News & Features | Gear Diary

Music Diary News: The Real Cost of that New Single … and the Reason You Hear it So Much!

I have talked quite a bit about how the music you hear on the radio and see on the ‘top charts’ has less to do with actual tastes in music and more in massive quantities of money being dumped into making those songs and artists omnipresent and triggering the ‘if I don’t like X I won’t be cool’ … along with the well known fact that when our brain hears something enough it gets ‘stuck’ – even if we don’t like it. I have also written rather derisively about these so-called ‘songwriters’ who are pop stars. While I cannot state…

News & Features

Battery Died on Your iPhone? Play Angry Birds in Real Life!

Admit it, you’ve drained your smartphone battery more than once playing Angry Birds. It’s so hard to leave a level without 3 stars, and the next thing you know you’re blowing past the low battery warnings and then “poof”, no more Angry Birds for you. Well, that was the bad old days of technology, before you could buy your very own “Angry Birds” toy set. Yes, thanks to the good folks at Think Geek, you can build your own live-action Angry Birds game. Even cooler, it’s a multiplayer game. Play as the pigs and try to outsmart your birdbrained opponent,…

News & Features

Skooba Design Introduces the Cable Stable Mini; a Place for Everything, and Everything in Its Place!

If you are still tucking all of your loose cables and supplies into the bottomless pit that makes up your favorite bag, then you seriously ought to take a look at the new Skooba Design Cable Stable Mini. Smaller sibling to the Cable Stable DX, the Cable Stable Mini is designed “to carry a basic assortment of power cords, adapters and other small accessories, and zips shut into a compact, (9 x 5.5 x 1.5 inch) “book” that slips easily into a laptop case, messenger bag, backpack or suitcase.” You won’t be able to help yourself from becoming more organized,…

News & Features

You Suspected They Were the Same Movie … Here’s Proof!

I previously looked at how unsurprisingly music from the same songwriting factories … gasp … sounds alike. But the music industry isn’t the only group pushing out me-too efforts with just enough star power and a low enough budget that even a modest box office take will generate decent profits. Perhaps the worst thing is how these ’bouts of unoriginality’ tend to come in waves – there were buddy-cop movies in the early 90’s, remakes of 60’s TV in the late 90’s, generic RomComs in the early 2000s, and now we have a new twist: buddy romcoms which return to…

News & Features

Wakemate May Help You Wake up Feeling More Refreshed

Wakemate looks like an interesting device that promises to help you get a better night’s rest. Wakemate 2, works with software that runs on iOS, Blackberry and Android devices. To use it, you just set the 20 minute window that you want to wake up in and slip the band on. The band will then keep track of your movements and trigger the alarm to wake you at just the right time; it promises to help you feel more refreshed. They have also included a way for you to report your activities, like going to the gym and how…

News & Features

Random Cool Stuff: Your Saliva Can Reveal Your Age!

We know that our DNA holds the fingerprint to our entire physical makeup, but what about our age and the things that have happened to us through the years? Apparently we can even learn some of THAT through our DNA according to new research! According to a study from UCLA: During normal development, DNA in your body gets what’s called methylated. Small chemicals called methyl groups bind to the DNA, helping to determine which genes become active. But the patterns of methylation change as we grow older. Which was a clue that measuring methylation might give away age. The researchers…

News & Features

The Twitter-sphere: None of You Have Any Friends!

I use Twitter, but there are times when I have to wonder if (or why) anyone cares about my random musings and shared links. Of course, my rationale for using Twitter in the first place is that many of my friends are all over the country (if not the world), and this is a great way to keep in touch. Mitchell sent this video to me, and I couldn’t help but laugh; although it was posted in March I hadn’t yet seen it, and I figured that might be the case for some of you, too. Peppered with offensive language…

News & Features

The Next Innovation in Photography Could be Just Around the Corner Thanks to Lytro.

Image from Lytro Digital photography seems to be stagnating a little. Yeah there is High Dynamic Range photography, but that requires either an iPhone or some photo editing skills that are above the skills of most people. Other than that, little has changed other than megapixel ratings. Lytro aims to change that soon with their new light field camera. What makes Lytro’s camera so special? Well imaging taking a picture and not being concerned about having to actually focus? That sounds like it may make for a bad picture. So when do you focus? You focus after. That’s right I…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Random Funny Video: Conan on Final Cut Pro X

Loving the new version of Final Cut Pro? Conan and his team do too! NOT! Here’s a look at them showing some love to Apple’s newest editing software. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sRzLP0FJ82I Via Cult of Mac

News & Features

Hitchai G-Connect Wireless Storage for iPad

Last month we brought word of Seagate’s new GoFlex Satellite portable storage. The Satellite provides 500GB of storage that can be accessed from a computer, iPad, iPhone or other connected device on the go without a physical connection and even when there is no WiFi network accessible thanks to built-in wireless connectivity. (We will have a full review shortly.) Today Hitachi is announcing their entry into this wireless storage market. The new G-CONNECT offers wireless storage and allows up to five people to access data on the drive simultaneously. As the company explains: Wireless storage for on-the-go access to content…

News & Features

ARCHOS Unveils Fastest Tablets with G9 Tablet Range

Archos pulled a bit of a stunner today with the announcement of new tablets that feature a huge amount of both raw speed and storage capacity. The speed comes from OMAP 4 processors with an ARM® Cortex™ dual-core A9 running at an impressive 1.5 GHz. The large storage comes from a Seagate Hard Disk Drive (HDD) with 250GB of capacity. According to the release: The 8” ARCHOS 80 G9 and 10” ARCHOS 101 G9 are powered by AndroidTM 3.1 “Honeycomb,’’* the latest Android version. ARCHOS G9 tablets come with Google’s full suite of mobile applications and Android MarketTM, giving users…

News & Features

Random Cool Technology: Charge Your Cell Phone Battery By Typing!

Yesterday my cell phone battery was dead just after lunch – poor signal combined with heavy use killed it quickly. That is a tale all-too familiar to many. But imagine if walking could help recharge your devices, or typing on your phone screen? That is exactly the technology being described in the new edition of the technical journal Advanced Functional Materials. Here are some details: This ANU article quotes lead co-author Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran from RMIT: This is the first time we have been able to say that applying a particular amount of pressure will create specific values of voltage…

News & Features

Coming Soon: Lenovo’s Video Docking Station with DisplayLink Technology

After a brief flirtation with using a Mac Mini desktop system in addition to my 13″ MacBook Air, I’m back to “laptop-only living”; it works well thanks to high-resolution screens, great battery life and enough power to handle just about anything that is thrown at it. One of the things that make laptop-only living easier is a good docking station that makes it possible to connect and disconnect peripherals with ease. This is especially the case with laptops like the MBA which only have two USB ports. Well, we got word that Lenovo is once again employing DisplayLink’s technology, and…

News & Features

Pre-Order MyPadLife iPad 2 Case From Kickstarter

If you are among the many people who now take their iPad almost anywhere, you probably have the same problem that I do. How do I use it when I get there? Whether it be in the gym or kitchen, there are few cases that allow the iPad to just be used in all situations. Saad Alam had the same problem and decided to do something about it. He created the MyPadLife case for the iPad 2 to make his device more versatile. If you head over to Kickstarter you can watch a video about the idea, read more information…

News & Features

Shine a Light on It with iShuttr

Okay, we all know and recognize that the cameras built into our phones are not the best around. Could we do better with a dedicated point-and-shoot? Sure. How about a full-blown SLR? Yeah, of course, stupid question. But the reality is that we use the cameras that are included with our phones because they are convenient. We don’t have to carry extra crap with us; they’re just there, a constant, comforting presence. The best camera you have is the one you have with you. There, I said it. But, that doesn’t mean that they can’t be made better than they…

News & Features

Unboxing and Hands-On: VAIO S-Series ‘Charged and Ready’ Program

I have owned Sony products that I bought myself for more than 30 years, starting with the original Walkman, and consisting of audio/video (cassette, CD, and DVD), televisions (tube and flat panel), computers, gaming systems, and more. My wife bought a cute VAIO last year with a 13.3″ screen, a Core i5 processor, and a really nice pink finish. The point is – in spite of how much I beat up Sony for a variety of reasons, I am a loyal customer for one huge reason – they make great stuff. So when I had the opportunity to evaluate their…

News & Features

Random Cool Video: Astronaut’s View of Earth in Real Time

Technology is cool. The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo has just unveiled a massive 10 million pixel globe that shows you the view of the earth as if you were looking from space. But it gets better – you can interact and learn from touchscreens located all around the globe! Here is some more info: A new, gigantic Japanese globe unveiled in Tokyo features 10,362 OLED panels that show constantly updated satellite images of Earth. The nearly 20-foot-in-diameter globe, called Geo-Cosmos, displays Earth’s current appearance in more than 10 million pixels, an incredibly high resolution that…

News & Features

One Vancouver Couple Chose to Make Love, Not War!

Image from Rich Lam/Getty Images I wrote about the awful riots in Vancouver following their team’s loss in the Stanley Cup finals (to my team, Yay!), but at least there is some sort of silver lining in what has become one of the most iconic images from the fracas – the ‘kissing couple’. It was highlighted through Twitter: @buzzfeed You forgot one of the best ones – Vancouverites who know to make love, not war: http://ow.ly/5jf9o That pointed to this image, from Rich Lam of Getty Images. Initially there was some concern that this was TOO perfect, so it must…

News & Features

Watch Review: Phosphor E Ink Digital Hour Clock Watch with Black Leather Band

Judie likes her loud, statement-making watches. (And she can, of course, pull it off!) There’s the Black Phosphor Appear she recently got. And there is the blinged-out version she reviewed in full. Me, I’m a bit more of a subtle guy (at least in this one regard.) That’s why I was excited to take a look at one of Phosphor’s “simpler” E-ink watches. This E Ink Digital Hour Clock Watch with Black Leather Band is a simple timepiece that looks great and is exceptionally comfortable to wear. From Phosphor: You’ve never seen a digital watch quite like this before. Its…

News & Features

Nielson Study Shows How Teens Interact with Media

It is amazing to look at the image above and realize that reflects the top TV shows the year that seniors graduating high school this month were born! Many of the shows – certainly Seinfeld, Rosanne, Frasier and Home Improvement – are classics easily found in syndication now. The X-Files also launched that year, bringing with it nearly a decade of conspiracies and unrealized sexual tension between the main characters. Jurassic Park Stomped through theaters, and ‘A Whole New World’ from Aladdin ruled the airwaves. 1993 was also the year that the Mosaic web browser launched, and the internet as…

News & Features

LinkedIn Explains Why They Don’t Allow SD Card Installs

Although ‘business social’ site LinkedIn started off slower and with seemingly less traction than Twitter, a recent study showed that LinkedIn is now considered the most important social media network, with 60% of respondents saying that having a LinkedIn account is more important than any other social network. Since so many business users of social media carry smartphones, it seems that one necessary element in any strategy is to have a mobile application for iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices. As many have found, implementing a full-featured interface for sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn is daunting, as is keeping user…