This set of quirky salt and pepper dispensers is sure to cause some dinner conversation. I know in my house both my kids would keep grinding (and grinding) until they had a plate full of salt and pepper. The red topped cube holds pepper and the white top cube is salt. And because dinner is no game – both dispensers allow you to adjust how fine they grind. Sadly each mill is sold separately making a complete set of both salt and pepper a rather expensive $40. Rubik’s Salt and Pepper Dispenser – $20 EACH… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Seidio is introducing a new type of case for the BlackBerry 8900. Branded as the Innocase 360, it features a full keypad and screen protector. Each half of the case snaps together to enclose your BlackBerry in total protection. I’ve had a few mis-haps where water seemed to seep into my BlackBerry keypad – so I’m anxious to give this model a spin. My main concern is whether the keypad overlay interferes with the regular BlackBerry keys. Seidio’s all new Innocase 360 is only 1mm thick and provide all the protections your device deserves. Rubberized, hard shell case together with screen guard and silicone keyboard cover offers a full 360 degree of defense against bumps and scratches. – Protect your device without adding Continue reading on Gear Diary …

T-Mobile stated yesterday that they have now sold their one millionth G1 in a period of about 6 months. That’s very cool, but we really need to put that into perspective: Originally, the T1 was said to have pre-sold 1.5 million units at launch.  That figure proved to be incorrect. Apple sold 1 million iPhones (original) in just 74 days while only being available in the U.S. exclusively on AT&T. The iPhone 3G sold 1 million units in it’s first weekend on the market. Apple has sold about 21 million phones in just under 2 years on the market and are selling about 8 million units every 6 months. As of early 2009, Microsoft… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Here’s a wallet for the big spender. Look quickly and it appears to be a fat roll of hundred dollar bills held together “wiseguy” style by a green elastic band. A little closer examination discloses that this is actually a wallet that’s made to look like a wad of bills. How perfect for the high roller in your life – or someone who just wants to look like one! Loaded! Wallet – $24 Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I guess we should have seen this coming, and many have been predicting it – the new General Motors does not include the Pontiac (or Saturn or HUMMER) brand. I will be sad to see it go as I have many fond memories of legendary nameplates such as Firebird, GTO, LeMans, Bonneville and even Grand Prix. Ever since GM began to talk about a new Camaro there has been no mention of a new ‘Bird so I guess the writing has been on the wall for some time now, huh? Here is the official announcement from this morning…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

O2 yesterday announced their first Android based phone – the Samsung i7500. This touch screen device does away with the keypad and features GPS, Wi-Fi, 1,500 mah battery, 5-megapixel camera and high speed data services. Expect to see this on O2 in June 2009. Pricing is awaiting announcement. Android Community Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This 4 port USB Hub is built right into a self-adhesive tape dispenser. While it may be a little inconvenient to keep the dispenser on your desk tethered by dangling USB cables – just think how hard it will be for co-workers to make off with your tape! Available in Crystal Clear and Blue this gizmo features 4 USB 2.0 ports all completely self powered by your computer. USB Tape Dispenser – $21.99… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve been using HanDBase on various devices for years. It was one of the first mobile database programs that I found, and while I’ve tried others over the years, I keep coming back to it. Among the reasons are that DDH Software, the makers of HanDBase, created a desktop version of HanDBase that synchronizes with the mobile version, and DDH has been good about porting their software to new mobile operating systems.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

My day today can be summed up with only one word – disappointing. I had a couple of problems I needed managed, and I needed to take care of them at the Apple Store.  Usually I enjoy trips to the Apple Store because of the excellent customer experience.  Today, however, that was not to be.  My experience was, as I said, disappointing. Read on to see the details.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

In a former life I was a classically trained chef.  I went to culinary school, worked in the restaurant business for a number of years and lived and breathed all things food and cooking.  Although that seems like a lifetime away (I’ve since moved on to another career) I still enjoy cooking and do it often.  I do a lot of my cooking on a grill.  I use my grill all year long.  Winter, spring, summer and fall.  I’ve been know to grill in the snow or under an umbrella in the rain.  My last grill wasn’t the latest or greatest model.  It lasted a few years and did the job.  This year I decided to replace it with something that handled the amount of work I throw at a grill better and with something that would last long. My choice?  The Weber Genesis.  EP-310.  I had a strict budget in mind (between $500-$700) so I couldn’t get the most bells & whistles or the highest end grill on the market.  But for the price considerations I used I came away with something really top notch.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

At its best, technology integrates with the rest of our lives so completely that it is barely noticeable. And yet, were we to suddenly discover ourselves without it, we would quickly realize how much we have grown to depend on this gadget or that. Moreover, while unboxings and full reviews are exciting, it is often the small ways in which new technology enhances our lives on a day to day basis that matters most. I had one of those wonderful “technology is fantastic!” moments just now and I thought I might share it with you. It begins in a class earlier today and concludes with my starting to read a fascinating book on my Kindle and iPod Touch just minutes after I went in search of it.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

By now most of us are aware of Twitter.  If you’re not Twitter is a “service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?” Twitter is popular.  The service doubled its user base in March alone (See this link).  And as a result, there is no shortage of desktop Twitter clients out there available to download.  In this comparison review Larry (Nambu and Tweetie) and Wayne (TweetDeck and Seesmic) take a look at four of the more popular Twitter desktop clients available for the Mac operating system.  Which one’s right for you?  Read on to find out.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

After using Google Voice on and off for the past few weeks and the new GV Mobile App on my iPhone for the last day, I’m pretty much ready to make the move to Google Voice full-time. There are a few reasons for this and the quality and speed of the iPhone app is one of them, but before I jump into those reasons in any detail let’s take a second to talk about what Google Voice is… and isn’t.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Popular task management web site Toodledo is currently accepting private beta applications for a BlackBerry application that synchronizes with the Toodledo web site. Development of the program has been assigned to Fieldstone Software, LLC who is apparently creating the application independent of Toodledo but with their consent. There’s not much information on the ToodledoBB beta page. It’s too early to tell if the application is going to synchronize Toodledo data to the native BlackBerry tasks or if it will only synch to the BlackBerry application ToodledoBB. ToodledoBB – beta Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Theme creator Elecite is out with a new BlackBerry Theme (OS 4.5+) that changes the look and feel of your BlackBerry to that of an XBox 360 – right down to the circular battery icon used by XBox controllers. No word on whether the “Red Ring of Death” has been added to signal a system crash. Price is $6.99 and you can download over the air to BlackBerry models 88xx, 83xx,9000 (Bold), 95xx (Storm), 8900 (Javelin). Elecite xBerry Continue reading on Gear Diary …