Hello World…

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I have had a fascination with all types of gadgets and gizmos since I was a child. One of my earliest gadget memories was a Christmas when I was given yet another doll, and my brother got the coolest toy robot in the world. It didn’t take me too long to convince him that he wanted to trade…really!

And thus, the monster was born.

I never expected to become a prolific writer, it just kind of happened. I got my start in late 1999 after answering a software reviewer request at the now defunct smaller.com. By mid-2000 I knew that I wanted my reviews to focus not only on software but also on the PDA hardware which I found so fascinating.

I soon became an occasional reviewer at The Gadgeteer, back when it was a much smaller site – basically run single-handedly by its editor-in-chief, Julie Strietelmeier. Within six months I was Julie’s writing partner, and for the next six years, I had the privilege of being part of something truly amazing. As part of our team, I made a direct contribution to the Gadgeteer’s enormous growth from a well-regarded enthusiast’s site into a worldwide recognized authority on gadgets, gizmos and their accessories. Due to my work at the Gadgeteer, I have earned a solid reputation as a respected consumer reviewer.

However, I am first and foremost a gadget enthusiast as well as an actual consumer.

I’ve wasted more money than I care to recount on devices that promised performance which was never delivered, and I have had the pleasure of discovering little-known gadgets that performed so well, I couldn’t wait to share my happy discovery.

I’ve always had topics which I wanted to write about that didn’t quite fit into the confines of the typically structured gadget review, so for five and a half years I kept a blog on The Gadgeteer called ‘Judie’s Gear Diary’, often telling people to “read about it in my gear diary”. Which is why it only seemed natural that when I considered starting my own site, I continued with the name Gear Diary.

So welcome to my Gear Diary, a place where I will continue to write about the gadgets and other types of gear that we all love to collect and carry. I will also serve a healthy dose of the more chatty diary entries that Gadgeteer readers have grown to expect. I’ll even be making occasional guest reviewer appearances at several respected gadget and PDA sites – so watch for me!

For those of you that aren’t familiar with me from past writing gigs, all you need to know is that my specialty is writing in-depth reviews. These will usually include lots of touchy-feely observations which can only be made after thoroughly using a particular item.

I have never claimed to be an Information Technology guru; I would never make the mistake of telling anyone that I understand how everything works; believe me – even after all these years I can still get stumped by a poorly designed gadget or a mystifying bit of software! I won’t spit acronyms at you, talk down to you, or make you feel like you should have read the manual before reading my review. I have an international reputation for using a product until I have gained a full understanding of what it does, what its limitations are, and then using layman’s terms to write about whether the item excels in its particular purpose…or not.

I’d love to hear from you all, either through comments here or via email.

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About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She got her start in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie has written for or been profiled by nationally known sites and magazines, and she has served on multiple industry hardware and software award panels. She is best known for her device-agnostic approach, enjoyment of exploring tech, gadgets, and gear, and her deep-diving, jargon-free reviews.

17 Comments on "Hello World…"

  1. I’ll always be your first 😉

    Good luck to my favorite rancher/writer on our blue planet in this new venture.

    Best,

    Joe aka bookofjoe

  2. Good luck on the new site. I’m sure you will be equally successful here.

    Cheers, Rich
    leggnet.com

  3. Congratulations on the new website. I love wordpress, great choice.

    Take Care! – Matt

  4. Best of luck on your new adventure, Judie! I really like the layout of the site. It is quick and easy to use/read. Thanks for all the links, including the amazing pics from Thailand.

    Kelly

  5. Thanks everyone!

    Gear Diary is obviously still in its early days, and I have quite a few tweaks left to do. But I’m glad to have you all here from the beginning. 🙂

  6. Hi Judie – I only relatively recently discovered The Gadgeteer, but have enjoyed that site a lot, and particularly your Gear Diary entries, and especially some of your recent coverage of your pre-release cPC DualCor unit.

    So I’ll definitely be following the new Gear Diary, and will lookout for an RSS feed when you have one.

    Best of luck with this site, but don’t believe you’ll need it as you have all the writing and reviewing skills …

  7. Hi Judie

    Good to see the new site up and running. I look forward to seeing how it develops!

    Alison, Astraware

  8. Hi Judie,

    Congratulations on your new blog, and good luck. Bookmarked! 😉

  9. Hi Judie,

    Congrats on the new site. It’s always a treat to read your reviews about the latest gadgets and gear. Best wishes.

  10. Congratulations Judie! I know you will do a wonderful job keeping everyone up to date on mobile stuff. 🙂

  11. A HUGE thank you to all of you for stopping by; I am so glad to see you here! 😀

  12. Good luck with your new blog.

    I look forward to winning your slightly used phone. So…. let me know as soon as I win.

    Thank you.

    1stpapa

  13. Congrats on the new webbie mom!
    Horray, now you can expand and go farther than before with reviews and suchnots! ^_^

  14. Hey Judie

    I was a little sad that you left the-gadgeteer.com, but its great that you are sticking with the reviews and launching your own website.

    😉

  15. Congrats on the new site. Looking forward to lots of cool reviews. Love them so much, being a gadget freak myself.

    It’s so interesting how the community comes together. Just check out the comments and you’ve got all these mobile and tech guys already. I actually feel somewhat out of place to post a comment amongst all these “greats”.

  16. Hi Judie,
    I have followed you for years on The Gadgeteer. Good Luck on your new site and I look forward to following it.

  17. Hello, Judie! Best of luck on the new site – I know it will become a “must have” in RSS readers everywhere.

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