2011 | Gear Diary

Watch Review: Phosphor E Ink Digital Hour Clock Watch with Black Leather Band

Judie likes her loud, statement-making watches. (And she can, of course, pull it off!) There’s the Black Phosphor Appear she recently got. And there is the blinged-out version she reviewed in full. Me, I’m a bit more of a subtle guy (at least in this one regard.) That’s why I was excited to take a look at one of Phosphor’s “simpler” E-ink watches. This E Ink Digital Hour Clock Watch with Black Leather Band is a simple timepiece that looks great and is exceptionally comfortable to wear. From Phosphor: You’ve never seen a digital watch quite like this before. Its…

Reviews

Vivint Adds Security and Automation to a 1970s Era Deckhouse, Part Two: Installation

A few weeks ago I wrote about the fact that we were going to be adding an alarm system and a nice degree of home automation to our residence in New Jersey thanks to Vivint. Well, the process is all but done and I thought in this second post we would take a look at what the installation process actually entailed. I set up a standard installation appointment with the company and was pleased to find out that, unlike so many companies, the guys actually showed up exactly when they said they would. And they were awesome. They explained what…

Reviews

Marshall Headphones: The Major

UPDATED: Since the introduction of the lower case “i” at the beginning of a device name it seems the sound reproduction world has been solely delivering tiny little chunks of plastic and other material to shove into your eardrum. For some however, we still need something more traditional, something that fits snugly over the ears, not in them. When searching for a new set of headphones I could use while working both in the field as well as here in my little makeshift production studio I received a press release from a PR firm extolling some cool new devices that…

News & Features

Nielson Study Shows How Teens Interact with Media

It is amazing to look at the image above and realize that reflects the top TV shows the year that seniors graduating high school this month were born! Many of the shows – certainly Seinfeld, Rosanne, Frasier and Home Improvement – are classics easily found in syndication now. The X-Files also launched that year, bringing with it nearly a decade of conspiracies and unrealized sexual tension between the main characters. Jurassic Park Stomped through theaters, and ‘A Whole New World’ from Aladdin ruled the airwaves. 1993 was also the year that the Mosaic web browser launched, and the internet as…

Gear Bits

Meet Winston Kemp, Lightning Strike Survivor and Lichtenberg Figure Owner

“What does your boyfriend do when you go out of town? Well, [mine] gets struck by lightning.” – Daphne Cheek We’ve all heard stories about people getting struck by lightning — usually as some sort of cautionary tale, but how many of us have ever seen the effects of lightning on a human? The Lichtenberg Figures it can leave? Winston Kemp, a 24-year-old electrician, has had first-hand experience, and now he also has a unique and possibly permanent bit of body art — a Lichtenberg Figure — to go along with it. As Winston tells it … I went outside…

Gear Bits

Final ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two’ Trailer is Full of Awesome!

It seems like my kids have grown up with Harry Potter, and therefore we all share a fondness for the books and films. When they were little I read the first few books aloud using character voices. By the time the last couple arrived they could read them just fine but still had me read them aloud … which meant the world to me (though my wife wished she made the ‘approved reader’ list). We have also seen all seven films in theaters, and most of them a few times at home as well – so we are very much…

Reviews

Grooming Tool Review: Klhip “The Ultimate Clipper”

Do you really need to spend $70 on a nail clipper? ($95 if you want the attractive leather case specially designed for it.) Of course not! But, as my lovely wife often reminds me, you get what you pay for. In the case of the Klhip nail clipper, while you can get something that does the same basic grooming function for under $10, you really aren’t comparing apples to apples. Here is take a look at what this high-end nail clipper is all about. From the Company: BUILDING A BETTER NAIL CLIPPER: Why re-design something so mundane? Average nail clippers…

Editorials

The Thrill of Victory … the Atrocity of Defeat!

As someone who lived in the Boston area for more than 40 years before the economy finally tanked and I landed in western New York, I grew up with that image of Bobby Orr flying through the air after scoring the winning goal in the 1970 Stanley Cup … along with ‘Bird stole the ball’ and Bill Buckner and a bunch of other Boston sports memories. Hockey was never my first love – that would be basketball – but I have kept track of the B’s throughout the years, finding hockey to be a much ‘purer’ sport where the stars…

News & Features

LinkedIn Explains Why They Don’t Allow SD Card Installs

Although ‘business social’ site LinkedIn started off slower and with seemingly less traction than Twitter, a recent study showed that LinkedIn is now considered the most important social media network, with 60% of respondents saying that having a LinkedIn account is more important than any other social network. Since so many business users of social media carry smartphones, it seems that one necessary element in any strategy is to have a mobile application for iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices. As many have found, implementing a full-featured interface for sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn is daunting, as is keeping user…

eBooks, Editorials

How to Spot an eBook Scam, or, How to Avoid MyPadMedia, TheReadingSite, and Their Friends

Around this time last year, the Gear Diary team tussled with the folks at MyPadMedia. They were less than thrilled with us blowing open their scam of $50 for “unlimited” eBooks that turned out to be free eBooks from Feedbooks and other sites. Unfortunately, either MyPadMedia or their cohorts have managed to spawn again, this time with “The Reading Site”, which sounds and looks suspiciously similar. Pay us up front, we promise you unlimited eBooks, and if you’re a website who wants to be an affiliate there’s a super fat paycheck for you. However, without even paying for the site…

News & Features

Last Minute Father’s Day Selections from Dan, on WBAP Dallas

Just in case you weren’t one of the million’s of people who heard it this morning, Dan was on WBAP‘s morning show talking with Brian Estridge about Father’s Day gift ideas. They liked him and his suggestions so much that they played the interview twice! =) Here’s a tally of the things Dan talked about: • Yurbuds • ROKU • Evernote • Livescribe Echo • Sonos • Apple iPad 2 You’ll have to listen to Dan’s interview to hear why he recommended each! Dan on WBAP

Editorials, Game Diary

Is there an Origin/Steam Battle Brewing?

EA was actually relatively early to the digital download game, with their online store serving up games through the evolving EADM since 2007. Even back then EA pushed use of the service, but users balked because initially the EA specified that downloads were held for 6 months, or 2 years if you paid the extra ‘insurance’. Just before E3 last week EA launched their Origin digital download service, clearly aimed to take on market leader Steam. This week EA has made moves that show it is ‘On Like Donkey Kong’ … or, more appropriately, ‘Off Like Crysis 2’! That’s right…

Game Diary, Reviews

Gear Games Retrospective: Duke Nukem 3D (1996, FPS)

This week we FINALLY get the sequel to the classic 1996 game Duke Nukem 3D. I will be getting a review copy very soon in will have a full review as soon as I can. But in the meantime I thought it appropriate to dig back into the game that launched the 15 year quest for a sequel! The Hype Duke Nukem, the politically incorrect celebrity and ultimate alien ass kicker, defends Earth and its babes from alien invasion. He is a can-do hero who realizes that sometimes innocent people have to die in order to save Earth, so accuracy…

Reviews

Weather Doodle for iPhone/Touch and iPad

I admit it, I am a weather freak. Part of this is due to the fact that most of my job requires being outside and weather plays a huge factor in how my day or games will go. Another part is due to living in Kansas for a few years as a young kid. Basically, I was scared into learning and being interested in weather. Our county is currently in a drought worse than was experienced during the dust bowl and there does not seem to be any relief in the near future. Yesterday evening we were still at 100…

Reviews

Useful Things: The Plasma Bulb Night-Light Review

In the 1980s, the coolest accessory you could have in your bedroom wasn’t a lava lamp, it was a plasma globe. I can still remember ogling one at the Service Merchandise store in San Angelo; they cost $199, and I had to save up for several months before I could purchase mine. Before seeing my first globe, I didn’t know anything about plasma; that in “the world of physics it’s also known as the fourth state of matter, and is the closest we can get to “seeing” electricity.” [source] I didn’t know that the “plasma lamp was invented by Nikola…

Gear Bits

Random Cool Stuff: Raiders of the Lost Ark Turns 30!

Just sayin’ – there is no ‘Indiana Jones and the …’ prefix to MY Raiders of the Lost Ark! Anyway, this past weekend Raiders of the Lost Ark turned 30 years old. Released on June 12, 1981 the film was an enormous success and an instant classic. It cemented the legacies of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, as well as screenwriter Lawrence Kasden who had just done The Empire Strikes Back. Here is the backstory of the production according to TheRaider.net: The swashbuckling archaeologist idea first came to George Lucas. He created the Indiana Jones action hero inspired by the…

News & Features

Big News from Monster and Earth Wind & Fire

Last night the folks at Monster Cable were kind enough to invite Gear Diary to a special event held in San Antonio at the amazing Bjorn’s store. Monster brought in the legendary members of Earth Wind & Fire for a meet and greet with a special announcement: Verdine, Phillip and Ralph are celebrating 40 years of making music together as the band, and they have teamed up with Monster for a special product coming out soon. The band members were interviewed by Bjorn about their history and the formation of the band. It was a great experience to listen to…

Gear Bits, Music Diary

Music Diary Notes: I <3 iTunes in the Cloud

The other day I wrote about the conundrum I was having about the pricing versus feature comparison of iTunes compared to the Amazon MP3 store. I mentioned Pat Metheny’s ‘What’s It All About’ recording, which came out this morning. Here were my thoughts: But next week the new Pat Metheny recording comes out, and that has the exact same issue, but worse! iTunes has the pre-order set at $11.99 and Amazon has it at $10.49 (~12.5% difference). The iTunes has an added bonus track not found on the Amazon listing, but the Amazon one is much more likely to go…

Vehicles & Gear

Chevy Volt: A Week in the Life

I have written about the new Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle before so I am not going to go into too much technical detail here. This time I am going to delve into the “electric lifestyle” that would surround a consumer who drives one of the new breed of vehicles home. It did not take me long to figure out a week with an electric vehicle was going to require some different thinking. In fact, when the vehicle was delivered, more than half the battery pack was already drained just going from warehouse to carwash to my driveway in the…

eBooks, Editorials

The Danger of eBook Digital Rights Management

The most common complaints surrounding ebooks are probably digital rights management related. Either books aren’t cross-platform compatible, or there are arguments of fragmentation, and the biggest boogeyman of all fears that someone could flip a switch and deauthorize an entire library. That’s precisely what happened to one unlucky Teleread contributor. Douglas Cootey explains: My iPhone wouldn’t let me authorize any new apps that utilized Adobe’s DRM. I had run out of the allotted authorizations. By March of this year, I began to contact Adobe to fix the situation, but each web case was “withdrawn”, which is to say “dismissed without solving”. I called tech…

Reviews

iPhone 4 Case Review: Shark Eye Rugged iPhone 4 Case

The Shark Eye case for the iPhone 4 may look like just another rugged iPhone case but it is far from it. You see, the Shark Eye case has a built in screen shield that swings out of the way when you need to use your phone and goes back into position protecting the screen when you don’t. From the Company: SharkEye Cases are the best rugged iPhone cases to keep your iPhone and your life up and running. Meticulously engineered to protect your iPhone from serious drops, slips, scratches, pressure and from the same challenges you face everyday with…