Gear Diary » Desktop Gear

Gear Deal- Logitech K750 Wireless Solar Keyboard (Dented Box)

Dan Cohen — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:30:27 +0000

Think about it- you throw away the box as soon as an item is opened right? That being the case isn't a dented box worth saving $40? That's what today's Gear Deal asks. The Logitech K750 Wireless Solar Keyboard is normally $79.99. It charges itself whenever there’s light and, better still, it stays charged for at least three months in total darkness. I saw the keyboard at a gear show in New York a few months back and was impressed by the thin profile and the overall feel. At the time I thought $79.99 was a decent price for it. I still think that but at the price our Gear Sponsor tracked down- just $39.99- it Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

NGD Deal: Dual 21.5″ Monitor Bundle with Monitor Desk Stand

Dan Cohen — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:45:01 +0000

Today's New Gear Daily Deal brings us Dell's Dual UltraSharp 21.5" Widescreen Monitors and a stand to hold them. Better still, you'll save a bundle on this bundle. Here's what Dell has to say about the monitors.

Experience a revolutionary industry's highest-quality and the most advanced technology performance with the Dell™ UltraSharp U2212HM 21.5-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor. Enjoy vivid and crystal clear images with its full high definition resolution of 1920 x 1080. With a high dynamic contrast ratio of 2 million:1 and a fast 8 ms gray-to-gray response time helps enable you to see crisp, razor-sharp and ghost-free images.

And here's what they say about the Monitor Desk Stand:

The Dual LCD Monitor Horizontal

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Gear Deal: Clickfree 2TB C6 USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

Dan Cohen — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:15:21 +0000

Today's Gear Deal brings us Clickfree's 2TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive (model no. CA3D20-6C). Normally $169.99, our Gear Sponsor found a discount coupon that drops the price all the way down to just $129.99 and it will even ship for free. Details and ordering information can be found here on the Deal Page. Gear Deal: Clickfree 2TB C6 USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

NGD Deal: Dell E Series 21.5″ Monitor for Under $150

Dan Cohen — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:45:47 +0000

This weekend New Gear Daily Deal brings us the Dell E Series 21.5" Monitor. It offers a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio and 1920x1080 resolution. For connectivity it offers both VGA and DVI-D. For viewing the stand offers a tilt feature and a quick release button for easy removal of the stand from the panel. For ease of use it offers onscreen display controls and for security it has an anti-theft stand lock slot. Normally $179, with this deal you can get it for under $150! You can order by clicking here.

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Gear Deal: Dell S2230MX 21.5″ Ultra-slim 1080p LCD Monitor

Dan Cohen — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:30:38 +0000

Today's Gear Deal brings us the 21.5" Dell S2230MX Ultra-slim 1080p LCD Monitor. This new model is the thinnest Dell LCD monitor ever and features mega-dynamic contrast ratio of 8,000,000:1 (typical), 1920 x 1080 resolution, and VGA and DVI-D (HDCP) connectivity. It comes bundled with a DVI-HDMI dongle and has a 2ms response time. Normally $219.99 our Gear Sponsor found it for $70 off. That brings the price down to just $149.99 and it will ship for free. Details can be found here. Gear Deal: Dell S2230MX 21.5" Ultra-slim 1080p LCD Monitor via LogicBuy Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

ioSafe Shocks Us Again at CES 2012

Thomas R. Hall — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:00:51 +0000

ioSafe is known for keeping your data SAFE. How safe? Well, first we took the initiative to burn and water-soak a drive, and the data was still recoverable. Then, starting with CES 2010, ioSafe decided to show everyone that their drives are capable of withstanding burning, soaking, dropping, and crushing. In 2011, we upped the ante again and took shots (yes, using a gun) at an ioSafe drive, and the data saved on the ioSafe drive came out unscathed. Well, we wondered what they would do next and, at CES 2012, we found out. Honestly, what we saw shocked us ... Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Seagate Thunderbolt Adapter Speed Comparison with USB 2.0

Dan Cohen — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:59:17 +0000

We told you about Seagate's new Thunderbolt adapters last week. Yes, we are finally seeing products come to market that take advantage of the speed increases offered by Thunderbolt. But how fast IS Thunderbolt? Sure you can see lab testing but that doesn't necessarily tell you about using it at home or work. We shot a video of moving 2.5GB of data from a MacBook air to an external drive using both USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt. This is a normal use-scenario for something like this so the speeds you see here are what you might expect if you get one of the adapters.

See for yourself…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Want to know more? Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Seagate Showcases Speed, Updates and Innovation

Dan Cohen — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:00:56 +0000

We had a chance to sit down with Seagate earlier this week, and we liked what we saw. We were glad to see an update to the GoFlex Satellite we had reviewed some months ago, we saw a product that is not yet shipping (but we WANT NOW), and we took some time to see the speed boost that Seagate's Momentus XT Hybrid Hard drive offers as compared to a traditional spinning platter. Here's a look. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Deal: Get a Drobo 4-bay Unit for 50% Off – Today Only

Thomas R. Hall — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:21:28 +0000

Dan recently reviewed the Drobo data storage system from Data Robotics. I have owned one for several years and also love it for its flexibility. Imagine my surprise when I found out that for today only, you can get a new Drobo for 50% off! This offer applies to the standard Drobo only, not the other products in the Drobo line, such as the Drobo S or Drobo FS. Pick up a Drobo for 50% off the normal $399 price, bringing the price down to $199, today only. Simply use the discount code FRIDAY13 and the 50% discount will be applied.

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Samsung CES 2012 Press Conference: Pushing Boundaries

Dan Cohen — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:17:51 +0000

Samsung's Press Conference brought news of some great evolutionary products. We waited in line for hours just to hear what Samsung had to share. It was worth the wait. Here's a look...

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The Drobo Data Storage System Review

Dan Cohen — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:00:07 +0000

Last fall I applied for and received a grant that will allow my synagogue to build a new technology lab. Within the next few months we will have a number of iMac desktop computers and a host of iPads being used by our kids and adults alike. In fact, I'm working on a special tutorial program for students becoming bar and bat mitzvah that will run on the iPad. It uses the awesome iOS application MentalCase. More on that at a later date. When I found out we were getting the grant, I reached out to a number of companies with whom we work for some assistance. Both Kensington and Zagg were fantastic about Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal: 24″ Dell 1080p LED-backlit HDMI LCD Monitor

Dan Cohen — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:59:08 +0000

Today's Gear Deal brings us a 24" Dell ST2420L LED-backlit monitor. It features a full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, 250nit brightness, 1000:1 Contrast Ratio, a tilt adjustment stand, a glossy front bezel, DVI-D (HDCP), VGA, and HDMI connectors and more. Normally $259.99, our Gear Sponsor found it for $60 off. That means it can be yours for just$199.99 and it will even ship for free. You can find details here on the deal page. Gear Deal: 24" Dell 1080p LED-backlit HDMI LCD Monitor via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Disassemble Your Tech Gear with the iFixit Pro Tech Base Toolkit

Bryan Eley — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:00:02 +0000

I have a confession to make. I love to take things apart. Back when I was a kid I had a super-sweet Milton Bradley Star Bird toy, an early electronic noisemaker with revving engines and laser blasts. In the course of kid play, something inside broke loose and rattled around, driving me nuts. Spaceships off to do ground assault ought not to have a broken piece giving away their stealth attack so I, being young and adventuresome, decided to put my Star Bird in space dock (Dad’s table vice grip) and haul out a trusty Sears Philips screwdriver and effect repairs. I was successful, and so launched my interest in taking gizmos apart. More recently, with Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal: Dell 21.5″ Ultra-slim 1080p LCD Monitor

Dan Cohen — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:45:04 +0000

Today's Gear Deal brings us Dell's 21.5" S2230MX Ultra-slim 1080p LCD Monitor. This is the thinnest Dell LCD monitor ever and features mega-dynamic contrast ratio of 8,000,000:1 (typical), a 1920 x 1080 resolution, VGA and DVI-D (HDCP) connectivity, comes bundled with a DVI-HDMI dongle and more. Normally $219.99 our Gear Sponsor found it for $50 off. That brings the price down to just $169.99 and it will even ship for free. Details and ordering can be found here. Gear Deal: Dell S2230MX 21.5-in Ultra-slim 1080p LCD Monitor via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal: Planar PX2710MW 27″ 1080p LCD Monitor

Dan Cohen — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:30:04 +0000

Today's Gear Deal brings us a 27" Planar 1080p 2ms LCD Monitor. It features a thin black bezel, HDMI connectivity, a 1200:1 Contrast Ratio, built-in stereo speakers and more. Normally $469.99, with this deal it is just $219.99 and it even ships for free. This price ties the Black Friday price as the best price of the year but it is only available while supplies last. Details and ordering can be found here on the deal page. Gear Deal: Planar PX2710MW 27" 1080p LCD Monitor Via LogicBuy Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal: Dell’s Ultra-slim 21.5″ 1080p LCD Monitor

Dan Cohen — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:45:50 +0000

We end the week with a Gear Deal on the 21.5" Dell S2230MX Ultra-slim 1080p LCD Monitor. This is, "the thinnest Dell LCD monitor ever and features mega-dynamic contrast ratio of 8,000,000:1 (typical), 1920 x 1080 resolution, VGA and DVI-D (HDCP) connectivity, bundled DVI-HDMI dongle, 2ms response time EPEAT Silver rating and more." Normally $219.99, our Gear Sponsor has found a coupon for $70 off. That brings the final price down to just $149.99 and it will even ship for free. Get the deal here, Gear Deal: Dell's Ultra-slim 21.5" 1080p LCD Monitor Via LogicBuy Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal: A Bundle of Two (2) Dell IN2020M 20-in 1600 x 900 LED-backlit LCD Monitors

Dan Cohen — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:07:27 +0000

We start the week with a great deal from our Gear Sponsor. Dell Home is offering entry-level two 20" IN2020M LED LCD monitors in a bundle. Dell's IN2020M monitor sports a high-gloss slim black bezel , DVI (HDCP) and VGA connectors, 8,000,000:1 high dynamic contrast ratio, 1600 x 900 resolution, 5ms response time, and an tilt adjustable stand. Normally these two monitors would cost $319.98. With this deal you will save $150. That brings the price for this bundle down to just $169.98 and it will even ship for free. At less than $85 per unit and backed by a 1-year warranty, this is a great deal at a great price. Details and ordering can be found here. Gear Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Doxie Mini Paper Scanner Gets a Makeover

Douglas Moran — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:15:10 +0000

Aren't scanners supposed to be these big, clunky things that require a bunch of software to install, lot's of room on your desktop, and bright lights, whirring noised, and grinding sounds that alarm the crap out of you when all's you want to do is scan a lousy sheet of paper? Isn't that the way it's all supposed to be. Apparent doesn't think so; they have this wee tiny scanner that does all that with no muss, no fuss, and on pretty much any platform you can think of. With engineers working on nanotubes for building materials, and nanobots being designed for everything from medicine to tech, it's the age of the small, and Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

NGD: Dell Has Some Awesome Black Friday Deals for You!!

Dan Cohen — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:30:43 +0000

You didn't think Dell would miss being part of the Black Friday insanity did you? Well they aren't and the savings are HUGE. How HUGE? Check out some of these deals... Save over $900 on a Dell Latitude E6520 with a docking station, 21.5" flat panel display and stand. Save almost $700 on a Dell OptiPlex 990 Desktop with a 27" Viewsonic Monitor. Or get a 21.5" Dell UltraSharp widescreen monitor for just $209.

Check out all these New Gear Daily Deals right here.

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Soyntec’s Keyboard Open for Business 24 Hours a Day

Douglas Moran — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:15:50 +0000

Are you a nerdy nerd who likes to work in dark rooms? Do you have the color values on your screen reversed, so that it's light letters on a dark background? Do you curse the fact that Lenovo laptops have a down-light, but their keyboards aren't lighted? Well, maybe the new Soyntec keyboard is something you're looking for. All its keys are backlit so that you can use it in the dark. When you wake up in the middle of the night because your brain has finally solved that bug that's been driving you crazy for the last three weeks, hey, your work area will be ready even if your eyes can't handle you turning on Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Andrea SuperBeam Phones SB-405 Stereo Headset Review

Dan Cohen — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:00:30 +0000

If you are into voice recognition, then you need to have a good microphone. It's a basic fact of life. Yes, you can use the built-in microphone on the MacBook Air (for example), and you'll probably get good results. But if you want great results you'll need something that's going to help filter out the background noise; that means a good headset. Among the issues with such headsets? The best of them have boom microphones that make you look like a Bell telephone operator. Sure, this is all about getting the work done and dictating your text but what if there were a way to not look quite as dorky? That's what Andrea's new headphones make Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal: 21.5″ Dell 1080p IPS-panel Multi-touch LCD Monitor

Dan Cohen — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:20:42 +0000

Today's Gear Deal brings us the 21.5" Dell 1080p IPS-panel Multi-touch LCD Monitor. The monitor has a 21.5" multi-touch screen with an IPS panel and optical touch technology. It supports finger, stylus or input from any other pointer. With 1000:1 Contrast Ratio, 82% color Gamut (100% sRGB coverage), 250nit brightness, DVI, VGA and HDMI connectivity, built-in USB 2.0 hub, tilt adjustment capability and more it is a "full-service" monitor with the added benefit of touch. Normally $329.99 with this deal you can save $80. That brings the price down to $249.99. Better still, it will ship for free and comes with a 3 year warranty. Details and ordering information can be found here on the deal page Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

What’s ioSafe Planning for CES 2012? We Don’t Know but it is Gonna be Awesome!

Dan Cohen — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 02:00:35 +0000

ioSafe is at it again and this time they are looking to outdo themselves. (At least, we sure hope they are!) To recap our experiences with data-storage dynamos ioSafe... At CES 2010 ioSafe fried, soaked, dropped and crushed one of their rugged hard drives. As you can see, it was awesome. At CES 2011 ioSafe sought to outdo themselves when they took their new portable drive for a drag behind a car and then let us all take turns shooting it with a shotgun. Check it out here! Now we've been invited to the next demo, the "ioSafe Cage of Death Demolition 2012". Here's what we know.

This year we're not going to bore you with forefoot propane fireballs, 10 contractors, 12 gauge shotguns or fully automatic M-16s – oh no, that's so last year. We are flattered that other companies have followed our lead and now come to CES to show off their rugged(ish) stuff with dishwashers and paint ball guns – loaded with real paintballs! Meh!! Our demos are a little more extreme than that and come with a moneyback guarantee if you're not 100% satisfied. This is an entirely new demo with new products. We aim to please.

We pressed ioSafe's Brett Callow for more details but he wasn't talking. No way! No how! But this is what he would tell us: "If you have a weak heart, a fragile personality or an aversion to extremely high voltages – don't come to the demo." Oh we'll be there. On THAT you can be sure. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal: Planar 24″ 1080p LED-backlit Multi-touch LCD Monitor

Dan Cohen — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:59:16 +0000

We start the week with a deal on this 24" Planar 1080p LED-backlit Multi-touch LCD Monitor. Normally this monitor sells for $447.99 but thanks to our Gear Sponsor you can save $148 on it. That drops the price all the way down to $299.99 and it will even ship for free. And did we mention it is a multi-touch monitor?? Details and ordering information can be found here on the deal page. Gear Deal: Planar 24" 1080p LED-backlit Multi-touch LCD Monitor via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal: Planar 27″ 1080p LCD Monitor for $219.99

Dan Cohen — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:55:29 +0000

Today's Gear Deal brings us a 27" Planar 1080p LCD Monitor at a great price. It features a thin black bezel, HDMI connectivity, a 1200:1 Contrast Ratio, has built-in stereo speakers and more. Normally it sells for $469.99 but our Gear Sponsor has pointed us toward a $250 coupon code that drops the price down to just $219.99. Better still, the monitor will even ship for free. Details and ordering can be found here on the deal page. Gear Deal: Planar 27" 1080p 2ms LCD Monitor for $219.99 via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Woot!!! Here’s a Neat Deal on the Neat Desk

Dan Cohen — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:15:05 +0000

Woot has a great deal on the NeatDesk Desktop Scanner and Digital Filing System. It is just $249.99 + $5 shipping. Sure it is a refurbished unit but the system is awesome and this is a great price. We reviewed it a few months back and love it. Judie liked my review so much that she even bought one at full price ... You can grab the deal here on Woot. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

GreatUsefulStuff.com Helps You Eliminate Cord Clutter

Douglas Moran — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:15:48 +0000

My MacBook Pro has two USB Ports, one of which I have jacked in to a powered 1-6 multiport adapter. And it's still not enough. Cords, cords everywhere. If you're desk is anything like mine, you've got a god-awful amount of different cords snaking all over the durn place. Mini-USB. Micro-USB. The cords that connect my mini-Blu-ray to the MBP. The charging cord for my headset. On and on. And then comes that ever-popular problem: how the heck do I transport all these cords when I travel? Thank God that these days there are options. Like the Cord Box from GreatUsefulStuff.com. Nice box. Labels for the different cord types. Snaps shut for easy transport. Boxy shape Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal: Dell UltraSharp 27″ 2560 x 1440 LCD Monitor

Dan Cohen — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:40:57 +0000

Today's Gear Deal brings us Dell's 27" UltraSharp LCD Monitor. This isn't just any monitor. No, this monitor is not only large but it features a WQHD 2,560 x 1,400 resolution IPS panel, a 6ms grey-to-grey response time, an 8-in-1 card reader, 1 USB 2.0 upstream port, 4 USB 2.0 downstream ports, capacitive-touch switches for setup and more. The monitor accepts multiple video inputs including HDMI 1.3, DisplayPort, DVI, Component and Composite connections. Normally $1,099, our Gear Sponsor gave us the headsup on a $275 off coupon code that brings the price down to $824. It will even ship for free but hurry, the coupon only has a limited number of times it can Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal: Two (2) Dell ST2220M 21.5″ 1080p LED-backlit LCD Monitors

Dan Cohen — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:15:06 +0000

Today's Gear Deal brings with it the opportunity to jump into the world of using dual-monitors. The Dell ST2220M features DVI-D and VGA connectors, a tilt adjustable stand and a Kensington security port. With the deal our Gear Sponsor brought to us today you get two (2) of these 21.5" 1080p LED-backlit LCD Monitors for just $249.99. That's a savings of over $125! For details and ordering check out the deal page. Gear Deal: Two (2) Dell ST2220M 21.5" 1080p LED-backlit LCD Monitors via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

New Gear Daily Deal: Dell Vostro 3550 and a Dell 1350cnw Color Laser Printer

Dan Cohen — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:16 +0000

NGD Deal: Dell Vostro 3550 w/a 1350cnw Color Laser Printer

The Dell Vostro 3550 is 15.6" notebook with a High Definition LED Display (1366 x 768) with anti-glare. The notebook has Intel’s 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2410M processor at 2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz. It ships with 4GB2 DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz, a 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, an 8X DVD+/-RW with double-layer DVD+/-R write capability, a Fingerprint Reader with DigitalPersona software, a backlit keyboard with gesture touchpad and an integrated HD Webcam with a Digital Array Mic. To sweeten the deal the laptop ships with a Dell 1350cnw Network Color LED Laser-Class Printer. All of it can Continue reading on Gear Diary ...