I grew up with a mother who was very into photography.  We had a darkroom at home, processed and printed all our film ourselves, and to this day my entire family is all very much into the hobby.  If there’s one thing that I aways remember about my mother’s camera back then it was her strap.  My mother had a few SLR cameras and each was adorned with a colorful neck strap.  No Pentax or Nikon logos for her – after all, this was the 70s, color was in. These straps from Jodie’s Camera Straps immediately brought back memories of the straps my mother use to use.  Each one is made “from… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

WaterField Designs has released a number of bags, cases and slipcovers for the iPad and they recently added yet another item to their growing number of offerings, the iPad Wallet. The iPad Wallet looks like a simple zippered case but it has some key elements that make it a perfect accessory for the iPad-lover. The inside is lined with soft material that prevents your iPad from getting scratched. There are pockets for the iPad and the keyboard, along with an additional area for cables or other small items. Perhaps most importantly, both outer walls of the iPad Wallet are lined with impact plastic to keep the iPad’s delicate screen safe as you go through your day… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

See that image … that is the disc you would need to load and run in order to stream ‘Watch Instant’ movies on Netflix if you had a PS3 or Wii.. Yes, you needed a disc to watch disc-free movies. Strange, I know. A few weeks ago when Netflix introduced streaming content to Canada we got a hint that a change was coming, since the PS3 didn’t need a disc to stream content there. Now we have the official announcements – neither the Wii nor the PS3 need a disc to stream Netflix anymore. For the PS3, the change comes along with some amazing quality improvements previously only available to PC users, and is enabled… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Okay they really aren’t brass knuckles.  That would be just silly. Once you stick the Grip-Ez onto the back of your mobile device with the included 3M tape what it does do is offer an unparalleled amount of grip.   Made from hard plastic and rubber the add-on is said to be very durable while providing your fingers with a comfortable place to rest while securing holding your mobile device. Each Grip-Ez sells for $10 plus shipping, and it comes doctor recommended to reduce hand fatigue. Of course you’ll need to master the art of one-handed phone operation to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Savings of 35% is pretty significant, especially when you are speaking about a big ticket item like a computer, and that is exactly what you will save on a number of models of the Dell Latitude laptop. Yup, today’s Gear Deal will save 35% on each of four different Dell Latitude’s when they are configured in such a manner that the MSRP is over $1199. That means the 14.1″ Latitude E5410 Core i7 2.66GHz Laptop w/ 3GB RAM, WXGA+ LCD which has an MSRP of $1,219 is just $792. That’s over $400 off!! The 15.6″ Latitude E5510 Core i7 2.66GHz Laptop w/ 900p Anti-glare LCD lists for $1,203 but is just $782… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

My first car, the one that I actually picked out and paid for on my own, was NOT a 1969 Corvette. It was a 1981 Toyota Celica Supra, back when they were still Celica Supras. It had a sunroof which leaked when it rained, and it was the most god-awful maroon. It didn’t matter; I loved that car. Evidently the Celica Supra wasn’t a cool enough (or American enough) car to be made available as one of the Classic Car Shelf Collection from Gadgets & Gear, but I suppose I’m not really surprised. Because the others that have been replicated are just so cool, I’m not going to take it personally. Whether Continue reading on Gear Diary …

On October 6th at a Sotheby’s watch auction, a Patek Philippe platinum 5078P sold for 2.42 million Hong Kong dollars (US $312,000).  Although it doesn’t look like all that much, the watch has a rather distinct set of features which make it stand apart from other time pieces. First of it’s a Patek Philippe, which is the Rolls Royce of watches.  Every Patek Philippe is handmade and assembled in Geneva. The watch has a special minute repeating function.  ”This is the watch’s only “complication” — a term used to describe any watch feature that does something other than tell time — but it is considered the “ultimate complication” by connoisseurs… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

No matter what level of protection you need for your iPhone 4 OtterBox has you covered. The company realizes that all iPhone users are different and use their phones in different environments. It’s because of this that they offer three different levels of protective cases for the iPhone 4. Their Defender series offers the maximum amount, followed by the Commuter which offers a mid-range level of protection followed by the case we’ll look at today, the Impact series. The Impact series case is a slim fitting, silicone based case that is meant to protect your device from life’s bumps Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Whenever I see my friend Meni, he always has a neat app or two to show me. This time the app was just in time for Halloween. There isn’t much to say about Haunted Face. For $.99 is lets you either take a new picture or choose one from your photo library, crop it, process it and… well you’ll see in a second. The processing happens on external servers so you need an Internet connection. In addition, while you can email an image from the video it creates you cannot email the actual moving image. Still, for $.99 is is fun, quick, and, considering the time of year, timely. I… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Here’s some good news for you Barnes & Noble nook owners; you can expect a major update for your beloved eBook reader in November. Barnes & Noble will continue to enhance the overall reading experience and performance of its award-winning, bestselling NOOK eBook Readers with a major update coming in November. In its biggest update yet since NOOK was launched one year ago, Barnes & Noble will dramatically increase NOOK 3G and NOOK Wi-Fi‘s page turn speed and deliver the features and performance enhancements most-requested from NOOK customers. These include improved search on the device, customized Barnes & Noble Library organization and password protection. The update also includes the ability to read Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I have long been a fan of the work of artist M. C. Escher. I love his realistic-looking structures that seem utterly plausible … until you look closer and see the impossibility. Well, what if he had designed assembly instructions? That is what an image adafruit suggests, as it shows some Mobius-strip inspired figured attempting to join into a single seemingly simple mechanism. The actual author isn’t specified … but it is a fun drawing in the style of Escher. Checking into it I found other versions floating around, including one with Dutch ‘assembly instructions’, and this one which was made into a blueprint: Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Parents with kids who are growing up in this internet age have undoubtedly got more to worry about than parents even five years ago. It is imperative that our younglings understand that anything posted on the internet (even if only briefly) can come back to haunt the poster (or the postee) forever. Vicious gossip, bullying, hurtful photos … these are things that can be magnified to unbearable proportions when posted online. I found this cute video today; it may see simplistic at first, but it’s message is right on. This video was created by EMC Corporation and RSA Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about ebook pricing insanity, citing the high prices of new release books using the newly released Gauntlgrym: Neverwinter Book I by R. A. Salvatore. At the same time I noted how the move to price ebooks at greater than $10 has slowed down my buying: I have definitely balked at buying books I would have bought without thought at $9.99. For example, Bob Woodward’s ‘Obamas Wars’ looked interesting, but the ebook cost $14.99 – basically the same as the $15.00 hardcover. Similarly Company Town, looking at industries that have become wrapped around a single town (interesting since I work for one!), cost $12.99 – much less than the Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve flirted with making my own sushi, but I can never seem to get my rice just right or my rolls just so. If you are in the same (sushi) boat, then here’s an app that might be able to help. The new app offers helpful tools and over 45 minutes of instructional videos demonstrating how users can make advanced sushi rolls in their own homes. The Expert offering takes the lessons a step further, teaching users to create advanced rolls including Shrimp Tempura, Volcano Rolls and Spicy Crunchy Tuna Rolls. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you are a fan of both Halloween and customized ringtones for your mobile devices, then what we have here is a bit of convergence for you.  If you want to “spookify” your iPhone a bit, point your broom toward Electric Pocket’s space in the iTunes App Store and check out SpookyTones, a Halloween version of its MailTones app. SpookyTones allows you to assign distinct, frightening tones to your contacts, and then, rather than the traditional, boring email alert, your iPhone cackles, thumps, or rattles its chains.  Prefer giving the ghouls the silent treatment?  SpookyTones will also let you set certain contacts to silent, so you’re not frightened by the boss’ emails again. In… Continue reading on Gear Diary …