Gear Bits

Losing a Cell Phone and Finding Honest People

“Uh…I can’t find my phone…” is not something anyone wants to discover. It’s especially upsetting when you’re in the airport at 5:3o in the morning and your wife just realized she left her smartphone somewhere between the car and the gate. Uh-oh… That was us on Friday morning. It was not good, since we were flying to Florida and already through security, and neither of us was sure where Sarah had left her Incredible. I tried calling it on the off-chance it was in her jacket pocket, but it rang and rang and went to voicemail. Then we brainstormed and…


Gear Diary Rave: Gomadic

I’ve been a fan of Gomadic chargers for several years. Like many of the other Gear Diary writers, I like to switch devices frequently, but replacing desk chargers, car chargers, sync cables, etc., for each gadget gets to be pretty expensive pretty quickly. With Gomadic’s “tip exchange” technology, you keep the same charging cable, but change the tip at the end where it connects to the device.  Here’s how they describe their products: Don’t lug around cords for all of your devices. Buy one Gomadic cable, from retractable USBs to double car chargers and you’re set for years. Simply buy…


Sampling the YouTube Way

Here’s an amazing example of what you can do it you scour YouTube, have some decent video editing skills and a lot of time. This video was made entirely of YouTube videos that Ophir Kutiel, aka ‘Kutiman’, found on the net. He took a little of this and a little of that and, in the end, created what you see below — a FrankenVideo. It is pretty amazing and worth a couple of minutes. Via TechCrunch


Random Cool Image: Figure Out the Movie Titles!

Do you love math? Love movies? Love puzzles? Well, time to shake those cobwebs out of your brains and figure out what movies each of these mathematical images represents! Can you figure them all out? Make your guesses in the comments! Source: geeks.thedailywh.at via BuzzFeed


Tweet Like a Pro, Chip Chick Shows You How

Twitter, so young and unassuming not long ago, is all grown up. Now it has millions of followers, has help start revolutions, has kept people in touch during disasters and more. Yup, Twitter is no longer just about “OMG, I just had the most delicious ribs at Outback Steakhouse”. Yes, Twitter has matured and so have the apps that let you use it. There are lots and lots of offerings out there but which are best? Our friend Zara from ChipChick has some great suggestions. Some, like TweetDeck are likely familiar while others, such as twunfollow and Twistory may be…


NCAA® March Madness on Demand

My newest project at work is fast paced and high pressure … but it is a great team that is loads of fun! One of the engineers on the team is a maniac about March Madness – so naturally we are all on-board with our brackets! Adding to the fun is the ability for me to grab my iPad and tune into whatever game I want wirelessly. How? NCAA® March Madness® On Demand! Better still – it is FREE! Watch every game of NCAA® March Madness® LIVE on your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad! NCAA® March Madness On Demand® gives…


Bent Objects: What Happens When an Artist Is Given a Bit of Wire and a Few Household Items

My friend Holley just forwarded an email that’s making the rounds; maybe you got it, too. It shows the art of Terry Border, the artistic genius behind Bent Objects. Some of the pictures are cute… Modest pear … some are silly … Paper training our little dog, Frank … and some are creepy! You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato. You Say Potatoes, I say Zombies. Zombies are nuts about brains Zombies! =) I am now officially a fan, and I’ve bookmarked his site. I bet that you’ll want to, too! Bent Objects


Building the Perfect Drink Just Got Easier with Palette Coasters

When we are up in the country we all have our “roles”. Elana is the “food maven”. Her dad, when he is up, is the “grill master”. As for me… well I tend bar. 🙂 Over the years I’ve collected a nice selection of different barware. Margaritas have their glasses, martinis have theirs and the list goes on. Having the right glass for the right drink just makes everything a bit more festive. Same goes for the coaster the glass sits on. And these “palette coasters”… They look kinda fun. Yes, these simple but amusing coasters do their job but…




Call of Duty and C.O.D.E. Help Educate our Vets

Image courtesy of ClubLakers. Thanks Kobe. It’s always good to see organizations so willing to support our troops and veteran soldiers, and it’s even better to be a part of it yourself. After returning from a conflict or war, sometimes soldiers need help gaining their civilian life back and often times need to find new employment. Call of Duty Endowment is a program spearheaded by Activision Blizzard to increase awareness for our veteran soldiers. CODE often aids with large grants and donations that assist troops in getting back on their feet. We all know the video game Call of Duty…


eBooks Really Are Getting Cheaper!

Over at Teleread, they have a very interesting, if unscientific, analysis of eBook pricing over the years. By taking prices from 2004 and comparing them to prices today, Chris Walters determined that there has been a slight drop in overall pricing, even if it doesn’t feel that way with the Agency Model taking away $9.99 price points! In a nutshell, Chris argues that the same books bought for $280 in 2004 would cost $213 today. Yes, it’s a subjective analysis, but as a random sampling, it’s somewhat helpful. And he further points out that the average price for fiction titles…


On the Eve of iPad 2…

Posted January 29, 2010 So here we are on the eve of the iPad 2 release. The anticipation of the release of the iPad 2 prompted me to go back and look at some early posts we did on the iPad over a year ago. I hate to say it, but I think we largely nailed it early on. (OK, actually I don’t hate to say it… We pretty much nailed it early on! Yes, we knew this was going to be an amazing device from the moment El Jobso introduced it.) At the time of the initial announcement, we…



Hike the Appalachian Trail from Your Chair!

This is a super cool video if, like me, you’ve ever daydreamed about hiking the full Appalachian trail. However, since I have a job and lack the fitness to head out the door and cover 2,174 miles (unlike Dean Karnazes, who is currently running across the whole damn country!) Luckily, an intrepid through-hiker videotaped his experience, sped it up, added some fun music and created this video. If you’ve ever hiked the Appalachian and can identify any of the trails as they go by, be sure to share in the comments! Warning: If you’re sitting in your office while watching,…


Google’s Reaction to Android Exploits; Conspiracy Theory or Keeping Us Safe?

Original image courtesy of KnowYourCell If you were following mobile news over the weekend you probably saw some reports about Google remote killing some malicious apps that found their way to the market. While most were simply noting this because you may have been one of those affected users , others took some pretty hard jabs at Google for using an exploit of their own to remote into your phone and kill the apps. While this is not far off base, I think some people are taking it to an unnecessary level of conspiracy theory like ideas that Google is…


Andy Rooney Rants About eBooks

Apparently, Andy Rooney is not a fan of Kindles and NOOKs. His 60 Minutes rant this past week was all about ebooks. I really hate to say this about Andy Rooney, but he really missed the mark big time. He expressed surprise that paperbacks are being outsold by ebooks, and seemed wholly perplexed by the concept that an eBook reader holds 3,000+ titles. At one point he touches upon one of his books being free, though he doesn’t explain if he’s mad about piracy, or if it was some sort of “freebie” deal organized by his publisher. Sadly, the germ…


Proven True! Lightning Doesn’t Strike the Same Place Twice

photo credit: Kuzeytac You know the old saying that lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice? Well, now I have definitive proof that this is absolutely true. Yup, Lightning Does Not Strike The Same Place Twice! Years ago our house in the mountains suffered a direct lightning strike. How do I know that is the case? I know because it was the middle of the afternoon on Saturday and a huge storm front was coming through. Our golden retriever (she was still with us) and I were taking an afternoon siesta in the den; I LOVE afternoon naps when a…


Quiescence Music Offers ‘Top 14 Tips for Successful Piano Improvisation’

Several months ago I wrote about Quiescence Music giving away a book of New Age piano lessons simply for signing up for their email newsletter. I have enjoyed the weekly tips and ideas that Edward Weiss includes in the newsletter, and still encourage everyone to sign up! Now Quiescence has released a new tip sheet titled ‘Top 14 Tips for Successful Piano Improvisation.’ The tip sheet contains principles to help students play more freely at the piano. The creator of the tip sheet, pianist/composer Edward Weiss has this to say about it: Do you think you can’t improvise? Nonsense! All…


GD Quickie: Old School Meets iTech with the iPhone Wallet

This takes the idea of the iPhone/Wallet combination to an entirely new level. Called the “iPhone RETRO MODERN leather wallet sleeve” the antiqued leather case has space for your iPhone 4, some credit card and some cash. It looks neat and is a great way to carry all the stuff you need in a cool looking, retro package. Just don’t put it in your back pocket and sit down! You can grab one HERE for $79. Via WERD


GD Quickie: Check out the ‘Tron: Uprising’ Trailer!

While Tron: Legacy might not have lived up to the classic original, it was a solid film and great fan service. It also got younger kids introduced and intrigued by the world inside of the Grid! Now Disney has released the first trailer for the upcoming animated series Tron: Uprising. The story is set between the original Tron and Tron: Legacy. A quick overview: Beck, a young program who becomes the unlikely leader of a revolution inside the computer world of The Grid. His mission is to free his home and friends from the reign of the villainous Clu 2…