With phones and computers becoming more powerful and more portable all the time, a lot of people are doing what Jessica has done, and setting up a sort-of home-base system, with their portable gadgets serving both as independent actors, and as parts of a much larger home-based system.  Applications like dropbox and MiMedia are giving you the capability of storing your information in the cloud and accessing it from anywhere, from any device. Similarly, apps are coming out giving you access to your “home base” system remotely.  One such app is TeamViewer, which the TeamViewer, um, team describes this way: With TeamViewer you can remotely control any computer as if you were Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve mentioned it before, but I still find it kind of startling.  Back in the day, when the iPhone 2G came out, a lot of people were predicting disaster.  ”Apple doesn’t understand the mobile market!”  ”What does Apple know about designing cell phones!”  Etc.  One way in which I noticed that many businesses were taking a (to put it gently) “wait and see” approach was in how few accessories there were available for it when it came out.  I was hard-pressed to find a Belkin pouch case, for example, and when I asked the guy in the AT&T store about it, he basically shrugged. Boy, have times changed.  Seems like you can’t even walk down… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Sharp’s 42″ 1080p HDTV Let’s kick off the weekend with a New Gear Daily Deal on a great 42″ HDTV from Sharp. Here’s what Sharp has to say about their own product- The 42″ class (42″ diagonal) LC-42SB48UT, with full HD spec 1080p resolution and an elegant design, produces superb picture quality. The LC-42SB48UT features high contrast, a fast response time and wide viewing angles. The LC-42SB48UT includes built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuners, 4 HDMI inputs, is compatible with 1080p signals and has 2 HD component video inputs. The LC-42SB48UT features a sleek piano black cabinet with bottom-mounted speakers, and the included table stand easily removes for wall mounting applications. This is… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We all know that I love Virtual City HD, right? Exactly! Anyway, to celebrate Apple launching the iPad 2 in 25 countries today (while I still wait for mine, no less!), G5 Entertainment is having a sale on the iPad version of the Virtual City. Considering the game was $9.99 when I reviewed it, the $2.99 sale is a great deal! Here are the details: In honor of the international iPad 2 release, G5 is launching a sale of Virtual City HD on iPad, a massively popular mix of transport strategy and city simulator. Virtual City HD drops in price to $2.99 from March 25 till March 27. Grab the game now and start Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It was my last day at CES 2011 and we had already had quite a full morning. I was exhausted, but Francis just kept pushing. “I want to go see Motorola. I want to go see Motorola.” And he kept whining, “I want to go see what Motorola is offering and I want to go now.” He wore me down. So I acquiesced. Okay, so perhaps that’s not exactly how it happened. In actuality it went something like this: Francis – “Hey Dan, what do you say we go check out Motorola?” Me – “Sure.” And, thanks to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Everyone shares the pain and difficulty of the people of Japan dealing with the horrible tragedy, and many of us look for ways to help out in whatever way possible. Judie wrote about some ways to help, I mentioned some here and here and here, and more ideas keep pouring in every day! Here is one of the latest! Over at iTunes, there is a sampler from various artists called “Songs for Japan” that features 38 songs from loads of pop music stars. Here are the details: The iTunes Music Store offers downloads of Songs for Japan for $9.99. That’s the best deal we could find for Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This is one of those great Amazon deals that just won’t last! For today only you can get 10 classic albums for $3.99 each! Here is the list: Prince’s Purple Rain Van Halen’s Van Halen Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue The Clash’s London Calling (pictured) Boston’s Boston Rush’s Moving Pictures The Doors’ The Doors David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust Ramones’ Ramones The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds So head on over to Amazon.com’s MP3 Store and grab the deals! Source: DealMac Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Welcome to another edition of Music Diary Reviews! I had assumed that things would slow down after the ‘embarrassment of riches’ we got in 2010, but I am already swamped with loads of great new music releases! I am continuing the trend I started of separating reviews into logical chunks such as new releases or reissues. For this set I am focusing on young and relatively unknown artists. One of the great things about doing these reviews is the exposure to great new music by people I wouldn’t have heard about otherwise. At the end of last year and early this year I was contacted by three artists each of whom had… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

March Madness continues this weekend and once again the digital download sales are INSANE!!! As usual, everyone is getting in on the action with great deals. Once again the sales are so huge that I’m only showing games that are 50% off or more. And as always thanks to the crew at Deals4Downloads for their help finding everything. Now let’s get straight to the deals! Good Old Games: Weekend Sale – 60% off select Enlight games when you buy all, or 40% off individually CAPITALISM 2 CAPITALISM PLUS RESTAURANT EMPIRE SEVEN KINGDOMS 2 SEVEN KINGDOMS: ANCIENT ADVERSARIES Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A bittersweet air fills the room as I type these characters into this document. The item I am reviewing is also the latest Gear Diary will give away in partnership with the sponsoring company. But for an A/V geek like myself, I will say goodbye to it with a tear in my eye. Sabrent, – tagline “Connecting Differently” – sent me its latest USB external video/graphics adapter, the USB-DH88, for review and giveaway. I first came across an e-mail sent us by the company’s PR firm touting Sabrent’s solutions to A/V presentation problems. This got my attention because recently I was put in that very situation and had to scramble for a last-minute solution that… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I have a confession to make-I rarely make my own appointments. No, whenever I schedule something new for myself I usually mess things up and end up double-booking or, worse, not properly saving the date and then not showing up at all. My strategy to avoid this? My awesome, amazing assistant. I know it sounds lame but by working through her I rarely, if ever, mess up my schedule. There are, however, times when I do need to add my own appointment and, when that happens, I curse my iPhone. Seriously, why is it so hard to make new appointments on the iPhone? That’s what the new app Easy Calendar seeks to do… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I know … the SHOCK of it all! The new dates? US release on June 14th and internationally on June 10th. Anyway, here is a fun little message from GearBox Software president Randy Pitchford about the delay: So there you have it – from early May to mid-June to … well, just say I won’t be surprised when the next delay comes, either… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

(created with MemeGenerator) I am not a developer or a computer science person, so everything beyond the basic user experience is sort of like magic to me. But even as a former philosophy major, I know there’s a huge number of people out there who spend unpaid hours digging through Android’s guts to provide more services and software to the average user. And that much of that is thanks to Google being committed to open source and sharing Android with the world. Or it was… According to BusinessWeek, Google is holding back from sharing the full source code for Honeycomb with everyone who wants it. Apparently Google is very concerned about Honeycomb being used… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I use my iPhone, iPad and now Android phone in a wide variety of settings. At times it works just fine to lay them on the table or prop them against something for easy viewing. At other times, though, a good stand is needed. I’ve tried a lot of them and, along the way, have come across some stands that do a great job and add to the aesthetic quality of the device in the process. This is not one such stand. No, Breffo’s Spiderpodium and new SpiderpodiumTablet stands don’t go for aesthetic appeal. Instead they shoot for something more basic, they go for function and flexibility. The stands’ unique flexible nature means that… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We end the week with a Gear Deal on a Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18MP Digital SLR Camera combined with an 18-55mm IS Lens. The camera features a 3-inch vari-angle LCD, 1080p video recording mode, 3.7 fps continuous shooting, 18.0 MP CMOS sensor and DIGIC 4 Image Processor, mini HDMI output, SD/SDHC card slot, USB connectivity, and more. This combination is normally $899 but our Gear Sponsor found a $30 coupon code that brings the final price to $869. And it will even free shipping. (Oh, and if you want the body only you can use the same code and get it for $769.99.) $30 Coupon Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18MP Digital SLR Camera w/18-55mm Continue reading on Gear Diary …