I mentioned Amazon.com’s new $0.69 Singles Store, and we’ve written before about the $5 monthly album deals in the past – including the HUGE 1000 MP3 album deal last fall. That all seems small now, with Amazon currently offering $1500 MP3 albums for $5 each (plus many albums for even LESS). As always, these aren’t junk titles – we have Arcade Fire – The Suburbs, the classic Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails, Our Man in Paris by Dexter Gordan, and loads more in just about every genre. Head here to check out the expanded singles store, now up to more than 200 top hits for $0.69!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I have been keeping this up to date with the ongoing Sony PSN /Qriocity saga, but this morning things took an interesting turn: Sony Online Entertainment, the game development division responsible for massively multiplayer online games such as the hugely popular EverQuest series as well as Star Wars Galaxies, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, DC Universe Online and others, has been taken down. According to a message on the official site: Dear valued SOE Customers, We have had to take the SOE service down temporarily. In the course of our investigation into the intrusion into our systems we have discovered an issue that warrants enough concern for us to take the service Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Within my tradition, a couple is officially married when one partner gives the other something of easily assessed value; which is probably the original reason why Jewish wedding bands don’t usually have stones — the addition of the gems makes easily assessing the value impossible. The result is that while we usually use a ring in a wedding, it doesn’t HAVE to be a ring. Yup, the object used in the ceremony CAN be a ring or it could be something like a watch or a coin; you name it. So long as you can easily determine the value, you are good to go. So how might you cover all your bases? How about… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Have you ever wanted to make a quick note or change to a document on the go? Many folks swear by Evernote, but sadly it is blocked by my work so I stick with Google Docs. So when a native Android app arrived, I hopped right on it. So far I have only messed around a bit, but have a clear impression. The Hype: Create, edit, upload and share your documents with the Google Docs app. * Designed for Android to save you time finding your docs * Edits to your documents appear to collaborators in seconds * Make quick changes to spreadsheets * View your documents, PDFs, images and more… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It’s common for sociologists to attempt to hook trends in entertainment to what might be going on with a particularly society at a particular point in history.  For example, it’s widely agreed that the plethora of Godzilla movies in post-World War II Japan had a lot to do with that country’s having nuclear weapons dropped on them.  Or the rash of heavily-paranoid, alien invader science fiction movies of the 50s–Invasion of the Body Snatchers, for example–were more about Communism and national paranoia than they were about Americans’ fears of, well, alien invasion.  Or the bunch of happy happy, joy joy films that came out in the 30s being a way for the country to collectively escape from… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Handheld football gaming experience improves with smooth circle pad controls and touch screen play calling/creation with Madden NFL Football 3DS.

There are a few companies’ products that, when I hear they have something new, I’m always all, “Oooh, I need to take a look at that!”  Until I met Judie and she exerted her evil influence on me, that was never true with case makers–I’m a guy, and all I wanted from a case was something that covered my tech.  Now?  Now I’m all, “Ooh, new Vaja case!  Ooh, new Oberon case!”  I even get excited about bags now.  It’s pathetic, really.  Durn you, Judie! Well, one of those makers is Waterfield.  Partly, it’s because they’re in San Francisco, and I just have a thing for San Francisco companies.  But mostly it’s because I… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I love, love, love the new Kindle ad! Like many prior ones, Amazon is hammering home how great the Kindle screen looks in sunlight, how easy it is to use, etc…but instead of taking on the iPad, they are aiming this ad at the people who claim they prefer “real books.” Words don’t do this one justice, so check out the embedded video below! Via ebooknewser Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Wow … neither my son nor I have finished Portal 2 yet, but it is already on a massive sale at Amazon! The excellent follow-up to 2007′s great first-person puzzler is bigger, better and has loads of features – and is already being called the de facto best game of 2011! But now Amazon is offering it for more than 40% off! Here are the links: XBOX360 version of Portal 2 PS3 version of Portal 2 PC/Mac version of Portal 2 Source: NewGearDaily Continue reading on Gear Diary …

See, this is the kind of thing I like to see.  ”Where do you stand on Android vs. iOS, Mr. Software Maker?”  ”Why, we develop for both of the them, of course!”  That’s right; they do the software, and you the happy consumer get to decide which platform is best for you.  That’s what I like to see. So my hat’s off to Ilium software, honestly.  As a software person myself, I know that it’s a pain in the tuckus to develop for more than one OS–despite what you may think, it takes pretty much twice as many people.  So if you’re running on an Android or iOS device–and most of us are these days–and you’ve… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch Who watches over you Make a little birdhouse in your soul Not to put too fine a point on it Say I’m the only bee in your bonnet Make a little birdhouse in your soul Who didn’t sing along with this song in 1990?  Thanks to Think Geek, now you can have the night-lite that They Might Be Giants were referring to. $12.99 gets you this 4″tall night light with its light-sensing white LED. I’m ordering one now. Think Geek’s Blue Canary in the Outlet by the Light Switch (who watches over you) And just in case you don’t already have… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A few weeks ago, I reviewed Shape Services’ iDisplay utility, an app that allows you to turn your iPad or iPhone into an additional monitor for your laptop.  Now while it’s true I don’t use it much–I have a dual-monitor setup at work, and alas the Windows software doesn’t seem capable of handling three monitors at once–I thought it was a pretty cool app and definitely worth the money. Now, Shape Services has come out with an Android version, with Honeycomb support and Xoom capability.  If you’re finding that you need more monitor space–and who doesn’t?–and have an Android device, perhaps this is what you’ve been waiting for.  Check it out, and let us… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

  Steve Jobs was clear when he introduced the iPad that using a stylus was a “no-no”. Instead, he encouraged all of us to use our built-in pointers; you know, those things called fingers. Well that has worked pretty well for me over the last year. In fact, it has worked so well that I have increasingly tried to touch the screen of my MacBook Air only to be reminded that, oh yeah, it has a trackpad, not a touchscreen. There are, however, times when you might want to use a stylus. No, the iPad will never be as stylus-friendly as the upcoming HTC Flyer (cannot WAIT to try it!). But then gain, the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I was watching TV at 10:30 pm last night when the first reports came that President Obama would be making a special announcement. “Uh Oh,” I thought, “This is either really good news or really, really bad.” I was anxious to see which it was but then I waited… And waited and waited. It took an hour before the President finally came on and formally announced that Bin Laden had been killed by US forces. During that hour the news trickled in. In fact, as I watched, reporters were receiving and sharing news updates in real time. The information was so fresh that it was read from… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We start the week with a huge deal for $80.00 off Dell’s ST2410 24″ 1080p HDMI LCD Monitor. It offers • 1920×1080 maximum widescreen resolution delivers more screen real estate for efficient productivity • High brightness of 250 cd/m2 (typical) provides excellent and clear image display • Offers a viewing angle of 170° and 160° in horizontal and vertical direction respectively • DVI-D with HDCP connectivity delivers high digital quality image and excellent color uniformity • Features 5 ms response time enables crisp and clear images   Here’s what Dell has to say about it: Be inspired by the understated elegance, fluid geometry and creative technology of the new Dell™ ST2410 24-inch Continue reading on Gear Diary …