Articles by Michael Anderson

Listen to Green Day’s Uno Streaming on Facebook!

Green Day is launching into a jam-packed year, releasing a trio of new records and embarking on a grand world tour. The first album ¡UNO! arrives on September 25th, but you can stream it for free right now at Facebook! Here is what they say: Hear ¡Uno! before it hits stores next week! Check out the advance listening party on the Facebook tab presented by Nokia Music and AT&T at http://smarturl.it/hearunonow On Mobile? Head back to a computer to take a listen! Let us know what you think in the comments below and share this post! You need to ‘Like’…

Editorials

Another Step in RIM Death-Spiral As Yahoo! Offers Employees Any Smartphone EXCEPT Blackberry!

Imagine that your employer came around and told you that everyone in the company was getting their choice of smartphone! That would be so cool, and it’s something that just doesn’t happen in most companies. But it was something just done by new CEO Marisa Meyer at Yahoo!. There was just one stipulation according to an article at TechCrunch – you cannot have a Blackberry. The basic thought process behind the decision? Blackberry is for business ONLY, and as a ‘customer facing’ company, Yahoo! needs to be in touch with what people do in their ‘real life’, not just their…

Music Diary

Slacker Just Keeps Delivering the Goods

We do a fair amount of coverage on Slacker Radio at Gear Diary, and for me it is because I use the service all the time. In fact, apart from my own music collection, the second place I head for music is Slacker … before Spotify or other services. Over the summer they expanded their ‘Artist Showcase’ series with several additions, most recently adding Train: Slacker Radio is launching their 23rd Artist Showcase station, hosted by the award-winning and chart-topping band Train. “Save Me, San Francisco Radio” features songs hand-selected by the core of the band – Pat Monahan, Jimmy…

Editorials

Who and Where are the 47% ‘Non-Tax Payers’?

This is not meant to be a political post per se, but after the ‘leaked’ video of Mitt Romney came out this week showing him talking about the 47% of Americans who don’t pay taxes (by which he meant income taxes, not taxes in general), there has been some interesting discussion. I wouldn’t have cared much, but one of the highlighted Kindle deals yesterday was What’s the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America, which looks at the question of “Why do so many of us vote against our economic interests?” So with that as a backdrop…

Game Diary, Reviews

Bigfoot: Hidden Giant HD for iPad Review

It seems like I have been fairly critical of recent G5 ‘hidden object’ games (HOG) such as Lost Souls: Enchanted Paintings and Tales from the Dragon Mountain and even Sinister City: Vampire Adventure. So I was really hoping for a ‘win’ from G5 with Bigfoot: Hidden Giant. Read on to see how it fared, and how the great service and communications from G5 saved me from a near disaster! The Hype: Does Bigfoot exist? Hunt for evidence of the legendary Sasquatch in this Hidden Object investigation. Scattered sightings of the elusive creature are reported when a chemical spill wreaks havoc…

News & Features, Reviews

Stats Pad for iPad Review

Type of app: Statistical Analysis Platform/where to buy: iPad; available in the App Store Developer: Consensio Works LLC Description: Stats Pad brings detailed statistical analysis to your iPad. If you use Excel’s Data Analysis Toolpak or PHStat for statistical analysis, then you will love Stats Pad. Stats Pad is the perfect tool for classroom statistics or on the go analysis. Major features: It has been a year and a half since I reviewed Biostatistics, and since then the $24.99 app is gone from the App Store, and most of what exists are either desktop tie ins (JMP Graph Builder) or…

Music Diary, News & Features

The Who All-Star Tribute Album ‘Who Are You’ Releases October 2nd!

While The Beatles and The Rolling Stones get the 60’s glory, and Led Zepplin and Pink Floyd rule 70’s rock nostalgia – The Who were there for it all, blazing a path that strangely melded the ‘first punk band’, ‘thinking man’s rock musicians’, and ‘worst rock’n’roll band in the world’. Now they are getting an all-star tribute album coming out on October 2nd and featuring an amazing cast of rock musicians from the last five decades. As noted at Classic Rock Magazine: Cleopatra Records, behind the release, say: “The Who has sold over 100 million records, had 27 top 40…

Editorials, Reviews

My 7-Day Nexus 7 Experiment – Quality and Service are PROBLEM #1 for Google

When the Google Nexus 7 came out, both Dan and I pre-ordered one as I noted here. We discussed it in a video chat, and from that I had committed to a ‘7 Day Nexus Challenge’. The 7 days have long since passed, but I had wanted to get to the conclusion of my ‘initial Nexus experience’ before writing about it. So, here goes … Some background My pre-order through Google was confirmed and then canceled within a few hours for unknown reasons. Perhaps I should have taken that as an omen, but instead I just did another pre-order the…

Music Diary, News & Features

IK Multimedia Releases Huge 2.6 Update for AmpliTube!

I was just going through and trying to finish up my hands-on review of the major updates in AmpliTube 2.5 and AmpliTube Fender 1.2, and I noticed that AmpliTube appeared in my App Update list … with even MORE content added! As always there is a great combination of fixes and improvements along with in-app purchases of new amp and effect models. My review will be updated to include the version 2.6 content as well when it is published! I was reading a history of bass amplification the other day just before the update came, and amongst the classic models…

Editorials, Vehicles & Gear

Five Ways the iPhone 5 Event Disappointed, and One Sign It Started the ‘Great Apple Decline’

So we have lived through yet another iPhone announcement, the first one conducted by Tim Cook and out of the ‘shadow of Steve Jobs’. The conclusions? Some pretty sweet looking iPhone hardware, promising stuff for iOS 6, iCloud and iTunes, and a welcome refresh for the iPod line. But if you look around at tech websites there is much gnashing of teeth and hand-wringing amongst the Apple fan-sites, sneering derision from Android fan-sites, and hopes of a market share beyond 5% from the Windows Phone faithful who were just happy to see the Nokia Lumia 920 in spec line-ups with…

Game Diary, Reviews

Spirit Walkers Curse of the Cypress Witch for iPad Review

After a string of average hidden object games (HOG), G5 has had a number of great releases in a row with the most recent being ‘Nightmares from the Deep’. Now they are back with Spirit Walkers: Curse Of The Cypress Witch, which looks to have a significant and interesting plot wrapped around a hidden object adventure. Let’s take a look! The Hype: Inspired by the legend of a hiker-attacking ghost living in the forest, Maylynn and a group of friends decide to go on an entertaining, investigative trip. Almost immediately, things take turn for the worse when one of the…

Health and Fitness, News & Features

My Five Day ‘Juice Detox’ Experience

The expression goes that a juice diet has three stages: “I’m hungry”, “this isn’t so bad”, and “please someone shoot me NOW”! I had the opportunity to get a package from ‘A Choice for Life’ for a 5 day detox, and as I had just spent the past several months losing weight and getting into shape I was intrigued about the ability to ‘press reset’ on my system. So I decided to give it a shot. Of course there were a few concerns and caveats: – The ‘check with your doctor’ advice should always be taken seriously: I had a…

Editorials

A Sad Milestone as Report Shows Post 9/11 Torture by Americans Much Worse Than Reported or Admitted

On September 11th, we remember all of the tragic loss of life from the 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Flight 93. We also celebrate and mourn all of those who responded to the tragedy and many who lost their lives trying to save others and still more who have lingering health issues due to their bravery. They are heroes and lost innocents, and our country has done very well by serving their memory each year. In the aftermath of the attacks, President Bush detailed that if we changed our way of life, if we altered…

News & Features

9/11 – A Day of Remembrance

On this day in 2001, over 3000 lives were lost in a series of brutal terrorist attacks; thousands more lives were impacted directly or indirectly by the attacks and loss of life, and our country was changed forever. Today is the 11th anniversary of that day – it is rightly a day of remembrance. It is a day of remembrance. It is not a day for politics or politicians. It is not a day for moving speeches or promises or calls to actions. It is a day for thoughtful reflection and recollection. It is a day of remembrance. It is…

Editorials

Will Greed Finally Be Apple’s Undoing?

As long as I can recall – since the days when I had an Apple ][+ at least – people have been quick to call out Apple for high prices. For me as a multi-OS person who also happens to like Apple products, it has been a roller-coaster. For a long time in the 80s the utility of Apple ][ and later the Mac made it very much worthwhile – and for some things a complete necessity. Yet there have been many times – like most of the 90s – when the price to performance ratio simply wasn’t there. By…

Editorials

iPhone 5 Event Rumors Makes Me Ask, Does Anyone Care About a New iPod Touch?

As Dan mentioned, Apple is rumored to be announcing several things this week, such as the iPhone 5, releasing iOS 6, and possibly the iPad Mini, new iPods, new iMacs, and who knows what else. We don’t ‘do rumors’ at Gear Diary, but of course we have heard stuff – as has everyone – and we only have a few days to find out what is real. So the question I am left asking is: who really cares about a new iPod Touch? Over the last couple of years the distinction between content creation and content consumption has become increasingly stark,…

Music Diary, News & Features

Believe it or Not, MTV STILL Has the VMAs, but Nobody Is Watching Anymore

The other night we stumbled across the VMAs while flipping channels, and while we barely slowed before continuing to change channels, we got to talking about it for a while that night and the next day. The basic conversation went like this: – I love the VMA’s. – Why? – Like to see who won – When was the last time you watched a video on MTV? – … And that pretty much sums it up. The ‘Music Television: Video Music Awards’ are about music on television and about music videos in name only – the real reason people watch…

Music Diary

New Pioneer DJ Controller is the Most Affordable Yet, Brings Art of DJing to Everyone

When it comes to the world of DJs, whether stage performers like Skrillex or people pumping tunes at the local club, there seems to be a common name I hear when it comes to DJ controllers: Pioneer. Their CDJ series has all of the features a demanding pro could hope for in a portable and rugged package at a reasonable price. But for those starting off that ‘reasonable price’ is still too high, which for many means compromising and getting something that lacks features you need or lacks the build quality Pioneer delivers. Now Pioneer has stepped up with an affordable…

Health and Fitness, News & Features, Travel

Make Your Next Trip as Healthy as You Want

Ask any business traveler, the toughest thing is maintaining your exercise and eating regime while on the road. I remember when I was traveling heavily many years ago, it made keeping a routine very difficult – but gaining weight easy. I don’t have to travel very much for work anymore, but when I was planning my trip to Utah to check out the new Hyundai Santa Fe, I wanted to be sure that my marathon training and associated eating habits were not severely impacted. The first thing is exercise – this can be the hardest thing to do, as you…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

2013 Hyundai Santa Fe, a Hands-On Driving Experience

As I mentioned the other day, I had the opportunity to take a trip with a couple of dozen bloggers out to Park City, Utah over the weekend to check out the new 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe. I described the incredible experience staying at the Montage Deer Valley resort, the awesome treatment from the hotel staff and all of the folks at Hyundai, and some of the great diversions such as trips to Sundance and Utah Olympic Park, as well as my own trail runs. What I was NOT yet able to describe was the actual drive experience. Hyundai ran…

Gear Bits

Please Make it STOP! Trailer for the ‘Official Sequel’ to ‘A Christmas Story’

For ages now, a tradition in our family has been watching our DVD (and VHS before that) of ‘A Christmas Story’, the beloved 1983 story of Ralphie Parker based on semi-fictional recollections from Jean Shepard of his youth. It is one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ movies that was not much of a hit at theaters but gained tremendously over time – much like the original (I say, only) ‘Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’. While I am not one to say something is going to ‘ruin my memories’, or that a crappy sequel or remake can destroy my…

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