My computer usage has undergone a radical change over the last year. Actually, that is not entirely true. The fact is, my computer usage has undergone a series of radical changes over the last year as I have experimented with a number of different device arrangements. At this time a year ago I had a 27″ iMac and a 13″ MacBook Pro. In the fall I got rid of the 27″ iMac and went to using the 13″ MacBook Pro full-time. The MacBook Pro was replaced by a 13″ MacBook Air as soon as the updated version became available. Then computer disaster struck: I dumped Crystal Light into the MacBook Air’s keyboard and was… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

After the Playstation Network hack/outage, Sony extended customers a ‘Welcome Back Offer’ as a sort of olive branch. At first it was buggy and problematic, but in the end it was a decent offer and a good thing for Sony to do. But while the beginning was rough, the end was also supposed to be clear according to the basic info: Just a friendly reminder: Your complimentary Welcome Back games are waiting for you, but they won’t wait forever. To welcome customers back after last month’s outage, we’ve made a selection of PS3 and PSP games, as well as a 30-day subscription to PlayStation Plus available for free download via our Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The name Ahmad Jamal has popped up here a couple of times. He was playing at the Newport Jazz Festival last August which was broadcast live via webcast, and then I also mentioned his Live at Pershing recording as one of few records I remember from my dad’s music collection (not that I remember him ever playing it). Ahmad Jamal was born Frederick Russell Jones in 1930, and changed his name in 1952 when he converted to the Islamic religion. His recordings have been extremely influential both inside and outside of Jazz. His most famous and direct influence was on Miles Davis, who covered his song Ahmad’s Blues on the 1955… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! Last week was a fairly slow week … but this week is nearly empty, which isn’t surprising considering the holiday! Most folks will be worrying about fireworks and barbecues rather than grabbing new video games. But for those looking for something new, there are a couple of choices. The biggest multiplatform release is Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon for XBOX360, PS3 and PC. The fun Ape Escape gets a Playstation Move version for the few folks who actually have one and are looking to buy yet another version of an old and multiply released game… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I spent some time yesterday trying to get my home study a bit more organized. (It SOOO news it.) While I was I listened to music flowing from the Sonos sound system I reviewed last week. It is BY FAR one of the best tech purchases I have ever made. (Yeah, I like it that much.) Along the way I found a few audio CDs I had never ripped to my iTunes account. I ripped them and then added those CDs to the rest of my rather extensive CD collection. Their new home? In a box in one of our closets. Yes, the days of actually using our CD collection are long past… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Since Sony encompasses a media conglomerate that includes music and movies as well as games, it is not surprising that all Sony devices have movie and music functionality alongside the gaming services. The same is true in their desktop management software Media Go – you manage all of your account information there, but also can shop for games and movies (though music is handled separately through Qriocity). This month Sony is having a huge 50% off sale on movies through Playstation Network (PSN)! The image above indicates a month long series of deals, but right now they are featuring ‘Summer Blockbusters’ until July 11th. Here is what they say: Now Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Just over a month ago I wrote about Valve offering part of the Portal 2 soundtrack called Songs to Test By: Volume 1 for free. Now they are back with the second volume! Here is the quote from the blog entry: Give your ears the gift of sound and let them relive the glory days of testing in full fidelity, without the distracting hisses and pops that accompany being submerged in acid. Songs to Test By: Volume 2 (of 3) is now available for download. Plus: Free! If you head to the download site you will find 18 tracks, as well as 6 new ringtones… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

My Father-in-law Mark is a great guy, a good friend and an even better sport. He is also a big-time iPad-user and loves the first generation iPad we picked up for him prior to his trip to China last year. (Actually it is his second iPad. What happened to the first one? It is a long, sad story for another time.) A few months ago I swapped out the case he was using for the Pro-Clip Multi-Stand I had reviewed some time ago. Here’s the conclusion from my review: What I Like: It’s made from high quality plastic that you can trust to hold your precious tablet; It can be used in Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Image courtesy of Productivity 501 We all have iPhones in our house. For the kids and Sami, I got the lowest data plans, because they’re all on the wifi all the time. But weirdly, every month, Maggie’s phone was approaching and going over the limit. At first, after talking with the AT&T support folks, it seemed that it was just because she was going outside the range of our WiFi modem–which is not that tough, honestly; it’s only a little 2Wire job–and so the phone was flipping her requests to the 3G network. So I disabled 3G on her phone. But still, the charges kept piling up. So I disabled cellular data on… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

OK, so I had published the article that Fieldrunners (one of my favorite iPhone & iPad Tower Defense games) was launching on Android, and coming to the platform on June 30th for $0.99 on the Google Android Market. And then I left to go camping, noting that it wasn’t available when we left and so I updated the post with a little note from the developers. Later on Thursday, the developers updated their site with a new post – detailing how their desire was to launch with a free first day, but that wasn’t allowed through the Android Market if the plan was to then change to a full price edition. To… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last week I wrote that G5 Entertainment was bringing five of their excellent games to the Android platform. Now they are available! They are being handled similar to the recent iTunes App Store releases – you get a free download to try out the game, and if you like it you can buy it with an in-game purchase. In the case of Supermarket Mania (the first one I grabbed), you get 7 levels to play before purchase, which will cost you $3.04. These are limited time offers of 30% off the regular price, so if you have any interest definitely grab the free downloads and then purchase for the sale price while… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

  Image courtesy of Tokyoflash In the past few months we’ve seen some pretty killer designs and concepts from the Tokyoflash design team and their concept blog. The latest concept watch is designed to let you know when the Sun’s UV rays are too much for you to handle. The concept has a built-in sensor that reads the amount of UV light radiating from the sun and gives you a measurement based on the World Health Organisations radiation scale. The scale ranges from 1-11 and is easily readable on the “always on” lcd touchscreen display. The unique watch also displays both the date and time, and it sports an alarm clock perfect for that mid day… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Two years ago Judie reviewed Acme Made’s Courier laptop bag. Her conclusion I am really impressed with just about everything the ACME MADE Courier delivers. This bag is such a beauty; but it is also an amazingly light workhorse with plenty of pockets, compartments, and an impressive carrying capacity. If you are searching for a laptop bag that doesn’t look like all the others – and that doesn’t compromise function at the expense of form, then the Courier may be the bag for you! I loved the look of the Courier and was grateful when the company sent one in… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Wow … the deals just keep rolling in! Seems like pretty much any place that sells a game is having a huge sale. The iTunes App Store is no exception, with G5, EA and GameLoft getting in some HUGE sales! Let’s run down the deals: G5 has great prices on some of their best games for iPhone and iPad, and both EA and GameLoft have loads of great games on sale for $0.99! G5 Entertainment iPhone/iPod Touch Games: Romance of Rome ($0.99) Virtual City ($0.99) Supermarket Management ($0.99) Supermarket Mania 2 ($2.99) iPadGames: Romance of Rome ($2.99) Virtual City ($2.99) Supermarket Management ($2.99) Supermarket Mania 2 Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The long Fourth of July Holiday weekend is finally here, and with yet another reason that the digital download sites are featuring some awesome deals! Michael Siebenaler highlighted some of the awesome deals going on here, but I wanted to add a mammoth list of individual game deals – these sales are massive even by MY standards! The big deal this long weekend is the Steam sale – not only are there hundreds of games >50% off, but there are daily prizes and more! Also as a reminder this is the last weekend of the Good Old Games ‘Staycation’ sale. Again this week I have abandoned my rule of no more than… Continue reading on Gear Diary …