I’ve been a fan of brain training games for a while now.  I own a number of them for Windows Mobile, iPhone, and even my Nintendo DS.  What I like is that I can work with them in short time bursts – like in the gap between meetings, without a big time commitment, yet doing something fun and even personally productive. This time around, I’m taking a look at the latest brain training offering from Resco – Brain Games 2009.  Let’s take a look…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Make no mistake about this. The USB 4-port watch style hub does tell time. The only problem is that can’t rely on it except for twice a day – when it will be right on time. The other hours, minutes and seconds this HUB is a non-functioning funny style watch that also happens to glow a fluorescent blue while powering up to 4 USB 2.0 style ports. USB 2.0 Watch Style (non functioning) Hub – $13.99… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Livescribe has a new set of trendy papers that work with their electronic note taking pen. If you haven’t used Livescribe it’s a smart pen that remembers both the audio and written words from your note taking sessions. Using specially graphed paper you make notes during meetings which are later synchronized to your computer for easy recall.Their 3″ x 5″ Flip Pad retails for $12.95 and features a pink or black cover. Their Mini-Wrap Journal is $12.95 as well and about the same size (3.5″ x 5.5″) and a bit fancier with a magnetic closure flap and hand tooled cover. How often do you go to meetings and forget to take notes on every important word that’s said? Since the Livescribe… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’m always on the quest to find new headphones to use with my phones and as we all know the headphone set that comes with the iPhone are most inadequate to the task. In my own case, I couldn’t keep them in my ear!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Have you had a chance to answer our poll? As a reminder, in return for you putting your info in, we’ll add your name to a drawing for a “big mystery box of gadgety stuff“. What’s in it? Well, I am going to keep it a surprise, but I will tell you this: I have gathered a collection of brand name SWAG, past review items, and other gadgety goodies that I promise won’t suck or be device specific…so put your hat in the ring by doing our poll. Everyone is welcome to enter. No one affiliated with Gear Diary will be picking the winner, so I am Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Dan posted earlier today over at Whatsoniphone about my discovery that if you enable Advanced IMAP controls in GMAIL Labs (look under settings) and remove the check marks from your folders so that only the INBOX is checked – your iPhone will retrieve email at a blistering pace as opposed to the 3 to 5 minutes that it previously took. Almost from the day that I bought the first generation iPhone I have been bothered by slow retrieval of my Gmail. Since I have a large number of folders, it makes perfect sense that this tip to stop synchronizing the other folders would significantly speed up Gmail retrieval on iPhone. UPDATE 4-7-09: I had to go back into the labels and place… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

My Grandcentral account was finally updated to Google Voice and I’ve spent some time notifying people who I regularly communicate with that they need to use a new number to reach me. I think the change to a Google Voice number will be worthwhile for a couple reasons. First, I have three cell phones and people were constantly guessing which number they should call me on. With Google Voice I get to specify which phones ring and my friends and family only need to know one number. Plus Google Voice now manages text messages by forwarding any sent to my GV number to whichever cell number I choose. Secondly, I have T-Mobile MyFaves which provides for unlimited incoming and outgoing calls to up to 5 of my friends – completely free (that would be unlimited incoming and outgoing calls for $39/mo). … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I was reading last night that some companies are having problems with staff that are so worried about being layed off that their reporting in on their work progress every few hours. And it’s driving their bosses nuts! If you’re not one of those people. Or maybe you’re looking to be offered “the package” – this transparent red electric shocking mouse is for you! It is described as a true classic Adult Shocking Toy. It looks and feels real, but it delivers an electric shock to your boss or co-worker when they touch it. The manufacturer say’s it’s not shocking enough to hurt someone – but just in case they add – “use at your own risk, not recommended for children under 14… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The new Friendfeed service has gone live and it’s clear that two features are driving the update.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Stanza eBook Reader was the first application I downloaded when I got my iPhone, and it is probably my most-used app.  I love reading, and since I don’t have a dedicated eBook reader like the Kindle I needed another way to have my library with me at all times. Since getting my iPhone in August 2008 I have probably read upwards of 50 books on it! I’ve been really impressed with Stanza–not only does it provide a great reading experience on the iPhone, but the team behind Stanza really pays attention to the details that set their application apart from the others.  They have integrated eBook stores like Fictionwise and the ability to import previous eReader purchases, which was a huge bonus for me.  I also really like the Cover Flow-esque view of the book covers when you turn the iPhone on its side, and that it will search the web for your book cover based on the title and author.  Those little touches make Stanza the best reader app for me. Yesterday the Stanza app for iPhone was updated with some great new features that make it even easier and more enjoyable to use.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Members of the 125th Precinct pondering a technological question So this past week was the last episode of the American remake of “Life on Mars“, a great show about Sam Tyler, a 21st police detective transplanted back to 1973.  The show, besides being part sci-fi/part police drama, was also quite capable of being tongue-in-cheek.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Popular social media aggregator Friendfeed.com is slated to receive an update today at 9am CDT. This new facelift will appear on http://beta.friendfeed.com where it will be available for a while as an alternate interface option for users wishing to test the new UI. If all goes as planned, the new UI will become standard within a few weeks. Friendfeed has gained popularity with a diehard core of users who publicly exchange links to web sites, Google Reader stories, favorite Flickr photos, and dozens more of their online activities. It’s a great way to stay updated on what other users are doing on the web. On the downside it tends to be extremely noisy, sometimes repetitive and most of the activity centers around… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Those intending to jump on the WebOS programming train should give a look to Amazon. After announcing it in February, the “Palm webOS” book is now available for pre-order. From the Amazon.com page: This book is the official guide to building native JavaScript applications for Palm’s new mobile operating system, Palm® webOS™. Written by Palm’s chief technology officer and the Palm webOS development team, Palm webOS offers you a complete tutorial on the design principles, architecture, UI, tools, and services necessary to develop webOS applications. With this book, you’ll quickly pick up the basics by following along chapter by chapter as an actual application is built, using the Mojo JavaScript framework and Palm’s Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It’s not often that a literary masterpiece like “Captain Kirk’s Guide To Women” is available for $5 with free shipping. This 2008 guide normally commands a full $14 despite not being penned by the good captain himself but instead written by a fan. It’s only 84 pages long but this paperback promises to deliver life lessons and teach you to “be your own captain”.From the Amazon product description: Captain Kirk’s status as an interstellar stud is proven by his ability to seduce any woman, in any situation, in any part of the galaxy. From high-society princesses to unbalanced Orion slave girls, from gender-switching shape-shifters to emotion-deprived androids — they all swoon, acquiesce, and malfunction from just one kiss. But a single Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Chris posted last week that MacHeist was once again offering a super deal on some awesome applications. I’ve always been a big fan of these bundle deals and have gotten most of my favorite applications through them. (That might explain why I bought it 50 seconds after it went live!) Well, this round of heists is almost over and the deal is way too good to pass up if you haven’t already jumped in. Continue reading on Gear Diary …