Judie Lipsett's Comments

Gear Diary : Quirky Announces... The Space Bar, Desk Organizer with Built-In USB Ports

Sun, 7 Mar 2010 15:26:07 +0000

MC - Dan copied the press release verbatim at the end of his writeup, and if people had pre-ordered, they would have scored a spectacular deal - "This week ends the development of The Space Bar and it is now available for sale in sets of three at quirky’s online store for $42.00." It was a total case of "You snooze, you lose." :-)

Gear Diary : Review: The Hug Wireless Charging System by Case-Mate

Sat, 6 Mar 2010 19:58:06 +0000

I still wish an extended battery could be added to the case/charger since it has to be thicker anyway, but that won't keep me from ordering on Monday. Looks interesting! :-)

Gear Diary : Barbie gets anniversary bug

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:00:27 +0000

Silly! ;-)

Gear Diary : The Ectaco jetBook Universal Portable Reading Device Review

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 03:11:52 +0000

I agree that the lack of delays and "splashes" in a VGA screen is very attractive, but E Ink and VGA don't look quite the same. Note my picture of the jetBook's screen next to the Kindle 2's... http://www.geardiary.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/... With that said: It's very cool that you have a jetBook. Since you do, would you mind answering a couple of questions? Are you located in the US or another country? Does it bother you that you can't currently legally download bestsellers? Do you think that there are any other PROS that I missed? Have you discovered any other CONS that you would care to share?

Gear Diary : The Ectaco jetBook Universal Portable Reading Device Review

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:34:13 +0000

Absolutely. For even less money you could buy a used HTC Universal and get a 4" color VGA screen with over-the air eBook download capability in one of the supported Pocket PC formats. If you want VGA and don't mind the smaller screen, it's not a bad deal. You would also have the added bonus of being able to surf, as well as handle text messages and email from the same device.

Gear Diary : The Ectaco jetBook Universal Portable Reading Device Review

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:00:35 +0000

The only thing that I think might make the Ectaco a contender would be geographical limitations of the Kindle and Sony stores, and the language support that the jetBook offers. Unless I am mistaken, the jetBook is one of the few eReaders that will support Russian, Polish, and all the other Asian / European languages, as well as their popular eBook formats (ie .fb2). It is also available for purchase worldwide. This would be a significant PRO for someone in a country other than the US, who can't buy a Kindle or Sony Reader, or who won't because they feel excluded by their geo-centric stores. It's easy to forget that not everyone has the same access to these devices and stores that we enjoy in North America...

Gear Diary : The Ectaco jetBook Universal Portable Reading Device Review

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:48:44 +0000

It actually reminds me of the Kindle 1, but I think the Ectaco is better looking.

Gear Diary : The Ectaco jetBook Universal Portable Reading Device Review

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:42:03 +0000

Dan, I agree with every point you made. And Chris, It certainly didn't make me regret my purchase... :-)

Gear Diary : BlackBerry Pearl user describes the Storm upgrade experience

Sun, 8 Mar 2009 16:02:22 +0000

Yes, that's our faster-loading mobile browser edition. At the bottom of that page is a link to display the regular full graphics version. :-)

Gear Diary : An HP Mini 2140 Mini Post

Sun, 8 Mar 2009 14:31:49 +0000

Sorry I missed your post, but here's the fix: (doing it on an XP box, so adjust for Vista as needed) Right click/ Properties/ Settings/ Advanced/ Monitor/ UNCLICK "Hide Modes that this monitor cannot display"/ Click Apply/ Click OK In the Settings Tab Change Screen Resolution to something higher Install printer driver Right click/ Properties/ Settings/ Advanced/ Monitor/ CLICK "Hide Modes that this monitor cannot display"/ Click Apply/ Click OK All done! :-)

Gear Diary : The HTC Touch HD One Month Later

Sun, 8 Mar 2009 13:39:33 +0000

My Advice: if you can wait, wait a little while longer. I think you would have a steeper period of adjustment going from the Motorola Q's candybar form factor with always available keyboard to a capacitive screen's virtual keyboard. Even though the eye candy of the larger screen and updated operating system would almost make up for it, I think when you were answering texts or email you would regret the decision - unless you are really ready for a change. Have you seen this? http://blogs.zdnet.com/cell-phones/?p=815 Mmmmmm...Maple! ;-)

Gear Diary : The HTC Touch HD One Month Later

Sun, 8 Mar 2009 13:15:16 +0000

Good catch Chris! I didn't realize that Australia's Telstra had their own version with specs that would make it compatible with US 3G. Verrry Interesting! :-D

Gear Diary : Spring Forward Tonight

Sun, 8 Mar 2009 00:20:35 +0000

Ah, nice find Deni, and a fascinating read! Thanks for posting. :-)

Gear Diary : Amazon's Kindle App for iPhone and Kindle Books support Color

Fri, 6 Mar 2009 14:03:23 +0000

True - the B&N angle gives them a little bit of breathing room, but I really think that without lowering their prices, their days are numbered. Colored e-Ink technology has been out there since at least 2005, so hopefully cost effectiveness is coming. If Amazon can get it on a 4th or 5th generation Kindle, it would be amazing! http://www.inkinmotion.com/press/releases/pr86.ht...

Gear Diary : The Nokia N85's Killer App

Fri, 6 Mar 2009 13:45:11 +0000

Yep, the Neuros was totally ahead of the curve because they added a FM transmitter. When I did that review it was definitely a huge PRO.

Gear Diary : Amazon's Kindle App for iPhone and Kindle Books support Color

Fri, 6 Mar 2009 12:14:58 +0000

Soooo...I see this as one more nail in eReader's coffin. If Amazon makes the Kindle software available for Windows Mobile and Palm, then I suspect that eReader's days will be numbered - unless they (finally) make their prices more competitive. Note to self: back up eReader library and make sure that I have readers for every platform downloaded...just in case.

Gear Diary : Amazon Kindle for iPhone now available

Wed, 4 Mar 2009 13:35:19 +0000

This is amazing, and so sudden! :-)

Gear Diary : An HP Mini Note Webcam Fix On the Way?

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 14:15:48 +0000

You are correct that I dropped the ball on this. Julie (www.the-gadgeteer.com) has both a Vivienne Tam edition like mine and a regular black Mini Note. She is going to get screensnaps of the webcam picture from each this evening. I will get a picture from mine. Granted, this won't be as controlled a test as it would have been if I had all three laptops here together, but I think you will easily be able to see a significant difference. With the film removed, the webcam on my Tam is as bright and usable as the ones on my Macbook Air and Macbook Pro.

Gear Diary : An HP Mini Note Webcam Fix On the Way?

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 14:03:10 +0000

I totally understand that HP would not want customers to crack open their own laptops to perform this fix and possibly void their warranty, but saying that the film was "purposely placed there during production" raises more questions than it answers. 1. What purpose does the film provide? 2. Why does removing the film fix dim light issues? Understandably, the Mini Note starts at just $450 or so, and it is a budget laptop. But HP put a webcam on it, so it only makes sense that people buying this series should be able to expect a usable webcam. No one is necessarily asking for high performance - they just want usable. The Tam edition's MSRP starts at $699, and many of the people who buy one may or may not care that the webcam doesn't work properly, but those who do want to use the webcam are going to be sorely disappointed when they realize that can't find a spot in their home or Starbucks that is well lit enough to make them visible, much less look good. If removing the film makes the camera more usable, then why was it put there there in the first place?

Gear Diary : Unboxing the Amazon Kindle 2

Sun, 1 Mar 2009 16:25:25 +0000

Doug, try turning off the radio when you don't actively need it. As I recall, that made a huge difference on the first one, and I am doing that with this one with great battery life results. The image showing when it is turned off draws no power (to the best of my knowledge), but the radio being on definitely will.