Kensington has rolled out a number of different accessories for the Apple iPad. The new accessories… are designed to be the breakthrough iPad accessories for users in need of extra versatility and best performance everywhere they go, anyplace they stay. The clever new products are a natural extension of Kensington’s celebrated line of smart made simple computing and smartphone accessories, now offering power and protection to bring unlimited use to the iPad. Among the new accessories are… The Kensington PowerBack™ Battery Case with Kickstand and Dock (MSRP $129.99) The Kensington PowerBack Battery Case with Kickstand and Dock… slips over the back of your iPad to provide power, protection and a convenient prop. With up Continue reading on Gear Diary …

September 13th was my daughter’s 10th birthday.  One of her gifts was a iPhone.  This isn’t a post meant to argue the needs vs. wants of a 10 yr. old, though; so whether you agree or disagree with her getting one, it’s neither here nor there. What this is post about is something that happened tonight that made me stand up and go WOW! My family came over for dinner to celebrate my daughter’s birthday.  My mother asked about the new iPhone, and Abby (my 10 yr, old) was eager to share her number with her grandmother and vice versa.  They exchanged numbers, and she entered her grandmother’s  information in the contacts… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you vacation in Monaco, Live in the US, and have business in the Bahamas, then you probably have a small collection of SIM cards that you regularly swap in and out of your phone. The only problem is that pulling the SIM tray on the iPhone out and swapping microSIMs can be a tricky proposition when you are toasting your lifestyle on a bumpy speedboat. Better to just get the Tri Sim iPhone 4 Case from USBfever and be done with it. $39.99 buys you the Tri Sim adaptor and a black plastic cover which hides the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Yesterday I saw an article at the Consumerist about hand sanitizer and how it isn’t very good at fighting colds or the flu – two things that it is at least indirectly touted at doing. It is only the latest sign that the ‘antibacterial everything’ trend is finally getting a much-needed reality check. A couple of items of note: The study shows that the difference in infection rate for cold & flu for those who used hand sanitizer every 3 hours was not statistically different from those who did not. (in other words, those who simply washed their hands with soap and water) Antibacterial soap was already debunked, with Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Today’s Gear Deal will nab you Lenovo’s 14″ IdeaPad Y460 with some nice savings. How nice? Well… The model with a Core i3 processor starts at $1,029 but our Gear Sponsor has found savings that will get it to you for $699 shipped. And the Core i5 model can be yours for $899/. It too will ship for free. The IdeaPad Y460 is a thin and light laptop that is designed for entertainment. It can have either Intel HD graphics or ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 1GB discrete graphics. It ships with Windows 7 and also has Bluetooth, a Webcam, a DVD burner and Intel Wireless-N standard. To build your customized Y460 and… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Okay, I admit it: I’ve basically lost track of which “generation” the various iPods are on. I keep track for the iPhone, and I suspect I will for the iPad as well, but how much is one guy supposed to keep up with? Fortunately, the folks at USBFever do keep up with it. And this week, they have a bunch of new stuff for the new generations of Apple iPods. Take a look: Screen Protector for iPod Touch 4G (Ultra Clear) Anti Glare Screen Protector for iPod Touch 4G Twine Leather(Carbon Look) Case For APPLE iPod Touch 4G Rubberized Silicon Prism Case for iPod 4G Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you spend time on the go, you’ve gotten used to laptop size keyboards and small trackpads. Personally, I’ve actually found that having the trackpad nearby as I’m typing to be more convenient than using a separate keyboard and mouse. So when I had the opportunity to review the USB Fever Compact Keyboard with Trackpad, I jumped at the chance. The keyboard is very light and solidly constructed. There’s no creaking or awkward seams. I’ve used some wireless keyboards that are flimsy, which makes for poor typing on a lap or on the go, and so I’m extra picky about build quality. This keyboard feels like… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Definitely one of the better document reading/editing apps available for the iPhone (and the iPad, for that matter) is Dataviz’s Documents to Go. And like a lot of good development house (in my opinion), Dataviz has continued to work and refine their app to make it better, more useful, and more powerful. With release 4.0, Dataviz has added a whole host of features that will almost certainly make your document editing a better experience. So do you own Doc to Go already? Time to download the update. (Why can’t you upload the downdate? Um, sorry; never mind. Didn’t get enough sleep last night . . .) And if you’ve never tried it, I’d like to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This weekend on CNN, I saw a bit about a new safe driving initiative in Canada. The basis is to have an extended road decal that has a faux 3D appearance to look like a child chasing a ball into the road. The goal is to have you slow down in high-accident areas and hopefully reduce risks. But as the report indicates, my first concern is over the potential that the same drivers who are taking risks now will become desensitized to these decals and will end up mistakenly end up hitting an actual child at play. Check out the spot: From the article: What would happen if you saw a Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Oh the damage you could do if you had a Rubber Band Gatling Gun from Gadgets & Gear! Not for children and not for the faint of heart, this aluminum beast of a rubber band shooter will set you back $499, but it will give you bragging rights the likes of which have never been seen! Each handmade Gatling Gun is made of CNC machined parts, and it weighs a hefty 20 pounds. It can shoot 100 rounds of rubber bands, and it comes with two pounds just to get you started. A mounted flashlight on the top should come in handy when you’re trying to wake the kids. The rubber band Continue reading on Gear Diary …

You like RPGs?  You like hack ‘n slash adventures?  Do you play a ton of Zork back in the day, and have have been excited to get more of it on your iPhone or iPod Touch? Do you want to play a game with “Over 200 battlefields and quests with 2 different modes”? Gamevil has a release for you! To be perfectly frank, I have no idea what any of that really means; my gaming experience is pretty much limited to stuff like Myst and Plants vs. Zombies.  But I’m pretty sure that you genuine gamers know what Gamevil is talking about, and will want to surf on over and check it out at Continue reading on Gear Diary …

all images by author The best-kept secret at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show was the unveiling of the CTS Coupe Concept from Cadillac. No pre-show hype or buildup surrounding this baby, all the drool during the reveal was real. And in less than three years this hot little number is rolling off production lines nearly unchanged from the original concept. The 2011 CTS Coupe arrived in August as the new focal point of the Cadillac product lineup and is offered in base (as if any Caddy could be called a base model) and supercharged V race trim. While based on its… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Another Ohio LinuxFest has come and gone.  The friends of the penguin gathered at the Greater Columbus Convention Center for yet another year of great sessions, networking and lots of fun and merriment as friends meet to discuss what is new and interesting in Free and Open Source Software. This is my second year working the booth with fellow members of the Linux Link Tech Show, and this year was a special one as we celebrated the relaunch of our website and the recording of Episode 366 which marks the start of season two.  In this show, we talked to a few of the speakers at OLF, including Kelly West of Lanville.org Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Looks like Amazon isn’t taking the iPad/Kindle rivalry lightly. In fact, they are actively playing it up in their latest commercial! Let’s look at where Amazon really came out swinging: •Showcasing how nice the Kindle is in daylight versus the iPad. •Having the kindle user be a hot girl, while the iPad user was a fairly average guy. •Implying the kindle user was smarter and better with money-she knew her device worked well in the sun and was cheaper, while the iPad guy seemed clueless. This is a far cry from those earlier surreal fantasy style Kindle ads, and I am curious to see if this is a one-off or a lead-up to a big Christmas marketing push! I do… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Yesterday was a cold, damp day here in the northeast., and tomorrow looks like more of the same. This is the type weather that makes you want to do anything you can to warm up, which prompted my wife Elana to say, “This is when you want… no, you need a hot tub.” Of course, the problem is that the place where we would like to put it is nowhere near an electrical outlet. Luckily there is a solution. photo courtesy of BizIvy photo courtesy of Design Crack The DutchTub, which we first… Continue reading on Gear Diary …