Gear Bits

A Reminder at Thanksgiving to Help Those in Need in YOUR Town!

Gear Bits

A Reminder at Thanksgiving to Help Those in Need in YOUR Town!

I have to admit that it took a while for me to support the United Way. Back in Massachusetts we had a wonderful local group that my wife and I supported, and at work they transitioned from local charities to the United Way as the company that bought out the former ‘family business’ (with >700 employees) … and subsequently came to yell at us for making him look bad by not signing up for the United Way – something he remedied by removing the local choices … which meant simply didn’t sign up and kept my money local. And yes,…

A Massive Look at the Breakdown from Trillions to Dollars

Gear Bits

A Massive Look at the Breakdown from Trillions to Dollars

Have you ever looked at the amounts of money our government and large corporations toss around – billions or even trillions of dollars – and tried to break it down into something more ‘real’? Well, this week’s xkcd comic does just that. Much of it is just informative, making proportional chunks of blocks for how much an iPhone costs or dinner out at Outback Steakhouse. But there are images like the one above, showing that while for most people the standard of living has not improved in almost 45 years, for the average CEO things have improved by more than…

RIP Legendary Jazz Drummer Paul Motian

Gear Bits

RIP Legendary Jazz Drummer Paul Motian

Today we get the news of the passing of Paul Motian at age 80 (1931-2011), the legendary drummer forever linked with pianist Bill Evans and bassist Scott LaFaro in the definitive piano trio under Evans leadership. His output as a leader and sideman has been tremendous, as has his influence on drummers and music in general. As columnist James Hale remarks: I can’t begin to count the number of recordings I have that feature drummer Paul Motian, who died today at age 80, and I can’t think of a disappointing one among them. Not only did he have exceptional taste…

GoPro Is the HERO of Awesome Action Video

Gear Bits, Vehicles & Gear

GoPro Is the HERO of Awesome Action Video

Ever wonder how producers are able to capture those awesome video shots that seem to put you right in the action? Simple, they have the right equipment (and, of course they eye and technical skill.) One such tool, the HD HERO, is a cool little camera that came on the market a few years ago and it has really taken the action and adventure world by storm. Developed by GoPro, this very compact unit is capable of recording video and still shots in high-definition and, while not the only sports camera on the market, it is the king when it comes…

Does Holiday Food Waste Bother You?

Gear Bits

Does Holiday Food Waste Bother You?

photo courtesy of The New York Times via Green Options  When I was a kid, if I didn’t eat enough I was told that should think about all of the “starving children around the world” and clean my plate. Granted, my feelings at the time were along the lines of how happy I would be to box up my leftovers and ship them off, but my parents did have a point. Just because we live in a country where food is more readily available than in other parts of the world does not give us license to waste it; it’s…

PSA: If You Are a Verizon Wireless Customer, Check Your Privacy Settings!

Gear Bits

PSA: If You Are a Verizon Wireless Customer, Check Your Privacy Settings!

Whenever a wireless carrier discusses your private information, you can be sure of one thing: they are trying to squeeze more money out of you by leveraging your information, but know that if they don’t give you an opt-out they will have regulators breathing down their necks. So … this week we get an email from Verizon Wireless. What information are they storing? Mobile Usage Information: • Addresses of websites you visit when using our wireless service. These data strings (or URLs) may include search terms you have used • Location of your device (“Location Information”) • App and device…

Amazon: It May Be Easy, but It's a Risk

Gear Bits

Amazon: It May Be Easy, but It’s a Risk

Now that Amazon is shipping the Kindle Fire, I got to thinking: what if you gift the Fire or any other Kindle?  Well, if you do, make sure you do what Laptopmag.com says in their post and keep YOUR Kindle account safe.  After I read this, I did some more thinking: What if someone stole your shiny new Kindle off of your porch? If this happens, then that thief has access to ALL of your books and can purchase books on your account.  This is bad.  This is very bad.  Gear Diary’s own Michael Anderson and Dan Cohen are both trying out the Kindle Fire,…

Author's Guild Challenges Amazon Prime Lending Library

eBooks, Gear Bits

Author’s Guild Challenges Amazon Prime Lending Library

Uh oh…looks like Amazon’s Lending Library for Prime subscribers has a slight snag-they may not be legally allowed to offer them. The “big six” publishers wanted nothing to do with the program, which isn’t surprising, but Amazon has amassed almost 5,000 titles from smaller houses. Amazon is basically treating each “loan” of a book as a sale of that book, and paying the publishers accordingly. Clearly, Amazon believes this is within their contract rights, but the Author’s Guild is arguing it doesn’t count as a sale and should be a separate contract item. Specifically, here’s the meat of the Guild’s…

Uncommon Goods' Face Mug Is Truly One of the Coolest Mugs Ever!

Gear Bits

Uncommon Goods’ Face Mug Is Truly One of the Coolest Mugs Ever!

There’s not much to say, other than that owning this ceramic mug would be an absolute pleasure. Imagine the envious looks you would get in the office if this were sitting on your desk; imagine the fun you could have if you left this mug sitting on the break room counter, only to came back 10 minutes later to find different things sitting in between its lips. A stapler? Why not. Some rubber bands? Okay. Hey — not my sandwich! You can get your Face Mug at Uncommon Goods for $18. Order me one too, while you’re at it ……

Had Enough of Fruit Ninja? Now You Can Actually BE a Samurai for a Day

Gear Bits

Had Enough of Fruit Ninja? Now You Can Actually BE a Samurai for a Day

Have you ever wanted to be a samurai for a day? No? Me either but apparently our friend Ali over on Chip Chick did and, thanks to LivingSocial, she recently had a chance to do just that. As Ali explains, Have you ever wanted to go whitewater rafting? How about shoot guns and enjoying some tequila afterwards? Or maybe just be a Samurai for the day? Well LivingSocial helps bring people together to share, save or have out of the box experiences just like these. Unlike Groupon, LivingSocial is so much more than a place to come to save money…

Avoid 'Old Meme Embarrassment' with 'Is It Old?'

Gear Bits

Avoid ‘Old Meme Embarrassment’ with ‘Is It Old?’

You have just been sent a LOLCat or ‘All Your Base’ by someone who honestly has no idea that EVERYONE online saw them five years ago or more, and are wondering HOW do you let them know gently that it is ancient. Well, now you can just let them know about IsItOld, a site that will check out how many times the site has been tweeted about – and how long ago it was first tweeted.

Nuance Releases Dragon Express; Just Don't Call It Dragon for Mac Light

Gear Bits

Nuance Releases Dragon Express; Just Don’t Call It Dragon for Mac Light

Yesterday Nuance released Dragon Express in the Mac App Store. At an introductory price of $49, the application is a less expensive way to get Nuance’s voice-to-text transcription on your Mac than the $200 Dragon for Mac. (It only runs on OS X Lion and if you haven’t upgraded to it you should.) It would be easy to think of Dragon Express as Dragon for Mac Light and, on one level that is what it is but, after using it yesterday, it strikes me as more of a port of Nuance’s Dragon Dictation iOS app. Just as the iOS app…

A Quick Peek at the Aligata Nude Beauty Medium Travel Bag

Gear Bits, Travel

A Quick Peek at the Aligata Nude Beauty Medium Travel Bag

  It wasn’t too long ago that I reviewed the Aligata Nude Beauty Big Weekend Bag, and they have just sent their newest offering — the Nude Beauty Medium Travel Bag. I’ll have a full review up after I’ve had some time to actually USE the bag and change its color from the nearly white Nude Beauty to a natural honey patina. But in the meantime, I just had to tell you all about it because it is something that I know would be an appreciated holiday gift for your special someone … The interior sports a waterproof lining, a key fob,…

iPad on TV: Covert iAffairs

Gear Bits

iPad on TV: Covert iAffairs

It’s been a while since we looked at the increasingly prevalent role the iPad plays in today’s media but tonight’s Covert Affairs put the iPad so very “front and center” that we had to post… Annie Walker is on a mission when her sister places a “call” to her. “Ring, Ring Ring” goes Annie’s iPad. She answers and the conversation ensues. But wait one second… they’re using Skype??? Say what? Seriously Annie? Skype? Sure it works well enough but for my money I’ll always take FaceTime over Skype. The connection FaceTime offers is no less than amazing and since both…

Siri and Evernote Sitting in a Tree...

Gear Bits

Siri and Evernote Sitting in a Tree…

Siri and Evernote work together beautifully, and all it takes is a little bit of preparation. In fact, if you use Evernote regularly, then you probably already have taken the steps you need to take to make it work. You see, each Evernote account comes with an email address that can be used to send notes by email. That’s the key. Here’s what you need to do. First, make Evernote a contact in your address book with your incoming Evernote email address. You can add the email by going into Evernote > Settings > Evernote email address. Launch Siri and say…

"Siri, Find Me T-Shirts Featuring You…"

Gear Bits

“Siri, Find Me T-Shirts Featuring You…”

The other day Mike went on a bit of a tear about Siri, its outage last week and loneliness. This from the guy who sent me information that a t-shirt featuring Siri was on sale at Tanga.com a few weeks ago. (Yes, Mike is a Siri-enabler!!) Seriously? Who is Siri-smitten enough to actually spend money (albeit discounted) on Siri garb? Well, me of course. 🙂 The shirt came today and it is awesome. Yes, Siri is already a cultural phenomena… and it is just the beginning.

Quickie Experience — Groupon Getaways

Gear Bits, Travel

Quickie Experience — Groupon Getaways

Recently Groupon began expanding their deal offerings to include travel options. Bed and Breakfasts, hotels, and other resorts are offering significant discounts in off-season times for Groupon customers. Sarah and I took advantage of one deal over the summer, and this past weekend finally were able to use it for a long weekend in Cape Cod. Would we try this again, and recommend the experience to our friends? Read on to find out! On the Groupon side, the experience was as simple as it always is. The deal unlocked, and Sarah shot me an email with it, suggesting it would…

Protect Your Private Parts with LapGuard

Gear Bits

Protect Your Private Parts with LapGuard

Ah life… so many things to worry about these days. Nuclear proliferation, the economy, global warming (errr climate change), earthquakes, how Duke Basketball will do this year and now this… laptop sterility. Yes, in addition to worrying about whether or not your cellphone is giving you a brain tumor you now need to worry about what your laptop is doing to your reproductive system. Why? Because “recent reporting suggests that radiation emitted from Wi-Fi enabled laptop computers may be harmful to your reproductive system” and this apparently holds true for men and women. That’s where Digital Innovations’ LapGuard comes in….

More Tips to Make Siri Work for You

Gear Bits

More Tips to Make Siri Work for You

The other day I was speaking to someone who had just gotten a new iPhone 4S. They love the phone but were complaining that Siri doesn’t seem to work very well. We spent a few minutes going over some of the Siri ins and outs and, would you believe, he now loves Siri. Because of that, I thought I would circle back and share a few more tips that can make Siri a more effective productivity tool. Talk to Me: As is the case with all voice recognition, you need to speak in a particular manner if you want Siri…