News & Features

Big Gear Diary News That Comes in Little Packages…

UPDATED!!!!!! It is a big day here at Gear Diary as we welcome the newest member of the Gear Diary Team into the world. Yes, you read that right, Carly and Sarah have just become parents for the first time. Their son made his debut late this afternoon. He is gorgeous and everyone is doing great. So… Please join us in wishing the three of them our very best!!! But wait… there’s more baby news from Gear Diary since, early this morning Judie and Kevin became grandparents for the third time. Please join us in wishing THEM the very best. …

Game Diary, News & Features

Apparently the Future of Consoles IS PC Gaming?!?

Everyone who has followed the E3 game conference for more than a year knows the basics – new hardware is introduced, and hot new awesome looking games are trotted out just to demonstrate how hot and awesome everything will be once it all ships. In years past some of this was done by way of screenshots and trailers … but those became known as ‘bullshots’, because it became immediately clear that none of it was actually real game screens or footage. More recently the bullshots moved to E3 product demos, in which product managers showing off games would take their…

Music Diary, News & Features

Samsung Giving Away Jay-Z’s New Album, But Will It Buy Him #1 in Sales?

In the rap and hip-hop world, few artists loom as large as Jay-Z. Emerging in 1996 with a blockbuster debut that was as successful critically as it was commercially, he seemed to fade for a few years before emerging with the excellent ‘The Blueprint’. Then some more mediocre minor releases before what he claimed would be his last release, 2003’s ‘The Black Album’. Since then he has worked more as a producer and executive developing new artists than as an artist himself. That all changes on July 4th with the release of “Magna Carta Holy Grail”. But this one has…

News & Features

Satechi USB Portable Humidifier Turns Your Water Bottles into Personal Climate Contollers

If you are a frequent traveler throughout the year, you’ve probably encountered a number of unpleasant environments where rooms or areas are so dry you might feel like your skin and sinuses decided to vacation in the Mojave Desert. Desiccation might be in order if you are a piece of jerky, but our bodies tend to prefer a fair amount of moisture. With the Satechi USB Portable Humidifier, savvy travelers can use a filtered water bottle as a moisture source to increase area humidity. No need to put up with bone-dry areas again!

News & Features

Wireless Emergency Alerts Coming to ATT iPhone Customers

photo courtesy of blog.chron.com AT&T has been rolling out Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) for some time. The service is now being added to iPhone 4s and 5 phones through an over the air update. The alerts are sent via free messages and are issued according to geographic location. The alerts focus on messages of threats to life and property, amber alerts, and alerts from the president. I assume most of the threat alerts will be weather and natural disaster related. Amber alerts are obviously for abducted children in the area, but what exactly are presidential updates?

News & Features

Dream Cheeky Releases the Cube Wireless Speaker

As summer gets into full swing, many of you will spend a lot of time outside soaking up the sun and having a great time. Nothing makes these kind of days more enjoyable than some of your favorite music. When I take my boys to the pool or we camp, we always have some tunes that match the occasion playing in the background. Of course, most people have some sort of mobile device capable of streaming or playing their music collection, but the speakers are usually less than desirable. What everyone needs is a way to listen to the music that…

Crowdfunding, News & Features

The Arriba! Adapter Is a Brilliant 2-in-1 iPhone 5 Charging Solution

You’re in your buddy’s car, and your iPhone’s battery is low. Typical, right? And of course, you forgot the Lightning cable for your iPhone 5. Your friend has a car charger, but it’s for his 30-pin iPhone, and he’s using it anyway. Buried under an open bag of chips and some diaper wipes, he has an old microUSB cable. That’s not much help, is it? Or maybe it is, if you happen to have the Arriba! Adapter attached to your keyring. Plug in that microUSB cable, stick the Arriba! Adapter’s Lightning plug into your iPhone 5’s port, and plug the…

News & Features

The Ham Radio ARRL Repeater Directory for Android Review

A while back I reviewed an app for finding Amateur Radio repeaters called Repeater Book. In that review, I fondly remembered leafing through the Repeater Book that the American Radio Relay League (or ARRL) printed for years upon years. I have not bought one of those in some time, and I think the ARRL noticed that a lot of other hams haven’t either. At Dayton, the ARRL showed a new product that doesn’t replace the Repeater Book of old, but rather takes it and puts in on your phone in a similar way to the Repeater Book app I previously…

News & Features

Mood O’ Clock App Lets You Choose the Right Mood to Wake You Up

As far as waking up in the morning, my wife and I are polar opposites. Whereas I’m nearly an “instant-on” waking up, my wife…not so much. Perhaps what she needs is Stereomood’s Mood O’Clock app to help set the right mood when she wakes up. Mood O’Clock is a clock/alarm application for iOS and Android devices that allows users to not just set a wake-up time, but set the mood for waking up. There are eleven alarm mood types to choose from, from “dreamy” to “sexy and furious”. Within each mood setting is a selection of themed tunes and a…

News & Features

Moxtra Updates with an Android App, Google Drive, and More!

I reviewed Moxtra about a month ago, and was very impressed with this digital binder/scrapbook app. It loos great and makes it easy to organize and collaborate on all sorts of projects. At the time, my biggest complaint was that I couldn’t easily get documents and web clips to Moxtra without stopping in Dropbox or Box first. Moxtra was just updated to add Google Drive, and a web browser for clipping, plus an Android app! I took a quick look at the update; does it impress as much as the original?

News & Features

Own Summer with a Monster Water Cannon and Tripod

The summer heat is upon us, and it is time to play outdoors. A favorite activity for my boys and me is to have water gun fights. Of course, we only have two guns that are worth using, so I always get stuck with a small, useless water weapon. Getting stuck with the smaller water gun not only means that I cannot deliver enough spray to get anyone wet, but I also have to refill more often. In fact, my boys think it is really funny to attack and soak me when I am filling up my tiny water gun. The…

News & Features

Lowepro Transit Series Offer City Style for Your Camera Gear

Lowpro’s recently announced their new Transit Series of camera bags. This “design-forward” line is comprised of the Transit Sling 250 AW and Backpack 350 AW. Both bags feature fast-access, front to back rotation for rapid camera retrieval and UltraFlex™ fit system for endless organization options. The UltraFlex system is particularly interesting. The best way to understand what it offers is to see it in action. Both bags look great, are packed with features and are priced nicely. (The Transit Sling 250 AW is under $100 and the Transit Backpack 350 AW is under $120.) Which bag is right for you…

Game Diary, News & Features

Microsoft Presentation Summary – E3 2013

Microsoft revealed the release date and price for the Xbox One at this year’s presentation at E3- November 2013 and $499. The Xbox One Day One Edition is now on sale on Amazon and GameStop (all as special bundles with games). Microsoft has hit the price points well so far while avoiding snafus like Nintendo (3DS) and Sony, which originally priced the PlayStation at $599…$100 higher than the Xbox 360. The special editions and different bundles might offset any sticker shock. Xbox One hardware will not be compatible with Xbox 360 games. The “always on” Internet connection status will be…

Events, Game Diary, News & Features

Sony 2013 E3 Presentation Summary – Winning?

All eyes were on Sony last night to see how they would counter Microsoft’s earlier presentation, particularly regarding the new PlayStation 4 console versus the Xbox One. Sony began their presentation with the usual pomp and circumstance to get the crowd pumped up then concentrated on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita (125 games and counting since its launch). Game announcements for the PlayStation Vita, the “companion for PS4”, included a remaster God of War HD 1 & 2, Final Fantasy 10 and 10-2, Flower, Dead Nation. Other upcoming PlayStation Vita titles include:

Events, Game Diary, News & Features

Here Come the E3 2013 Games!

Now to concentrate on the main content at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) – the games! Microsoft has plenty of new Xbox One launch games coming before the end of the year including Ryse, the racing sequel Forza Motorsport 5 and Quantum Break, a sci-fi action game that will release at the same time as the television series. Sony will have their PlayStation 4 launch games in full force including the racing game sequel Gran Turismo 6, action shooter Killzone: Shadow Fall (set 30 years after Killzone 3), the action adventure filled Knack featuring an advanced robot as the…

Events, Game Diary, News & Features

Nintendo Presentation Summary at E3 2013 – Overshadowed by Xbox and PlayStation?

Nintendo concentrated on boosting their game library, especially for the Wii U console and handheld 3DS console, in their annual E3 presentation (pre-recorded) this year (they still have their regular large display area). Players can get their own taste of E3 by taking advantage of Nintendo’s partnership with Best Buy. Select stores will off advanced playable demo versions of Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD and Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze on Wednesday, June 12 at 4-8 p.m. local times and 1-5 p.m. local time on Saturday, June 15.

News & Features

The Sprint Vital Redefines the Budget Smartphone

Think budget smartphones need to be cheap? Think again. The Sprint Vital is sprint’s newest 4G LTE smartphone and it is available Friday, June 14. And while it is inexpensive-just $99 on contract plus a $50 mail-in rebate- the phone actually has some terrific high-end features. Among those features are Android 4.1.2, Jelly Bean, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash and video capture, a 1-megapixel front-facing camera and Sprint 4G LTE for speed.

News & Features

Wirelessly Charge Your Samsung Galaxy S 4 Android Phone

I’ve been spending the last week testing out the Samsung Galaxy S 4; it truly is one of the most capable and feature-filled smartphones available, but there is one trick it can’t do — inductive charging. But as of today, that is no longer the case. Galaxy S 4 owners can now purchase a Samsung Wireless Charging Pad and Wireless Charging Battery Cover, which will allow them to conveniently charge their smartphones without fumbling for cables or plugs. In case you read the last sentence quickly, let me make sure that you caught the fact that this isn’t a case,…

News & Features

Seagate Slim Portable External Drive Second Look

Dan reviewed the Seagate Slim back in April of 2011. He liked it at the time, and two years later it is still going strong. Dan tells me it is one of the mainstays in his gear bag, and he depends on it so much that when making a list of the gear he will bring when he is traveling, he doesn’t even need to make note of it — it is simply there — ready to go when he needs the extra space. We recently included one of the drives in our huge giveaway with Technabob and The Awesomer. Seagate also sent…

News & Features

HP Releases App Catalog Fix to Keep WebOS Devices Afloat

I own an HP Touchpad, and I have to admit, it’s still one of the most enjoyable tablet OSes I’ve used to date. I’ve tweaked some of the software and hardware with Preware, set up dual-booting with CyanogenMod 9, and its been fun doing all this. However, it was revealed that one of the key certificates governing HP WebOS cloud services, particularly those items relating to HP App Catalog and cloud backups, was set to expire on July 23, 2013. Were that to occur, access to WebOS catalog apps, app purchase history and device cloud backup would almost certainly fail,…

Game Diary, Gear Bits, News & Features

Deus Ex: The Fall Announced, Bringing Classic Franchise to iOS Devices!

The history of the Deus Ex goes back to the PC-only release of the 2000 cyberpunk story-based action-RPG shooter hybrid from Warren Spector and ION Storm (a PS2 port came in 2002). To say that the game was groundbreaking doesn’t begin to cover it … the combination of elements from various genres were each done extremely well – so shooter fans loved it, RPG fans loved it, adventure-story fans loved it, graphics fans loved it and so on. In fact:

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