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Norton Ghost Review

My entire philosophy when it comes to computers pretty much revolves around a single incident which occurred when I was in ninth grade. We were studying Romeo and Juliet in English class, my first exposure to Shakespeare. At the beginning of the unit, we were given a worksheet with dozens of short essay questions. The idea was, as we read the play, we completed the essays relating to the portion we studied in class. Being the diligent student that I was back then, I worked on that worksheet every day, sitting in the basement tapping away with Bank Street Writer…

eBooks, Reviews

The Amazon Kindle 2 Review

[Note: This is a joint review by Doug Goldring, Judie Lipsett, Dan Cohen, and Kerry Woo. It is being simultaneously posted on Just Another Mobile Monday and Gear Diary. If you haven’t already, then take a look at Doug’s The Kindle 2: First Look and Unboxing and Judie’s Unboxing the Amazon Kindle 2.] Doug: One thing about sites like Gear Diary and Just Another Mobile Monday, we love our gadgets (I know, shocking!) We love playing with them almost as much as we love writing and telling you about them. Rarely does a week go by when one of us…

Reviews

Vaja 4G Nano iVolution Grip Case with GoClip Review

I honestly think that Apple makes the best MP3 player on the market. I know there are a lot of people that would like to debate that point, but in my mind, and in my opinion, even though they didn’t release the first player, they were the first ones to get the experience right. They win; but again, that’s a personal opinion… Recently I bought my daughter a 4G (RED) Nano for Christmas. Her grandparents “bought” her a white and red Samsung Propel (she got a Visa gift card that we used to purchase the phone). It was a, uh-hem……

Reviews

Clarion Mind Review: Media, Internet, and Directions All-In-One? Not Quite

For some time now, there has been a gap between PDA/phones and notebook computers, various form factors have been introduced to fill this void, but until the ASUS eeepc, none have been particularly successful. Of course, with the Asus, we were given the device which we now know as the netbook, and finally that gap began to close. Some devices, however, started at the other end of the spectrum, trying to fill the gap up from PDA/phones. Chief among them has been the Archos Internet Media Tablet and the iPod Touch. Well, now we have another newcomer to this gap-filling…

Reviews

The Microsoft Arc Mouse Review

I have been a fan of the ever shrinking computer since I was in college. Laptops, netbooks, PDAs, my motto these days is small, compact, and light. The whole time, however, there has been one thing the gnawed at the back of my brain…probably due to the numerous hand cramps I have gotten over the years. There is just no good way to control the mouse. This started with the eraser tip controller, which worked well enough, if you don’t mind rubbing against a tiny rubber nub in the middle of your keyboard (which was also prone to accidental swipes). …

Reviews

Corinex Power Line Networking Transmitters/Receivers Review

Broadband networking. Its something that EVERYONE wants in their home…in every home across America… heck, in every home across the world. The biggest problem with getting broadband in your home is not necessarily availability (though that is an issue), but piping the signal though your home.

Reviews

USB Fever/iPDA Auto Charger/FM Transmitter for 5G iPod Review

Some of the best things about having an iPod is being able to play YOUR music just about anywhere, any time you want. If you’re the kind of person that has the music in them all the time, allowing it to resonate in your ears when you want or need it to is important (hence, the reason why you bought your iPod in the first place). Like many older cars, my 2001 Honda CRV doesn’t have any kind of a built-in MP3 connection. What I do have is a cassette deck and an AM/FM radio. As such, I’m left with…

Reviews

Glasi Hergiswil Pilsner Beer Glass Review

Hello, my name is Christopher, and I like beer. In fact, in my humble opinion, there is only ONE thing that I like about living in Chicago during the winter – my garage keeps my beer colder than my refrigerator. When they say in those beer commercials that the beverage is best served cold, come to my house between Thanksgiving and Tax Day. The beer here will be chilled to perfection, and likely, worth the trip into the Great White (Almost) North. When Gear Diary was recently approached by Terra Keramik and asked if we’d like to review their Glasi…

Reviews

Hammer Storage Morespace Portable Drive Review

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to review the Hammer Storage Morespace external hard drive. That was an incredible drive, with just an amazing amount of storage. My one complaint about that fantastic drive, however, was the size of the drive. I mean, really, it takes up a sizeable chunk of my desk. So, you can imagine my excitement when Hammer Storage recently announced the new Morespace Portable Drive. All of the storage at a fraction of the space.

How to Do It Yourself!

OSX and Windows 7 – Dual Booting the Wind

Not being the type that can leave well enough alone, I installed Windows 7 to my Wind as planned on 1/18/09. Windows 7 is interesting. I’m still exploring… However, after I installed 7, I really wanted to see if I could put OSX back on. Having the dual boot is really cool; and the dual boot with Windows 7..? Oh yeah. I’d be the king of my local Geekdom. I had to try… The following is not sanctioned by Gear Diary, and is an advanced piece of hackery. However, once you master dual booting XP and OSX, I found this…

How to Do It Yourself!

Update on Windows 7: Blowin’ in the Breeze, Part 4

This is just a short note, kids to let you know where I am with my Wind after this weekend’s article. I’ve completely blown the box, so XP is OFF the Wind. I took a couple of hours and put Windows 7 on it, and find it very interesting. I’m not completely sold on it yet, as its very Vista like, and I’ve really just got Vista Ultimate working the way I want it to on my MBP. However, I’m playing with it; and yes, there is indeed a great deal to like about Win7 that you’re going to hear…

How to Do It Yourself!

Dual Booting the MSI Wind: How To

Over the past few months, I’ve seen a lot of people talk about netbook computers and how hackable they are. Sites like JKontheRun, The Gadgeteer, and even Gear Diary have all posted articles on hacking this particular netbook. While none of these sites recommends hacking ANY device, it does go a long way to showing everyone just how versatile this device truly, truly is. Honestly, I wasn’t really interested in any kind of netbook computer until Dan posted his article on the creation of a “hackintosh,” or non-Apple PC running OSX. Before then, I really didn’t seen any real value…

Reviews

Samsung Epix Review

I’ve been a Blackjack user (on and off) since May of 2007. I absolutely love the form factor, 320×240 screen, QWERTY keyboard, and (nearly) one handed operation. I liked it so much, that I used it for well over 9 months, which for me, is an eternity. I change devices about every 7 months on average. So how does the AT&T/Samsung Epix (sometimes called the Blackjack 3) stand up? Let’s take a quick look and see… The Epix and the BJ 1 – The Epix has a bigger screen and slightly more compact keys

Reviews

PDAir Leather Case for MSI Wind Review

As much as I love my MSI Wind, I am not a fan of the case that was included in the box. Sure, it is functional. It protects my Wind, and keep a relatively low profile. But it is not exactly stylish. So, I have been watching for an opportunity to upgrade to something a little nicer. Fortunately for me, our friends over at PDAir were more than happy to oblige with an extremely nice brown leather case. Hit the jump for all of my thoughts on this one.

How to Do It Yourself!

Dual Booting the MSI Wind: Blowing in the Breeze, Part 3

This is an update to my earlier post regarding the Wind and OSX; and is just a quick update, kids… It took a bit of doing, AND I gave up on trying to figure out how to create a bootable, Windows based USB stick. I pulled down 2 different tools, and neither could make the 8GB SanDisk Cruzer I have bootable. I’m guessing it was an issue with Vista Ultimate (running that on my MacBook Pro) and not the tools themselves; but with my Gateway desktop OFFICIALLY belly up, I had no other XP box to work from… I am…

How to Do It Yourself!

Blowing in the Breeze Part 2 – OSX 10.5.6 & the MSI Wind

Before I get started, I wanted to say special thanks go out to Dan Cohen, who stayed up with me until 3am Eastern/2am Central working on the Flash drive needed to get this all done. So… OSX 10.5.6 and the MSI Wind… Yah ok… maybe not so much. Quick update – I’ve got OSX installed on my Wind (calling it miniMBP); and I’ve learned some interesting things as of this morning. 1. I can still survive and be human on as little as 2.5 hours of sleep as long as there’s good, strong coffee around…somewhere. 2. You have to find…

Reviews

Wi-Gear iMuffs for the iPhone Review: Giving Your Ears a Break

Wi-Gear has upgraded the iMuffs for compatibility and optimization with the iPhone. Previously reviewed October 2007 here at GearDiary, the wireless headphone consistently delivers good performance and comfort for extended wearing periods whether sitting on your duff, driving, walking or exercising. Last year’s model had some initial compatibility issues with the 1st edition of the iPhone, but has been resolved with both iPhone models (3G) with an improved range and less susceptiblily to radio interference The iMuffs use Bluetooth 2.0 and Advance Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) via the dongle that plugs into the base of your iPod or iPhone. iMuffs work…

Reviews

Super Talent Pico Gold Thumb Drive (8GB) Review

They say good things come in small packages. Well, after checking out the Super Talent Pico Thumb Drive, I am here to tell you that it is not so much good things, but great things that come in small packages. As in great big things. Like the 8GB of storage found in this tiny, 31.3 mm (yes that is millimeter) drive. How can this be? Read on to find out!

Reviews

Devotec Solar Charger Review

If there’s one thing that I know about all of the mobile electronics I’ve got, its that power is a problem. I’ve got more device holders and power cords in my car than I know what to do with, AND I have so many that I had to get a goo-jam that increased the number of power sockets in my car from 1 to 3. Yeah…I’ve got gadgets. Now about powering them…yeah, that’s a problem too. Over the past year or so, I’ve bumped into problems where I’ve run out of power at the most inconvenient times and places. So…

Reviews

Unboxing the HTC Touch Pro (Sprint Edition)

[Note: This is a joint article being written by Doug, Lauren, and Sue. Doug’s comments will appear in normal typeface, Lauren’s in bold, and Sue’s will be italicized. We are also simultaneously posting it on both JAMM and Gear Diary.] Doug: I had a nice surprise in the mail the other day when I tore open a Fed Ex envelope to find the HTC Touch Pro. By coincidence, as you may have noticed, Lauren and Sue (for you Gear Diary readers, they are both contributors at JAMM) both also picked up the HTC Touch Pro earlier this month. So, we…

Reviews

Norton Internet Security 2009 Review

I have been around computers, almost from the start. My first computer was the wildly successful Apple II+ (does anyone else remember the Bank Street Writer,) which was my main computer for close to ten years (including all of high school.) In the time since those early days, one thing has always been apparent: no matter what level of sophistication computers may reach, someone is always going to be waiting to exploit the technology and cause harm in some way or another. Back in those early days, most of the threats amounted to blunt objects, hurled at your disconnected desktop…

Articles by Gear Diary Staff