Articles by Gear Diary Staff

How to Do It Yourself! July 15, 2010

Add Custom Words to iPhone Dictionary

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? Antidisestablishmentarianism? Okay, so maybe you don’t use those words every day, but what about other words that you do? And they aren’t in your iOS device (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) dictionary? Judie was running into this issue recently on her iPhone. For some strange reason, she frequently needs to type the word “Kev”, and the iPhone kept auto-correcting it to “KeV” (note the upper-case “V”). So what do you do? Buying a bumper won’t fix this problem! Well, with the release of iOS 4, a little-known feature is available to allow you to add custom words to the iPhone dictionary….

Reviews July 14, 2010

Case-Mate DIY Case for iPhone 3G/3Gs Review: Create Your Own Mastercase

Custom cases are all the rage. Several companies have emerged over the last year allowing users to create their very own custom case by uploading their personal photos and images to a web-based program which the company then turns into a case; this allows the end-user to make a case that’s truly their own. Case-Mate‘s revolutionary “I Make My Case” program which launched at CES 2010 really set the standard for case image manipulation allowing users to take art work from the Case-Mate site and alter it to their liking, mixing and matching pieces to make each case one of…

How to Do It Yourself! July 14, 2010

All In For Web Based Apps: A Desktop Clean In Progress

Simplifying one’s desktop. For me it’s an ongoing, ever-changing process. I’m constantly tinkering with new applications for my iMac, trying for that seemingly unobtainable perfect set up. One of the biggest issues I struggle with is managing multiple windows. I generally use five or six “main” applications on a daily basis. These usually consist of Safari, Apple Mail, Tweetie, Net News Wire, Skype and Adium. I’ll use other things throughout the day such as Mars Edit or iTunes, but the “main” 6 are always open and running on my desktop. Managing six windows at once on a 24″ iMac is…

News & Features July 14, 2010

Need an iPhone Grip That Won’t Slip? Order a ProClip!

Among the drawbacks of being an early adopter is the wait for accessories to become available. The iPhone 4G is no exception. Waiting for just the right case. Waiting for your favorite screen protector. Waiting for a car mount so you can use your iPhone’s GPS software while you’re out and about. Well, you don’t need to wait for a car mount anymore. If you’re looking for a way to mount your new iPhone 4G in your auto, take a gander at ProClip’s new offerings, now available for pre-order. Designed for an iPhone without a case or in an adjustable…

Reviews July 13, 2010

RadTech I-Sight Review: Let There Be Light

If you have significant other and you sleep in the same bed chances are it’s happened to you at least once. It’s nearing bedtime but one of you just isn’t ready to go to sleep yet. Do you like to read in bed? A lot of us do, it’s probably where I do most of my reading. But does your partner get frustrated when your bedtime reading because it means leaving lights on so you can see? Enter the RadTech I-Sight. When I do early morning running in the winter/fall it’s sometimes still dark outside. What do I do to…

Reviews July 13, 2010

Daniusoft Media Converter Ultimate Converter and Ripper Review

In case I haven’t bored you enough by mentioning it, I do a lot of travel. Three-four times per month, I fly between my family in Austin, and my job in Sunnyvale in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’m not complaining–at least I’ve got a job!–but it does leave me with a lot of time on my own waiting. Waiting for planes to board, planes to get where they’re going, trains to arrive, trains to get where they’re going, etc. And so I spend a lot of time watching movies and TV shows on my iPhone and laptop. Which is…

Reviews July 12, 2010

iAngle Review: Won’t Stand for Serving Just One Purpose

In the ever-expanding world of “i” accessories, there are plenty of single purpose items. Versed General seems to have said “pshaw!” to that and are offering up their iAngle for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It’s a stand! It’s an earbud accessory! It comes in black or white and it’s $9.99! One side of the iAngle works as an earbud wrapper, but turn it over and it will act as a stand, holding your iDevice at a good viewing angle. Versed General was nice enough to send us a black iAngle for review. I have to say, it’s just as…

Editorials July 8, 2010

Tech Infrastructure and Monopolies

When I was a kid, phone design was still pretty much in its infancy–the “Princess” phone was pretty much the height of technology then. It wasn’t bolted to the wall! The dial lit up! It came in colors other than black or beige! Eventually, it even had buttons instead of a dial! In those prehistoric days, everything ran across copper, and 99% or more of the traffic was voice–ARPANET was just getting going, and all we primitive creatures did was make one-to-one phone calls. (The concept of a many-to-many phone call–a “party call”–was almost insanely exotic to me.) So worry…

Reviews July 7, 2010

Mezzi LUXslim Laptop Case Review: Strong Enough for Everyday Protection, Classy Enough for 007

When it comes to protection for my gadgets, I spare no expense and tend to get a little OCD about it. It’s pretty common here on GearDiary to see reviews and postings about cases, screen protectors and bags for our gear. When Mezzi contacted us about reviewing an aluminum laptop case I was pretty excited. If I’m not using one of my many soft cases to transport my laptop then I’m using my Pelican hard plastic case to for maximum protection. The Pelican case is big and bulky, so I was excited to get my hands on a Mezzi LUXslim…

Editorials July 3, 2010

Why is Apple’s iOS4 Crashing Microsoft Exchange Servers?

I’m going to be honest, I really could care less about Apple’s current antenna/signal reporting woes right now. Businesses and users who use their iPhone with a Microsoft Exchange server are facing a much bigger issue that, by and large, is not being covered. The problem? Apple’s iOS4 crashes Exchange servers. What’s worse is that the problem won’t just impact iPhone or iPod touch users. It will impact everyone using ActiveSync on those Exchange servers. That’s right folks, right now Apple’s iOS4 will impact service to every Windows Mobile, Palm webOS, Symbian, Android and iPhone/iPod touch, bringing businesses worldwide to…

News & Features July 3, 2010

USBCELL Batteries Make You Wonder Why You Didn’t Think of This First

Do you remember those old rechargeable AA batteries that first emerged in the 1980s? You had to charge them overnight just so you could get about 2.4 hours of use in your Sony Walkman cassette player? Yeah, these aren’t those. USBCELL AA batteries are unique in that they have a built-in USB connector hidden under a cap at the + end of the battery. Open the cap, insert the battery into an open USB port on your computer, and let the charging begin! You’ll achieve a 90% charge in just 5 hours and – for use in a pinch –…

Reviews June 30, 2010

Moshi Moshi 03 Review: Lets You Go Hands Free in Style

Back in April, I told you about the Native Union Moshi Moshi 01. The sleek and sophisticated handsfree unit allows the users to make and receive mobile calls while experiencing the ease of comfort of a landline base. Native Union is out with the next release in the Moshi Moshi line. The Moshi Moshi 03 draws from the original 01 unit but now adds Bluetooth into the fold. And it’s not your regular old Bluetooth stack either. The 03 uses a multipoint chip which allows two Bluetooth devices to be paired to it simultaneously. At home, I paired the…

Reviews June 29, 2010

Chrome Soyuz Laptop Bag Review: Dare to be Different

Last week I reviewed the Chrome Vega Utility Bag. I’ve become a fan of it due to its versatility and functionality. I can not tell you the number of times I’ve purchased an expensive gear bag because I thought it “looked” cool only to find it didn’t hold all of my gear, or made retrieving said gear impossible etc. Chrome takes on a philosophy of function first. If an item isn’t needed on one of their bags they simply do not include it. This makes all of their bags extremely comfortable to wear and makes getting to your gear when…

Reviews June 23, 2010

Read Along with Woody, Buzz and the Gang: Toy Story 3 for iPad Review

My kids finally are out of school. Believe it or not their last day was June 22nd. With all of the snow we got here on the East Coast this past winter, extra days had to be made up resulting in an additional week+ for them. What’s the first thing my kids wanted to do when they got home yesterday? See Toy Story 3. I obliged and we enjoyed the third offering from Pixar. When we got home I treated the girls to the Toy Story 3 application on my iPad. Disney had been kind enough to send me a copy…

Reviews June 22, 2010

Chrome Vega Utility Bag: Little Messenger Packs Big Punch

Chrome recently reached out to see if I’d be interested in reviewing some of their bags. The company, which was founded in Boulder Colorado 14 years ago, makes stylish bags (among other items such as shoes and apparel) that are not only meant to perform at a high level but look really good while doing so. One look at the Chrome website, and I knew I wanted to review some of their stuff. The catalogue includes a wide range of bags, most of which are modeled after the “messenger” style, but they’ve got a few wild-cards too. The company, which…

Reviews June 22, 2010

White Leather iPad Case Review: Classic Apple

White is the quintessential Apple color. Both my iPhone 3G and 3Gs are white and I’ve owned a bunch of white iPods too. White accessories just make me think Apple so it was with a certain amount of nostalgia that I began to test the iPad Leather Flip Case – White from GearZap.com. Let’s face it, we all can’t afford $200+ Vaja leather cases for our iPads. For many the expense of the iPad alone just about breaks the bank. But you still need something to protect your invest and why shouldn’t it be something that looks good while doing…

Health and Fitness June 20, 2010

C25K: Larry Is too Cool for School

Week of 6 of the C25K program is in the books. Only three more weeks to go. Here’s how this week’s workouts looked: Larry: If you follow me on Twitter you may have noticed the lack of Tweets related to the C25K program this week. No it wasn’t a Twitter failure. Judie: And if you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed the same lack of Tweets; that was not a Twitter failure, either. Larry: I was all set to follow this week’s plan until I ran until my old marathon training buddy at my neighborhood’s swimming pool over…

Reviews June 16, 2010

M-EDGE Touring Jacket for iPad Review

For my final M-EDGE iPad case review I wanted to share a video from my YouTube channel. The M-EDGE Touring Jacket is a neoprene sleeve that’s lined with gray fleece. It fits the iPad just about perfectly. Not so tight that you feel as though you need a crow bar to get your iPad in or out and not so loose so that the iPad gets jostled around. Here’s what M-EDGE has to say about it: The M-Edge Touring Sleeve for the Apple iPad is the must-have accessory sleeve for the active iPad user. The Sleeve, made of durable and easy-to-clean neoprene,…

Reviews June 14, 2010

Nixon Newton Satisfies My Inner-Geek Review

I’ve always wanted a Tokyo Flash watch but just haven’t pulled the trigger and ordered one. Partly because their designs are so intricate I’m worried I won’t be able to figure them out and partly because I’m a person that doesn’t like waiting. I need that immediate satisfaction. So when I stumbled upon the Nixon Newton while shopping at my local mall the other day I snatched one up. The Newton features a two-hand quartz movement with an LED light and rotating disc. No numbers on this watch. You’ll actually have to think about the time when you glance at…

Editorials June 14, 2010

Is the Dream of Being a Mobile Worker Really a Nightmare?

[image via MidCo Systems ] My friends frequently give me a hard time over my obsession with mobile technology. Like the rest of the Gear Diary team — and very likely the majority of the site’s readers — I do my best to not only stay up to date but to get a lot of hands on use with various technological gear that help to untether me from the confinement of a desk. To me that’s the real point of it all: the freedom to go do what you want, when you want and still be able to take care…

News & Features June 13, 2010

C25K Week 5: Get Your Drink On

Larry: Week 5 done! Only four more weeks to go before Judie and I are officially 5K runners. Judie: W00t! Larry: This week the workout schedule got a little different, and we were both in for a little shock when we took a look at the schedule. Instead of like previous weeks where each of the three weekly workouts were exactly the same, during week 6 all three were different. The shocker came when we both realized that we’d go from running for eight minutes to running twenty. Judie: Larry likes to check in with me every Monday and see…

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