2009

Salt Dough Ornaments are Holiday Fun for the Whole Family

Gear Bits, How to Do It Yourself!

Salt Dough Ornaments are Holiday Fun for the Whole Family

After moving this year, Kevin and I realized we were a bit light on Christmas tree decorations; but instead of going out and buying a bunch of them, his girls and I spent a day making salt dough ornaments. This is something that my mom used to do with my brother and me when we were kids. Mom thinks it’s because play-dough wasn’t easily available living overseas, but it could just as easily be because we were on an enlisted military man’s budget and she was a stay-at-home-mom. Whatever the reason, salt dough is very similar to play-dough, and the…

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Game Diary, Reviews

Zlider for iPhone/Touch App Review

Through my search of Blue Plate applications I have learned two things.  First, there are some great games and apps available for $.99 or less.  Second, well executed simple design makes for a better app than one who tries to throw in the kitchen sink.  Zlider falls into this category.  The gameplay is a simple concept, but with plenty of challenge and nice graphics they present a really fun game. Guide the little meteoroid through the galaxy and prevent him from colliding with the walls of blue and red stars. You need a bunch of coordination skills with this game…

Common Grounds

Editorials

Common Grounds

I was walking down the hall in my office the other day and found two coworkers engrossed in a discussion about their iPhones. They were comparing apps and enthusiastically discussing Dragon Dictation, Google Maps, and a barcode scanner app. What was really shocking is that while one of them is a big techy, the other one was definitely not. But they both were excitedly talking about their smartphones and comparing the iPhone to the Droid, etc.

Aerial7 Sound Disk Beanie Review

Reviews

Aerial7 Sound Disk Beanie Review

Aerial7 is a company that specializes in stylish headphones that are meant to compliment your lifestyle.  I just finished up a review on their Chopper2 headphones.  I was also lucky enough to receive one of their Sound Disk Beanies.  Since many of us are fighting off the chill of winter with a few extra layers of clothing, it only makes sense to take advantage of more “tech-enabled” clothing.  The Sound Disk Beanie fits into that mold by integrating headphones right in the beanie, so you can stay warm and listen to your music collection without having to mess with separate…

Aerial7 Chopper2 Headphones Review

Reviews

Aerial7 Chopper2 Headphones Review

Aerial7 recently provided us with the Chopper2 headphones to review.  The headphones provide a nice retro styling, and fit over the ear.  Apparently, Aerial7 Choppers are very popular with athletes and professional DJ’s.  Now, I’m not anywhere near the same league as snow boarder Heikki Sorsa, or DJ Neil Armstrong — who is the DJ for rapper Jay-Z (I actually was pretty excited when I glossed over the press release accompanying the review unit, thinking that it was astronaut Neil Armstrong who used the headphones, but I digress). The Chopper2 combines a vintage look with what Aerial7 states are “sneaker-inspired aesthetics.” I…

Cignias NAO Symphony Wireless Music Station Review

Reviews

Cignias NAO Symphony Wireless Music Station Review

If you enjoy “cutting the cords” and being able to play your music wirelessly, then we’ve got a treat for you.  Cignias was kind enough to loan us a review unit of their NAO Symphony Wireless Music Station.  One thing to quickly note is that you can still take advantage of a big pricing discount Cignias is running if you want to snap one of these up for a last minute special Christmas gift ;). I’ve been using the NAO Symphony Noir model for over a week, and I can safely say that I’m sad to send it back.  The…

The Dallas Cowboys Stadium Video Board: Gimme Some High Def

News

The Dallas Cowboys Stadium Video Board: Gimme Some High Def

If you are a sports fan, or even a stadium / architectural junkie, there has been much written and discussed about the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Besides the cost of 1.15 billion Texas bucks, amazing engineering, the lavish interior, retractable end zone glass doors and roof — the largest enclosed NFL stadium is a visual jaw dropping experience when viewed in person. As a life long Dallas Cowboys (and Tennessee Titans) fan, I recently took advantage of Southwest Airline’s fare sale to catch a game day experience at the new Cowboys Stadium.  I purposed to take my camera and capture…

iPhone EXOVault: Not your daddy's plastic slider case

News

iPhone EXOVault: Not your daddy’s plastic slider case

It’s no secret.  I’ve got  ton of iPhone cases.  Are many of them the same color?  Yes.  Are many of them the same style (i.e. slider, snap on etc?)  Yes. Are you in the same situation, and tired of looking at the same old style of case for you iPhone?  Hunkering for something totally unique and totally different? The EXOvault, recently reviewed by YouTuber ThatSnazzyiPhoneGuy, might be the case you’ve been looking for. Handcrafted, by NYC artists, from solid metal stock in two pieces, the case provides you with a distinctive and beautiful handcrafted object that sets itself apart from…

With SurePayroll's iPhone App, You Can Now Process Payroll Anywhere. Uh, Yea?

News

With SurePayroll’s iPhone App, You Can Now Process Payroll Anywhere. Uh, Yea?

Are you a small business owner or entrepreneur?  When things are tight and sales are slight, have you ever “forgotten” to process payroll before leaving the office for the golf course?  Well, SurePayroll, an online payroll service, has just ruined your day.  SurePayroll has just released a free iPhone app for small business owners who use their service.  No longer do you need to be at your desk or even in front of your laptop.  The iPhone app provides access to SurePayroll accounts and allows the user to: Enter payroll information and preview totals, including calculating wages and deductions.  The…

The Waterfield Muzetto Vertical Laptop Bag Review

Reviews

The Waterfield Muzetto Vertical Laptop Bag Review

Of all the laptop bags that I have reviewed over the years, and I can’t even tell you how many dozens there have been (possibly hundreds?), I can only remember having a perfect stranger approach me to compliment my bag twice: once for the ACME Made Courier, and the other time for this bag – the Waterfield Muzetto.

Seagate Dockstar - Review

Reviews

Seagate Dockstar – Review

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to review the Seagate FreeAgent Go. It is a small, pocket-sized external hard drive that looks sleek and has a tremendous capacity. One of the nice features of the hard drive is that it has only one port- a Mini USB. You can, however, purchase an optional dock for the hard drive that lets you simply slip the hard drive into the cradle when you’re ready to use it. The company offers a similar looking cradle that does much more, however. By incorporating a PogoPlug into the cradle Seagate has created a…

The Wizcom Readingpen TS Reviewed; It Helps With The Hard Words

Reviews

The Wizcom Readingpen TS Reviewed; It Helps With The Hard Words

About a month ago, we were sent the Wizcom Readingpen TS to review. With two middle school children I had some curiosity about how it might help them read easier. The concept of the pen is simple – scan across a word or sentence. The pen converts the  information to spoken words  and if needed provides the definition, synonyms and Spanish version of the word. This is useful for anyone needing a little extra help with difficult words while reading a book. How does it work in practice?

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Reviews

Everki Camber Netbook Case Review

We recently released the introduction of the Camber Netbook Case-Sling from Everki (you can read the release here).  Everki was kind enough to supply a Camber for me to review.  This new case is super compact fitting netbooks up to 13″.  The product is slightly too small to hold a 13″ MacBook Pro (they actually are 13.3″), but a version to accommodate the macbook is in the works for 2010.  As the computing devices we use get smaller, so do the ways we carry them.  See how the Camber stacks up after the break.

Scottevest Soft Shell Jacket Review

Reviews

Scottevest Soft Shell Jacket Review

I love Scottvest’s products, and during the last few weeks I have had the good fortune to update my SEV wardrobe quite a bit. Last month I reviewed the Evolution Jacket. It was the first SEV product I had seen in some time and I was impressed by how far the line has come. It just looks and feels more refined than ever and, thanks to more than a few tweaks, the system for carrying and organizing your gear is more usable than ever. Early last week Scott Jordan, the company founder and CEO, was kind enough to send me…

Merecal is a Media Lovers Friend

eBooks, News

Merecal is a Media Lovers Friend

I got a $100 Amazon gift certificate from Kerry for Christmas (thank you Kerry!!), and for half a second I was tempted to blow it immediately on Kindle titles from authors I already follow. After thinking about it, I instead sent out a tweet asking for suggestions. One of them came from @Merecal … “Weird name” I thought to myself, but I didn’t yet understand. I went to the site and saw a full list of books – many by authors that I follow, and many of them not yet available. I looked at the titles and saw ‘bindings” specified…

Review: Tom Bihn Synapse

Reviews

Review: Tom Bihn Synapse

Tom Bihn is a company I have been following for a while now, ever since Judie reviewed the Aeronaut when she was still at The Gadgeteer.  Tom Bihn is not only based right here in the United States, they make their bags in the US, which is a rarity among bag manufacturers.  When Tom Bihn let me know about their new Synapse backpack, I jumped at a chance to review it. The exterior of the Synapse I was sent is made with Indigo colored 1000 denier U.S. Cordura, and the backpack is lined with Solar Dyneema/nylon rip-stop fabric.  The Syapse is…

Review: Hotel Mogul for iPhone and iPod Touch

Reviews

Review: Hotel Mogul for iPhone and iPod Touch

I like casual games.   I’ve said that before here on Gear Diary and I’m sure I will say it again.  I recently got to review Montezuma 2 from Alawar Games and now I’m back to review another Alawar title – Hotel Mogul.

PocketMap Navigator 2010 Released

News

PocketMap Navigator 2010 Released

Space Machine, the makers of Pocket Map navigation software for PNAs and Windows Mobile, have released Pocket Map Navigator 2010. This release doesn’t add any major new features, but rather the big news with this release is that they’ve included the newest updated Navteq maps and they’ve improved some of their routing. PocketMap Navigator has been a long-time favorite of mine on the Windows Mobile platform due to its excellent interface.  You can read my review of PocketMap Navigator here. PocketMap Navigator is available from the PocketMap store.  The price is now only$59.95 for the full USA version.