Reviews | Gear Diary

M-Edge Latitude Jacket for Apple iPad – iPad Case Review

My in-laws are currently in China touring for the next two weeks. For gear they took a point and shoot camera my mother-in-law’s new Kindle (well new to her thanks to judie) and… an iPad. Now this may not sound like a big deal to you but trust me… it is. You see, my father-in-law doesn’t even check his own email messages. Elana does. and when I got my iPad my father-in-law rolled his eyes and gave me a look that said, “Yet another Apple product Dan? You know there is a twelve-step program for that.” I proceeded to tell…

Reviews

Review: M-Edge Leisure Jacket For iPad

Finding the iPad case that is right for me has proven to be a difficult task. There are so many options and styles, finding the perfect option is truly an exercise in trial and error. I thought I would give the iPad Leisure Jacket by M-Edge a try since it is compact and provides a lot of protection from the environment. The product has left me with mixed results. Kind of an interesting idea that does not work. Features * The Leisure Jacket provides superior protection against sand, dirt, and moisture by utilizing a read-through, clear vinyl cover. * Protective…

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Gear Diary Deal or Dud #4: Original Space Bag

I’m back with another episode of Gear Diary’s Deal or Dud? This month I take a look at the Original Space Bag. Several years ago these bags were all the rage. You loaded them full of your most bulkiest sweaters, blankets and other items that you used seasonally, sucked all the air out to compress and them and then stored them neatly under your bed. In my continuing quest to create more closet space in my own home I snatched up a new version of the space bag. The Original Space Bag promises to triple your closet space. The one…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

Bimmer not a bummer, just different drummer: BMW 335i coupe

Stop the presses. An automotive journalist has been discovered that does not love, love, love the BMW 3-series. What is this heresy? Refusing to drink the Kool-Aid? Next they will be telling us this global warming scare is not all it is cracked up to be and that American automakers will be profitable despite all of the new fuel economy standards around the bend. I was really looking forward to my week in this BMW 335i coupe. I figured all I would have to do is drive it a few days and I would be able to regurgitate every word…

Reviews

Sena Folio for Apple iPad Review

My search for the perfect iPad case came to an abrupt halt last week when I realized that, more than with any other device i have used, the “right” case for the iPad is going to depend on how you use the device and what you are doing with it at that moment. For example, if I am watching a movie on the iPad I want a case with an integrated stand. If I am on the go with it I want a case with built in screen protection while if I am leaving it on the coffee table I…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

2010 MAZDA3 and MAZDASPEED3 leave you grinning

As I look at the new front fascia for the 2010 model year MAZDA3 I wonder if designers found a little inspiration from CGI artists working on the latest Alice in Wonderland movie. Perhaps the two parties share a favorite pub and the latter left some napkin sketches lying around as carelessly as an Apple employee? Grinning from ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat, the new MAZDA3s still embody that all familiar “zoom-zoom” marketing philosophy while offering value, quality and a truly nice driving experience for the segment. Love it or hate it though, Mazda says the new bold…

Reviews

Flickpad: Fun Way To View Facebook Photos on iPad

Flickpad from Shacked Software is a really fun way to view photos from your Facebook friends on the iPad. The application takes full advantage of the iPad’s multitouch features to allow you to quickly browse through pictures from your friends in a way that’s extremely intuitive and actually a ton of fun. Once you load the app, and after you’ve entered your Facebook account information (only required once) it will show you all your unseen pictures from your Facebook contacts. By default the app loads all new pictures from the day you first launch it but you can move the…

Reviews

2nd Opinion for iPhone/Touch App Review

I am not going to lie…many of the apps on my iPhone are used primarily for entertainment and wasting some spare time. Most of these time wasters are games, but every now and then a non-game entertainment app is discovered. 2nd Opinion is not considered a game, but can be just as addicting. If you like crowdsourcing or answering random questions, this will be quite entertaining. 2nd Opinion is a collection of user asked yes/no questions. The questions can be any subject and can include a photo. As more users download the app, the number of questions rises quickly so…

Reviews

Navigon 6300 Sat Nav Review

Navigon’s latest entry into the increasingly crowded sat-nav market looks to be a cracker with a 4.3” display, Bluetooth hands-free phone and a sleek design that makes it easy to hide away when not in use. In my two week test of the Navigon 6300, it really impressed! Out of the box you get everything you need to get up and running in the car. A very secure windshield mount is fully adjustable to achieve the best viewing angle, no matter what car you are mounting it in, and the power adaptor has a sufficiently long cord should your lighter…

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Speck Fitted For iPad – iPad Case Review

One of the things I have come to understand and appreciate is that there is no “right” case for the iPad. There are a variety of cases available for it to be sure but none of them is “the right case”. Rather, with the iPad perhaps more than with any other device, the appropriate case depends upon how you’re using the device at a particular moment. Let me explain what I mean. If you are going to be using the device on the go and will be throwing it into a briefcase it makes sense to have a case that is…

Game Diary, Reviews

Drakensang the Dark Eye PC Game Review

Games from European PC developers and publishers often have an uphill struggle to begin with: they lack the entrenched network of marketing and promotion, often struggle to get a community base built up of native speakers on popular game forums, and of course are strapped with an image of lacking polish and suffering from poor language translations. As a result they often fail to gain shelf-space at major retailers, making it even harder for them to gain new fans. So you are forgiven if you have never heard of this game, let alone knew that it has been out for…

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Review: Math Ninja For iPhone/Touch

Today’s gadgets are often a great source of wasting time, especially for kids. Many complain that all of these games and mindless fun keep the youth from learning the important things. Who wants to study math flash cards when an iPhone or iPod Touch is sitting there loaded with games? As an educator, I love to see games that build knowledge especially in children. I remember the pain I felt when my parents forced me to sit down and memorize my flash cards. I also remember the joy I felt when my friend’s parents would let us play Math Blaster…

Game Diary, Reviews

Eschalon Book 2 RPG First Impressions

A few weeks ago I noted the upcoming release of the sequel to the indie game Eschalon Book 2. As noted, the release was May 12th – same as Steam for Mac … so I’ve been quite busy with all of these new gaming opportunities! I’ve only had a couple of hours to get started, but wanted to give some early thoughts. If you played Eschalon Book 1, the new game will immediately feel familiar. Which is a wonderful thing for me. As background, I thoroughly enjoyed Basilisk Games Eschalon Book I (in fact, if you look on the link…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

MINI Cooper John Cooper Works convertible – Oliver Twist finally gets his wish

All photos by the Author The tide has turned on large, mobile real estate-hogging vehicles here in the U.S. and the new trend is small – OK, mini. And one of my favorite vehicles of the past decade has been the MINI Cooper. It was love at first sight (and drive) when the millennial Cooper hit U.S. shores in 2000. Built by BMW, this is one of my favorite overall vehicles and they offer one of the most enjoyable driving experiences – of any sized car. MINIs are available in hardtop, convertible, supercharged, Clubman and, coming soon, full four-door Countryman…

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C25K: Week 1

Larry: In case you missed my post from last week, I’ve started the Couch to 5K running plan. Or as a few of us at Gear Diary have turned to calling it, the “Blogger’s Chair to 5K” running plan. This running program helps you get from doing little or no exercise to running a full 3.1 miles in 9 weeks. Each week I’ll be updating the site with a post about the program, how the week went, some of the gear I used and more. Surprise #1: After I posted my initial article I got messages from both Dan and…

Game Diary, Reviews

Steam on Mac First Impressions (also Portal and Torchlight)

At long last Steam has officially arrived for the Mac – and rather than just announce it, I figured I’d give you some quick impressions after using it to download and play a few games. For those who are not aware, Steam is a digital download, automated patch management, and multiplayer matchmaking service … and more. From Valve’s ‘About Steam’: Steam, the world’s largest online gaming platform. Steam turns any PC (and soon any Mac) into a gaming powerhouse by providing instant access to a huge library of titles, and by automatically keeping a user’s games completely up to date….

Reviews

ID Vault for iPhone/Touch/iPad App Review

One thing that has come to annoy me on the iPhone is logging into sites. Whether it be a website for shopping or a forum, for some reason logging in seems to be a task I try to avoid. Clicking on the small log in screen boxes is not always easy and sometimes formatting issues makes the experience not very iPhone like. How about an app that can do all of this for you while keeping all of that log in information as well as credit card numbers secure? ID Vault proves to solve this issue with a one tap…

Reviews

The Logitech Squeezebox Radio Review

Judie: Last year Julie Strietelmeier and I took a look at the Logitech Squeezebox Boom, both here and on The Gadgeteer, and our general consensus was that we both enjoyed using it. As a matter of fact, I liked using mine so much that I eventually sprung for a streaming Sirius subscription as well as a Pandora Premium membership. I wrote about the Logitech Squeezebox Radio when it was first announced, mentioning its compact size, a 2.4″ color display, Facebook connectivity, and a seven-day alarm clock. Although I put in a request for a review unit, I didn’t hear anything…

Reviews

Jabra EXTREME Bluetooth Headset Review

My first Bluetooth came from Jabra. Because the phone didn’t have Bluetooth, I needed to use an additional Bluetooth dongle that connected to it via the 3.5 mm jack. The was the “traditional” design that Jabra used for many years. It wrapped around the ear and stayed completely stable no matter what you were doing. Yes, you looked like a bit of a dork while wearing the headset, but it stayed in place and was super comfortable. In addition, it had a boom mike that brought the microphone close to your mouth for better sound quality. That didn’t much matter…

Reviews

ToDo for iPad- iPad Application Review

I have long been a fan of Appigo’s iPhone apps. The company makes apps like ToDo and Notebook, and they’ve recently released an interesting cork-board app called Corkulous. Appigo’s apps are polished, full-featured and constantly getting better. Better still, as deep and complex as some of their apps are, everyone of them have worked perfectly from the day of their first release. Their apps are that good… seriously. I was curious what Appigo would do with their apps given the iPad’s larger screen; I knew they wouldn’t simply blow the apps up to fill the screen, as that’s not how they…

Reviews

I Have A Confession: I’m Addicted to Sporcle

I first heard about Sporcle on the Howard Stern show. Howard was joking that his crew spends most of their time, time when they should all be working, playing on the site. What’s Sporcle? Sporcle is a trivia based web site and not only is it super addicting, it’s super fun. Well of course it is right? I mean what’s addicting that’s not fun … at least in the beginning? The site features a ton of short user and site created “quizzes” where you have to name as many of the correct answers as you can in the given time…