About MY Gear

Apple’s Achilles Heel Revealed

If you have wondered if Apple has an Achilles’ heel you might want to check out a new post over on Gizmodo. It makes clear that there is one and if goes by the name “expectations”. People have come to expect SO much from Apple each and every time they release a new device that there is Simply No Way, Apple can keep pace. That seems to be the case with the Gizmodo crew’s initial reaction to the new iPad. There doesn’t seem to be anything that is making them go “wow”. It is also interesting to see Gizmodo’s behind…


The Wilson Electronics AG Pro 75 Was Worth the Upgrade

It’s no secret that if you live or work in an area that isn’t in the middle of a strong cellular coverage zone, your mobile phone signal is going to suffer. That’s one of the things I knew I would have to deal with when I moved to the ranch, but I wasn’t about to let it be the deciding factor.


Seeing Past the Roadblock of Technology

I’m a tech guy.  I’m in a tech-related job and I love tech and gadgets and all the good things they bring to life.  But sometimes, just sometimes, technology gets in the way.  Sometimes we find ourselves unable to see past it and unable to function without it.  And sometimes that causes us to fail to see the real problem.  I was thinking about that a lot as I ran into exactly that kind of problem this weekend, and it reminded me of another, similar incident from a few years ago.  So here are some of the things that happen…


What Do You Do When the Internet Is Down?

I’m not going to lie — this looks more like the way I behave than I’d care to admit; okay, minus the crying in the mirror part. My family can tell you that when I am trying to edit or write and the internet goes down, I am an absolute pain in the butt to be around; grumpy and moody and prone to random curse word outbursts. It’s not pretty. I’m almost as bad when our WiMax internet service is hiccuping and slower than usual. Anymore, I try to leave and go on a long hike when this happens, but sometimes ……


Should We Stay or Will We Go with Windows Phone?

Dan: This is the fourth and final part of our look at Windows Phone and the HTC Titan. In Considering the Move from an iPhone 4S to Windows Phone Titan, we talked a bit about the operating system and its history. In Comparing the iPhone 4s Hardware to the HTC Titan and Dipping into the Windows Phone User Interface, we addressed the user interface and some of Windows Phone’s key features. In Checking Out Windows Phone Speed, Apps, Camera, Music Player and Games, we looked more closely at the applications that we are using as well as the camera and a few additional aspects of the…


Tales from the Apple Store

(image courtesy Macrumors) The other day Judie and I were in Manhattan for the Dell/Intel create work inspired event and we decided that we needed to make a pilgrimage to the Apple Store at Grand Central Station. If you have not been there you should make a point of stopping in the next time you are in Manhattan. The place is amazing. To have such grand open spaces as the terminal and then to have the Apple store fill in the different rooms on the balcony is nothing short of impressive. Traditional grandeur filled with the most innovative new technology –…


Checking Out Windows Phone Speed, Apps, Camera, Music Player and Games

Judie: Our saga began when Dan and I received HTC Titans at a Microsoft sponsored dinner while attending CES; it’s hard to believe that on the 11th it will have been one month ago. You can catch up on our previous posts before starting with this one by clicking the following links: Considering the Move from an iPhone 4S to Windows Phone Titan Comparing the iPhone 4s Hardware to the HTC Titan and Dipping into the Windows Phone User Interface In that month, my iPhone has never left my gadget drawer. Although I can think of a few times I…


Comparing the iPhone 4s Hardware to the HTC Titan and Dipping into the Windows Phone User Interface

Judie: For those of you who missed it, in our last article, Dan and I talked about the circumstances behind how we — two iPhone 4S users — each came into possession of an HTC Titan [you can click here to read it]. We also gave some of our initial thoughts about the operating system and why we might have been hesitant to make the change. In this installment, we dig in further into what we like and don’t like about the Titan specifically when it’s compared to the iPhone. Because our Windows Phone experience is occurring on the Titan, the hardware is directly influencing how…


Life on iOS, 4 Months Later

(yes, I am very obsessive about keeping all my apps neatly in folders.) Recently Thomas commented that he had re-read my “Farewell, Android” post, and he wanted to know if I felt the same way since buying my 4s back in October. At the risk of ruining the surprise, the short answer is “Heck yea!” But that would make this a rather short follow-up, so read on for how life on iOS has treated me and whether I miss anything from my robot-loving days! The impetus for my initial decision to move to iOS was frustration with Android’s fragmentation and…


Old Cables to the Rescue!

I wrote yesterday about my first impressions of the Case-Mate Phantom for the iPhone 4s, and I pointed out that it was new and therefore in the “new accessory honeymoon phase”. Last night I discovered a potential issue, but luckily for me, the legacy of the original iPhone came to the rescue! See, the original iPhone had a very recessed headphone jack. It fit normal 3.5in headphones, but only if they had a very slim plug design. Anything not supermodel-skinny didn’t fit. Of course accessory manufacturers stepped right up, and when I had my original iPhone I used a $10…


What’s Coming to CES 2012 with Judie and Dan?

Well, it is that time of year again. That means CES and our annual “What’s Coming to CES” post. Last year was a bit tricky for me as I was doing CES as part of a SCOTTEVEST No Baggage Challenge for Charity. That meant any and everything I brought needed to be on my person. It was a challenge, but it was also rather fun. It didn’t hurt that, due to a mess up by the hotel, I ended up with a suite with a washer and dryer, but it doesn’t change the fact that everything I brought fit into…


Antenna + Roku HD + Netflix = $90 Savings Per Month

I hate bills.  I also hate paying for things I can get for free. I was at Thomas’ house last year just hanging out. We were watching a movie on his Roku box, and I realized that the little box was giving him everything that I watch on TV except for local channels. That was the beginning of my quest to get rid of my cable bill. At first I searched the web and found that all you need is an antenna to pick up local television stations. I could remember back to my childhood, and how we had an…


Starbucks + K-Cups = Coffee Nirvana

I know it may sound like heresy but I’m not a fan of Starbuck’s coffee. That’s right, I’m more a Dunking’ Donuts kind of guy. Lately, however, I’ve been drinking a lot of Starbuck’s coffee and really enjoying it. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me step back a bit and explain. If you are going to take blogging seriously, especially if, as is the case with all of us here on Gear Diary, you actually do it IN ADDITION to ones vocation, there are a few key things you are going to need. You need a good computer…


Quick Impressions: Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket Speeds

As a small town guy living in the Chicago area, there are a lot times when I get frustrated with the traffic, the density, and the general inconveniences that are necessarily associated with urban living. Then again, there are times like today, when I’m happy to be living in one of the larger metropolitan areas in the country because we tend to be among the first to get new technologies, such as AT&T’s new LTE network. At the moment, AT&T has two phones able to take advantage of the LTE network: the HTC Vivid and the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket….


A Day in the Life: Using a Bluetooth Headset as a Remote Recording Device for Lectures

I have been teaching for the past few years and have found that recording my lectures is helpful for students that are sick or that need assistance due to attention deficit issues. Many of the programs to record lectures are costly, so I set out to see if I could use my MacBook and a Bluetooth headset to accomplish the task. I found that not only can I, but that it works remarkably well. The Bluetooth Device: The Bluetooth device I opted for is the Jabra BT3030 Bluetooth Stereo Headset [affiliate link]. Not only is it a good headset, but…


How a $91 Metal Detector Saved the Day!

I got a text message from my husband, Kevin, on Tuesday last week, saying that he had lost his wedding ring while working at the ranch. He’d been digging post holes to rebuild a section of fence that had been damaged during our April Fool’s Day fire, and while he was on his knees flinging the final few rocks from inside the hole, his platinum wedding band had flown off. The rock he threw hit a tree about 15 feet away, and he figured that the ring had taken a similar trajectory. Kev had already spent two hours searching, part of it on…


PowerBags to the Rescue

Yesterday we reviewed the PowerBag Messenger, a messenger bag that carries a 6000mAh battery and has internal cabling that makes charging an iOS device, or one that has a mini or microUSB connection simple. Today I got home and shot a video of the backpack version of the PowerBag for the second part in the review. Little did I know how handy both bags would be just hours later. You see, the October Surprise dumped a fair bit of snow on the ground today. That, combined with the fact that the trees still had leaves on them that caught more…


Gear Bag Review: PowerBag Messenger

CES is coming up, and this year we will have the biggest Gear Diary team covering the event ever. Even though CES is more than two months off, it isn’t too early to start thinking about the ins and outs of the week. As we have mentioned previously, one of the biggest challenges at CES is keeping cameras, phones and video recorders charged and usable. The days are long and the tools we use to cover CES are in use from early morning until late at night. Battery cases and external batteries help a great deal but, this year, we’ll…


Farewell, Android

As regular readers of Gear Diary may know, I used an original Droid for almost two years. In fact, up until a few months ago, I was totally convinced my next phone would be an Android device. But Android and I had a falling out, and I picked up an iPhone 4s on Friday. Why? And is the learning curve tough? Read on for my thoughts! First, there’s the “why”. A few things dragged me away from my little robot friends. One, Android is becoming increasingly fractured. It seems as though the only way to guarantee timely updates and continued…


Which iPhone 4S to Buy?

It is a strange irony that is not lost on any of us. The iPhone 4S is announced mid-day on Tuesday, word of Steve Job’s death comes the following evening, and the new iPhone starts pre-orders start at 12:01 AM PST. No doubt some people will suggest it should be delayed. I never had the honor of meeting Jobs, but my guess is he wouldn’t even dignify that with a response, well — maybe a two-word email like “Plans stays…” but not an actual response. So which iPhone 4S to get? What Color? This is an issue of personal taste, but…


Things That Make You Go “Hmmm”: iPads on Airplanes Edition

I just landed in Boston on my way to Martha’s Vineyard for a wedding tomorrow. Of course I brought my iPad with me. (It’s how I took this picture and wrote this post during a flight that was shorter than the time it took for me to get to the airport and through security.) It was a 38 minute flight. For the first ten minutes I could not use the iPad. For the last ten minutes I was told to turn it off as well. That left 18 minutes or so that the iPad was “legit” and usable. This has…