We have talked about the major news from Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, but there was loads more that happened at E3! Just about every publisher announced something about their games, but that stuff is generally either promos for about to be released games (Duke Nukem Forever) or stuff that is so far out that you’ll forget about them again before they arrive. Either way it isn’t worth paying much attention to those. But there were a few other tidbits that found their way out during the week. Here we go! Neverwinter OK, so I immediately break the rules I just set … but who cares? Neverwinter was announced last year, and… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Until this week I wouldn’t have even thought twice – legendary vibes player Gary Burton just released a new album yesterday, so I headed to Amazon.com to grab the MP3 album. But then I stopped and thought – if I buy this on iTunes I know it will be saved and available for any of my devices, will be stored on iCloud without penalty, and so on. But if I go to Amazon’s MP3 store to buy, I *should* be able to use iTunes Match in the fall which will allow the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Image courtesy of xkcd Despite Steve Jobs adamantly calling iCloud ‘not just a big hard drive in the sky’, that description pretty well suits just about every other cloud-based storage solution. Of course, iCloud is far from the first ‘cloud storage’ solution, as things like X-Drive and others existed well before the term ‘cloud’ came into vogue. In fact, X-Drive made a splash before the LAST tech bubble by offering 25MB (!) of free storage back in 1999 (check out this CNN article). Yet even as the reasons to use cloud-based storage become more compelling, many concerns remain. Let’s take a quick look! Why You Should Embrace The Cloud Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This post brought to you by VeeBeam. All opinions are 100% mine. I reviewed the Veebeam HD system a number of months ago. The Veebeam is one of the new breed of devices that wirelessly stream whatever is on your computer to your TV. That means you can now have the awesome audio and video experience you love on your HDTV while enjoying whatever content you choose to access through your computer. It is fast, easy to set up and quite affordable (even more so with this great deal!!). The idea behind the Veebeam HD is simple. So much of our digital lives reside on our computers. That’s all good and well if… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We have written repeatedly about the wonders of Plants vs. Zombies, so let’s get right to it – PopCap games is offering the Mac and PC version of Plants Vs. Zombies for 75% off, a mere $4.95! This is part of Crazy Dave’s Deal Days, going on now and offering “Something new for PC and Mac on sale every 48 hours!” Here are the details: This game made me famous! You can zap zombies with peashooters. And 48 other plants, too. Do you know how to plant sunflowers? Do you know how to fight the fun-dead? You will soon! This offer ends 6/12, 11:59 pm PDT Head to PopCap Continue reading on Gear Diary …

In case you missed Microsoft’s jam-packed E3 press conference, Gear Diary has you covered. From the expected staple-franchise demos to the surprise Halo 4 teaser, I doubt anyone left the floor disappointed. Yet beyond the trite action-adventure titles and first person shooters, Microsoft spent the most time promoting their newly released Kinect sensor – and the horde of blockbuster games accompanying it. Starting the conference off with a bang, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the first game to hit the stage, a serious tech demo featuring the series’ hallmark combat and cinematic storytelling. Although the gameplay never managed to stray far from the traditional Call of Duty formula, a distinctive… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Judie: When I attended Mobile World Congress earlier this year, there was one device which stood out for me above all others — the HTC Flyer. The Flyer is an aluminum-bodied 7″ Android tablet; my introduction to it came while I was still carrying a Samsung Galaxy Tab daily, and I could not get over how much better the Flyer looked and how much more solidly built it felt. It was positively Apple-esque, and that is not a bad thing. Couple that with the matching aluminum digital pen which suddenly made note-taking and doodling seem like some… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Ask anyone who has spent untold hours playing the Mac or PC version of Plants vs. Zombies what the silliest, most useless part of the game is, and you will hear ‘the Zen Garden’. Ask those same folks where they spent the most hours in the game … and yeah, I assume you can already guess the answer! Last night I noticed Plants vs. Zombies got updated through iTunes, and since I get about a dozen or so updates daily I seldom read the release notes anymore. However, this morning I got the update notice on AppShopper and checked it out – and WHAT AN UPDATE! Here is the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The weekend is finally here and once again the digital download sites are featuring some awesome deals! I am highlighting the Strategy First sale at Good Old Games, which features a whopping 19 excellent games for 50% off! This week I have abandoned my rule of no more than 50 deals from all sites … there is just way too much great stuff out there at insane prices!! However, I am sticking with the >50% savings rule. We are now seeing more and more publishers launching their own stores with deals – UbiSoft joins the fray this week … but sadly none of their deals were better than 50%! And as always thanks to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We have already taken a look at some of the iPad 2 cases that are now being released that work with Apple’s Smart Covers. The other day Jamie reviewed a case that picks up where Apple’s screen protection leaves off. Here’s another example of a case that lets you also use the Smart Cover you may already own. This one comes from The Joy Factory. We reviewed their SmartSuit2 and loved it. (I’m still using it as one of my two “daily drivers”.) The company also offers the SmartGrip2. It is a simple case that hugs the back and sides of the iPad while still allowing you to use Apple’s covers… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I really like the line of mobile accessory products Waterfield SFBags have been releasing over the past months. We’ve taken a look at a number of them previously and they have just announced a new one- the Keyboard Travel Express. The Keyboard Travel Express is an accessory pouch done with Waterfield’s style, design and eye toward usability. As the company explains, Go Fully Mobile. Be good to yourself—and your wrists—and pack along the Apple Wireless Keyboard for the road. The Keyboard Travel Express carries and protects the Apple Wireless Keyboard, the power adapter and cord, and the mouse, SuperDrive or TrackPad all in one sturdy, attractive case. Soft, scratch-free pockets coddle and organize the contents Continue reading on Gear Diary …

(image courtesy tumblr) Engadget reported this morning that Apple quietly changed the app store submission rules, and they’ve loosened up the in-app purchase requirements. It looks like apps and services that offer subscriptions and book content will be able to skirt around having to use Apple’s purchasing system (and the 30% cut to Apple that it includes). Here’s how they rephrased the agreement: 11.13 Apps that link to external mechanisms for purchases or subscriptions to be used in the app, such as a “buy” button that goes to a web site to purchase a digital book, will be rejected 11.14 Apps can read or play approved content (specifically magazines, newspapers Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We end the week with some great deals on Samsung 3D Bluray Bundles and LG HDTVs. With these deals you get savings AND up to $400 in Dell Gift Cards! These deals apply to Samsung 46″ and 55″ HDTV with 3D/Blu-ray Bundle. The bundles come with a 2011 Model Samsung 3D HDTV, Samsung BD-D5500 3D Blu-Ray player, and also a Samsung MegaMind 3D Blu-Ray starter kit.  You can also get up to $400 Gift Card on standalone Samsung LED and Plasma HDTVs and $100 Gift Card on LG Plasma HDTVs. Here are some of the notable Samsung 3D Blu-Ray Bundles: Samsung UN46D7000 46″ 240Hz 1080p 3D LED Bundle + $400 Gift Card $2,396.99 $1,899.99 Samsung UN55D7000 55″ 240Hz Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I tend to be partial to folio-style cases for my iPad 2, but there is something to be said for some of the more unusual “rugged” cases that offer complete protection AND a removable screen cover. That’s where the Seidio Active case for the iPad 2 comes in. When closed, the case offers complete protection AND it brings along the added benefit that the screen cover can serve double-duty as a multi-angle stand. I’ve been checking one out for the past few days; let’s take a look at it. From Seidio: Created for those that have and want Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I spent a good bit of time this week thinking about Apple’s announcements this past Monday. Much of what will be coming in version 5.0 of iOS is impressive. There are a number of areas where Apple clearly took plays from Android’s playbook (Notifications anyone?) as well as from numerous independent developers. I’m not surprised and, as an end-user, I’m quite pleased. I’m running iOS 5.0 Beta on a few devices, but am going to respect the beta-user agreement and NOT go into any detail. I will say, however, that the new notification system is fantastic and does a great… Continue reading on Gear Diary …