One common early criticism of iOS devices was that it was impossible to simply load up files on the device. While Cloud services from Apple and others rendered that point moot, there are still some who want to simply use their iPhone as a USB storage device. WiFi USB allows pretty much that, and while it is normally $9.99, now it is available for FREE for the New Year! ** Special price for Christmas & New Year ** Turn your iOS Device into a wireless external hard disk! You can now share, copy, and backup your files to and from your PC / Mac / Linux / or another phone! Very easy Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Welcome back to another weekend of insane game deals for you to enjoy! Once again, if you haven’t been checking out Steam and Good Old Games and GamersGate on a daily basis … DO IT! As we go into the New Year I am completely refocusing this list. First off, I am focusing on just a few sites – Amazon, Beamdog, Desura, DotEmu, GamersGate, Mac App Store and Steam. I will explain that in detail in a separate article in the next week, but basically I won’t recommend a site I won’t use, and sites other than those have all moved into that territory. Of course, sometimes other sites will offer a great deal on a Steamworks game – one that activates on Steam and is therefore free of the sites rules – and I will cover that separately (like the $11.99 deal on Serious Sam 3:BFE from Get Games). As part of trimming back, I will more tightly focus on deals of 75% off or more, with occasional 50% sales (like Good Old Games), but in addition will also be trimming back to fewer than 25 deals per site to keep the list under control. Having a list of [...]

Dave Chisholm – Calligraphy Dave Chisholm – Calligraphy I reviewed Dave Chisholm’s ‘Radioactive’ nearly a year and a half ago, noting: The thing I love about the ‘new big band’ music like Chisholm’s is that it combines small ensemble open-ness and intercommunication and large group harmonic structure and depth of composition. The title track is a great example – The opening uses the full effect of the large group to build the dramatic effect then breaks out to allow a nice collaborative improvisation until the main theme takes over. In fact, regardless of the size of my portable iTunes Library (I was restricting myself to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

“Sherlock” is an excellent, excellent BBC series set in the present day, based on the Arthur Conan Doyle “Sherlock Holmes” stories.  I could rave on and on about how wonderful it is, how it stays true to both the characters and the “feel” of the original stories, but I’m not really a TV reviewer.  I will say this, though:  a ton of geeks I know love the show. Why am I telling you this?  Well, look at the dates for the show above; that’s when it was broadcast in the United States.  In the U.K., it came out 4 months earlier.  And these days, where the world is so much smaller (electronically); where I can get… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We reviewed the Sena Hampton Wallet for iPhone 4/4S the other day. It is beautiful iPhone case/wallet combination made from textured leather. It looks and feels like a quality product because that is exactly what it is. Many people won’t want it simple because they don’t like cases that need to be opened in order to access the screen. You, however, might not mind the added step whenever you use your iPhone. If you don’t and a case/wallet combination sounds good to you we’ve got good news… we are giving away the red review sample. To enter to win simply leave a comment below telling us two Gear Diary posts from the last month… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Okay, so you just got a new Kindle Fire, and you’ve started happily buying up books, movies, TV shows, magazines, and I don’t know what-all.  Excellent!  Now the problem is:  how do you keep that data secure, eh? Well, the Keeper password and data security app is now available for the Kindle Fire.  Keep them passwords and data safe and secure for a nominal annual fee, and stop worrying.  Available on the Amazon Market for an MSRP of $9.99 a year.  (Which honestly strikes me as a pretty good price.) Full information below. Downloaded by millions of users worldwide and published in 10 languages, Keeper® is the world’s most trusted mobile security software. Now Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you didn’t get an ebook reader this Christmas and you really want a bigger screen, Woot! has you covered. They apparently still have some Kindle DX models left over from their pre-Christmas blowout, so if you missed it last time now’s your big chance to snag one. The DX is basically the only “large screen” ebook reader, so if that is important to you or a loved one this is an amazing deal! Amazon is selling brand new units for $379, so $199 for a refurbished one with a warranty is a steal! Via Woot Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As I push deeper into middle age, I spend an increasing time thinking about how to deal with the fact that my parents will, inevitably, not be as active and (let’s face it) physically capable of doing stuff as they were when I was a kid.  Heck, I’m not as physically capable; for my Mom and step-Mom, it can’t be any better, right? Sonamba has one potential remedy–they’ve developed an easy-to-use device with a 7″ touchscreen and a bunch of apps that lets you keep in touch with your ‘rents via a multiple of means.  Is it a total solution?  Of course not.  Will it be helpful to you as your ‘rents get older?  Well, I… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

So you got a new phone, tablet or computer and you are ready to get to work. You will want to check out Evernote. Evernote will let you save pictures, documents and other forms of information in a single place and then access them from virtually any and all devices. And if you are going to use Evernote you are going to want to check out Brett Kelly’s Evernote Essentials: The Definitive Getting Started Guide for Evernote. Evernote Essentials is a PDF book with some great tips that will get you up and running with Evernote in no time. As Brett explains: The amount of information we want and need to Continue reading on Gear Diary …

PopCap games is having a great year-end sale on all of their downloadable games starting today and running until January 3rd. Here are the simple details: Our Happy Merry Sale ends on January 3 so don’t miss out! Get 50% off all PopCap download games – from Bejeweled® to Zuma® and everything in between! My favorite game from PopCap – Plants vs. Zombies – is on sale for $9.95, the same as Bejeweled 3 and others. In case you missed sales on other sites like Steam, or on the iOS or Android versions, this is a great opportunity to pick up some great games for decent prices! Head over to PopCap Continue reading on Gear Diary …

TODAY ONLY, you can grab a 12-month XBOX Live Membership card for $37.99 from Buy.com via their eBay shop. The 12-month membership usually costs $59.99, so with free shipping you will get this for under $40 – making it perhaps the best deal I have ever seen on this membership (I grabbed one a year ago for ~$45 and was thrilled!) Source: SlickDeals Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Sorry about the Better Off Dead image, but when I saw this at Droid-Life yesterday that was all I could think of … Verizon Wireless as Johnny chasing Lane across the field and down the mountain in search of the $2 paper money. Here is the image more related to the new policy: According to the report from the AP: Verizon Wireless, the country’s largest cellphone company, said Thursday that it will start charging $2 for every payment subscribers make over the phone or online with their credit cards. The company said this “convenience fee” will Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Image courtesy of PS4 Talk How it started, basically, is because I can’t keep my mouth shut when something bugs the crap out of me.  I complain.  And sometimes, when the topic is gear, I complain to Your Humble Gear Diary Team. So what’s the problem?  Maybe you’ve noticed that when you buy a new game console or device (or even game), the first thing the system does, before you even create your character or run through all the “Welcome!” windows, is . . . check for updates and then “suggest” that you update the system. This happened to me this holiday season.  I got The Boy an XBox 360, and… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Our five year old washing machine died two weeks ago and had to be replaced. We were told, at the time, that five years is about the lifespan for this type of appliance these days. That’s not so surprising considering the fact that the 25-year-old dishwasher at our lake cabin is still going strong. Yes, companies want to keep you coming back as a repeat customer and the lifespan of many things is growing shorter and shorter in order to help ensure it. It seems Planet Fitness has found a way to keep their customers coming back time and again as well. It’s a bit creative and fits with the New Years resolutions that people… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I love “Ghostbusters”. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. In fact, I had a plastic Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man decorating more than one of my apartments post-college. How can you not love it? It’s pretty much the perfect movie. And according to The Verge, back in the ’80s someone at Apple felt the same way, and made an anti-IBM/pro-Apple video called “Blue Busters”. It’s funny, though honestly I think the joke goes on for about a minute longer than necessary. Still, for the one-two punch of nostalgia and surrealism it’s worth watching the whole thing! Then maybe pop in the real Ghostbusters while playing on your iPhone Via… Continue reading on Gear Diary …