Update: This task is now closed; you can find Task #7 here. Today marks the sixth day of our 32GB WiFi Apple iPad giveaway. As previously explained, we are doing a progressive contest, and by adding new applications or accessories to the prize package daily, the grand prize package will get bigger and better! So as of today, the package consists of the iPad on its own, valued at $599 plus tax; four Astraware titles – OddBlob, Solitaire, Sudoku and the soon to be released Casino; Hard Candy Bubble Sleeve For iPad; an e.ez LA robe iPad Allure; a Continue reading on Gear Diary …

My kids love the Tap Tap games from iPhone game maker Tapulous.  Heck, I think they would play “Tap Tap Crummy 80s Hair Bands” if Tapulous came out with it.  Tap Tap Revenge, Tap Tap Revenge 2, Tap Tap Revenge 3, Tap Tap Dance . . . they love ‘em. Now Tapulous has come out with their first iPad app–Tap Tap Radiation.  They’ve put together a hip YouTube clip, so I can shelve my descriptive genius and let you just luxuriate in video.  Tap Tap Radiation is available for the iPad via iTunes for the highly-affordable price of free. More info below. “Tap Tap Radiation” is a free app built to take Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last fall I reviewed My Sims Agents, saying “this is just a pure fun experience that puts a nice twist on some familiar territory and is highly recommended as a ‘family play’ game for folks with young kids looking for a cool new game.” Today only Amazon has both the Nintendo Wii and DS versions of the game for just $14.98 each, which is a 50% savings off regular price. MySims Agents for Nintendo DS MySims Agents for Nintendo Wii Source: Amazon Deal of the Day Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the unexpected benefits of starting to use the iPad in place of my MacBook is that it has made me feel far lighter than ever before. No, I don’t mean “lighter” in a “techno-geeky I’m so happy to be using this magical device…” way. No, I mean lighter as in “using the iPad means I carry a lot less in my bag”. In fact I can now carry a far lighter bag now thanks to the iPad. I set out to figure how much weight I had “dropped” and even I am surprised. Here is a quick, rundown that is actually conservative in its estimation of what I carried… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Vertu Constellation Ayxta If you noticed last week, we did an unboxing on the Vertu Constellation Ayxta.  A gorgeous new flip phone that costs oodles and oodles..  Well this week its broken! I put one of my 3 SIMs in it to start using it and absorbing it into my daily repertoire.  And then it started happening! I had synched the phone to my PC (Ok Mac Book Pro running Windows XP) and loaded my contacts and a few pertinent pics and was very excited to get started! I turned it on and the screen clock on the inside started to flash incessantly and I couldn’t get it to stop!  I closed and opened… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A few weeks ago I was in need of a camera that would shoot HD video. That very day our LogicBUY Gear Deal was a new Sony camera. It looked sleek but I wasn’t going to look at Sony camera because they all use Sony’s Memory Stick PRO Duo and I am an SD kinda guy. We shock of shock, Sony’s new camera accepted both Memory Stick PRO Duo AND SD/SDHC cards. I jumped in and bought. Long story short, I got a great deal thanks to our Gear Sponsor and I love the camera. Today’s deal is a different Sony camera than the one I bought but… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Having been one of the people in my social circle to have an iPad, I have been answering a lot of questions for others who don’t have an iPad, or that can’t be answered by playing with one directly. One of the most frequent questions I get is “How do you load PDFs (and other personal documents) onto the iPad?” If you look at the iPad by itself without a computer running iTunes, you can only explain this verbally. And it’s not the most intuitive process (in fact, not very Apple-like). So, rather than re-answer the same question multiple times, let’s just go through it here with images stepping through the process…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The only thing better than playing a great game is getting a great deal on a great game. Heck, even a great deal on an average game is a pretty great thing! As I’ve said in the past, I came back to the RPG genre on the PC after a long absence in mid-2003, starting with Neverwinter Nights on the Mac and proceeding to Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic on the day it was release, then starting to ‘backfill’ with games like Gothic 2 and Baldur’s Gate 2. By engaging many folks on forums in discussions I got plenty of advice which I then used to fill out my game library. One of… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Update: This task is now closed. You can find Task #6 here. Today marks the fifth day of our 32GB WiFi Apple iPad giveaway. As previously explained, we are doing a progressive contest, and by adding new applications or accessories to the prize package daily, the grand prize package will get bigger and better! So as of today, the package consists of the iPad on its own, valued at $599 plus tax; four Astraware titles – OddBlob, Solitaire, Sudoku and the soon to be released Casino; Hard Candy Bubble Sleeve For iPad; an e.ez LA robe iPad Allure Continue reading on Gear Diary …

You can always get a laptop or a gearbag to handle your larger electronics, but what about the little things –  the cables, cords, chargers, memory cards, flash drives, dongles, batteries, and miscellaneous doo-dads — all of the “stuff” that winds up getting lost or forgotten when you’re traveling? Say hello to a possible solution – the Skooba Design Cable Stable DLX, which features “over 15 intelligently organized, flexible spaces hold cords and cables, AC power blocks, adapters, batteries, USB drives, office supplies, even compact cameras and MP3 players.” Similar in style to a zippered binder, the Cable Stable… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The new Camangi Webstation software is much, much better than it used to be. It is faster and definitely more stable (though it does have some issues with coma-mode if left unused for a long period.) Anyhow, I couldn’t let Judie, Dan, Larry and the other Gear Diary members with iPads have ALL the fun…so I decided to write this post entirely on the Camangi Webstation. I downloaded the Wordpress app for Android, and I’m banging away nicely on a full size USB keyboard. It looks a bit silly, admittedly, but it’s working remarkably well. There is no lag between typing the words and their appearance on the Webstation, and surprisingly the Wordpress app is very responsive… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It is no surprise that I have already begun accessorizing my iPad. And why not since the right accessories make using the device (any device) much easier and better. I got the Apple iPad case, the dock and the keyboard dock. Personally I’m finding that both docks hold the iPad at a bit too much of an angle for my liking. The Apple iPad case does a better job by placing the iPad at something close to a 30 degree incling and in landscape. We new accessory, the Pedestal Base, is coming from NewPC Gadgets and it holds the iPad at what looks to me to be the perfect angle for typing and reading what is on the screen Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! A couple of very different but highly anticipated releases this week. First, we have another ‘delayed from the fall’ game, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction. Early looks say that the changes made to gameplay have paid off nicely. The other major release is the first episode of the third season of a modern reinvention of a classic adventure franchise – Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse Episode 1: The Penal Zone. It has already come out for the iPad, and releases for Mac, PC, and PS3 this week. The cool thing with these games are they are great examples of truly… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Here’s another reason to be thankful that websites are moving over to HTML 5 and passing by Flash… Old Jews Telling Jokes. My Catholic “cousin” (my mother’s best friend growing up hence adopted “cousin”) and I have been talking quite a bit about Apple’s new products. Well, more accurately, I’ve been asking questions and he’s been telling me that because he works for Apple he’s not allowed to answer any of them. Now that the iPad is released, however, we can chat about how amazing it is… So two nights ago we were exchanging e-mails and I was telling him how much I love the iPad. He wrote back to me that he’s glad… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Just when you thought it was safe to read tech sites again . . . more iPad accessories! Yup, NewerTech has added itself to the list of iPad accessory providers (although what we really need are more apps, but that’s another story).  They’re offering silicon cases (like the one above), screen protectors, privacy screens, and hard shell cases.  If you’re still looking at how to properly dress up your iPad for protection purposes, head on over to the web site of NewerTech’s distributor, Other World Computing, and check ‘em out. (I also feel I should add that they appear to have other accessories as well, including a couple of keyboards, an audio-cassette… Continue reading on Gear Diary …