Reviews

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes Nintendo DS Game Review

When someone introduces a new game for a new platform by a new developer in a totally unrelated genre with a familiar name, most fans of the original feel that it is likely someone is trying to cash in by attaching a familiar name to a mediocre game. The Might & Magic franchise has seen both sides of this: the most recent addition to the Heroes of Might & Magic franchise is the best in years, but the promising but mediocre action game ‘Dark Messiah Might & Magic’ from 2006 had no reason for a franchise attachment. Might & Magic…

Reviews

The Turbo Snake: Gear Diary’s Own Deal or Dud

One of the local Philadelphia news channels has a weekly segment called “Deal or Dud” where they put a product or service to the test to see if it actually lives up to its claims. A few weeks ago they featured the “Turbo Snake.” What is the Turbo Snake? Straight from the manufacturer: Introducing Turbo Snake™ – the quick & easy way to clear slow-moving or clogged drains! Simply glide Turbo Snake™ down the drain, twirl, then pull out – Turbo Snake’s™ specially designed head grabs & locks onto hair clogs to remove and free the drain instantly! It’s that…

Reviews

Review: Qstarz BT-Q1000eX Xtreme Recorder

For those who do not know what a GPS Data Logger is, it essentially is a GPS that usually has a sole purpose: to keep track not of where you are, but where you have been. Qstarz has been hard at work trying to improve upon the BT-Q1000x and has brought out the BT-Q1000eX Xtreme Recorder. What is different about this GPS logger and what makes it Xtreme? Let’s find out.

Game Diary, Reviews

Torect Free for iPhone/Touch

As more and more of my students get iPhones, they become a greater source of apps. At first, they asked me about games and apps they should get but now they are slowly beginning to share their findings with me. Last week I walked into my second period American History class with four students standing at my desk. They excitedly told me I must download Torect Free on my phone. They explained that all of them were highly addicted to the puzzle game. One of the young men handed me his phone and said he was stumped. I solved the…

Reviews

Hookette with a Twist Purse Hook Review

Photo courtesy of The Purse Hook website Over the past few years, I have fallen in love with higher-end leather goods, specifically pretty (and functional!) purses and bags. I’ve always been a bit of a purse girl, but I eventually realized that buying one or two nice leather bags a year makes much more sense for me than buying a lot of bags that fall apart on me within 3 to 6 months of carrying them every day. I started collecting Coach bags one Christmas when I got a particularly nice bonus from work, and it all slid downhill from…

Reviews

Review: Sandisk SlotRadio+ Billboard Hits

Some companies continue to try to find a way to replace audio CD’s in brick and mortar stores like Wal-Mart. For most of the Gear Diary staff, digital downloads via iTunes Music store, Amazon MP3 Store or the Zune store have all but replaced audio CD’s. What could be easier than downloading a MP3 and putting it on your player? SanDisk is trying again to do this with SlotRadio+. SlotRadio+ is basically very similar to SlotRadio, but not only has 1000 music tracks on it, it also has 4 Gigs of storage for your own music. This sounds pretty cool…

eBooks, Reviews

eBook Reading Options for Android

So you bought a shiny new Android phone or tablet, and now it’s on to the important stuff: How can you read your books on it? Admittedly, there aren’t the same number of ebook options for Android as there are for the iPhone, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a decent selection of options! Rather than review each one individually, I thought it might be best to do a roundup/quick overview of the major readers available. There are several ePUB readers, and several apps use the same or overlapping sources for the books you can download in-app, so I’m…

Reviews

Dacha Works Module SmartCase for iPhone 3G and 3Gs Review

Often times case manufacturers work hard at creating cases that look great but in doing so sacrifice how the cases feels when held in your hand. Ergonomics play a key role in keeping you comfortable while sitting at your desk, on your computer. The Module SmartCase from Dacha Works seeks to create the same level of comfort for your hand while it’s using your iPhone. Dacha Works claims the Module SmartCase is the first all-purpose iPhone case to proactively augment the iPhone form factor to greatly improve the user experience. How did it work out for me? Click on through…

Reviews

Review: Monster Cable Outlets to Go with USB

After going to many conferences for my day job, one thing I have always stuffed in my bag has been a power strip. As any geek knows, there is rarely enough outlets in the hotel room where you need them. Plus most power strips have all the outlets arranged such that you can’t plug to wall warts side by side. Well, Outlets to Go from Monster Cable is something I’ve always wanted. It gives you a power strip with built-in cord management. Plus a little surprise I will get to later.

Reviews

Review: Wii Pedestal Base

Sometimes a product does not have to be complex to be great. Little nifty things like the 3 beads on the Zagg Smartbuds Dan just reviewed. It seems so simple, but makes a world of difference in its use. Is the Wii Pedestal Base one of these products? Let’s find out.

Reviews

Easy Note+Todo for Android Review

Android does not come with even a basic notes application. Luckily there are services like Evernote available, but sometimes you need a local notes application (rather than a cloud based one). That’s where Easy Note+Todo steps up. Can it replace a notes app and a to-do list? Read on and find out!

Display Link USB 2.0 Review: Lets You Share Monitors and Support a Resolution Up To 2048x1152

Reviews

Display Link USB 2.0 Review: Lets You Share Monitors and Support a Resolution Up To 2048×1152

Yesterday, I showed off the HP USB 2.0 Docking Station. It’s great for easily connecting your computer to all those peripherals (printer, external monitor, etc). Today, I’m taking a close look at the Display Link USB 2.0 display adapter. So “What’s a display adapter?” you ask. If you need to share your monitor through multiple displays, or you find yourself not needing a docking station but simply a way to put your netbook or laptop’s screen on a larger monitor, then I’d say the Display link adapter is for you. What’s great about this little device is that it supports…

Reviews

ZAGGsmartbuds – Review

A few months ago I found myself a little bit short in the headphones department. I had given away most of the headphones I had used and reviewed and one of the two pair that I tended to use on a daily basis broke. I mentioned this to Judie and she was kind enough to send me a pair of ZAGG Z.buds that she had reviewed some time ago. When the headphones arrived I was rather impressed. The design was excellent. The heavy-duty, tangle free cord was longer than normal. It included an inline microphone and a volume control and…

Reviews

PDAir’s Aluminum Case Increases the Droid’s Geek Factor Review

After several years of mobile device designs trending toward smooth, curving lines and symmetrical shapes, the Motorola Droid stands out. Sure, you’ll see lots of non-geeks carrying it, but from the angular design of the device itself to the style of the commercials Verizon developed to sell it, it’s clear that the Droid is intended to appeal to the technologically inclined. So, how does one take a geeky device like the Droid and amp the geek factor? You slap a metal case on it, that’s how.

Reviews

Review: Altego Clear Laptop Sleeve

Some people decorate and adorn their laptops with stickers or Gelaskins. Sometimes you can buy a laptop that comes with a design on the back of the LCD that just begs to be shown off all the time even when it’s in the case. That is exactly what the Altego Laptop Sleeve was made for.

Reviews

The TruePower iV Pro 3100mAh Extended Battery for iPod touch and iPhone Review

Reading, surfing, watching movies, listening to music — these are all activities that I enjoy doing on my iPhone; when I do them I usually have a rough idea of what type of battery life I should be able to expect, and it helps that I can watch the battery icon. However, I’ve recently discovered a game that has singlehandedly wiped out my iPhone’s battery more quickly than anything I have ever seen: Plants vs. Zombies (reviewed by Michael here). You can’t watch the clock or the battery icon when playing PvZ, which usually means that you’ll play much longer…

Reviews

Rediscovering The Music of My Youth With Slacker Radio

I came of age during the 1980s, a period marked in large part by the 2nd British invasion. Moreover, I spent 18 months of the early part of the decade living in the mid-east. While there I was exposed to even more British New Wave/Post Punk as that was largely the music on the radio in Israel at the time. To my mind it remains the best period in music and, thanks to Slacker Radio, I’ve been reexperiencing much of it. Online radio is pretty awesome and two of the major players are Slacker or Pandora. For a time I…

Reviews

HP USB 2.0 Docking Station Review

One of the things I’ve usually taken for granted is how much of a difference a quality docking station makes in my daily computer use. Sure, I have a laptop and (now) a netbook for my “regular” job. Working with a netbook provides additional mobility with a lighter machine to lug around for the daily grind, but it can be a challenge during extended periods of time (read: 12-16 hours of work at times to meet deadlines). A decent external monitor certainly helps, but needing to manually plug-in every peripheral item is an unnecessary task when you have a docking…

Reviews

Case-Mate PWND Case for iPhone 3G/3Gs Review

If we believe what Steve Jobs tells us (that argument’s meant for a whole different discussion) the Apple iPhone OS is an built to be one of the best operating systems for gaming. Any look at the sheer abundance of games in the iTunes App Store and you might just have to agree. Do you do a lot of gaming on your iPhone 3G or 3Gs? If you answered yes, you’ll appreciate the Case-Mate PWND case. It’s a silicone case that has severely reinforced corners which make it resemble a gaming console remote control. When playing games that rely heavily…

Reviews

Verizon Shell/Holster for Motorola Droid Review

I hate cases for my phones. I tend to forget this however and buy them anyway. In 10+ years of owning cell phones, I think I’ve used one case for more than a few weeks (an Agent 18 ecoShield for the original iPhone). At the same time, I really love my Moto Droid and thought it would be prudent to have a case for it…so I did my research and discovered there were very few exciting options out there. A few Verizon branded cases did catch my eye and after a field trip to my local store I picked up…

Game Diary, Reviews

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (2002, FPS): The Netbook Gamer

Since I have already expressed my love for the original Star Wars Jedi Knight and the Mysteries of the Sith expansion, it is only fitting that I move on to the sequel! Don’t worry, I will return to Dark Forces soon enough and have also recently completed Jedi Academy … so soon I’ll have reviewed the entire Kyle Katarn saga on the netbook for you! But for now, let’s look at Jedi Knight II.

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