About MY Gear

Another Day, Another iPad

photo credit: powerbooktrance Okay, okay.   I’m weak – I admit it!  I lasted nearly a week before I finally caved in, went down to Best Buy, and picked up an iPad which I now have been playing with for about 12 hours.   So of course, I now have a few observations and because the world hasn’t had nearly enough iPad opinion pieces, I’m going to share with you! First – the device and it’s potential really are amazing. Despite all the hype and the nonsense and even a few drawbacks, I’m really impressed with this thing.  Although I’m…


Same Device + Different Users = Totally Different Perspectives.

One of the new apps that I am most looking forward to on the iPad is the Keynote application. The reason is simple. The app looks amazing, and I have been using Keynote more and more over the last two years. Having it available for both creating and presenting material on the über-mobile iPad will likely be a terrific step forward for me. It all started two years ago when I was playing around with iWork. I looked at Keynote and thought it might be interesting to use it to teach instead of printing up a series of handouts. I…


booq Taipan Shadow Review

I tend to be a huge fan of notebook bags and cases. I carry my MacBook Pro with me most days and, as result, having a good, usable bag is important to me. Having a usable, well organized, high-quality bag that is also good looking is a bonus. And, thanks to my work here on Gear Diary, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know a number of superb companies and their products. One of my favorites is booq. Their cases are stylish, superbly designed and great to use. I have been using one of their newest — the booq…


Teavana Perfect Teamaker Review

Being the gadget freak that I am, I like to have gadgets in the kitchen almost as much as I do in the office or on the go.  I am a big fan of drinking tea (both hot and cold), but often I only want one mug of tea at a time, not a whole pot.  I was looking around at tea flavors I wanted to try when I happened upon the Perfect Teamaker from Teavana.  It seemed like the perfect solution, so I promptly added it to my Christmas list.


Nexus One First Impressions

After having seen the Nexus One in the flesh prior to it being launched, I knew that I would have to order one as soon as it officially launched. As soon as the online store went live during the presentation, I placed an order for the unlocked version, as my T-Mobile family plan doesn’t qualify for the subsidized version. Read on for more thoughts on the ordering and delivery process, some unboxing photos, and some initial thoughts on the Nexus One hardware and Android 2.1. The Ordering Process The Google launch event was not quite a rock star event like…


First Impressions of the Barnes & Noble nook

All day I have been perking up at the sound of trucks on the street, each time hoping it would be the UPS truck delivering my much-anticipated Christmas present from my wonderful husband–the brand new Barnes & Noble nook eBook reader. My husband pre-ordered my nook on the very first day, so I knew I would get it before December 9.  I did a little dance of joy yesterday to learn that he had gotten the tracking number for the shipment and that the nook was winging its way to me overnight!


Gateway Gadgets

(Gates courtesy of JKMedia) We all had that one device that led us into the world of true gadget loving. It’s that one device that you obsessed over, read about, joined forums to discuss…once it starts it’s an addiction. Since it’s the holidays, I thought it might be a good time to head down memory lane and see what gadget was our first geek love…


Firefighter’s Self Contained Breathing Appratus (SCBA): How it’s changed over the years

Welcome to another edition of “How it’s changed over the years.” The firefighter’s SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) is as important a piece of equipment as his/her helmet.  The device, which consists today of a high pressure tank, face mask and pressure regulator allows firefighters to breath air in the hostile environments they face. So how has the SCBA changed over the years?


Gear Diary Antique Roadshow

If you see a friend with a gadget fetish carrying something different, chances are it is something new and trendy. Gadget-heads are seen as fickle and trendy, and bitterly loyal … for about 30 seconds until the next bright & shiny object comes along. But I have typically held on to the stuff I loved the most, and recently I’ve been alternating between 4 PDA/handhelds – my Axim x51v, iPod Touch, Psion Revo and HP200LX. Made me wonder – what sorts of ‘old school’ stuff does the rest of the Gear Diary staff use? So I asked the question –…


Giving the 17″ MacBook Pro Laptop a Try

I’ve been greatly enjoying the HP dv6 that I recently upgraded to Windows 7, and that got me wondering about Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6). Dan was evil kind enough to send me a link to the latest Apple refurb sales last week, and I couldn’t help myself…after perusing the wares, I bit.


Using the HP dV6 Laptop and Mini 110 Netbook in Tandem: Moving Back to Windows from Mac

all pictures are thumbnails; click them to enlarge Right before I finished up the HP Pavilion dv2 laptop review, I was sent a couple of boxes containing an HP Pavilion dv6z-1299lx and an HP Mini 110-1036NR. Even though I knew the purpose of the experiment which was about to happen, I couldn’t help but wonder why anyone in the world would need two laptops? The answer to that question is actually quite simple…


My Love/Hate Relationship with the E71x

Since late May, my main phone has been a Nokia E71x. It is my first Symbian phone, but I owned Nokia feature phones before and had good memories of them, so I was quite excited to get to know a smarter, fancier Nokia. I’d read good things about Symbian as well as bad ones. Universally, the hardware was praised, but the software reception was a good more lukewarm. My E71x and I have good days and bad days; last week I was ready to sing its praises to the world, this week I’m a bit more annoyed and seem to…


Moving Back to Windows from Mac: Why I made the Move to Mac

I bought my first modern Mac in February, 2008, a 15″ MacBook Pro. At the time I was frustrated with the laptop I owned – a 17″ Toshiba X205 – which was running Windows Vista Ultimate in what seemed like a most underpowered way. I was tired of being told that there were no drivers yet available for my gear, I was tired of seeing notifications pop up asking me constantly if I was sure that I wanted to do something, and I was basically ready for a change. It didn’t help that I had already seen Mitchell and Vincent‘s…


Restoring Family Treasures: My Great-Grandfather’s Pocket Watch Restoration

A couple of months ago, I was given a box containing a treasure like no other. Inside were the remains of two pocket watches; both were in terrible shape, and both were obviously old. Since they came from my uncle’s widow, I knew that they were somehow related to my family, but there was no further information. One of these pocket watches would yield a most amazing discovery, the other is still a mystery. When I opened the box I was given, this large Waltham pocket watch was the first thing I saw. It was in pitiful shape, having no…


My Dell Mini 9 Hackintosh – The Installation

This is Part One in a series about my journey with my new Dell Mini 9 into Hacktinosh territory…I’ll be talking about my installation process, my impressions of the Mini as a Mac netbook, performance, software, and more. I was pretty early to jump on the netbook bandwagon.  When I saw the original 7″ Asus Eee PC for the first time, I knew that I had to have it.  I had been lusting after computers like the Sony Picturebook for a long time–something that could fit in my purse and go with me everywhere!  As a writer, having a full…


Jabra SP700 – Review Redux

I reviewed the Jabra a few months ago for whatsoniphone and have been using it ever since. I love the sleek design, the ease of pairing, and most of all, the fact that the call quality is AWESOME!!!! When I first did the review however, there was a significant feature that thanks to the iPhone’s limitations I could not test. Well, the HTC S740 that was the subject of Judie and Doug’s recent fight review is currently residing with me in New Jersey. Thanks to Doug I’m (briefly) using a Windows Mobile phone for the first time in years. It…


Patek Philippe has Arrived!

“You never really own a Patek Philippe, you merely take care of it for the next generation,” or so we are meant to believe.  Rubbish!  Buy one for yourself and if you are lucky enough to have a son who understands and appreciates it, you can then not concern yourself to its whereabouts beyond your earthly presence.


Dual Dock Charging Station from RichardSolo.com Review

It wasn’t long ago that I was completely perplexed by the concept of a dual iPod charger. Unless a couple each had an iPhone who needs one? Fast forward a bit and the answer is… ME. Yup, with my iPhone, iPod Touch and nano (for when I want to go super-light), I am the poster-child for why someone might need a dual charger. Fortunately the new Dual Dock Charging Station from RichardSolo has me covered. Let’s take a look.


Papershow Review

In the old days I would print out handouts whenever I had a class I was going to teach or lecture I was going to give. Inevitably however, half of the packets were left on the seats or on the floor and ended up being wasted. About six months ago I decided to try a different approach. It was an experiment but it’s turned out rather well for me. Instead of handing out packets of information, I simply use my MacBook and Keynote with one of the flat-panel televisions that we’ve installed in our building. It works phenomenally well —…


The Nokia N85’s Killer App

There are many reasons to like the Nokia N85, but the one thing that has blown my hair back and made me truly appreciate this talented little device is something I had never before seen in a mobile phone…an FM transmitter*. And not just any weak wannabe transmitter, I’m talking about one that is just as strong – and allows the music to sound just as rich – as the dedicated transmitter on my Sirius box does.


An HP Mini 2140 Mini Post

I’ve been enjoying using the HP 2140 Mini Note. It’s small, light, and quite easy to use thanks to its near full size keyboard. My unit came with a three cell battery which allows the unit to maintain its low profile.