The tech world was buzzing (twittering???) today with the news that Google is actively working on an operating system based upon their Chrome browser. It was exciting news that help explain the sudden removal of the “beta” tag from many of Google’s offerings such as Gmail. The announcement is anything but a surprise. Not only had there been rumors on numerous occasions regarding Google’s move into the OS world but it’s clear that Google has been actively extending its reach, or shall we say — empire and this is certainly a logical move toward total domination of our online lives. Initially I wasn’t all that interested in the announcement. After all, this operating system as headed primarily for netbooks and the small device that I’m hoping for will not be called a netbook and will run OSx or OSx iPhone. Then I got to thinking — just a few days ago I spent an afternoon exclusively using my HP 2140 netbook. I have the diminutive computer tricked out about as far as it can go with 2 GB of RAM and a 32 GB SSD drive. Still, I found browsing on it a challenge and I was happy to get [...]

The July 7th edition of the Wall Street Journal features an article on Ari Weinstein, a 15 year old from Philadelphia, who happens to be one of the key players responsible for Jailbreaking the iPhone and iPod Touch. Working in conjunction with the “iPhone Dev. Team” Ari and his team have been successfully Jailbreaking all of Apple’s devices. These teams are the guys responsible for bringing you all those nifty tools which allow you to Jailbreak your iPhone and iPod touch. Ari, who says he began computing at around age 2 has been working on different variations of the team’s Jailbreaking program for over two years. He has his own lawyer… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

What this Sansa Fuze lacks in storage capacity (there’s only room for 2GB of your music and video) it makes up for in features (FM Radio, Voice Recording, Video Playback). You can expand the storage capacity by inserting your own microSD/microSDHC card which can boost storage to the limit supported by the compatible SDHC card. This new player is on sale for today only at Shnoop. Sandisk Sansa 2GB Fuze Expandable MP3 Music/Video Player – $28.47 Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I don’t know about you but the battery on my 3G S seems to perform the worst of the three versions of the phone I’ve owned.  Dan also mentioned to me tonight that the battery on his 3G S isn’t performing all that well either. Now some of the drain can of surely be associated with the new push notification system but wasn’t the 3G S supposed to come with a higher capacity battery? Maybe you have a first generation iPhone still and have long since reached that dreaded magic number of charge cycles or a 3G that’s nearing it.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Anticipation of the release of the updated LucasArts classic adventure Tales of Monkey Island this week was ratcheted up by the announcement that the publisher would begin releasing classic games from their vault on the Steam download service. One thing that was unknown from the announcement was the pricing – and the absence of details left many fearing the worst … after all, LucasArts has seemed to have gone from being a core center of gaming innovation and creativity to a profit center based on licensed titles in recent years.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve been using the Verizon Mifi for the last two weeks and am finding it a very nice portable solution when I’m away from home.  It allows not only me to gain access to the internet but up to four other users at the same time. Well it looks like I might not need the Mifi after all.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Just the other day I was discussing the state of the current lineup of iPhone cases with a fellow blogger.  We were both remarking how disappointed we’d become with the current stock of cases available on the market.  It just seems as if there hasn’t been anything new released for quite some time. Well Belkin has come to the rescue. I knew that Belkin was one of a select group of case manufacturers that had planned to launch an entire new line of cases in conjunction with the launch of the iPhone 3G S. I recently received 3 review samples from Belkin’s future line up.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Developer Description: Is that dot in the sky a star or a planet? Answer that question with this application. Discover when you can see your favorite planet, and where to look in the sky in relation to the stars. Provides lots of interesting information: location of the sun, moon, and planets in the sky maps of stars and constellations rise and set time of the sun, moon, and planets current and future moon phases 3D globe view of all planets and the moon facts sheet for each planet, including moon names Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Just a couple of weeks ago I highlighted the awesome $0.99 sale on Peggle at the iTunes App store. As I mentioned, the concept of Peggle is simple: you are presented with a board of pegs, some of which are orange. You have a ball shooter at the top center of the screen. The goal is to remove all of the orange pegs from the screen using the balls from your shooter. Since gravity and physics are the laws in the Peggle universe, you need to estimate the trajectory of bounces off other pegs if you hope to clear all the orange pegs. Any peg you hit disappears, allowing you to get at hidden pegs.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you’ve got a lot of contacts, like me…I have over 1300, then finding the right tool for  working with them can sometimes be difficult.  That’s where tools like Vito Technology’s FunContact 3x comes in. Straight from Vito Technology: Fun Contact 3x gives a whole new experience in managing your contacts with its new and exciting features: Categories support New Favorites with photos: grid and list Start calling or enter contact card from Favorites Call history editing: filter or delete Individual call history: filter or delete Full-screen Dialer Quick keypad contact search 3 skins available: Dark, Clear and Bright The app looks pretty cool, and has some nice features. If WM Contacts isn’t enough for you and you need something more, then you might want to give this a long hard look. The full press release, with additional screen shots, can be found after the break.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Whether you’re a Nokia fan or just looking for a solid QWERTY GSM based phone – here’s a great option for you. This Nokia E71 is unlocked and ready to go on any WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 frequencies. Featuring a 3.2 megapixel camera, digital music player, FM radio, GPS, and 802.11g Wi-Fi. You can also have it in any color you like – so long as the colors you like are white or gray. Trim and fitted with a full keyboard, E71 Mobile Phone from Nokia is impeccably tailored for business on the move. With two home screens it allows you to choose between work and leisure modes. It also helps you to reach your destination with maps and A-GPS, helping Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Late last night Google dropped the bomb that many people have been expecting for quite some time. For years we’ve all been talking about how the web browser could eventually become the operating system. I first remember hearing this discussed when Netscape rose up to take on Microsoft’s dominant Internet Explorer. Until now though the thought of browser as OS has largely remained a distant but ever more believable dream. The dream may become reality if Google has their way.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the things I have noticed when I purchase or rent DVDs is that most of the focus is on the picture quality.  How well does the screen on your HDTV recreate the theater  experience.  The thing is, when I go to the theater to see a movie, it is rarely the screen which leaves me on the edge of my seat.  It is the sounds.  The music, the effects.  I mean, really.  Think about the movie Jurassic Park for a minute.  Was it the rippling water that gave you the thrill of an approaching T-Rex, are was it the thunderous sounds his footsteps made.  So, while the screen is important, I have long been waiting to find a company which could truly recreate that theater quality sound.  Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you have been putting off purchasing a graphics tablet, Genius is ready to reward you with two models priced under $100.  The digital pens and tablets free up the professional (or budding)  graphic artist to create without being limited by using only a keyboard.   They are dual-platform — so you can use them on both MACs and PCs. The EasyPen i405 sells for $79, has 28 programmable “Hot-Keys,” and a 4″ x 5.5″ working area to make transport easy for the mobile professional. The MousePen i608 sells for $99, includes a cordless mouse, a larger 8″ x 6″ working area, and 29 “Hot-Keys” to access your computer’s applications and Internet functions. Both tablets feature… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Every day there are dozens and dozens of app updates released to the iTunes App Store. Larry tweeted that after just a week away he had over 30 waiting! There are so many, in fact, that it is all but impossible to keep up with them. We won’t try. What we will do, however, is let you know when one of the apps WE ALREADY use gets a significant update that adds functionality, changes usability or anything else that makes a good app even better. So let’s begin with the first installment of… We Got Updates…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …