At this point, I’m seriously thinking of creating an entire category called, “Stuff I would never have thought to create an iPhone/iPad app for” as a new Gear Diary tag.  It’s a bit long, though, and Judie was kinda doubtful. But imagine, if you will, that this post falls under that category, because here we go again. Beer!  Yes, an app related to beer.  And not just how to find liquor stores, or an app to give you beer-to-beer comparison charts to improve your beer selection, or even an app (wouldn’t this be cool!) to turn your iPhone into a bottle opener.  No:  it’s MiBeerAge 1.1 for iOS, an app that allows you… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Update: This contest is closed and the winners have been chosen. We had some great entries, but the grand prize winner, and the man we would like to congratulate, is Larry T – our grand prize winner! We have already contacted Larry T and our other winners, and we want to thank them and everyone else who entered for participating. You can expect to see quite a few lists filtering onto the ListPro List Database over the next few days. Ilium Software, makers of such Palm and Windows Mobile (and more recently iPhone) classics as eWallet, NewsBreak, and yes — ListPro, has offered to sponsor an amazing contest with… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! This week there are several games that could easily be featured as a major release on any week of the year, but will be battling for attention as the busy fall season kicks into high gear! Perhaps the biggest release is the zombie-killing sequel Dead Rising 2, follow-up to the excellent 2008 game that was critically acclaimed but struggled somewhat commercially. It is nice to see a sequel and let’s hope it does as well critically – and even better commercially! It was a surprise when Square Enix announced that two major release Final Fantasy games would come back to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

According to Cleomedes in his Classical text On the Circular Motions of the Celestial Bodies, Eratosthenes measured the circumference of the Earth by calculating the difference in angles between the sun and the Earth at two different points on the surface. He then used the distance in “Stadia” between Alexandria and Aswan and calculated the circumference to an accuracy, according to some, of 1%. “Stadia” is a unit of measure equal to the size of standard stadium in Classical Egypt–it’s between 157.5 and 185 meters. In other words, this guy used a giant ruler, some shadows, and logic to calculate the circumference of the Earth. Pretty good. And now the humble ruler has jumped into the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Image courtesy of Rightway Portable GPS units are a dime a dozen these days; I think I even saw them for sale the last time I ran in to the local 7-11 for a slurpee. A few years ago I remember the GPS boom with the 3.5″ TomTom’s flying on the shelves on Black Friday and for Christmas, but I can tell you most of the time you get what you pay for. Some of the flagship units from Garmin, TomTom, and Magellan can easily cost you $500 or more on today’s market. But if you’re in the market for a new personal Nav device, and your cell phone navigator just isn’t cutting it, then RightWay… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A few weeks ago I told you about the Default Case company. I was pretty impressed with the newly launched iPhone case company’s approach to doing to business. They seemed to be willing to go out of their way and pretty much willing do anything to satisfy their customers. I liked the fact that their representatives used their first names when communicating, they answered the phone when I called, and they were willing to answer all of my questions and concerns. Their current promotion (all cases cost only 1 cent plus a $3.99 shipping fee) has garnered a ton of attention for the company, but it seems at a cost for the consumer… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Chris Fitch, an artist and sculptor, has put together a set of work that, frankly, defies easy and simplistic description.  Some of the works remind me of the things Chris in the Morning did on “Northern Exposure”; others looked like something Rube Goldberg might design if he had access to plastic children’s toys and had read too much Steampunk fiction.  I don’t know how to describe it, but I definitely found it a web site worth visiting.  And at the standard web viewing price (Free!), it’s hard to not recommend that you check it out, too Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Photo courtesy of Christy Clark. I’ve bored you all before with how much I travel (one flight a week!), but I’m hardly the only guy in the world who has to travel a lot for his or her job.  But fortunately for all you heavy travelers out there, Gear Diary buddy Clinton Fitch — user of both an iPad and iPhone — is a better man than me; rather than just whining about it like I do, Clinton decided to document the ways in which having an iPad or iPhone has helped him travel, the issues he’s faced, and how he’s overcome them. So if you want to benefit from Clinton’s experiences… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Taking a look at the Hewlett Packard (HP) Elitebook 8440w above, the term ‘sexy’ might not come to mind for most, but for folks who use a business laptop day in and day out, have to travel around and access their data on the go, it is absolutely GORGEOUS. However, what really matter is how it PERFORMS – in terms of speed, functionality, ruggedness, and possessing the features needed to help the widest array of business users get their job done. HP makes a lot of claims about how the 8440w meets those needs, but I wanted to see how it really worked. So when HP offered a loaner unit to review I happily accepted… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Dragon Dictate for Mac was announced earlier in the week. Those upgrading from MacSpeech Dictate could purchase and download the update almost immediately. Those looking to buy the software for the first time could place orders and it will be shipping in the coming weeks. We had a first look at this software that brings Nuance’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 transcription engine to the Mac. The software does a lot more than that, however. It adds new features, easier commands and much more. In the process it brings parity between the Mac and Windows software closer than ever. I’ve encountered a few hiccups with the software along the way but, overall, I’m quite impressed… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve made no secret of my fondness for the Zinio iPad app. It is a great way to browse, buy and read an ever growing variety of top magazines. I love always having a wide range of magazines with me. And I love the convenience of having an email show up weekly or monthly telling me that my new issue of RollingStone, Macworld or a new favorite, GreenSource, shows up. Well now Zinio has expanded their range of offerings to include three of Macy’s fall catalogues. It is a first for Zinio and a great new way to use Zinio. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

There is a load of stuff on sale this weekend, so instead of babbling I will just list them out! GoGamer is having a huge sale as shown in the image at the top: Steam: Serious Sam games are 75% off – biggest deal is the Serious Sam HD Gold featuring both original games and both new HD versions with loads of extras … for $10! Impulse Big 50% Off Indie Games Sale All Soldak Games (including Din’s Curse) 50% off! Academagia: The Making of Mages – $14.99 (50% Off) … and more! GamersGate Has yet another big sale – Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A little over a week ago we brought word that Kensington was rolling out new iPad accessories. Now they have added two new cases to their lineup. According to the company the KeyFolio and Folio Case for iPad are… Designed to fit any environment, Kensington’s KeyFolio and Folio Cases give iPad users the ability to stay protected, connected, and productive with their iPad everywhere they go. Here’s a quick rundown of both. The Kensington KeyFolio Bluetooth Keyboard and Case for iPad has an MSRP of $99.99. As Kensington explains The KeyFolio™ not only protects your iPad when on the road but also provides a handy wireless Bluetooth® keyboard and handsfree stand when you Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I like supporting “green” products and companies. It makes me feel a little less like “ooh, shiny new toy” and more “ooh, shiny new toy AND I did something sort-of good for the world”. Of course, any product, recycled/green or otherwise, needs to be well built and functional. So when I had the chance to review a GreenSmart Puku messenger bag, I was excited to give it a spin. Let’s start with the bag itself, and then we’ll get into the things that make it unique and earth-friendly. The Puku came in a very earthy green color, with brown accents and a white interior. Physically… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you are a movie fan you likely check out RottenTomatoes. Likewise if you play video games you probably used GameRankings until it was bought out and became crap and now use MetaCritic. But what about games from the iTunes App Store? Until now you had to troll the App Store, visit too many review sites, try to get advice from friends and forums, and generally just hope for the best. Now the UK site Pocket Gamer has launched Quality Index. The site uses a similar method of aggregation as most similar sites: they grab online and print reviews of games on the app store and apply a magic formula (I assume Pocket… Continue reading on Gear Diary …