There’s little question that Michael Jackson will go down in history as one of the most memorable performers of recent times. Sadly his memory is tainted with prominent footnotes about his eccentricities, questionable lifestyle, legal challenges and string of failed professional and personal relationships. There’s no denying that in his day this guy could sing and dance in a class that will forever be remembered. Until the inevitable tell all books, souvenir commemorative Jackson dinner plates and sequined gloves hit late night TV all we have to remind us of the King of Pop is this Motown 25th Anniversary video and albums like this $9.99 compilation of his number one hits. Too cheap to spring for an album? Try this free… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

These Apple iPhone (unofficial) cufflinks make great fashion accessories for those obsessed with Apple’s smartphone. The front of this cufflink design show off some favorite Apps while the backing is silver plated. Proudly show your iPhone devotion to the world with these cufflinks priced at only $50/pair and available for same day shipping. iPhone Cufflinks – $50/pair… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The soon to be released BlackBerry Curve 8520 gets a review over at Phonearena. It looks like this BlackBerry is destined to be an entry level model for T-Mobile (my guess is that it’ll be a freebie within a short time of launch). The screen resolution takes a puzzling step back to 320×240 (both the recent 8900 and Bold have 480×320 screens) and Phonearena seems tentative about what is really the only new feature — a navigational track pad instead of track ball – calling it “good after you get used to it”. They also weren’t thrilled about outgoing call quality. Read the full review below. BlackBerry 8520 Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Here’s a hot deal for anyone looking to replace a Verizon BlackBerry. This is certainly not the newest BlackBerry model – but it is one of the sturdiest. You’ll have to do without a camera but this BlackBerry will function perfectly well for anyone heavily into email. It also features GSM capabilities for global use. There’s no contract required and shipping is free. Buy via FW Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Belkin’s Comfort Line of mice let’s you work with a design that conforms to your hand for maximum comfort.   The Comfort Line will be available in the Americas at the end of June (end of July for Europe, Asia, and Australia).  The wireless version includes a USB dongle that can be used to hold the mouse for storage/transit, as well as a power save mode that will put the mouse to sleep after 8 minutes of inactivity.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

“Mmmmmm Donuts.   D’Oh!  I mean, turn right in one Mile…” In a move of absolute brilliance, TomTom now has Homer Simpson (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) available to guide you along your GPS journeys.  Traffic jams be damned, having Homer Simpson with you can put a little — no, a LOT — of fun back into your daily commutes or that long summer trip with the family.  Woohoo! Now TomTom, for the next celebrity voice download, please sign up Samuel L. Jackson to give me more voice(shout)-guided GPS goodness. TomTom’s Homer Simpson Voice Guide – download for $12.95  (Samples)… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The iPhone has done it again. Google announced today that in less than a week since its release, the latest iteration of the iPhone has boosted mobile video uploads to YouTube by 400%. This is part of a wider trend that has seen a 1700% rise in uploads to YouTube from mobile phones over the past 6 months.  The number of uploads is ‘increasing exponentially’ with the iPhone 3GS set to take the lion’s share of those uploads as it goes on sale in more markets across the globe. What’s next? An explosion in mobile multiplayer gaming (sorry Nokia, n-gage just doesn’t cut it)? Let’s hope the iPhone 4G… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Carly Z: There are some moments that make you think the people around you are psychic. I remember sitting in my friend’s dorm room in college studying for a final, when she suddenly stopped, took a looooooooooooong drag on her cigarette, and looked at me with my bright dyed hair and worn out Descendents sweatshirt and said, “Brandeis will suuuuuuuuuuuuuuck the puuuuuuuuuuuunk out of you.” Sadly, she was right. But I can recapture a little of that ol’ punk-ass spirit with a MusicMatch skin for my MacBook. … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As expected Google is moving forward with its rollout of Google Voice. Wayne just pinged me with this news from the Google Blog… Google Voice rolling out new invites Thursday, June 25, 2009 10:51 AM In March of this year we announced the launch of Google Voice for existing GrandCentral users. Google Voice helps you manage your phones and voicemail by unifying all your telephones – including mobile, home, and work phones – with a single phone number and letting you access voicemail via phone, email, or the Web. Today we’re pleased to announce that Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Have you been searching for a Dell LCD Monitor? GearSponsor Logicbuy checks in this morning with a 10% stackable coupon (works on top of any existing discounts) that can be used against a whole list of Dell LCD monitors. Prices as low as $69 for a 16″ monitor (remember when this size would have been considered large?!) – all the way to $1,259 for a 30 inch LCD. More details at the link below. Code expires 6/27/09. Logicbuy Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I have been a bit disappointed in Apple’s new Push Notification service for iPhone 3.0. First off, a week after 3.0′s release the number of apps using it is super limited. Add to that the fact that the few that are out are buggy as can be and it makes you wonder how good this system will really be. Well, fear not! I am running an early pre-release of SHAPE Services IM+ with push and it is working perfectly! I got a series of IMs pushed to me from both Travis and Wayne and each time it worked like a champ! Word from our friends at SHAPE Services is that the app is with Apple and under review so it could be out any time now. Here is just one example…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I have GOT to stop checking my RSS feeds each morning. Every time I think I have the right collection of tech something else comes along. I mean, I have a new MacBook running at 2.53GHz, with 4GB RAM and a blazing fast SSD drive. One would think that would be top of the heap for at least a few weeks. Right? Then along comes 9to5 Mac with a video of THIS tricked out MacBook. Damn you 9to5Mac!!!!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

For those who don’t mind a heaping side of bankruptcy with their discontinued device, you can get an OQO Model 02 for $152.02 from Micro Center. Seriously. That’s like a month’s worth of gas (or one fill-up if you drive an SUV). Compare this price against the original price of over $2000 !  So who’s going for it?… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I am a self-admitted “Evernote evangelist”. I love the service/software/system and live by it. I use it for all aspects of my life, I have my work colleagues using it, we use it here on Gear Diary and I tell everyone I can about it. No, I don’t work for Evernote. I’m not an investor in Evernote. I’m not even related to anyone who works for them. I just love it and think it is one of, if not the, most important pieces of hybrid-web-based productivity tech available today. BUT… and this is a huge but… it is far from perfect. When Evernote was first released the iPhone app lacked the ability to edit notes or store them locally. They were HUGE holes in Evernote’s usefulness that were, thankfully, filled with an update some time ago. A continuing issue with the service as a whole, however, was the inability to share notebooks with anyone else. Either you gave someone full access to your account or none at all. As a result, I use four different Evernote accounts with each shared with a different group of people from one aspect of my life. Well, all that changed today with what Evernote [...]

I use a Hewlett Packard 12c Platinum calculator frequently at work.  I rarely use it for calculating anything that comes close to challenging its capabilities, but I like it nonetheless.  This model has been around forever and is pretty much a classic, but it’s still in production. Beginning today, HP is releasing three calculator programs for the iPhone.  The programs are based on the 12c, 12c Platinum, and 15c.  This is the first time that HP itself has developed a calculator program for a mobile platform, but lots of others have attempted to write programs that have some of the functions and look of HP calculators. The iPhone versions support the classic landscape mode of… Continue reading on Gear Diary …