In technology time last week’s E3 celebration is ancient history as we celebrate the roll-out of the iPhone 4 and iOS 4 … but sometimes you get something that you just have to share! All of the details from Nintendo’s E3 – the 3DS and a ton of cool games – have been spread all over the gaming press for the last week … but you have never seen them presented like THIS! Andre, a.k.a ‘Black Nerd’ from BlackNerdComedy sent us a link to his YouTube video coverage of the Nintendo E3 press event … so – just check out the video! Of course, if you like that one, be sure… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A few months ago I shared my frothing excitement as 2kGames announced that the next chapter in the greatest strategy game franchise was coming out in Fall of 2010. As I said then I wasn’t a huge strategy game fan at the time but am now a total convert, even now replaying Civ IV on my Mac & PC via Steam. These games completely suck you in, compelling you to just keep on playing. The depth of the experience is stunning – and so it is amazing to see that it looks like Sid Meier and the crew at Firaxis is going to out-do themselves with another stunning entry in the series! In… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It doesn’t take much to see Toy Story’s Evil Emperor Zurg as a translation of the Darth Vader archetype. But imagine going through the main Star Wars characters – of the original trilogy – and using a Pixar character to represent them! That is exactly what Paul Tassi has done for Unreality Magazine, and is shown in high resolution at his web site. Let’s take a look at his Luke Skywalker, played by Flik from A Bug’s Life: There are loads of other great ones represented, from Leia to Han Solo to Chewbacca and even the droid pairing of R2D2… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We are all feeling the financial pinch!    Blue Plate Special is a weekly review of bargain apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Nothing over $.99. Sunday evening I came home from playing some low stakes poker with some of my coaching buddies and still felt like playing.  I searched for a good iPad poker game but came up empty handed so I searched on the iPhone for some poker goodness.  There is a number of poker apps on the phone so I first tried a free game just to see how much I liked it.  Well, that… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It is fast. It is light. It is 57% off. And it is our Gear Deal of the day! The Lenovo X301 ultralight notebook is under 3 pounds yet is feature packed. In its stock configuration the X301 has a Core 2 Duo processor running at 1.4GHz, a 13.3 WXGA+ LED screen, GMA 4500MHD graphics, 4GB DDR3 RAM, a WebCam, WWAN Mobile Broadband and a 128GB SSD. Better still it can be configured to your liking to make it even more powerful. The Lenovo X301 stock configuration has an MSRP of $3,021 but our Gear Sponsor has… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Image courtesy of PixelProspector OK, even if you don’t care about indie games or computer games in general, this is just really cool to watch. The folks at PixelProspector put together a 10 minute view showing clips from 235 different indie games – that means each game gets about 2.5 seconds of screen time! There is a section of the video that you can mouse over for the game title, and even click on for a longer segment. Quite cool! For the list and to download any of these games head on over to PixelProspector! Of course, you don’t HAVE to watch the video to get the games for… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Apple just announced that it has sold over 3 million units in just 80 days. That is… remarkable. (It is almost as remarkable as Apple getting over 600,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 4. And, no doubt, that number would be even higher if Apple hadn’t run out of the first run.) As Sir Stevo notes- People are loving iPad as it becomes a part of their daily lives. We’re working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more people around the world, including those in nine more countries next month. So why is the iPad such a hit? (At least beyond the obvious… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Chrome recently reached out to see if I’d be interested in reviewing some of their bags. The company, which was founded in Boulder Colorado 14 years ago, makes stylish bags (among other items such as shoes and apparel) that are not only meant to perform at a high level but look really good while doing so. One look at the Chrome website, and I knew I wanted to review some of their stuff. The catalogue includes a wide range of bags, most of which are modeled after the “messenger” style, but they’ve got a few wild-cards too. The company, which is now based out of San Francisco, was kind enough to send me… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

White is the quintessential Apple color. Both my iPhone 3G and 3Gs are white and I’ve owned a bunch of white iPods too. White accessories just make me think Apple so it was with a certain amount of nostalgia that I began to test the iPad Leather Flip Case – White from GearZap.com. Let’s face it, we all can’t afford $200+ Vaja leather cases for our iPads. For many the expense of the iPad alone just about breaks the bank. But you still need something to protect your invest and why shouldn’t it be something that looks good while doing so? The iPad Leather Flip Case is a stylish case that offers a… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Solitaire Mahjongg games have been around on electronic devices for years, but they are generally just that – games with assorted boards for you to play. One of the first PSP Minis, Mahjongg Artifacts Chapter 2 added a whole new dimension with a story mode and loads of content. Now they are back with a prequel simply called Mahjongg Artifacts. How did they do? Read on and find out! The Hype: A prequel to Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2, the Story Mode of Mahjongg Artifacts introduces players to the start of the adventure through graphic comic scenes. As players explore five ancient cultures and master more and more complicated Mahjongg layouts, they will uncover lost relics… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I love using my fingers as my stylus and mouse on the iPad. At times, in fact, I find myself trying to tap the screen of my MacBook Pro or iMac only to realize that they aren’t touchscreens… yet. At the same time, there are some times when I want to use a stylus. For example, if I want to sign something a stylus comes in handy. Similarly, if, for some reason, I want to take handwritten notes instead of typing a finger really doesn’t do the trick. That’s where something like the Pogo Sketch stylus that I recently bought comes in. It works just great. Unfortunately carrying a stylus poses a new problem… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I reviewed SplashID earlier this year and it remains a staple on my devices and computers.  If you’re an Android user of SplashID, then you’re in luck because SplashData just released an update to both the desktop and handheld versions of the software.  The updates include several nice features that add more customization options and URL launching.  Some of these features were already available in SplashID on other platforms, so it’s nice to see the Android app keep pace. According to SplashData, the updates include: Android Version Users of the Android version can now use SplashID’s automatic password generator which has helped users on other platforms increase their own personal security standards Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Jane Silberry is a Canadian singer songwriter who has had a few minor hits, but with a very loyal audience and a tremendous work ethic and sense of musical integrity, has made her entire back catalog FREE for download. She has had an interesting career – which I admittedly haven’t followed, but you can read about here – but when I heard her name I was brought back nearly 30 years to her ‘No Borders Here’ release from when I was enjoying Laurie Anderson’s ‘performance art’ music and exploring similar stuff. Head on over to her official site (quite nicely minimalist!) and grab it all in MP3 or AIFF format. Here… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

What global recession?   We may be scraping by in real life, but we’re all getting ready to spend like there’s no tomorrow…on virtual goods. That’s right, forget food and shelter.  You’ve got to buy your Avatar some stylin’ new threads for that  night on the town.  That you’ll be having … on your phone.  Magid and Associates will be publishing  a series of reports on mobile gaming and virtual goods sales.  The latter estimates, among other things, that Americans will spend a whopping $168M on mobile virtual goods in 2010 and smartphone gamers download an average of 14 games a year. I imagine at least part of the ‘virtual goods’ will be… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

During my lifetime (thus far) I have witnessed Chrysler, Dodge and the late Plymouth (R.I.P.) deliver a wide range of vehicles, taking consumers and enthusiasts on a wild roller coaster ride. Ultimate highs courtesy the likes of Super Bee, Barracuda, HEMI (of course) and Viper and bottomless lows, a.k.a. K car, Jeep Compass and bankruptcy (twice). They even invented an entirely new segment known as the minivan and sent Lee Iacocca golfing with Snoop Dogg. Most likely, the future will be just as storied as the past, especially with the approaching stiff fuel economy standards. What is to become of the large-bodied, rear-drive sedans we have come to know and love of late? I am… Continue reading on Gear Diary …