Welcome to TechSaver, the newest category on Gearlog.com featuring the latest and hottest tech deals found online and at your local retailer. But wait a minute; didn't Gearlog already have a category like this called Cheap Geek? Yes, you're not going crazy, folks. But don't worry, our Cheap Geek posts aren't going away; in fact, you can expect even more cheap deals coming your way. So instead of just one helping of Cheap Geek each day, you'll get more, rebranded as TechSaver. Enjoy your extra savings starting today.
Just can't get enough Gearlog? We understand, we really do. That's why we made your favorite gadget blog available on the Kindle! For just $1.99 a month (oh, and you'll need a Kindle) you can subscribe to our blog and get continuous updates--full text and images--delivered to your device wirelessly.
Amazon offers free trial subscriptions for all its blogs, so you can give it a try for 14 days first.
What? Is it 2004 already? Yes, that's right, PCMag has taken a bold step into the early-to-mid-00s, with the launch of another podcast. The show is called After Hours. and it's co-hosted by Kyle Monson and yours truly. After Hours, which goes online Friday mornings, is a bit different than the PCMag Radio podcast: It's looser and (we'd like to think) on the funny side.
Why's it called After Hours? Well reader, I'm glad you asked. We literally record it on Thursday nights once everyone else has gone home, in the PCMag podcast studio/Lance's office--and there may or may not be beers involved. I can neither confirm not deny that last item.
Also, as some of you old-school PCMag readers may remember, After Hours was a section in the bygone era of PC Magazine's print existence, designed as a fun alternative to the rest of the magazine's coverage. Speaking of discontinued things, Gearlog Radio fans (both of you) will be happy to know that the "Hot Five in Five" segment has been resuscitated in After Hours.
Also of note is our theme music, recorded entirely by Kyle--using Rock Band instruments. Who said that game wasn't for serious musicians?
This new episode is actually the third. The first two--Pirates! and E-mail!--can be accessed at PCMag.com. Junior Labs analyst PJ Jacobowitz is our guest on the new episode, in which we talk about DSLRs and pocket camcorders. There's also a very special Mother's Day guest appearance by my mom. She was tough to book, but we managed to get her.
In honor of the new show--and the fact that it's Friday afternoon--I've made a quick list of some of my favorite podcasts. Not necessarily the biggest or the best, just the ones that I actually listen to on a regular basis. Enjoy, and feel free to contact us at afterhours@pcmag.com.
Hey Twitter users: follow @AppScout and @Gearlog to get blog updates sent straight to your Twitter feed! You can also follow @PCMag for updates on the best stuff from that site, and if you have a favorite tech writer at PCMag/AppScout/Gearlog, you'll probably find him/her in @PCMag's follow list.
Hey non-Twitter users: What're you doing here? Don't you know blogs are dead? Get on Twitter!
...for Best Technology Blog. Ah, so true! Seriously, we're excited and honored. Check that sweet logo in the upper left-hand corner of the home page. Click on it. And vote for us, please! Voting ends November 8.
Oh, and our newest sister-blog, GoodCleanTech, is also a nominee; incestuously, in the same category.
Nike + iPod Sport Kit or no, it looks like our old pal, the iPod Nano, hasn't seen its way to a treadmill in a while. Sure blogs like Engadget are in the business of running with every rumor, remotely plausible or not, but once Apple's lawyer's come knocking, asking them to take "spy shots" down (along with a handful of other notable blogs, like Gizmodo), it comes time to sit up and pay attention.
So, is this the new Nano? Maybe, maybe, not, but if Apple's plan was to extinguish the rumor mill, before it got out of hand, it's had the exact opposite effect. The image at left isn't the "leaked shot," but rather a mockup, created by Engadget. Still, it gives you a pretty good idea of what we're working with here.
Speculation has these portly little guys making their debut at Jobs' September 5th keynote.
It was August 2005 when I received an e-mail from former PCMag editor-in-chief Jim Louderback, predicting that Gearlog.com was going to be a great success. After winning the "Magazine Blog of the Year" award in Feb of this year, I'd say that Jim's prediction was spot-on.
As one of the original bloggers of Gearlog (Dan Costa and Carol Mangis hopped on the Gearlog train with me soon after the blog launched), I'm proud to say that we've survived two years of blogging about iPods, robots, and wacky USB devices.
Our very first Gearlog post was written on August 9, 2005 by David Coursey, a former PCMag freelancer, on a new ultralight tablet from Toshiba. What was my first Gearlog entry? The now defunct Sony AIBO Robotic Pup. Wow, hard to imagine!
Big thanks to our readers who visit Gearlog for the latest news, reviews, and rants in the technology world. We wouldn't be here without you.
PC Magazine makes history tonight! PC Magazine will be featured as a Jeopardy category during the college championship. I wonder what the clues will be in our 25 years of history?!
So set your DVR for tonight's episode of Jeopardy on ABC!! (I've already set it to record!)
Update (8:15pm): If you missed the show, click on through for the "answers" in the PC Magazine category to try your luck at them! The college students got all of them right except for one.
Well, my week of "Cool Geek" fame has ended. I'm a bit teary-eyed, but at least the folks at BornRich.org didn't send me away without a fun questionnaire to fill out. Some of the questions were a bit weird (which they did purposely since I'm the Weird Hunter), such as "Tell us the best way to cheat" and "Name the sexiest geek" to more serious questions like "Is technology really going green" and "What gives Gearlog the edge over other blogs."
Blogging Molly, Carol Mangis, and I are huge American Idol fans. In fact, we even have our own little pool going on each week, voting for who we think will be in the Bottom 3 and who's going home. Once we hear Daughtry's "Home" in the background of the results show, we're either disappointed that one of our faves is leaving, or questioning why the heck Sanjaya Malakar is still in the competition.
Let's face it: we all know that Sanjaya can't keep up with the other hopefuls. Of course, I'd rather listen to him than William Hung any day, but this is a singing competition, and many bogus fans are making a mockery of Idol. Why? Because they hate the show and want to see the worst person win. According to research firm Nielsen BuzzMetrics, talk of Sanjaya on various blogs has increased 338 percent from February 18 to April 8. Fox News reports that "Reality TV Magazine is the top blog in Sanjaya traffic, with 40 other blogs linking to its posts on the subject from January 1-April 8." So I guess this means that Gearlog can be added to that report!
And then there's that ridiculous Web site VoteForTheWorst.com. Seriously people, if you don't like the show, don't participate in voting. It only makes the true fans, like us, pissed! Go vote off a Survivor or dancing star, but leave our Idol alone!
Self-promotion doesn't hurt anyone, right? Over at BornRich.org--one of my favorite blogs that covers luxury tech--is featuring me, The Weird Hunter, as its "Cool Geek of the Week"!
Although I don't consider myself a full-fledged geek, I do display some geeky qualities that make me worthy of such a title. So go ahead--visit BornRich.org to check out photos and a bio about me. And feel free to ask me any questions, which will be answered in the blog's "RapidFire Round".
Does your job let you play with bleeding-edge technology and hang out with smart people all day? Mine does—and yours could too! We're looking for a "Junior Labs Analyst" to join us and lend a hand in our esteemed PC Magazine Labs. Our Labs are housed in an enormous static-free glass box of technology, where we put all the latest gear through its paces.
The job involves assisting our Lead Analysts with their product testing, keeping the equipment humming, and writing product reviews and blog posts. The perfect candidate will be based in the New York City area, have tons of tech know-how (especially regarding PC hardware and software), and preferably some tech-writing experience as well.
It's a cool job—just look at the picture! You'll see two PS3s (one "Test" unit, one shipping unit, naturally), two Xboxes, a Wii, a couple fancy PCs, and I think there's an Apple TV box in there somewhere, though PJ might be blocking it.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Magazine Publishers of America chose Gearlog as the Magazine Blog of the Year! The Magazine Blog of the Year category recognizes "creativity, voice, writing style, the use of hyperlinks and multiple voices to encourage a conversation." And Gearlog fans know that we're never at a loss for words!
The MPA Digital Awards took place today in New York City at the third annual "Magazines 24/7" Digital Conference. We beat out Newsweek.com, Seed Science Glogs "Frontal Cortex," Time Out New York "The TONY Blog," Wine Spectator "James Suckling," and FineWoodworking.com "Glue Tube".
Not only are we honored for receiving an award from the MPA, we are overjoyed to know that writing about USB pole dancers, mangroomers, and laser weaponsdoes matter. Thank you to the MPA and to our readers!
Viewers of Jeopardy may soon be hearing contestants answering PC Magazine topics in the form of a question and to those of us at PC Mag, its music to our ears. In honor of our 25th anniversary, the longtime running game show will be featuring a PC Magazine category later this year that will showcase our various accomplishments, reviews and major tech events and products that we've covered over the years. Jeopardy has long been a staple in our cultural consciousness and it feels fitting that after 25 years, we've carved our own iconic niche in both the tech and pop culture world.
Those of us here may sometimes seem like freewheeling tech cowboys and cowgirls, but underneath this veneer of gadget chasing, robot obsessing, tech crazed individual's lies a staff that's dedicated to giving our readers the finest in technology journalism. Now if only we could get that Jeopardy song out of our heads.
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Nike + iPod Sport Kit or no, it looks like our old pal, the iPod Nano, hasn't seen its way to a treadmill in a while. Sure blogs like Engadget are in the business of running with every rumor, remotely plausible or not, but once Apple's lawyer's come knocking, asking them to take "spy shots" down (along with a handful of other notable blogs, like
Well, my week of 
Blogging Molly, Carol Mangis, and I are huge 
Self-promotion doesn't hurt anyone, right? Over at 
