Articles by Gear Diary Staff

The Scala-700 VoIP Headset Review: changing perceptions

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, using a Bluetooth headset is the perfect companion when it comes to using a cell phone. I personally ONLY use a headset when driving or sitting at my desk conversing with clients via my smartphone or Skype. I really don’t need the Captain Picard references or the need to look “fashionable” with a blinking blue light in my ear dining at a restaurant while worrying if my “ear roach” will fall in my salad plate (which I did see happen one time!) But I’m not here to talk about the Five Rules of Bluetooth Headset…

Reviews

The Slim-Line Presenter PLUS Review: Unlocking PowerPoint prison

With apologies to Bob Dylan, have you ever felt like you were stuck in PowerPoint prison with the presentation blues again?* Most us have seen the overabundance of slides, with 9 point type, variable mix of fonts, sound effects and motivational video clips to fly like an eagle? Then again, for every 100 misuses of PowerPoint, there is that one person who understands their audience and is all about conveying their PowerPoint message in a clear, concise and compelling manner. These presentation warriors in the old days (post Kodak Carousel slide tray era) used to trudge through airports carrying the…

eBooks, Reviews

The Sony Reader Review

If you read my intro to eBooks, you’ll know that I’m a big eBook fan. So I was really excited to get a look at the new Sony Reader, a dedicated eBook reader that uses the (new! revolutionary!) e-ink technology. Look, I don’t know how revolutionary the e-ink technology is, honestly. I’ve been in the online doc game for a long time, and I’ve heard proselytizers try to sell me on e-ink, and I’ve never been very convinced. Maybe sometime, when they’ve got it working in color, and they’ve gotten it to be a little brighter, and you can use…

eBooks, Reviews

eBooks and eReaders–a Short Overview

Soon I will be lucky enough to review Sony’s Reader, an eBook reader by Sony. But before I do and give y’all a review, I thought it might be nice to give folks a brief overview of eBooks, both on devoted devices and PDAs. I’ve been in the online documentation game for a long time.? A long time.? I was writing online doc back in 1991, before the Web even got going, back when Acrobat wasn’t even a twinkle in Adobe’s eye.? So I have some pretty (ahem) strong views on online doc, eBooks, eBook readers, and what makes for…

Reviews

The QuickSeals Review

Now available on the market are QuickSeals from Neese Products, LLC. This innovative product is a plastic pouch with a zip slider on top and two adhesive strips on the bottom. QuickSeals are pouches that affix to any food bag or box to add a zip closure to seal in freshness and prevent spillage. Betsy Scherzer contacted Gear Diary to conduct a product review; she sent 32 samples and I found myself quickly using them every day.

Reviews

The Cingular Palm Treo 750 Review

Treo at Last (and I’ll Never Go Hungry Again..!) Some of the best things come in small packages. I’ve been looking at a number of different mobile devices over the past few months. Right now, I’ve got 5 WM PDA Phones, and 2 WM Smartphones. The PDA phones are mostly locked to specific carriers. I’ve got an HP 6945 and ETEN M700 that are both unlocked, Quad Band GSM phones that support EDGE. I’ve got a Siemens SX66 (Cingular/ATT) and Palm Treo 700wx (Sprint). I’ve got an Audiovox SMT5600 (Cingular/ATT) and Cingular 3125 that are both Smartphones. However, one of…

Gear Bits, How to Do It Yourself!

A Palm Treo cradle – LEGO style

I was looking around for a charging cradle that would allow me to store my Palm Treo 650 or 680 in an upright position. Most of the ones that I’ve seen advertised range in price from $29 to $49 USD. While esthetically useful, the practicality of obtaining a cradle meant having yet another spare power cable and sync cable stored away in a shoebox of miscellaneous wires and USB cables. The ancient Greek phillospher Plato is quoted as saying Necessity is the mother of invention, which means that a need or problem encourages creative efforts to meet the need or…

Reviews

The Cheeky Chick by okiedog Review

Are you looking for an innovative toy for the kid in your life? Whether it is for your niece, friend’s son, or your own child, okiedog has created two foldable tricycles for you. Both designs are for specific age groups and offer varying benefits. The G-Force is the 21st Century’s answer to the much-loved Original Big Wheel. It provides fast-paced riding and spinning through a sleek design. It is specifically for kids 7 years and older. The Cheeky Chick is the toddler version without the propulsion power. According to the site, the Cheeky Chick is a foot-to-floor ride-on transformable tricycle….

Reviews

The NeatReceipts Scanalizer Review

Besides rearing three rowdy (I mean precious) children, I am an independent contractor. What does that mean? I fat-finger expenses into Microsoft Excel and store piles of receipts, reports, business cards, and 1099s, just so I can claim my earnings/losses.At the beginning of each year, I start formulating my spreadsheet and calculate my profit/gains. If I need to recall a paycheck, I just quickly reference my spreadsheet. But, if I need the actual receipt, I gotta dig through piles of paper. To make my life easier, Judie discovered the NeatReceipts Scanalizer while attending Showstoppers at CES, and passed it my…

Reviews

The Targus 15.4″ Trademark Backpack Review

[Ed. note: Larry originally wrote this review for the Palm Is Life forum, but he has also translated it for Gear Diary.] As my travel gear and gadgets are getting more and more heavy, I need a backpack to balance the load on my shoulders rather than try to use a side pack which I?find uncomfortable and?might even hurt me. Last week, I got a Targus 15.4″ Trademark Backpack from Targus Taiwan; let’s see what it claims to do for you.

Reviews

The Mathmos Thaw Review

When I heard about fire and ice coexisting together in the form of the Thaw made by Mathmos and sold by ThinkGeek, I was very curious as to what really goes on inside the shiny silver casing of the Thaw. Up until now, I never heard of putting fire and ice together in any form. I though to myself that the fire will most certainly melt the ice right away. Well, turns out that I am wrong in thinking that, as a search of the Internet turns up lots of details of people making ice candles and they appear to…

Reviews

The Creative Zen Vision W Review

After my recent, somewhat disappointing experience with the Cowon A2 –and yup, I did in fact return the device–it was time to move on and try another of the available personal media players (PMPs) out on the market. This time, it’s the Creative Zen Vision W. (If you’re into unboxings, take a look at my unboxing on the Vision W.) I’ve been very much looking forward to trying out the Vision W, as in addition to having the standard movie/music/document viewer software, the underlying OS is based on Windows (rather than, say, the modified and proprietary version of Linux that…

How to Do It Yourself!

Pimping my Mac (Aquarium)

This past August in Nashville, Tennessee it was too hot to be outside to do any yard work, so I decided to work on a project in the comfort of air conditioning. Everything I do or build is a mentally consuming exercise. I Google for ideas, pictures and documentation. Later I sketch, process and make the commitment to get it done. But I’m such a perfectionist when it comes to building things, so I have to manage my time. I’m taking a break from Legos and anything lumber related to try my hand on something totally different. I’ve got the…

Reviews

The Multi-Color LED Flashlight Review

What a long way we have come, fire, torches, oil lanterns, and then the common everyday flashlights we all use. The flashlight to me is a neat human invention, a battery source running a bulb all mounted inside a portable casing so that you would never have to be stuck in the dark. The 21st century sure has brought us lots of cool new flashlights which no longer use ordinary filament bulbs, but now use low powered light-emitting diodes (LED’s) and one of the coolest newest flashlights is the Multi-color LED Flashlight sold by ThinkGeek. Sure there are other LED…

Reviews

The Fujitsu T4215 Tablet PC Overview

My purpose here is not so much a review, but some thoughts and observations on what I really like about my new 4215 and what I don’t like. These are the things that as a new Tablet PC owner jumped out at me right away. I would like to begin by explaining how I came to purchase the Fujitsu 4215 in the first place. After years of owning (I still do, of course) Pocket PC devices I came to very much enjoy writing on my screen. It was and is however, a tiny screen. Much as I love handheld devices…

Reviews

Creative Zen Vision W Unboxing

After my disappointing experience with the Cowon A2 –and yup, I did return it–but still determined to see if a personal media player (PMP) can be a good thing to have around, I decided to give the Creative Zen Vision W a try (I’m still on the waiting). Once again, the basic specs of the device are intriguing: Creative Zen Vision W (the widescreen version), available at various places for around $300 (30GB) or $375 (60GB) 9.7oz/276g (30GB); 10.5oz/297g (60GB) 4.3″, 480×272 pixel TFT screen (landscape mode, ‘natch) built-in FM radio personal info management (PIM) capability–according to the web site,…

How to Do It Yourself!

Treo 650 Housing Replacement Do-It-Yourself Instructions

[Ed. note: Larry originally wrote this article for the Palm Is Life forum, but he has also translated it for posting here.] Around two weeks ago at “http://www.palmislife.com/“, we had a group purchase activity for buying complete set of Treo 650 Housing as replacement parts for those with “poor looking” Treos. These are “Genuine Replacement Housing For Treo 650” with a “Verizon” logo printed. They are not brand new housings, they are all used but in good condition.

Reviews

The Logitech Harmony 890 Universal Remote Control Review

Well, I did it. I didn’t think I would, at least for a while, but I did it. I bought the big screen LCD TV, I bought the DVD player, I bought the AV receiver and home theater speakers, and I ordered digital cable. It was a sad day for my wallet, but a happy day for me. It’s something that I’ve always wanted – a top notch mini home theater of my own. I soon found out that there was an issue with controlling all of these devices. Four components makes four remotes. It’s not that four remotes is…

Reviews

The Cowon A2 Personal Media Player Review

This has been a very, very difficult review for me to write. Most gadgets, I find I either like them, or dislike them, or just feel kind of “eh” about them. The Cowon A2, on the other hand, arouses some pretty powerful conflicting feelings in me. I’ll try to give you all a full idea why throughout the review, but the bottom line for me with this device is, I’m totally conflicted, and there is no bottom line. So read on, and decide for yourself. I’ve been playing with the Cowon A2 personal media player (PMP) for a few weeks…

Reviews

The Belkin Clamp-On Surge Protector Review

As you are a reader of Gear Diary, it’s pretty likely that your house is something like mine–an impossible flood of electronic gizmos, gadgets, and geegaws, both portable, and not, but all requiring a simply astonishing amount of plug-in space for wall current.? Around our stereo area it can get bad, sure; the receiver, TV, VCR, DVD, TiVo box, satellite box, etc; you need some hefty power strippage to deal with it. But for me where it gets really bad is my desk.? I work from home, so in addition to all the “usual” computer equipment that I have maintain…

Reviews

All About the Treo 680

[Ed. note: This unboxing with comments was written and translated by Michael Lin (“puttingdog”) and posted on the Palm is Life Forum. The original Chinese version with larger pictures may be seen here. Gear Diary would like to thank Michael for making his pictures and commentary available to an English Speaking audience and Larry for obtaining Michael’s permission to re-post in English.] The Palm Treo 680… My first impression: why does it take so long just to turn on the machine! It takes almost 50 seconds, dude! Appearance I assumed the coating on the front side and the back are…

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