Articles by Judie Lipsett Stanford

Editorials March 7, 2008

Surviving the Nuclear Winter after an Atomic Server Crash, Part One

As you may have noticed, Gear Diary suffered a massive server crash on Saturday, March 1st. If you didn’t know it, then it is only a testament to how awesome the Gear Diary Team is, because we all immediately scrambled to get things back to normal as quickly as possible. Things aren’t quite there yet, and for better or worse they will never be quite the same again, but as usual I am getting ahead of myself… The night before everything happened, I had posted about my MacBook Pro order, and I had already started to receive informative post comments…

eBooks, Editorials March 6, 2008

GearChat: The Demise of Print Media and a Possible Reason for the Amazon Kindle

Once again, we invite you to eavesdrop on our email conversations… Wayne: R.I.P. … the Internet slays another print publication… Mitchell: I was a subscriber to PC World for about 5 years, and then I realised that I was paying for a magazine with content that I had read weeks earlier on the internet. It really is inevitable I suppose, tech magazines just can’t stay ahead of the game with online news sites getting information out hours after release. They have to wait a whole month… Clinton: This is the same problem that many tech magazines face. Granted, most have…

Reviews March 4, 2008

The Venturi Mini Review

Chris Spera called me the other day while I was driving my Alfa. We talked for a little bit, but then I finally had to admit that I was driving a stick shift in traffic, and holding my mobile phone to my left ear was a little bit tricky…since that was the hand I needed for the steering wheel, while my right hand was working the shift. He, of course, reminded me that they make headsets for that. I, of course, don’t really like wearing one. This review will focus on a compromise for people like me, those who don’t…

Reviews February 23, 2008

The Targus 17″ Trademark II Overnight Roller Review

When Sarah and I traveled to Amsterdam, I was trying to travel with the lightest gear possible, so I brought along my HP TX1327 which easily fit into a sleeve inside my carry on. But when I went to CES, I wanted to bring the laptop I most enjoy writing on – the Toshiba X205. Now here’s the thing: the X205 is a 17? beast, and I knew that it wasn’t a laptop I would be toting on the floor or bringing to meetings; I just wanted my laptop in the hotel room, waiting for me at night when I…

Reviews February 19, 2008

The USB Fever iPhone Aluminum Case Review

Perhaps leather cases just aren’t your style – maybe because you want added drop protection without adding too much bulk, or maybe because you just happen to enjoy hard-edged industrial design. Well for whatever reason, when you want tougher than leather and clear cases aren’t going to cut it, the best option is a metal case such as this one by USB Fever, their iPhone Aluminum Case.

Reviews February 18, 2008

The Smartphone Experts Screen Protector for Apple iPhone Review

When I first got my iPhone, Vincent said he was going to hook me up with a bunch of cool accessories from the MY iTablet store. I told him no problem, as long as he didn’t mind me writing reviews about the items he sent. I figured he’d send an iPhone case or two, but what I got instead was a box full of goodies. If I didn’t already know this about V, it would have all been confirmed with this shipment – the man does not mess around. What will follow are several reviews about the accessories he sent…

Reviews February 18, 2008

The Smartphone Experts Metal Cover for Apple iPhone Review

This case is for all of the minimalists out there – those who want to put their iPhone in a pocket, who don’t want a lot of bulk, but who are worried about the screen because things can happen inside pockets. Well, there will be one less thing to worry about if your iPhone is in the Smartphone Experts Metal Cover. This is another of the cases Vincent sent me from the MY iTablet Store, and knowing me as well as he does – he arranged to have the hot pink version sent. For those of you that aren’t feeling…

Reviews February 17, 2008

The Belkin TuneBase FM with ClearScan for iPod Review

One of the complaints that I’ve heard when doing FM transmitter reviews in the past, was that it can be hard to find a clear station to transmit through in larger cities. My biggest complaint has been that even when I’ve found a good station to hijack, the quality of the streaming music is all too often degraded to a point where it’s no longer a pleasure to listen, or the signal is so faint that I have to crank the volume on my receiver to get any sound – assuming the signal is clear enough to not be loaded…

Reviews February 14, 2008

Setting Up and Using the Roomba 560

Today I unboxed and set up my recently received iRobot Roomba 560 evaluation unit. I figured it might be fun for those of you who are curious to see what’s involved…and then we could send it on a test run together. Consider this part one of its review, because I will be posting initial impressions tonight and final impressions after having used it for a good bit longer. I like the promise written on the box, “cleans routinely so you don’t have to.” Yes, please! This model is supposed to be able to clean four complete rooms, it can be…

Reviews February 9, 2008

The Ownersite Vehicle Maintenance Online Log Site Review

People like me, who are used to using a software program such as eWallet, know the value and convenience of having all of their important personal data in an easily accessible and secure location. Once you’ve put out the initial effort required during setup, staying on top of future entries is just a matter of regular updates as new items occur. I mention the concept behind eWallet, because the service I’ll tell you about in this review takes that same basic idea, but then applies it in a much more thorough way to vehicle maintenance, management, and logging. The service…

Reviews February 6, 2008

The Naneu Pro Military Ops Sierra Small SLR/Laptop Bag Review

Most of the photography bags I have reviewed in the past have been very functional, but they also…hmm, how can I say this? They looked like casual bags which were camouflaging the fact that they could safely hold many thousands of dollars in equipment — which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I didn’t feel that any of them exactly stated “I’m a professional photographer, so yeah…take me seriously”. Of course, that might also be because I am not one, and I don’t play one on TV. However, the bag I am going to look at today does look…

Reviews February 2, 2008

The Kensington SlimBlade Bluetooth Trackball Mouse Review

When I wrote about meeting with Kensington at CES, I had already been testing their SlimBlade Trackball Mouse for a few weeks. This is the mouse with a trackball that “gives you control even when there’s no room to move a mouse, then switches to mouse mode with the push of a button.” It’s now been well over a month since I started it exclusively with my Toshiba X205, and I am finally ready to share my experience…

Reviews January 30, 2008

The Ugobe Pleo Robotic Dinosaur Review

When I was a kid, my parents bought me my first robot. Except this was in the early 70s, so it wasn’t a real robot – it was a fuzzy effigy, a mechanized kitten thing. The kitten was tethered by co-joined wires to a long battery box which also served as a remote control. It could walk forward…stop…walk forward…stop; it might have even meowed, too – but I honestly don’t remember. Anyway you get the idea; the kitten wasn’t very exciting, and it certainly didn’t replicate the fun of owning a real cat. In other words, the kitten reacted but…

Reviews January 26, 2008

The Mobile Edge / Maddie Powers Cutebug Laptop Messenger Bag Review

I was eager to review the Mobile Edge /Maddie Powers Cutebug Laptop Messenger Bag, because it is one of the most original I’ve ever seen. Combining the extremely well executed features we have come to expect from Mobile Edge with the sassy iconic images Maddie Powers’ designs borrow from 1940s and 50s pulp fiction magazines, the Cutebug Laptop Messenger Bag is one hot tamale. Check it out… photo courtesy of Mobile Edge

Reviews January 24, 2008

The Sleeptracker Pro Watch Review

This review has been a struggle to write. Not because of a problem with the product so much, but because of my irregular sleep patterns and my less than regular schedule. Let me start by giving you an overview of how my typical day goes…never mind, I have no typical days. Instead of a routine of “up at 7 and to bed by 11?, I go to bed anywhere from 10pm to 4am – depending upon whether I need to get up early the next morning, or whether I am using the quiet late hours to work on a particular…

Reviews January 21, 2008

Unboxing the Litter-Robot

If you own a cat, then you know that there is one part of pet ownership that can suck the joy out of the experience. No, I am not talking about hearing your cat hacking up hairballs in the middle of the night while she is sleeping on the bed next to you (not that Avah ever has or ever would do that, mind you); I am talking about cleaning out the litter box.

Reviews January 19, 2008

The Skooba Design Skooba Satchel 2.0 Luxe Review

It’s not often that I get to do decidedly “girly” laptop bag reviews, but this week I have two of them to write about…lucky me! And lucky for all of you women who come to Gear Diary, as well as your significant others. Need I mention that Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching, and nothing says “I love you” more than a gift that will be used every day, one that celebrates and accentuates the feminine goddesses that we are. Well, jewelry works, too, but I digress. Today we are going to take a close look at the Skooba Satchel 2.0…

Editorials January 11, 2008

Total and Utter Crap: Gizmodo’s Stupid CES Prank on Motorola and Us Bloggers

I first found out about Gizmodo’s stupidity on ValleyWag a little earlier today; the post read “What’s the difference between a blogger and a journalist? Nothing, says CNET’s Rafe Needleman. But he’s concerned that ValleyWag, using a TV remote control to turn off video screens at the CES 2008 gadgetfest, will get bloggers disinvited to the event next year. After all, CES only grudgingly started accrediting bloggers to the show.” I had no idea what Owen Thomas, the post author, was talking about, so I went to Gizmodo and took a look…which turned into a moment of wide-eyed horror. In…

Reviews December 30, 2007

The Proporta Laptop Battery Review

One of most laptop’s main limitations is their battery life, which can usually only be relied upon for a few hours. This hindrance is never more evident that when traveling, because finding a place to recharge in airports and train stations can be a major challenge. On January 1, 2008, carrying extended batteries will become a little bit trickier when traveling by plane, but it can still be done as long as the extra battery is packed in your carry-on luggage (versus in your checked luggage) and it is under a certain size. Copied verbatim from the US Government’s Safe…

Reviews December 26, 2007

The Jetart NC5000 CoolStand Notebook Cooler Review

Are you still allowing your laptop to sit flat on your desk…cooking its hard drive in the hot air swelling from insufficient vents? If it works as promised, then Jetart’s new NC5000 CoolStand notebook Cooler might possibly be an inexpensive and effective way to keep your hard drive healthy and your laptop in the cool zone. Let’s take a look…

Reviews December 24, 2007

The Domo X Mimobot USB Flash Drive Review

Moving your digital information from point A to point B is usually best done by using a USB flash drive, and nowhere is it written that the drive used must be some boring thumb drive. Witness the mimoco mimobot art toy USB flash drive, a memory device with more personality than any I’ve ever seen… mimobots are available in 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB capacities, produced in limited editions, are hi-speed USB 2.0, compatible with both Mac and Windows, and are enhanced for Windows Vista’s ReadyBoost technology. There are many styles of limited edition mimobots to choose from; I was…

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