Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! We have now officially entered the ‘clean-up’ period of the year, where stuff just drops onto shelves that has either seen loads of delays or has no particular audience or is something that the publisher doesn’t want to spend any money promoting. Or has an audience that is impervious to the typical holiday swings – sort of like the expansion pack Europa Universalis: III Heir to the Throne, which takes place between 1492 and 1550 and allows you to play as eight major European powers. Cool stuff!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

OK, folks, I really didn’t see this coming! Bioware and Transgaming (makers of the Cider translation engine used by so many PC to Mac ports) have just announced they are bringing the mega-hit and already winner of many GotY (Game of the Year) awards to the Mac on December 21st! I saw it in a Tweet from Direct2Drive about the ability to pre-order, and re-read a few times until I was sure … then did a quick Google search and saw some others sources announcing it as well! A few caveats: This game is already available for pre-order on Direct2Drive, and other sites will likely soon follow. Typically retail is pretty slow Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Who says Apple doesn’t know how to lighten up? It seems like Cupertino is trying to make a few moves that will reduce some of the ongoing complaints regarding their rigid control over every aspect of the iPhone. Last week Wired.com noted that Apple had loosened restrictions on a private API that allowed video capture. As Wired notes today- As a result, Apple approved Ustream, a live video streaming app that’s free in the App Store. The extra bonus? In addition to streaming-video capability, the app has a video recorder, too — and that also works with older iPhones. They go on to note that a new… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Ok, who hasn’t waved a wooden spoon around the house and proclaimed it to be a magic wand? Who hasn’t used whatever was handy?  It got even worse after the Harry Potter movies came out. Everyone went wizard and wand crazy. But, we have all done this. Magic wands are fun. They just are!  Now imagine if there was a real magic wand that could do something kinda cool….like maybe switch TV channels? Well, the folks over at ThinkGeek have just the thing, the Magic Wand Programmable TV Remote.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

My friend Steven showed up with his latest “toy” a couple of days ago — the a 2010 Polaris 4×4 Ranger EV. I’ve got a tricked out red 2009 Ranger XP 700 EFI (complete with CD player and Sirius Satellite radio, heh). Mine may beat his in a race, but his has a feature that leaves mine in the dust – it’s electric and nearly noiseless. I thought his buggy was neat enough that I should share.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This video is awesome. It’s a mashup of the trailers from the last year or so, stitched together to make them look like one movie. See? Gear Diary just saved you the trouble of digging your way out from underneath your overstuffed Netflix queue! via Seattleist Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Its only 10 more shopping days until Christmas is here.  Haven’t figured out yet what to get that favorite geek in your life?  How about Google Chrome, the web browser making all the headlines these past few weeks? Google wants people to know about and use their flagship web browser.  So, they figured out a way to do a tie in to Christmas.  Its a theme for them, starting with the Christmas postcard giveaway they did a few weeks back. To give the gift of Chrome, go to the Chrome for Christmas web site, choose some themed “wrapping”  paper which gets wrapped around the Google Chrome logo and then is delivered via… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Mail Tones from Electric Pocket is a nifty iPhone application that allows you to assign different ringtone alerts to each of the contacts in your address book.  This way you’ll know who’s e-mailing you without ever having to turn the phone on. Dan reviewed the application here, and I’ve been using it faithfully ever since.  Since the iPhone lacks any sort of real repeating notification system, I rely on Mail Tones quite heavily.  I know, from the sound of the alert, if an e-mail that’s arrived is important or not. For the holiday season Electric Pocket has released a Christmas version of Mail Tones, called Festive Tones.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Another day, another Direct2Drive Holiday Deal! Now in time for Christmas they are back – they are featuring a game a day for now until Christmas! Deals so far have been great, and it just keeps rolling today! Game #14 is the umm … rather outdated Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008 (yes, the rest of the gaming world is playing Tiger Woods 2010!). Here is the announcement Tweet: D2D’s 24 Days of Christmas – Day 14- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 is 50% OFF – now just $9.95! [Insert Tiger joke here] http://bit.ly/5w5ISJ This special includes the original game released a couple of years ago for 50% off – $9.95 rather than $19.95!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Quickly look at the faces and then decide – which face is male, and which is female? Read on to find out!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Go ahead … give the Fuse’s rubbery looking case a squeeze as you prepare to experience the its multiple interface technologies, namely “multi-touch capacitive sensing, haptic feedback, 3-D graphics, and force, grip, and proximity sensing.” I think that it’s amazing how you can tilt the Fuse to scroll, squeeze it to stop, and do other touch based actions to make it respond. Bear in mind that this isn’t a retail item yet, but it shows technology that is coming to retail devices … maybe sooner than you think! The best way to get a sense for it is to watch the video, and if you like what you see, we’ve got more pictures and the press release for you.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The rumored Google designed Nexus One has now hit the FCC, and it is looking more and more like this phone will be best suited for T-Mobile’s network since it is only a Triband device… leaving those on AT&T out in the cold.  With the Snapddragon processor, an OLED display and Android 2.1, this looks like it will be my next phone on T-Mobile unless something better comes along by October 2010. No word on pricing or a definite release date has sneaked out quite yet. Picture and story from Engadget. Also on eWeek, PMPToday, PCWorldand WSJ.com Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Originally hatched as part of a nation-wide contest in Canada and prototyped as a PC game, Kingdom of Gnester is soon to be launched as an iPhone game in the App Store! Another Castle Studios head Nick McKinnon
 dropped us a message to announce that the game is coming soon the the App Store, and we also have a couple of videos for us to share. Read on for the videos and more details!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Teleread received a tip from one of their readers that books downloaded from the Barnes and Noble eBook store are coming in ePUB now, instead of the legacy PDB format used by eReader/Fictionwise. It also seems that Teleread is jumping on the “eReader is generic” bandwagon, since they point out that even Barnes and Noble can’t keep them straight. … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you love listening to Pandora or Rhapsody or just music in general our GearSponsor has a deal for you! The Logitech Squeezebox Classic has an MSRP of $299.99 but LogicBUY has found a coupon for $120 off plus free shipping. That brings the total cost to just $179.99. The Sqeezebox Classic is “A network music player that sets the music on your computer and the Internet free. It wirelessly streams what you want to hear—your digital music library, Internet radio, and online music services.” It features always-on internal radio, 802.11g Wi-Fi with dual internal antenna and is easily expandable. To get this GearDeal you’ll… Continue reading on Gear Diary …