Apple isn’t the only company to be announcing new laptops this week. No, our Gear Sponsor let us know that new models of the Dell XPS notebook are on the way in 14, 15 and 17″ models. Here’s a peek at all three models. We will, of course, let you know when they are available. Coming soon: Dell XPS 14 L401x 14-inch Core i3/i5/i7 Laptop The Dell XPS 14… will be available with Core i3 / i5 / i7 CPU options, HM57 chipset, starting weight of 5.35lbs; 720p WLED display with TruLife, up to 16GB DDR3 memory, GeForce GT 420M Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The Scottevest What’s In Your Scottevest Carry-On Contest is well underway. The goal is simple- – We want your videos telling us how Scottevest can help save money on baggage fees!!!!! We have already received some good written responses but we’re looking for videos. Yes, WE WANT YOUR VIDEOS! We want funny videos. We want touching videos. We want artsy videos. We want creative videos. We want videos that tell us how you can save money with your Scottevest. And here’s what we’re going to do. One video that is shared before 6 PM Thursday October 21st is going to be randomly be chosen to will… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A few years back, the good folks at Mazda chose to drop the Miata tagline on the most popular two-seat convertible sports car in the world, instead going only with the MX-5 designation. I guess this gave the cute little bugger more of a “macho” image as many consumers have thought of Miata as more a “chick’s” car. Masculinity intact, I thoroughly enjoyed my week in the Mazda MX-5 Miata, which I dubbed “Miazda” purely to enhance the confusion. In 2006, Mazda launched the third-generation of the fun little roadster and it did not share a single component with previous Miatas. Mazda touted a design principle of “Jinba Ittai” or dynamic harmony between man and… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Loads of stuff going on in the game world aside from the week-after-week of massive game releases. Here are just a few items of interest … aside from my earlier focus on Fallout New Vegas, of course. Two of the biggest hits on the Nintendo DS have been the Phoenix Wright games and the Professor Layton puzzle series. My wife loves Professor Layton and will puzzle away at those things in a way unlike I have ever seen her play video games. So now we have heard news of a game for the Nintendo 3DS being announced in Japan that will find Layton and Wright on opposite sides of a case, and have their apprentices… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As with every other iPhone so far, the iPhone 4 can be a huge battery hog. Having a backup external battery and access to other charging options throughout the day is often necessary.You probably keep your iPhone 4 in a case, why not let your  battery be the case? And no, you won’t have to sacrifice pocketability; this extended battery is slim and unobtrusive. As an added bonus, it has a kickstand on the back for easy movie viewing. Features: – 15mm thinness – Allows access to all ports of your iPhone 4G – Acts as a protective case… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Apple is holding their Back to the Mac Special Event after announcing it just one week prior. One week’s notice, and the blogosphere is all abuzz with excitement. It is pretty amazing that Apple can pull off such things and time after time grab so much attention, but it especially makes sense this time around. Not only is Apple on a roll with its most profitable quarter behind them and a runaway hit with the iPad, but after so much time and energy spent on iOS devices, Mac enthusiasts have been clamoring to see Cupertino shift its focus back to OS X and the machines that run it. Well that’s what Apple is delivering… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This week’s biggest new release is the multi platform sequel to one of the biggest games of 2008, Fallout: New Vegas. I highlighted it here … but had also marked developer Obsidian for ‘Troika Watch’. Now the game is out, and the reviews have begun to arrive … and I think we can safely take Obsidian off the ‘death watch’. More on that in a bit … First, Bethesda has announced that their G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit) has been updated and released for Fallout New Vegas. This is a very useful toolkit that previously allowed tons of cool mods for the original Fallout 3. Here is the info from the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We are all feeling the financial pinch!    Blue Plate Special is a weekly review of bargain apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Nothing over $.99. Yes, I am a sucker for puzzle games on my IOS devices and love to find new games that fit the Blue Plate Special price.  Trainyard is currently on sale for $.99 so jump on this one quickly.  It is always interesting to see the many ways developers can create a puzzler.  I have a soft spot in my heart as a train lover for this one.  My dad loves to watch… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

There are Gear Deals and then there are Gear Deals. THIS is a Gear Deal! Today’s deal can get you an HP Pavilion Elite HPE-410t tower with great free upgrades and more savings that we’ve ever seen before. The base specs on the fully customizable HP Pavilion HPE410t include a Core i5-750 2.66GHz Quad-core processor, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, a 750GB hard drive spinning at 7200RPM, a 512MB ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card, a 16X DVD+/-RW LightScribe optical drive and a 15-in-1 Card Reader. Those specs include a FREE 6GB memory upgrade and a free 750GB Hard Drive upgrade. (You can also save on add ons such as 35% off a 21.5″ LCD… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last night I went to pay for something. I pulled out my wallet and the woman behind the counter looked at it and said, “Now that’s a nifty gadget!” “Thanks,” I said, “I like everything about it but the color; I wish it were black.” “NOOO! she said, that’s my favorite color. I love it!” As I walked away I thought to myself, “Thanks for the first line of my review!” We reviewed the first iteration of the Flipside Wallet about a year ago. In fact, if you go to the Web site our conclusion that “This wallet is a vault in a pocket.” is still prominent on the home page Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Get ready for something special from Skooba Design! They are in the process of rolling out Techlife, a  collection of  sporty, casual, and Ultra-super-seriously-lightweight bags. Shown above is the Techlife Digital Daypack, which will retail for $99.95. According to Michael Hess, this collection includes … Updated versions of our iPad/Netbook bag and neo-skin, a slick new backpack in 2 sizes, a compact laptop messenger (for MacBook 13 and similar), a slim laptop case, and my personal favorite “big story,” which is… drum roll… The Weekend Warrior Duffel [$119.95] — nothing else like it on the market. A solution for “single-bag, no briefcase” leisure/weekend Continue reading on Gear Diary …

with apologies to Poltergeist, the movie They’re baaaaacccckkkkkkk! Like a rat that just won’t go away, like a bad penny that just keeps returning, like your Aunt Gertrude who just won’t stop coming to visit each Sunday … one of our all-time “favorite” post subjects is back – and they have become even bolder than ever. Yes, once again we are hearing from MyPadMedia … and the lack of a link is because we aren’t about to help promote their page rank. They’re continuing to play their games, continuing to use highly deceptive tactics to draw people in, and attempting to use legal manipulations to go after us. It’s Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Do you remember the story from a couple of months ago about a woman in Coventry UK being caught on a security camera tossing a cat into a trash bin? Well, take a look to refresh your memory: Well, after tons of international outrage and attention, the woman was charged with animal cruelty and was fined 250 British pounds. The reason for a fine compared to a more severe charge: District judge Caroline Goulborn said the potential for harm to the cat had been “substantial” but the reality was she had not been hurt. “The media interest in this case has resulted in you being vilified in some quarters and I have Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We’ve covered the fireproof & waterproof ioSafe hard drive a few times here at Gear Diary.  I’ve tried to burn the thing up but failed.  If you’re still not convinced or have been waiting for the right time to pick up one of these indestructible drives, now is the time. Buy.com is featuring the 2 TB ioSafe Solo with 5 years of disaster recovery service for the low, low price of only $290.99! That’s a discount of over $200. And if that wasn’t enough, shipping is FREE too! Jump on this deal while you still can by clicking… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When I reviewed Mount & Blade at the end of 2008, I said “the target audience for Mount & Blade is rather small, but for that group of gamers it scratches an itch that has been around for years, and does so in a very satisfying way. The game provides hours of fun, and an experience that doesn’t get stale.” Fast forward 18 months to the stand-alone expansion Warband, and we find that everything has been improved yet the overall experience is diminished. How does THAT work? Read on and find out! The Hype: Mount & Blade: Warband is the eagerly anticipated standalone expansion to the original PC role-playing game (RPG), Mount & Blade… Continue reading on Gear Diary …