2008

Toshiba R500 Review

[Sorry about the delay on this, I’ve been a bit swamped recently] I’ve been fortunate enough to have had the chance to try out two excellent ultraportable notebooks recently, the MacBook Air and the Fujitsu P8010. Shortly after the P8010 went back, the mailman knocked on the door with year another ultraportable, this time the Toshiba R500. The model I was sent included the 64GB SSD drive, just like the MacBook Air. I’m not sold on these priced-like-gold hard drives, they just seem too expensive for what they are at the moment, but to each his own! The first thing…

Reviews

Dash Express GPS Review: Three Words- Bulky, Buggy, Beta

The Dash Express Two-Way Internet-Connected Portable GPS Navigator exploded overnight onto many online blogs – prompting blogger Jason Calacanis to proclaim it “Best Product of 2008“. In case you missed the hoopla around this release, the Dash Express is your typical automative GPS guidance system with two innovative features. First, it includes a WIFI and GPRS cellular transmitter for moving data onto and off your device (think updates and real time exchange of traffic flow). Second, it talks to Yahoo Local Search for real time searches (when in a data coverage area). It’s marketed exclusively through Amazon for 9 and…

Reviews

Pre-Wrap: Versatile and Fun Headbands For The Female Athlete In Your Life

Until about a week ago I’d never heard of Pre-Wrap. When I asked my hairdresser earlier in the week whether she’d heard of it, she nodded her head and promptly produced a small bottle of liquid used prior to coloring hair. Wrong! Pre-wrap is not a liquid, it’s a foam underwrap used primarily by athletes before putting on athletic tape. But someone discovered another great use for it. Creating hair tie backs for female athletes (and non-athletes). Because it’s sold in rolls of varying colors, you can stock up (like I did) and always have a color ready for any…

Gear Bits

CAMiLEON Heels: Exercising a Woman’s Perogative to Change Her Mind

I first saw a post regarding a concept shoe with convertible heels on Book of Joe back in 2005, and now it looks like an easier to operate variation of the same idea has actually come to pass. Say hello to CAMiLEON, a company which produces women’s shoes with heels that can adjust from a pratical walking height of 1½” to a sassy 3¼”. CAMiLEON’s heels contain “mechanisms that hold it into place for both the high heel and low heel positions and a stainless steel rod, which runs through the entire length of the heel. The portion of our…

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness

Add 10 calories, 3G Sugar, and 50 Mg Caffeine to Water and What Do You Get? TrimWater??

When I see products like TrimWater I wonder how any of it gets sold except through slick marketing. The company, the same one that makes TrimSpa diet products, used to market this through a now expired agreement with the TrimSpa diet folks, appears to have taken …. water … added flavoring and sweetener (10 calories per drink plus 3 G sugar) – and then marketed it as TrimWater. Since when is ADDING 10 calories, 50 mg of caffeine (12 oz Diet Pepsi has 35 mg for comparison), and 3 grams of sugar (no matter how small an amount) to water…

Reviews

Apiotek Combo Express Card Adaptor Review

So, I guess it has been a while since I tried to work with any of the video I shot with my Sony camcorder. A few weeks ago, I decided to capture and edit some video from my son’s school concert. After about a half hour of fruitless searching, I realized a critical fact. My Toshiba Satellite laptop does not have an IEEE1394 Firewire port. Of course, this is a critical feature if you want to work with video. Without a Firewire port, there is no way to connect the camcorder to your computer. Now, I know I have done…

Reviews

Logitech Z Cinéma Advanced Surround Sound System Review

When I first saw these speakers I thought that they looked great, and the fact that they came with a remote was a bonus. Let’s see if they stand up to my standards in regards to audio quality and compatibility with my favorite OS, Linux. In the package was a sub woofer with two satellite speakers, as well as a Windows Media Center compatible IR remote control.

Reviews

The Skooba Design DIY Skooba Skin Review

Every now and then I like to step away from the computer and do my creating in an organic manner; one of my favorite means of artistic expression is embroidery, which I have been terribly lax about doing lately. I was sent a Skooba Design DIY Skooba Skin last year, and after wasting half a moment considering whether I should attempt to draw (or rather, paint) something amazing to fill its off-white surface, I knew that it was again time to bust out my needles and threads…

Reviews

E-TEN X800 Windows Mobile Device Review

One of the things that I like the best about this job is the chance to look at and use some of the latest, greatest gadgets on the market today. I like writing for Gear Diary the best because of the diverse amount of products we get to look at. Recently, as many of you know, I’ve had the opportunity to take a look at a couple of new devices from E-TEN. The E-TEN X800 is the top of the line model of the X series devices. Let’s take a quick look and see how the X800 stacks up. Please…

Reviews

The Crumpler Limited Leather Daily: Special Delivery From England

Last month Alison wrote asking about laptop bags which could also hold a DSLR with accessories for her upcoming trip, and one of the first things I said in my reply was that most of the ones I had seen were a bit drab, especially considering how much I know she loves color. See, that’s the thing about Alison – she and I will ooh and ahh over purses and laptop bags together, but invariably I will find myself contemplating the brown ones, whereas she will be drawn to the purple or aqua ones; that girl loves color! So back…

Reviews

M2 Media Converter Review: Play Your Videos The Way They Were Intended to Be Seen…on Any Device.

One of the problems I have always found with gadgets and technology is that the more useful they get, the less useable they become. What does that mean, exactly? Well, the best way to explain this is by looking at an example, such as digital video. I know an awful lot of people (many of whom read Gear Diary) who like to watch videos on the media players or iPods. The problem here is that digital video is not a particularly useable medium. In fact, it can be downright difficult, with dozens of different formats available. It always seems like…

Reviews

Evolve Showerhead Review – Save Time, Water and Energy

How often does this happen? You start the shower so that it can warm up and then you’re distracted by other things. Maybe the kids call you from another room, you start folding clothes, reading an article in the newspaper. Suddenly 5, 10 or 15 minutes can suddenly pass and the entire time you’re wasting hot water. Evolve Showerheads has a solution. And it’s not the typical reduced flow showerhead. What they’ve done is add a temperature flow valve that auto-senses when the shower reaches 95 degrees. Then it slows the water to a trickle – saving otherwise wasted hot…

Reviews

The Plantronics MS200 Aviation Headset Review

I am on a search for an alternative to the vice-grip like David Clark headsets that the company gives us to use on our planes. The Dave Clarks have one thing going for them; they shut out noise from the outside very well. The price for this though, is they can get downright hot and painful after a couple of hours. The Plantronics MS200 is my first try at something lighter.

Reviews

SkyVenture Orlando: A Safter Way To Skydive For Those Afraid of Heights, Failing Parachutes and Crash Landings

Would you ever skydive? That’s a question that I’ve always answered with a resounding “no way – no how”. My fear of meeting “Mr Earth” face first is much stronger than any thrill seeking ambitions. At least I thought so until I found an indoor skydiving center located in Orlando. Indoor skydiving offers the freedom and excitement of skydiving, but without the jump or hard fall. In the tunnel, your instructor will assist you in leaning directly into the wind flow so you will be lifted up. An instructor will be with you one-on-one while you are in the tunnel….

How to Do It Yourself!

An Update on My Car PC

I’m coming up on 2 months since I installed my Car PC, and I have to say it’s been great. Stability has probably been the most impressive thing, I haven’t had any issues with it crashing, and restart it maybe once a week to flush to memory and generally keep Windows happy. I also received the final piece of the dash puzzle, a spare ash tray. Since my stock ashtray was woodgrain, I didn’t want to ruin it and paint over it (a. because they are worth a fair bit of money and b. I want to be able to…

Reviews

The Whoomp! Earbud Enhancers Review: Apple’s Dirty Little Secret

I’m no Apple-basher. Sure, I use a Dell at work and an HP laptop at home, but my girlfriend is on Apple laptop number three in the past four years, and I went to college near Cupertino in the second half of the 1980’s. If you went to Stanford, you just accepted that you were supposed to pay three grand for a Mac SE and an Imagewriter. So I did. iPod devotee? Yup, that’s me too. At last count there were four different models in my household, and iTunes should send me a Christmas card. But there’s one thing that…

Reviews

Review: Petty Driving Experience Orlando: Drive It Like You Stole It

Five years ago while at a conference in Orlando I booked an 8 lap session at the Richard Petty Driving Experience. They hold two classes daily – one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Surprisingly the hardest thing about the class was keeping up with the instructor. You’d think that once inside a race care that you’d tend to drive fast. I found (along with most of the others that day) that I was overly cautious. That doesn’t mean I still wasn’t able to round the track at 125 mph. More photos, as well as some tips and…

Reviews

The LapWorks Attaché Laptop Stand Review

It’s the age old problem: laptops get hot, and heat is bad for them. To top things off, portable computers aren’t exactly ergonomic when lying on a flat desk. What to do? Adding an adjustable height cooling platform is the easy solution; so today we’re going to take a look at one of the newest from LapWorks: the Attaché Laptop Stand. Composed of a high density ABS plastic base with a concave aluminum face plate, which also acts as a heat sink, the Attaché measures approximately 12.75″ wide x 11.75″ tall x 1.6″ thick when in its most compact position….

Reviews

HTC Shift First Impressions

I have been very lucky to get hold of a Shift for a couple of weeks, and figured I’d start with a first impressions article, written entirely on the Shift. I was very impressed by the packaging, very nicely presented like the Touch Cruise. The Shift came wrapped in its beautiful leather case, a really nice addition. Removing it from the case, I was immediately taken by it. It feels really solid in the hand, and looks like a quality product. The display is very bright, but unfortunately it’s only 800×480. Honestly that’s pretty pathetic for a second gen, and…

Reviews

Review: Pur Sleep Aroma Therapy for CPAP Users

First, before we get into today’s review, I want to talk a little about Sleep Apnea. Sleep Apnea is when you stop breathing while you sleep. The worst part of Sleep Apnea is a lot of people who have it don’t even know it. Symptoms of sleep apnea can include: Loud snoring. Waking up gasping for air. Waking up in a sweat. Feeling unrefreshed in the morning. Headaches, sore throat and dry mouth in the morning. Sleepiness during the day. Now I know what your going to ask. How do you know for sure if you have Sleep Apnea?

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

Honda CR – Go-Kart on steroids

While Honda lists the “CR” designation of the S2000 CR as referring to this new version as a “club racer” edition, I kind of thought it would also fit the bill as “Corvette reduced.” The new Honda produces about half the power of the Corvette from half the number of engine cylinders, costs about half the price of a Corvette and is about half the comfort and convenience as the Chevy roadster.

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