2009 | Gear Diary

eBook Gains and Losses

Welcome to another installment of “State of the eBook”. A few quick news-y items, and then onto the major heart of today’s discussion, where we’ll be tackling the greatest debate in the book world today. Interested? Read on… First, in the “cut up your nose to spite your face” department, we have the news that both Sarah Palin’s book “Rogue” and Ted Kennedy’s book “True Compass” will not be released as eBooks until some time has passed after the hardcover release. Let’s consider that for a moment. At a time when people are looking for better deals, trying to find…

Reviews

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks: Week Five into the Rosetta Stone TOTALe Program

¡Hola mis amigas! This week, I was greeted by an instructional video that started the minute I signed into TOTALe. It gave a great overview of what the different parts of the course entailed, and how to navigate the various sections…and I couldn’t help but wonder why it didn’t show the first time I started the program! Of course, the likely culprit is my slow satellite connection of doom; it is totally possible that the screen tried to show when I first started the program five lessons ago, but was reset in all of the screen refreshes. Ah, country living……

Reviews

Years for iPhone Review

One of the things about the built-in calendar app on the iPhone that surprises me is that it lacks the ability to view more than one month at a time. Sometimes it’s just handy to see several months – or a whole year – at once. So when Zicron Software, a new software developer based in Scotland, offered Gear Diary the chance to evaluate their new iPhone app, Years, we agreed to take a look.

Reviews

Soda Stream Penguin Starter Kit Review

I’ve been writing for a long time, and one of the things that I learned early on, is that there’s a lot to like about most everything you get to review. Your TRUE opinion usually hits after the honeymoon period is over. THAT can last a couple of months, depending on the device/gadget/thingy you’re reviewing. Getting past the WOW factor is important, and most product reviewers just can’t do it in a couple of days to a week. When I saw the Soda Stream Penguin Starter Kit, the wow factor for me was pretty high – a nine or a…

Reviews

The Motorola H790 Bluetooth Headset Review

In the time I have been writing here at Gear Diary, I have made it my mission to find the perfect Bluetooth headset. Although we have tested dozens of headsets, that quest continues. In fact, considering the rate at which new headsets are developed, I would not expect this process to reach a conclusion anytime soon. Today, we will be looking at the Motorola H790, the latest entry in Motorola’s already extensive line of Bluetooth headsets.

Reviews

SPB Brain Evolution 2 for Windows Mobile Review

A couple of years ago I got hooked on the original SPB Brain Evolution. It is a “brain training” game that helps you improve your brain skills in a variety of areas. The original Brain Evolution was fun and had a lot of different games, but the graphics were very simplistic, and the overall look left something to be desired. Still, the game received a lot of awards and was a bestseller in 2008! Now we have SPB Brain Evolution 2. Improvements in appearance and usability have clearly been made. How does it do? Let’s take a look!

Reviews

Guitar ToolKit for iPhone: Quality Tools In One App

Last week I reviewed Tab ToolKit from Agile Partners. The app is a must have for any guitarist wanting to learn songs using tablature. What about all other guitar needs? Agile Partners have an app for that too: Guitar ToolKit. There are many apps available that do what Guitar Toolkit does. This is a collection of all of these apps in one place. Not only are several apps rolled into one, but stand alone apps do not perform as well. Lets take a look at the features. Chromatic Tuner The tuner is the most responsive and accurate I have found…

Reviews

Timbuk2 H.A.L. Notebook Backpack – Review

I’ve never been a huge backpack fan. Instead, I have always been partial to messenger-type bags such as the Acme Courier Judie and I both reviewed a few months ago. The H.A.L. Backpack from Timbuk2 may just change that. It is versatile, well-designed and pretty impressive! Let’s take a look.

News & Features

Crime scene toilet paper is a perfect gift for that Uncle you see once a year during holidays

This roll of crime scene labeled toilet paper is perfect for that hard to shop for person or even a grab bag for the office holiday party. Imagine their glee when they open this in front of their peers only to be greeted with a suggestion that their use of the bathroom could be considered a crime scene. Given the current economic climate it’s best not to gift this to the boss but it’s probably ok as a gift to relatives you see infrequently. Crime Scene Toilet Paper

News & Features

White collar grime – disposable shirt protectors for those who hate washing their neck

Are you someone who wears collared shirts? Do you hate to wash your neck (or your shirts). Here’s the product for you. The White Collar Grime protector is applied inside your shirt to stave off those stubborn rings around the collar. You try scrubbing and scrubbing yet those dirty rings still stay on your collar. Why bother with pesky personal hygiene chores like washing your neck when instead you can buy these collar grime protectors. At the end of the day, peel off the tape, dispose, and your white, blue, pink or any color collar won’t look criminal. It’s perfect…

Gear Bits

Bioshock Bento is too Cute to Eat!

I’ve long been fascinated by the patience and artistry that goes into making a Japanese Bento Box; if you aren’t familiar with these, then you should start by looking at these images on Google as well as this Flicker Pool. As explained in the introduction on one of the multitudes of Bento Box sites I’ve found: As with so much of modern Japanese culture, the aesthetic (especially for children and young women) is strongly based on a compact cuteness. If you went to a school where kids brought packed lunches, you know how much it means to a kid when…

Vehicles & Gear

Essence of Infiniti

True, I may be just a “Gaijin” from Texas, but I do know a work of art when I see one. The new Infiniti Essence concept car is just that. Staring at it in adoration, I think I also broke a few commandments.

Reviews

The Netbook Gamer: Star Wars Jedi Knight (1997, FPS)

Welcome to the first entry in the new Netbook Gamer series! In the fall of 1997 LucasArts delivered into the hands of gamers something they had wanted since they first saw one twenty years prior – a lightsaber. Dark Forces brought the Star Wars universe a new level of immersion through the first person shooter perspective. The story brought in classic settings abd characters and introduced a new hero – Kyle Katarn. Former Imperial Academy hero shaken by the discovery of the nature of the Empire through tragic events, Katarn is joined by his partner Jan Ors as the pair…

News & Features

Jedi bathrobe keeps you warm while you use the force to make breakfast

The creators of this Jedi bathrobe may have latched onto a hot new clothing market. Did you know that according to Wikipedia over half a million people throughout the world declared themselves as Jedi on their census forms? While I think that might be considered to be a practical joke and probably doesn’t reflect the real number of Jedi in the countries concerned – there’s still got to be a fair number that would buy this bathrobe. The Jedi Dressing Gown has a Jedi logo embroidered on the front, is made of 100% cotton velour and is machine washable. It…

Reviews

New Series: The Netbook Gamer

Welcome to a new series here at Gear Diary! Called the Netbook Gamer, this will allow me to share two of my loves – playing computer games and exploiting my netbooks to deliver whatever performance I can squeeze from them. In this series I will look at games released over the last decade that might have pushed the boundaries of what was possible when released, but still work on a modern PC and will run smoothly on a current release netbook. In the title I will identify the game, the year it was released and the genre – expect these…

Vehicles & Gear

State Fair of Texas Auto Show media day(s)

With the arrival of Autumn it is once again time for the great State Fair of Texas and one of the world’s largest auto shows. Gate attendance each year at the fair reaches more than three million over its three-week run, with estimates that at least 75 percent of attendees visit some portion of the auto show.

Reviews

Review: SPB Quads for Windows Mobile

After years of ‘Match 3’ games like Bejeweled and Puzzle Quest and even multi-dimensional ‘Match 3’ games like Puzzle Quest Galactrix, there was only one natural course to follow .. MATCH 4! Of course, since Match 3 games already offered extra bonuses for a 4th matched item, the folks at SPB needed to do something different. Here is the scenario: you make the connection between three sides of a rectangle! So how well does this game work in terms of keeping interesting going in a seemingly saturated matching-game field? Read on and see!

eBooks, Editorials

An eBook Introduction

Welcome to a new series we are starting here at Gear Diary called “State of the eBook”. Every two weeks or so (more if the news warrants it) I’ll be bringing you the latest news in ebooks, publishing, and the general digitization of our reading lives.

News & Features

Pseudoscience at its best: the Uxsight 1.3M Pixels Portable Digital USB Iriscope

You’ve got to hand it to pseudoscience. Why? Because how else could someone like me – a person without an MD – have a chance to speak with absolute authority about things of which I know absolutely nothing. And there are even cool gadgets that you can use while practicing pseudoscience, things that can help make you seem professional and knowledgeable, things like the Uxsight 1.3M Pixels Portable Digital USB Iriscope. Allow me to digress for a moment… Back in the fall of ’86, I went home from college with one of my sorority sisters for the weekend. Before we…

Reviews

Tab ToolKit For iPhone Review: A Must Have For Guitarists!

When I began playing the guitar in the mid-80s, I loved going to the record store in the mall to look at guitar tablature books. Most of the time I would look up the song I wanted to play and try to memorize the chords or main parts then go home and figure out how to play it. The internet brought the ability to look up tabs at home or even print them. The addition of tablature software has revolutionized the ability to learn large quantities of songs quickly. The developers at Agile Partners which brought us Guitar ToolKit, have…

News & Features

Goldfish trash bags pretty up the neighborhood and drive cats nuts

Here’s a quirky way to take out the trash. Instead of boring black or white bags how about these decorative goldfish trash bags. Fill the trash up and put the bags curbside for your neighborhood stray cats to admire . This kit includes 12 bags of 13 gallons each for $15.99. At this price these are definitely novelty items. Goldfish Trash Bags – $15.99