Our GearSponsor LogicBuy is apparently working a little holiday overtime this weekend. They check in with this hot buy – normally $99 and now $49 – on a FreeAgent 500 GB USB 2.0 hard disk. It seems like just yesterday when a big box of 3.5″ floppy disks cost about $50. Now you can have half a Terabyte for barely the cost of a nice meal for two. The drive carries a 5 year limited warranty, transfers data at up to 480 Mb/s and will go into sleep mode if it has been idle for over 15 minutes. Act quick on this one because it won’t be in stock for long. FreeAgent 500GB Continue reading on Gear Diary …

You know that itch you get when you buy a new digital camera, the type of itch that makes you capture everything from kids to office supplies, at least I hope other people do that too )  My wife is one of the smartest people I know, but I couldn’t count the times when I get a scream from the computer room, with her trying to manage all of our digital photos or asking me how to find certain pictures…that’s where Picsmatch facial recognition program comes to the rescue!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This 7 oz replica XBox 360 controller is an actual working bar of soap that looks too good to use. For added realism there are colored buttons which are raised from the main controller. Made from glycerin soap and scented with Mountain Dew, a gamer’s best scent! Realistic XBox replica soap – $12… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Spring is here, and along with the rains and milder days have come droves of moths, gnats, flies, mosquitoes, june bugs, mayflies, scorpions, spiders and every other weird bug that will scramble in when someone accidentally leaves the screen door open for longer than a second. I live in the country so I might have a few more bugs on my list than you would, but I know that you “city dwellers” have to deal with some of the same. I was recently on the Home Improvements website looking for some heat register deflectors and recycling bins, and I saw a device that I just had to try – the Bug Catcher Vacuum. I figured it was just an overpriced and oddly shaped Dirt Devil. Not quite… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve been using the Leatherman Skeletool CX for the last year or so.  It goes with me everywhere I go.  I thought it was light weighing in at a mere 5 ounces.  Now Leatherman has one-upped themselves again with the release of the Freestyle CX. This little knife/tool hybrid is packing one heck of a material list. To start, the Leatherman Freestyle CX features DLC coating for scratch and corrosion resistance, making it great for those adventures that really put your gear to the test. Next the premium 154CM knife blade holds its edge three-times as long as traditional stainless steel. And finally with its powerful jaws, outside-accessible blade, and removable pocket clip, you can use it like a pocket knife, or a multi-tool. And while those last features aren’t really “materials,” we think you’ll agree flexibility and adaptability are pretty much priceless any way you look at it. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you’re planning on purchasing a Palm Pre when it launches June 6 – it seems like you won’t be able to use any of your existing micro-USB chargers. Until the device launches it’s impossible to know whether this Sprint warning is just a scare tactic or whether every Pre user will be pitched a $31.99 auto charger and spare $34.99 travel charger for the office. Wasn’t the whole micro-USB connector supposed to become a “standard” sometime this century? Boo – Hiss if this notice of incompatibility is true. more Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This set of 10 coffee mugs is styled so that the color of each individual mug matches one of the Pantone Color standards used by graphics geeks to ensure consistency in color. There are a few sets available with different colors including one that is specially designed (brown) for tea lovers. The set is a bit pricey at $125 for 10 mugs or 4 mugs for $52.50. Pantone Coffee Mugs Continue reading on Gear Diary …

With 4 GB RAM, Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 2.0 GHZ processor, 14.1″ Ultrabright WXGA TFT display, 320 GB 5400 RPM HDD, 8X DVDRW, and 5-in-1 media reader (SD, Memory Stick, xD, Memory Stick PRO, Multi Media Card) — it’s hard to find a lot not to like about this notebook deal. Netbooks with less memory and smaller processors are selling for barely $100 less. The deal is via Circuit City which apparently has risen from the ashes via takeover from Systemax Inc., a leading multi-channel retailer of computers, electronics, and industrial products, who’ve purchased the Circuit City brand, trademark, website and other assets. The purchased assets include the customer records of the original Circuit City. More Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When Sony told me they had a Vaio P ready to send out to me, I was more excited about it than any other device I’ve tested in a while. Having converted to the netbook faithful with an HP Mini 1000 a few months ago, I was looking forward to trying out Sony’s attempt. The design really does trump every other netbook on the market, and is extremely reminiscent of their PictureBook series of ultraultraportables from a few years ago. It is thinner than my Mini 1000, not to mention less wide and deep. It doesn’t even make it to 700g! This thing is seriously light, and seriously portable. Have you seen the ads of the girl with the P in her back pocket? It really is that slim. I tried it, and it works (though admittedly, looks better on the girl in the ad ) Open up the display and you’re greeted by a very-widescreen and a keyboard that isn’t as small as you were expecting. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

WOW! We had a GREAT response to our Seck-tacular Giveaway contest. And for good reason since Speck’s cases are great. Well, out Gear Diary Randomizer just went and picked the winners. If they privately send up their addresses the cases will go out early next week. And the cases go to…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It’s Memorial Day weekend – and that means the start of summer and cookout season. Here’s a unique item called a Spread Head that costs only $3.99 yet gives a lifetime of childish amusement. Place it on top of a mustard squeeze bottle. Kids squeeze the bottle and out of the mouth comes yellow mustard. Stock up on lots of bottles because if your kids are like mine they’ll squeeze this thing dry watching the guy spread mustard from his mouth. There’s also a top for Ketchup – but thankfully none for relish or tartar sauce. Full YouTube goodness here. Perpetual Kid – Mustard Marvin or Ketchup Charlie Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Hey!  Didn’t BlackBerry users just get an updated Facebook release in April?  Well, looks like ‘Berry users may get some additional features with Facebook 1.6, which is expected to launch May 28th at 5pm EST. BerryReview caught wind of the Facebook application update and listed some of the new features that are expected, including: * Feed support – view and comment on friends status updates and highlights * Profile and wall viewing – view and comment on friends’ profiles and wall updates * Improved photo viewing – view and comment on pictures Facebook is one of the most popular applications for BlackBerry users, and it is exciting to see so many… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

File this one under “probably fake but still funny” and “guys have a lot of free time on their hands”. According to web site swamplot.com, one restroom patron at the Houston Hobby airport noticed a sticker on the urinal stating “Automatic infrared flush sensors also provide video monitoring for security purposes”: The camera appeared to be in the same panel that carried the flush sensor… a brushed metal panel with an oval shaped dark transparent glass with a red on it. . . . And this panel was located just above the urinal itself. Given how close the user of the urinal would be to the flush sensor and camera, it’s probably designed to monitor people walking in/out/around the Continue reading on Gear Diary …

PhoneFace, the Photo Speed Dial application for BlackBerry and Android, has been updated for improved contact search integration to select your friend’s photo ID based on their Facebook or Twitter profile pics — or selecting a photo that you saved directly to your phone.   Simply start typing the name of your contact, and PhoneFace will bring up the listing of all of your contacts’ photos to quickly locate the person you’re looking to reach. PhoneFace has a free 7-day Trial.  The full, unlocked application is $ 9.95 (Pssssssst.  CrackBerry.com currently has PhoneFace available for $7.95 until June 1st for BlackBerry users.  Hurry up and grab a copy!) Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It is was a perfect holiday weekend up here in eastern PA (before the rain arrived), and “the princess” (that would be the canine who owns me) and I have just returned from a 2 1/2 mile walk around the lake. A few things became clear during our trek… 1. Maisy is the happiest dog in the state right now. (New smells and a swim… what could be bad?) 2. I am terribly out of shape. 3. We are the only people in PA who clean up after their dog. 4. Jamiroquai and The Arctic Monkeys make for some good walking music 5. Manufacturers need to rethink earbud design.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …