Now that the carnage from HP’s “firesale” has finally settled, HP announced that the Touchpad is officially out of stock never to be heard from again. We can go on about our normal lives of hoping for better tablets while paying a premium price for a good product. The fact that the  hardware is no longer being made basically makes it impossible to to score one unless you stuble upon some old stock leftovers somewhere. Otherwise you can try your chances on Ebay or Craigslist. There have been a fair share of crappy tablets released in the past few years, mostly third-party resistive screen tablets with some resemblance of Android as the OS… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

(image courtesy Cedar Valley Ridge) Last week my dog finally accepted we were going for walks while it was still dark in the morning. This morning I ran dodging ice patches. And I’m slowly pulling all my workout pants out of storage. Yes, winter is almost here, and with it comes a whole new set of gear needs. If you’re looking for how to stay active in the winter, or if you’re starting to note good stocking stuffers for the runner/hiker/active person in your life, we’ve got you covered! You can read through our entire list of mini-reviews, or just skip to the section you need! And remember, no amount of reflective or safety… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Deals sites – and the mobile apps associated with them – are all the rage right now, offering a great way to save money locally, often doing things and going places you already do! Now DealUps looks to make the process even easier and more convenient, and grab your loyalty in the process. DealUps delivers hyperlocal, geographically targeted deals for over 18,000 restaurants and daily deal sites such as Groupon based on your current location, regardless of what you are currently doing on your phone. We launched our app only a few weeks ago and have received enthusiastic feedback from our early users. We think that by leveraging the user’s current location and Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best ideas. That’s how Twelve South’s new PlugBug strikes me. The accessory lets you use one plug to charge both your Mac and your iPad. “Simple”, “fast” and “clean” are the words that came to mind when I got the announcement a few minutes ago. Deciding to order one for myself was a no-brainer. So what exactly is the PlugBug? Let’s let Twelve South explain. PlugBug…   piggybacks onto a MacBook Power Adapter, allowing you to charge a MacBook and an iPad/iPhone simultaneously from one power outlet. The ingenious PlugBug connects to all MacBook Power Adapters. Simply snap PlugBug onto a MacBook Power Adapter, in place of the adapter’s Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Apparently the Indie Bundle season is upon us. Just this weekend I talked about the launch of the Indie Royale bundle (now closed), and now I am back with the launch of the ‘debut’ for the cool looking ‘Voxatron’. This is a different sort of deal for Humble Bundle in that it is NOT a bundle, but rather an early buy-in for a cool looking game. It is more like a kickstarter project. Here are the details: Hey there! Humble Bundle is proud to present the Humble Voxatron Debut, featuring the Voxatron alpha, Lexaloffle Games’ brand new, voxel-based, action-adventure bulletfest! Pay what you want for the Voxatron alpha and Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Today’s Gear Deal brings us the 15.6″ Dell XPS 15z ultra-slim laptop. It weighs in at 5.54 lbs, is less than an inch thick and sports anodized aluminum case, backlit keyboard, and a magnesium alloy palm rest. It is powered by a 2nd Generation Intel Core i5/ i7 “Sandy Bridge” processor, has up to 8GB RAM, sports a 750GB 7200RPM Hard Drive and 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M discrete graphics with Optimus. It also features HDMI 1.4, a miniDisplayPort, a 1.3-Megapixel Webcam, Intel Wireless Display ready, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11n WiFi, two USB 3.0 ports, 9-in-1 card reader, and much more. The laptop is available now with pricing that starts at$942.99. Our Gear Sponsor has found… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Sometimes, the sheer variety of things that USBFever puts out kind of amazes me.  I mean, I expect them to do cases and chargers and mounts and stuff like that, but camera lenses?  Optical mice?  Keychain speakers?  Really, these guys just don’t sit still.  I have this mental image of a bunch of nerds all meeting twice a week, and the Head Nerd says, “Okay; what 5 new products are we going to develop this week?  Charlie?  Jane?  Sudheer?”  This week, yeah, it’s a set of lenses for your iPhone, but next week, who knows?  But keep your eyes peeled to this space, pilgrims, and you’ll find out. This week’s list of USBFever releases: Continue reading on Gear Diary …