2013

MiPow Boom mini Bluetooth Speaker Review

I will admit to having gone into my review of the MiPow Boom and MiPow Boom mini Bluetooth speakers positively inclined toward both products. After all, when Judie and I met with Brian Holmes, vice president and general manager of MiPow, back at CES in January we were immediately impressed by the attention to quality and detail the company put into their mobile accessories. During our meeting we got to check out their range of external batteries and liked what we saw. We learned about their Bluetooth headsets and were anxious to try them out. And, at the end of CES, we…

Vehicles & Gear

Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Finally Earns ‘Thumbs Up’ UPDATED

It has been a few years since a Ford F-150 Raptor has graced our test driveway, and in that time the model has seen a few enhancements to what is already a ‘roided-up version of Ford’s best-selling vehicle in North America. While the SVT Raptor is basically a Baja truck with NHTSA safety equipment and license plates, Ford includes its full complement of creature comforts as well. Thankfully that now allows for a SuperCrew cab variant and the beefier 411hp 6.2-liter V-8 engine mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox. This tradeoff is fuel economy of course, and in 4×2 mode…

News & Features

RepeaterBook for Android App Review

Way back when I was first licensed in 1993 to use a HAM Radio, the first thing I wanted to do was to get on the 2m band and hop on a local repeater. How did I find them back then? Well I went to the local radio store and bought the latest edition of the ARRL Repeater Book. In fact, the ARRL still publishes this book, and it’s only $10.95. Once I got the book, I had to dig through it to find my county and city; then I had to plug in all the repeaters into my radio….

Travel

Discovering Jamaica’s Dunn’s River Falls

My family and I are here in Jamaica, mon — enjoying the sun, the warmth and the beauty of this lush tropical island. Yesterday we ate breakfast and then set out for a trip to Dunn’s River Falls – about 45 minutes from our villa. Dunn’s River Falls is in an area the Spanish called “Las Chorreras”, or “the waterfalls or the springs”. Over time “Las Chorreras” became “Ocho Rios” or “eight rivers”. This despite the fact that there are just four, rather than eight, rivers here. Those four rivers are Cave River, Roaring River, Turtle River and of course Dunn’s River….

eBooks

Barnes & Noble Has Forgotten What Makes the NOOK Interesting

Hey, want to buy a NOOK? Barnes & Noble would very much like it if you did. That’s not surprising — they’re fighting hard for marketshare in an increasingly crowded market. But hot on the heels of their “buy a tablet, get an eBook reader!” bizarre promotion, they’ve been reminding everyone of another reason to buy a NOOK: They’ll pay you in NOOK credits. Essentially, they want to handcuff you to the NOOK ecosystem one way or another! But are there better ways to market the NOOK family of products? First, let’s look at the promotions. If you want an…

News & Features

G-Technology’s New G-DOCK and G-DRIVE Offer Speed, Versatility and Flexibility

Like you, much of my life is digital. That includes documents, pictures, music and video. Those files are precious… and increasingly larger and larger. Seriously, one video for a Gear Diary post can be a gigabyte and a half before I even begin to process it. It adds up … quickly. In addition, protecting that data is more important than ever, so having the ability to move files from one location to another is too. And when your files are huge and your file transfer rate is slow, it means only one thing — wasted time. G-Technology is looking to…

News & Features

The Lifesaver Bottle Is the Filtered Water Bottle That the World Needs

The problem with most consumer filtered water bottles is the fact that they are really only good for everyday uses; like removing Chlorine, Lead, Mercury, etc, and making the already mostly safe water taste a little better. You would not want to trust those bottles to keep yourself safe while out for a hike without access to clean, trustworthy water. I use a filtered water bottle every day at work in order to improve the taste of the tap water and to cut down on the amount of plastic water bottles I use. The Lifesaver Bottle takes a whole new,…

Reviews

AKG K391 NC Noise Cancelling Headphones Review

In an ever-more crowded market filled with noise cancelling headphones, it can be a challenge to find the right balance of noise cancellation, comfort and audio quality. I was so impressed with the sound and comfort of the AKG K551 over-the-Ear headphones I reviewed recently (read the review), that I wanted to check out a pair of their noise cancelling offerings. They were kind enough to send a pair of the AKG K391 Noise Cancelling Headphones for review, and my first impressions are excellent. The AKG K391 NC Noise Cancelling Headphones have an MSRP of $249.99, but they are widely…

Travel

Dunn’s River Falls Survival Gear

Dunn’s River Falls is awesome, and it is a visit I encourage anyone going to Jamaica to make. There was some gear that made the trip even better, and I thought I might share some of the items; so here’s a rundown of my Dunn’s River Falls Survival Gear. Dunn’s River Falls Survival Gear #1: Vibram Five Fingers I wanted to make sure I could run while here in Jamaica, but I also wanted to pack lightly. That’s why, when all was said and done, I brought my Vibram Five Fingers shoes. They are great for running, but they are…

Vehicles & Gear

2013 BMW X1 Sport Activity Vehicle Bleeds 3-series DNA

BMW is a marque used by many automotive journalists as their “industry standard.” While I do not agree with many of my colleagues across the board on this, for me the X3 crossover from Bavaria is at the top of its game so there was much anticipation when the automaker brought its newest cute ute to the states in the form of the X1 Sport Activity Vehicle (BMW-speak for crossover utility vehicle). The 2013 BMW X1 is based on the 3-series automobile platform and offers many of the same creature comforts and attributes of the sedan and coupe models albeit with…

Health and Fitness

Tips for Your First 5K – The Monday Mile

Over the past week or so, several folks at Gear Diary have started (or re-started) running as part of training for a 5K road race. We’ve been having a number of discussions, and Carly and I have been recalling running our first races. Since spring has officially started and even in the northeast we’re starting to see temperatures climb to near 50ºF during the day – which means weekend runners! So I thought it would make sense to take a bit and offer up some tips for your First 5K! Here we go: Get an App: Dan & Judie are…

Reviews

Jurassic Park 3D Review

Jurassic Park is one of my favorite movies. I have very fond memories of seeing it as a kid with my dad, and I even had the soundtrack (on cassette tape!) So of course, I had tickets to see Jurassic Park 3D this weekend. This was a 20 year old movie, updated for 3D … would it hold up against more modern standards? Admittedly, I am biased because I loved the original, but it surprisingly did hold up quite well. The special effects still looked quite good, and there weren’t any cringe-worthy moments where the blue screen or CGI looked dated….

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness

No Scream Cream – Waxing Poetic (and Pain Free) in Jamaica

I’m on vacation in Jamaica with my wife, Elana, her brother Rob and Rob’s girlfriend, Alison. We had a casual breakfast in our villa this morning, after which Rob headed to the beach to read. I lingered a bit too long over my last cup of coffee and, as a result, had the opportunity to hear a FASCINATING conversation on shaving, electrolysis, and waxing. (It made me happier than ever to have been born male.) So why am I sharing this here on Gear Diary? Because Alison told Elana about the “best product ever” in this regard – Relax and…

News & Features

Tom Bihn Introduces the Synapse 25

I love all of my Tom Bihn bags for multiple reasons. From the Aeronaut to the Synapse, they are all high quality bags and each one of them still looks like brand new — even with repeated trips over the years I have owned them. Plus every bag is made right here in the United States! You can’t say that about most backpacks and bags these days! Tom Bihn now has a new and improved version of one of my favorites, the Synapse. The new Synapse 25 isn’t just a bigger version of the Synapse (now called the Synapse 19);…

Events

Lessons on Privacy from the Adult Entertainment Industry at SXSWi

Yes, I know it’s been over for a few weeks now, but I still have some South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) notes about some interesting stuff that I encountered there that I would like to share with you all, so I hope you don’t mind. Note to Readers: This post discusses topics related to adult industries, and specifically the sex worker sector. If this type subject matter offends you, please skip this post. Thanks! One of the simultaneous joys and frustrations of SXSWi — which I discussed a little bit elsewhere — is that there are so many more talks…

Reviews

Bento 4 for iPad iOS Review

As someone who is self-employed, I have a lot of things in my business life that I need to keep track of, and a database app like Bento 4 can help keep me sane. Is it something that could help you? Read on to decide. Bento 4 is effectively a database application for the everyman, and several on the Gear Diary team have also found it useful. Whether it’s keeping track of your DVD collection, exercise regime, or members of your kid’s baseball team, Bento will provide. When you first start the Bento 4 app, you’ll be offered a selection…

Learn Slap Bass in Six Weeks Instructional DVD

Music Diary, Reviews

Lick Library Learn Slap Bass in Six Weeks DVD Review

Spending my high school years playing electric bass in a series of jazz, rock and fusion groups meant quickly learning and adapting to different styles. Within rock there was the looser ‘arena rock’ style and also the much tighter and punchier style favored in New Wave music and by artists such as the Police. Jazz music required considerable harmonic depth, the ability to improvise and swing and communicate. Fusion required all of those things, and also needed the added skills of slap & pop techniques. For me that meant time listening to and practicing with the records of Stanley Clarke…

News & Features

MiPow Boom and MiPow Boom Mini Ready for US Launch

As we wrote back in January, MiPow is planning a huge move into the US market this year. The company, which is well-known in other parts of the world, makes an assortment of lifestyle accessories including external batteries, headphones and now… Bluetooth speakers. We had a chance to check out pre-production samples of the MiPow Boom and MiPow Boom Mini Bluetooth speakers in Las Vegas and were impressed. Now we have our hands on the first review samples of each and we are going to put them through some extensive use during out review. First, though, since these are the…

Game Diary, Reviews

Foursies for iOS Game Review

The conversion of a board game to a smartphone game can be tricky, due to getting controls and the feel of the game correct. For that reason I haven’t been a big fan of games like the Wii version of Monopoly. But a game like Connect 4 seems to be a natural – the controls are simple, and the flow and view of the game work perfectly on small screens as well as tablets. But to make it really stand out there needs to be a twist, so let’s see how they did in my Foursies for iOS Game Review!…

Reviews

Nillkin Hard Case for Google Nexus 4 Review

Bulky cases on already large phones is a problem for me, and the Nillkin Hard Case line looks to be a good option. Having recently switched from my iPhone 5 to a Nexus 4, the main thing I have been getting used to is the extra size. Having 4.7 inches of screen to play with for browsing and videos is wonderful, but less so when attempting to type one-handed. It’s relatively easy with a naked Nexus 4, but when out working I always want that bit of extra protection. The Nillkin Hard Case is very no frills, and arrived in…

Music Diary, Reviews

Tom Quayle from Rock to Fusion Instructional DVD Review

It seems that whether self-taught or formally trained, most guitarists learn a very rock-centric style of playing based on the music they most enjoy hearing. Through the years they might find themselves limited by this or simply seek to inform their music with different styles. A new Lick Library instructional DVD seeks to provide established guitarists with the tools they need to add fusion styles to their arsenal. But how is the method? To find out check out my Tom Quayle From Rock to Fusion Instructional DVD Review. Type of DVD: Music instructional DVD Where to buy: Lick Library Store…

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