Editorials

Facebook Has a Nomenclature Problem. I Have a Solution

Until recently Facebook was, for me, mostly about communicating with Judie and the Gear Diary team. In the past few weeks however that has changed. And as I have used Facebook more and more I’m finding the “Like” button to be a fundamental flaw in Facebook’s approach. When strong emotions are involved the “like” button simply doesn’t cut it.


100,000 Miles of Memories in My Prius

My Toyota Prius and I hit a major milestone last night-100,000 miles! I have been counting down excitedly for months, and it hit me this morning why this means so much to me. It’s not about the mileage, but about the memories and amazing life changes that so many of those miles mean.


What eWallet Needs to Do to Stay on Our Devices

Judie and I were huge fans of eWallet from its earliest days, back when we used Palms; we synced the info on our Palms to the eWallet program on our desktop PCs. Later on we used eWallet on our Pocket PCs. Once the app became available for iOS, we loaded it onto our iPhones and eventually also on our Macs.



Watch Those Spam Emails and Think Before You Click

Spammers have gotten more and more sophisticated in recent years. Long gone are the offers of millions if you simply help some poor Nigerian refugee. Now you can get official-looking emails that, if you don’t think before you click, can take you to all sorts of unscrupulous places. One example of this convincing type of spam came this afternoon.


Yes, Matt Lauer, You Can Be GM’s CEO and Be a Mother, Too!

Hypothetical situation: You have the CEO of a major company on your morning news show for an interview. This CEO has been under the microscope for good news (positive sales numbers) and bad news (product issues). So what’s tops on your list of questions? How to fix the products? Why are sales strong? Are they a good parent? Wait, what?!


The Death of AEREO, and Why I Am Perplexed

AEREO was effectively killed this morning, and with it we the consumers lost out big time. The thing is, I’m rather confused about why there is such an issue with a service I’ve been using for the past few months and absolutely loving. Here’s why I’m perplexed, and why the ruling makes absolutely no sense to me.


Amazon Fire Smartphone? Nope. Not A Prayer

On Wednesday June 18, Amazon announced their first ever smartphone – the Amazon Fire.  While this Fire OS based device (an Android derivative) may be the only phone with Dynamic Perspective (a screen that shifts as you tilt the device) , Firefly technology (Google revamped for Amazon) and Mayday (live help at the push of a button) .


Is NatureBox Worth Subscribing to for Healthy Snacks?

If you listen to a lot of podcasts on Leo Laporte’s TWIT network, you may have heard of NatureBox.  The premise is that the service will deliver healthy snacks to your home for as little as 20 dollars a month. That seems like a lot, but this could be a godsend if you, like me, work from home.



Swype is Excited for iOS 8, and You Should Be Too!

A huge swath of users jumped up and cheered during yesterday’s iOS 8 announcement when one simple option was mentioned: Swype. iOS 8 will be open to changing keyboards from the default Apple keyboard, much like Android has for years, and Swype is one of the best. If you aren’t excited about this, you probably haven’t used Swype yet.


Target and Librify Partner Up for a New Twist on Subscription Ebooks

Target has sold books and eBook readers in their stores for years, and now they are sticking a very tentative toe into the world of selling digital books. No, you won’t be heading to Target.com for your next eBook (yet), but they are partnering with new website Librify, which is a social network/eBook subscription service coming this summer.


Facebook Asks Whether You Think Your Post Will Get Reported or Not. What?!

About five minutes ago, I shared a post from Fox News on Facebook which reported an incident in Houston TX describing a lawfully licensed handgun owner involved in a shootout with armed robbers. So far this is pretty normal type stuff. But upon clicking POST, Facebook presented me with the prompt: “Do you think anyone will report this post?”.


Could Brainscape Be the Future of Learning?

The future of e-learning is being shaped as we speak in New York City, where Andrew Cohen, Founder and CEO of Brainscape, is at the helm of this forward-thinking study platform.  Brainscape’s electronic flash card system is centered upon confidence-based repetition of cards; after you view the answer you have the opportunity to rate how well you understood it.



I Just Filled Out a Google Glass Survey, And …

When the option to purchase the Google Glass Explorer Edition was made available to me, I jumped in with both feet — completely disregarding the fact that I was paying $1500 to be a beta tester of roughly $80 worth of electronics (as it turns out). Dan bought in, too, and then we both decided Glass wasn’t for us.


My Sony Xperia Z2 Is Big, Purple, and Gorgeous

Of all the phones that I saw at MWC, the Sony Xperia Z2 was the one I returned determined to buy. With its 5.2″ Display, 20.7 megapixel rear-facing camera, 4K camcorder, generous battery, and its IP55/IP58 waterproof and dust-proof rating, the Z2’s specs were pretty impressive. I’ve purchased a Z2, and I’ve made it my daily-driver. Here are some highlights.


10 Reasons This iPhone-User Is Happy with the Samsung Galaxy S5

I’ve been using the Samsung Galaxy S5 for over a week and a half. and don’t see myself putting it down anytime soon. That’s surprising, since the only time I’ve seriously used Android phones has been to review them; I’m not using this to review it, rather I’m using it because I like it. Here are ten reasons why:  


9 Reasons the Pebble Watch Will Still be the Best Smartwatch You Can Buy

  The title of this post is “9 Reasons the Pebble Watch Will Still be the Best Smartwatch You Can Buy”. I might have called it, “What every other smartwatch manufacturer is currently—and will probably continue—doing wrong”. Either way, this post is all about the Pebble watch and the smart moves that have, and continue, to make.


The Pernicious Nature of Homemade Baby Food Revealed

A recent article in the NY Times caught my eye: “As Parents Make Their Own Baby Food, Industry Tries to Adapt“. We make almost all of our son’s food, with a few exceptions, and I thought it would be an interesting read. That’s how I learned that Beech-Nut thinks our choice is downright sinister!


Google Wallet – Could It Be About the Paperless Receipt?

I requested a Google Wallet card recently.  As you may know, this is Google’s second major push to get you to adopt their payment service which now operates both through a card and your Android phone. The first attempt focused heavily on paying by phone (aka tap-to-pay). That failed due to not enough capable terminals and carriers blocking the feature.