June 2009

Dakim Brain Fitness Unit Review

Dakim Brain Fitness Unit Review

Imagine trying to explain a computer to someone who has never seen one. Try explaining this strange thing called a mouse, and how you use it to control your interactions with the screen. Try explaining how you type on a keyboard, and through the magic of wires and electronics the words appear onscreen. And if you want to move something from point a to point b, hold down the mouse and drag…but have some fancy moves if you need to drag beyond the room you have on your mousepad. I know it sounds crazy, but if you’ve never used a…

My First Impressions of the 13" MacBook Pro

My First Impressions of the 13″ MacBook Pro

Since Dan posted his thoughts on the new 13” Pro compared to the previous 13” non-Pro, I thought I’d throw together the thoughts I’ve had in my first day of ownership as well. I bought my very first Mac back in 2006 and I have never looked back. It was a second generation 15” MacBook Pro, the first of the Core 2 Duo models, and it was fantastic. Beautiful screen, super fast, looked great and ran an OS that I would become very happy with. Today that laptop headed off to its new owner as yesterday I took delivery of…

Unboxing the HP Pavilion dv2-1199us Laptop

HP and Microsoft sent me an HP Pavilion dv2-1199us Entertainment PC to try out. Once I got past the fact that the model number is a mouthful, I couldn’t help but notice how lovely this moonlight white computer is – both in appearance and specifications. The exterior is described as a “magnesium-aluminum-alloy case in a white imprint finish,” but that barely describes it; the look is stunning. The touch pad is a mirrored surface, and it runs Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit). The dv2 has a bunch of bells and whistles…both in the hardware and in…

PDAir Luxury Silicone Case for BlackBerry Storm Review

PDAir Luxury Silicone Case for BlackBerry Storm Review

PDAir makes a case or skin for just about every mobile device currently available. They have a wide variety of cases available ranging from leather to aluminum to silicone. I was lucky enough to recieve a Luxury Silicone Case compatible with the BlackBerry Storm 9500/9530 to review. Sporting a low $18 price and wide range of color choices, you could easily pick up one color — or several — to show off your individual style.

Unboxing the Amazon Kindle DX

I couldn’t resist; I put in my order and received an Amazon Kindle DX. 😛 Some of the more obvious differences between the two devices are that the DX has a ~9.5″ screen, while the 2 has a ~5.8″ screen; the DX measures 10.4″ tall x 7.2″ wide x 0.38″ thick, and the 2 measures 8″ tall x 5.3″ wide x 0.36″ thick; and the DX can hold ~3500 books while the 2 can hold ~1500. The keyboards are a bit different, there are no buttons on the DX’s left side, and hmmm – just watch! The full review will…

JAVOedge Jelly Case for iPhone 3G &3G S Review

JAVOedge Jelly Case for iPhone 3G &3G S Review

Getting yourself a new iPhone 3GS and want to make sure it keeps looking like it did when you first pulled it out of the box? Or have the iPhone 3G and just need a new case to spice things up a bit? JAVOedge recently released a new line of cases called the “Jelly.” These cases, offered in five colors, do a great job of protecting your phone while adding some style at the same time.

Cocoon Innovations Netbook Case Review

Cocoon Innovations Netbook Case Review

The Cocoon Innovations netbook case is pretty much my ideal netbook travel case. It’s durable, shock absorbent, airport friendly, comfortable, and it features a unique organizational system that I have never seen before in another bag. There are a few key things I wish I could tweak a little bit, but otherwise I was very impressed by the Cocoon netbook case.

The Oberon Design Kindle 2 Case Review

The Oberon Design Kindle 2 Case Review

[Editor’s note: This is a joint review by Judie and Julie that will be appearing simultaneously on Gear Diary and The Gadgeteer. Judie’s comments will be in black, and Julie’s will be in blue italics.] Like many who own an Amazon Kindle or Kindle2, Julie and I have grown to greatly enjoy the convenience of carrying our current and future reading material on our own “virtual bookshelves.” The question of how to keep our Kindles protected was one that we had to answer fairly early on, seeing as Amazon did not include any cover with our pricey new readers. I…

Bullard TrakLight: Integrated Lighting System

Bullard TrakLight: Integrated Lighting System

Just in case you thought fast changing technology only exists in cell phones and Mp3 players I bring you this Gear Diary entry. This one hits especially close to home for me because, well you know, I’m a firefighter.

5 Years of Free Internet Left?

5 Years of Free Internet Left?

I saw this the other day on ZDNet and wanted to say a couple of things. I promise to make this short and not ramble on too much. I’ve been cooking this response for the past couple of days, and it may still not be fully there yet… At the Advertising 2.0 conference, Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO of the IAC, an interactive services company raking in over $1.5 billion dollars in revenue a year, stated that the free internet would soon be a thing of the past. Picture from ZDNet.

Star Walk for iPhone / iPod Touch Review

Star Walk for iPhone / iPod Touch Review

If you ask my wife, the money she spent buying me a telescope a few years ago was wasted. If you ask me or my sons, we’d disagree. It isn’t that we use it all that much, but I chalk that up to living in the Northeast – it is hard to hit that small window when the temperature is right for standing outside at night and it gets dark early enough that we can all enjoy it together. The folks at Vito Technology have a great solution – Star Walk, an educational astronomy app for the iPhone andiPod Touch…

Mobiola Photo Renamer for BlackBerry Review

Mobiola Photo Renamer for BlackBerry Review

One feature that is often missing in smartphone camera applications is the ability to rename — or automatically name — photos directly on the device. Sure, most smartphones are simply not going to completely replace point-and-shoot or D/SLR cameras; but, when you just want a quick photo to capture the moment, you will probably reach for your smartphone and use the standard 1.3 to 3.0MP camera. Then, once you take the photos, you have to go back and sift through all of those “IMG000XX” files, transfer them to your computer, and then manually rename each photo. It is not a very efficient or enjoyable process….

Bump for iPhone Review

Bump for iPhone Review

Bump for the iPhone & iPod Touch has a lot going for it. It happens to have the honor of being the 1 Billionth iPhone App downloaded. It is F-R-E-E. The application actually makes what used to be a chore of swapping contact information with friends and colleages — gasp! — fun, and easy. I know, I know. It’s not Tap Tap Revenge Fun. It won’t entertain you like Peggle will, either. Bump will, however, help you rid yourself of of a pocket full of business cards and keep you from manually typing in numerous fields of emails,…

Seagate Replica Complete PC Backup Solution Review

Seagate Replica Complete PC Backup Solution Review

Wow! Where was this when I was in high school? One of the cool things about being so involved with computers and technology is watching the pace of change. Dan mentioned that the other day with his look at an old 32 MB card vs his 32 GB iPhone. This change is most apparent in how we keep finding new and improved solutions for old problems. And the oldest, biggest problem for me is losing data. Almost as long as I have had a computer, I have managed to find new and creative ways to lose my data. As a…

Moovida Media Center Review

Moovida Media Center Review

Last month while searching for some media player software for Linux, I came across a program called Elisa. Elisa was a full screen media player similar to Apple’s Front Row. It had an interface that looked a lot like Apple’s Front Row, with a twist. I installed it on both my Eee PC 701 and initially on my 1000HE and would use it whenever I wanted some music playing in the background. Flash forward to today. The Elisa project has revamped itself and renamed itself into the media center called Moovida. It is available for both Linux and WindowsXP/Vista with…

Squibs Arcade for iPhone/iPod Touch Review

Squibs Arcade for iPhone/iPod Touch Review

Remember those fun little “keychain” LCD games that you probably played as a kid? Maybe one was even your first taste of the “gaming” experience. Squibs Arcade, from Chillingo, for the iPhone and iPod Touch lets you relive the games you remember all over again. The application features seven games that each takes you back to a time when games were simple, addictive and most of all fun.

Plantronics Voyager Pro Review: A New Flagship for the Voyager Fleet

Plantronics Voyager Pro Review: A New Flagship for the Voyager Fleet

I’ve used a Plantronics 510 series for about 2 years now. It’s been a nice, steady workhorse for me. It isn’t the flashiest, or the loudest, but it has always been rock solid. Now along comes the new Voyager Pro. It offers a host of new features and technologies – a whole host of improvements. Let’s see if it lives up to the “Pro” moniker…

Memory and Perspective

Memory and Perspective

A fish doesn’t know it’s in water… until it is hanging in midair from a hook while being reeled in. Sometimes you are so close to something that you lose all perspective… until something comes along to remind you, that is. Yup, there is suddenly that tap on the shoulder that reminds you where you’ve been, where you are and the amazing journey from one to the other. This afternoon I had just one of those experiences. Let me explain.

HTC Magic Review Part 1: First Impressions

HTC Magic Review Part 1: First Impressions

A few months ago I had the opportunity to test out a HTC Dream (unlocked version of the T-Mobile G1), and to be perfectly honest, I didn’t like it at all. The software wasn’t that great, the battery life was poor and whoever thought of that design should be locked away forever. When I was offered an HTC Magic for a few weeks, I was eager to see if HTC’s latest Android attempt had address many of the issues I had with the original. Straight out of the box the Magic makes a much better impression than the Dream. With…

Bear Paws Meat Handlers - Shred Hot Meat Safely

Bear Paws Meat Handlers – Shred Hot Meat Safely

This weekend was spent attending Kevin’s family reunion, David, one of his cousins, smoked a couple of pork shoulders. Instead of using a knife and fork to pull the pork, he was using these bear paws meat handlers claw things… I’d never seen them before, but they looked like something that would be indispensable to anyone who grills.

The Useful Things Herb Scissors Review

The Useful Things Herb Scissors Review

I love to cook, and I love to use fresh herbs from my little garden, but I don’t particularly enjoy the monotony of chopping fresh herbs into uniform bits. That’s why I am especially enjoying the set of Herb Scissors that Useful Things sent me.

« 1 2 3 4 5 »