MTV Launched 30 years ago today, on August 1st 1981. Over the decades, the music video art form has changed in some ways yet remains a product in service of a song. The channel itself has become somewhat of a joke in many ways, as in the late 1990′s the ‘music’ part became a minority share, and now we have a channel more focused on Snooki (Jersey Shore) and Amber (Teen Mom) than Katy or Kanye. But over the decades MTV has done many other things as well. While it wasn’t the originator of music videos as art and entertainment beyond just watching a group play – there were concept videos made by the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! No easy way around it – you can skip this week and not miss anything major. There are a couple of interesting looking minor releases – the intriguing stylized Limbo 
 which has already gotten great early reviews, and the strategy game Pirates of Black Cove also getting some solid early looks. There is also some DLC Brink: Agents of Change, which is initially being released for free. And while there isn’t really anything else big getting released, there are a few other releases this week – read on to find out! Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Game developers can take a step closer to the PlayStation 3 as Sony releases Move.me on PlayStation Network for $99.99.

photos by Kevin I love Twelve South‘s products. Their product portfolio isn’t the largest around, but the products they do offer are well-conceived, beautifully manufactured, and quite useful. We’ve looked at their BookBook for iPad, their Compass iPad stand and liked both. Now they have released the BookBook for iPhone 4. The $59.99 case serves a dual function of protecting your iPhone AND serving as your wallet. As the company says, it is “A Vintage Case+ Wallet for your iPhone 4″.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the classic arcade games that became a favorite home console game is the fast-paced side-scroller R-Type. First released by Irem Studios back in 1987, R-Type has seen several sequels and spin-offs, and Irem was also responsible for the Steamboat Chronicles games. The games have been released in arcades, and on Sinclair, Atari, Amiga, Nintendo, Colecovision, Playstation, and other platforms. Now Irem has served notice that as of August 11 they are removing all of their content from the Playstation Network Store. The thought is that the troubled publisher is in danger of completely closing, so this might be the last opportunity to buy any of their games. Here is what is… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

  I’m going to be running the Dodge Rock N Roll Half Marathon at Virginia Beach organized by Competitor.com. Note, the number of sponsors and trademarked names in the title says it all, this is a big, marketing heavy race. It’s the kind of race advertisers love; it’s a hardcore audience that’s not afraid to drop major money on clothes and shoes. Now, if you’ve ever run a big race, or done a long hike, or any endurance event, you’ll know there’s some very important personal business that should be attended to before you start. No one wants to see you on the side of the road doing a pee-pee dance, and most definitely no one wants to be downwind… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you think of an iconic rock music magazine, there is nothing but Rolling Stone to fill that role. Others have come and gone, but none have had the sweeping impact in pop culture of Rolling Stone. Now you can get the magazine for $3.99 per year through a special deal noted at Tanga. Rolling Stone is the granddaddy of rock and roll magazines. It serves up the latest news in popular culture, music, celebrities, and politics. Each jam-packed issue includes music, film, and book reviews. You can buy up to a 3-year subscription and it comes with 26 issues per year. To get it, simply head to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We’re still in search of a name for this video series but, name or not, we are putting together a few more videos in the mean time. This time out we take a look at a couple of keyboard cases that are specially designed to work with the iPad 2. We look at the M.I.C. Keyboard Buddy for iPad 2 and the Adonit Writer for iPad 2($99). We also make mention of the Logitech Keyboard case by Zagg for iPad 2 ($99), the Apple Wireless Keyboard ($69) and the Waterfield Keyboard Travel Express ($49).… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We have had a fair bit of coverage of the Sonos Wireless Hi-Fi System over the past few weeks. As I noted in my initial review of the system, I only had the review units in my home for 23 hours before I went and ordered my own. I was impressed by the ease of use, the overall sound quality, and the vast amount of music that was available to me through the Sonos eco-system. It was by no means an inexpensive purchase but I have not had a single moment of buyer’s remorse. At this point I am a Sonos evangelist and have gotten at least two other homes… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We did an early review of Sena’s super slim Florence case for the iPad 2. I loved this thin profile of the case as well as the “typical” Sena quality. The leather was gorgeous, the fit and finish were fantastic and, overall, I was quite pleased. I especially liked the fact that the Florence maintained the curved look and feel of the iPad 2′s back. All was not perfect though. I found the magnets used for the auto sleep/awake functionality were a bit hit or miss. If things were perfectly lined up the iPad would wake up even though the cover was over the screen. I also found the leather used… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I saw these headphones from miniinthebox.com come up a while back. They caught my eye, so I had them send me a set to see if they were as good of an idea as I thought they were.  Let’s take a look and see what I thought was so compelling about them. What makes these semi-cool is that they are regular wired headphones as well as a wireless mp3 player once you detach the cable and insert a MicroSD card.  Think Apple Shuffle but without a wire.  They also have a FM radio built into them and when you have the cables plugged in to your computer, you can use it with Skype because it has a… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I love a minimalist iPhone case with a soft touch feel. among my favorites are the Feather cases from Incipio. I have one for my iPhone 4 and I also bought one for my iPad 2. They look and feel great. Here’s what Incipio has to say about them: Measuring less than 1mm in thickness, the feather® for iPhone 4 is a slim, form-fitting case that offers low-profile protection. Don’t like feeling the added bulk of a traditional case? Go lightweight and sexy with the feather®. With the largest variety of color selections to choose from, the feather® is the most diverse and colorful carrying case solution. Choose from a rich and ever-expanding pallette that Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Julian Lage – ‘Gladwell’ Julian Lage – ‘Gladwell’ One of the most direct methods of music discovery – aside from recommendations of friends – is listening to a great recording and looking for recordings from people on that record whose playing you enjoyed. In my recent review of Gary Burton’s Common Ground, I highlighted guitarist Julian Lage. I quickly discovered that Lage had just released his second album at the end of April … so I headed back to iTunes and added another chunk of music to my iCloud! Summary: If you watch the first video I included, you will hear Julian speak of the band… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

So, you have a nice, new MacBook Air 13″.  Mmm, shiny!  Nice!  And wouldn’t it be a bummer if it got scratches all over that nice, shiny casing?  Well, heck yes it would!  So maybe what you want to do is pick yourself up a case for it, yeah/  And as I’ve told you a b’zillion times here, PDAir is always quick off the mark when it comes to making cases available for new hardware.  So why not check them out? Full information below. Leather Case for Apple New MacBook Air 2011 13″ – Book Type (Black) Leather Case for Apple New MacBook Air 2011 13″ – Horizontal Pouch Type (Black) Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’m someone who ALWAYS wears sunglasses when I am outside. I also always have my iPhone and am often either making calls or listening to music when I am out and about. As such the idea of sunglasses that can double as a Bluetooth headset for making calls or listening to music really appeals to me. There was something like that on the market a few years ago but by the time I went in search of them the line had been discontinued. That’s why I took note of the announcement of iharmonix’s Qi-wear Bluetooth Enabled Sunglasses. As the company explains, Qi-wear by iharmonix has been engineered to perform under extreme conditions offering you maximum Continue reading on Gear Diary …