Articles by Judie Lipsett Stanford

Editorials October 20, 2011

Is the New Vertu Constellation Just a Gussied Up and Dumbed Down Nokia C7?

Vertu is now taking reservations for the newest Constellation, their first touch-screen model, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the Nokia C7. Okay, the uncanny resemblance is actually an intentional resemblance, as I have it on direct authority from a Vertu rep that this is the phone the Constellation is “most like”. Now obviously it is nothing new for Vertu to offer a phone with many similarities to currently available Nokias (witness the Vertu Constellation Quest), but in my ownership experience there are always a few disparities between the Nokia version and the Vertu version, and it bothers me. Let’s start with the…

News & Features October 19, 2011

Sprint Will Have the New HTC EVO Design 4G on October 23, and So Can You!

If you have been wondering when the next member of the EVO family would make itself known, the wait is over, as the fifth member of the HTC EVO family — the EVO Design 4G — is about to be available from Sprint. The HTC EVO Design 4G builds on the wildly popular EVO line, but brings you more in a sleek new package. The first EVO family member touting World Phone capabilities, the HTC EVO Design 4G builds on many of the “must-have” features of its predecessors, including a 1.2Ghz processor and large 4” qHD touchscreen display, while sporting a…

Gear Bits October 13, 2011

Lining Up for the iPhone 4S, Australian Style!

Rather than lie in bed lazily this morning (or tomorrow morning, for those of us in the United States), Mitchell has been waiting patiently in line at a local Apple Store along with a crowd of other hopeful iPhone 4S owners. The irony of photographing the Apple launch on the EVO 3D. I should have brought the Galaxy S II! 😛 In an email with the subject line, “I’m a nerd,” Mitchell let me know how his morning was going. Well of course you’re a nerd, Mitchell! But there’s no shame in it, and you’re in good company! After all, I’m the…

Reviews October 13, 2011

iPad 2 Case Review: Beyzacases Executive II

Finding the perfect iPad 2 case can begin to seem as impossible as finding a golden pearl in a sea of clams, but if you keep looking then you may find your oyster. I’ve watched Dan go through one iPad case after another; every once in a while he’ll find one that he truly likes, but there was ultimately always an issue: “this one makes the iPad too fat”, “this one makes the iPad too heavy”, “this one doesn’t close the way I’d like it to, but I like the materials”. It’s all very “The Three Bears”, isn’t it? And…

Reviews October 11, 2011

Convenient Gadgets’ Bottle Opener Fridge Magnet Review

If you drink a lot of mass-produced cold beverages that come in bottles with twist caps, then you probably don’t often need a bottle opener. Similarly, if you drink a lot of beverages that come in aluminum cans, then you might have a bottle opener … located somewhere in your junk drawer. But if you like to drink bottled-beverages that don’t easily twist open, or if you regularly run into twist-caps that don’t seem to loosen easily, then you no doubt keep several bottle openers placed around your kitchen and back patio … and you have probably had moments when you have not been…

Gear Bits October 5, 2011

Want to Know the Difference Between Two Things? DifferenceBetween.net Can Help

This morning I wanted to make sure that I was straight about what the difference between clams and oysters was, beyond taste; I must have slept through that lesson in Biology. As I often do, I turned to Google and posed my question in the search bar. The first site that popped up answered my question perfectly, and when I took a look at the site which had provided my answer, I was pleasantly surprised to find that what it does is answer questions about the differences between things. As they explain … Differencebetween.net not only facilitates your understanding of a topic, but it also…

News & Features September 30, 2011

Giving the Honeywell HEPAClean 3-in-1 Advanced Air Cleaning System a Try During This Allergy Season

Have you ever taken a good look at the space just in front of you when the morning sun shines directly in your windows? If you have pets or live anywhere other than in a hermetically sealed envelope, you are probably used to seeing fine floating particles that are nearly unidentifiable … but if you have allergies they are all it takes to make your skin crawl in anticipation of your histamines’ response. Those of us who suffer from allergies are used to dealing with itchy eyes, scratchy throats, runny noses and stuffy heads … and if we are lucky,…

Great Depression Bread Line, FDR Memorial, Washington D.C., photo taken by Flickr user Damon Green

Editorials September 25, 2011

Dear Politicians, It Is Time to Fix This!

photo taken at the FDR Memorial in Washington D.C., by Flickr user Damon Green Let us be perfectly upfront here: this post is overtly political, and we don’t apologize for that fact. It is not Conservative or Liberal or even a Libertarian post. It is overtly political, but it calls out Democrats and Republicans alike. Yes, this post is political, but it is a “people post” because it is talking about our lives, our livelihood, and the American economy. Okay, enough disclaimer. Dan is reading a book called Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations. The book starts…

Reviews September 24, 2011

The Beyzacases MacBook Air 11″ Zero Series Case Review

Please allow me to gush for a moment, because it is not something I’m usually inclined to do … I truly enjoy using my little 11″ MacBook Air; it is the computer that I grab when I don’t want to be tied to a desk. I use it on the couch, I use it outside on our deck, and sometimes I use it “just because” … and when it’s time to travel, I typically toss my Air inside whatever bag I happen to be carrying. The 11″ Air is the most totable (while remaining usable) laptop that I have ever…

Editorials September 21, 2011

Dear Networks, We Don’t WANT to Pirate Your Shows!

Last week Doug wrote about how the push by the movie studios to have consumers feel forced to buy retail DVDs by delaying physical rental availability and making the streaming rental system convoluted and inconsistent is likely backfiring by pushing customers in the wrong direction. This weekend my family had a show we wanted to watch – Ghost Hunters from SyFy. We had just heard that the show was going to focus on the historic Reed Homestead in Townsend, Massachusetts. That just happens to be within a mile of where we used to live for 15 years until we moved…

Reviews September 21, 2011

The Sceptre 24″ E246BD-FHD LED HDTV / Monitor with DVD Player Review

When we built our house, for various reasons we decided not to put a TV in every room; we installed one 55″ LED VIZIO on the wall in the living room with all the home theater options, and we called it good. Well, sometimes the best laid plans don’t quite work out. Over time, we realized that it would be handy to have a second television as backup, so that the girls could pop in a DVD when we were watching something “boring” like the San Diego Chargers and Texas football games, or the Tour de France. Because this second…

News & Features September 20, 2011

HTC Rhyme Introduced with a Family of Integrated Accessories and Sleek Good Looks

I can’t even find it in myself to be annoyed that HTC has introduced a phone that is so obviously aimed at women; if they had just colored it plum and called it good, I would have been livid. But no. The HTC Rhyme is a phone that I would have considered carrying anyway … and the bonus is that it just happens to be a lovely plum color. From the unique plum color that draws on the inspiration from HTC’s designers to specific apps, wallpapers, and ringtones created for the HTC Rhyme, HTC Sense’s presence is seen throughout. Hardware design is taken a…

News & Features September 19, 2011

Keep QuikClot on Hand, and You May Save a Life

QuikClot is an emergency wound dressing loaded with blood clotting agents. You can go to YouTube and watch some extremely graphic training videos of QuikClot in action, but I suggest that you not do so if you have a weak stomach. If you are able to handle the graphic images, I’m sure that you’ll agree the results are pretty impressive. I had never heard about QuikClot until I stumbled on a recent Lifehacker post, “How to Survive a Gunshot Wound.” Yikes. QuikClot is the consumer version of a Z-Medica product that has long been used by the military, law enforcement and emergency medical…

News & Features September 19, 2011

Etón Introduces Mobius NSP300B, a Solar iPhone 4 Charging Solution

The name is a mouthful, unless you shorten it to Mobius, but the idea is simple: place a solar panel on the back of an iPhone 4, and you won’t ever need to worry about not being able to charge — assuming natural light is plentiful, of course. Differentiating itself from solar-charging solutions on the market today, Mobius features a quick charge time and the ability to store charge until you need it. The high-efficiency monocrystal solar panel re-charges the 1800 mAh rechargeable lithium ion battery pack on the back of the case. Only one hour of solar charging provides…

Reviews September 17, 2011

The Beyza Cases iPhone 4 “Zero Series” Case Review

Here’s a simple stunner that may convince you to ditch your bulky iPhone 4 case. Beyzacases has come out with a new “Zero Series”, which has to be some of the thinnest — yet most sumptuous — leather I have everhandled. Why “Zero”? Zero Series are the thinnest genuine leather cases ever made in the market. Beyzacases quality meets with magnificent art of traditional leather craftsmanship and the engineering of Beyzacases artists. “Zero” term comes from the thinness of the craftsmanship of the Zero Series which does not add any bulk to your carrying experience in any terms. Zero Series for iPhone 4…

Editorials September 15, 2011

1825 Days Since We Began, and We’re Just Getting Started!

Gear Diary v1.0 circa 2006, courtesy of the WayBack Machine Five years ago, I stepped off a virtual precipice and left the safety of my regular writing gig at The Gadgeteer to start my own personal blog, an idea that was born while riding on the back of an elephant in Thailand. With the help of Joel Evans, formerly of Geek.com and now with CronkSoftware.com, I learned how to work with WordPress, a relatively new blogging platform that was totally different from the “Ruby on Rails” system I was used to. My first Hello World post on Gear Diary ran late at…

News & Features September 14, 2011

Do You Have a 30 Pint Goldstar or Comfort-Aire Dehumidifier in Your Home? If So, Then Read This!

Do you have a dehumidifier in your basement? If so, you probably put it there to protect your home from water damage, right? Well, if you own a Goldstar or Comfort-Aire dehumidifier, you need to check your model number, because you may have put yourself at risk for something even worse — fire damage. The recalled dehumidifiers were sold at The Home Depot, Walmart, Ace Hardware, Do It Best, Orgill Inc., and other retailers nationwide from January 2007 through June 2008 for between $140 and $150. They were manufactured in China. The dehumidifiers were first recalled in December 2009 following eleven incidents,…

Reviews, Travel September 4, 2011

The Aligata Nude Beauty Big Weekend Travel Bag Review

When I travel by plane, I use a virtually indestructible LuggageWorks rolling carry-on. It’s great for getting through airports and attaching my other bags to, and I never have to worry about it being damaged when gate-checked because it’s extremely durable and already ugly as sin. Did I mention that it’s also ridiculously heavy? LuggageWorks bags have a metal frame around their bottoms and backs which is part of why they last virtually forever, but it means that the 22″ version I have weighs 15 pounds when empty and can weigh 30+ pounds when fully packed. Although it is just fine for airport…

News & Features September 3, 2011

Would You Like an Invite to BlackBerry’s New BB Music Service?

image courtesy of BlackBerry Smartphones Week If you live in North America or the UK, and if you have a BlackBerry, you have no doubt heard about the new BlackBerry Music service that we mentioned earlier this week. $5 per month gets you 50 songs that you can share with your friends … but only if you own a BlackBerry and they own one, too. And this service is not available to the general BlackBerry population yet. According to Digital Music News, the plan details are: (1) $5 a month. (2) User chooses 50 songs to access anytime, on-demand. (3) User then invites…

News & Features August 29, 2011

Keep Other Kid’s Hands off Your Kid’s Food with Lunch Bugs

Now that the kids are back in school, it’s time to think about practical matters such as how to make sure your son’s lunch doesn’t end up in some other kid’s mouth. Here’s an idea: Lunch Bugs sandwich bags. Lunch Bugs Sandwich Bags have a skittery surprise. Need some security when it comes to your sandwich? Our Lunch Bugs Sandwich Bags have a pre-printed bug on the sandwich bag. So the pest that goes to steal your sandwich will see a pest of another kind already calling dibs. There are 24 Lunch Bugs sandwich bags in a pack, and if…

Reviews August 27, 2011

The Skooba Design Cable Stable Mini Review

Even with so many devices going toward the microUSB “standard”, I can’t help but travel with a minimum of three different types of cables — and sometimes more than that. My phone uses microUSB, my iPad has its own Apple connector, and my camera is miniUSB. When packing, I also need to bring along the battery chargers for my camera and MacBook Air, along with a few other miscellaneous doo-dads. You may recall that I reviewed the Skooba Design Cable Stable DLX early last year; while I have found it to be an excellent solution when I need to bring…

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