2013 | Gear Diary

Good News/Bad News with Bluebird Checking and Debit Card

We’ve been doing a series of posts about the features and use-experience of Bluebird, a joint venture of American Express and Walmart. The financial tool describes itself as “Your Checking and Debit Alternative”. We were sponsored to write a series of posts about our experience and, at least at this point, we would describe it as “a mixed bag”. Let’s first recap the steps we have taken with Bluebird thus far. I opened an account and then drove to my local Walmart. Once there I deposited $100 in my Bluebird account. It worked well and, within seconds, the money appeared in…

Editorials

The Outcome of My iPad Mini Apple Support Saga

Just before Christmas, I ranted about the support I was getting from Apple on my iPad Mini WiFi issue when using the phone and their online support systems. I contrasted it with Dan’s experience, he was seeing a similar issue and had it resolved when he went to his local Apple Store. My experience at that point was stretched across more than 2.5 weeks and was getting more frustrating by the day; it is too long to repeat here (click link above for the full story), but Dan’s experience is easy to sum up: Dan’s Apple Store Experience Walked in. Explained…

Editorials, Gear Bits

The Outcome of My ‘Unsubscribe’ Adventure

Back in mid-November, I wrote a post asking if those ‘unsubscribe’ links in emails of reputable companies actually meant anything. Carly wrote a follow-up post about how companies used junk mail blasts as targeted marketing, because it was surprisingly effective. So now it is about six weeks since I wrote my original post, making it nearly two months since I started trying to dump unwanted emails. How did it go? Amazingly well! Through Cyber-Monday I saw only a slight decrease in unwanted email, but immediately after that I noted a sharp decline, followed by slower drop-offs, and then a couple of reappearances between…

Reviews

Pelican ProGear S100 Sport Elite Backpack Video Review

If you are looking for serious protection for your laptop, and you want to carry a tablet, and you need a backpack that can hold all your gear, you will want to take a look at the Pelican ProGear S100 Elite Backpack. The ProGear S100 is a beast and that’s a good thing. In fact, it almost came with me as a mainstay of my CES 2013 gear after I was sent one for review*. Let’s take a closer look at this backpack that packs ultimate laptop protection. The Pelican ProGear S100 Sport Elite Laptop Backpack stands out because of…

Gear Bits, News

Goodbye Spin Magazine After 27 Years

Last summer, after BuzzMedia bought Spin Magazine, it announced it was cancelling the November / December issue as part of a ‘brand evaluation’. Well … over the holidays we learned that print was NOT in fact part of the ‘moving forward’ plan, and the magazine has been killed off in favor of focusing on online efforts. Interestingly, as shown at the top, the magazine is giving out Car & Driver magazine as a replacement for current subscribers. I was intrigued as to why we were suddenly getting Car & Driver again (I had gotten a free subscription in the past that…

Events, Reviews

Nighthawk Bluetooth Microphone Combo System Overview

As we prepare to head off to CES 2013, we are taking the time to think through the gear we are bringing along. One piece of unplanned kit that will be making the trip to Las Vegas comes from BlueWi, a subsidiary of The Earphone Connection. The Nighthawk Bluetooth Microphone Combo is a Bluetooth adapter system that has been used by law enforcement, but it is now making its way into the consumer market thanks to its sturdy build and flexible convenience. The company describes the Nighthawk Bluetooth Microphone Combo as “the ideal tool to meet the demands of the…

Gear Bits, Music Diary

After More than a Billion Views, an Infographic Looks at Gangnam Style’s Social Reach

By now pretty much everyone with an internet connection has seen or heard or heard about the Gangnam Style video by the South Korean ‘K-Pop’ artist Psy. The massive success not just on YouTube but also on Facebook and Twitter has meant that it has been analyzed to death. But a guest post at HypeBot and an associated Infographic lend a lot of intriguing insights into how we gather and share this type of information. The most intriguing part for me is that in spite of being a YouTube video, YouTube had the LOWEST engagement of any social site, with…

News

Mobile Fun Samsung Galaxy S III Extended Battery Kit

If you have a smartphone other than one of the Droid Maxx devices, chances are you wish it had better battery life. And as they get more and more powerful we do more and more – so any gains in power efficiency are lost by greater usage! There are battery cases available that fully cover your device and change the appearance and certain enhance the size and weight. But what MobileFun is offering is a replacement battery that adds nearly 50% to your battery capacity (from 2100mAh to 3000mAh) yet only increases the thickness by attaching directly as a replacement…

Reviews

Letterpress Word Game for iOS

Type of app: Word game Platform/where to buy: iOS, universal for iPad and iPhone Developer: atebits Price: Free, $.99 upgrade for unlimited games and themes Major features: Use the jumbled letters to create words, and compete for credit for each tile used. Words cannot be reused, and once every tile is claimed, the person who has used more tiles wins. Challenge friends via iOS Game Center. Ease of use/Overall performance: This is a very fun game and a great alternative to word games like Words with Friends. It forces you to be creative, since you can’t reuse words and you…

Editorials

In the Midst of Some iPhone Rumors, Here is my iPhone wishlist.

I’m not picky. All I wanted in an iPhone before I finally made the switch from Android to iPhone was a bigger screen and 4G capability. The iPhone 5 had both; I jumped all over it and haven’t looked back since. But those were my requirements for jumping the Android ship; others might have had different reasons for switching or upgrading from a previous iPhone model. Some might just want the newest iPhone simply because it’s the newest. I don’t think anything besides a massive overhaul will make me upgrade from my iPhone 5 to the rumored iPhone 5S, but…

News

Café Cup Review

I love my Keurig coffee maker. It’s my morning companion and has been for many years. Sometimes, though, I have coffee I want to try that is not available as a Keurig K-cup. While Keurig offers up an adapter that lets you use any ground coffee in a Keurig machine, my experience with it is not all too positive. Every time I’ve used it the reusable K-Cup leaks water all over the place. It is better than the wasteful K-Cups that are used once and then thrown in the trash or, more accurately, they would be if they worked. Sadly… they don’t….

Gear Bits

Bluebird by American Express, a Hiccup

We are in the midst of a series of posts that walk through the process of creating an account with Bluebird, a joint venture between American Express and Walmart, and subsequently using the self-described “Checking and Debit Alternative”. Initially I planned to highlight the process of creating a number of sub accounts that work with my main account and allow family and friends I select to access the available funds in this post. For example, such a joint account could be quite helpful as we are heading to CES this weekend. It would allow all of us to access the…

Editorials, Health and Fitness

New Yale Study Using MRI Brain Scans Links Fructose to Weight Gain and Obesity

A new study from Yale University published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and reported at Bloomberg details something that has been gaining more and more scientific support: fructose has a significant link to weight gain and obesity. I have been compiling links for several months now about all of this stuff, including a report from last year put out by the UK Guardian that made a bold claim – that we are on average more than 40 pounds heavier than we were three decades ago, and much of it isn’t about eating more or exercising less ……

Vehicles & Gear

GMC Sierra Denali 1500 AWD and Auld Lang Syne

“Out with the old, in with the new…” How many times have we heard that saying this week? In the test garage it is no different, as we say goodbye to the outgoing 2013 GMC Sierra Denali pickup on the heels of the automaker announcing the next-generation coming this year. Overall, GM light-duty (half-ton) pickups have changed little in recent years and continue to sell well, very well in fact as they are at the top of sales charts for respective divisions. One thing that eludes the General though is segment leadership as Ford continually outsells the Silverado and Sierra…

Gear Bits

How to Keep Your New Gear Looking Great

It’s 2013, and the year is off to a running start. No doubt someone in your home received some new gear over the holidays. And regardless of the brand all the gadgets have one thing in common — they need to be protected. This is especially so in 2013, when mobility is the name of the game. Think about it, a desktop computer that sits at home or in your office runs minimal risk of physical damage unless a natural disaster or a disastrous pet come into the picture. A laptop however, something that is specifically designed to be carried and…

News

Canonical Outs New Ubuntu for Phones

The New Year has barely begun, but there’s something BIG going on at Ubuntu’s parent company, Canonical! Today Canonical has announced a version of Ubuntu for Mobile phones. According to Canonical, Ubuntu for Mobile Phones should have this on hardware to demonstrate at CES 2013. Canonical says that the SDK has everything developers need. The interface certainly looks nice, but they have not announced hardware vendors or carriers yet. A phone OS without hardware is pretty useless. They say they are in talks, but they said that when they outed Ubuntu TV at CES last year, and there STILL isn’t a hardware vendor…

Events, News

Bracketron Accessories Get You and Your Gear Mobile in 2013

If you resolved to “get outside more often”, Bracketron can help. At CES 2013 the company will be revealing a line of Outdoor Sports Mobile Accessories that includes the latest line of water-resistant sport cases. Among the new offerings are a Sport Case with Belt Clip that “shields your device from sweat, rain and the elements and allows full touchscreen control for phone calls, texts and emails”. The case comes in black and camouflage, and it will make for a great review as part of Coach’s Gear Diary Outdoors series! The company is also offering a Sport Case with Strap Mount….

Gear Bits

Pack for a Purpose when You Travel in 2013

This may look like bags of garbage but it is anything but that. No, this collection of bags is filled with dozens upon dozens of pounds of medical and school supplies. We brought these items with us when I led a mission to Cuba in October. Each of us was required to bring 15 pounds of “aid goods” as the means of getting into Cuba. My community being who they are, however, ended up bringing far more than that. All of the items were shared with organizations that help seniors and kids alike. It was a great way to turn…

Gear Bits

Random Cool Video – Star Trek The Next Generation Season 2 Gag Reel

At some point over the holiday break I was sent a link to this gag reel … which also served as a reminder of how much things have changed, as I got a completely blank expression from my kids when I used the term ‘gag reel’. So let me back up. A ‘gag’ is a joke or other humorous moment, whether intentional or unintentional. A ‘reel’ is one of those tape terms where you spool the ‘film’. Way back when, when shows were recorded on film, mistakes had to be ‘cut’ from the tape. Sometimes they would end up ‘on…