Gear Bits

The Outcome of My ‘Unsubscribe’ Adventure

Back in mid-November, I wrote a post asking if those ‘unsubscribe’ links in emails of reputable companies actually meant anything. Carly wrote a follow-up post about how companies used junk mail blasts as targeted marketing, because it was surprisingly effective. So now it is about six weeks since I wrote my original post, making it nearly two months since I started trying to dump unwanted emails. How did it go? Amazingly well! Through Cyber-Monday I saw only a slight decrease in unwanted email, but immediately after that I noted a sharp decline, followed by slower drop-offs, and then a couple of reappearances between…


Goodbye Spin Magazine After 27 Years

Last summer, after BuzzMedia bought Spin Magazine,  it announced it was cancelling the November / December issue as part of a ‘brand evaluation’. Well … over the holidays we learned that print was NOT in fact part of the ‘moving forward’ plan, and the magazine has been killed off in favor of focusing on online efforts. Interestingly, as shown at the top, the magazine is giving out Car & Driver magazine as a replacement for current subscribers. I was intrigued as to why we were suddenly getting Car & Driver again (I had gotten a free subscription in the past that…


After More than a Billion Views, an Infographic Looks at Gangnam Style’s Social Reach

By now pretty much everyone with an internet connection has seen or heard or heard about the Gangnam Style video by the South Korean ‘K-Pop’ artist Psy. The massive success not just on YouTube but also on Facebook and Twitter has meant that it has been analyzed to death. But a guest post at HypeBot and an associated Infographic lend a lot of intriguing insights into how we gather and share this type of information. The most intriguing part for me is that in spite of being a YouTube video, YouTube had the LOWEST engagement of any social site, with…


Bluebird by American Express, a Hiccup

We are in the midst of a series of posts that walk through the process of creating an account with Bluebird, a joint venture between American Express and Walmart, and subsequently using the self-described “Checking and Debit Alternative”. Initially I planned to highlight the process of creating a number of sub accounts that work with my main account and allow family and friends I select to access the available funds in this post. For example, such a joint account could be quite helpful as we are heading to CES this weekend. It would allow all of us to access the…


How to Keep Your New Gear Looking Great

It’s 2013, and the year is off to a running start. No doubt someone in your home received some new gear over the holidays. And regardless of the brand all the gadgets have one thing in common — they need to be protected. This is especially so in 2013, when mobility is the name of the game. Think about it, a desktop computer that sits at home or in your office runs minimal risk of physical damage unless a natural disaster or a disastrous pet come into the picture. A laptop however, something that is specifically designed to be carried and…


Pack for a Purpose when You Travel in 2013

This may look like bags of garbage but it is anything but that. No, this collection of bags is filled with dozens upon dozens of pounds of medical and school supplies. We brought these items with us when I led a mission to Cuba in October. Each of us was required to bring 15 pounds of “aid goods” as the means of getting into Cuba. My community being who they are, however, ended up bringing far more than that. All of the items were shared with organizations that help seniors and kids alike. It was a great way to turn…


Random Cool Video – Star Trek The Next Generation Season 2 Gag Reel

At some point over the holiday break I was sent a link to this gag reel … which also served as a reminder of how much things have changed, as I got a completely blank expression from my kids when I used the term ‘gag reel’. So let me back up. A ‘gag’ is a joke or other humorous moment, whether intentional or unintentional. A ‘reel’ is one of those tape terms where you spool the ‘film’. Way back when, when shows were recorded on film, mistakes had to be ‘cut’ from the tape. Sometimes they would end up ‘on…


Sick in Bed? It’s FaceTime to the Rescue!

I have the flu. It’s quite inconvenient, especially since we are trying really, really hard to keep Sarah from catching it. As a result, I am staying in a different room on another floor, plus both of us have been armed with Lysol every time we enter a common area. The real bummer is not being able to hang out together. But this is temporary, and we’re working around it — by using FaceTime! It’s a bit silly, but it makes both of us feel less lonely, and it beats facing each other in a common area and setting off…


Adding Money to Your Bluebird Account Directly from Your Bank Account

This is the next in our series of sponsored posts about Bluebird, the new joint venture between Walmart and American Express. Bluebird is a system that “allows you to have a card with minimal or no transaction fees coupled with the convenience of a debit card backed by all of the protection offered by American Express”. The first post was a brief overview. The second delved more deeply into the features. The most recent walked through the process of adding money to a Bluebird account using cash at a local Walmart. In this post we’ll walk through the process of…


Xbox 360 Thoughts from an Open Source Guy

I know!  I know!  How could I, an Open Source guy, send my money to Microsoft by purchasing an Xbox?  Well, when my family is concerned, I need to consider them when purchasing tech. My son wanted an Xbox, so Santa got him one this year — no matter what Dad thinks. So, here are my thoughts about the Xbox system as a whole, from the perspective of an open source guy. Updates Updates Updates I swear my son was about ready to bust when it took HOURS to get the updates installed.  It’s not that there were so many,…


Keep Your Data Safe in 2013 with Dropbox’s Packrat Feature

From now until 2013, we’re taking a look at some New Year’s Resolutions and Gear Diary ways to help keep them. New Year Resolution: Protect Your Data in 2013 This is one of those lessons you learn, forget, and then learn again once a data-loss disaster strikes. Here’s my story, and why DropBox’s PackRat feature is my new best friend. I have spent the last year on and off creating an interactive iBook that can be used by all my Bar Mitzvah students to help them study toward becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. The iBook has the prayers the…


Content is Everything – My Mom’s Thoughts on Netflix

As I have been in Knoxville, TN visiting my folks this holiday season, I have had the opportunity to show my parents Netflix on a TV.  I have not one, but two devices with me that can stream Netflix to a TV.  My Roku 2XS and my son’s new Xbox. One afternoon I was flipping through the Netflix app on the Xbox looking for something to watch, and lo and behold my Mom said one thing: How can they expect me to pay for this when everything is so old? Boom.  There’s the problem. Every streaming service I showed her…


Whooz? Are a Huge Hit at My House

On Christmas morning, as packages from under the tree were divided into piles and then opened, I got what would turn out to be one of my biggest Christmas surprises: the best gift was something I had stuck into the girls’ new Jon Hart bags, almost as an afterthought — Whooz iPhone and iPad Character Sets! Kev’s youngest daughter stopped everything to start installing a set on her iPad charger, and Kev’s oldest daughter was right there with her. Let me back up for just a moment. Everyone in my house has an iPhone or an iPad (or both), and…


Bluebird Lets You Add Cash to Your Account at Any Walmart

Last week we begin a series of review posts regarding the new joint venture between Walmart and American Express. Bluebird is a system that allows you to have a card with minimal or no transaction fees coupled with the convenience of a debit card backed by all of the protection offered by American Express. The first post was a brief overview of the bluebird system. (Read the post.) The second post went a bit more deeply into the features Bluebird offers and the specifics that make this card unique. (Read the post.) In this third sponsored post, we’ll begin looking…


Record Numbers of Devices Activated on Christmas, iPad and Amazon Tablets Big Winners

It is not terribly surprising that oodles of new devices were opened up and activated on Christmas morning – in fact, we had three new iPhone 5 activations in our house alone! The site Flurry.com tracks and estimates the daily activations of iOS and Android devices, and is reporting that more than 17 million activations took place on December 25th alone. As it is, 4 million combined smartphones and tablets is a HUGE number – and that is happening every day! Now think that on Christmas there were more than 4 TIMES that many activations … insane! But wait –…


Monitor2Go and iPad 3, a Gear Diary Video Look

A year and a half ago, I had the opportunity to review an incredibly useful mobile device that quickly and easily doubles your screen real-estate. The FieldMonitorPro is a large screen that, right out of the box, extends your computer to give you additional screen space or allows someone/s to look at your computer screen without having to crowd in next to you. It is terrific for on-the-go demonstrations. While reviewing the device, I was covering an Apple keynote and found my MacBook air to be too small for watching the video, checking feeds, and writing the post. I pulled…


Raspberry Pi Hacked to Allow Siri to Open Your Garage Door

What a world we live in – We now have computers that fit in our pockets, gorgeous televisions that are 1″ thick, and a dude who skydived from the edge of space.  Continuing along that vein, now you can program your credit card sized computer, otherwise known as the Raspberry Pi, to open your garage door for you using Siri’s voice commands on your iPhone.  Seriously. RaspberryPi.org forum user “DarkTherapy” was able to code his Raspberry Pi saying he used “SiriProxy running on the Raspberry Pi, along with wiring Pi to access the Pi’s GPIO pins and turn a relay…


Doctors Look at the REAL Damage Done to the Crooks in Home Alone!

This is just a fun one – Home Alone is set at Christmas, making it a classic for the season. As everyone knows Macaulay Culkin gets left behind as his extended family takes a big trip, and takes on home invaders Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci. What starts as a tale of a kid who is overlooked and is a bit of a screw-up who can’t seem to figure out a way to fit in ends up as a story about growth and self-discovery. But as anyone who has seen it knows, Stern and Pesci take a load of abuse…


‘This is One Serving’ Holiday Party Snack Edition

Remember how we posted about a cool article at the Greatist that broke down the traditional Thanksgiving meal by showing the approximate size of a single serving of our favorite dishes? Well, for many of us the entire month of December seems like one long binge-fest of appetizers, cookie-swaps, pass-a-pot luncheons, and so on. So naturally the folks at the Greatist have come up with a NEW visual guide to remind you of just how badly you are overeating at those holiday events. Here is a sample: Egg Nog Serving Size Equivalent: A three-ounce espresso cup 143 calories, 6 grams…


Parents, Check Out These 12 Myths of Protecting Your Kids Online

This holiday season millions of kids will be getting an iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet, Kindle Fire, Nook and so on … and maybe a few will get a traditional PC or Mac. One of the first things they will do with it is get online. Maybe just for email, but if they are under 30 probably not. For most kids getting online involves Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr and so on … but also web chat areas, Homestuck and other fandoms, and so on. Bottom line – kids are used to an always-online world … and predators are adapting…


Set Top Boxes, a Gear Chat

Over the years writing for Gear Diary, we often have chats behind the scenes about all sorts of issues.  Some are private and will never see the light of day, but many times what is said ends up in a long string of comments that would make a great post.  This one all started by a gift I received from a friend — a brand new Roku 2 XS — which I love a lot.  I posted in our back channel about it, and off we went.  Joel: Received a Roku 2 XS from a friend of mine. Best thing ever. First…