Gear Diary » Douglas Moran

Road Warrior/Technogypsy Notes: The Right Stuff Helps

Douglas Moran — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:00:13 +0000

No, I don't travel with quite that much stuff; close, though (Image courtesy of The Tech Journal)

So it used to be that I had to travel basically every week--my job was in California, but my home is in Austin, so I did an awful lot of flying around. After a while, it got to the point where it was practically automatic, and I didn't give much thought to the things I did to make traveling easier. Recently, however, after a 5 month hiatus, I had to make a business trip, and I'm finding that some of the gear that I got to ease my way makes things much easier. If you yourself are a road warrior, a technogypsy, a traveling nerd, then maybe some of these hints can help you out, too. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Brinno PeepHole Viewer and Camera Provides New Tech for Home Security

Douglas Moran — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:15:12 +0000

So someone knocks on the door, right? You want to see who the heck it is, without giving away the fact that, well, you're checking them out. (This isn't an issue at my house--there's simply too much glass around the door to hide.) Maybe you even have one of those fisheye lens peephole viewer things. Which is okay, I guess, but this is the digital age, and maybe you can do better, don't you think? Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Find Partners with SinglesAroundMe App

Douglas Moran — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:00:36 +0000

Once you graduate college or high school and start moseying out into the real world, you start to notice: finding dates is hard. You are no longer surrounded by potential partners just your own age; you're surrounded by, well, everybody. Including old pharts like yours truly. So how do you find a partner? Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Need Your Kids’ Health Records? Find ‘em Online!

Douglas Moran — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:00:10 +0000

In my dreams, the way it works is this: you have a card that you carry, which contains all your medical record information (encrypted, of course). You back up this information on your system at home, and when you go into a new doctor's office, instead of spending 15 minutes filling out a whole bunch of forms that are identical to the forms you've filled out before, you just hand them your card, they zip it through a card reader, you enter your PIN code, and bango, they have the info. No need for forms, and you have access to your medical records whenever you need them. In my dreams. But some people are at least making some decent first steps in that kind of direction. Like MotherKnows: Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Depth Hunter Game for PCs

Douglas Moran — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:15:14 +0000

When I was in College--back before the most recent ice age--computer graphics were juuuuust really getting started. If you look at the graphics of "Project Genesis" in Star Trek II, you'll see what was, for then, the top-of-the-line: graphics that were programmed in UNIX on a big ol' VAX, and then run out on a Cray SuperComputer. I mean, that was smokin' for 1982. Really! Nowadays? Now, PC are powerful enough that you can render complicated underwater scenes . . . in games. You young whippersnappers don't know how good you have it! Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Tiny Bang Story HD for iPad

Douglas Moran — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:45:06 +0000

Puzzle games are some of my favorites, particularly puzzle games that have an anachronistic, steampunk, Myst-like sensibility. Good ones are few and far between, unfortunately, and it's not like Broderbund is cranking out iOS ports of the various Myst sequels in HD anyway, if you know what I mean. So when I see game in this category, it does intrigue me: Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Nexon’s “KartRider Dash” Speeds Its Way to Facebook

Douglas Moran — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 23:00:37 +0000

I don't know why, but I find goofy racing games addicting. Mario Karts, MicroQuad (on my lost, lamented Tapwave Zodiac), CroMag Rally, Sonic Racing . . . I just like 'em. I don't like those realistic ones, where you get to zoom around in the latest Bugatti or Königsegg or Aston Martin--I like the goofy cartoony ones. Don't ask me why. Not unlike KartRider Rush: Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

FBI Releases File on Steve Jobs

Douglas Moran — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:30:05 +0000

Steve Jobs passed away several months ago now, and the burst of news at the event, followed by the (just days later) release of Jobs' biography by Walter Isaacson, has pretty much abated. So what possible news could Jobs be making now, from beyond the grave? Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

SleepTracker Announces New SleepTracker Analytics

Douglas Moran — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:20:54 +0000

You know what sucks? Yes, that too; but what I was thinking of was when you're sleeping, I mean really deep in there, having an awesome dream, the kind in vivid technicolor with an awesome soundtrack, and maybe costarring Brad Pitt and Scarlett Johansson, with a guest cameo by your deceased Dad playing an ass-kickin' Navy Seal (well, he was in the Navy!), and whammo! the alarm goes off! Now you're never going to know whether Bruce Willis, with your Dad's help, managed to save Halle Barry! Damn! Well, as you might expect, there's tech help. What is that, you ask? Well . . . Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Instamory for iPad Now Free

Douglas Moran — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:50:06 +0000

As the official Old Phart of Gear Diary, I get to do that crabby "I remember when" stuff, because, well, because, that's why! And in this case, "I remember when" they used to have a Concentration game show on TV, and I'm barely old enough to remember when it was played with cards that some poor schmuck on the set had to flip around by hand, like the scoreboard at Fenway. It was the low-tech era, kids! Well, we're a loooooooong way away from those days; now you can get a computerized, high-def version on your iPad. And "for a limited time", this particular version of Concentration, called Instamory, is free: Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Tunewear has released the Security Locker for iPad 2.

Douglas Moran — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:30:41 +0000

When you look at an iPad, one of the first things that comes to mind (after, "Cool! Want!") is, "How awesome when you have to do portable stuff!" In fact, if you go into your local Apple store you will see a bunch of the Apple concierges trotting around with their iPads, checking people in, looking up product stock information, getting prices, and a whole bunch of other things. I have been waiting for the iPad to achieve greater market penetration in the Enterprise area (which, if you're not in the tech biz world, mean, "Them really big customers like General Motors or The New York Stock Exchange"). As we get more networked, people--especially IT people, but really anyone--need a more portable computing solution. I can't tell you the number of times at my previous company where I saw people carting around their laptops, lid open, balanced on one arm. Man did they need an iPad! So the question is, if you're carting your iPad around a lot, how do you keep it secure, how do you hang on to it more easily? How do you insure it doesn't get stolen? SecurityLocker for the iPad thinks they have an answer: Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Review: Arkon iPad Table Mount

Douglas Moran — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:55:04 +0000

I love my iPad; I mean, I really love it. If I could figure out a way to get it to completely replace my laptop, I would do it. I use it to watch movies, read books, follow my Twitter feed, and lots of other things. As a nerd-- and this is no exaggeration-- it's the kind of device I've been waiting for most of my nerdy, computer-geek life. It does have some issues, though, one of which is that, after a while, you do get tired of holding the durn thing up. It's not that it's so heavy but, like reading a book on the beach, eventually your hands get fatigued and you feel the need for a break. Sure, it's okay to rest the iPad on your stomach while reading but that doesn't work well when you are, for example, watching movies and TV shows. Sometimes, you just want to clamp the iPad in place and relax while using it hands-free. Arkon has just the accessory to make this happen. The Tablet Table Mount is a universal tablet holder that is designed to work with many different tablets. Of course, I only have an iPad 1 so that's what I used to run it through its paces. What did I think? Read on! Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Super Bowl XLVI Event Finder Launched

Douglas Moran — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:15:45 +0000

America is a hodgepodge of people from all over the world, with a correspondingly big mix of religions, celebratory days, and religious holidays. But we're Americans, so we kinda invented a few cultural things as we went along, some secular holidays that everyone-no matter your nation of origin, your creed, your color, your gender, your sexual orientation, or whatever--you can enjoy along with everyone else in the country. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

ThinkGeek Has Some Valentines Gifts for the Geek in Your Life

Douglas Moran — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:45:57 +0000

Valentines day is coming (believe it or not), and yes, you can go with one of the classics for that special person in your life: chocolate, chocolates, flowers, jewelry, or more chocolate. But if your sweetie is a geek, maybe what you need is something a bit more . . . nerdly. Something that shows you acknowledge that which both makes him or her special. Something that speaks to their inner geek. Unsurprisingly in this, the Age o' the Geek, there are web sites (hey: geeks invented the web, after all!) and sections of web sites that cater to exactly that need. Like ThinkGeek, which has a whole bunch of geek stuff for that nerd in your Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Check Out Apps that Help You Go Green

Douglas Moran — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:15:31 +0000

General Sherman (the tree, not the guy who marched from Atlanta to the sea)

Despite what you may think, "going green" and thinking about the environment and the future are not new things. There is the story--possibly apocryphal--about the New College at Oxford planting oaks to replace the beams in the Great Hall . . . several hundred years later, when they (inevitably) became beetle-infested. Teddy Roosevelt was thinking green when he designated huge swaths of the United States National Parks, to be preserved for everyone. Johnny Appleseed is an American legend for planting a zillion trees, and many nations around the world celebrate Arbor Day by planting trees. Now we have a lot Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

ScotteVest Adds the “Molly Jacket” to Their Women’s Lineup

Douglas Moran — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:15:42 +0000

We here at Gear Diary enjoy using our SeV. Seriously. All your GD world travelers--Judie, Dan, Dino, heck even me -- rely upon ScotteVest wear to keep us comfortable, yes, but also to help us tote our gear. In case you hadn't noticed, in most ways the clothing world hasn't really caught up to our modern, gadget-heavy lifestyle, forcing irritating compromises -- like clipping a bunch of stuff to your belt, say. No, no, say the guys at ScotteVest; time to design clothes that actually help you tote your gear. There newest item--which looks to me like something Katherine Hepburn would want to wear while searching for the source of the Nile--is The Molly Jacket Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Itzy3D Launched on Android

Douglas Moran — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:15:20 +0000

Got arachnophobia? Well then, maybe the new Android offering from Itzy Interactive isn't for you. But maybe not. Or, perhaps, you've realized that these helpful little critters are really our friends (most of the time), and what you need is a little empathy, a little time viewing life from a spiders-eye level. Hey? So maybe you need to check out the free new Android game Itzy3D. Here's what the Itzy Interactive has to say about their game: Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Sunday, January 29th is Data Privacy Day

Douglas Moran — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:30:29 +0000

For a computer nerd, I'm pretty bad about data privacy and data security. I had just pretty much decided years ago that I'm hosed; my data is going to be compromised, and it's only a matter of when, and by who. I do my best with passwords and opening email and such, but I'm resigned. But that absolutely doesn't mean that I don't support the fine work done in the area of data privacy, data security, and electronic civil rights (not to mention being safe from online predators) by such organizations as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the National Cyber Security Alliance. Quite the contrary; I very much want to be proven wrong, and I support their goals in trying to assure that my data and yours is private and secure. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Kidz Gear Launches Kids’ Headphones Made Especially for Apple Devices

Douglas Moran — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:18:49 +0000

My daughter Maggie, getting gear for her isn't that hard; she's fine with the default iPhone ear buds. She's also not much of an audiophile; if it's pink, she's fine with it--I got her a pair of iHome rechargeable speakers for her iPhone, for example, and she loves them not because of the sound, but because they're pink. Such is the life of a parent. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

CrashPlan Releases Mobile App Update for Improved Security

Douglas Moran — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:40:37 +0000

You know how it goes: doing backups is a pain in the tuckus, and so you put it off, or you don't do it regularly, or some such. And then . . . the blue screen of death! Or the Genius Bar guy utters those fateful words, "You'll have to do a full restore." Or your IT person says, "We're going to have to reimage your disk." Panic! Code 42 software wants to help you with their CrashPlan software:

Code 42 Software Inc., developers of award-winning onsite, offsite and online backup solutions for consumers, businesses and the enterprise, today announced updates and new security enhancements to the CrashPlan and CrashPlan PRO mobile apps. The latest version adds support

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Mimoco Announces Einstein x and Legends of MIMOBOT USB Thumbdrive Collection

Douglas Moran — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:30:03 +0000

My thumb drives are functional and dull, to tell you the truth. I use Corsairs, the ones that are hardened against the X-Ray scanners they use at the airport. I had a cheap flash drive and, sure enough, it got zeroed out on one my b'zillion airport trips, so I went to a Corsair. But it's not exactly cute or attractive; it looks like one of those cylinders you put waterproof matches in when you go camping. But not everyone is under quite as much necessity to go with function over form. And even I, were I less paranoid about data loss, would consider a drive that looked like Unagi Nigiri sushi, or a figure from Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Biography App for iPad Released – The eBook About People Who Changed the World

Douglas Moran — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:15:10 +0000

Yeah, Wikipedia is awesome. I can't even begin to image what historical figures would have thought about it--all that information literally at your fingertips? Updated and checked constantly by hundreds or thousands of people, all over the world? I mean, mind-bending. But it does have its drawbacks. For one thing, it's spotty; how many times have you see "This Wikipedia article on [whatever] is a stub"? How many times have you read an article and thought, "Man, that doesn't seem right"? How many times had you wished for more pictures or audio files or interactivity? When it comes to famous figures of the world, those are some of the things the new iTunes app Biography Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Prescription Bottle Beer Holder

Douglas Moran — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:30:54 +0000

Honestly, I love it when we get pointers to new items from our friend Jason Lazarus at Gadgets and Gear; he always sends us stuff that is cool, or interesting, or funny, or (every once in a while) all three. Today's item is a beer holder in the form of a prescription bottle. Here's what Jason says about it:

Beer - The World's Most Trusted Prescription For Dealing With Life!Life throws a lot of problems in our way. Fortunately, there's a prescription that's been around for centuries, and you don't even need to go see a doctor to get it! Prescribe yourself some ice-cold beer with this prescription bottle beer holder, for sale right now!

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Has Apple Jumped the Shark with iBooks Author?

Douglas Moran — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:00:04 +0000

Image courtesy of Carrypad

I'm a huge fan of eBooks. I've been reading them since the Peanut Press days, I have gone on at length about the strengths and weaknesses that I've found in the various software eBook readers currently available, and I've reviewed a number of "enhanced books" right here for y'all. I haven't read more than one or two hardcopy books per year in the last several years. I love eBooks. I think Apple's iBooks app is pretty decent, all things considered. As I ranted on at length about, I think there's a lot of things to be modified, but it's a good first effort. So I was Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

On Telecommuting and Using the Tech We Have

Douglas Moran — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:00:09 +0000

Image courtesy of ISLOnline

So this co-worker of mine just had his first child. When Sami and I had Maggie (in the Booming 90's), I took two weeks off, and then worked half-time (for half-pay) for, I think, two months. This was my manager's offer instead of me taking off a full month (without pay) for Family Leave, which was a pretty new law then. Sami and I talked it over, and we decided that was the best course of action. But I was completely unavailable for two weeks, and for the next couple of months I was--how shall we put this?--at quite a bit less than my best. I was of course tired Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Three Popular FREE New Android News Aggregator Apps

Douglas Moran — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:45:18 +0000

It's Presidential election season here in the U.S., and one of the categories of voters you often read about are the so-called "low-information" voters. This is a category that baffles me, honestly, because the trouble I personally have is there too durn much information out there. In this modern world, with stuff practically flooding at you from the Web, the radio, online, streaming utilities, on your smartphone, your iDevice, the problem for me is filtering it, not being "low information". Fortunately, there are apps out there to help you with that. This week, Mobiles Republic has three popular free news apps (and plans to release four more specialized news apps throughout the course of the year):

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Skooba 48-hour 20% Off Sale

Douglas Moran — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 02:30:54 +0000

We like telling folks about deals and sales and where to get stuff for free; it's definitely a happy kinda thing. Today's news in that range is that Skooba Design is having a "member's only" 20% off sale for the next 48 hours. Here's what Skooba has to say about it:

Take an extra 20% off sale items or anything else for 2 days only. Everything! Including the new V3 collection! Subscribers and fans only must use the code MEMBERSAVE20. +Free ground shipping on any order of $50 or more.

So do you need a new bag? New skin for your device? Backpacks? If you need to tote gear--and let's face it, if Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Hatchi Come to Life on the iPhone

Douglas Moran — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:00:42 +0000

Honestly, it doesn't seem like it was all that long ago, but it's actually been close to 15 years that the Tamagotchi craze swept over the tweens. These were the days when cell phones were analog and not yet ubiquitous, when people still had answering machines (ansaphones if you live Across the Pond) that used actual audio tapes, Apple was being run into the ground by idiot management, Microsoft ruled the world, and I worked at Silicon Graphics. A looooooong time ago. In case you don't remember, Tamagotchis were small, plastic computerized "pets"; in an LCD window, it indicated its needs. You had to feed it, play with it, and in short treat it like a Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

New Game “Feed the Dragon” Now Available on iTunes App Store

Douglas Moran — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:00:32 +0000

Personally when I think about having to feed a dragon, the first few items that come to mind are "dwarves", followed by hobbits, ponies, knights errant, and hapless townspeople. I do not think of, say, donuts, or burgers, or cup-cakes. But then, I'm not a game designer, am I? No, I am but a humble tech writer. When a real game designer gets his or her hands on this idea, yeah, donuts are on the menu.

The King's orders are clear. You are in charge of feeding the royal pet: That BIG Dragon. His appetite is endless and so is the FUN you'll have as you go though each level in this feeding extravaganza. It's

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Move Over Snuggie; Here Comes Feetie

Douglas Moran — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:33:49 +0000

What's interesting to me about this product is not it's name (which is kinda silly), or it's low Low LOW price, or even the strange pattern choices that the company has chosen. No: it's that this was invented by someone in Texas. See, I live in Texas, and while it is many things, "foot-chillingly cold" is not one of the ones that leaps to mind. Last year, for example, here in Austin we set records both for "most days over 100" and "most consecutive days over 100". Hot, yes; cold? Not so much. But you don't live in Texas, and wherever you are, I bet your poor little tootsies get cold in the middle of Continue reading on Gear Diary ...