Before I start this story, here is a Public Service Announcement – if you use Amazon.com’s Wish List feature, be aware that unless you explicitly link each list to an address, it will direct shipments to whatever your default address was … WHEN THE LIST WAS CREATED! Please do yourself a favor and make sure your list isn’t sending stuff to that place you lived in 2002 when you created your first list for fun. OK, now back to our story … When I jumped at the possibility at writing for Gear Diary last year, one reason was that I already knew this was a great crew of people – I’d read Judie’s stuff at… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

You really have to hand it to the folks at Improv Everywhere – they sure know how to put on a show! Here is their description of their latest project: For our latest mission, we staged a reenactment of the first Princess Leia / Darth Vader scene from Star Wars on a New York City subway car. The white walls and sliding doors on the train reminded us of the rebel ship from the movie, and we thought it would be fun to see how people would react to a surprise appearance by the iconic characters. We spread out the actors along the train line, staging it so they would enter the right car at the Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The Calendar had not quite read 2009 yet but I remember a chilly day in Michigan when the good folks over at Ford introduced us to our first 2010 model – the Fusion, complete with hybrid and sport versions. Ford Motor Company invited journalists up to its Dearborn world headquarters in December, 2008, for a “hush-hush” sneak peek of some of its new product, and this included the made-over 2010 Ford Fusion lineup. For 2010, engineers and designers gave the midsized sedan entirely new front and rear clips as well as totally refreshing the interior. In addition, powertrain upgrades have been added including the new hybrid systems we tested both on that trip and last year as well as a Sport version complete with all-wheel drive and a bigger, more powerful V-6.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

“So yeah,” said someone at they-must-never-sleep USBFever, “Sure, there’s a ton of solutions to mounting your iPhone in your car.  But I ride a bike to work, for crying out loud!”  Obviously this unsung hero of the green movement was heard, because those USBFever folks got busy and developed a handlebar mount for the iPhone 4. How about you?  You looking for some way to be able to look at your iPhone while you’re pedaling along?  Well, what are you reading my silly ranting for?  Get on over to USBFever’s site and check it out!  MSRP of only $13.99.  And check out their other stuff while you’re there; they just have… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? Antidisestablishmentarianism? Okay, so maybe you don’t use those words every day, but what about other words that you do? And they aren’t in your iOS device (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) dictionary? Judie was running into this issue recently on her iPhone. For some strange reason, she frequently needs to type the word “Kev”, and the iPhone kept auto-correcting it to “KeV” (note the upper-case “V”). So what do you do? Buying a bumper won’t fix this problem! Well, with the release of iOS 4, a little-known feature is available to allow you to add custom words to the iPhone dictionary. I was puzzled when Judie said she didn’t have a… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Today’s Gear Deal brings us the Lenovo IdeaPad Z560. As our Gear Sponsor explains- …with a Core i5 CPU and 4GB RAM this notebook has the power to handle a heavy load and multitask while doing so, and the 500GB HDD provides plenty of space for storage. The Intel HD graphics should be enough to power 720p video on the LED backlit 1366×768 display too. At 5.7lbs it is still light enough to move around, making this versatile multimedia notebook portable as well as powerful. Lenovo IdeaPad Z560 has an MSRP of $949 but with this deal you can grab it for $699. It will even ship for free. For details and ordering… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I currently have a (non-Skooba) checkpoint-friendly laptop bag and I must say, even though it has its flaws, I really like it.  It definitely makes getting through that irritating X-Ray kabuki dance easier. But why have a checkpoint-friendly bag with flaws when you can get exactly what you want from Skooba?  And furthermore, at a price you can afford?  ”How can I do that, Doug?” you say.  Well, I’m glad you asked!  From now until July 17th, Skooba is offering 30% on all their checkpoint friendly bags.  Surf on over to the Skooba site and check them out, before Sunday arrives and the prices bounce back up… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Custom cases are all the rage. Several companies have emerged over the last year allowing users to create their very own custom case by uploading their personal photos and images to a web-based program which the company then turns into a case; this allows the end-user to make a case that’s truly their own. Case-Mate‘s revolutionary “I Make My Case” program which launched at CES 2010 really set the standard for case image manipulation allowing users to take art work from the Case-Mate site and alter it to their liking, mixing and matching pieces to make each case one of a kind. Now Case-Mate has added another… 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. This week’s Blue Plate Special brings me a first…  The app was completely chosen by my wife.  My wife often plays the games I choose or she uses them, but rarely does she tell me about an app. So, I was playing poker the other night with all of the coaches and I texted her a few times expressing my woes of a slowly shrinking supply of chips.  The fact that she… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As I have noted time and again here on Gear Diary, I am a huge fan of Evernote and rely on it for everything from clipping web pages, to saving important emails to putting some of my rabbinic resource material where I know I can quickly access them no matter where I am, no matter what I am doing. Well I haven’t been all that happy with Evernote lately. No, for a little over a week Evernote has been hinting at something new and today they shared their plans. The news… overall Evernote is working to extend their system and, in one sense, becoming a platform unto themselves. Here is what Evernote’s Phil Libin laid… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Simplifying one’s desktop. For me it’s an ongoing, ever-changing process.  I’m constantly tinkering with new applications for my iMac, trying for that seemingly unobtainable perfect set up.  One of the biggest issues I struggle with is managing multiple windows.  I generally use five or six “main” applications on a daily basis.  These usually consist of Safari, Apple Mail, Tweetie, Net News Wire, Skype and Adium.  I’ll use other things throughout the day such as Mars Edit or iTunes, but the “main” 6 are always open and running on my desktop. Managing six windows at once on a 24″ iMac is surprisingly harder than it would seem.  24″ of screen space seems like a lot, but in… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Just in case you haven’t yet seen an iPad cover that was worthy of you and your favorite gadget, Alexandra Knight has one which is sure to please, in gorgeous alligator no less. Usually priced at $2995, you can get yours today only for $1595. There’s no doubt that Alexandra Knight’s wares are better made than just about anything you’ll find elsewhere, and I have long been a fan. But $1600 for an iPad cover, even if on sale? I won’t think less of you if you need a moment to think about it. Don’t take too long to decide though … the special price is for today only Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Among the drawbacks of being an early adopter is the wait for accessories to become available.  The iPhone 4G is no exception.  Waiting for just the right case. Waiting for your favorite screen protector.  Waiting for a car mount so you can use your iPhone’s GPS software while you’re out and about. Well, you don’t need to wait for a car mount anymore. If you’re looking for a way to mount your new iPhone 4G in your auto, take a gander at ProClip’s new offerings, now available for pre-order.  Designed for an iPhone without a case or in an adjustable version if you simply cannot stand to let your iPhone 4G go au naturel Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the major advantages Amazon’s Kindle has over the nook is that the wireless feature is not limited to just downloading books. Unlike the nook, the Kindle can browse the web over its free built-in wireless. While it may not be the world’s greatest browsing experience, it’s still better than nothing at all! A Kindle World Blog has found ways to take it one step further than just Wikipedia on the fly…they have detailed instructions on how to access Google Maps mobile on your Kindle! While this wouldn’t take the place of GPS, it’s a pretty cool feature to have in a pinch for a few reasons: 1) Kindle Wireless is free. If… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The number of hours I wasted playing foosball in college is simply beyond belief.  Now yes, my regular partner Tim (now a genuine Rocket Scientist!) and I got pretty good, but still.  On the other hand, hey, it was college; wasting time is what you do, right? Well heck, now Illusion Labs allows you iPhone and iPod touch owners a whole new way to foosball during your free time with their new app.  You can play solo or with another player, with 3D physics and effects and suchlike, all for a measly buck MSRP.  Check it out if you enjoyed your foosball-wasting time as much as I did. Full information below. We Continue reading on Gear Diary …