Apple

Are These The Worst Apple Ads Ever? And Do They ‘Mean Something’?

During the opening ceremonies for the Olympics Apple aired three new commercials, centering on a young Apple Genius with ‘can do’ attitude helping Mac users in different situations. From the opening seconds, I thought these ads were awful. Why? Well, I thought the scenarios were inane, the people inept and thoughtless, and it painted a rather stereotypical view of a Mac user as a tech-incompetent person who needs to be spoon-fed and have their hand held to accomplish anything. That is a view put forth for decades by DOS and Windows users and more recently by Android users looking to…

Editorials, Events

Gear Fest Gear Chat, Smartphone Updates, Samsung’s Naming Confusion and More

Here is the last installment of our ongoing Gear Chat from Gear Fest 2012 series. In it we touch on Android operating system updates, Samsung smartphone naming confusion and Apple’s consumer care. Apple’s walled garden may cause its fair number of issues but the fact that even the iPhone 3GS will get iOS 6.0 and most of its functionality has us pretty impressed.

Gear Bits

The Whole Samsung vs. Apple Legal Debate Summed Up in One Image

OK, so the title really isn’t true – there are so many multi-faceted elements interwoven in the international legal cases between smartphone makers that summing them up simply would be impossible. But when you look at phones from Samsung and HTC and others … this one picture tells a singular and undeniable truth: all current popular smartphone designs lead back to Cupertino and the original iPhone. Source: Cult of Mac

Editorials

If It Arrives, the iPad Mini Won’t Be $199

We have gone on record that we don’t do rumor and innuendo here in Gear Diary. How then is it possible that we are writing a post about our opinion that Apple’s supposed upcoming miniature iPad will not cost $199? Simple, this post is not based on any of the rumors swirling about, nor is it based on any supposedly special information we heard from our second cousin’s neighbor’s dry cleaner. No, this post is purely speculation on our part, and we are okay with that. In fact we are so okay with that, that we are going to put our…

News

TopKase Introduces Aegis Aluminum iPhone 4/S Case

I’ve seen a lot of clever iPhone cases in my day, but TopKase’s Aegis Aluminum iPhone Case strikes me as one of the more interesting and potentially rugged case line developments of late, turning a bare iPhone 4/S into an armored tool, and adding a bit of techno-cool to your cellular repertoire. Let’s face it, how accessories look for Apple products is almost as important as how they work, right? This case offers both style and substance. The case is constructed from an inner metallic plated sub frame with a tough outer anodized aluminum cover. This together with its 8…

eBooks

Should eBooks and Privacy Be a Concern for Us?

Here’s another reason for eBook haters to complain about the digitization of the written word — your reading habits are no longer secret. While it is not surprising to assume Amazon, B&N and Kobo are watching what you read, the Wall Street Journal has a very detailed account of just how much is being watched. From the Journal: Publishing has lagged far behind the rest of the entertainment industry when it comes to measuring consumers’ tastes and habits. TV producers relentlessly test new shows through focus groups; movie studios run films through a battery of tests and retool them based…

Gear Bits

Why It May Not Be “Business As Usual” at WWDC This Year

There have been some significant changes at Apple since Steve Jobs died and Tim Cook took over the company. The first major change was that Apple introduced a charitable matching program for Apple employees. Say what you want about Steve Jobs, he was not known for his public philanthropy. Cook changed that. Here’s another indication that the company culture is changing, albeit in small ways. I received this email from Apple today. It asks for my thoughts on the Apple Store. Why is this such a significant change? Under Steve Jobs, Apple TOLD consumers what they wanted– not the other…

News

Apple’s WWDC News As It Comes In From the Keynote Talk

12:50 EST: We’ll be following the news as it rolls in from the WWDC Keynote. Join us for a conversation in the comments below… So the question of the hours as we are five minutes out… why ONE announcement are you most hoping for? And we are off- Tim Cook is up on stage… no, wait, Siri is doing the intro. (Cute…) “I am excited about the new Samsung, not the phone, the refrigerator.” ( hahaha eh) Now Cook is on stage. 23rd WWDC, sold out in under 2 hours. App Store: 400 million accounts (equals 400 million examples of…

News

Join the Conversation During and After Apple’s WWDC Tomorrow

Apple’s WWDC 2012 kicks off tomorrow, and the keynote begins at 1pm EST. While we wish we were there, we’re going to do the next best thing — follow a number of the feeds simultaneously, and offer you the highlights on the day’s doings with a touch of colorful commentary and a full team conversation in the comments section. Of course, the rumors are flying but, as always, until the news is actually announced, it is nothing but rumor. One rumor that does seem likely to come true is that iOS 6 won’t support the original iPad. The rumor certainly…

Crowdfunding, News

Trygger iPhone Camera Case

Trygger Camera Case: iPhone 4/4S Polarizing Filter Case Status: $6,919 pledged of $25,000 goal Closing Date for Funding: Tuesday Jul 3, 7:05am No offense to you, or your burgeoning photography skills, but cellphone cameras suck. Even with the iPhone 4’s auto-focus and auto-exposure features, it’s hard to create frame-worthy images. While capturing beautiful moments isn’t impossible, it’s certainly a challenge to even the most deft photographers. Indie casemaker Trygger is ready to change that. With the introduction of their KickStarter project, the company aims to enhance iPhone photography through a polarizing filter attached directly to their new case. Maybe it’s…

Editorials

Gear Chat: What Do You Want in iOS 6.0?

Last week I asked a simple question to our team. The question- iOS Users- What features would you like to see in iOS 6.0? (Android users- This is a serious question so please spare me the “Android does that blah blah blah…”) My list- I want a simple way to access key settings like Bluetooth without having to dig down into menus. I want sound/notification profiles that are time or geography-dependant. i.e., I get to work and the device goes to silent I want an automatic folder or two that grabs “frequently launched apps” and makes them accessible. Chris:…

News

iLuv DualJack; Now, Why Didn’t I Think of That?

Every now and then a product comes along that makes me say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” iLuv has new “Premium Audio Cables and Charging and Sync Solutions” available as part of their myLink collection, and one of them fits the bill quite well. Here’s what the company has to say about their new offerings. iLuv’s audio and data cables revolutionize the market in quality and design. They were designed to provide superior functionality and the stylish design consumers desire in their accessories. These durable cables were constructed with a number of enhancements in both form and function, and…

Editorials

Growing Pains and other Idiocy

If, based upon the title of this post and the image I used, you thought I was going to go on some rant about Kirk Cameron’s opinions on a host of issues, think again. (I have, however, made clear on numerous occasions that he and I could not disagree more, especially about the issue of marriage equality.) No, I’m speaking about growing pains and idiocy of the Apple kind. Elana and I arrived for dinner with my parents a bit early so I hit the Apple Store at the Short Hills Mall while we waited for them. I used to…

Editorials, How to Do It Yourself!

Mobile Blogging in 2012; What a Difference!

I am headed into the city for a meeting on behalf of Gear Diary, and after I’m done, Elana and I are grabbing a quick dinner in Manhattan before we have a fund-raiser for an organization that supports services for those who are hearing-impaired. Were I going into the city for a full day of events in the past, I would have had to bring my MacBook air, my Canon G11, and some additional equipment that works with them in order to quickly write-up whatever I could in order to get it up on the site as quickly as possible….

eBooks, Editorials

What’s Next for eBooks after the DoJ Settlement?

Today was a big, big day for eBook fans! The Department of Justice agreed with everyone who has been screaming for three years that the “agency model” was unfair, anti-competitive and anti-consumer. They settled with several publishers, though Apple and Macmillan are still fighting the DoJ in court. So, what did the settlement today do? And how will it impact the future of ebooks? Read on for my thoughts! The Settlement: I am going to defer to Wired here, as they quickly had an excellent breakdown of what the settlement states: Terminate its current contracts with Apple within seven days…

eBooks

Department of Justice Sues Apple and Several Publishers over eBook Prices

Huge ebook news this morning! The US Department of Justice has officially filed anti-trust lawsuits against Apple and Hachette Books, as well as some sort of legal action against MacMillan, Harper Collins, and Penguin. All of these charges are related to the Agency Model, where prices are set by the publisher and discounts at the retail level are disallowed. I am not surprised that it has come to this. All the publishers were very insistent they did not do anything wrong, and that it was purely coincidence that all of them developed the same exact pricing plan at the same…

Editorials

Need Proof Optical Media is Dead? Look at My Wife.

If ever you wondered if optical media (CDs and DVDs) is dead and gone this brief interaction from last night should make the point with utter clarity. A bit of background before the “blow by blow” Elana is not a techie. She’s not anti-technology either. As she often puts it, “I think this stuff is amazing and I appreciate what it can do but that is where it ends for me. I just can’t get excited about it the way you do.” But when it comes to the 11″ MacBook air she has been using for the past year and…

News

The Stark Contrast Between iOS and Android Platform Adoption

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, look at the picture above – it shows the iOS 5.1 adoption rate since the new version was made available on March 6th alongside the announcement of the new iPad, as compiled by developer David Smith. After two weeks … 63% of the total userbase had switched. And that percentage includes folks who have iOS 3 limited devices like my first-gen iPod Touch (or first gen iPhone), or iOS 4 limited devices like anything before the iPhone 3GS. If you were looking just at ‘opportunities’, the percentage would be even…

Editorials

Cupertino, Start Your Photocopiers! Oh, You Already Did?

For many who have watched Apple and Microsoft for decades, the mantra of an Apple product launch leading immediately to new ‘innovations’ from Microsoft that are remarkably similar has become beyond a cliché. There are certainly inspirational elements to the point that Microsoft has even occasionally admitted to copying from Apple (legally, of course, unlike Trash/Recycle, QuickTime/Windows Media, Widgets/Gadgets, Aqua/Aero, etc), but as many also note – Apple is not immune from the occasional ‘peeking at Microsoft’s paper’. But all of that stuff is serious … and this is just fun. The Microsoft Zune – it was a ‘MP3 player’…

Gear Bits

Stuff Companies Were Foolish Enough to Introduce on ‘Apple Event Day’

You don’t tug on Superman’s cape You don’t spit into the wind You don’t pull off the mask of the old Lone Ranger … And you don’t do an announcement on the day Apple holds a major press event. Any person who is interested in technology in any way – even if they HATE Apple and would never buy their products – was glued to find out details. My family all knew it was happening, it was on our local news and in the local paper as well as being a major hallway conversation topic. There is a saying that…

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