News & Features | Gear Diary

News & Features May 19, 2015

LucidBrake Is Donating 20% of Smart Bike Break Sales to Help Fight HIV/AIDS

LucidBrake, the creators of the first smart wireless bike brake light announced today that they will be giving 20% of all pre-order sales of their LucidBrake wireless bike break light for HIV/AIDs awareness and research. Starting today, and finishing up in July, LucidBrake will donate 20% of every pre-order to AIDS/Lifecycle: Ride to End AIDS, the annual seven day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money and awareness of HIV/AIDS, which is held on May31st until June 6th this year. LucidBrake, the press-on wireless biking brake light, successfully completed their Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns earlier this…

News & Features May 19, 2015

Dlodlo Announces the World’s Lightest Virtual Reality Glasses

Dlodlo, the world’s leader in Virtual Reality products announced earlier this week their Dlodlo VR Glasses, the world’s lightest portable Virtual Reality Glasses. Upon first glance, the VR glasses aren’t what you’d expect out of a Judge Dredd movie. The fashionably designed, wireless, and super lightweight glasses are not only portable and comfortable (unlike their competitors), they actually do everything accurately. The 4 ounce glasses are four times lighter than standard VR headsets, and with the highest full HD 2k+ resolution, and the largest 110 degree field of view, the Virtual Reality glasses are a visual feast of stereoscopic…

Crowdfunding, News & Features May 19, 2015

MakerBloks Is a Kickstarter for Children Who May Want to Be Engineers

This week MakerBloks announced four new games, including a new iOS tablet app in attempts to get the new generation and today’s youth inspired to engage in STEM education. Founded in 2014, Makerbloks, has let over 40 million children in the United States be able to create, build, and design real electronic circuits, with little to no prior knowledge. I’m not even a child and to be honest with you, I might have to use this myself, haha. The color-coded, magnetic blocks will guide children through the basics of electronic circuits and it’s fun natured approach will keep kids immersed;…

News & Features May 18, 2015

AltspaceVR Launches Social Virtual Reality Platform in Public Beta

AltspaceVR is a social virtual reality platform that allows users to experience anything on the Internet with other users, no matter where they are through virtual reality. Within AltspaceVR, people can connect in virtual shared spaces and communicate verbally and with natural body language, just like you would in real life. Anyone can join the beta starting today!

Game Diary, News & Features May 14, 2015

Sandbox Action Game ‘Windward’ Set on the High Seas Arrives on PC

I still remember a decade ago when a friend convinced me to put down money for Sid Meier’s Pirates! I’d never played the original or any other game in the genre – yet I instantly fell in love. So when I heard about Windward, which takes things to the next level, I was thrilled. Now Windward is out on Steam!

News & Features May 14, 2015

LG’s G Stylo Smartphone Available Now Through Boost Mobile; Sprint in June

Not everyone wants to pay an arm and a leg for a smartphone. Or you simply just want your phone to work directly out of the box, regardless of carrier. If you are one of those people, you should be checking out the LG G Stylo, which is a budget smartphone that is sure to meet your needs.

Music Diary, News & Features May 13, 2015

Marco Minnemann Readies Celebration, His New Solo Tour-de-Force!

Last fall I reviewed Marco Minnemann’s excellent solo album Eeps. I called it ‘musician’s music’, “that is technically insane and that you will listen to again and again to absorb the details of what they are playing and how they are putting it together”. Now he is back with Celebration out June 1st, and it sounds awesome so far!

News & Features May 12, 2015

Verizon Communications Inc. Buying AOL Inc for 4.4 Billion in Cash

It was bound to happen. Yes, at some point we all expected a media giant to buy the once powerful AOL. That media giant is Verizon Communications Inc. and they will be buying AOL for “just” $4.4 billion. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the deal is, “aimed at advancing the telecom giant’s growth ambitions in mobile video and advertising.”

Editorials, News & Features May 11, 2015

Lolli-Flop 5.02 Bricked My Over-Priced Nexus 9

Friday I received notification that Android 5.02 was available for my Nexus 9. I accepted the update and left it on the charger in my office before leaving for the weekend. Upon my return Monday morning, I found that update 5.02 has apparently bricked my Nexus 9, leaving it in perpetual reboot sequence, and it doesn’t look like I’m alone.

Crowdfunding, News & Features May 9, 2015

Keep Your Earbuds NEET and Tangle Free with This Cable Keeper

There’s nothing worse than having tangled headphones. And regardless of what anyone tells you, tangle-free doesn’t work 100% of the time either. So when Peter Chin launched the NEET Cable Keeper Go, a solution to tangled earbuds through Kickstarter, we had to take a glance.

News & Features May 8, 2015

CNBC Attempts to Tackle the Economics of Unbundling Cable

We have the “cut the cable or don’t cut the cable” debate in my house every few months. In the end our bundled cable still seems like a better deal because there’s a few networks we use regularly.

News & Features May 6, 2015

Nebraska Woman Sues All Gays on Behalf of God

Apparently I’m being sued. So are my lawyers. And several of my college friends, roommates, acquaintances, and even complete strangers. Why are we all being sued, you ask? A Nebraska woman who claims she is personally representing God and Jesus has asked the court to rule on whether or not homosexuality is a sin, so all homosexuals are apparently defendants.

Crowdfunding, News & Features May 5, 2015

Designed by M’s Superb New NFTY PL+S Power Bank is up on IndieGoGo Today

The folks from designed by M are back at it again with their NFTY PL+S all-in-one portable battery charging solution. It will be able to charge up to 4 USB devices at a time and can be charged itself via an AC outlet, your car’s cigarette lighter, or your computer’s USB port. Early birds can pledge $55 to snag one.

News & Features May 5, 2015

Viral Fame Turns on Boston Marathon Runner Turned Parental Schooling Hero

You may have seen the viral letter from a dad whose kids skipped school so they could watch him run the Boston Marathon. The school sent a “this was an unexcused absence” form letter, and the dad fired off a passionate letter explaining why his kids learned more from Boston than in school. They may have also learned to cheat.

News & Features May 3, 2015

How to Get a $12,000 Gold Apple Watch Edition for Only $400

Let’s be honest. Not all of us have $12,000 to purchase a gold Apple Watch, and to be quite honest with you, spray painting it faux gold doesn’t make it look any more luxurious. But thanks to a company named WatchPlate, you can have yourself a Gold Apple Watch for $400.

News & Features May 1, 2015

Tensio’s Apple Watch App Helps Manage Your Blood Pressure

You’ve probably read hundreds of articles about the Apple Watch this week, and the companion apps for them, as there are now over 3000 that are compatible for the popular smartwatch, but the Tensio app for Apple’s wrist wear is in a class all its own; it helps you manage your blood pressure.

News & Features May 1, 2015

Will Tesla’s Powerwall Really Change the World?

We’ve heard it before: product X will change the world. We heard it about the Segway and the iPhone. Rarely does a new product really change the world. The iPhone changed what we thought about phones. Now Tesla and their new battery called the Powerwall is supposed to change how we use power. Will it really? I don’t think so.

News & Features April 30, 2015

Stratos Card Becomes the First All-in-One Connected Card to Ship

The Stratos Card has officially become the first all-in-one credit card solution to ship. The industry’s first membership-based connected card combines credit, debit, membership, gift, and other magnetic stripe cards into one digital device. The Stratos Card offers bank-level security and contains a proprietary Dual Stripe technology to ensure universal acceptance. Stratos Card membership starts at $95 per year.

News & Features April 29, 2015

Alcatel’s Pop Astro Will Be Available Via T-Mobile Starting Today

This morning Alcatel OneTouch announced one of the most affordable LTE smartphones to date in the POP Astro. Interestingly named, the POP Astro will be exclusive to T-Mobile stores, and will be available online today for $0 down, and $6.24 over the course of two years, which is less that $150.

News & Features April 28, 2015

The LG G4 Is Leather-Bound, and It Might Just Smell Like Rich Mahogany

Now it’s no secret, thanks to weeks of leaked images and much speculation, the time has finally arrived. LG’s new flagship smartphone, the LG G4 has finally arrived.

Crowdfunding, News & Features April 28, 2015

SpiderPro Hand Strap Camera-Carrying Accessory Is Now Available

The SpiderPro Hand Strap is an ingenious way to secure your expensive camera while shooting. It rests comfortably around your hand, allows for quick and easy access to your camera, and allows you to access controls on both the back and front of the camera without taking your hand out. The SpiderPro Hand Strap is now available for $65.