Gear Bits

What’s Up with Zinio? They’ve Gone Missing from the Apple App Store

I’ve been having issues with Zinio crashing while reading articles on my iPad for several months, and I’ve been patiently waiting for a fix. Last night, after Zinio had crashed yet again, I got a popup saying that the Zinio server I was connected to wasn’t the current server, and that I should remove the Zinio app and reinstall.


M-Audio Trigger Finger Pro announced at NAMM 2014

If you were to ask my younger son about his most elusive piece of affordable technology, it would be the M-Audio Trigger Finger from 2005. The popular controller was used by all of his favorite music producers but was discontinued. Now it is back and better than ever with the M-Audio Trigger Finger Pro announced at NAMM 2014! Here is what M-Audio is saying: Trigger Finger Pro is a fully encompassed performance instrument and software control station in the form of a portable, 16-pad (4×4 configured) instrument with onboard sequencing. Nearly a decade ago, M-Audio revolutionized the industry by introducing…


Darth Vader to Stormtroopers, “I’ll Do the Choreography from Now On”

  Dancing Stormtroopers? This needs a good caption. “Twerkus interruptuss?” “You know you are in trouble when Darth Vader has to step in.” “Moves like Chewie?” “Use some taste Luke…” “Where’s Princess Leah when you need her?” “I don’t think I will ever be able to look at a Stormtrooper the same way again.” Via Elite Daily


Schlitterbahn’s Verruckt – Would You Ride a 17 Story Waterslide?

I love roller coasters, but have never been as enthused about waterslides. There’s something comforting (false or not) about being securely strapped in, as opposed to a thin bathing suit being my only protection against plummeting straight down. Needless to say, I won’tt be riding the Verrückt at Schlitterbahn Kansas City … will you? Watch the video and share below!



How Do You Feel About Feedly ‘Hijacking’ Shared Links?

The other day Dan shared a video on the Gear Diary ‘back channel’ that is really amazing. It shows a music video in French with the singer slowly being photoshopped over the course of a song. It is an amazing video – but what I didn’t know at first was it came from The Verge, because the link said ‘Feedly’.


Game Trading Site Goozex Seems to Be Gone for Good

I’ve loved video game trading site Goozex for more than 7 years since it launched in 2006. Initially it grew quickly as an alternative to paltry trade-ins handed out by GameStop or the cumbersome trade mechanics of early trade-site GameTZ. Goozex acted as middleman on millions of trades, but industry shifts doomed trading and now Goozex appears closed for good.


Keyport Slide Ice Introduced to Reinvented Keychain Lineup

I hate having a pocketful of keys! Between work and home, I seem to have several pounds of them with me daily. The Keyport Slide 2.0 reinvented the keychain, allowing users to carry up to six keys or inserts at one tim,e keeping them neat and easy to use; their newly introduced Ice Keyport can be purchased for $29.


Are You Experiencing Nokia Lumia 928 Earpiece Volume Problems?

I really like my Nokia Lumia 928, but it has a hardware bug that’s giving me more than a bit of a wandering eye. There’s an issue with the earpiece affecting at least some users where the sound cuts out during calls. Speakerphone, Bluetooth, and the headphones all work fine — just the earpiece fails. Worst of all, it comes and goes!





Here’s Why You Always Ski with a Buddy in Avalanche Country

This December 2013 YouTube video of skiers at Utah’s Alta ski resort shows the importance of skiing with a buddy within avalanche prone areas – and proceeding downhill separately.  This GoPro footage  shows a skier spotting his brother becoming engulfed in an avalanche leaving him buried to the very top of his ski helmet. All caught on video.



2K and Bethesda Duo Packs Release on February 11

2K and Bethesda will offer duo packs for players who missed Borderlands 2 and Dishonored or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. These treasures will cost $29.99 each (North America only) and include the base games without any downloadable content (DLC). This special team-up team will release February 11, 2014.


Rdio and Spotify Open Up Time Limits on their Free Services!

If you’re a casual web user of Rdio or Spotify, chances are you’ve hit against their limits on occasion. Aside from not getting to do ‘on demand’ listening, you get ads and time limits as well as some other minor limits. This week both services set aside limits for web users and now offer unlimited use of their radio services.




Microsoft Surface 2 Back in Stock Online at Microsoft Store

If you were searching for a Microsoft Surface 2 online around holiday time there’s a good chance you had trouble finding one – at least in stock at the Microsoft store.  After writing down almost $1 Billion of the original Surface models Microsoft was understandably cautious about estimating demand for the follow-up Surface 2 and Surface Pro. 


Path for Windows Enters Open Beta

Path took a little while to make its way onto Windows Phone but today it’s officially available albeit as an open beta. Path is a mobile social network billed as ” the trusted place for your personal life. It’s where you can be yourself, stay close to the people who matter most and share life instead of links..”


Thecus N2310 NAS System Is an Affordable Entry into Advanced Home Data Storage

An item came across my desk recently that I’m really looking forward to testing, the Thecus N2310 Network Attached Storage system.  It’s got two hard drive bays, features RAID support, built-in FTP and BitTorrent clients, and is supposed to take only 5 minutes to set up.  Plus, it’s competitively priced at $159.  Stay tuned for my full review.