(Photos courtesy Ford/Lincoln) Ford’s new engine technology – dubbed EcoBoost – might be a bit misleading to some underestimating driving enthusiasts. “The power of a V-8 with the fuel economy of a six” may not have motoring maniacs lining up at Ford and Lincoln dealerships, but it should. My first experience with EcoBoost was in the new Taurus SHO, and more recently I received both a Ford Flex and Lincoln MKS sporting the twin-turbocharged V-6 powerplant, and in all of them I was most pleasantly surprised. The driving experiences brought to mind a term I had not used in years – “street sleeper.” This was a phrase from my bench racing days used to describe a vehicle that by all outward appearances was mild and timid but stomping the accelerator brought out hidden demons lurking beneath a modest hood. I liken that to the Flex and MKS outfitted with EcoBoost especially. The vehicles are outwardly attractive for their respective classes, but the drivetrain places them in much sportier company. We’re not talking Mustang or Camaro here but these models will be the “must-have” classics for future collectors.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As Dan so eloquently pointed out to the entire Internet earlier today, I cracked.  Yes, I ordered a iPad 3G, and yes I made fun of Dan who ordered both a WiFi version and a 3G version because he could not wait the 3-4 weeks for the release of the 3G. Well I lasted all of about 48 hours waiting, and today I went out and picked myself a WiFi version of the iPad.  I simply could not sit idly by while Judie and Dan had all the fun. The first place I went after picking up the device was my local Clear Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Engadget is reporting that Amazon’s Kindle will be hitting the big time, brick and mortar style…looks like Target will be carrying them! This makes a great deal of sense from a strategy standpoint for Amazon! First, it destroys the nook’s advantage of being available in physical stores. Arguably, the same audience that shops in B&N is also stopping by Target, plus Target overall has more foot traffic. Sony is probably ripping their proverbial hair out too; their ebook readers are sold at Target (languishing in a back corner at my local store!) And now Sony’s devices are going to be overshadowed by the far better known Kindle. Not a great position for them unless the price… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When I head out for a run, a long walk, or a bike ride, I try to bring my phone with me. It’s less so I can take calls as I’m huffing and puffing, and more for safety reasons. It seems logical that as a smartphone with GPS, my phone should be pulling double duty tracking my workout. I tried a few different ones on Android, but hands down my favorite is My Tracks by Google. My Tracks is very simple to use. When you’re gearing up to run, hike, walk or bike, turn on the GPS in your device if it isn’t already set. Then go into My Tracks, select menu, then hit “Record… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Update: Task #2 is now LIVE. Task #1 is now closed. Thank you for entering, and good luck! As promised, today marks the beginning of our 32GB WiFi Apple iPad giveaway. We’re going to do this one progressively, as in each day the contest will get progressively better because we’ll add additional applications or accessories to the prize package. Sounds great, right? So as of today, the package consists of the iPad on its own, valued at $599 plus tax. There will be a new post every day listing all of the accumulating items in the prize package, and each day’s post will have a task for you to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’m about ready to say I’ve seen it all. Designers Ben Perman and Murat Multu have created a Teapot that Tweets. Embedded into the teapot is WiFi hardware that actually connects to the internet and more importantly Twitter, and then sends you a Tweet when it begins to boil. Imagine you put the teapot on the stove and head into your office to begin working.  How do you know when your water is boiling?  Well there’s the traditional whistle that most teapots use to alert their users that their water’s ready but that’s tired and boring right? Having your Twitter client of choice… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

So many of our devices rely on WiFi today that it is hard to remember a time when WiFi was the exception and not the rule. But it wasn’t that long ago. Heck, I remember an issue of PocketPC Magazine that had the question, “Do we really need WiFI on our mobile devices?” on its front cover. And that wasn’t too many years ago. All that has changed and WiFi is now everywhere. What has not changed however is the hassle of setting up most routers. Cisco is changing all that (and in the process taking a page from Apple’s book) by introducing a series of simple to set up and use routers. The… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

So you have your new iPad in your hot little hands, and your young-un’s are hanging over your shoulder, right?  “What’s that, Papa?”  “What can you do with it?”  “Are there games on there for me?”  Well, PBS has an app that lets you answer “Yes” … So long as you feel you could part with your precious iPad for a while and let your kids play with it, that is. You did get a nice, sturdy case for it, right? Or maybe Apple is planning on releasing a ruggedized version for children and the U.S. Armed Forces? The PBS Super Why! app for the iPad, with an MSRP of $2.99, “is designed to help children read… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Evernote wallpapers for your iPad. … seriously, who would want an Evernote wallpaper on their iPad?… Oh, right… Me. Evernote wallpapers for your iPad Continue reading on Gear Diary …

(Image Courtesy of Google) Google has already released a spare battery and a desktop dock, which we reviewed, for the Nexus One. There was talk when the Nexus One was released of rumors of both the desktop dock as well as a car dock. Well, the car dock is now officially available for order! As we discussed in the Desktop Dock review, the three dock connector pins on the bottom of the device allow it to be charged simply by contact without having to plug in the micro USB cable, which allows for easy insertion and removal from the desktop dock. Now, the official… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Any time I go out to eat, the first order of business after being seated is finding a safe place to stow my purse. If I’m lucky, I can set my bag on an empty seat next to me; if the seats are large enough, my bag goes right next to me. If there is no better spot to place it, then my bag goes on my lap … and if that’s impractical, my bag goes on the floor. Quelle horreur! Placing my bag on the floor is always accompanied by much anxiety on my part, as restaurant floors can be notoriously nasty. To avoid the floor, I’ve even been known to place my… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When the Apple iPad case arrived a little while ago, I was not initially impressed. It is rather thin, gets in the way of docking the device, and the edges are a bit on the sharp side. Moreover, I am not in love with the overall “feel” of the material they used. That noted, I didn’t immediately box it up for return because it is nice to finally have a way to protect the device a bit. Then I tried the case propped up in landscape mode. I was impressed. The case… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The Joby Gorillamobile for iPod touch is a neat little device that is designed specifically for holding the iPod touch thanks to a special case and the, now familiar, Gorillamobile tripod legs. It also comes with adapters for holding a camera and adhesive pads for Turing any case into one that will work with the system. The kit has an MSRP of $39.95 and is available directly from Joby’s Web site, but we had two to give away. To win we asked how you would use the Joby Gorillamobile for iPod touch with… Your iPod touch. And the Joby Gorillamobile for iPod touches go to… g88k Who wrote… If i watch videos longer than… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

From Drop Box The unofficial corporate motto or slogan for Google is “don’t be evil”. It actually comes from the sixth point of this company’s 10 point corporate philosophy which is, “you can make money without doing evil.” Truth be told, while it’s a lovely sentiment one could argue that it’s not totally in place in Google anymore. They are a behemoth company, and they are looking after the bottom line more than anything else these days. This noted, it’s worth pointing out when a company like Google, or Apple, or Amazon do something that really stands out as a positive, and that’s actually what Google did according to an article to Judie sent to me last night. The New York… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

My wife always says that stuff available for pregnant women these days is much more stylish than when she was pregnant. Now I’m not a pregnant woman, nor do I play one on TV, but after the many difficult pregnancies that eventually resulted in our two wonderful boys … I can’t think of anything that would making the vomiting associated with morning sickness stylish. Less Nasty? Perhaps … and in that case, these bags just might do the trick! Check out the amazing selection of bags: So what do you think – is the next big trend just waiting to happen?… Continue reading on Gear Diary …