Is there really much else to say? You have two of the most important musical figures of the 20th century, together shooting hoops at a birthday party, and it was caught on film. From the MilesDavisOnline site notes: There’s this most excellent footage floating around the ‘net of a John Lennon / Yoko Ono party from 1972 that features Andy Warhol, Phil Spector and Miles Davis. The 16mm color film was shot by filmmaker Jonas Mekas (the date was specifically October 9, 1972). Great. Party footage. Looks like they had fun. Good for them. But what makes this unearthed party film so extra special is that it features Miles Davis and John Lennon shooting hoops Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the downsides of being an early adopter is the lack of good accessories for your new device.  When the Streak was released, Dell seized the opportunity to fill in the gap and issued their own leather wallet case for the Streak.  Given the limited options available so far, I purchased Dell’s Leather Wallet Case to protect my Streak when we recently went on a family vacation.  While the simple cloth bag that comes with the Streak is okay when I’m carrying the Streak in a dedicated pocket in my briefcase, I needed something with a little more strength to it when throwing it into my travel bag for vacation. Featuring a leather exterior… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It’s time for another episode of “Gear Diary, Deal or Dud?”  This month I take a look at the As Seen on TV EZ Cracker.  This kitchen tool promises to make egg cracking effortless and mess free.  It also comes with a special add-on attachment that helps separate the egg yolk from the egg white. Here’s what the As Seen on TV website has to say about the EZ Cracker….. The EZ Cracker cracks eggs with one simple motion and separates eggs whites in seconds. There’s no mess, no fuss, no shells in your food. Just place the egg Continue reading on Gear Diary …

USB devices have become the standard for geeks and technophobes alike.  If you plan on using modern technology, you are almost guaranteed to be utilizing USB ports for many devices.  Of course, none of my computers come with enough hubs, so I must find other ways to plug all my gear in.  I have tried many expandable USB hubs with varying success.  One problem I have had is the size as well as space for plugs.  I have one hub that has three spots on both sides equaling six.  There are very few cords or drives that will plug in next to each other because the hubs are too close.  It really annoys me… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve reviewed both the Litter-Robot and the CatGenie, two automated Cat Litter Boxes here on Gear Diary, and I’ve had several years to test each extensively. On top of that, when I started using the CatGenie, and it became evident that it was going to work out for me, I gave the Litter-Robot to my friends Steven and June; they have been using it since early 2009. Since reviewing both, I’ve received questions about how the two stacked up to each other, but none covered as many issues as a recent letter from Danielle. With her permission, I am going to answer it here … Dear Judie, I hope you don’t mind me Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Hello and welcome back to State of the eBook! The series had a bit of a summer vacation, but news is slowly picking back up! So pull yourself away from your new Kindle/nook app/iBooks and check out what’s been going on in the ebook world! Fuzzy Math A few bits of creative and flexible number reporting first. The Bookseller claims iBooks is “more popular than facebook and twitter”. Yes, they phrased it exactly like that. As one commenter on their post pointed out, iBooks is the default PDF reader on the iPad and iPhone, so that explains a big chunk of the use numbers. There’s also no indication from… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

What could be better than starting your week off with a Gear Deal that lets you get something for absolutely nothing. That’s right, today’s Gear Deal won’t even cost you a penny. Normally NetFlix gives you two weeks to try their service but our Gear Sponsor has pointed us toward a deal that will get you a full month for… FREE. The LogicBUY site explains it this way… NetFlix is now offering 4 weeks for free (normally 2 weeks only). Rent over 100,000 movies on either Blu-ray or DVD movies plus unlimited online movie viewing. Free 1 month trial and you can cancel at anytime. No late fees – keep movies as long Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As I have discussed here on the site numerous times, I make a great deal of use of various voice recognition services. On my iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad I use Dragon Dictation. It works beautifully so long as you are in a relatively quiet place and are speaking slowly and clearly. Yes, you can only record for 60 seconds at a time before you need to let the software process what you said but, after time, it becomes second nature to speak in relatively short snippets and then, after that first voice note has been transcribed, continue with the next section. On my Mac I have been using MacSpeech Dictate which Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I remember a day when listening to music meant a stereo was in the room with you. Since today out music is completely mobile, the old fashion stereo unit is almost extinct. I find myself listening to a computer or my iPhone. I have learned that a nice pair of powered speakers is all that is needed to listen to music or even watch streaming television and movies.   I actually prefer powered computer speakers around the house to iPhone dock stereos. I recently received the Philips Multimedia Speakers 2.0 to try with my computer as well as around the house with my iPhone. Read on to see how they performed. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Think about how much information we use on the internet that cannot be avoided, but could be devastating if it landed into the hands of a hacker.  I know I have many log ins and passwords that I keep track of.  Some of these are to sites that allow for automatic purchasing or may even contain valuable financial information.  Then there are bank and credit card accounts and other important information.  With all of these different pieces of information, it is hard to keep up with and even harder to keep safe.  Consider Splash ID a safe for all of this information right on your iPad.  Now all of these accounts and passwords can… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Wow … I didn’t see this one coming! If you have followed any of my gaming news, reviews or editorials since … well, pretty much since the day I joined Gear Diary, you have read me sing the praises of the digital download site Good Old Games. I mean, why not – classic games, DRM-free, great prices, run by game-loving developers for gamers … what is NOT to love! Apparently the publishers have been less than supportive, and as more sites take on the same games at the same prices GoG must have felt the pressure, because when I went to download Master of Orion 1 & 2 today I was greeted with this… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We call him . . . Sauron Claus. He’s a co-worker of mine, and he has a sit/stand office setup.  And his head pokes up juuuuust enough above the cubical walls that all you can really see are his eyes;  he sees you when you’re sleeping, and knows when you’re awake. But my friend Steve is not the only guy to go with this kind of configuration; lot’s of people are getting off their duffs and standing up at work. Better for your legs, back, heart, and lots of other things. Now the company Ergotron is sponsoring a national campaign, “The Uprising: Just Stand”. So maybe you should (ahem) stand up and take Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the very few things about the iPad that irks me is the fact that it can’t charge off of most USB ports. (The other two: I’d like the retina display, and iOS 4.x.) Yes, yes; I’ve gotten in the habit of taking the adapter with me everywhere, but it can still be a pain in the tuckus. Or the back, when I have to go diving under my desk at work to plug the durn thing in. Good thing it has such a long battery life. But to the rescue rides Xmultiple Technologies with their iXP1-500–not a snappy name, I know, but a snappy product; a USB adapter that allows you to charge… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Both Judie and I reviewed the Acme Made Courier laptop bag, and it remains one of our absolute favorite laptop bags. The bags are nicely designed, well made and have both stood up to some serious use (and abuse) since I did my “second opinion” post as a follow-up to Judie’s full review. Well Acme Made also offers a variety of cases for eBook readers and the iPad. Today we’ll take a look at the Slick Case for Apple iPad. Is it as stylish and well-made as the Courier? Read on to find out… From Acme Made: Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As several of our reviewers here have noted, if you’re going for that full-bore smartphone protection, Otterbox is usually the case to get. In fact, when I handed down my iPhone 3GS to my son after I got the iPhone 4, we got him an Otterbox case. Several drops later (one onto stony soil–from only a couple of feet, but still), the iPhone is still going. But you Android folks don’t need to feel left out; Otterbox is out with a number of cases for various Android devices. So if you’ve got the EVO™ 4G or DROID Incredible, Otterbox (wait for it . . .) has you covered. [rim shot] Full information below. Don’t Continue reading on Gear Diary …