Articles by Wayne Schulz

Boost Mobile i9 Review; Thin, Solid and Dependable

Reviews

Boost Mobile i9 Review; Thin, Solid and Dependable

I stopped into my local Best Buy this afternoon and was amazed at the great selection of prepaid cellular phones. As recently as a year ago, the prepaid phone aisle was limited to cheap plastic throwaways. Fast forward to now, and the shelves are lined with current-model BlackBerry and Motorola phones available on no-contract prepaid plans.   Boost Mobile has been one of the leaders in selling affordable prepaid phones that don’t make you ashamed to use them in public.

WaterField Zune HD Suede Case is thin, versatile and convenient

Reviews

WaterField Zune HD Suede Case is thin, versatile and convenient

, I’m a big fan of getting outside and walking. I find that listening to music or podcasts helps to pass the time, so like most people with MP3 players I always take my iPhone or Zune HD with me. I have recently started carrying my Zune HD because I love Zune Pass, which provides for nearly unlimited music downloads and automatically creates artist mixes – even from music I don’t own. WaterField’s new suede jacket is the perfect fit for my Zune HD. It’s thin enough to act as a shield and fits inside other WaterField cases.

Business Card Reader from Shape Services - instant business card recognition for your iPhone for $5.99

Reviews

Business Card Reader from Shape Services – instant business card recognition for your iPhone for $5.99

Shape Services released an iPhone and iPod Touch application over the weekend that they claim will help convert the mountain of business cards you’ve collected into names in your iPhone address book. The description of the application says it will “import contact information right from business card to your iPhone contacts! Just take a photo of a business card and a New Contact is added!”. So how well does this $5.99 program work in real life?

Walmart Selling Caskets Online

Gear Bits

Walmart Selling Caskets Online

Wal-Mart has started offering caskets and urns at prices that are probably cheaper than what you’d pay at your local funeral home. Online casket sales are not a totally new concept as Amazon offers them and so does Costco. But somehow a Wal-Mart casket seems, well, cheap. Take comfort knowing that you didn’t overpay for Mom or Dad to be laid to rest in a specially designed $999 “Dad Remembered” or “Mom Remembered” casket. Wal-Mart even ships coffins directly (embalming sold separately) to the funeral home which I’m sure will cause your local funeral director to be really friendly when…

Pet bunk bed would be great item for crazy cat lady line of home furnishings

News & Features

Pet bunk bed would be great item for crazy cat lady line of home furnishings

This Merry Pet Room-With-A-View is perfect for pet owners who spare no expense on accessorizing for their animals. If you’re regularly buying cat food from  the refrigerated food case  in the pet food aisle  -this pet bunk bed may be right up your alley. Made from kiln-dried Asian fir treated with natural color stains. Steps along one side lead to roof-top balcony surrounded by latticework. Measures 29 by 21 by 26 inches; interior measures 18 by 18 by 14 inches. Pet Bunk Bed – $87

Motorcycle Grip Opener Pops Bottle Tops with Authentic Revving Sound

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Motorcycle Grip Opener Pops Bottle Tops with Authentic Revving Sound

Why rip open beer bottles with your teeth when this talking motorcycle grip bottle opener can make the experience more entertaining. Using the grip you’ll be able to remove the cap while listening to a cheesy revving sound. Great gift for the beer drinking Hells Angel wannabe in your life. Talking Motorcycle Grip Bottle Opener via Nerd Approved

Wunder Radio for BlackBerry is released

News & Features

Wunder Radio for BlackBerry is released

One of my favorite applications for iPhone is Wunder Radio (iTunes / review) . In addition to receiving radio stations both locally and world wide, police scanners, weather radio and more – the iPhone application allows me to listen to Sirius Satellite radio while away from my desktop computer. I’ve been waiting eagerly for Wunder Radio to appear on the BlackBerry and today it’s available in the BlackBerry App World for $9.99. Unfortunately the version that’s available only works on BlackBerry Bold and Curve. A version will be available later for the Tour and Storm. Also regrettably missing from the…

Twitter rolls out lists - once again you can view your contacts through the noise

How to Do It Yourself!

Twitter rolls out lists – once again you can view your contacts through the noise

Twitter has started to offer the ability to create lists of contacts within your Twitter account. This feature is being rolled out to a few users right now so if you don’t see the feature in your account when you log in then you’ll likely have to wait for it to be added. What do Twitter lists add? Well for one it’s an opportunity to quickly view similar types of contacts. For example I’ve set one list to display my company contacts and another list displays all the Gear Diary team writers.

Amber Alert GPS provides remote location tracking of youngsters

News & Features

Amber Alert GPS provides remote location tracking of youngsters

The new Amber Alert GPS is a handy (albeit costly at $279 plus monitoring fees) device for parents wanting to keep track of their children. Slip the GPS into a backpack or other secure location. Throughout the day you receive text messages that show you exactly where your child is. Safety zones can be setup so if for example they were to wander away from school during the day you would automatically receive an alert. Once you’ve received an alert you can log into a web site to show the exact track that they’ve taken (requires unlimited service plan). There’s…

EcoATM inspects phone trade-in - provides cash

News & Features

EcoATM inspects phone trade-in – provides cash

Need cash? If you have an unused cell phone and if it’s relatively current and in good condition you may be able to exchange it for cash at this special cell phone recycling ATM. Of course it helps if you were in Omaha Nebraska where this special electronics recycling machine is setup. The EcoATM accepts used phones and sensors in the machine inspect them for damage and assigns them real-time value. If the device is of acceptable quality it then issues in-store payment. The first test kiosk went up September 21 at the Nebraska Furniture Mart. EcoATM via Register Hardware

Toilet Coffee Mug Puts Fun Back into Holiday Grab Bag Gifts

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Toilet Coffee Mug Puts Fun Back into Holiday Grab Bag Gifts

Do you detest office holiday parties as much as I do? Luckily most companies have toned down their festivities in favor of some fake niceties less formal gatherings in the company lunchroom. While the fancy dinners might be gone – one thing that lives on is the stupid grab bag gift giving. No matter how hard you try you’re going to pick something lousy for a gift – so why try? At $15 this mug’s a little pricy – but it’s guaranteed to be the talk of the office. You can get it on Amazon. 

USB 2GB Flash drive comb proves there's almost nothing that won't be turned into a USB gizmo

News & Features

USB 2GB Flash drive comb proves there’s almost nothing that won’t be turned into a USB gizmo

For $36 you get not only a comb but a 2GB USB storage drive. Who’d want one of these – and more important why? Which brings me to my main question about this item. Is there any good reason for turning a comb into a combination USB drive and hair care tool? Now if you could plug the comb into the USB port, have it heat, and then use it as a pseudo curling iron. Then you’d have something. 2GB USB Comb via Raw Feed

PodTrapper Podcast Manager for BlackBerry automates your podcast library

News & Features

PodTrapper Podcast Manager for BlackBerry automates your podcast library

For many years I had no idea what people found interesting about Podcasts. These recorded audio programs are named for their typical method of distribution through iTunes where they are often downloaded to iPods. A podcast session typically lasts about an hour and features one or more hosts talking about specific news of the week. Topics can range from technology to politics to financial news. The rise in popularity of Podcasts means that their distribution has also spread beyond just iTunes and iPods. I’ve found my BlackBerry Bold to be an exceptional podcast player due to its super loud and…

Stationstops returns to iTunes Apps Store - Metro North Train Scheduling

News & Features

Stationstops returns to iTunes Apps Store – Metro North Train Scheduling

You may have read about the plight of StationStops. The application uses train schedules from the New York MTA to create an incredibly useful iPhone train schedule listing for trains going into and out of Grand Central Terminal. At some point the MTA took issue with the use of train schedules in a paid iPhone app. In August, negotiations between StationStops and MTA seeking a licensing agreement for transit data broke down, resulting in MTA Marketing and Legal departments sending a cease and desist to Apple. Well fortunately the two parties have worked out their differences and StationStops is once…

Table Saw cake knife

News & Features

Table Saw cake knife

Are you one of those people who has trouble cutting that first (or second) piece of cake without it crumbling to pieces. This Table Saw cake cutter may help you to disguise your lack of cake cutting skills. Disguised as a saw, this 12 inch plastic knife does double duty to help scoop the cake after you’ve cut it. There’s no indication whether it will saw through rock hard ice cream cakes that seem to ship at a temperature of absolute zero or whether you’d have to purchase a chain saw cake knife for those. Table Saw Cake Knife –…

No Picture

News & Features

The 100 greatest hits of YouTube – in 4 minutes

There’s this new Internet sensation called YouTube. People take videos of themselves and upload them to the service. Some videos are quite stupid and silly. The stupidest and silliest are passed around over and over and over. Now the inevitable has happened – a compilation of what are claimed to be the top 100 viral YouTube videos – conveniently packaged into a 4 minute video which itself is likely to be shared aver and over and over. https://www.youtube.com/

Crime scene toilet paper is a perfect gift for that Uncle you see once a year during holidays

News & Features

Crime scene toilet paper is a perfect gift for that Uncle you see once a year during holidays

This roll of crime scene labeled toilet paper is perfect for that hard to shop for person or even a grab bag for the office holiday party. Imagine their glee when they open this in front of their peers only to be greeted with a suggestion that their use of the bathroom could be considered a crime scene. Given the current economic climate it’s best not to gift this to the boss but it’s probably ok as a gift to relatives you see infrequently. Crime Scene Toilet Paper

White collar grime - disposable shirt protectors for those who hate washing their neck

News & Features

White collar grime – disposable shirt protectors for those who hate washing their neck

Are you someone who wears collared shirts? Do you hate to wash your neck (or your shirts). Here’s the product for you. The White Collar Grime protector is applied inside your shirt to stave off those stubborn rings around the collar. You try scrubbing and scrubbing yet those dirty rings still stay on your collar. Why bother with pesky personal hygiene chores like washing your neck when instead you can buy these collar grime protectors. At the end of the day, peel off the tape, dispose, and your white, blue, pink or any color collar won’t look criminal. It’s perfect…

Jedi bathrobe keeps you warm while you use the force to make breakfast

News & Features

Jedi bathrobe keeps you warm while you use the force to make breakfast

The creators of this Jedi bathrobe may have latched onto a hot new clothing market. Did you know that according to Wikipedia over half a million people throughout the world declared themselves as Jedi on their census forms? While I think that might be considered to be a practical joke and probably doesn’t reflect the real number of Jedi in the countries concerned – there’s still got to be a fair number that would buy this bathrobe. The Jedi Dressing Gown has a Jedi logo embroidered on the front, is made of 100% cotton velour and is machine washable. It…

Goldfish trash bags pretty up the neighborhood and drive cats nuts

News & Features

Goldfish trash bags pretty up the neighborhood and drive cats nuts

Here’s a quirky way to take out the trash. Instead of boring black or white bags how about these decorative goldfish trash bags. Fill the trash up and put the bags curbside for your neighborhood stray cats to admire . This kit includes 12 bags of 13 gallons each for $15.99. At this price these are definitely novelty items. Goldfish Trash Bags – $15.99