The ubiquitous star of the World Rally Championship circuit and edgy X-game competition has brought even more excitement and performance to the model you and I can call a daily driver. In 2008, Subaru redesigned and rebuilt the Impreza lineup. In 2009, the WRX team worked toward a goal termed “Kyo-Ka” (translated from Japanese as “strengthening”) to make the Impreza model even more appealing to factory tuner aficionados. For 2011 buyers now have a choice of two body styles for the first time ever with the STi logo on them. A “wide and low” four-door sedan model returns to accompany the five-door sportwagon and with it the return of the big wing spoiler… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

    Today our Gear Sponsor brings us the refreshed HP Pavilion dm4t in numerous configurations. The one we want to focus on right now is a great deal at 30% and has a powerhouse Core i7 processor. The HP Pavilion dm4t is just 1″ thick and weighs just 4.5 pounds. As such it has “the perfect balance between power and mobility”. The new design has the laptop wrapped in a steel grey / dark umber chassis and etched with unusual patterns to add interest. The laptop features a chicklet keyboard, Dolby Advanced Audio,  HDMI v1.4, an integrated DVD player/burner and TruVision HD Webcam. Battery life is expected to last up to 6.75 hours. As our Gear Sponsor explains- Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve been working hard to streamline the tech I use. I now I only use a laptop (although I have to admit to using a docking system at home) and am trying hard to keep the cords and peripherals I use in check. With so many gadgets available it is just TOO EASY for things to get out of control. That’s why AVIIQ’s new charging system caught my eye. Sure it is great if you are on the road but there is no reason you can’t use it at home too. We have a review unit on the way but let’s take a quick look at the announcement we just received… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you were sweating bullets that there aren’t enough places to purchase your ebook reader of choice, don’t worry! Both Amazon and B&N picked up new retailers, so you’ll have even more shopping options. B&N has announced that Office Max will be carrying the NOOK Simple Touch Reader, so if you don’t live near a B&N, or need to pick up a ream of paper while buying an ebook reader, Office Max has you covered. Sadly, unlike the Kindle at Staples, there’s no snappy “That was easy” slogan. Meanwhile, Amazon is betting on the future. Namely, kids. eBookNewser is reporting Toys ‘R’ Us will be carrying the Kindle! Apparently they figure they’ll hook kids early… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

DiRT 3 fans can celebrate X Games 17 with even more fun with double XP points (on Xbox 360) and new downloadable content – the X Games Asia Track Pack.

  Designed for small business, the Vostro™ 3550 laptop brings a 15.6″ screen, features a 2nd generation Intel® Core™ processors, optional Dell ProSupport for 24×7 assistance, including on-site support, a Full HD webcam, array mics, and pre-installed web conferencing and voice-enhancing software. Better still, because this is a New Gear Daily Continue reading on Gear Diary …

On Friday, July 21, 2011, Nintendo released the Nintendo Video service for the 3DS including four introductory 3D videos.

Last week Apple release Mac OS X ‘Lion’ with more than a million folks upgrading on the first day, and immediately we reported a couple of compatibility issues. I noted LiveScribe and Dan noted Sonos – both recommended holding off upgrading until compatibility issues have been resolved. We have also noted that the Neat Company has updated their software to be Lion compatible, but that seems to be fairly rare. But in general the news is about issues – and mainly compatibility problems. Some others include Adobe products, Microsoft Office, Freeverse Games, FileMaker, MindJet, Steam, and many others. MacWorld has… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Have you caught any episodes of Inspector America? That’s the show where Timothy Galarnyk, an “infrastructure safety inspector with over 35 years of experience”, goes around the country checking out our cities bridges, roads, water-systems (among other things) in order to show what is right or wrong with the way our infrastructure is being maintained or problems are being solved. We record and save up several episodes to watch at a time, and last night Kev and I caught the episode where he’s in Los Angeles. One of the segments included Timothy talking about the billion(!!) dollars being spent by LA to widen the 405 freeway by one lane — or 12 Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Today’s Gear Deal brings us the 21.5″ Dell Inspiron One 2205 1080p All-in-one Multi-touch PC. Great for a dorm room, this all-in-one has a base configuration with a 2.8GHz AMD Athlon II Dual-core Processor, 4GB RAM, a 500GB Hard Drive, a DVD burner, 802.11n WiFi, a wireless Keyboard + Mouse and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OS. It also features a 1080p full HD display with WLED backlighting, a 21.5″ multi-touch screen, single one-cord setup and more. Available now with prices starting at $599.99, our Gear Sponsor has let us know about a coupon that will drop the price down to $499.99 and get you FREE shipping. The deal expires soon or after limited uses, so… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

    I’m totally sold on The Neat Company’s hardware/software combination that I reviewed a while back. It is a great way to move in the direction of being totally paperless and, best of all, it just works beautifully. I was bummed to discover that the Neat software was one of the things that would not work while I was running the beta version of OS X Lion but, then again, that’s the price you pay for running Beta software. Well I’m happy to share with all of you that the company has updated their software and it is now compatible with Lion. As the email I received explains… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Oh, those busy little beavers over at USBFever!  Looking for a new case for your iPad?  Or how about your Macbook Air?  Or perhaps a bike mount for you new HTC gadget?  Yup, they got all that, and that’s only on this week’s list.  If you’re looking for accessories, they’ve probably got something close to what you’re looking for, at least.  So if you have a need that way, surf on over and see if they can help you fill it.  Judie didn’t name this site “Gear Diary” for nothin’, after all! Full list of USBFever releases for this week: OEM iPad Leather Case with Detachable Bluetooth Keyboard eggshell Hard Case Continue reading on Gear Diary …

  Elana and I are at our third stop on our “Jersey Shore Road Trip”. This time we are staying at a cute little boutique hotel just a block from the beach. The hotel was designed by Bob and Cortney Novogratz, owners of the NYC based design firm, Sixx Design, and stars of Bravo’s docu-series “9 by Design.”. It is a rather cool place that has some great design elements and some pretty neat tech built into it. The first that caught my eye was the key system that is used to access the elevator and open the room door. Before getting into it a little background. The first hotel we stayed in was… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Over the last year or so we have seen a few of these ‘humble bundles’ – from the first Humble Indie Bundle, the Humble Indie Bundle #2, and the Humble FrozenByte Bundle. All of them have featured great games, and all have been completely ‘Pay What You Want’ – AND supported charity! Now they are back with another great Humble Indie Bundle! What are the games this time? Another great set including: Crayon Physics Deluxe, Cogs, VVVVVV, Hammerfight, and And Yet It Moves! A great set of games – and some great charity. From the site: The Humble Indie Bundle #3 Pay what you want. If Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Over the weekend we got some initial data from the Spotify launch courtesy of Billboard, who cite ‘inside sources’ as estimating that in the first week or so after launch Spotify has 70,000 subscribers (i.e. people who pay). From the article: In my travels last night and in emails this morning I had three distinct label/publisher execs confirm the same number: that @Spotify has right in the ballpark of 70,000 paid Stateside subscribers after only one week in business. It’s hard to put these numbers into context, but it would also be hard to call that anything but positive news for Spotify. It’s hard to put into context because the larger subscription Continue reading on Gear Diary …