My family is pretty invested in Amazon’s ecosystem – Kindle readers, Kindle Fire tablets, Fire TV on our main TV, and Echo devices throughout. Perhaps my LEAST favorite of all the Alexa devices has been the Amazon Tap – but now that has been corrected.
Beer is getting smarter, there’s no denying it. First commercial taprooms introduced network-aware tap systems, then came pour-your-own tasting bars that charge by the ounce.
Raina and I love the game Two Dots. It is one of the best time-sucks out there with new levels appearing on a regular basis. Today, though, Two Dots stood tall for fairness and equality and celebrated the American ideals represented by the Statue of Liberty. Too many have forgotten that we are a nation of immigrants; Two Dots reminds us
I recently interviewed Jonathan Levine, the founder and CEO of the New York-based premium audio brand Master & Dynamic, about his company and their products. We’ve become big fans of the brand since their 2014 launch, and it was winderful to have a moment to talk to Jonathan about the company.
Streaming video is where everyone wants to be, and the newest entry is a modern take on portraying a hungry zombie, desperate to return to its old life and consuming the living as a poor substitute for true life force. Yes, Apple Music is entering the video business. Oh, and Netflix has a cool new show with Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant!
The cofounders of Lyft have an op-ed on Medium today suggesting that carpooling is the way to end traffic in America. They have some interesting ideas, and the plan they propose makes a great deal of sense in cities. Unfortunately, they seem to think because it might work for LA, it will work for everywhere, and that’s a terrible idea.
I am an amateur genealogist, and as such, I’m used to using sites to try to find missing relatives and other connections. With that said, there is one site out there that calls itself a genealogy site, but it is basically a stalker enabler of the highest order: FamilyTreeNow.com. Try searching your name on there, go on … I’ll wait.
I am on the email marketing list for a niche product. It’s out of my price range right now, but I have enjoyed learning more about the company. Tonight I received an email from them that was technically legal but morally dubious: they were offering the chance to buy private shares of their company.
Winter is coming. Actually, it’s already here. It’s that time of year when traveling is a hassle and the warmth of your blanket makes leaving your bed in the morning feel like a mission to Mars. Depending on where you live, winter can be a devastating few months. Luckily for you, there are a ton of new tech gadgets that can help you hack your way through winter and make it a thoroughly enjoyable time of the year. MyDeal Wireless Bluetooth Beanie Hat Headset Have you ever tried listening to music outside during the winter? The headphone-beanie combination is never…
We see some very odd product pitches here at Gear Diary. Every once in a while, we get one that is odd all by itself, but then the marketing material just zooms it right past ludicrous speed to plaid…and that’s where the Hand Liberation folks landed with The Butt Case.
Let’s face it, the Amazon Echo has won 2016. It’s the most sought after gadget this year, and with its compatibility to virtually everything, it’ll be a surprise not to see it in every home soon. As a result, companies are making it a mission to make their gadgets Alexa compatible.
Kickstarter is an interesting marketplace. On the one hand, it sometimes produces truly interesting products, but it also attracts companies who interpret Kickstarter success as an excuse to shoot for the moon (cough, Pebble, cough), as well as companies that see Kickstarter as a source of easy money, with no intention of delivering exactly as promised. Juicies cables are rapidly looking like the latter.
Just about every person who identifies as anything other than straight has their “story”. We all have that moment where the niggle in the back of our head, the one said “something is different” finally turned into a full-blown realization. It’s something I’ve personally never seen expressed well in television … until Supergirl.
Pebble, once the crown jewel of Kickstarter, has officially folded as a viable company. They have sold some assets to Fitbit, and are in the process of refunding any outstanding Kickstarter orders. This is a sad day, since Pebble was an early smartwatch pioneer, and made some excellent watches.
At the risk of sounding like click bait, don’t read the rest of this post until you’ve watched the video below.
Amazon’s Echo and they latest Echo Dot have taken off with them becoming mainstream as of late. The Black Friday special on the 2nd Generation Dot being only $39.99 is what triggered me to finally order one. After you get the Dot, it’s time to accessorize as it’s virtually made to be a hub for your smart home.
Quick, what’s the most interesting innovation to go mainstream this year? You can make an argument for a number of ideas, but it’s pretty clear from the ad blitz that home automation, especially from Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home, are at the forefront of ideas that have gone from tech-y to everyday. Surprisingly, Apple appears to be letting that business slide right by them, which is an ominous sign for a so-called innovator.
For some odd reason, the folks at Hammacher Schlemmer seem to think my household is the ideal market for their catalog. We’re not sure why, but I look forward to the excellent insanity that arrives each year, and this year my friends at Hammacher Schlemmer have simply outdone themselves.
In the book “Stranger in a Strange Land”, one of the characters finally grasps laughter when he realizes humor is just laughing at someone else’s suffering. The logical, if painful, end to that theory has been realized in “The Moon Ring”.
Look, it’s an unfortunate reality that the world can be quite unsafe. If you’re a woman out in a situation where you’re drinking, you need to worry about drugs in your drinks, assaults from your Uber driver, and what seems like a million other threats.
Apple had a lot of announcements yesterday, but the one that caught my attention was the new Apple Watch 2. It now includes GPS, waterproofing, and even a model cobranded with Nike, showing that Apple has the fitness market square in the crosshairs. These are all welcome improvements, but will it have an impact in the crowded fitness tracker/fitness watch market? Let’s start by eliminating one group that won’t be buying an Apple watch: the budget conscious folks have a plethora of options available to them that offer many of the same fitness benefits without the cost of the Apple…