June 2013

Can You Remember Your First Ever Order from Amazon?

Do you order items from Amazon? If so, do you remember your very first order ever? I couldn’t have told you on a bet, but the other day I found out that it is possible to look back and see every order that you’ve ever made. If you sign into your account and go to Your Account/Your Orders, you’ll see your orders from the past six months. But if you go into the drop down menu on the upper right corner, you’ll have the option to go back to the very first year you ordered, and once in, you can easily navigate to…

News

Wireless Emergency Alerts Coming to ATT iPhone Customers

photo courtesy of blog.chron.com AT&T has been rolling out Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) for some time. The service is now being added to iPhone 4s and 5 phones through an over the air update. The alerts are sent via free messages and are issued according to geographic location. The alerts focus on messages of threats to life and property, amber alerts, and alerts from the president. I assume most of the threat alerts will be weather and natural disaster related. Amber alerts are obviously for abducted children in the area, but what exactly are presidential updates?

Reviews

Ampjacket for iPhone 4S Review

The iPhone has some amazing multimedia features, but you need headphones, a Bluetooth speaker, or some other sort of stereo system to really appreciate them. The built-in speaker is ok, but nothing mind-blowing. What if you need a sound boost, but don’t want to lug around a full speaker system? The Ampjacket aims to deliver boosted sound in an iPhone case, but does it live up to the promise? The Ampjacket is a simple case made of a soft plastic material. Inserting the iPhone is simple, and the Ampjacket is quite protective with a slight lip around the edge for…

Reviews

JBL SoundFly Air Review – It Takes Off with Sound

The other day I came home to find that our router was blown. For some that might not be a big deal, but for me it was no small issue since it meant no television, no phone service, and no internet connection; I was in my car and on the way to buy a new router within minutes. The new router cost me an unexpected $200, but I was up and running in no time. Once I had everything working again, I discovered an added benefit — our WiFi network no longer faded and dropped the signal the way it…

Gear Bits

Spock Squared Makes Everything Funnier

I very, very, very rarely notice car commercials. And they never influence me on what sort of car I’d like to drive. But despite them being way out of our price range, I totally want an Audi after seeing this Young Spock/Old Spock commercial, spotted by our friends at Mighty Mega: Is that not the most awesome, geektastic commercial of all time? I can’t tell what made me laugh harder-the “Wrath of Khan” bit or the part where Leonard Nimoy sang bits of his infamous Bilbo Baggins song. And now a bit of trivia after you’re done laughing: Do you…

Music Diary, Reviews

Looking Back at John Scofield’s UberJam as He Prepares to Launch the Sequel

How often do we hear about an album getting a real ‘sequel’? Well, actually it has become a bit of ‘a thing’ in rap in recent years, but for the most part the results show it is an ill-advised trend at best. And Meatloaf started with a classic and ended up with a second sequel that included Celine Dion covers. So the history is not great! But now legendary jazz guitarist John Scofield is set to release UberJam Deux on July 2nd, so I wanted to go back and look at his 2002 release UberJam.

News

Dream Cheeky Releases the Cube Wireless Speaker

As summer gets into full swing, many of you will spend a lot of time outside soaking up the sun and having a great time. Nothing makes these kind of days more enjoyable than some of your favorite music. When I take my boys to the pool or we camp, we always have some tunes that match the occasion playing in the background. Of course, most people have some sort of mobile device capable of streaming or playing their music collection, but the speakers are usually less than desirable. What everyone needs is a way to listen to the music that…

Reviews

Spigen SGP Crumena View Pouch for Samsung GALAXY S4 Allows You to See Clearly

One of the features that impressed me when I first say the Samsung GALAXY S4 at the Samsung Press conference announcing it was the smart screen functionality when combined with Samsung’s S Covers. The pairing of the special cover and the screen functionality allows S4 users to see key information without even opening the smartphone’s screen. It is a nice touch that adds a level of functionality and convenience that, while not necessary, sure is nice. Spigen SGP Crumena View Pouch also takes advantage of this functionality. As the name suggests it is a pouch and, thanks to THIS pairing…

Reviews

Man of Steel Film Review – Sequels Likely

Superman Returns often feels like an homage rewarding viewers of the previous four Superman films with many references, inside jokes and related scenes. Man of Steel is a re-focusing of Clark’s personal journey growing up (mostly through flashbacks during his often traumatic experiences) while revealing his detailed background from his home planet, Krypton. Audiences get lots of alien activity in serious, intense tone with three small moments with subtle humor through character dialogue.

Health and Fitness, Reviews

New Balance Minimus MT10 Running Shoe Review

A few months ago, Carly reviewed the Merrell Road Glove 2, which is one of the most highly regarded minimal running shoes available. For the last year or so I have been running on Nike Free Run 3s, which are a ‘minimal-ish’ shoe with a small drop, very light construction, but still a decent amount of cushion. I’ve always been ‘minimal curious’, and on Black Friday last year I found a great deal on the New Balance Minimus. The shoes I got had serious issues and I needed to return them, and basically gave up. But apparently I left them on…

Reviews

Get the Most from Your iPhone With the Mophie Juice Pack Plus

Get an extra 120% battery with the mophie juice pack plus When the iPhone 5 arrived, it was a welcome change. After two years using the iPhone 4’s design, the iPhone 5 was both new and familiar at the same time. The new phone was thinner, longer and lighter. It also sported the new Lightning connector. Unfortunately, the new design meant that any accessories that were “form-fitting” and either wrapped around the phone or relied upon the now-obsolete 30-pin connector were of no use. Among the accessories that were now unusable were docks with a 30-pin connection (unless an adapter…

Detail Bags, Corporate Solutions by Skooba Design

Editorials

Detail Bags Creates Custom Solutions for Company Bag Branding

I don’t know how many times I have wished that I could create a laptop bag from my own specifications — one that would have the layout and organizational panels I needed (or wanted), and that would be made from the materials of my choosing; having a discreet Gear Diary logo on there somewhere would be a bonus. But I’m just one person, and the cost for me having something like that custom-made would be exorbitant … never mind the fact that I wouldn’t even know where to start. But if a company wanted to offer a bag that was specifically…

Crowdfunding, News

The Arriba! Adapter Is a Brilliant 2-in-1 iPhone 5 Charging Solution

You’re in your buddy’s car, and your iPhone’s battery is low. Typical, right? And of course, you forgot the Lightning cable for your iPhone 5. Your friend has a car charger, but it’s for his 30-pin iPhone, and he’s using it anyway. Buried under an open bag of chips and some diaper wipes, he has an old microUSB cable. That’s not much help, is it? Or maybe it is, if you happen to have the Arriba! Adapter attached to your keyring. Plug in that microUSB cable, stick the Arriba! Adapter’s Lightning plug into your iPhone 5’s port, and plug the…

Reviews

iLuv Aud 5 Proves the Speaker Dock Isn’t Dead

In an age of wireless technologies like Bluetooth, AirPlay and DLNA, one might expect the speaker dock would be dead. And while there certainly are far fewer speaker docks that rely on a direct connection to the audio source, iLuv clearly believes there is a market for such accessories. After using the iLuv Aud 5 for the last week, I have to agree with them. I love my Sonos system, and I’m a fan of the Libratone Zip (Elana is too, and she uses it every morning), but there is something to be said about a speaker that will also charge your…

Music Diary, Reviews

AmpliTube Gets New ‘Studio’ Interface in Major Update – Hands-On Review

Along with the original iRig, IK Multimedia delivered AmpliTube, a high quality guitar amplifier and effects chain simulator. It all started simply enough, with a few effects and amp simulators and a solid sound that made it a great ‘practice amp’ in much the way the RockMan worked for musicians in the early 80s. Since then IK Multimedia has improved and refined and added loads of features – and now introduces the new ‘Studio’ interface as part of the version 3.0 update. Which is free to all existing customers. Let’s take a look!

Game Diary, Reviews

Righteous Kill Movie Game for the Mac Review

Have you ever seen the film Righteous Kill? I never did, and consulting RottenTomatoes tells me I didn’t miss much – I did try to stream it, but it wasn’t freely available so I requested it from Goozex, but I wasn’t able to get it before doing this review. Turns out it doesn’t matter, since this game is more ‘based on’ the movie then actually tied to the film. Based on what I hear, that is a good thing. As for the game itself – let’s take a look!

News

The Ham Radio ARRL Repeater Directory for Android Review

A while back I reviewed an app for finding Amateur Radio repeaters called Repeater Book. In that review, I fondly remembered leafing through the Repeater Book that the American Radio Relay League (or ARRL) printed for years upon years. I have not bought one of those in some time, and I think the ARRL noticed that a lot of other hams haven’t either. At Dayton, the ARRL showed a new product that doesn’t replace the Repeater Book of old, but rather takes it and puts in on your phone in a similar way to the Repeater Book app I previously…

News

Mood O’ Clock App Lets You Choose the Right Mood to Wake You Up

As far as waking up in the morning, my wife and I are polar opposites. Whereas I’m nearly an “instant-on” waking up, my wife…not so much. Perhaps what she needs is Stereomood’s Mood O’Clock app to help set the right mood when she wakes up. Mood O’Clock is a clock/alarm application for iOS and Android devices that allows users to not just set a wake-up time, but set the mood for waking up. There are eleven alarm mood types to choose from, from “dreamy” to “sexy and furious”. Within each mood setting is a selection of themed tunes and a…

Reviews

Spigen SGP Ultra Thin Air Transparency Case for Samsung GALAXY S4 Review

If you are looking for simple protection for you Samsung GALAXY S4 smartphone that won’t add much bulk or weight to the device you will want to check out Spigen SGP’s Ultra Thin Air. The Ultra Thin Air is exactly what the name would suggest — a simple, super-thin, super-light snap on case that protects the back, sides and corners of the Samsung GALAXY S4. Here’s a video look… As you can see in the video, this is the Crystal Clear Transparency version of the Spigen SGP Ultra Thin Air Transparency for Samsung GALAXY S4. The case itself is made from…

Editorials, Game Diary

PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One, Round 2

After getting a good look at the PlayStation 4 plus more information and a better view of the Xbox One at E3, consumers can make more informed decisions leading up to the upcoming holiday release of both next-gen consoles. The biggest element, as usual, is price with the PS4 coming in at $399 – $100 less than Xbox One. Sony has learned from the past when the PlayStation 3 was originally priced at $599— $100 higher than Xbox 360. Microsoft has usually hit the price points well avoiding these issues that Sony (PS3) and Nintendo (3DS) endured. Now, our favorite here…

Editorials

WWDC iOS 7 Announcement from an Android User’s Point of View

Even though I am not a regular iOS user, I still watched the 2013 WWDC keynote as much of the Gear Diary team did. The blogosphere as a whole has had a lot to say about the similarities of some iOS features. It’s undeniable that Apple has drawn from Android, WebOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10 here, but unlike some Android users, I am not mad at all. In fact, if I were Google, I would take it as a complement. Apple recognized that they didn’t have some of the features that Android did, and they figured out how to make…

« 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 »