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Apple & Nuance: A Tale Told on Gear Diary … in June 2010!

If you check the various tech blogs and news feeds today you are likely to find stuff about talks between Apple and Nuance to bring speech recognition to iOS for the iPhone 5. These are all based on a report from TechCrunch and “sources”. In other words, this article is the stuff of rumors… for now. The article recounts Steve Wozniak saying Apple had bought Nuance last November, which was seen as a great idea … but ultimately false and supposedly based on Siri, a company Apple actually DID buy. And yet it goes back even further – because early…

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Amazon Prime Videos (finally) Adds New Content

Remember back to the heady days in late February when Amazon launched the ‘Prime Video’ service and then a few days later made available ‘more than 5000’ movies and TV shows FREE for Prime members? Well, now about 10 weeks later Amazon has added new content! They just added 22 new videos … a whopping 0.5% addition to the library! Seriously, this is decent set of movies – Network, The Majestic, Superman (the REAL one), The Right Stuff, and more. Definitely worth checking out … I mean, they are free if you are already a Prime member! If you want…

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iPad Case Review: Speck FitFolio Ultra-Slim Case for iPad 2

If Speck’s PixelSkin HD wrap for iPad 2 extends the design approach we have seen in numerous other products from Speck, the new FitFolio ultra-slim case for iPad 2 breaks from the pack and goes in a new direction for the company. The FitFolio strives to be a slim, formfitting case that offers a host of different ways to enhance your use of the iPad 2 for work and play. Does this new design work? Let’s take a look. From Speck: The FitFolio ultra-slim case for iPad 2® has a sleek, padded design that keeps your device protected yet light on…

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Sena is One of Ten Companies Selected for the “Built for BlackBerry” Program

Sena has something new about which to be proud. Not only does the company continue to roll our great looking, super-userful cases for a wide range of gadgets but they are now one of ten companies selected for RIM’s “Built for BlackBerry” program. The program helps ensure that accessories for RIM’s products will be of the highest quality possible. That pretty much means it would HAVE to include Sena and it does. And the timing is great since Sean is beginning to roll out cases for the BlackBerry Playbook. The first is the Jornal. The Jornal is… …designed for those…

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Production on Judie’s One-of-a-Kind Orbino Padova Case for the iPad 2 Begins

Last month we wished Judie happy birthday with the promise of a very special gift — a one of a kind Orbino Padova case for her iPad 2. Thanks to the generosity of Orbino’s owner Michael Ventre, we were able to make arrangements to get Judie a significantly discounted case made of the leather of her choice. Judie’s choice? No surprise … Crocodile! The MSRP on this unique case is $689, and that’s for the “standard” handmade by Italian artists, crocodile skin version. Judie’s birthday case is not the standard case. This case is being made especially for her, and she…

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Craig Turner Solves the Cat Pee Problem (and Yes, There IS a Problem)

I love my two (fixed) female cats, but for a while we had a third — a stray we named Bobby because when he showed up more than 3/4 of his tail was missing. That’s him in the picture above. Cute little guy, right? Unfortunately, something else wasn’t missing; he was still a fully intact male. We never leave our windows down, so we didn’t discover his disgusting habit of peeing in people’s cars until he had done it to my friend Lisa’s jeep and my cousin Dusty’s work truck. Bad kitteh. I don’t know about you, but there are…

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May the Fourth Be With You! Star Wars Blu-Ray Details Revealed!

Today is May 4th, which several years ago became Star Wars day. According to the Star Wars blog: Happy Star Wars Day! Every year on May 4th, fans everywhere celebrate Star Wars online and in person. While every day is Star Wars Day for many hardcore fans, this is the best time to remind everyone else that the Force is everywhere. The site also features links to many sites with special features to celebrate the day. For me, it always reminds me of a Dilbert joke (“I am THOR!” … “take an aspirin”), but it is worth observing since today…

Gear Bits, News

Doing Good One App at a Time: Make a Wish Makes an App Wish Come True

The Make a Wish Foundation does some pretty amazing things for some pretty sick kids. Here’s one that brings kindness and tech together. 9 year-old Owain Weinert has pre-B Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. After his diagnosis he reached out to the Make A Wish Foundation who, in turn, reach out to PopCap Games. One thing led to another and before you know it PopCap was working with Owain to create the iOS game Allied Star Police. The game should be available soon. Seriously, how neat is that??? Personally, I don’t care whether I ever play the game, I’m buying as soon…

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Olympus’ New LS-20M Linear PCM Recorder Aims to Unite High-Definition Video and PCM Audio

Don’t be intimidated if you don’t know what PCM Audio means, because I wasn’t sure either (and I had to look it up). PCM stands for Pulse Code Modulation, and it is a “means by which standard audio signals (which are represented by waveforms) are converted to digital audio signals (which are represented by 1’s and 0’s – much like computer data) with little, or no, compression. The method of audio conversion is used on most digital audio formats, including CDs and DVD-Audio, and is also used to some extent in Blu-ray and HD-DVD applications. The PCM signal is…

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Geocachers: A Secret Society Stalking Your Streets

There’s a secret society stalking your streets, peering behind bushes and rummaging through parks. They work in the dead of night, or boldly move at high noon. These stealthy denizens are known to leave suspicious packages around public parks and quiet neighborhoods, and yet nobody tries to stop them. Using the latest in GPS and smartphone technology, they track hundreds of locations in nearly ever county of the USA. Their secret stashes are tracked on cryptic websites, and they’ve even made inroads into Canada and Europe. Their nefarious websites include listings for thousands of mobile treasures or “hitchhikers” which are shuffled from…

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Apple Updates iMac All-In-One With FaceTime HD, Thunderbolt and more

As expected Apple introduced new iMacs this morning. While they look the same they have some nice upgrades under the hood. Among the changes are quad-core processors across the line, graphics that are up to 3x faster, Thunderbolt for super-fast data transfer, and a FaceTime HD camera. The 21.5″ model starts at $1,199.00 with the 27″ starting at $500 more. The upper end of the “ready to ship” models line has a 3.1 GHz Quad-Core and costs $1999.99. If I wasn’t so pleased using my 13″ MacBook Air I would be pretty tempted right now. Must… Resist…

News

Amazon Takes on “Real Books” with New Kindle Ad

I love, love, love the new Kindle ad! Like many prior ones, Amazon is hammering home how great the Kindle screen looks in sunlight, how easy it is to use, etc…but instead of taking on the iPad, they are aiming this ad at the people who claim they prefer “real books.”

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Blue Canary Night-Lite Makes a Little Birdhouse in Your Soul

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch Who watches over you Make a little birdhouse in your soul Not to put too fine a point on it Say I’m the only bee in your bonnet Make a little birdhouse in your soul Who didn’t sing along with this song in 1990? Thanks to Think Geek, now you can have the night-lite that They Might Be Giants were referring to. $12.99 gets you this 4″tall night light with its light-sensing white LED. I’m ordering one now. Think Geek’s Blue Canary in the Outlet by the Light Switch (who watches…

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iPhone Game News: It’s a Dinosaur! It’s Godzilla! It’s… Destructopus!?

Behold… the first game that combines the three elements necessary to help make you feel awesome: heroism, indestructibility, and giant octopi (and fuzzy pandas)!!! The world is doomed. Pollution levels are rising, trees are endangered, and industrialization is past the limit of sustainability. You are the world’s only hope. You. Are. The. Destructopus. Yes you are the only one who can save our planet. Along the way you will upgrade your abilities and unlock new powers. How do you do it? Simple, you just save the trees, exterminate pollution, and protect our forest friends. Oh, and OF COURSE you’ll need…

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Freestyle Buzz 2.0 Wristwatch Review

While preparing for our family vacation, which included a morning at surf school, I realized I no longer had a rugged watch. I’d owned several over the years, including an Ironman that lasted from Basic Training through several overseas trips before finally succumbing to a broken strap and went missing somewhere in the desert. Surfing…salt water…surf watch? Freestyle is a company which has been making saltwater-friendly watches for many years, so I picked up one of their midrange models. The Freestyle Buzz 2.o ($75-80 MSRP) has gigantic numbers for the main time, two time zones, two alarms, and the usual timer…

News

‘Hats’ Off to the Newly Married Royal Couple!

The media is super-saturated with coverage of the royal wedding, so I have no intent of spending any time on it. But as my wife and I drank coffee and watched the wedding – we normally watch the morning news, but the wedding was on pretty much every channel – we noted all of the wild hats. I couldn’t help but notice that next to the princess who reminded me of Monica Lewinski was another princess who was wearing a hat that looked like a combination of a wreath and a huge ribbon, but solid and attached to something that…

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Review: Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera

Cisco may have shuttered the doors on the Flip camera, but there are many other cameras out there that are still available that are as good or better than the venerable Flip. Today I am going to take a look at the Kodak Zi8, which I recently purchased with a gift card I received from Judie for my birthday [Aww, that’s awesome! ~ Judie]. I’ve always wanted a dedicated video camera, and my old Aiptek died long ago. The Zi8 was high on my list for many reasons, and even though it’s not the latest and greatest, I thought I…

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Hulu+ Arrives on XBOX Live Today! Hooray or Meh?

Hulu+ is available on your Mac or PC, your set top box such as the Roku we have (but alas not Apple TV), your iPhone or iPad, and your Playstation 3. With the computer devices you can use the ‘standard version’ for free but gain much greater access to programming with the $7.99 monthly fee. On other systems you need to have a ‘Hulu+’ account to access anything – though you can get a trial account on most systems. Now you can finally catch up on those episodes of Glee on your XBOX 360! Some background on Hulu: Hulu’s ambitious…

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HBO NO! A Rant in Pictures

HBO GO for iOS is live and available for free in the App Store. It is awesome. You can watch HBO movies on the go. You can watch some of HBO’s amazing series. (I am totally into Game of Thrones!) You can watch HBO comedy, you know, the ones where the funny people don’t need to censor their language or content. You can even watch HBO “late night” programs… If you are into that sort of thing. Yes HBO GO is a GO… Unless it is a NO GO… Which is the case if you pay out the nose to…

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Pioneer HDJ-500T-K DJ Headphones Great for Listening and Handsfree Calling Too!

I’m always on the lookout for a good pair of comfortable, great sounding, good looking headphones and this new offering from Pioneer caught my eye. The HDJ-500T-K are a “multi-functional entry level DJ headphones that can be used for DJing, leisure music listening and now hands-free calling.” The latter functionality is arrived at thanks to two included, interchangeable cords: a coiled cord for DJ/relaxation listening and a straight cord with an integrated microphone for use with a smartphone. As David Arevalo, senior marketing manager, Professional Sound and Visual Division for Pioneer Electronics (USA) notes “Consumers are always looking for accessories that…

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