Misc Gear

Just Mobile HeadStand Review

So you’ve got a pair of big, beautiful, great sounding headphones like the SMS STREET by 50 DJ over-the-ear headphones I reviewed last month. Sure, you could store them in the included football-shaped case,heretofore referred to as the “fbcase”, but that quickly becomes pain if you use them on a regular basis. I mean, do you really want to have to unzip the “fbcase”, remove the headphones and attach the cord each and every time you want to listen to music without disturbing the other people in the house? And that doesn’t take into account having to disconnect the cord,…

Gear Bits

Best Buy Tech Service Gone Awry; a GM’s Customer Service Saves the Day

I came home a few weeks ago to find my almost four year old Gateway desktop rig powered completely off. I tried turning it back on, only to find out that it had decided that it didn’t want to at all. That could only mean the power supply, since it had been on and working just fine a few hours before. Annoying yes, but fortunately, not insurmountable. It took me a couple of weeks to scrounge up the dough for the new power supply, since I wanted to get it directly from Gateway; I figured that I could probably follow…

Reviews

Belkin Charge + Sync Dock with Audio Port for iPhone 5 Review

Belkin was quick from the gate in offering accessories for the iPhone 5. As you know, the iPhone 5 didn’t just get a longer screen, but it also got a new dock connector and a relocated 3.5 mm headphone jack. As a result, accessories designed to work with the dock connector of the iPhone in its earlier iterations no longer functioned unless you added an adapter. Belkin quickly released a number of cables, and now they have released a dock for the iPhone 5 and the iPod touch. The company was kind enough to send one for review, so let’s…

Crowdfunding

Home Aquaponics Kit: A Self-Cleaning Fish Tank that Grows Food

Project Title: Home Aquaponics Kit: Self-Cleaning Fish Tank That Grows Food Status: Funded, with only 37 hours left (at this posting) Closing Date for Funding: 1:59am CST December 15, 3012 URL of the Project: Home Aquaponics Kit From the Creatives: Grow fresh produce right in the comfort of your own home – beans, basil, thyme, baby greens, oregano, mint, parsley, spinach and so many other delicious foods! • So what’s happening inside? The fish, they poo and they pee, and all that waste-water gets broken down by beneficial bacteria into nutrients • The waste-water from the fish is then pumped up…

Editorials

Rapidly Advancing Smartphone Technology Makes It Hard to Go Back

Early this year I got the Motorola Droid 4 for Verizon (on release day no less), and I joined the 4G/LTE revolution. At first it was underwhelming since the 4G coverage in our area was ‘spotty’ at best, and non-existent for the most part. But within a couple of months, Verizon had added a new 4G zone to our area and expanded coverage in the existing zone. It was awesome! So for the next few months I enjoyed fast data speeds — and the zippy performance — of the Droid 4. It was apparent that the phone itself thrived on…

Gear Bits

Chicago Tribune Looks Back at Amazing Gadgets That Are Now Common

Can you remember your first call on a touch-tone phone, your first fax or VCR, when your family got cable, or when you first saw one of those tiny battery-powered TV sets? I can remember all of those things and more – and today the Chicago Tribune is looking back at 25 ‘futuristic’ gadgets that are now commonplace. The lead image is of a picture phone, taken 40 years ago when it was part of a display of future technology at the Museum of Science and Industry. Earl Dell Jr., 4, was excited about the experience of using one of…

Gear Bits

IBM’s Watson Is Tech You Should Know About

If you’ve ever worried about having your job replaced by a machine, I’ve got some distressing news for you. IBM, a US tech and consulting firm, has produced a powerful artificial intelligence system as their latest creation. Known for their innovations in the world of technology, IBM has already invented a slew of modern conveniences, including the ATM, hard disk drive, and Universal Product Code (UPC). Their most recent development, an AI supercomputer nicknamed Watson, is capable of replicating a high-functioning human’s ability to understand data and provide answers to questions. The machine is allegedly able to access 90 servers…

Gear Bits

Google’s Project Glass is Tech You Should Know About

What does ‘Augmented Reality‘ mean to you? It’s been a huge buzzword in certain tech circles this year, but what’s the big deal? If you’re like me, the negative associations are endless. You remember laser tag. You remember watching those awful 3D films with the red/blue lenses when you were little. Maybe you even remember Nintendo’s Virtual Boy console from back in the day. In any case, you’d be hard pressed to find an example of augmented reality that wasn’t a gimmick. Which leads us to Google’s latest project, the incredible Google Glass. Project Glass is one of the company’s…

Reviews

Oberon Design Large Smartphone Sleeve Review

It wasn’t so long ago that I reviewed the Oberon Design cellphone sleeve, and while that case was perfect for the iPhone and other similarly sized mobile devices, it isn’t quite big enough for all of the larger-screened mobile devices that are now so popular. I’ve got the new Nokia Lumia 920, which has a 4.5″ screen and measures 5.13″ tall x 2.79″ wide x 0.42″ thick; it is simply too large for the original sleeve. Luckily, I was soon to receive the new Oberon Design Large Smartphone Sleeve. This larger sleeve measures 6.25″ tall x 4″ wide; these measurements…

Reviews

ZAGGsparq 6000 Portable Power Station Review

CES 2013 is coming up fast, which means we are already thinking about the gear that will help us best cover the show. This year I expect Judie’s and my iPad minis will play a big role. I’ll also be using my Canon T3i to grab better photos and video than I have previously. And Carly, Carly will be getting her first taste of the gadget-craziness that is the Consumer Electronics Show. Each year Judie and I have talked through what gear would best help us keep our gadgets charged and, each year, we have found ourselves running on vapors…

Reviews

Eemov Nano Stabilizer Arm Review

Smartphone cameras and camcorder abilities have improved by leaps and bounds over the last few years, and that means that more and more they are becoming our go-to devices to record precious memories and important events. Where you used to see someone carrying anything from a point and shoot to a full DSLR, you now see people whipping out their iPhones or Android devices (and sometimes even iPads!) As a result, the camera accessories people used to use with their dedicated cameras are now being reinvented as smartphone compatible. I had the opportunity to review one such device, the Eemov…

Reviews

JustMobile AluBase Upright MacBook Stand for MacBook Review

Sometimes simplicity is best. That the case with JustMobile’s AluBase and AluRack stands for the MacBook family of notebooks. Each holds your MacBook in an uncomplicated manner and allows you to connect it to an external monitor, keyboard and mouse thereby using your notebook as a desktop computer. Let’s take a look at the AluBase. From Just Mobile: AluBase is the vertical stand for Apple MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. Crafted from a single piece of high-grade aluminium, the AluBase™ ships with soft plastic inserts to hold MacBook Pro, MacBook Pro Retina and Macbook Air firmly upright. Conceived by the award-winning…

Outdoors, Yum Log

New Grilling Developments from Saffire and Grate Chef

The unseasonably warm weather in my hometown of Nashville assured that my holiday turkey would just have to be cooked outdoors. I’ve outgrown the fad of deep-frying turkeys, both because it’s really pretty unhealthy and the fact that I really don’t want to burn my house down just to save a little cooking time. Plus, I really like the flavor of a smoked turkey because, let’s face it turkey doesn’t really taste like much unless you add something to the meat. After a two-day brine in a simple solution of water, salt, sugar and a few favorite spices and an…

Health and Fitness, Reviews

Magellan Switch Review – a Full-Featured Yet Flawed ‘Wrist-GPS’

I recently reviewed the Garmin ForeRunner 10, and have been thrilled with it as a simple, entry-level running GPS-watch. But what if you want to use a heart-rate monitor, ride a bike, go into the water and so on? At that point you need a new device – something like the Magellan Switch series. Magellan is very explicit that the Switch is designed as a multi-sport device, and was kind enough to send along a review sample of the Switch for me to check out (UPDATE: Magellan recently sent me a pre-release update for the Switch, and I will comment…

Music Diary, News

IK Multimedia Releases iPhone 5-Friendly AmpliTube 2.7!

More and more apps are being released that take advantage of the new iPhone 5 (and iPod Touch) screen, and it is great to see that they are actually taking advantage of the screen rather than just filling out the space. Today IK Multimedia announced that their popular AmpliTube app for iOS has been updated to take advantage of the larger screen. Here are the details from the press release: AmpliTube 2.7 takes advantage of the extra screen size and the Retina Display to deliver stunning graphics, which accompany IK’s industry-standard sounds and features. The app comes with 24 gear…

Events, News

Ten One Design Pogo Connect is a CES Innovations 2013 Design and Engineering Award Honoree

Ten One Design Named CES Innovations 2013 Design and Engineering Award Honoree For Pogo Connect If a product adds functionality to my iPad I’m interested. That’s exactly what Ten One Design’s Pogo Connect promises. It is …the world’s first pressure-sensitive Bluetooth 4.0 stylus for the new iPad. Currently supported by numerous compatible apps, Pogo Connect offers full pressure sensitivity, palm rejection capabilities and more. The stylus’s Crescendo Sensor technology makes the tip highly responsive to pressure, recognizes even the slightest touch and works at any angle. While I’m not all too interested in the pressure-sensitive aspect of this pen —…

Reviews

Twelve South HiRise for MacBook Review

At present my only computer is a 15″ MacBook Pro with Retina display. I love it. Similarly, Elana’s only computer is an 11″ MacBook air. She loves it. When Elana works on her MBA, she always does so with the computer sitting atop the Rain Design mStand for MacBook I reviewed back in December of 2010. After a full two years of use, it still looks brand new. (Read the review.) Elana loves the fact that the stand lets her raise the screen closer to eye level. And, thanks to a keyboard and mouse, she effectively has a desktop that…

Gear Bits, Yum Log

Wine Caddys from H & K Steel Sculptures: Protect Your Bottle!

Maybe the only possible thing wrong with a bottle of good wine is that it comes in a breakable container. It is so sad to watch a grown man (me) cry when a bottle accidentally gets knocked off the counter and hits the floor with a crash. Not to mention the mess that broken glass and red wine can make on a floor. We used to joke that if you ever dropped a glass in my family’s kitchen that everyone would be banned from that room for a month by my mom and her fear of slivers in our slippers….

News

Flipside Wallet Introduces the STRATA, the World’s Most Secure Minimalist Wallet

My Wallet of choice is the Flipside 2X from Flipside Wallet. It doesn’t look like a traditional wallet, and that’s a good thing. No, this wallet is made from a rigid Reinforced Polycarbonate. It looks like this… It gets strange looks when I pull it out but I love my Flipside 2X and have used it daily since first writing my review of it back in October of 2010. Read the review. I like the fact that it is RFID shielded so thief’s can’t scan it and love the fact that, thanks to its rigidity, it forces me to keep my…

News

Special Holiday Pricing Available on Pivothead HD Recording Sunglasses

I LOVE the Pivothead HD Recording Sunglasses that I reviewed last month and used while in Cuba two weeks ago. They are comfortable, look good AND they record amazingly clear video. You can check out our full review of them here and see how they work in this video. At $350, the glass aren’t cheap — although I have paid close to that for sunglasses that were simply… hum… sunglasses. And now that Pivothead has announced special holiday pricing, they are even more accessible. That’s right, Pivothead has dropped the price of their HD Recording Sunglasses by $50. And they will…

Reviews

Icom ID-31A D-star Radio Review

I hope you have been enjoying my series on Ham Radio and its various aspects; today’s post is the first review of a ham radio on Gear Diary! Specifically, I will be reviewing the Icom ID-31A, which is the most advanced handheld radio I have yet owned and the most advanced currently available. What this won’t be is a review heavy on technical testing with scopes and measurements across the board; I just don’t have the lab that the ARRL has, and I can’t do the kind of testing of radios that they do. What it will be is an everyday ham radio enthusiast thoughts…

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