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ioSafe SSD Demo, fun in the desert unless you’re a hard drive

Gear Diary is no stranger to the ioSafe hard drive. We tested the fire proof and water proof, original ioSafe drive by burning it up in the back of a car and then dousing it with several thousand gallons of water straight from a fire hose. While at CES 2010 ioSafe took the Gear Diary team to a special, top secret location, deep in the desert (okay, it was really three miles south of the strip) where they demoed their newest release, the all new ioSafe SSD drive. The new drive is not only water and fire proof like its…

Events

The Klipsch LightSpeaker Shines a Light on Your Musical Tastes

I’ve got no word yet on how they sound, or whether it’s even practical, but Klipsch has come out with a way to wirelessly stream music to a dimmable LED bulb which also functions as a speaker. Their aptly named LightSpeaker screws into an existing light fixture, and when you attach a digital music player to the included transmitter, sound ensues. You can “connect two different music sources to the setup and separate the different music to play in two different zones. For example, if you’re throwing a party, you can play certain playlist on your iPod in the kitchen…

Events

The Porsche Design mPower Illuminator will shine a light on your financial situation

Do you have more money than sense? If you do, then the new mPower Emergency Illuminator will likely be your flashlight of choice. What does $289 get you — other than an LED flashlight that vaguely resembles the SS Enterprise? The mPower Emergency Illuminator™ is a personal illumination tool that offers Power On Command™. In addition to primary standard lithium batteries, the illuminator also features a groundbreaking reserve lithium battery with a shelf life of at least 20 years. Upon activation, via the simple twist of a knob, the reserve battery will provide power to light a high intensity LED…

Reviews

Contour reCharge Universal Review

With all the restrictions on what you can and can not carry on airplane flying around, there’s one thing that seems certain. The less you pack the better of you’ll be. As I get my gear bag ready for CES 2010 I’m faced with a mountain of charging cables that I’ll need to stuff into my bag. One thing that will help is the Contour reCharge Universal. The reCharge Universal is a home charger and car charger in one which allows you to simultaneously charge two devices via a USB cable. The reCharge comes with an iPhone/iPod cable, but it…

Reviews

Review: Trane XL800 Programmable Thermostat & a Giveaway

When I had my house built in 1998, one thing I wanted but could not afford at the time was a programmable thermostat. Thankfully, Trane was kind enough to send one that I probably would not have considered, the Trane XL800. The first thing I had to do was install the thermostat. To do so, I had to turn off my HVAC system — which mean going into the depths of my garage and flipping the breakers. Then I went back inside, removed the existing thermostat and replaced it with the programmable thermostat. Make sure to pull the little plastic strip out…

Reviews

ScoopFree Ultra Self-Cleaning Litter Box Review

Editor’s Note: This is a joint review between Adrian and Jessica. Adrian’s comments will be in black, and Jessica’s will be in blue italics Multi-tasking seems to be one of my strong points…work 40 plus hours a week, chase around a toddler, coach high school sports, have a small business, and have family priorities that put me in and out of Dr appointments and hospitals at least once a week…so honestly what else can I add? Oh … let’s throw in mowing the lawn, maintaining the house, and helping my wife with the everyday chores (ok so I duck as…

Reviews

Amber Alert GPS Keeps an Eye on Your Child’s Location

Amber Alert GPS is a tiny matchbox sized GPS device used to track the movement of your child. According to the manufacturer you slip the GPS into your child’s backpack (or other article that stays with them) and can then track their location for up to 24 hours. There’s also several interesting features like speed, temperature and remote audio monitoring that are offered as well. For the last few weeks I’ve been putting this to the test and using it to track my kids. Here’s what I found. The normal pricing for this Amber Alert GPS is $279 though I…

Reviews

Moshi Voice Control Travel Alarm Clock – Review

I reviewed the Moshi Voice Controlled Alarm Clock a few weeks back and was rather impressed. It really works and makes setting the time or the alarm as easy as speaking. Love it! Well, turns out the company also has a travel alarm clock that uses the same voice technology. Here is a look.

Reviews

Sony Dream Machine ICF-CL75iP Alarm Clock for iPhone and iPod Touch – Unboxed

Sony just released their Dream Machine ICF-CL75iP Alarm Clock for iPhone and iPod Touch. It is a pretty impressive unit that works well as an alarm clock but has the special quality of working with your iPhone, iPod touch and just about any other iPod with a dock connector. At an MSRP of $149.95 is is not cheap.At the same time it offers a huge amount of functionality including a gorgeous screen that makes watching video from your iPhone or touch a pleasure. We unboxed one. Here’s a look…

Reviews

Moshi Voice Response Alarm Clock – Review

This is one of those products that kind of snuck up on me. It looked like it was one of those electronic curiosities that catches your eye, leads to an impulse buy and then, within a week, is in a box collecting dust. As it turns out the Moshi Voice Response Alarm Clock works quite well, is remarkably useful and the review unit I was sent can will remain on my night table once this review is done. Lets take a look at this unusual, and useful, clock. A video demo follows…

Reviews

MobiValet Review

When I saw an advertisement for the MobiValet in a tech. magazine I was recently reading I immediate had one of those, “now why didn’t I think of that” moments. My car has plenty of cup holders. But often times every single one of them is filled with a drink belonging to one of my children, snacks, sunglasses, toys etc. When I do find an empty one to stick my iPhone in I’m usually hesitant to do so. The iPhone is slimmer than what’s meant to go inside a cup holder and this results it in being tossed around as…

Reviews

HAVA Review: Live TV for PC and iPhone

When I saw the press release announcing that HAVA was coming to the iTunes App Store and that it was an application which allowed for live streaming of your home television, I was intrigued. I like to think I’m pretty knowledgeable when it comes to the live TV options available for the iPhone but I have to admit I’d never heard of HAVA. I’m currently running both a Slingbox Solo and an EyeTV Hybrid in my home office. The Slingbox allows me to view live TV on my Mac as well as my iPhone and doesn’t require the connected computer…

Editorials

Get Your Caffeine on with Gear Diary

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…

Gear Bits

Hour Glass Coffee: The World’s Coolest Coffee Maker

Soon temperatures will finally start to cool off here in South Texas and it will finally be time for some serious coffee drinking. Yes, I know many of you cannot live without your daily dose, but I only drink it when it is cool outside and without caffeine. First of all, I don’t do caffeine at all, and if I drink coffee everyday the acid starts to bother my stomach. The Hour Glass Coffee maker produces a low acid coffee extract via a cold brew process. (hence the title “World’s Coolest Coffee Maker”) The video shows how the system works. …

News & Features

Firefighter Robot might save lives one day

Hoya Robot, A South Korean company, is developing a robot that one day might just help save the lives of both victims and firefighters. The Firefighter’s Assistant Robot can enter burning building and size up the scene as well as check for victims who may be trapped inside. The unit can operate for up to 30 minutes and withstand temperatures of up to 320 degrees F. Weighing in at only 3 pounds the robot is water resistant and it can survive falls of up to 6 feet. It’s small enough that it can fit in the palm of your hand….

News & Features

Table Saw cake knife

Are you one of those people who has trouble cutting that first (or second) piece of cake without it crumbling to pieces. This Table Saw cake cutter may help you to disguise your lack of cake cutting skills. Disguised as a saw, this 12 inch plastic knife does double duty to help scoop the cake after you’ve cut it. There’s no indication whether it will saw through rock hard ice cream cakes that seem to ship at a temperature of absolute zero or whether you’d have to purchase a chain saw cake knife for those. Table Saw Cake Knife –…

News & Features

Goldfish trash bags pretty up the neighborhood and drive cats nuts

Here’s a quirky way to take out the trash. Instead of boring black or white bags how about these decorative goldfish trash bags. Fill the trash up and put the bags curbside for your neighborhood stray cats to admire . This kit includes 12 bags of 13 gallons each for $15.99. At this price these are definitely novelty items. Goldfish Trash Bags – $15.99

Reviews

Dymo LabelWriter 450 Twin Turbo Review

If you have to send large numbers of snail-mail, a dedicated label printer may be just the thing for you. If you want speed and flexibility in your label printer, then the Dymo 450 Twin Turbo is definitely worth a look. While having a dedicated label printer with two different bays that hold two different sizes and types of labels may sound like overkill, it isn’t. In fact, it makes life even simpler by allowing a degree of flexibility that can save the time of switching from one type of label to another. For example, one side can have address…

Reviews

“Have a Coke and a…..” telephone call?

Budget Gadgets.com is a web site devoted to electronics, gadgets and other fun gizmos all sold at very affordable prices. The company recent sent me a few items to review. The first being their Coca Cola style telephone. Not only does the phone look incredibly realistic but it actually works as a real phone.

Reviews

Spyderco Native Pocket Knife Review

Every year my family takes a week long vacation to visit my mother at her cabin in Maine. We make it a habit of passing through Freeport, Maine on the way up to her house each year. Freeport is not only is the home of L.L. Bean but it’s also the home to one of my favorite knife shops, the Freeport Knife Co. I am a collector of pocket knives and I carry one almost all the time either in my pants pocket or my turnout gear. It’s a tool I end up using several times a day be it…

Reviews

Could your hard drive survive this? If it’s an ioSafe, yep.

As a firefighter I guess I was the obvious choice to review the ioSafe hard drive which sells itself as the first and only external hard drive that is both water and fire proof. The company includes a one time, no questions asked recovery process. If you are unable to recover the data off the drive after a disaster you send it back to them. If their experts are not able to recover the data they send it out to a third party recover service. Finally, if that service is unable to recover your data ioSafe will spend up to $1000…

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