Gear Diary » Spoof

First Look at Apple’s New Pen Based Tablet!

Michael Anderson — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 21:00:10 +0000

With Steve Jobs no longer guiding the helm of day-to-day operations at Apple, it was unclear what would become of the company. Would they manage to continue to produce innovative technologies like the Apple ][ and Macintosh ... or would they succumb to producing generic grey-box computers that look like everything else on any given desktop workplace? Well, based on a product introduction held in London (you can see the video for it here), we know that Apple will not give up its industry-leading technology advancement position anytime soon! Here is the product - called 'Newton', this device allows you to use a pen-like stylus to interact with a software system and Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Work Gear Review: Parker 51

Dan Cohen — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 20:00:23 +0000

Every now and then a product comes along that is, to use a word, magical. The new item does something new and, in doing so, promises to "change everything". That's the case with the brand new Parker 51. The Parker 51 is not like anything you have seen before. It promises to solve many of the issues that have a long plagued those of us who use a traditional fountain pen. It employs brand new technology and is a taste of the future, NOW. At least that is what Parker is telling us. Does it live up to the hype? Let's take a closer look Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Music Diary Notes: The Brave New World of Digital Music

Michael Anderson — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 19:00:29 +0000

I have talked a lot about business models in the music industry, about popular, indie and niche genres, sales trends, and more ... but today I have the great fortune to talk about an invention that will undoubtedly revolutionize the world or recorded music: 'digital' music stored on a 'compact' disk. What is this all about? Let me tell you! Digital Music We live in a world of digits - all of the information on our mainframes and personal computers and even our pocket calculators are stored as a series of 1's and 0's. This 'binary' format can represent just about anything, if you can afford the bits! For example, the screen Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Games News: Basilisk Games Announces Eschalon: Book Zero

Michael Anderson — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 18:15:22 +0000

I give indie games developers loads of coverage - they are hard-working, dedicated, and customer-focused, providing a service to long-time gamers that EA and others have long since abandoned. One such developer is Thomas Riegsecker of Basilisk Games. I love his Eschalon games, and am hotly anticipating the release of Book III. But today Thomas surprised everyone by going back the series origins and introducing Eschalon Book Zero. And while the other games have targeted the gamer who has a love for the classic PC RPGs such as Baldur's Gate and Wizardry, the new game targets another abandoned gamer - the classic console gamer. As each new console generation comes along, the old Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Games Review: Atari C-100 Pong Home System

Michael Anderson — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:00:43 +0000

As anyone who has whiled away the hours playing Dungeon or Trek on your PDP-10 or S/360 knows - video games are fast becoming a BIG DEAL! Atari has caught on to this phenomenon, and already released the exciting Pong arcade game a couple of years back. But now they are ready to take it to the next level - with the C-100 Pong console they are bringing all the thrill of pong into your HOME! The Hype: Pong is a two-dimensional sports game that simulates table tennis. The player controls an in-game paddle by moving it vertically across the left side of the screen, and can compete against either a computer controlled opponent Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gu Energy Announces “DermaCharge” Topical Electrolytes

Carly Z — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:30:27 +0000

I am training for a half-marathon that's coming up like a freight train (three weeks!) So I am on the prowl for easy to use energy food while on my long runs and during the race. Unfortunately, many energy gels upset my stomach, so imagine how excited I was to see that Gu Energy has a new line of osmos-based energy gels! Now I won't need to worry about water to wash down a gel, or get my hands all sticky trying to eat and run! Here's an excerpt explaining all the science behind skin-based energy gels, though I strongly encourage you to visit Gu's official DermaCharge site. They are giving away a trial of their Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

First Look: The Omega Constellation Time Computer I Takes Horology to a Whole New Level

Judie Stanford — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:00:47 +0000

It just doesn't get any better than this! Geeks and Watch aficionados alike have been eagerly waiting the Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology found in the Omega Time Computer, and it is finally here -- just in time for Father's Day and graduation! Available in 14K white or yellow gold-filled, or 18K solid gold for those who want the very best, the Omega Constellation LED Time Computer I has a gorgeous and futuristic red LED dot display, and it is accurate to within five seconds a month. What is an LED and how does it work inside this watch?

A light emitting diode is a semiconductor diode. The dimensions are

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Exclusive: Fire Goes Mobile! This is Hot!

Dan Cohen — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:15:01 +0000

Fire! It cooks our food and warms our caves. Fire! It keeps the predators away and let's us see when the flaming ball of light goes away for a time. Fire! It can be hard to start and, once going, an ever-present job to keep stoked. Fire! We don't want to live without it but living with it can be a pain. Until now! Yes, for the first time starting a fire is as simple as rubbing one magic stick on a piece of black paper. It is magical. It is revolutionary. It is the most important Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Review: Paperback Books

Carly Z — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:00:41 +0000

There's been a huge leap forwards in book technology, and here at Gear Diary we have an exclusive first look! It's exciting, it's svelte and pocketable, it's shiny and colorful and new...yes, I'm talking about the paperback book! Sure, we're all familiar with the usual hardcovers and scrolls, but this is a breakthrough. Now you can carry two, even three titles with you for the same space and weight as a hardcover title. But is the smaller size and convenience worth the tradeoff against the heft and comforting size of a hardcover? Read on to find out! My first impression upon opening the review sample Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

First Look: I-Mate JAM Pocket PC

Dan Cohen — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:30:06 +0000

I have seen the future of mobile phones and it comes from... Dubai!?!? Yes, this phone comes from the up-and-comer I-mate, a company that is set to take the mobile world by storm and promises to be on top for decades to come. When I first took the Jam out of the box I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking at. Is it a big phone or is it a small computer? Well, in actuality it is both. The i-mate™ JAM is

the smallest Windows Pocket PC available. It includes GPRS for Internet or remote office access, and features Bluetooth, Windows Pocket PC Second Edition, 64MB RAM, an SDIO/MMC slot, a 64k colour transreflective

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

New Calculator, “The Abacus” Announced!

Carly Z — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:30:58 +0000

It never fails. You're taking the lunch order for your office, and everything is fine until the total runs past $20. Suddenly you can't just use YOUR fingers and toes, now you need to include your coworkers dirty feet too. And who wants to be near that many stinky toes right before lunch? Luckily, a non-fingers and toes based calculator has been announced, the "Abacus". Way more portable than a stone slate, and you can even customize with multiple colors! Support your favorite March Madness team as you add! Check out the link below for some more information, and then tell us in the comments: how much are you drooling over all that sweet computing power? Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Revealed- Jeff Bezo’s Amazon Shopping Cart On iPad Launch Day

Dan Cohen — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:22:57 +0000

While Judie, Larry and I were ordering our iPads earlier today, Carly was watching Amazon.com. She was curious what, if anything, Amazon might do in response to the iPad's pre-order going live. This was especially the case since it turns out the iPad does something awesome for eBooks.

Turn it from portrait to landscape and... bam... you get two facing pages- just like the "dead tree edition".

Carly's comment, "I sure hope this puts a fire under Amazon for the next Kindle."

Well that got me thinking. I did some research and... discovered that Amazon.com got an order shortly after the iPad went online from none other than the big guy himself.

For a peek into what might be going on at Amazon.com's head office check out this exclusive picture...

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Android, AT&T and…Yahoo?

Carly Z — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:30:22 +0000

(underlying image courtesy Haunted Ventures)

Ever since the Droid landed at Verizon, everyone has wondered when AT&T would embrace the cuddly green robot phones. When it was announced that the Motorola Backflip, a rather unusual cousin to the Cliq, would be the first Android phone to hit the Deathstar AT&T, it sounded intriguing. It certainly would catch people's eyes with it's funky keyboard placement; no one is mistaking it for an iPhone wannabe! But there's something different about the Backflip beyond the keyboard...it won't be using Google for search. Nope. AT&T took a long, hard look at Android, at the obvious Google connections, and opted to use the logical choice in search providers: Yahoo! Well, it makes sense if you are AT&T and use insane troll logic! What could AT&T have been thinking? I polled some of the flies on the wall that were present during the brainstorming session with Darth Vader AT&T executives, and here's the scoop. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Sunday Funnies…

Dan Cohen — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:15:30 +0000

Worried about AT&T's connectivity after the iPad starts gobbling up its already strained network? Yeah, me too...

Thanks to my friend, graphic artist Rich Awad for taking the kernel of an idea and putting it into this visual Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

When Fanboys Get Nexus Ones…

Dan Cohen — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:51:32 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

So Larry and I both have Nexus Ones to play with... and we are rather impressed thus far. Still, we aren't getting rid of our iPhones any time soon and, no matter how nice the Nexus One may be we are still fanboys at heart...

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Dedicated eBook Readers (part 1) – A Gear Diary Point/Counter-Point

Dan Cohen — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:15:51 +0000

Carly and I have been talking... okay.. more accurately arguing... about the virtues of dedicated e-book readers. She says they make total sense. I say they are a form of "transitional gadget" that is good for now but obsolete within a short period of time. A complete discussion is on the way in the next day or two but we thought we might share just a bit of what has been taking place between us...

Click here to view the embedded video.

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Larry Greenberg Unboxes… April Fools On December 16

Dan Cohen — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:30:01 +0000

It all started innocently enough. Thomas was traveling in Thailand. He emailed Judie and Dan and asked- "You think I should get Larry a 'Hello Kitty' iPhone case?" But here's the thing... HE ASKED JUDIE AND DAN! You think we would just leave it at that? (If you answered "Yes." you don't know us very well.) It took off from there. Thomas bought a bunch of odd iPhone cases, Dan created a company called "Case Distribution International" and set up a gmail account for it. The three of us wrote Larry a letter that read-

Mr. Larry, We have seen your YouTube videos and were hoping you would be interested in working with us. We are a small company that is trying to break into the crowded iPhone case market. We are specialize in low-cost, interesting case designs. We have a few cases we are starting with and will then expand. We will also launch website in next weeks. We would like to send them to you in the coming days and hope you will choose to review them. If you are interested please send mailing address and we will ship. Please let us know when they have been posted. Sincerely CDI CaseDistributionInternational

Judie hit "send" and off we went. Well the cases came today and Dan made sure to have Larry do the unboxing on Skype. Here it is.. enjoy... Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Yup, There’s An App For Crap, On The iPhone

Dan Cohen — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:24:51 +0000

Apps apps and more apps. The App Store is a hit! While there are so many amazing apps in the App Store we all know there are also an astonishing number that are... well, if we are going to be blunt... CRAP. The proliferation of fart apps was bad enough. 100 fart sounds... 500 farts sounds... even an app for 5000 body sounds. Who comes up with this crApp??? More recently we've seen numerous apps that show scantily clad women as the iPhone goes soft-core. (A number of us had a good time ranting on one earlier in the week... post coming soon.) And then there is the app we learned about today... it takes crApp Apps to a whole new level. The Poo Log Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

The Latest from Macworld…

Judie Stanford — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:31:21 +0000

Will you be buying one? ;-) Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard Thanks Julie! Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Derrie Air: Per Pound Airline Tickets – (humor)

Wayne Schulz — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:10:57 +0000

Two newspapers in Philadelphia published ads for a new airline called Derrie-Air which was supposed to be charging passengers by the pound. While it's an interesting concept, the ads were fake and part of a test by the newspapers advertising agency to create buzz and "put a smile on people's faces"

Visitors to the airline site learn that Derrie-Air is the world's only carbon-neutral luxury airline, and it justifies its fare policy by saying that it takes more fuel to move heavier objects. The carrier pledges to plant trees to offset every pound of carbon its planes release into the atmosphere. Derrie-Air's sample rates range from $1.40 per pound to fly from Philadelphia to Chicago to $2.25 per pound to

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Prank of The Day: Missile Balloons Chase Truck

Wayne Schulz — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:35:45 +0000

This picture is an oldie but goodie. How cool would it be to trail these down the highway in your town. I'm sure in most states it's illegal to tow balloons at 85 mph. Doesn't make it any less funny Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Don’t Be Fooled: Researching Urban Legends

Wayne Schulz — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 12:31:00 +0000

This morning we laughed at an email about a groom who stood up and exposed his cheating bride to 300 reception guests. Have you received this one too? Doubting the validity (though not the humor ) I quickly went online to see if this funny story was true. Keep reading for the story and whether it's true. More importantly I'll show you where to sniff out urban legends and keep from forwarding prank stories to 100s of your email friends ....only to receive angry replies calling you stupid for believing that Bill Gates, Microsoft and AOL would give away money to anyone who forwards an email to 100 of their friends.

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

“Somewhere in the air is the Internet!”

Kerry Woo — Wed, 09 May 2007 04:37:02 +0000

Ok students, hat tip to TechieDiva for this gem: What exactly is the Internet? Webopedia says: "The Internet is a massive network of networks, a networking infrastructure. It connects millions of computers together globally, forming a network in which any computer can communicate with any other computer as long as they are both connected to the Internet. Information that travels over the Internet does so via a variety of languages known as protocols." Most of the time it's confused with the Web, but the Internet is actually the hardware-Web is software. But who better to explain the Internet, than America's Next Top Bubblehead, Jessica Simpson.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

You have to learn computers!

Kerry Woo — Tue, 08 May 2007 00:02:43 +0000

Computer technology can be so overwhelming! There's Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac or PC, Broadband or DSL, will that be cash or charge... oh my, the choices and the verbiage - even for us seasoned computer users - are so overwhelming! We love helping people with computer technology; but for some folks (bless their hearts) they need to start at the basics. "You Have To Learn Computers," the Rafael Alonso I.T.F Technical Computer Institute is a good place to start! (I wish I started there!)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to GeekSugar for the hook up Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Do It For The Children

Allen Hong — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 18:01:42 +0000

Are you aware that there are many unfortunate children desperately in need of an iPod? Watch this video to find out how you can help...

Click here to view the embedded video.

This excellent video starring Eve Park, aka Geek Girl, has got to be one of the best and funniest spoofs I have ever seen. :-D Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Knock Knock: Having Trouble Expressing How You Feel?

Kerry Woo — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 08:02:11 +0000

We run into a lot of scenarios in our lives that stir up our emotions - good, bad or indifferent that demand a response. Sometimes an apology needs to be issued, or clarification is needed. As hard as some of us try to manage our time to multitask and accomplish the daily chores that must get done without some schmuck cutting off in traffic, or having a worthless coworker failing to pass along some vital information, words fail us. Hey, we”ve all been there as either a giver or receiver. Communication can be tough at times! For those times when I wish I had signed up for the professional mind reading seminar to understand the opposite sex or when a Curly moment (from the Three Stooges) kicks in: "I'm trying to think but nothing happens!"... I just need a little help. Fortunately an innovative set of tools is available to help express our emotions and relieve that inner turmoil ! Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Brilliantly Viral

Judie Stanford — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 01:09:54 +0000

The DoS Clan posted their first "Athena Heist" video last week, sparking speculation that this was the introduction of a new vial campaign. Well, of course it was, and now there is a second and third installment. 2 and 3 are on the full page. So watch and enjoy...

Click here to view the embedded video.

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

The Trouble with Treos…..

Mitchell Oke — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 03:33:17 +0000

I left the room for a minute, and I guess my Palm got lonely.

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Get An iPhone Right Now!

Allen Hong — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 20:23:26 +0000

With the iPhone release at 137 days off (and counting), I have discovered a way that Apple fans can have a iPhone in their hands today and for FREE! Yes, thats right you can get a iPhone right now by clicking here. ;-)

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

L E X Announces His Pocket PC Alarm Fix

Judie Stanford — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 16:23:46 +0000

[Ed. note: I received this email today, perhaps the mentioned fix will be helpful to Gear Diary readers.] Hi Judie,

I just submitted this article to PocketPC Thoughts, but so what if you post it first?� :-)

I'm one frustrated PPC user with the continued inability of WM5 to reliably sound reminder alarms. I've created a unique, foolproof OS fix and the attachment says it all. It is thus far, the only way to have reliable reminder alarms from a WM device. L e x -=-=-=-=- Continue reading on Gear Diary ...