Gotham City Imposters Preview Video
Check out the preview for this upcoming first person shooter Batman game adds wild mayhem, character customization, multiplayer options and action amid the classic hero showdown with The Joker.
Articles by Gear Diary Staff
Battlefield 3 Open Beta Begins on PlayStation 3, XBox 360 and PC
Battlefield 3 open beta test now available on PC (Origin), PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Network) and Xbox 360 (Xbox Live).
The Synology DS211+ Review: A Pint Sized 2-Bay NAS with some Really Big Features
Image courtesy of Synology You can’t be too cautious these days about backing up your data. Time and time again friends, family and co-workers come to me about trying to recover pictures, music and documents on a failed or virus ridden drive. Some even have their small business data lost when the main computer goes down. My first advice to anyone is that they should get themselves some sort of backup device, whether it be Desktop Attached Storage or Network Attached Storage and some good software to automate the backups. I have wanted to upgrade my 2TB external drive to…
DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket – The Beginning PlayStation 3 Video Service Review
The NFL Sunday Ticket service, originally launched in 1994, debuts on the PlayStation 3 for the first time.
FaceTime and iOS Impresses Halfway Across the Globe
(Image courtesy of Apple) The world is a big place. At the turn of the century trying to visit loved ones who lived halfway across the world took months. Now, we can fly from one side of the globe to the other in less than a day. And even when we aren’t physically technology enables us to feel as if we are. I was reminded of this when FaceTime and iOS brought me closer to my wife AND saved us money in the process. My wife and I live in the midwest, but she is from Thailand. She is visiting her…
Movin’ to a Mac
Recently, I was laid off from my day job. As a result, for the first time in my life (literally!), my main system will be an Apple system, specifically 15″ MacBook Pro running OS X “Snow Leopard”. And as I’ve made the move, copying my iTunes library over, setting up a backup disk, and all the other nonsense in which one must engage when one makes a big move of this type, I’ve noticed a few things. If you’re someone who is considering making the jump, but has been hesitating for one reason or another, maybe my experiences here will…
mSecure 3.0 Puts a Blowfish in the Cloud
Largely because I tend to switch devices and platforms regularly, I keep coming back to the same password manager – who for now shall remain nameless – because it is available for Blackberry, Android, and iOS devices, as well as having desktop applications for both Windows and Mac OSX. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing software from my perspective, but it works well enough. Syncing my mobile devices does require that I sync with the same computer, but I can’t sync between computers. Cloud syncing isn’t an option. I may have to consider switching now, however, as mSeven Software’s mSecure…
I Don’t *Want* to Buy Retail, Media Companies!
Look, Big Media Companies: I don’t want to buy physical objects retail. Your humble GD crew has opined on many occasions that we think that the BMC’s “strategies” for releasing their content electronically doesn’t make sense, that it doesn’t discourage piracy, and that it’s just plain nonsensical. Today: a perfect example. Consider the movie X-Men: First Class. As of last Friday, it was available on both DVD SD and Blu-ray. Not available on iTunes until Tuesday, but that’s okay–that’s the way it always works on iTunes. No big deal. But here’s the thing with the iTunes version: you can’t buy an…
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron PlayStation 3 Game Review
This Biblical inspired one player adventure game follows the adventures of Enoch and his God-given quest to return seven fallen angels to heaven.
ZAZOO KiDS Digital Photo Clock Review
ZAZOO KiDS™ Digital Photo Clock provides multiple media functions designed for simple interface and displays beginning with little tykes and transitioning into the teenage years.
L.A. Noire PlayStation 3 Game Review
Authentic chronicles, engaging investigations, and expertly captured characterizations combine into an impressive array in Rockstar’s L.A. Noire crime-themed action game.
When Is an Android Device Not an Android Device?
When the Grid 10 was announced by the ever-reliable Chandra Rathakrishnan last month, it was said to run Android apps but not be an Android device. This was later clarified to mean that it is actually an Android kernel running the show, but thoroughly skinned and possibly even forked to a version of Android incompatible with future Google-backed updates. We’ll see someday, maybe. Now TechCrunch is reporting that Amazon’s long-rumored tablet will be hitting the market in a couple months, running a completely forked Android kernel. This one is apparently pre-2.2 (how far pre is undefined) and has been so modified…
To iPad or Not to iPad?
It’s simply the latest variation of that popular topic: is your [thing] better than my [thing], or is it the other way ’round? Wine, or beer? Ford or GM? Tastes great, or less filling? Mac or PC? “Firefly” or “Buffy”? (“Firefly”, dammit!) Yesterday, your faithful Gear Diary team was hashing over the topic of iPad, or Android tablet. As you might expect with a collection of Appleheads, PC mavens, UNIX and Linux folks, and all the rest, it got heated, involved, and nerdly. It started with a friendly discussion between Francis and Joel as to which device Joel might…
Wacom Inkling Digital Sketch Pen Is New Spin on Digital Analog Technology
(Image courtesy of Wacom) While the iPad has become synonymous with the term “tablet”, there has been other digital tablet technology, such as the Tablet PC and the Livescribe Pulse Pen which came out before and is surviving, albeit in more of a niche market. So it is rare for me to see any new devices, especially in the analog-to-digital space. While I love handwriting recognition on the Tablet PC and touch typing on the iPad, there has always been an appeal to writing on actual paper. The Livescribe handles this well, but requires the use of their special (Anoto-based) paper…
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D Nintendo 3DS Review
Solid pick-up-and-play addition to the ongoing game series with great 3D effects, unique character skill systems, and constant horror-themed action.
Designing a Good eBook Reader
Winnie the Pooh iBook on the iPad–not bad, but could be soooo much better With the explosive growth of the eBook market, one would think that the design of eBook reader apps would, by now, be well-advanced. Lots of cool options, good readability, and all kinds of thought put into their design. One would be wrong. Initial background info: I have been writing information to be distributed online for nearly 20 years now–since 1992, to be exact. This is my life, my work, my calling–it is more than an avocation. I think about the best way to deliver information online all…
PAC-MAN and Galaga DIMENSIONS Nintendo 3DS Game Review
This six game collection includes two brand new Pac-Man and Galaga games specifically tailored for the Nintendo 3DS as well as the famous classics.
Class Action suit filed against Apple, 5 other eBook Publishers
As reported on Macrumors.com, Hagens Berman, a Seattle-based law firm that specializes in class-action suits involving antitrust and intellectual property, has filed a class action lawsuit against Apple and 5 other Publishers of eBooks alleging collusion of Apple and the 5 other named defendants to defeat Amazon’s attempt to sell eBooks at discount prices. Here is an excerpt from the Hagens Berman website: According to the suit, publishers believed that Amazon’s wildly popular Kindle e-reader device and the company’s discounted pricing for e-books would increase the adoption of e-books, and feared Amazon’s discounted pricing structure would permanently set consumer…
Dirt3 PlayStation 3 Game Review
An amazing, authentic racing experience featuring high content, rally racing, varying environments, great add-on content, and challenging gameplay.
Adventures in Customer Support: AT&T
Guess which Stooge is Doug in this little scenario It all began back in January . . . See, here’s the deal: for the kids’ “big holiday gift,” I got them both iPhone 4s. Alas, now you have to get limited data plans. But these are good kids, and I knew that if I got the lowest plan and threatened them with severe consequences–and then had to actually dole out punishment one time–they would stay on WiFi, not download games and music over the cell network, and otherwise avoid non-WiFi data. So yes, one month they both went over. I…
When Is an eReader an Impulse Buy?
Amazon started selling the Kindle 3G With Special Offers (“Kindeal 3G) in May, for $164 – a drop of 25 from the full non-ad-supported version. Two weeks ago, they dropped that price further, to $139. This week, they have started selling the refurbished Kindle WiFi for $100 and the refurb Kindle 3G for $130. These are not ad-supported versions of the device, but the full versions that sell for $139 and $189 respectively, in their non-refurb models. This sure looks like the typical inventory-clearing moves of a manufacturer about to introduce a new model. The current generation was introduced right around one year ago, and speculation…