News & Features | Gear Diary

News & Features December 21, 2010

Last Minute Gift Idea… A Toothbrush??

I’m not quite sure what message this gift would send but it sure is one of the most unique gifts ideas we’ve come across. For just $13 you too can give a cherished loved one a full year of… Toothbrushes. Yes, every 3 months for an entire year your loved one will get a new toothbrush. (That’s makes a total of 4 toothbrushes for those who are numerically challenged.) Best of all, they won’t have to think about replacing their toothbrush since a new one will just come in the mail. Here’s the story behind this service- How many times…

News & Features December 20, 2010

Random Cool Gear: Get Ready for the Next Generation of Commodore 64!

Remember the good ol’ Commodore 64? Between 1982 and 1994 more than 30 million of them were sold. And while they offered excellent programming capabilities and the ability to hook to a TV and run productivity applications, where the C64 found its biggest niche was in gaming. It offered great capabilities for a very reasonable price. And now it is BACK! What? Well, not the same one, but the concept of ‘the keyboard is the computer’ has returned, with Commodore teasing the release of an all new C64. Here are the very modern specs: Technology MODEL: Commodore 64x PROCESSOR: Intel®…

News & Features December 20, 2010

Random Cool Stuff: A Guide to the 12 Stages of the Total Lunar Eclipse … in YOUR Time Zone!

Doug told us about the cool App for tracking the total Lunar Eclipse coming tonight, and now Space.com adds to the coolness of the event with a fact-packed page … and a timetable linked to your specific time zone. With the handy info they provide you can check out the eclipse in your area and know exactly what is happening when. Here is the time zone chart: And in case you were wondering what all of the ‘Stages’ are listed along the left column of the table, Space.com has a great informational listing! Here is some of it: 1) Moon…

News & Features December 17, 2010

Dropbox Out of Beta… Adds Key Features

This year saw a number of key changes with regard to how I work on a computer and accomplish the many tasks that face me each day. Of course the iPad was central to the changes in my work style since, most days, I carry it instead of a laptop but I don’t think I would call the iPad “My Most Significant Change in 2010. No, I suspect that that title would go to… Dropbox. Thomas turned me on to Dropbox toward the beginning of the year and I have grown increasingly reliant upon it. At first I used their…

News & Features December 17, 2010

Join Us In Wishing Coach Travis the Best of Luck with His Game Tonight

Travis, or “Coach” as he is affectionately called by many of us, is in the midst of fulfilling one of his lifelong dreams; tonight the Falls City Beavers are one of the high school football teams that will be duking it out for the State Football Championship in their division. As you can imagine, even getting to this point is something that few football players or coaches will ever do. In Texas — perhaps even more so than in other states — the competition between high schools is fierce, and the players and coaches give it their all for a…

News & Features December 17, 2010

Santa Tracker? Forget That … Now it is Time for a ‘Leak-Tracker’!

Image courtesy of Kabobfest.com By now most people know more about WikiLeaks than they ever cared to … have heard various opinions about how founder Julian Assange is either the saviour of journalism, a cyber-terrorist, or a scumbag … and the WikiLeaks site is either a great hero of international transparency or an illegal hacker group threatening lives for fun. But one thing is sure – whenever someone or something gets as much coverage as Assange and Wikileaks, there are sure to be others to follow! And here they come! Last night I got an email from something called ‘TradeLeaks’…

News & Features December 16, 2010

Flipboard Update Makes Reading RSS Feeds on Your iPad Downright Civilized…

When Flipboard first came out for the iPad I was impressed by the user interface and thought I would use it a great deal. I didn’t. Before long I was back using Reeder to check my RSS feeds and using specific news apps to read my news. Well an update to the Flipboard app may just change that. Among the features you will find in the new version is… Google Reader integration. That’s right, you can now add a section that delivers your Google Reader account items AND lets you share interesting items with others. The app makes your Google…

News & Features December 16, 2010

Random Cool Video: ‘We’re Not In Kansas Anymore’

Image courtesy of AnalogSherpa How many times have you heard someone utter a movie cliché? ‘I have a bad feeling about this’, ‘I’ll be back’, ‘Say Hello to My Little Friend!’, ‘You Can’t Handle the Truth!’, and on and on. But perhaps the king of them all is the infamous line from The Wizard of Oz – we’re not in Kansas anymore! So here is a great video that shows 58 (!) scenes of someone uttering that line in a movie or TV show. Enjoy! As for the list of every movie and TV show referenced? Find it here: The…

News & Features December 16, 2010

Just Mobile AluPen Wins Awards… Gets Color

We’ve reviewed a number of the offerings from Just Mobile in recent months. Among them are the Gum Plus external battery, the UpStand for holding your iPad securely and, most recently, Judie reviewed the AluPen stylus for touchscreen devices. Well the AluPen has now won some nice awards including the Spark Design Award and iF product design award 2011. The AluPen is a great accessory… or last minute gift… and it just got more interesting because now it comes in a variety of vivid colors. As the company explains… To thank all Just Mobile customers and friends, we decide to…

News & Features December 16, 2010

Use Google Chrome? Install ‘Chrome for a Cause’ to Benefit Charities!

Do you use Google Chrome? How many tabs do you open in a day? Imagine that by simply opening tabs you could donate a charity! From now through December 19th you can do exactly that – simply install the “Chrome for a Cause” extension and open tabs as you normally would, knowing that each time you do a little Here is a snippet from the Chrome blog: Whether it’s bug fixes to the Chromium open source project, dazzling apps and extensions arriving daily in our Web Store, or boundary-pushing Chrome experiments — the Chrome community never fails to inspire us…

News & Features December 15, 2010

Random Cool Image: XKCD on WikiLeaks

No matter where you fall on the opinion scale with regards to WikiLeaks, the various governments and companies involved, or Anonymous and the 4Chan DDoS attacks and everything else related to this wild ride … you have to admit that this comic is ironic if not hilarious … Source: XKCD

News & Features December 15, 2010

GV Connect + Talkatone = iPad Phone

When the iPad was first released there were many who commented that one of the device’s shortcomings, among many, was that it could not be used as a phone. That wasn’t quite accurate. Sure the iPad isn’t a device you would want to hold up to your ear but with apps like Skype or Ooma’s iOS app the iPad makes for an excellent speakerphone. In fact, I use it on a regular basis in this way. Now, however, thanks to a new app and an update to an “old friend” the iPad can truly function as a phone. The first…

News & Features December 15, 2010

Random Cool Video: All 270 Movies Released in 2010 … in Six Minutes!

Every year at the Academy Awards there is a montage of movies released during that year … but at this point they should just cancel whatever contract they have out for that job and license this! Youtube user genrocks compiled this video because, as she says “this year’s movies have legitimately transformed my idea of what is creatively possible”. You can also follow her on Twitter. Here is his description, including all of the music used: This year’s movies have legitimately transformed my idea of what is creatively possible. To commemorate, I’ve remixed 270 of them into one giant ass…

News & Features December 13, 2010

Our Government at Work: CPSC Avoids Lead-Laden Glass Recall By Redefining Audience

Image courtesy of the AP When you think of the target audience for 10-ounce featuring colorful images of characters from the Wizard of Oz or a variety of well-known super heroes, would you say the audience is: (a) Under the age of 12 (b) Over the age of 12 If you guessed (b), then you are thinking along the same lines as the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the government agency set up to help keep consumers safe. When the test results showing the glasses had 1000 times (!) the level allowed in a product for children back in September, the…

News & Features December 13, 2010

TOM BIHN Introduces Ristretto Vertical Messenger Bag for 11″ Apple MacBook Air

A few weeks ago Thomas and I wrote about our ongoing debate regarding which MacBook Air to order. I started with a base 11″ MBA, moved to ordering a loaded 11″ version and then, after some back and forth with Thomas, ended up getting the 13″ MBA. He did too. It is an awesome machine and I thought I was done with my search. Then Judie had to get into the mix. She got an 11″ MBA and called it “my second best tech purchase ever… after the iPad.” Coming from Judie that is high praise and I realized that…

News & Features December 12, 2010

A Post Worth Reading From TechCrunch… No Commentary Needed

So my week’s vacation is coming to an end. The bags are packed, the flight confirmed and the skies have opened up and are pouring on the island where it never rains. My head is clearer save the all-you-can eat and drink Sunday brunch we just visited… Or is it fuzzier… And as a result I have the rare gift of… Perspective. This week gave me the chance to catch up with family, catch up on old Gear Diary posts that other members of the team have written and check out some of the comments that others have shared on…

News & Features December 12, 2010

SplashID KeySafe Unlocks Your Cold, Security-Obsessed Heart

Well, now, what do we have here? Generally a software company, SplashData has now taken one of their best known software products and merged it with a hardware product. The SplashID Key Safe is a 2 GB USB drive made to fit on your keychain, but featuring a portable version of SplashData’s well-known password protection program, SplashID. We’ve reviewed various incarnations of SplashID on this site a number of times in the past and we’ve always had good impressions of it. I’ve always liked SplashID because it’s available for so many different platforms. The Key Safe includes many of the…

News & Features December 11, 2010

Google Lowers Android App Store Refund Period!

One of the biggest items that Android fans used to lord over iOS users was the marketplace policy regarding refunds. On iOS, if you purchased an app and wanted to “return” it for a refund, good luck, and start groveling to Apple or the developer. On Android, if you purchase but uninstall within 24 hours, you get a full refund automatically! No need for as many “lite” versions of programs and it gave you a chance to really kick the tires before you committed your cold hard cash. Well, as of last night, that window has dropped from 24 hours…

News & Features December 11, 2010

R.I.P.: Jazz Legend James Moody Dead at 85

Few artists in any field can claim a career that had them active and vibrant across 8 decades. Yet that is the legacy of James Moody, the genial and fabulously talented saxophone and flute player and bandleader who made his first recordings in 1948, and was working right up until his health made it impossible earlier this year. Early this year we learned that Moody was seriously ill and had to undergo surgery, but it was only last month when we learned more details from his wife Linda: “Some of you know that Moody has been ill for quite sometime,”…

News & Features December 10, 2010

Random Cool Stuff: Steve Martin’s Royalties for His Bluegrass Recordings? $0.13!

OK, that isn’t the full story, but it is a funny enough image! There is clear irony here in saying “People say the music business is suffering, but it’s NOT.”, but what is the main point? Is it that despite being wildly successful across more than four decades, he is now getting royalty checks for as low as $0.03? Is it that while he has made $0.13 the record company has pocketed the vast majority of the money for his work? Either way, it is pretty funny to think about such small checks for such a major star. As some…

News & Features December 10, 2010

Get Added to Orange UK’s Secret Portrait Twitter Gallery

I’ve always loved watching caricature artists quickly plot out their exaggerated perception of their subjects, but this new offering from Orange UK’s The Feed takes the art to a whole new level. They are offering “secret portraits” of twitter users based on a tweeted self-description. I am about to enter mine, and I thought you might want to give it a try, too. Describe yourself in a tweet – and don’t forget the #secretportraits hashtag If your tweet intrigues us, our illustrators will dive into your Twitter profile to find out more about you They’ll draw a secret portrait based on…