2009

FreshFridge IC2127 Refrigerator Purifier

Like a lot of guys – I have this habit of keeping stuff in my refrigerator just a little too long. Jennifer and I have this fun game that we like to play called “guess the expiration date”. She randomly pulls stuff our of my refrigerator. Asks – do you know when this expired? To which I typically respond something guy-ish like – you mean milk goes bad? So as you could imagine my refrigerator often has an interesting odor that lingers. When I spotted the FreshFridge for $17 on Amazon I just had to give it a try.


Windows 7 on the HTC Shift

There have been two activities that have become the norm across the world of technology blogging in the last couple of years: unboxing, and loading Mac OS X onto netbooks. As a person who is lucky enough to have the opportunity to play with lots of phones, notebooks and other “unboxable” items, I’ve done the former a fair bit, and as an owner of a MacBook Pro for the past few years, I can understand peoples need to load OS X onto any device with an x86 processor. Another trend that’s come up in the last month or so is…


The Nokia N85’s Killer App

There are many reasons to like the Nokia N85, but the one thing that has blown my hair back and made me truly appreciate this talented little device is something I had never before seen in a mobile phone…an FM transmitter*. And not just any weak wannabe transmitter, I’m talking about one that is just as strong – and allows the music to sound just as rich – as the dedicated transmitter on my Sirius box does.



Febreze Odor Removal Appliance = awesome

On a whim I ordered this Febreze Odor Removal Appliance from Amazon for $22. My kitchen always has this “interesting” assortment of (burnt) smells and I was hopeful that the Febreze would do more than pump out a scent to mask odors.


Laser guided scissors help keep your cutting straight

I’m one of those people who can’t make a straight cut for anything. These laser guided scissors are affordable (only $15) and guarantee that you’ll at least have a straight line to follow. Useful for cutting all types of things where you may not want to use a ruler and make a mark to draw your own line. The blade is about 3.5″ long and the laser runs on 2 included LR44 batteries. Perfect gift for the professional gift wrapper who has everything! Laser Guided Scissors


Hawking Technologies HWUN3 Review

Hawking has been around a while, and while most laptops have built in WiFi, they may not have Draft N or 802.11N.  You may also have a desktop without WiFi that you want a Internet connection on without using Ethernet; this may fit the bill.


Science projects without tears

A few days ago I ranted about my belief that take home School Science Projects should be banned. I’m not altogether against them – it’s just that as a parent of two 9 year olds my experience is that most projects are a test of the parent’s ability to teach their kids how to do a project as opposed to the kids understanding anything at all about what they’re doing. Little did I know there’s actually a company that creates science project kids that help parents understand the science fair process. You might refer to this kit as parent’s “science…


The Amazing Hubble Space Telescope in Action

According to astronomer Lyman Spitzer’s 1946 paper “Astronomical advantages of an extraterrestrial observatory”, there were two main advantages that a space-based observatory would have over ground-based telescopes. The first advantage was that “the angular resolution (smallest separation at which objects can be clearly distinguished) would be limited only by diffraction, rather than by the turbulence in the atmosphere, which causes stars to twinkle and is known to astronomers as seeing.” The second advantage was that “a space-based telescope could observe infrared and ultraviolet light, which are strongly absorbed by the atmosphere.” The United Kingdom launched the first orbiting solar telescope…


Kindle Case – Another Option

Like Judie, I unboxed my Kindle VERY carefully. The Kindle wasn’t inexpensive, and having read Rob Bushway’s tale of woe, I didn’t want a repeat. So… while I had not initially bought a case for my Kindle (hello Amazon, talk about cheap! Include SOMETHING case-wise for crying out loud), I did order the standard case as quickly as possible. The Kindle came Wednesday and the case arrived yesterday. It is sweet!


Unboxing the Amazon Kindle 2

I was starting to feel like I was one of the last people to get theirs, especially after enviously reading Dan’s emails and Doug‘s post about their Kindle 2s, but today my Amazon Kindle 2 finally showed up. I also got the Cole Haan Brown pebbly leather cover to go with it, since Amazon neglected to include even a cheap plastic one. The big box is the leather cover, and the smaller box is the Kindle 2; go figure. I opened everything with an expectant, yet slightly wary eye; I had dropped serious coin on this gear, and if it…



Going green? How about reusable toilet paper?

Interested in doing your part to improve the environment. Who’s with me on switching to reusable toilet paper? Cloth toilet paper is not much different from the concept of re-usable diapers. It’s more economical, uses less paper and — no more late night trips to the store when you run out of paper! Biggest downside? Who wants to wash this in their washing machine? Soft Cloth Toilet Wipes Details: * Two-layer construction for soft strength. * Basic wipes are one layer of soft flannel and one layer of knit terry. * Premium wipes are one layer of soft flannel and…


What If Your Town Got Nuked? A Ground Zero Project

Fresh from last night’s viewing of Religulous, which ends with a disturbing cacophony of nuclear explosions, I found this in my RSS feed today… CarlosLabs has posted a bit of Javascript which uses Google Maps to show the effects of various catastrophic disasters; manmade and otherwise. According to DVICE’s Charlie White, “The deep red color means total destruction, dark red would be third degree burns, light red signifies second degree burns, and yellow means you’d get a pretty nasty sunburn.” You can get a more specific interpretation of distance related damage represented by the colored rings, here.


Why school projects should be banned [rant]

I think my mom is the Queen of Science projects. At my house I’ve been struggling with getting my son’s science fair project completed by next week. I’m probably the least creative person at thinking up new and interesting ways to test how fast a matchbox car can run down a wooden ramp. Leave it to my Mom to an interesting way to complete the project in one emailed suggestion that my son build the cars from the kits he received for Christmas (thanks mom!) and then test each by adding weight. I suddenly realized that my Mom wasn’t born…


V-Moda vibe II: Earphones with a Fashion Sense

In recent months, I’ve had the privelege to try out a number of different earphones/earbuds.  In a former life, I did the “band” thing – writing, recording, performing.  The end result of all this is that I tend to be extremely picky about my audio equipment.  In some ways, however, it’s like the old saying – I don’t know art but I know what I like. Enter the vibe II – earphones that try to be a little of both – an excellent audio delivery system and art. images courtesy of V-Moda


Vaja 4G Nano iVolution Grip Case with GoClip Review

I honestly think that Apple makes the best MP3 player on the market.  I know there are a lot of people that would like to debate that point, but in my mind, and in my opinion, even though they didn’t release the first player, they were the first ones to get the experience right.  They win; but again, that’s a personal opinion… Recently I bought my daughter a 4G (RED) Nano for Christmas.  Her grandparents “bought” her a white and red Samsung Propel (she got a Visa gift card that we used to purchase the phone).  It was a, uh-hem……


Bloggers Photo Guide

The idea for this post came from a little back and forth amongst the GearDiary team concerning getting better images to go along with our blog entries. Specifically, some were looking for tips to produce better tech gear images with monitor screens, i.e., multimedia devices, smartphones, laptops, video monitors, etc.


The Rivet Clip System Review

It’s an issue that has been around since people first started carrying mobile devices: What’s the best way to carry your phone or MP3 player so that it will be easily accessible, less likely to be stolen, and less likely to be forgotten? An obvious answer might be to keep the device inside a case that attaches to the wearer’s belt, but some don’t want the hassle of a bulky case; they need something that offers a little bit more flexibility. With that in mind, say hello to the Rivet Clip System, specifically the Kingpin, Shift and GoClip.


2009 Chevrolet Tahoe 2-Mode Hybrid

My relationship with the new fullsize GM hybrid SUVs continues to be a love/hate one. I love the fuel savings and cleaner emissions delivered by these “green beasts,” but I hate that consumers still cannot get one for less than 50 grand.


iPhone 3G vs BlackBerry Storm

Judging from the quantity of Twitter questions asking for purchasing advice on the “BlackBerry Storm vs iPhone” – it looks like plenty of people still are undecided between both these devices. While I typically have a one sentence response of “If you want email buy a BlackBerry otherwise buy an iPhone” – I realize that the analysis isn’t always so cut and dry. There’s the touchy issue of AT&T’s signal quality, the ability to capture video, ease of on-screen keyboard use, integration with iTunes. James at JKOnTheRun has done an excellent job with comparing and contrasting the iPhone and Storm….