Let’s say that you’re the type of individual who likes to wait until the last minute to do your holiday shopping (in other words, there’s a strong chance you’re a guy). Or maybe for you, it’s just not the holiday season unless you find yourself in a crowded shopping mall, just a few days before Christmas, surrounded by grouchy, inconsiderate fellow shoppers. In these situations, you need to be ready, organized, and have a plan. Otherwise, you’re sure to leave out a favorite aunt or niece, in which case you had better just slink into the background and hide behind the punch bowl before all heck breaks loose at your family holiday gathering. Well, save… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I have been using the same password protection program for quite a few years. I’ve thought about switching on a number of occasions, but it’s always is too much of a hassle, or the software that interests me isn’t available on enough platforms. So when I was recently offered an opportunity to review mSeven Software’s mSecure 3.0 I was at least a little ambivalent about it. However, I figured it certainly wouldn’t hurt to review the software; I would just create some dummy data, load it on a test device, put it through its paces, do a brief write up, and be done. I was surprised, though, to find that I actually liked mSecure… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As a small town guy living in the Chicago area, there are a lot times when I get frustrated with the traffic, the density, and the general inconveniences that are necessarily associated with urban living. Then again, there are times like today, when I’m happy to be living in one of the larger metropolitan areas in the country because we tend to be among the first to get new technologies, such as AT&T’s new LTE network. At the moment, AT&T has two phones able to take advantage of the LTE network: the HTC Vivid and the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket. The Vivid offers a 4.5 inch qHD screen, but the Skyrocket has a slightly faster processor and is part of the popular Galaxy S II line of Samsung… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Ah, AT&T. So, I’m sitting here staring at my shiny new iPhone 4S. It’s unusable right now, thanks to AT&T’s lack of preparedness. They’ve had several years to figure out how to handle the spike in the load on their servers that accompanies the launch of a new iPhone model. Yet they still manage to hack up a hairball when it comes time to process orders and activate phones. Apparently, I’m not the only one, either. Several blogs are reporting AT&T customers are experiencing widespread problems with activations. When AT&T carried the iPhone exclusively, I could at least understand that they may have felt that they could get away with inconveniencing their customers. If… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Largely because I tend to switch devices and platforms regularly, I keep coming back to the same password manager – who for now shall remain nameless – because it is available for Blackberry, Android, and iOS devices, as well as having desktop applications for both Windows and Mac OSX. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing software from my perspective, but it works well enough. Syncing my mobile devices does require that I sync with the same computer, but I can’t sync between computers. Cloud syncing isn’t an option. I may have to consider switching now, however, as mSeven Software’s mSecure 3.0 ups the ante by combining software that works across multiple platforms with cloud syncing capabilities. mSecure 3.0 Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve written about WritePad in the past, noting how useful it was for taking notes on the iPad. I’ve actually used it quite a bit in meetings at work and folks are usually blown away by its ability to capture my handwriting and convert it into text. One of the critical elements of successful handwriting recognition is the dictionary used by the program; no matter how good your handwriting is, if WritePad cannot find a word to match it, you’re out of luck. PhatWare, the makers of WritePad, recently released an update that enhances the software’s dictionary. The update now allows users to import new words to the dictionary from the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

  For a pretty fair while I was using Toodledo to manage my tasks. I was never all that crazy about their native application for iOS, so after doing a little scouting around, I settled on Appigo’s Todo app. It was aesthetically pleasing, it had good features, and I liked it. Sometimes, though, I wished there was a companion way to manage all of those to do items natively on my laptop. Sure, that cloud stuff is nice and all, but it doesn’t fit every situation or every need. I must not have been the only person thinking that way, because now Appigo has brought a version of Todo to the Mac. According to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Okay, we all know and recognize that the cameras built into our phones are not the best around. Could we do better with a dedicated point-and-shoot? Sure. How about a full-blown SLR? Yeah, of course, stupid question. But the reality is that we use the cameras that are included with our phones because they are convenient. We don’t have to carry extra crap with us; they’re just there, a constant, comforting presence. The best camera you have is the one you have with you. There, I said it. But, that doesn’t mean that they can’t be made better than they are just stock out of the box. Hence, iShuttr, a new start-up that has… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We here at Gear Diary thought we’d make you aware of a way to rid yourself of technology; automotive technology, that is. Old, unwanted automotive technology, of course. (You don’t really think a site called GEAR DIARY is going to encourage you to dump your technology and go all monk-like, do you?) If you have a car you are not using (or which is no longer usable), but aren’t sure of how best to dispose of it, Giveacar.co.uk (oh, yeah, and you need to be in the UK, did I mention that?) will help you dispose of your old or damaged car with the proceeds going to charity.  Aside from that whole doing-a-good-thing vibe… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Our friend Clinton Fitch of ClintonFitch.com and AlliOSNews is a big baseball fan. And big fans need robust apps like MLB At Bat 2011 for iPad.  It was actually one of Clinton’s past reviews of this app that caused me to purchase it last year and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Now, as you read his review, you’ll need to bear in mind that he’s a Rangers fan and cut him some slack anyway. Sure, he thinks that his purchasing MLB At Bat 2010 was behind the Rangers’ success last year, but that’s just being superstitious. Good thing that we fans of Chicago’s north siders are completely unaffected by superstitions Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’m not really one of those guys who likes to take apart my electronics to change, alter, or fix things. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of things around my house on which I like to work, but electronics, no. So, I’m somewhat in awe of the folks who are willing to do such things. And if you’re inclined to mess around with the internals of your iPhone 4, then you may want to consider NewerTech’s new kit for dissassmbling your iPhone without marring it. The NewerTech 7 pc. Toolkit for iPhone 4 includes the following tools for easy DIY iPhone 4 servicing: 5-point magnetized driver to access Apple proprietary designed TS1 Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve been a fan of Gomadic chargers for several years. Like many of the other Gear Diary writers, I like to switch devices frequently, but replacing desk chargers, car chargers, sync cables, etc., for each gadget gets to be pretty expensive pretty quickly. With Gomadic’s “tip exchange” technology, you keep the same charging cable, but change the tip at the end where it connects to the device.  Here’s how they describe their products: Don’t lug around cords for all of your devices. Buy one Gomadic cable, from retractable USBs to double car chargers and you’re set for years. Simply buy a new tip with each new device or upgrade and you’re ready to roll Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Those folks at Sonos just keep making it harder for me to resist purchasing one of their systems.  They release an iPhone app to remotely control their systems?  Okay, fine, but I switched to primarily using an Android device these days.  So, what do they go and do now?  They release an Android controller app, of course.  For free, nonetheless.  Geez. Oh, yeah, and they added a new feature to the controller: music voice search.  Now you can find any artist, album, or track using voice commands.  With the Sonos Controller for Android, you can choose the music and control the volume in as many rooms as you like (or, at least as many… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

[Sigh]  I miss Graffiti. I was pretty fast writing with Graffiti on my old Palm devices. I’ve never been very speedy typing with my thumbs. I carried a BlackBerry for years because that is what my employer supported, but I never was all that fast (or accurate) typing with a thumb keyboard.  The BlackBerry keyboards were great, but, you see, I’m just not all that coordinated. Of course, more recently voice recognition has gotten much better and is now being deployed for mobile devices – and I love it – but still, there are situations in which you just aren’t free to dictate your emails out loud. A while back, I wrote a… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

HanDBase is one of those mobile app titles that anyone who has been around mobile devices for a while will surely recognize. HanDBase, by DDH Software, was introduced for Palm OS initially, eventually migrating to Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, iOS, and now Android. While I don’t use database programs extensively, I have used one program or another for a long while to track media collections or other forms of inventories. If you’re new to HanDBase, it is a relational database program with cross-platform availability, including Mac and PC desktop versions with a sync conduit.  The desktop software has the ability to import either comma separated or tab delimited files, which are then stored as… Continue reading on Gear Diary …