If you ask most gamers to think back to ‘that one game’, the one that captures their imagination to this day, that they can play again and a gain – and do replay every year without fail, they will quickly come up with one. Perhaps not their first, nor their favorite, it is a game that holds a very special place in their heart for some reason or other. So I consider myself fortunate that I immediately have two games that spring to mind. Star Wars Jedi Knight 2 and Gothic 2. It is interesting that despite gaming for over 30 years now, my ‘touchstone’ games are both from this decade. As with most things, we always hope that new games will recapture that same feeling – but neither Jedi Academy nor Gothic 3 lived up to their predecessors, and I particularly remember the community disappointment over Dungeon Lords, a game that promised to deliver an experience that the developer claimed was ‘born out of inspiration from classic RPG’s and modern classics such as the Jedi Knight and Gothic games’. So it was with some trepidation that I invested a significant hope in the new release from Gothic developer Piranha [...]

It’s probably one of the first things we do when we get a new phone.  Load that personalized wallpaper that differentiates our phone from all the others like it.  But this one’s a little out there, even for me. Helys, a French company, is creating custom iPhone wallpapers for users out of their own, personal, DNA markers.  To get your custom wallpaper you pay the $146 and then wait to receive your personal mouth swabbing kit to collect your own DNA.  Once the company receives your personal sample they use it to create the wallpaper based on the color you pre-selected.  They then e-mail you the completed 100 dpi image for you to load… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I have really been enjoying the experience of using the Blackberry Bold over the last few weeks. It is a fantastic device for e-mail and IM;and the integration with Google voice, while not as good as you’ll find on a device running Android, is quite good. I cannot see giving up my iPhone, but I am glad to have the opportunity to use both devices in parallel. While I have not gotten into the practice of surrounding myself with accessories for the device in the way that I have with my iPhone, I have discovered a few key accessories that enhance my experience of using the Bold. Two of my favorites come from Case-Mate. One adds a tremendous amount of battery life the device, while the other merely enhances its appearance. Let’s take a look at both.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

T-Mobile has at least temporarily halted sales of their popular Sidekick phone. This action is in light of a likely data loss for their customers caused by events apparently connected to a recent server outage. The Sidekick is one of the few phones that is highly dependent on a remote server for storage and updating of data such as contacts and calendars. The phone is very popular with teens and also has a very large user base of hearing impaired users whose Sidekicks act as a replacement for more traditional TTY. The outage and data loss is raising eyebrows because Danger is owned by Microsoft who is therefore tasked with securing this data. A loss of user data for a… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Okay it’s not in the same price range at the Vertu she’s used to, but could the Giorgio Armani phone – which is manufactured by Samsung and retails for $1,000 – fit into her wardrobe? The bronze accented device features a 3.5 inch AMOLED screen, 8 gigs of storage, a 5 MP camera, and built in GPS. It runs the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system and also packs a slide out keyboard. Seems like a fairly basic phone and like most things what you’re paying for is the brand more than anything else. Via Gadgetcrave. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD 1080p Media Player has been updated and is in stock now at Best Buy for $119.99 plus shipping (or order online & pickup at your local store). This is an update to the popular WD TV HD (USB) Media Player, access web content such as YouTube, Flickr, and Pandora. Equipped with HDMI, USB 2.0, Ethernet so you can stream content via your network. Supports AAC, MP3, JPEG, H.264/AVCHD formats. Includes remote control, Western Digital WD TV Live Network HD Media Player via GearSponsor: Logicbuy Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A few days ago, I reviewed the new navigation app MotionX GPS Drive. I cited a few limitations of the applications. Well, MotionX released an update to the application that addresses some of the things I experienced. The new version, 1.2, offers improved GPS locking and map caching – two things I was concerned about in my review. My experience with the new version is that these things are improved, but may still need a little bit more tweaking. The GPS locking, for example, is MUCH faster than before, but on the base map, the icon is often off from your road position. Whether this is a problem with the maps or the application or… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Just this week I was catching up on some DVRed television.  One of the shows I was watching featured a flash-forward, where the characters lives were examined in the future.  One of the technological advances highlighted in the episode was cell phone chips that were implanted in to people’s inner ear.  I found it somewhat amusing, but I am now wondering if it might not be too far off. At CITA last week, Kempler and Strauss featured a watch cell phone which almost looks functional.  I’ve seen a few watch phones and while they seem cool they just don’t seem all that functional.  The K&S version features a video and still camera, text messaging, an Mp3 player,  a phone and more.  It’s “sweat” proof not water proof, which means… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Since the PSP Go arrived I have lamented at the cost of the MINIs, those bite-sized games that have so far mainly been retreads of games from the iTunes App Store. For example, Fieldrunners costs $2.99 on the App Store and $6.99 for the PSP; And Hero of Sparta costs $1.99 on the App Store and $4.99 for the PSP. At first I assumed it was part of the whole ‘we charge more because we can’ Premium Pricing model for the PSP Go. But according to Andrew Yoon of Joystiq, it might be in part due to the steep cost of getting ESRB rating approval for games in North America.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Just in case you missed it two exciting new applications hit the iTunes App Store a few days ago. Tweetie 2 and Adobe Photoshop Mobile have both only been out a few days but have both been receiving high praise from iPhone users everywhere.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I have been traveling once or twice a year for conferences for my job.  I have always been one of those who checked their bag.  That even became more common once I added CPAP to my load.  Well, this time I challenged myself.  Can I survive with only One Bag plus my CPAP machine?  Let’s find out.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Need cash? If you have an unused cell phone and if it’s relatively current and in good condition you may be able to exchange it for cash at this special cell phone recycling ATM. Of course it helps if you were in Omaha Nebraska where this special electronics recycling machine is setup. The EcoATM accepts used phones and sensors in the machine inspect them for damage and assigns them real-time value. If the device is of acceptable quality it then issues in-store payment. The first test kiosk went up September 21 at the Nebraska Furniture Mart. EcoATM via Register Hardware Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Worried about being caught by a red light speed trap that will photograph your license plate if you fail to stop for a traffic light? How about his free standing Red Light Camera Detector. It uses an internal GPS and 6,000 location database to compute whether you’re passing within range of a red light and speed camera. The red light camera database is updated monthly using information from chambers of commerce and state contracts. Simply connect the device to a PC running XP or Vista and download the latest red light camera locations from the manufacturer’s website. Includes one year of free updates; $19.95 annually thereafter. Of course other alternatives would be software such as Trapster Continue reading on Gear Diary …

In case you missed this deal – Best Buy is offering 20% anything in the iTunes store this week. Just purchase a $50 iTunes card for $40 which can be used anywhere on iTunes and represents an instant 20 % discount. Available in-store or online (free shipping though the card is shown as a 1-2 week backorder online). Best Buy via SlickDeals Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! This week has a ton of games, but is actually rather thin on the top level blockbusters. First and foremost is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, which we featured in a beta code contest here, and has already been receiving sterling reviews. The other obvious one is Brutal Legend, the delayed-by-legal-wrangling game which is from Tim Shaeffer (famous for LucasArts adventure games and recently Psychonauts), and is a tie-in to the movie of the same name. Also, there is a game that looks like a load of fun called A Boy and His Blob, which I have featured in the headline picture.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …