There is nothing worse than starting up a game and getting an error message like the one above – you have done everything right, installed everything, logged into the account, even played before using all of this content. But now, you log in and cannot start the game, and are told that you are not authorized to use the content and that the owner of the content needs to log in. ARRGH! After doing all of the usual stuff – logging in and out of my in-game account, restarting the game, checking my online profile and so on … I checked the Bioware ‘Social’ Forums Forums. I hoped that this was a common problem… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A while back I reviewed the Moshi: Voice Control (VC) Alarm Clock. I even did a video of it in action… The Moshi is “The first ‘listening clock’ that allows you set the time and alarm by your voice alone”. And it really does work. The clock is activated by user saying “Hello Moshi”, no buttons needed for functionality. It responds to 12 voice activated commands: time, set alarm, today’s date, temperature, and more. It features snooze, 3 sounds for alarm and sleep, volume control, and night-light. The clock is recognized by the World Blind Union since Moshi can be operated without ever seeing the clock. Best of… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I apologize for being late with this (we already missed the first weekend), and I have to say that it is not because I didn’t know about the sale. Rather, I was deciding whether or not to even post it, and for one reason: DRM. In the end I decided that the deals were really good and that you all should make the choice for yourself. A final finding on my part tipped the balance, which I’ll mention in a moment. The EA store sells digital games and has since around the time of the release of Battlefield 2142 back in 2006, or at least that is when I came upon it. My review copies… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Amazon announced this morning that they’ve struck an exclusive deal with literary agent Andrew Wylie. He’s acting as a publisher for several authors he represents, and has agreed to give Amazon an exclusive on 20 titles. You can check out the full press release here, but the highlights are: Books available in the Kindle Store through Odyssey Editions include modern classics such as Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children,” Oliver Sacks’ “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat,” Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita,” John Cheever’s “The Stories of John Cheever” and four novels from John Updike’s Rabbit series. The 20 e-books published by Odyssey Editions carry an elegant and Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One thing Carly and I have Yammered about extensively with each other is the ever-popular subject, “The Future of the eBook(tm).”  Once the iPad came out, it was clear that it had a lot of advantages as a reading platform over the “ordinary” eBook–color, animation, and so on.  I’ve been very eager to see what kinds of uses motivated folks might make of all that added functionality, like the TouchPress people did with The Elements. Well, here’s another entry in the “more than a book” category.  Publisher and long-time Apple developer Marc Schulman has created a set of multimedia . . . well, “books” doesn’t quite do them justice, but that’s the only word I have… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you have ever seen the Blue Man Group live, you know how amazing their performances are. If not, you are missing out on some wonderful live entertainment and should make every effort to check them out. They are always interesting and always changing things up. Recently Playbill noted that the Blue Man Group would be bringing out a new performance piece called ‘Screenhopping’ July 21st on the Regis & Kelly show. In a very timely fashion the so-called ‘video pillars’ look very much like over-sized iPhones, with app buttons and all. Once it gets started it is all classic Blue Man Group! Check out the video and enjoy the show!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When the iPad was demoed (and released), one of the coolest looking apps, and one of the ones people oohed and aahed most over, was the eBook version of Theodore Gray’s The Elements, as adapted for the iPad by TouchPress.  I personally did plenty of oohing (and aahing!), but was bummed, because an iPad was and is not in my immediate future. But the TouchPress folks have clearly taken pity on bozos like me, and they now offer a version of The Elements for the iPhone 4.  Not a straight port, TouchPress says that it has been Totally reconceived for the iPhone 4 and recoded to take advantage of the new device’s spectacular features Continue reading on Gear Diary …

So let’s say you’re an overweight, middle-aged guy who likes to watch TV (and no, that photo isn’t me!).  Your kids have a Wii.  You dig watching stuff on YouTube, but you’re sick and flippin’ tired of being hunched over in your Aeron chair.  What to do?  Why, get your fool self the Wii Leanback software, and go back to your couch potato ways!  It’s worth checking out, don’t you think? Full information below. WiiLeanback is available for download now.  Here’s what it does: Allows you to control YouTube Leanback, YouTube’s new couch potato style interface into YouTube, using a Nintendo Wii remote instead of being tethered to a keyboard.  The Wii console is Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Here’s a double-shot of deals from our GearSponsor LogicBuy… The first deal is on an unlocked Nokia E72 Smartphone. The E72 comes in black and comes bundled Nokia’s Navigation Accessory Kit. It is a great combination thanks to the ability of E72 owners to use Ovi maps and their free voice-guided navigation. The combination usually costs $347.99 but our GearSponsor has found a coupon for $129 off. That brings the price down to just $219.99. It will even ship for free. Nokia E72 Unlocked Black Smartphone with Car Kit via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Dragon Dictation is one of the most-used apps on both my iPhone and my iPad. I have desktop versions of both MacSpeech Dictate and MacSpeech Scribe but, the fact of the matter is, having something that I can launch on my iPhone in just seconds is so very convenient in my day-to-day use of my devices that, unless I am settled in in front of my iMac, I tend to use Dictate more and more. The application allows me to write a good bit of text quickly and on the go. Perhaps best of all, somehow Nuance has managed to make the application remarkably accurate in its transcription without me having to train the recognition to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We love our Vaja products here at Gear Diary.  I have had several for my iPhone, bought the Retro Dockable for Sami (in black and dark green), which she loves, and currently have a Vaja wallet.  Their stuff is pricey, yes, but boy is it nice.  And durn pretty, too. So I personally am pretty excited at their new selection of iPhone cases.   The current list of cases for the iPhone 4 are: ivolution Black Series ivolution Top ivolution top SP ivolution Grip (I have the Grip for my iPhone 3Gs.) And according to Vaja, they will soon be adding: ivolution GT ivolution Silver Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Please join me in congratulating Joe G, the winner of our Lenovo A70z giveaway! He’s already written back and confirmed his address, and he’ll have his new desktop system soon. We appreciate all who entered and completed our survey, and we invite you to stick around and of course … enter other Gear Diary contests and giveaways. :megreen… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When you think of maximum protection for your “i” device (iPhone, iPod etc.) generally one case comes to mind. The OtterBox Defender. I’ve used the Defender for both my iPhone 3G/3Gs and my iPod Touch. You don’t have to be a firefighter like me to need the type of protection the Defender offers. If you’re always dropping your device, have small children or pets that like to chew things around, well the Defender is probably right for you. It was with great anticipation that I waited for the release of the Defender for the iPad. It recently arrived and I’ve had a chance to use it for several days. I’m now ready to offer… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It seemed only recently that I was posting about Erno Rubik’s birthday, and talking about his well-known inventions. Oh, wait; it was recently! In any event, Rubik’s ideas keep on keepin’ on.  The latest is the Rubik’s Slide, by Techno Source (note: there’s audio on the site’s home page).  Yet another variation on the famous Cube, the Rubik’s Slide will be available this weekend at an MSRP of $17.64 “as part of QVC’s Christmas in July Sale this Saturday, July 24th at 10 a.m. ET and Sunday, July 25th at 12: a.m. ET.” Techno Source’s Rubik’s Slide™, the new addictive electronic puzzle game everyone can play and no one can Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Yesterday Gear Diary flew past the milestone of having had 9 million unique visitors since I began it in 2006. It is a huge achievement, and I didn’t want to let it pass without taking the time to say thank you and offer some reflections. First a huge thank you to all of you who read the site. I know that there are a plethora of blogs out there that address technology and gadgets. The fact that Gear Diary is among the sites you choose to visit it not lost on me, and it is more appreciated than you know. Thank you all! Second, a huge thank you to the site’s writers –… Continue reading on Gear Diary …