Hello World…

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.