February 2011

Music Diary Quickie: 5 Seconds of Every #1 Song … Ever!

For more than 50 years the Billboard Hot 100 has tracked the most popular songs in the country. Of course, for nearly that any years there have been payola scams, chart manipulation and other industry shenanigans that have tainted the songs that appear on the list. But make no mistake – whatever means are used to get a song to #1, the result is a lot of recognition and sales. Last week on Buzzfeed a user had compiled in two segments five seconds of EVERY #1 song from the inception of the Hot 100 until 1992. Over the weekend someone…


End of an Era: Frank Buckles, Last World War I Veteran, Dies at 110

I grew up in a time where not only were military actions and anything related to the government held in disdain and mistrust, but soldiers themselves were treated poorly by much of the public. So regardless of any feelings I have about whatever military or government actions happen in any given year, I love that there is a great public appreciation for our soldiers, the men and women who put their lives on the line in service to our nation. So much attention has been paid to World War II in recent years, from ‘The Greatest Generation’, to school visits…


Pop Goes the Music Diary: Britney $pears New Commercial … um, I Mean Music Video

After starting my ‘Music Diary Songs of Note’ I quickly realized that I wanted to look at both pop music for the music video trends, and also at some of the great jazz and other recordings I hoped to feature. So I’m going to use the ‘Music Diary Songs of Note’ label for the times I want to focus on the MUSIC, and now I’ll use “Pop Goes the Music Diary” when I am looking at the music industry. In case you didn’t know, Britney Spears has a new song out called ‘Hold it against me’. It sort of reminds…


iPad Accessory Review: ProClip’s MultiStand

In just a few days Apple is expected to announce the iPad 2 (or whatever they end up calling it). Yes, Apple’s runaway success with its first entry into the tablet market is nearing its first anniversary. Along the way I’ve had the opportunity to look at a wide variety of different mounting solutions for the first-generation iPad. Some have been exceptionally simple while others have been more complex. Some have been highly refined, have an aesthetic that stands out and carry a price tag to match. There is, however, a good deal to be said for accessories which are rather…


The eBook Piracy Boogeyman

Publishers looooove to complain about piracy, and how it’s going to destroy the very foundation of bookselling. That’s why they say we need digital rights management, and why there are an ongoing cat and mouse game between content providers and enterprising users finding ways to strip out the DRM and truly own their ebooks. So is the threat of piracy that real? Is a bookstore version of Napster brewing in a dorm room right now, just waiting to ensnare your Kindle in its web? Well, there might be, but apparently, the vast majority of individual titles being downloaded over peer-to-peer…


Altec Lansing Takes Us Behind the Scenes: Creating a Speaker Prototype

When I visited Altec Lansing’s headquarters back in January I was able to spend some time in the back area of the complex where the company develops their speakers. I didn’t write a great deal about it at the time because I had signed an NDA, and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t mistakenly share anything that I shouldn’t have. [That’s how we do things here at Gear Diary] Well, I can now share with you a good deal of what I was able to see in January because a video of Dave Burke, an Altec Lansing acoustics…


The Keurig Mini Plus Personal Brewer Review

Given the long hours I spend editing and writing, there are a few things that I need to have available at all times: a good desktop or laptop computer, a decent camera for taking pictures, a comfortable chair, and an ever flowing source of caffeine. The refrigerator behind me takes care of my Diet Cokes, I have a canister of dark-chocolate covered coffee beans on the counter, and lately I’ve been using the Keurig Mini Plus Personal Brewer system to handle my coffee and tea requirements. As the company explains: · The Keurig brewing system offers a coffee house quality…


iPad Accessory Review: Sena Keyboard Folio

There are times when you need to write something on the iPad that is just too long for the software keyboard. Sure you can carry a Bluetooth keyboard, but that may become cumbersome and heavy. That’s where having a mini Bluetooth keyboard built into a case for the iPad comes in. Sure, it is a relatively new concept, but by combining the keyboard with the familiar and popular folio style iPad case, many of the limitations people find with the iPad can be resolved. Finding the perfect solution, however, is difficult at best. Several companies have provided options. One of them,…


Honeycomb’s Strawman

I’ve noticed a troubling and confusing theme in reviews and comments about Google’s new OS, Honeycomb. It seems everyone thinks it’s great, but there’s an anti-Xoom, anti-Honeycomb meme that keeps appearing about the lack of Honeycomb-specific apps in the Marketplace. This is what’s called a “Straw man” argument. Rather than argue Honeycomb on its actual merits, pros and cons, they’re trotting out something that sounds awful (Honeycomb has very few apps) and using it as a distraction. Now, I can’t comment too deeply on Honeycomb, but I’ve played around with Android on a tablet with a rooted NOOKcolor, and I…


Is THIS the Future of the RPG? If So … the RPG is Dead!

Several years ago a variety of games started adding things like experience, skill building and other forms of progression as elements to their roster. Games like Grand Theft Auto San Andreas allowed you to ‘pump iron’ to make progress, online shooters like Battlefield 2142 tracked your progress and allowed you new ranks and skills as you progressed. Games were touting their ‘RPG elements’ in an attempt to differentiate themselves from the sea of similar shooters and action games … rather than actually being innovative. Life has come full circle, or so it seems based on a couple of statements by…


Music Diary Quickie: Check Out JamBuddy – a Free Backing Track Website

Have you ever just wanted to jam along with a variety of backing tracks, but lacked the software (such as Apple’s GarageBand) to do so? Well, a new website called ‘JamBuddy’ offers a simple Javascript program that makes it easy to drop in some chords and adjust some settings and quickly get a backing track ready to play over for practice, inspiration, or just fun! It is fairly limited, but for a free app it works very well and has decent flexibility. The image above shows about 10 seconds of effort on my part, yet it worked quite well for…


Samsung Tab Accessory Review: The Infinity Carbon 2×2 Carbon Fiber Twill Case

I am sure it’s no secret that accessories are important to me; as a matter of fact, I was just called an “accessory maven” by @philipbearne on Twitter recently. Thank you Philip, for stating the obvious. 😆 We spend a fair amount of time reviewing accessories here on Gear Diary because all of us enjoy using products that enhance our gear experience. When I buy a new smart phone or tablet, the first thing I generally do is order an anti-glare screen protector for it … and immediately afterward I start looking at cases. The screen protector serves two purposes:…


eBooks in the Public Library under Fire!

eBooks in libraries have been a challenge for quite a while. Libraries often can’t afford the licensing fees, or people don’t know they can check them out, or the Overdrive system has issues…there are many barriers to entry. Now it looks like publishers are putting yet another roadblock in front of public libraries trying to build an ebook following. Apparently, HarperCollins is now requiring libraries to “re-purchase” ebooks after they are downloaded 26 times. So popular books are going to need to be re-upped pretty frequently! This is going to put a serious crimp in the growth of public ebook…


Music Diary Songs of Note: Two Piano Masters … Together!

Throughout the 1970’s Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock were two of the leading figures in jazz fusion, Corea with the bombastic Return to Forever and Hancock with his funky Headhunters group. Each had a critical part in Miles Davis groups of the 1960’s and early 1970’s, which Hancock a pivotal member of the ‘second great quintet’ and Corea joining on electric piano and leading into the epic Bitches Brew. Both played on the transition records ‘Filles de Kilimanjaro’ and ‘In A Silent Way’, with Corea staying with Davis through On the Corner in 1972. However, in 1978 the two fusion…


iPhone 4 Wooden Case Roundup: Miniot iWood vs Species Case vs Root Case

There’s something to be said about wrapping your electronics in a wooden case; not only does wood give devices composed of metal and plastic a warmer feel, wood’s organic nature also ensures that your case’s pattern will be one of a kind – even if it is one of many similarly styled cases sold. One of my absolute favorite iPhone 3GS cases was the Miniot iWood Cobra, a case I paid € 130 (~$170) for and waited over 4 weeks to receive. When I moved from the 3GS to the iPhone 4, it pained me to know that my favorite…


The Story is Ancient: a Work in Progress; Build Your Own Passover Haggadah

For the past few years I have used a different Passover Haggadah each time I led the family seder. I realize that I may have just spoken Greek – or rather Hebrew – to some of you, so let me explain. The Haggadah is the service or story book used at Passover to retell the Israelites journey from slavery to redemption as told in the book of Exodus. It is read during the seder, the the festive meal that starts the week long festival. There are a tremendous number of different versions of the haggadah available from publishers. Each has a…



GD Quickie: Gear Tie 18″ Tie Your Gear

Seriously, how could I NOT post on this??? After all, the product name is Gear Tie. (And we’re Gear Diary… Get the tie-in??) So what’s the deal with these Gear Ties? Simple- The 18″ Nite Ize Gear Tie is the perfect size to wrap and organize medium-to-large appliance cords and wires. Keep your jumper cables, extension cords, dog leashes, and larger electric cords neat and untangled with a quick simple twist. The 18″ Gear Tie is also great for looping and hanging lightweight tools and lanterns—and reusable nature makes it easy to reposition and adjust conveniently. Available in packs of…


Amazon to Prime Members: Get Streaming

It was rumored to be coming, Michael posted on it the other day and this morning Amazon sent a blast of emails to announce that the switch had been flipped on video streaming for its Amazon Prime members. The streaming service launches with just 5000 television shows and movies, but since it is absolutely free to Amazon Prime members I’m not complaining. For those who already pay for Amazon Prime service, it is a nice value-added feature. For those who do not have Amazon Prime, it is another reason to consider it. For those people who have a Netflix subscription…


GD Quickie- iPhone Explains the Big Bang Theory

It will come as no surprise that the iPhone played central role on tonight’s episode of the Big Bang theory. In fact, an entire scene took place over Facetime! Yes, Apple had over 30% of the product placement in movies last year and that percentage is much higher on geek-centered sitcoms such BBT.


Hewlett Packard Elitebook 2540p Laptop Review

Last year I reviewed the Hewlett Packard (HP) Elitebook 8440w Mobile Workstation, declaring it one that I would love to be able to keep and use in my daily life, and as the best business laptop I’d ever used. Well, move over 8440w – because I have a new favorite, the svelte but ultra-powerful Elitebook 2540p! The Hype: Stay connected and productive on the go—without getting weighed down. Starting at just 3.38 lb, the durable HP EliteBook 2540p is HP’s smallest and lightest EliteBook, designed for maximum portability and uncompromised performance. Ultra-portable: • Compact, lightweight design with a 12.1-inch diagonal…