As much as some of us might like to avoid it winter is coming.  There’s no stopping it.  Do you want to be able to hit the slopes this season and bring some of your technology with you?  There are plenty of clothing items which enable you to do so.  Jackets with built in controls for your iPod, helmets with headphones built in, heated boots and more. Here’s two items which recently caught our eye. Hard Mountain Refugium Jacket with Ardica System Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Best Buy stores are now accepting pre-orders for November 6 delivery of the recently announced Motorola Droid phone. This will be Verizon’s first Android phone and it’s being hotly anticipated for its faster processor and updated Android 2.0 operating system which includes a new Google Maps turn by turn direction capability. For only $199 with no rebate (but after 2 year contract) you can be one of the cool kids on the block to grab the Droid on release day.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It seems you can’t catch a break these days. Most will agree that Sprint has: Good coverage.  Not the best, but very decent. Excellent pricing for ‘all you can eat’ data and data/voice plans Very aggressive calling circle scenarios including inexpensive options for unlimited calls to any cell phone 24×7. Their advertising is everywhere (at least everywhere I look).  Tons of creative web ads, all over Hulu, lots of product placement work such as Heroes etc They got the first true iPhone competitor this year with the Palm Pre. They have substantially improved customer service They just released the HTC Hero Android Phone.  So except for Continue reading on Gear Diary …

After some initial issues with one iPhone GPS app I have been using AT&T Navigator and finding it quite useful. It is fast, accurate and the redirecting process works well to help avoid traffic issues. The one downside of the app is that it requires an active data connection. Living where I do, however, it has not been much of an issue. Yes, the service requires an ongoing monthly fee of $9.99 but it also means that I always have the most current maps. Not a bad trade-off. Well, thanks to Telenav we have a huge giveaway of three YEAR LONG subscriptions to the service. … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Here’s the dilemma: you’re listening to your favorite music, and outside noises are not only bleeding in, they are making your music less clear. Most people would turn up the volume to block the unwanted noise and amplify their audio. The only problem is that in the process, they might also be causing irreparable hearing loss. Then there’s the matter of bass and treble – sometimes your left ear needs more bass and your right more treble, and that’s not exactly something you can set on an equalizer. How do you handle that? Sleek Audio, a two year old company that was started by the father and son audiologist team Mark and Jason Krywko, may have the answer; but first a bit of background. Sleek Audio “began when Mark found himself dissatisfied with the sound signature of the dozens of different earphones he had tried over the years, so as a 30 year veteran of the audio and custom hearing aid industries, he decided to build his own.” It took Mark and Jason three years to develop exactly what they wanted, and then they introduced the SA6 acoustically customizable earphone. What set the SA6 apart from other earphones was that [...]

I love my Roku media streaming device. I love its ability to stream Netflix streaming movies, Amazon Video On Demand an Major League Baseball. Best of all, the company is promising more content partners, and if their past track record is any indication, they will come through on that general promise. I love the ease of use, the quick set up, and the fact that the box itself requires no on-going subscription. Now Roku has released two new players.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Photo enforcement cameras are getting more and more popular in cities and towns across the country.  These cameras don’t require any man power and can catch you in the act of speeding, tailgating, running red lights and other moving violations and then automatically process the information, including the FINE, without having a police officer enter the picture. Do you want to avoid being the victim of one of these traps? Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Do you watch a lot a YouTube vidoes?  I certainly do.  One of the problems I routinely face with YouTube is buffering issues.  Often times when I’m watching a video, especially one in hi-def, the video will stop to buffer.  This results in a spinning wheel across the screen and I’m forced to wait for the video to catch up before I can continue watching.  Granted this doesn’t happen with every video I watch, but it happens often enough. SpeedBit has the solution.  Their SpeedBit Video Accelerator is a small application which you install on your computer and in turn it greatly speeds up your video viewing experience. I just installed the trial and was immediately impressed at how fast the few YouTube videos I watched downloaded. … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When the original BlackBerry Storm was introduced last year there was no shortage of  positive (though not glowing) reviews. At least one major web site proclaimed the device as Verizon’s best smartphone. My how quickly fortunes and opinions can change in a year. Despite the almost universally hated SurePress touchscreen input method and  lots of smack talk about the original Storm in reviewers’ private twitter feeds (where the REAL reviews happen),  most sites seemed happy to recommend the original  Storm  (three cheers for David Pogue who was one of the few to loudly stand up and call the device “BlackBerry Dud”). Fast forward a year and the love affair seems to be over. Not only… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Looks like the Light Brite toy I played with as a kid has gotten a major hi-tech overhaul. Sketch Art from Hi-Tech Art allows you to make your own art by sticking LEDs.  You use the included background to stick LEDs into and watch them light up.  The board has no circuitry, no soldering, no resistors. It includes eight differently colored LEDs to choose from.  It runs on batteries, wall power or USB, so you can take it pretty much anywhere. The Sketch Art is available here, at a price of $49.95… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It always struck me as a bit odd that Apple retail stores used specialized Windows CE devices to speed checkout. I mean… using a WINDOWS device to sell Apple products? Why, that would be like a TV news program displaying the Windows 7 logo on a MacBook Pro… (Oh, they did? My bad…) Anyhow, word is that Apple is planning to replace each of the aging devices (they first came on line in 2005) with a shiny new iPod touch.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Hold on a second – don’t check your calendar, you haven’t time-warped back to last year! Indeed, merely 6 months after the launch of the DSi, Nintendo has announced that on November 21st they will release the DSi LL in Japan, for the equivalent of $220. Read on for more details!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced to voluntary recalls. The first involves two Halloween themed flashlights which were sold at Target stores between August 2009 – September 2009. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When does a fictitious video game go too far? That question has been asked for decades now, since the screen images shown were barely recognizable blocks of pixels simulating every possible human activity. New footage from one of the most anticipated games of 2009, the upcoming shooter ‘Modern Warfare 2′ for the PS3 / XBOX360 / PC brings that question back to the fore. The scene shows the player as part of a group in civilian clothes with body armor coming out of an elevator in an airport and proceeding to gun down groups of civilians. The group proceeds to walk casually through the airport, gunning down unarmed civilians – including several people trying to help others… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When I’m getting ready to travel, I have enough to worry about.  Did I turn off the oven?  Set the home alarm? Stop the mail?   One thing I don’t want to have to worry about when I hit the road (or skies) for travel is trying to remember the %@#$! combination to my luggage locks.    In the hustle and bustle of trying to just make it to the airport in time to stand in those long security lines, I may just have to pick up some of these luggage locks from Wordlock. Instead of trying to remember another birthday anniversary Continue reading on Gear Diary …