Are you a struggling actor, needing some help in finding auditions, agents, and stuff of that nature?  You know what I’m going to say here now, right? There’s an app for that. In point of fact, there’s been an iTunes app for that for a bit of time already, but now said app, Actor Genie, is available on Android.  Which as you all know if you read my news posts regularly warms the cockles of my competition-loving heart.  So if you’re an actor, you should check it out, no?  Actor Genie is now available at your Android Store for an MSRP of $9.99. (And personally I like Mark Ruffalo better in “The Brothers Bloom”… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We’re always happy to tell you folks about deals, and right now we have some information about deals for the Sony Tablet.  Here’s what Sony has to tell us: Sony temporarily dropped the price of the Sony Tablet S by $50. From now until Dec. 31, consumers can get the 16GB Tablet for $449 and the 32GB Tablet for $549 with a free Sony Entertainment Starter pack (valued at $200), which includes a cradle, LCD screen protector, AC adapter, 180 days of Music Unlimited service, a store credit and five movies on Video Unlimited, a free e-book download from the Reader Store, and five free game downloads from the PlayStation Store. So hey, if you’re in the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the things that has always bothered me about using any phone other than one of the more popular current models is that accessories are not always easy to find. Sure, you can always find a few ugly cases and screen protectors for just about any model out there, but what about docks and automobile mounting solutions? Not everyone has an iPhone, but to see so many of the accessories that come out you’d think that wasn’t the case. For $29.99, you can solve that problem with the Oona (not to be confused with Ooma, heh). Take a look … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When I was getting ready for last week’s vacation, I knew I needed a few more shirts to lounge around in. T-shirts are great, but when you are going out to dinner or stopping by a local hotspot for fried fish, french fries, fried plantains and beer (seriously the place was AWESOME), you want something a little nicer. I have had my eye on the new SCOTTEVEST Camp Shirt for some time, so before our recent trip to Aruba I went ahead and ordered myself two of them. I have a new favorite warm-weather shirt! The SeV Hype: You’ll Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you ever wanted to learn to play the piano using simple, clear, approachable lessons that would connect you to the joy of music quickly and easily – this offer is for you. Edward Weiss has earned a great reputation and following with his online New Age piano course, and now has a special limited time $1 offer! Here are some details: If you love the sound of New Age piano and have always wanted to play in this style – now you can! Join pianist/composer Edward Weiss online as he gives you the tools and techniques you need to create your own New Age piano music. Start playing piano the way Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The Child’s Play Charity is billed as ‘gamers giving back’ – and year after year it shows just how generous gamers can be! According to the newest update, the Charity is closing in upon $2 million in total contributions so far this year, how on the heels of the $351,000 generated through donations and unique auction items at the Child’s Play Gala and Auction! Here are the details: CHILD’S PLAY GALA AND AUCTION RAISED $351K FOR SICK CHILDREN Donations From Gamers Surpass $1.95 Million So Far This Year SEATTLE – Dec. 14, 2011 – Generous donations from across the game community helped raise $351,000 at the annual Child’s Play Gala Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If there was only one guitar app I could have on my iOS device, I can easily say GuitarToolkit would be my choice. Numerous times, I have been sitting around a fire or on someone’s deck and a jam session broke out, but the guitars were out of tune. With my trusty iPhone and GuitarToolkit to the rescue, the guitars get tuned up together and the music much improved. The ability to look up chords and scales at anytime is important to any musician; there is rarely a time I play the guitar that this application is not used. This new update introduces “an all-new iPad version that is free for existing GuitarToolkit users… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I featured it as my ‘game of the week’ … and now it is here. The classic, controversial Grand Theft Auto III. Here are the details: Welcome to Liberty City. Where it all began. Rockstar Games celebrates the 10th anniversary of one of the most influential games of all time. The critically acclaimed blockbuster Grand Theft Auto III comes to mobile devices, bringing to life the dark and seedy underworld of Liberty City. With a massive and diverse open world, a wild cast of characters from every walk of life and the freedom to explore at will, Grand Theft Auto III puts the dark, intriguing and ruthless world of crime at your fingertips Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last week news from the Ukranian news source indicated that GSC Gameworld, creater of STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl – one of the most ambitious and wide-ranging games ever made – was closing and that STALKER 2 was being scrapped. This was ‘confirmed’ by a GSC Gameworld employee on Twitter. Here is some of the translation along with later denials: LATEST UPDATE: GSC have got back to me with “Sorry, not comments AT this point.” That does not sound promising. SECOND UPDATE: Denial The tweet there are now been deleted. Hmm. Still trying to get confirmation on this, but it’ s looking like GSC is down. Dmitri Bourkovski (apparently not to Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Sarah and I have been watching “All-American Muslim” on TLC. It’s a glimpse into what it’s like to be both Muslim and American in Dearborn, Michigan. And while admittedly it’s slow at times, we’ve really enjoyed seeing how different people approach their religion, and learning more about the different ways people practice, even within their own families. So we were very surprised when the hardware store Lowe’s pulled their ad support after the “Florida Family Association” complained about the show. What Lowe’s didn’t realize, but should have, is that controversial decisions in 2011 don’t fade quietly away. People were angry that Lowe’s pulled the ads. Really angry. Their Facebook page exploded with comments, and Lowe’s… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Image courtesy DeviantArt Wow … just wow. We have known that the music labels and artists were skeptical of on-demand services and have made onerous demands on Spotify before allowing catalog access (and also on Apple for ‘iTunes Match’). But never before have we know the details of those demands. Now we have a full report from Michael Roberston, the founder MP3.com and founder and CEO CEO of MP3tunes and DAR.fm that details all of the stuff in those contracts that should cause some serious concern. Here are the gory details: 1.General deal structure: Pay the largest of A) Pro-rata share of minimum of $X per subscriber, B) Per-play costs Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Today’s deal brings us the 11.6″ Dell Inspiron 11z (1110) 1.2GHz ULV Core i3-330UM Laptop in Obsidian Black. The base configuration includes 2GB RAM, a 250GB HDD, Wireless-N AND WiMAX, a 6-cell battery, a 1.3-Megapixel Webcam, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OS and much more. The laptop is usually $499.99 but our Gear Sponsor found it for $200 less. That means you can have this laptop on the way to you for just $299.99. It will even ship for free! Details and ordering can be found here. Gear Deal: Dell Inspiron 11z Core i3 ULV 1.2GHz Dual-core Laptop w/WiMAX via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The trend of bringing more and more PC and Mac adventure and casual strategy games to the iPad is a great one in my opinion – they work well with the touchscreen interface, present more than a trivial experience, and are still playable in small time increments. Games like Civilization Revolution, Jack of All Tribes and Tiny Token Empires are examples of this … and now we have Youda Survivor! Let’s take a look! The Hype: For all real fans of time management games – the most frenzied adventure yet! Can you survive on a mysterious island as well as find your way back home? Try it out in Youda Survivor. Here… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Virtual City Playground Update for iOS and Android: The Virtual City Playground 1.3. Update with new quests, winter-related content and decorations hits the App Store and Android Market today. Through January 2, 2012, players will be able to “switch on” winter in their dream cities, decorate buildings for the holiday season and build Santa’s residence. What’s new in the update: UPDATE YOUR CITY! New city decorations and a new entertainment building. NEW DECORATIONS! 68 New building decorations. NEW QUESTS! 5 New quests – already finished your quests? Here are some new ones to fill while sitting by the fire. SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS! Post screenshots of your winter city on Facebook. About Virtual Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Is your network feeling a bogged down? Perhaps someone in your house is downloading App Store updates … again! In fact, the image at top is from the FOURTH time yesterday I had waiting updates available! This time it was only three, but I would estimate more than 30 apps have updated in the last 24 hours! That is because this is the time of year where everyone tries to get their updates released … because next week updates and additions are closed until the 29th. The reason? The Christmas holiday means millions of new iPod/iPhone/iPad owners will be flocking to the App Store to fill their new toys with great games like Avadon… Continue reading on Gear Diary …