When I last looked at a product from NOX it was their gamer oriented Specialist set of headphones which I liked really well.  However, most of the time I have been preferring earbuds.  Well NOX sent me a set of their new Scout earbuds to check out.  Are they as good as the Specialist?  Let’s find  out. The Scout headset is of the type that fits in your ears with adjustable silicon cushions.  While some might not like this style I really like how they feel in my ears plus with the different cushion sizes they tend to stay put in your ears when you are using them… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It is almost time to pack a bag to head down to Austin, Texas for a full evaluation of the new Chevy Volt (recently named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year) and in doing a little prep work online I notice EPA fuel economy ratings for it and the Nissan Leaf EV have been released along with new stickers and classifications by the governing body. The two vehicles are similar in size but vary in styling and technology. Leaf will only run on electric power ¬ once the battery pack is done, you’re done until you can get to a charging station… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving (if you are in the US, of course) and had a successful Black Friday shopping trip (if you went out). There were plenty of video game deals before and during the holiday, and it just keeps rolling through the weekend! As usual, I am getting deals from emails from the various digital download sites, as well as the excellent Deals4Downloads who does a great job rounding up everything! There are just so many deals I can only give a sample from each site … but check them out for some excellent offers. Now let’s get right to it! Good Old Games: Continue reading on Gear Diary …

There are a growing number of us who want to use our iPads pretty much everywhere. And one of those places is in… the car. The iPad makes a great car entertainments system for kids in the backseat. The only thing is… you need a good, secure way to hold the iPad in place. ViewSticks offers one system for doing just that. Priced at just $19.95, the ViewSticks are a convenient, low profile way to hold your iPad in place behind the drivers or passenger seat for easy viewing. Here’s a look at them in action… From the Company: Compatible Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Sometimes I would love to just travel with my Droid 2 or a small tablet sized device but the built in keyboard on my Droid 2 isn’t that conducive to typing big e-mails.  So when I saw this keyboard, I thought let’s try this as a way to make a extremely mobile setup for blogging or e-mailing.  EFO Gadget Shop sent one to me to review.  Will it be as useful as I thought?  Well today we will find out. This keyboard is an extremely portable bluetooth keyboard.  It is many times smaller than a Apple Bluetooth keyboard and even smaller than Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Back when I was a wee lad, one of the cool things about Christmas was when my Grandmother, bless ‘er, would mail us an advent calendar.  I don’t know if you’ve seen these things, but it lets you open a little door every day of the month until Christmas, uncovering a little picture or, in some of the nicer ones, a small gift or candy or some such.  It didn’t matter to us if the door only opened onto a cartoon of lords a’leapin’; it was the idea of it that got us. Well now you can do the same thing on your iPhone or iPad.  Lightwood Consulting of Stoke-on-Trent (how cool is that?) has… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Not long ago I reviewed the Lenovo ThinkCentre M90z, and at the time I said we would soon be giving one away. Sure enough … that time is just about here. Of course, we aren’t the only site that will be participating in this giveaway, so you will have at least 20 chances to win! Each participating site will have their own method of entry for their own particular giveaway, so you’ll need to check each individual site on the day their contest starts to see the necessary steps to win. Dec 1   -   Dec 5: Medicine and Technology Dec 2   -   Dec 6: Geeks Room Dec 3   -   Dec Continue reading on Gear Diary …

In this season of gift-buying consumer madness, most of us also like to help those who are less fortunate.  I mean, it’s a good thing any old time, but if you’re like me, this time of year reminds you acutely that helping folks is a Good Thing™.  But it’s hard when you’re trying to squeeze out money for family gifts to squeeze out even more for charity, right? Well, the iPad gave Tim Piazza an idea–why not make a decent, inexpensive iPad stand?  And do it in such a way so that some of the money made thereby can be funneled to charities? And he succeeded with the $5 iPad stand.  No, it’s… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It seems everyone wants an iPad. Oprah loves her’s… and so do the 270 audience members who each got one last week. Mayor Bloomberg loves his. And the President signed yet another iPad… Yes, the iPad is the “IT” gift this holiday season and a number of survey’s show that it tops kids’ “most wanted” list this year. Now it was only last spring that my niece and Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I spent a large portion of the summer building a nice deck just outside my back door.  Once it was finished we would sit out there under the bright Texas stars and I would tell my wife I needed a way to watch sports out there.  My WiFi is full strength on the deck, but I could rarely watch live sporting events.  If only I could watch on my iPad or iPhone or even laptop.  Enter the Monsoon Vulkano to grant my wish!  The Vulkano sports technology for TV placeshifting, digital video recording, internet video playback, universal plug and play and mobile video recording.  All of this technology comes in a small attractive box… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Image courtesy of Tokyoflash Tokyoflash announces their first concept to reality watch, the Kisai RPM. Back in February, Tokyoflash announced a concept blog on their site where fans could vote for a design that they would like to make a reality. James Fursedon from the UK, came up with this design which is the first concept-to-reality design available for purchase on the Tokyoflash website. The all black stainless steel watch features 2 blue LED rings around the outer edge and are protected by a smoked black crystal lens. The inner circle of the watch is a brushed finish slightly elevated which is said to “echo the appearance of a… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve recently received a Lenovo ThinkCentre M75e to review, and since I have never used a dual monitor setup, it’s been a rather pleasant experience. There are lots of reasons why a dual monitor setup makes sense, especially for those who are working with lots of documents, web pages or open windows, but it also comes in handy for those of you who like to segregate your work screen from your social networking/personal life screen. Don’t ask … but it does make it easier for me to concentrate on current tasks when I have things kept separate like that. If… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Poetic words meant for lovers and lyricists. In the real world things don’t always go accordingly. My situation refers to the Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon that I recently spent a week with. Here are the words I penned last year during my first experience with the new Caddy: “The vehicle we enjoyed at this stopover (of the Cadillac Culinary Tour) was the new wagon from Cadillac, the CTS Sport Wagon. Wagons have not gotten much love over the past few decades and Chevy Chase did not do them any favors in his vacation movie. Make no mistake – the 2010 CTS Sport Wagon is no family truckster, I assure you.”… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We at Gear Diary are big fans of the ioSafe Fireproof and Waterproof external drive. We’ve witnessed its power in the form of being able to withstand being burned up inside a car and later run over by a giant earth mover. If you haven’t yet picked up an ioSafe drive of your own here are two deals worth checking out. Having an ioSafe drive means your precious files will always be protected, whether they are business documents or family photos. Wal-Mart has the 1 TB ioSafe Solo drive for 26% off (a $60 savings). Amazon has the 2 TB ioSafe solo drive for 32% off (a $129.85 savings)… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Every once in a while, we like to post some stuff to remind you that the “gear” in our title doesn’t just mean “nerd gear”.  This is such a case. Today’s proof of our wide-ranging interests is the Steam Enclosure shower unit by Di Vapor.  I haven’t tested it myself — I doubt the good folks at Di Vapor want to ship me one all the way from England, but the durn thing looks like it can do practically everything but cook your food and walk the dog. So what does this baby have?  Glad you asked! Touch Sensitive Control Panel Steam (just like a steam room in ones local gym) Continue reading on Gear Diary …