I previously reviewed the Vulkano Deluxe Pro from Monsoon which can be read here. I was pretty impressed with the ability to sit on my deck and watch live television on my iPhone or iPad and even set shows to record. The folks at Monsoon have not stopped there. The company has just introduced the ability to record TV programming to iPhones, iPads and various Android devices for users of the Vulkano Flow. This is yet another step to give users full flexibility in their media from Monsoon. Read the press release below. Monsoon Announces Direct Recording of Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last week Good Old Games announced that they wouldn’t have a Weekend Deal, instead saving themselves for a massive deal they were calling a ‘Staycation’. The terms has become popular since the economy tanked a couple of years ago, and basically means staying at home and saving money while making a vacation of doing things local to your area. In the case of Good Old Games, their idea for a ‘Staycation’ was to put the entire Interplay catalog – all 32 games – on a 50% off sale. They highlight that you can get “Fallout 1 and 2, Freespace 2, Earthworm Jim 1 and 2 for only $2.99 each”. Those are great… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This week we get Avadon: The Black Fortress from Spiderweb Software on the iPad in the iTunes App Store. I have already gushed about the Mac and PC versions of the game, and will have my full review (hint: it is also gushing) of the iPad version this week. Almost immediately the forums of traditional computer role-playing games – in theory the biggest supporters of an ‘old school’ developer like Spiderweb – exploded with loads of vitriol. It came from all directions – and it is pretty much all wrong-headed. Rather than celebrating one of the few advocates of traditional role-playing games on the PC who has stuck by the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Dragon Dictate 2.0 with USB Headset As I have shared numerous times here on the site I do a good bit of my writing by voice. Since I am a devout Mac OS X user might software tool of choice is Dragon Dictate for Mac. Since Nuance took over the company and began using its speech recognition engine with the software the accuracy is quite excellent. So long as you speak slowly and clearly, use a good microphone and dictate into certain text applications such as textedit the accuracy is close to perfect. (In fact I’m writing this post by voice using it right now.) The software isn’t inexpensive so any time you… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last year I reviewed the Hewlett-Packard (HP) Elitebook 8440w Mobile Workstation, and earlier this year I looked at the svelte but ultra-powerful Elitebook 2540p. These represented a fairly typical pair of powerful business notebooks – with the prices to go along with the features! But imagine if HP decided to cram many of their business features into a mid-price laptop that would satisfy corporate IT, the comptroller and end-users alike? Based on my experience, they could call that the HP ProBook 4430s. Let’s look in more detail! The Hype: Equipped to get the job done • Optimized for Genuine Windows® 7 Professional, you gain strong Intel® processor capabilities, wireless functionality, and a… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I love the idea of inductive charging whereby you can simply lay your device on a base-station and have it recharged without having to plug anything into it. I love the idea but, until now, not the execution. We’ve looked at a few systems and, while they all worked as promised, the requisite charging case or sleeve was too heavy and bulky for daily use. When Energizer offered to send us their newest system we jumped at the chance. Yes, we weren’t expecting too much but we were HOPING the improvements were enough to make it usable beyond the review. Is it? Read on… So here’s a look at Energizer’s new Inductive charging Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Ornette Coleman – Something Else!!! Ornette Coleman – Something Else!!! In 1959 the Ornette Coleman quartet released one of the true masterpieces of jazz – The Shape of Jazz to Come. But it wasn’t his first recording – nor his second, for that matter. Much attention has been given to ‘Shape’ – as it deserves – but this year Concord Records has been releasing ‘Original Jazz Classics Remasters’, and this week we got Ornette’s first release ‘Something Else!!!’. Summary: Every artist starts somewhere, and while many seem to think that Ornette simply emerged from obscurity fully formed as part of the East-Coast jazz scene with the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A. I carry and iPhone and an iPad with me pretty much everywhere I go. B. I check my blood pressure once or twice a day, thanks to genetics and arthritis medications. C. I’ve long wanted to be able to use A. to do B. Today I can, now that Withings has released its Blood Pressure Monitor (BPM) for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The kit includes a blood pressure cuff and companion Withings app and it “is a modern way to measure and record blood pressure readings in the personal and professional arenas”. As the Press Release explains, Cédric Hutchings, Withings co-founder says, “Apple has revolutionized the smartphone and tablet market with Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Okay, we all know and recognize that the cameras built into our phones are not the best around. Could we do better with a dedicated point-and-shoot? Sure. How about a full-blown SLR? Yeah, of course, stupid question. But the reality is that we use the cameras that are included with our phones because they are convenient. We don’t have to carry extra crap with us; they’re just there, a constant, comforting presence. The best camera you have is the one you have with you. There, I said it. But, that doesn’t mean that they can’t be made better than they are just stock out of the box. Hence, iShuttr, a new start-up that has… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last week saxophonist Clarence Clemons suffered a severe stroke, and over the weekend he succumbed to the effects. He was 69 years old. Most famous as the iconic sideman for Bruce Springsteen, Clemons was known as ‘The Big Man’ for his towering stage presence as well as his physical attributes. Clemons was a life-long powerhouse in a band known for explosive live performances – Springsteen was an event truly worth seeing for the quality of the musical experience, in no small part due to Clemons. Bruce Springsteen had much to say on his web site, including: “Clarence lived a wonderful life,” Springsteen said on his Web site following Saturday’s news that the 69-year-old Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When I was in high school, my software programming teacher hated most computer games.  He called them “monkey games,” because he insisted that even a monkey could play them, so what was the point?  (I think he would have loved something like “Myst”, though, honestly.) Well, apparently I wasn’t the only one who felt like saying “Oh yeah!  Well, I’ll show you!” when we heard that: monkey-themed games are a booming business these days.  And NationLocation.com is right there with ‘em, releasing what they call a “one-button” game starring a monkey for your iPhone.  I’m not going to go into the details–I’ll just tell you it’s available on iTunes for a buck, comes in different flavors… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

So yeah, you have an iPhone or a Droid or something, and yeah, it has voice-recording capabilities (I was always absolutely astonished that it took Apple so long to add that to the iPhone, but never mind).  But if you’re anything like me, your phone is already chock full of apps, music, videos, and I-don’t-want-to-know what else.  It’s full, is what I’m saying.  (And if you’re like my good buddy Chris, who has something over 200GB of just music, it’s never not going to be full.)  So sometimes, you’re going to want to record that hour-long parent/teacher conference, or that brown-bag lunch, or some such, and not have to worry about over-writing your precious copy of Robert… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As a graduate of UC Santa Cruz, a Banana Slug in good standing, a former 12-year resident of Surf City, California (and Huntington Beach can bite my tuckus!), it pleases me greatly to bring you today’s small iPad game news item about Bloktonik, a puzzle game from Gaijin games.  (And it cracks me up that a company in the Birkenstock-and-hackeysack capital of Planet Earth named themselves for a cultural slur and are releasing a game with a vaguely Slavik-sounding name–and don’t get me started on the whole “musical stylings by Bit Shifter” thing.  We’re Santa Cruzans, and we’re weird as hell and proud of it, durn it!) Bloktonik is a puzzle game that I’m not even… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Let’s start the week in 3D!!! Today’s Gear Deal brings us a 42″ VIZIO 3D Edge-Lit Razor LED LCD HDTV with VIZIO Internet Apps. As VIZIO explains: The VIZIO XVT3D424SV 42-in Edge-Lit Razor LED LCD HDTV features 1920×1080 (1080p) resolution, 480Hz refresh rate, edge-lit LED backlight, 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 450 cd/m² brightness, Ethernet connectivity, high-definition 3D, Vizio Internet Apps with Netflix and more, five HDMI inputs, and more Normally $999.99 our Gear Sponsor has found it for $150 less. That brings the price down to $849.99 and it will ship for free. You can find more information here. Gear Deal: VIZIO 42″ 1080p 3D Edge-Lit Razor LED LCD HDTV via… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This summer Elana will be moving between our home in New Jersey and our mountain runaway in Pennsylvania a few times each week. Each time she does she will likely take her 11″ MacBook air and a few key accessories: her Magic Mouse and Apple Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard. Waterfield’s new Keyboard Travel Express is the perfect accessory bag for her needs. It holds the keyboard and a few key accessories in a great-looking, well-made, protective case. From Waterfield: Go Fully Mobile. Be good to yourself—and your wrists—and pack along the Apple Wireless Keyboard for the Continue reading on Gear Diary …