Habitat for Humanity‘s vision is “a world where everyone has a decent place to live”, and in one Detroit neighborhood, they have really made a difference. Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and I recently test drove a 2014 Ford F-150 while delivering wood to be used on the 100th Habitat home being built in one Detroit neighborhood. That’s community in action!
We’ll be posting the news as it rolls in. While we do we want to know what YOU think! Do you like what you see coming from Cupertino this fall? Are you disappointed? Did Apple nail it or miss an opportunity? Do their prices make sense? We want to know what you think in the comments.
The first Kia Soul model was sold in 2010. Since then, the Soul has become a favorite of everyone from urban dwellers looking for a fuel-efficient compact with personality, to those who appreciate its low profile with easy trunk and rider access. 2014 brings its first major redesign since 2010, and it quite the transformation. The Soul is known for its funky boxy design; Kia’s priority was to stay true to that while making their 2014 model unique and special but obviously evolved. They succeeded. The 2014 Kia has improved dynamics; it draws inspiration from a wild boar, as seen by its…
Apple’s September Event will arrive shortly. As it unfolds we will share as much of the news and as many images as possible. We’ll add some commentary along the way, but we invite and encourage you to comment on this post once the news starts to roll in. To get the latest news starting at 1pm EST, just refresh your browser. Photo Credit via The Verge The Event began with a welcome and a focus on the iTunes Festival. (I’ve watched a few concerts and they are pretty great!) Apple Retail Update: Big moves outside the US. More stores. Enlarged…
If you have been keeping up with Dan’s and my eBay posts and the massive contest connected to the products we’ve reviewed, then you know that eBay has been in the process of launching their now-live site, My Gadgets, where users can “easily catalog their tech collections and see the current value of each of their tech items.” My Gadgets helps users organize and save all of their gadgets and tech items in a single location; the idea is to make it easy for users to “view the individual and collective values” of their items, “based on eBay’s unique data on current sales…
As I mentioned in a brief post the other day, last week I had the opportunity to travel to south-western Pennsylvania to stay at the Nemocolin Woodlands Resort and see, and drive, the 2014 Toyota Tundra and 2014 Toyota 4Runner. The resort was amazing and served as a terrific backdrop for getting to know the new Tundra and 4Runner. What follows is a brief description of our day along with some details on two lines of trucks that — spoiler alert — impressed the heck out of me. A bit of background. On farms throughout America, pickup trucks are like a member…
During this week’s Press Preview of the 2014 Toyota Tundra and 2014 Toyota 4Runner, we had a chance to spend some “quality time” in different models of each truck. And while we spent some time with the trucks on nicely paved roads, we also had a chance to go off-road with both vehicles. The event took place on the grounds of the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, PA, a gorgeous resort set on 2,000 wooded acres in the Laurel Highlands of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Here’s a small taste of what it was like off-road in the 4Runner. Toyota had a series…
Get ready for a musical tour like no other as powerful video game musical scores combine with professional theatrics, visuals and orchestral arrangements in the upcoming “rePLAY” tour. The “rePLAY” tour will visit select cities in the United States and dates for this highly anticipated tour will be announced this fall. Visit www.replay-symphony.com for tour dates, updates, breaking news, and more. “rePLAY” will be the spiritual successor to “PLAY! A Video Game Symphony.” In 2006, executive producer Jason Michael Paul created “PLAY! A Video Game Symphony”, based on his previous “Dear Friends” tour, which both featured live orchestra performances with music and video from…
At GearFest 2013, Judie, Mike, Carly, and I sat down with a number of Bluetooth speakers to do a blind test listening to two pieces of music Travis had put together. (Thanks for jumping in to help us Coach!) With Mike’s wife Lisa helping us out (and offering up a few dance moves at the beginning of the video), we listened to six different Bluetooth speakers that have previously been reviewed here on the site. The speakers included: The JBL FLIP (Read the review) The MiPow Boom (Read the review) The Jabra Solemate (Read the review.) The Braven 600 (Check…
This year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at the Los Angeles Convention Center (June 11 through 13) featured endless announcements about highly anticipated gaming entertainment, which hopes to increase the video game market’s size and profitability later this year…just in time for the holidays. While there we saw numerous presentations and got to see an assortment of new and upcoming hardware. As mentioned in Michael Anderson’s recent article regarding the PC role in console gaming, both are important. Nintendo got even more added control by not issuing a live presentation yet enjoying their regular “booth” presence at the show. Microsoft and Sony…
All eyes were on Sony last night to see how they would counter Microsoft’s earlier presentation, particularly regarding the new PlayStation 4 console versus the Xbox One. Sony began their presentation with the usual pomp and circumstance to get the crowd pumped up then concentrated on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita (125 games and counting since its launch). Game announcements for the PlayStation Vita, the “companion for PS4”, included a remaster God of War HD 1 & 2, Final Fantasy 10 and 10-2, Flower, Dead Nation. Other upcoming PlayStation Vita titles include:
Now to concentrate on the main content at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) – the games! Microsoft has plenty of new Xbox One launch games coming before the end of the year including Ryse, the racing sequel Forza Motorsport 5 and Quantum Break, a sci-fi action game that will release at the same time as the television series. Sony will have their PlayStation 4 launch games in full force including the racing game sequel Gran Turismo 6, action shooter Killzone: Shadow Fall (set 30 years after Killzone 3), the action adventure filled Knack featuring an advanced robot as the…
Nintendo concentrated on boosting their game library, especially for the Wii U console and handheld 3DS console, in their annual E3 presentation (pre-recorded) this year (they still have their regular large display area). Players can get their own taste of E3 by taking advantage of Nintendo’s partnership with Best Buy. Select stores will off advanced playable demo versions of Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD and Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze on Wednesday, June 12 at 4-8 p.m. local times and 1-5 p.m. local time on Saturday, June 15.
Apple WWDC Developer Conference is THE media event of the spring for Apple fanboys and girls everywhere. It is usually the place we get our first look at the next versions of iOS and OS X but, more than that, it is the event that reveals Apple’s overall direction for their products. At times there are also some hardware announcements. And, while this is more geared to developers, the fact that the Apple Store online is currently down indicates that there will be some new hardware revealed. We have been careful not to speculate and quote rumors but serious…
One experience I have yet to share about ham radio is the experience of the Ham Fest. A Ham Fest is not where you go and eat ham with your fellow radio operators. It is a conference where you can go to learn about the rigs, get training, and buy things! Think CES combined with a state fair, and you’d have it half-right. There is no better hamfest out there, in my opinion than the one, the only, the Dayton Hamvention. A Little History The Hamvention came to being in 1952, when the Dayton Amateur Radio Association in Dayton, Ohio…
Last week I was invited to test drive the 2014 Kia Cadenza along with a small group of other bloggers and auto journalists. The location Kia chose couldn’t have been more beautiful; we arrived in San Diego on Wednesday afternoon and took a short ride 20 miles north to Del Mar, an oceanside resort town. We stayed at the L’Auberge Del Mar, a 120 room boutique hotel on a hill overlooking the ocean. Our views were spectacular. I heard repeated apologies from Southern Californians for the “May Gray” (overcast skies) we were experiencing, which made me laugh; I was steps from…
For the second year, April 30th is International Jazz Day – and to celebrate there is a large celebration concert! With the success of last year the event has grown incredibly to be a major happening. This year the concert is taking place in Istanbul and you can actually live stream the event! The site is hosted on YouTube, and will be streaming beginning at 9pm/Istanbul, 7pm/London 2pm/New York and 4am(May 1) Sydney. For those who can’t make the event, it will repeat a few hours later. The spokesman of the event is UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and Thelonious Monk Institute…
Yes, I know it’s been over for a few weeks now, but I still have some South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) notes about some interesting stuff that I encountered there that I would like to share with you all, so I hope you don’t mind. Note to Readers: This post discusses topics related to adult industries, and specifically the sex worker sector. If this type subject matter offends you, please skip this post. Thanks! One of the simultaneous joys and frustrations of SXSWi — which I discussed a little bit elsewhere — is that there are so many more talks…
Chevy Volt, loaned to me for the week of South by Southwest Interactive for review purposes When it comes to car reviews, Gear Diary has some experienced people to check things out for you. But this time, neither our intrepid (and superlative) car reviewer David Goodspeed — and how excellent is that a name for a car reviewer, right? “Goodspeed”? Awesome! — nor our fearless lead editor, Judie (who has done car reviews before as well), could attend South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) this year. On the other hand, ol’ Doug lives in Austin. So I got the chance, for the…
As I had written previously, the folks at Hyundai took a group of ‘social bloggers’ to Park City, UT last August to introduce the new 2013 Santa Fe Sport. My review was highly favorable, but what was missing for me was the full-sized Santa Fe 6/7 passenger model – Hyundai teased that model, but we weren’t allowed to take pictures, get in or even touch the pre-production model they brought. However, they told us that once it was ready to launch we would be able to get a hands-on look. This weekend the made good on that promise, as Hyundai…
As South by Southwest Interactive (henceforth: SXSWi) approached I found myself a bit overwhelmed by all the choices of talks, panels, hangouts, meetups, and God only knows what else. As an Austin resident, I didn’t feel the need to over-indulge on Sixth Street’s entertainment venues — I can do it any time — so I tried to concentrate on talks and events that I though I would find interesting, and you all would find interesting. I got a clunker or two, but in the main I did okay. Even with the overwhelming choices available, there was one person who I was…