News & Features | Gear Diary

News & Features August 15, 2011

Meme Meets Classic: THIS is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (Like Movies)!

Internet memes have been around since the ‘Dancing Baby’ and before, and tend to follow a typical cycle – they get started, get a hold with the tech-oriented folks of a certain community, then often grab a larger following. Occasionally they become fully mainstream, but that is fairly rare. One such curiosity is ‘Nyan Cat’, which got started in April of this year, and has only spread since then. Here is a bit about it from Know Your Meme: About Nyan Cat, also known as Pop Tart Cat, is an 8-bit animation depicting a cat with the body of a…

News & Features August 12, 2011

iFrogz Introduces Some New Headphones and Accessories

I work at a college and one of the things you see in almost every set of ears on campus is a set of headphones. Our bookstore sells them all the time when students destroy their favorite pair of buds which is why they carry many different brands of headphones including some from iFrogz as well. Today iFrogz has brought out a new line of headphones in the new iFrogz Audio brand. They will also be bringing two more sets of headphones in the Ear Pollution line of headphones. The first set is a set of on ear headphones called…

Music Diary, News & Features August 11, 2011

Music Diary Notes: The Jazz Session – Final Plea for Subscribers!

I have written quite a bit about Jason Crane and the Jazz Session here, as it is a fresh and engaging interview series that neatly weaves together music and chat in a way that I very much enjoy. The Jazz Session is free for listeners, which immediately puts Crane in the position of finding ways to fund everything related to the interview show (I know, just like every other person running a website!), which have included ads, Amazon tie-ins for music featured on the show, and even support from the site AllAboutJazz. But it wasn’t enough – for Crane, running…

News & Features August 11, 2011

Bongiovi Acoustics DPS (Digital Power Station) for iOS Rocks Your World

Want richer bass, higher clarity and an all around enhanced audio experience? Bongiovi Acoustics: Bongiovi DPS (Digital Power Station) technology has it. The technology is currently available in iHome dock stations and select Toyota models and, for the first time, Bongiovi’s technology is available as an iOS app. The technology “re-masters your compressed digital audio files at the source and then, using device specific profiles, optimizes the output for your listening device (headphone, speaker, earbud, etc).” I tried the iOS app and was rather impressed with the enhanced audio pumped out by my iPod touch and my iPad. As the company…

News & Features August 9, 2011

Rant: Google + Updated to Support iPod Touch, but PLEASE Don’t Tell Me It Has ‘iPad Support’ … It Doesn’t!

Yesterday the Google + iOS app was updated, with the following changes noted: – Huddle settings – Aggregated circle add notifications – iPod touch & iPad support – Performance and stability improvements So … they are claiming iPad ‘support’? What does that actually mean, anyway? That it will install and be a minimally functional app that looks and performs terribly? Well, if that is the case, I guess they are correct. When I think of ‘support’ I look to the iPod Touch version, which looks like this: These are the identical screenshots, yet offer VERY different user experiences. The iPad…

News & Features August 7, 2011

Bye-Bye, Spotify

When Spotify finally came to the US I was quick to jump on it. I like using streaming, subscription music services a great deal. I like the flexibility. I love being able to download and listen to pretty much whatever I choose for a small fee each month. Sure, I already have a huge music collection but there’s a ton of music I want to hear that isn’t part of it and there are enough tunes that it would cost me a small fortune to purchase all of them. I tried Rhapsody for a while and while I got hooked…

News & Features August 7, 2011

Star Trek Theme Park Coming Soon!

My first vacation with Sarah we went to Las Vegas for a long weekend. Sarah was excited about the shows and the gambling, but all I cared about was going to the STAR TREK EXPERIENCE! My inner Trekkie was very excited, and it’s a credit to Sarah that she stuck with me after watching the extreme geek-out when I saw a guy in a Borg outfit. Sadly, the Star Trek Experience is no longer in Las Vegas, but don’t worry, the King of Jordan has us all covered. From MSNBC: It turns out that King Abdullah II of Jordan is a huge…

News & Features August 4, 2011

iPad 2 Case Review: Hammerhead iPad 2 Hard Shell Case

We’ve looked at a number of different iPad 2 cases from a host of familiar companies. Today we’ll take a video look at the Hard shell case from Hammerhead, a company new to us here on Gear Diary. The case offers complete protection to the iPad’s front and back, includes the sleep/awake functionality and serves as a stand. Let’s take a closer look and see if this $39.99 case might be right for you. From Hammerhead: Hammerhead Hard Shell Case for iPad 2 – Black Hard shell polymer case protects both the front and back and automatically wakes and sleeps…

News & Features August 4, 2011

Livescribe Desktop Now Roars with Lion Compatibility

When OS X Lion was released there were some key pieces of productivity software that did not yet work with the update. As Mike noted, among the incompatible software was Livescribe’s desktop for OS X. It posed a bit of an issue for me since I needed a document that was on my Echo Smartpen last week. Fortunately Elana’s MacBook Air had yet to be Lion-ized and I was able to get what I needed off the pen. Well Livescribe sent word today that an update for their desktop software is available and ready for download. If you use a…

News & Features August 4, 2011

Secrets of “The Real World” Cast Contracts

When I was in high school, I remember watching MTV’s “The Real World”, and wondering how long MTV had the cast under contract. Since they all seemed to appear with regularity on various MTV reality shows, I assumed it was because it was a requirement, and not because they truly loved being on MTV. As it turns out, the Village Voice managed to get an actual “Real World” contract, and the terms are, to say the least, eyebrow-raising. A few choice excerpts [note that the BOLD is from the Village Voice, and the italics are my interpretation]: Producers are under…

News & Features August 3, 2011

RunBike, the Duckbilled Platypus of Workout Equipment

When I saw the RunBike on Runner’s World this morning, it took a good two minutes before I stopped laughing/choking on my coffee. I was speechless, but once I recovered from my initial “WHY!?!” response, some more serious questions came to mind. 1) How on earth do you run uphill while strapped into that thing? 2) How long is a RunBike, and how do you get into it? Do you drop in from the top? Limbo in? 3) Is it street-legal? And do you follow biking laws, where you act like a vehicle and obey traffic laws, or do you…

News & Features August 3, 2011

When Humor Meets Harsh Reality

I am a huge fan of the web comic XKCD, as writer Randall Munroe makes witty and insightful comments in just a few frames. But there is a reality in play here: for quite some time (since last fall) there have been cancer-related comics sprinkled in with everything else. About a month ago Munroe talked about it in his blog: Last fall I posted about a family illness, but didn’t give a lot of details. In October my fiancée was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. It’s rare for young women to get breast cancer, and she’s otherwise healthy and…

News & Features August 3, 2011

Can Braun Tame the Planet of the Apes?

Summer beach weather is here in force, and the new film Rise of the Planet of the Apes is about to open, meaning that you are seeing hairy-backed individuals rampaging EVERYWHERE! And the folks at Braun have done a survey that shows that the women of the UK are having NONE OF IT! As the nation basks in the summer sun, Braun reveals what women really think of their partner’s body hair. With a summer full of poolside fun, men listen up and take note – three quarters (75%) of UK women don’t want a completely hair free man, they…

News & Features, Vehicles & Gear August 3, 2011

OnStar Testing New Family Link Vehicle Location Alert Program

It’s 10 P.M. Do you know where your children are? Soon parents may be able to answer a resounding “Yes” to this question thanks to a new program being tested by OnStar. OnStar has launched a pilot program called Family Link to explore ways subscribers can stay connected to their loved ones when driving OnStar-equipped vehicles and one highlight of that new service is Vehicle Locate where the subscriber can log on to the Family Link Web site to view a map with the vehicle’s exact location at any time. “Our subscribers have asked us for a solution to help…

News & Features August 2, 2011

Hex Launches New Collection of Tech-Friendly Bags and Cases

The seemingly everlasting style conundrum – fashion vs. function, might finally have a solution. According to Hex, makers of those stylish iPod Nano watchbands, you can have your cake and eat it too. Having recently released a brand-new Fall/ Winter bag collection, the Oxnard, California-based trend-setters are banking on the dual appeal of fashion and function. Currently available for pre-order, the tech-friendly bags feature a versatile combination of pockets, padded pouches, compartment separations, organizers and adjustable straps. If you’ve been hunting for a more fashionable way to carry your laptop or iPad, this seems like a pretty straightforward solution. Hex,…

News & Features July 31, 2011

Brilliant Marketing…Rock N Roll Half Marathon Style

I’m going to be running the Dodge Rock N Roll Half Marathon at Virginia Beach organized by Competitor.com. Note, the number of sponsors and trademarked names in the title says it all, this is a big, marketing-heavy race. It’s the kind of race advertisers love; it’s a hardcore audience that’s not afraid to drop major money on clothes and shoes. Now, if you’ve ever run a big race, or done a long hike, or any endurance event, you’ll know there’s some very important personal business that should be attended to before you start. No one wants to see you…

News & Features July 30, 2011

Summer Tech: Qi-wear by iharmonix Bluetooth Enabled Sunglasses

I’m someone who ALWAYS wears sunglasses when I am outside. I also always have my iPhone and am often either making calls or listening to music when I am out and about. As such the idea of sunglasses that can double as a Bluetooth headset for making calls or listening to music really appeals to me. There was something like that on the market a few years ago but by the time I went in search of them the line had been discontinued. That’s why I took note of the announcement of iharmonix’s Qi-wear Bluetooth Enabled Sunglasses. As the company…

News & Features July 29, 2011

First Look: Case-Mate Tut “Creatures” Case for iPhone 4

Every now and then a review sample will arrive in some packaging that really catches your eye. Most of the time such things seem to come from Case-Mate. For example, their Case-Mate Fuel case arrived last year with an actual gas can. (Obviously it was effective since I still remember it.) Well we just got back to town and, lo and behold, Case-Mate sent a neat package with… …one of their new Creature cases. I was wondering why a box came that was kept closed with “Caution” tape and had air holes punched into it. The mystery grew when I…

Music Diary, News & Features July 28, 2011

Music Diary Notes: Why Predictions of Vinyl Out-living CD’s Make Sense

It had been close to three decades since I bought anything on vinyl, as I started shifting my collection from Vinyl to CD. In both cases I was simply recording to tape since my portable system in my college room was a tape-based system – and I wasn’t ready to move my expensive CD system into that environment! But I have maintained the hundreds of records in my collection in pristine condition, but really haven’t played them in ages. That is in stark contrast with my wife, who has always used her records for their given purpose – to play…

News & Features July 27, 2011

Speck Gets Some Love from the History Channel’s ‘Inspector America’

Have you caught any episodes of Inspector America? That’s the show where Timothy Galarnyk, an “infrastructure safety inspector with over 35 years of experience”, goes around the country checking out our cities bridges, roads, water-systems (among other things) in order to show what is right or wrong with the way our infrastructure is being maintained or problems are being solved. We record and save up several episodes to watch at a time, and last night Kev and I caught the episode where he’s in Los Angeles. One of the segments included Timothy talking about the billion(!!) dollars being spent by…

Music Diary, News & Features July 26, 2011

Music Diary Notes: Spotify Has Early Success, but … a LONG Way to Go to that 50 Million Member Goal!

Over the weekend we got some initial data from the Spotify launch courtesy of Billboard, who cite ‘inside sources’ as estimating that in the first week or so after launch Spotify has 70,000 subscribers (i.e. people who pay). From the article: In my travels last night and in emails this morning I had three distinct label/publisher execs confirm the same number: that @Spotify has right in the ballpark of 70,000 paid Stateside subscribers after only one week in business. It’s hard to put these numbers into context, but it would also be hard to call that anything but positive news…