Gear Bits | Gear Diary

Apple’s Ping to Cease Operation Sept 30 in Case You Care … Which You Don’t

I was too busy with actual work to get to see the Apple iPhone event this year, so when I heard that Ping was ceasing operations on September 30th through an email … I just assumed it was one of those Apple ‘shutdown in 7 days’ things like we got for iWork and MobileMe and so on. Turns out it was a link from Macworld , and cited a bunch of sources noting that if you head to Apple’s Ping site … well, you can’t because you get redirected. But if you click on Ping in iTunes, you get the…

Gear Bits

The ’90s Live on … in My Attic

We have been cleaning out our attic, and found this piece of “once-cutting edge technology”. Yes, Sarah’s ruggedized CD player was her prized possession in the ’90’s…and while it was no doubt super-cool at the time, it’s amazing that we once carried these around happily. Even old school cassette players were less cumbersome! The next time a phone, or a rugged case, feels too big…just remember how big an old school portable CD player used to be…that will make your Otterbox Defender look downright svelte in comparison! We found some other cool stuff in our attic, including a Sega Genesis…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013, a Video Quick Look

I’m not big into killing things so hunting – not for me. That being said, I do like a good shooting game. (I mean, the Hit Man franchise?!?! Awesome!) I got to see Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013 the other night, and it is pretty amazing. The game has unbelievable graphics, a nice physical rifle to aim and shoot and the addition of heart rate monitors built into the gun itself. Activision’s Press Release puts it this way –“Prepare for a wildly exciting and heart-stopping hunt that challenges gamers like never before!” The impact of the heart rate monitoring is part…

Gear Bits

The Kindle Fire HD, a Gear Diary Video Chat

iPad-junkies Mike and Dan both purchased the 16GB version of the 7″ Kindle Fire HD. Dan got his on release day, Mike the following Monday; unlike with the Google Nexus 7 there is no attempt to use ONLY the Kindle Fire as a ‘daily driver’. Following on with their Nexus 7 chat Dan and Mike jumped on video to talk about the Fire, the Amazon ecosystem and how two devoted iPad-users are finding the newest Android tablet. Let us know what you think about the Kindle Fire HD, and about our video!

Gear Bits

iPhone 5 Plus AT&T MicroCell Equals… a Quiet Afternoon (and not in a good way) UPDATED

Meet my iPhone 5 lock screen. Now take a close look… See the ATT Microcell symbol at the top? No? Me either and that’s a problem. You see, I live in rural Texas where there is no AT&T cell reception without the help of a signal booster. Oh, no, sorry, I got that wrong. I live in SUBURBAN NEW JERSEY WHERE THERE IS NO AT&T RECEPTION WITHOUT THE HELP OF A MICROCELL. And guess what? The microcell doesn’t work with my new iPhone right now. And those two bars you see? That’s actually the best reception I’ve gotten, and that…

Game Diary, Gear Bits

iOS Hit “Subway Surfers” Launches on Android

Need a new game to waste all your time at work? Here you go. Meet Subway Surfers, a colorful, free-to-play, action game. The iOS version, developed by Kiloo Games, has garnered over 25 million players. Now it’s time for Android users to get in on the fun. Did I mention it’s free? At its core, Subway Surfers is an infinite-runner with a graffiti-inspired look and cartoon aesthetic. The gameplay revolves around switching between three train-tracks while avoiding obstacles and collecting coins. You swipe the touch screen to jump, roll, and switch between tracks. It might sound boring, but like…

Gear Bits

New iPhone? It Deserves a Bodyguardz

If you got a new iPhone today you know it is Apple’s best iPhone ever. you also know you are going to take it with you everywhere you go. That means it needs, and deserves, good protection. One of our favorite ways to protect iPhone (and laptops. iPads and Kindles and… you get the idea) come from Bodyguardz. Judie and I love their Armor series, and their screen protectors are pretty great too. Better still, starting in October they will be offering tempered glass protectors. The company is already shipping a number of options for iPhone 5 protection. You can…

Gear Bits

Cygnett WorkMate iPhone 5 Drop Test Review

When I met with Cygnett last night, the reps kept looking at their phones. Why? Because they were waiting for a colleague in Australia to shoot them a video of the first Cygnett iPhone 5 case drop test. They were also waiting to see a video of the first broken iPhone 5. You see, the iPhone 5 was already available in Australia, and they were shooting a drop test with a naked iPhone 5 and then again with one wrapped in the Cygnett WorkMate iPhone 5 case. They unpacked the first iPhone 5. Held it high… And let it go….

Gear Bits

Love Music? Sony’s BDV-E390 Blu-ray Disc Home Theater System with WiFi is Worth Checking Out

I love my speaker docks and enjoy using them. I love (LOVE) using my Sonos system too. But while the docks give awesome portability they often offer limited audio quality volume. And while the Sonos system give big sound, with each room costing a minimum of $299, it is a pricey proposition. Sony’s BDV-E390 Blu-ray Disc Home Theater System with WiFi, on the other hand, offers big sound at an amazingly low price. The system offers five speakers, one subwoofer and one 3D disc player. The specs look like this… 1000W(167Wx5+165W)5.1ch 3D Blu-ray Disc™ Theater System Built-in Wi-Fi® to stream movies,…

Gear Bits

Gear Diary’s Grumpy Old Man on Why He’s Getting the iPhone 5

Gear Diary’s own “Grumpy Old Man” (aka Mark Hager, aka my awesome father-in-law) is getting an iPhone 5. Thing is, Mark’s daughter (my wife Elana) and wife (Debbie) are both fine with the iPhone 4S, and THEY are far more likely to take advantage of the speed the iPhone 5 will offer. So why is Mark (a troglodyte) getting the iPhone 5? I ambushed him while he was grilling, and I asked…

Gear Bits

“Walk this Way” in a Run Tee MC T-Shirt

A number of (many) years ago I needed to create a new email address. I initially thought about using rabbidanielmcohen@ but that seemed a bit long. At the time one of my “kids” (now well into her college career) had taken to calling me “Rabs”. It was kinda cute, and I ended up using the email address of rabbidmc@. It was some time before the first person told me that, at first, they thought my email address was rundmc but by that time too many people had, and were using, the address. It stuck. I guess that’s why an email…

Gear Bits

Pocket Informant Saves My Day

Ever have just “one of those weeks”? I have been having one. Between several work commitments, service appointments at my home, and some family and friend obligations, it has been a week of juggling appointments and rearranging schedules. Unfortunately, this week also highlighted my biggest complaint about iOS: iCal. I can’t stand that my only options are list, day and month. The lack of integration with tasks is also a pain. A busy schedule only highlighted these limitations, and made me realize it was time to bite the bullet and find a better option. Luckily for me, the good folks…

Gear Bits, News & Features, Outdoors

Emergency Cell-Phone Lasts 10 Hours On A Single ‘AA’ Battery

Picture yourself stranded alone during a hurricane. The rain pelts the windows with oppressive vigor. A howling wind lifts lawn chairs off the patio. You reach into your pocket and grab your smart-phone. You’ve never been more desperate to check your twitter feed, but the battery’s already down to 5%. Four minutes later, that one tough level of Angry Birds: Space finally kills the phone. Out of nowhere, an enormous tree branch crashes through the living room window. You try to call for help, but you left your charger in the hotel room back in Atlanta. What’s the solution? XPAL…

Gear Bits

Buying Local Matters, and Not Only When Talking About Food

There is a growing movement within “foodie circles” to buy locally grown food. After all, food grown nearby not only supports small, local farms but, since it doesn’t require transporting it significant distances, it adds less pollutants into the environment too. But just as there is a benefit to buying locally when it comes to food, so too is there a case to be made for patronizing local businesses. Think about it, if local residents don’t patronize a business downtown who will? I recently purchased a new radio (I will be reviewing it soon), and it led me to think about my shopping…

Gear Bits

Please Make it STOP! Trailer for the ‘Official Sequel’ to ‘A Christmas Story’

For ages now, a tradition in our family has been watching our DVD (and VHS before that) of ‘A Christmas Story’, the beloved 1983 story of Ralphie Parker based on semi-fictional recollections from Jean Shepard of his youth. It is one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ movies that was not much of a hit at theaters but gained tremendously over time – much like the original (I say, only) ‘Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’. While I am not one to say something is going to ‘ruin my memories’, or that a crappy sequel or remake can destroy my…

Gear Bits, Music Diary

For John Cage’s Centenary, Enjoy the ‘Prepared Piano’ App

If you have heard of John Cage, chances are it is in reference to either his piece “4’33” or his “Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano“. The CD recording of Prepared Piano I have is an out of print Denon release featuring Yuji Takahashi, but the Berman version is excellent as well. The brilliant “4?33?” speaks directly to the way Cage saw music in the world – the piece is for any instrument and is based on the I Ching and the concept of chance. The instrumentalist is not to play the instrument during the performance. I saw it performed…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Motorola Adds Three New Razr Smartphones on Verizon!

Yesterday was a smartphone lovers delight, to be sure. Piling on earlier announcements from other companies, Motorola had an event where they announced three cool looking new smartphones to add to their wildly popular Razr line-up. They updated the Droid Razr with Here are the basics: • DROID RAZR M: An impossibly compact smartphone that puts the world in the palm of your hand. A 4.3 inch edge-to-edge Super AMOLED Advanced offers 40 percent more screen space then the leading competitor. • DROID RAZR HD: This ultra-thin device shows you everything in stunning HD detail that beats the competition. Movies,…

Gear Bits

Can You Name All 9 Supreme Court Justices? Welcome to the 1%!

Looking at the image above is a rather depressing statement of the reality of our lack of knowledge of our own political systems. Every day on Facebook, Twitter and more you see people all fired up about ‘ObamaCare’, ‘legitimate rape’, or whatever the hot buzzword of the day happens to be. Yet how many of these people know much of anything about the political systems they rant and rave about? How many can name the Vice President? Our election process? The number of Senators? The names of your own Senators and Representative – and those going to your state assembly…

Gear Bits

Despite Mega-Blockbusters, 2012 is Worst Movie Summer in Two Decades!

If you think in numbers like I do, you might have looked at the movies of this summer, including the record-smashing ‘The Avengers’ and mega-blockbuster ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and assumed that the high numbers from those and other popular movies such as ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ and ‘Brave’ would be enough to produce a highly successful summer. You would be wrong. According to the Hollywood Reporter: The number of people going to the movies dipped noticeably in North America this summer, putting increased pressure on the final four months of 2012 to bolster the bottom line. According to preliminary estimates,…

Gear Bits

Get Your Marathon Time Estimated by Paul Ryan!

Every election cycle contains mis-statements and gaffes and other things that would be trivial for most folks … but in a campaign become serious fodder for one side and spin-control for the other. Recently we had one from Republican VP candidate Paul Ryan, who mis-spoke about his marathon time. Here is a bit from RunnersWorld: Ryan had said in a radio interview last week that his personal best was “Under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something.” RunnersWorld hooked into the comment because completing so quickly would require running sub-7 minute miles for 26.2 miles – and…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Amazon Deal with Epix Brings Thor, Iron Man 2 and More to Prime Instant Videos!

As a member of Amazon Prime, I absolutely love the Prime Instant Video collection, finding it has a great selection that just keeps growing and growing in terms of the depth and breadth of movie and TV offerings. But there is always room for more – so I was thrilled this morning to hit the Amazon home page and see not one but TWO new deals: a movie deal with Epix and a TV deal with NBC Universal. From the Amazon home page, here is what they say about Epix: Great news for Amazon Prime members—we’ve just signed two big…