News & Features | Gear Diary

OtterBox Will Defend Your iPhone 4 From Reception Issues … Among Other Things

Some people’s devices never have to brave anything worse than a little bit of travel time as they are transported from the house to the car to the building their owner works in; other devices get put in precarious situations every day — whether it be from danger from dropping, crushing, or simply dust and grit damaging the finish. For those devices, OtterBox makes a line of ruggedized cases that not only protect, they also look quite good. Newest is the iPhone 4 Defender Series Case, and for $49.99 you’ll be able to breathe easy while hiking, camping, biking, or…

News & Features

Zoom’s H1 Handy Recorder Available for Pre-order

Zoom’s H1 Handy Recorder is small. How small? Here’s a picture of it in hand… In fact it is small enough to mount right on a camera. Despite its size the H1 records big sound. As the company explains… Like all Zoom recorders, the H1’s onboard microphones are configured in an X/Y pattern, for stunning stereo imaging. Because both mics are arranged on the same axis, they are equidistant from the sound source for perfect localization and no phase shifting. The result is great stereo recordings with natural depth and accurate imaging. The Zoom H1 has an MSRP of $159.99…

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From the “Now Why Didn’t I Think of This?” Files- Antennaids For iPhone 4

Come on, admit it, somewhere along the line you thought for a fleeting moment “You know, a thin, strategically placed band-aid might fix the iPhone 4’s woes!” But then you didn’t do anything with the idea. Well someone has acted on it and you can now fix up to six iPhone 4’s for just $4.99. That’s right, for just $4.99 you can get six of these cute, Bandaid-looking strips that, when placed just right, might help eliminate the antennuation problem some are encountering with the iPhone 4. Personally I kind of prefer the subtle black of the skin I recently…

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Does Your GPS Have a Tone, or Is It All in Your Head?

I have road rage issues. I tend to get very frustrated by traffic and being lost; unfortunately, I live in New Jersey and have what amounts to a completely inverted sense of direction. So it’s not uncommon to find myself stuck in traffic in a strange place while trying to calm my frustrations…and then the GPS pipes up with a “RECALCULATING” and suddenly I am plotting the highest point from which I can drop the evil beast of a device. Luckily, I am not alone. According to CNN, it’s fairly common to have a negative reaction to GPS-voice. Basically, while…

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Random Cool Video – ‘Balloon Accelerator’ Made From Dyson Bladeless Fans

If you have ever used any of the products by British inventor James Dyson (who also does his own commercials), you know they are pretty cool. At Gear Diary we are all about technology that is cool, so this video immediately grabbed our attention. The image at the top shows how the fan technology works in terms of the mechanics, and the image below shows the flow-front produced. The fan draws in random air from behind and pushes it out with 15x the force in a nicely focused beam. Using the focused draw and push of the fan design, folks…

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Steve Jobs- “There Is No Antennagate…”

Steve Jobs took the stage this afternoon to address the growing perception that the iPhone 4 has a fundamental flaw that can only be remedied by a recall. He took a multi-pronged approach and, in the process, turned lemons into some delicious lemonade. First he showed real examples of other smartphones displaying the same phenomena as the iPhone 4. Wrapping up he said that phones aren’t perfect and this is a flaw in many phones. It is just that the iPhone 4 marked the spot externally thanks to the thin black line separating the antennas. Then he used something that…

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What Classic Author Do You Write Like?

Most people who do any sort of creative writing aspire to be like one of their favorite authors, from Emily Dickinson to James Joyce to … well, whomever you like! And chances are, if you have read and reread authors over the years some of their style has bled into your everyday prose. By way of a tweet from a friend I learned that there is now a site called I Write Like that will analyze your writing and match your style with one of the authors in its database. So as a test I took some of my Thanks…

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An iPhone 4 Jingle That Offers… Perspective

We’ll all be watching later today to see what Jobs and company have to say about the iPhone 4 antenna issue. (Quick recap for those living under a rock… if you take your iPhone 4 out of the case that you ought to be keeping it in and touch it in just the right spot or squeeze it hard you MAY see the signal drop off.) So what will Apple say today? Your bet is as good as ours but at least we’ll know in a few hours. Throughout this entire episode Larry has made one consistent point. Time and…

Music Diary, News & Features

What a Recording Artist Needs to Sell to Make Minimum Wage

Image Courtesy Kevin Dayhoff’s Blog I had seen this image a month or so ago, but had lost the link – but it remains stunning to think of what is required for a musician to simply make minimum wage, let alone scrape by a reasonable living! The graph below shows how many of their recordings an artist would need to sell to make a mere $1,160 per month. Of course, that is gross earnings, not counting any taxes or other niceties paid to the various federal state and local governments we feed … First off, that number of $1,160 per…

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Gear Chat- The Apple Boycott Edition

In today’s podcast Larry and Dan ponder, “What devices would we use if we were on an Apple boycott?” Other topics on GearChat 13 include the ongoing iPhone 4 controversy and Evernote’s new Evernote Trunk. A Content Note- How quickly things move. We recorded this podcast late in the afternoon on Wednesday, July 14. At one point Dan laments Apple’s silence on the iPhone 4 reception issue only to find out an hour later that Apple had called a press conference for tomorrow Friday, July 16. Go figure…

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Princess Leia Seized on NYC Subway!

You really have to hand it to the folks at Improv Everywhere – they sure know how to put on a show! Here is their description of their latest project: For our latest mission, we staged a reenactment of the first Princess Leia / Darth Vader scene from Star Wars on a New York City subway car. The white walls and sliding doors on the train reminded us of the rebel ship from the movie, and we thought it would be fun to see how people would react to a surprise appearance by the iconic characters. We spread out the…

News & Features, Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

Ford Fusion update: A really good ‘Sport’

The Calendar had not quite read 2009 yet but I remember a chilly day in Michigan when the good folks over at Ford introduced us to our first 2010 model – the Fusion, complete with hybrid and sport versions. Ford Motor Company invited journalists up to its Dearborn world headquarters in December, 2008, for a “hush-hush” sneak peek of some of its new product, and this included the made-over 2010 Ford Fusion lineup. For 2010, engineers and designers gave the midsized sedan entirely new front and rear clips as well as totally refreshing the interior. In addition, powertrain upgrades have…

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So Here’s What’s New At Evernote…

As I have noted time and again here on Gear Diary, I am a huge fan of Evernote and rely on it for everything from clipping web pages, to saving important emails to putting some of my rabbinic resource material where I know I can quickly access them no matter where I am, no matter what I am doing. Well I haven’t been all that happy with Evernote lately. No, for a little over a week Evernote has been hinting at something new and today they shared their plans. The news… overall Evernote is working to extend their system and,…

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Alexandra Knight May Have the Most Gorgeous iPad Case of All

Just in case you haven’t yet seen an iPad cover that was worthy of you and your favorite gadget, Alexandra Knight has one which is sure to please, in gorgeous alligator no less. Usually priced at $2995, you can get yours today only for $1595. There’s no doubt that Alexandra Knight’s wares are better made than just about anything you’ll find elsewhere, and I have long been a fan. But $1600 for an iPad cover, even if on sale? I won’t think less of you if you need a moment to think about it. Don’t take too long to decide…

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Need an iPhone Grip That Won’t Slip? Order a ProClip!

Among the drawbacks of being an early adopter is the wait for accessories to become available. The iPhone 4G is no exception. Waiting for just the right case. Waiting for your favorite screen protector. Waiting for a car mount so you can use your iPhone’s GPS software while you’re out and about. Well, you don’t need to wait for a car mount anymore. If you’re looking for a way to mount your new iPhone 4G in your auto, take a gander at ProClip’s new offerings, now available for pre-order. Designed for an iPhone without a case or in an adjustable…

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The Kindle’s Killer Wireless Feature: Google Maps?!?

One of the major advantages Amazon’s Kindle has over the nook is that the wireless feature is not limited to just downloading books. Unlike the nook, the Kindle can browse the web over its free built-in wireless. While it may not be the world’s greatest browsing experience, it’s still better than nothing at all! A Kindle World Blog has found ways to take it one step further than just Wikipedia on the fly…they have detailed instructions on how to access Google Maps mobile on your Kindle! While this wouldn’t take the place of GPS, it’s a pretty cool feature to…

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Men, Women and Cars- New Survey Reveals What’s Similar and What’s Not

photo credit: PDXdj New national survey data gives an interesting, and at times frightening, picture of the driving habits of the genders. On the good side of things, 89% of women and 83% of men report having a clean driving record for the past two years. On a more neutral front while 25% of women report not trusting their sense of direction only 9% of men do. Interestingly less women use GPS to find their way (58% of men vs 48% of women). Then there is the truly frightening statistic. While both sexes agree that texting while driving should be…

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State of the ‘Obese-itude’: CalorieLab Releases the 2009 State-by-State Obesity Map

While the numbers displayed are staggering, that map only tells part of the story: – It is only about adults. – It displays obesity, not % overweight. CalorieLab has been tracking obesity in states for several years, and has been tweaking their methods over time, now depending on a three-year rolling average to smooth out spikes and look at long-term issues. Somewhat disturbing is that they have had to change their scales (pun intended) because the obesity trends just keep getting worse: because of the overall increase in obesity, CalorieLab this year again shifted the color coding used in its…

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Something New Coming from Evernote Tomorrow… You’ll Know What It is When We Do…

I love Evernote. I live in Evernote. Evernote is killing me… Evernote has been teasing about something new coming for some time. They have blog posts up about it, are running a contest about it, and have reached out directly about it. But try as I might (and I HAVE TRIED) I can’t get a clue about what they are about to unveil. The only thing I do know is that it must be something pretty major. How do I know that? Simple… I’ve been following the company and using Evernote since the current iteration of the service was in…

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iLuv iMM190 App Station Dock for iPhone Review

From iLuv- With its stylish oval design and alarm clock functionality, the iLuv App Station Alarm Clock Stereo Speaker Dock for iPhone 3G and 3GS or iPod is the ideal desktop sound system. The speaker dock stands horizontally or vertically, thus accommodating your device’s touch-screen view. The App Station’s key feature is its sophisticated alarm clock functionality with the iLuv App Clock for iPhone–available from the Apple iTunes Store. With the excellent speaker chambers, the App Station is powerful enough to deliver rich dynamic sound, while it charges your iPhone or iPod as you listen. The App Station shows great…

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Uh Oh… There’s Trouble In the Apple Orchard- Consumer Reports “Can’t Recommend the iPhone 4 “

The summer’s not the only thing turning up the heat on Apple right now as Consumer Reports states, “we can’t recommend the iPhone 4”. Talk about reversing positions… When the iPhone 4 first came out CR took a look and determined that “There’s no reason, at least yet, to forgo buying an iPhone 4 over its reception concerns.” Phew… sigh of relief. Not so fast however… After being able to replicate reception issues out in the real world CR has changed their tune. Actually it is a complete reversal as today CR emailed us and said– Consumer Reports engineers have…