Has it REALLY been seven years already? Back on August 27th of 2003, Mars came the closest it had to the earth in 60,000 years. It was an amazing astrological event and I watched through my telescope and had a wonderful time waking up my young kids and sharing it with them (and no, they don’t remember it anymore). But even back then misinformation was spread: the truth was that as Mars came ~56 million kilometers from Earth it would be approximately 1/75 the size of a full moon, so using a 75x telescope lens you would get a wonderful view of the red planet. But as the information spread in yet another version… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Do you listen to George Winston’s December around the holidays or throughout the winter and think “I would love to be able to compose and play music like that”? If so, Quiescence Music has an offer for you! Simply sign up for their Yahoo group using your email address, and you will get one free lesson and a PDF ebook called “Free to be Creative at the Piano!”. Here are some of the details: Join Edward’s Yahoo group and get a free piano lesson: “Summer Morning.” In this lesson you learn how to use a few chords to create a bright, welcoming mood. No experience required! You’ll also get a free copy of Free to Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Continuing the weekly update to the EA Games Summer Sale – Week #7 features a bunch of fairly random games at fairly random discounts. Well – here is the web page for the offers (love the design with the status bar cutting through the image!): Here are the deals for Week #7: Dead Space – 50% OFF – $9.97 Mirror’s Edge – 75% OFF – $4.99 Spore Mac & PC – 33% OFF – $20.07 Spore Add-ons – 33% OFF – $14.97 These are some decent games here. Dead Space (2008)… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

There are few things that can scare a modern console gamer like the thoughts of the Red Rings of Death! That term itself has become ubiquitous in the current generation, indicating the failure light pattern when the XBOX360 has a fatal failure. OK, so this ring really isn’t meant to be a Red Ring of Death, but it looks like it! Here is the description from the ShinyLines: Red, the color of crimson determination. Fiery and bold, it commands with hot intention. This artisan hand-finished rhodium plated cast .925 solid sterling silver ring boasts the elegant look of platinum without the heavy price. Rhodium is a highly reflective metal currently valued at about four Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Like millions of Barnes & Noble customers, I awoke this morning to a new B&N coupon in my email – this one touting that I can get up to 50% off at checkout! I am getting close to finishing my current book on the nook reader on my iPad, so I figured I would see what great new ebook I could add to the family library. I mean, after all, the coupon has the nook featured prominently in the upper right corner, and lists ebooks along with DVDs and music and so on along the menu. But before I start shopping I decide to check out the ‘DETAILS’ link right below the SHOP BN.COM button… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last fall I detailed the various pre-order specials for Dragon Age: Origins, and a couple of months ago I listed out the pre-order packs for Fallout New Vegas. As the fall onslaught is approaching quickly and the economy remains in the toilet, more and more retailers – both online and brick & mortar – are pumping up the deals in order to get you to give your money to THEM. I was interested in what was coming for ArcaniA: Gothic 4, but soon realized that the task of detailing out the various deals was an insanely huge task! For ArcaniA: Gothic 4 there are three major deals: Steam has the game at… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Kobo has an interesting new feature for iOS users; now you can add non-DRM’d ePUB and PDF files to the Kobo app on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. You can do the same thing through Stanza, so it’s not the feature set itself per se…it’s that Kobo is the first mainstream bookstore to support this feature! If you read your books on an ebook reader, you can load any supported files onto your device. Kobo Readers can load DRM-free ePUBs, as can Sony Readers, B&N Nooks, Jetbook lites, etc. But unless you’re going through Amazon’s Whispersync conversion it’s nearly impossible to load your own books into your ebook app of choice on a smartphone… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

USBfever has just announced their new iPhone 4 Dual SIM Adapter Case, which … as you’ve probably figured out, allows you to hook two separate SIM cards into the same iPhone. Why would you want to do this? Think about people who regularly travel between countries; now they can keep their USA SIM and UK SIM plugged in, without the worry of dropping, losing or forgetting either while traveling. It’s peace of mind for less than $30, and it’s available from USBfever now. USBfever iPhone 4 Dual SIM Adapter Case Features: – One iPhone (4G) with 2… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Today’s Gear Deal is all about computing power. This Dell Studio 17 is loaded with a Core i7 processor, 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 560v graphics, 4GB DDR3 and a 500GB drive spinning at 7200RPM. The 17.3″ screen offers HighDef beauty and the wireless N gets your information to you with speed. There are also upgrades you can select such as Blu-ray and a Soundblaster Sound Card so you can trick it out even further. Here’s a quick look at it in action… This loaded Dell Studio 17 has an MSRP of $1,229.99 but our Gear Sponsor has tracked down two discounts that, when combined, bring the price down to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Judie: Of all the iPhone 4 cases announced in the past few months, there were two which most interested me: the Miniot iWood 4 and the Element Case Vapor for iPhone 4. When the Element Vapor first arrived, I seriously felt that I had wasted my money ordering iWood, because the Vapor was that gorgeous, that nicely made. Everything about it screamed quality, from the machined aluminum its two pieces were composed of to the four little screws which had to be tightened as my iPhone was locked into the bumper-style case. I loved the way the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I was invited down to San Antonio, Texas recently to get my first experience with this new compact vehicle from Chevrolet that is replacing the Cobalt model. The new vehicle, set to arrive in dealerships in September, is called Cruze. One of my first questions during a marketing presentation was “What is the origin of the name Cruze?” Seems I stumped the panel. No one could give me an answer. Here in front of my computer I search the interwebs and discover that Cruze has been used by GM since 2001 and this “all-new” vehicle is actually the second-generation of the nameplate, originally a five-door hatchback built by Suzuki. In 2008 the five-door models… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This week marked the last week of freedom for my kids before they head back to school for the 2010-2011 school year. I wanted to do something fun with them, and since my wife was busy at work we opted for a quick get away to Hershey Park. Hershey Park is an amusement style theme park located 2 hours west of Philadelphia, and it’s built entirely on and around the Hershey Chocolate company. One of the park’s newest attractions is located in its “Chocolate World” and it’s here where you can personally create your very own chocolate bar, watch it be made and then taken home. “DIY” stuff is all the rage it seems these… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Image courtesy of ABC News. The other day Gizmodo posted a story about how via an iPhone Photobomb, a user was able to track down a purse nabbing thief.  ‘m not sure if the story below trumps that one but it’s cool nonetheless. Check out the video below! Vince Hunter, a Dallas resident, was on vacation hundreds of miles away in Connecticut.  Vince had recently installed web cams throughout his home and using an iPhone application he was alerted via a text message that motion had been detected inside his house. … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

For myself and many other gamers who love handheld gaming, the single element holding back the iPod & iPhone from being the preeminent handheld gaming system is that for many, many games, the nebulous touch-screen control interface … well, it is crap. Not that the touch controls of the device are inadequate, but in the context of playing a game – particularly an action game – you can run into two situations: either you are trying to control fast-paced action and your fingers move outside of the designated region, or your fingers are blocking a critical part of the game. Let’s face it, having thumbs occupy ~1″ square in each corner of a screen ~2″… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I recently reviewed the Nintendo DS version of Puzzle Quest 2, and since then the PC version has hit Steam. As I said, the DS game made good as a true sequel to the “Casual Meets Hardcore and Loves It!” surprise hit from 2007. Back then the PC version was the most feature-packed and inclusive version. So does the new PC game live up to the solid performance of the DS version? Read on and find out! The Hype: Puzzle Quest 2 marks the return of the world’s leading puzzle adventure series and its trademark blend of match 3 gem-based gameplay and fantasy role-playing. Rewarding and accessible for all levels of gamer, it… Continue reading on Gear Diary …