In Gear Chat 14 Larry and Dan talk about the new Kindle… and why we ordered them. We also talk about Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 and, of course, iPhone and iPads. Intro Music- Lean On Me- Sounds From the Ground Solarstone’s Chill Out Remix…
There’s been a bunch of stuff going around the web about the Droid X and the fact that it likely will not be able to run custom ROMS and may even be hard to root. I’ll try to describe, in layman’s terms, what this may mean to a prospective Droid X buyer. What is this root and custom rom thing? First, having root is like having the Administrator user password on a Windows machine or the root password on a Mac OS X machine or Linux machine. It essentially gives you the right to modify anything on the phone. You…
In today’s podcast Larry and Dan ponder, “What devices would we use if we were on an Apple boycott?” Other topics on GearChat 13 include the ongoing iPhone 4 controversy and Evernote’s new Evernote Trunk. A Content Note- How quickly things move. We recorded this podcast late in the afternoon on Wednesday, July 14. At one point Dan laments Apple’s silence on the iPhone 4 reception issue only to find out an hour later that Apple had called a press conference for tomorrow Friday, July 16. Go figure…
Dan: The drama surrounding iPhone 4 reception issues moved up a few notches yesterday when Consumer Reports announced that they were reversing position and announced that they could not recommend the iPhone 4 due to a design flaw in their external antenna. Bear in mind that they seem to love every other aspect of the phone and give it a score of 76 out of 100 with the next highest ranked phones, the iPhone 3GS and the HTC Sprint Evo each getting a 74, but the particular antenna issue is, for them, a deal breaker. As the day went on,…
Judie: Last year Julie Strietelmeier and I took a look at the Logitech Squeezebox Boom, both here and on The Gadgeteer, and our general consensus was that we both enjoyed using it. As a matter of fact, I liked using mine so much that I eventually sprung for a streaming Sirius subscription as well as a Pandora Premium membership. I wrote about the Logitech Squeezebox Radio when it was first announced, mentioning its compact size, a 2.4″ color display, Facebook connectivity, and a seven-day alarm clock. Although I put in a request for a review unit, I didn’t hear anything…
In Gear Chat #8 Larry and Dan do their best NOT to talk about the iPad. In fact they make a bet and place a dollar amount on each slip. How do they do? Listen and find out. So what DO they talk about if they are going to stop obsessing about the iPad for a bit? Why the iPhone of course. iPhone OS 4.0, rumors about new hardware, some recommended apps and more get covered in this week’s podcast.
Dan and Larry take enough time away from their iPads to prepare Gear Chat #7- today’s topic… the iPad, iPhone OS 4.0 and assorted other goodies…
image courtesy CNET Here at Gear Diary, we love ebooks. We also love to debate all manner of gadgetry, so of course, we had to share our thoughts on what Apple’s foray into ebooks would mean for the world… Doug: I’m wondering how much shaking out we’re going to see in the next 6 months or so. Carly, do you think Apple is going to yank the non-Apple eBook readers? Carly: No. What’s the point? iBooks seems like a “oh yea, let’s get in on this too” project, rather than a serious effort. Unless they have a plan for coordinated…
Judie: When the April 3rd iPad release date was announced, there were more than a few of us left scratching our heads, although none of us thought too much about it … yet. At first glance, a Saturday release coupled with Saturday delivery didn’t warrant much conversation; either you would go wait in line to get your iPad, or you would pre-order and have it delivered straight to you. But if you live in an area that doesn’t have an Apple store, much less one that doesn’t have Saturday delivery, it meant that a little bit of logistical planning might…
Friday afternoon The Consumerist reported on a comment made by Michael Cader on a publishing industry site. Essentially, he said that if you can afford an ebook reader, you can afford higher ebook prices. Needless to say, many of us at Gear Diary vehemently disagreed. Each of us had our own take on the publishing industry, high prices, and our general frustration with publisher’s attitudes towards ebooks.
Across the blogosphere, millions watched with bated breath today as Apple unveiled their latest — the obviously (yet unfortunately) named iPad — to a crowd who seemed to be enthusiastic and yet instantly critical of the ~10″ tablet. Gorgeous UI, large vivid screen, the ability to run existing iPhone apps, and a new iBook store are huge selling points for some. The absence of a camera and multi-tasking are among the possible deal-breakers for others. Not immediately obvious are exactly who the iPad’s intended customers might be — other than users who don’t mind carrying yet another device. Join Dan,…
Judie: I was recently offered the chance to review Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion, and figuring that I probably wasn’t the only female on the Gear Diary staff who was going through weather-related skin issues, I requested extra samples so that Carly, Jessica and Amy could also give it a try. Since we all have different skin types, and we all have different issues, I thought that it would be good to gather notes from all of us based on our experience with the product. For those of you with absolutely no concern for softer skin without smelling like a…
Stephen Covey is proving one of the habits of highly successful people is playing hardball; he’s struck a deal with Amazon to make them the exclusive providers of his eBooks, in exchange for at least 50% of the sales revenue. Amazon will also be promoting his books heavily. What does this mean for publishers, authors, and the concept of royalties in the digital age? We convened a Gear Diary chat session to hash it all out!
(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…
My father’s favorite phrase is “People don’t plan to fail; they fail to plan.” I’m quite sure a very expletive-laden version of this concept was bandied around Microsoft after the Sidekick backup debacle. So I posed the question to the Gear Diary Team: How do you back up your smartphone data?
It started innocently enough. One morning last week Wayne sent an email asking if any of the writers liked Starbuck’s after he had accumulated a fairly large amount of points — $370 worth — on his own Starbuck’s rewards card. Then today Carly spotted a great deal on Woot! for a Breville 15-Bar Expresso & Cappuccino Maker for $179.99 (that’s it pictured above). These messages sparked an entire back and forth coast to coast between what gear we each used to quench our lust for caffeine. See what the team is using, and sound off in the comments on what…
Earlier in the week I threw out the following question… What current technology, service or product do you see as totally passé… And why….? The responses were quite interesting and while there was a good deal of agreement there were also some places where our diverse group parted ways. Here are some of the answers…
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 –…
As the dust continues to settle on “The Week Of The iPhone” we’re all getting increasingly used to devices with a new OS or entirely new devices. That’s means the list of wishes for OS 4.0 begins now. It also means increasing familiarity and impressions that are more valuable than the initial “OMG did you know it can do this?” and “Wow! Wow! Wow!” What follows are some likes, dislikes, tips, treats and more, disappointments and dreams for future updates.
Once again, we invite you to eavesdrop on our email conversations… Wayne: R.I.P. … the Internet slays another print publication… Mitchell: I was a subscriber to PC World for about 5 years, and then I realised that I was paying for a magazine with content that I had read weeks earlier on the internet. It really is inevitable I suppose, tech magazines just can’t stay ahead of the game with online news sites getting information out hours after release. They have to wait a whole month… Clinton: This is the same problem that many tech magazines face. Granted, most have…