE. TextExpander Touch ($4.99) Get it HERE. Train Conductor 2 ($.99) Get it HERE. Intro Music- Lean On Me- Sounds From the Ground Solarstone’s Chill Out Remix… (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/chillout-a-nettwerk-escape/id258464413)

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