I have written time and again about the great indie game development scene on the Mac and PC, and how groups like HumbleBundle have sprung up to promote those developers and also give back to charity. Now we have another great bundle called the Indie Gala! Here is the description: Gives fans of indie games a chance to save money on awesome games and contribute to a good cause at the same time! IndieGala lets customers set their own price for high-quality indie games, then donate some or all of the proceeds to Save The Children and Child’s Play charities. Get 7 awesome games + Bonus content at Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’m a big fan of Evernote and use it all the time to save information, images, notes and other data that I want to keep safe,secure and easily accessible. The company has expanded their base of users in a huge way since coming out of beta and was profitable until they began a hiring and development phase six months ago. In addition to continually building upon its main apps, Evernote is platform agnostic so there is an Evernote app for just about very platform. They have also begun releasing their own apps that use Evernote as the “engine” to keep information synced between devices. Their Evernote Peek app is a great study tool. Earlier today they released two new apps. One of… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

My brother and I grew up watching too much of the Three Stooges – it was stupid, unrealistic, foolish, occasionally sad when you think about the Depression-era circumstances it reflects, and stupid. Did I mention that it was stupid? Now I will watch some of the endless annual marathons of episodes with my kids, though my wife is definitely not a fan! And yet, seeing the trailer for the upcoming 2012 ‘Three Stooges’ movie reminds me of just how BRILLIANTLY stupid those guys were, reflecting an entirely different era, Vaudeville showmanship and skit-building, and a comedic range that includes anger, angst, joy and pathos. None of which is present in this… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Emoticons?  Litt’e sideways smiley-faces and winky-faces and hearts and what not?  That’s old school, baby!  Zlango wants to move you up in the post-modern texting world with what they call “texting with attitude.” Visual!  Colorful!  Possibly really annoying!  It’s totally up to you? My guess?  Old pharts like myself will totally ignore it, or start screeching on about how those damn kids should get off my lawn, but folks like my son Joseph–who has been downloading texting icon packages assiduously ever since he got an iPhone for Channukah last year–will jump right on this kind of thing.  Whether it’s right for you or not is for you to decide; I report, you decide.  But… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Nintendo 3DS owners now have 3D video recording capabilities, a Nintendo Zone portal plus an easier way to play with friends with the new friends list feature now available on the latest system update.

If you’re anything like me, organizing your cables is a frelling nightmare.  My MacBook Pro has two USB ports, into one of which I’ve plugged a 6-1 (powered) USB multi-port–and every one is filled.  I mean, I’m glad that we’re moving towards rechargeable batteries, and seem to have moved to USB as our go-to cable type, but Jeez!  Two different headphone cables, two different spare iPhone power packs, two external hard drives, printer cables, fax cables, scanner cables . . . it’s a cabling nightmare, frankly.  So even looking at something simple that might solve my problem, like the button-style cable organizer from USBFever, is enough to get me worked up. And of course being them… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Today’s Gear Deal brings us the newly re-introduced ENVY 15 15.6″ Laptop. It features an all-new aluminum design, has six built-in speakers and a subwoofer, offers audio-grade mesh, sports Beats volume control, has an optional 1080p LCD screen, has an 8-cell 72WHr battery, HDMI, DisplayPort, USB 3.0 ports, a 2-in-1 card reader, Bluetooth, 802.11n WiFi, an HD webcam, a Radiance backlit keyboard and more. It is just 1.11″ thick and weighs 5.79-pounds. It is is powered by the Intel’s 2nd Generation Core i5 or i7 processor, has 1GB Discrete Graphics AMD Radeon [HDMI, DisplayPort] and handles up to 16GB DDR3 memory. The price for this laptop starts at $1,349.99 but our Gear Sponsor has found a coupon for 33% off. That… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The European Union has finally stepped up to handle the biggest issue facing the economy today. It’s a long time coming, but someone is finally asking questions and looking for answers. Yes, the “agency model” for ebooks is finally being investigated! What, you thought I meant something else? According to Businessweek, several publishers as well as Apple are listed in the investigation, but not Amazon. My guess is that since Amazon was not soliciting contracts for the agency model (they were forced into it after a very public battle) they’re not under the microscope. It will be interesting to see if Amazon or any other retailer besides Apple gets included in this as the investigation… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Yesterday I wrote about the 10 billion download sale at the Android Market, and noted the first set of 10 games. Today we have a new set of games on sale for $0.10 each! Here us the list for Day 2: •NFL Rivals •Reckless Racing •Read it Later Pro •Flick Golf •Fruit Ninja •Christmas HD live wallpaper •AirSync by doubleTwist •Star Chart •Beautiful Widgets •The Berenstain Bears’ Bedtime Battle Again, with games like Fruit Ninja on the list it is an amazing sale! Also be sure to grab Beautiful Widgets, which has become indispensible to me! There are loads of other great deals as well, so check them out!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

No matter what you may or may not have heard, BlackBerry is most assuredly not dead.  And despite some really stupid stuff done by the RIM folks over the last couple of years–for more information, see the Gear Diary archives–I really like announcing new software (and hardware) for BlackBerry because, as we’ve point out here on GD many, may times, we think Competition is a Good Thing.  Especially in the tech world. So on that note, let me tell you that Twitter has been updated for BlackBerry, and is now available in the BlackBerry app world.  I know, I know; it’s just an update.  But if you’re anything like me–hey, you in the back… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Hopefully you grabbed Trine as part of the Humble Frozenbyte Bundle or the recent Mac App Store $1.99 sale, so you know just how awesome the game is – and why you should be excited for the launch of the sequel this week! In case your memory is rusty, here is what I said in my review: One of the best things about Trine is how they have expertly integrated physics-based puzzles and gameplay elements throughout. Some are as simple as swinging a platform or moving a box, but they get fairly complex at times, requiring the skills of all three characters. The whole idea of the three Continue reading on Gear Diary …

  Those of you who held out on buying a Phosphor Appear watch because the leather strap didn’t appeal will be pleased to know that there is a new Appear Bracelet watch available. There are four women’s watch and band combinations: pink with a pink band, amber with a clear band, amber with a white band, and black with a black band. As you’ll recall, the Phosphor Appear is the watch that features the cool crystal flipping display feature that makes the time or seconds appear in a mechanized manner similar to those flipping train station signs. You can buy the new Phosphor… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Gear Diary is a big fan of Kickstarter, and we have supported a number of different projects in the last year or so. One of them was the Kammock Roo, a new take on the hammock. The project was fully funded and our “rewards” came a few weeks ago. Judie is waiting to give the two she bought as gifts, but I brought mine with me on vacation. Here’s a quick video overview and some pictures. Here’s Judie and her ever-present Diet Coke… a video look follows after the break.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Need help find the best of the best in video games at stores for the holidays? Check out the nominations for G4′s ninth annual X-Play Awards.

Yesterday I wrote about the Android Market $0.10 sale to mark 10 billion downloads, and apparently Amazon wants some of that action as well! Today they have Asphalt 6 on sale for $0.10. Better still, it is a ‘Kindle Fire Edition’, so unlike the Android Market version THIS one at least works with ONE of the eight Android devices around my house! Here is the description (hint: it is an action packed racing game): Own the road Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD features exhilarating street-racing gameplay and stunning HD graphics. Collect 42 cars and motorcycles, race through 12 exotic locations, challenge your friends with 6-player multiplayer, and more. Drift through Continue reading on Gear Diary …