As is all but customary in September, Apple hosted a press event this week centered around its consumer music and media lines of products. iPods, iTunes, and the Apple TV were the order of the day today, and we got some surprises out of Apple as well.

For example, a new iPod Touch with a camera on the back had been widely leaked, mostly because a number of case manufacturers had put cases in their stores earlier than they probably should have that showed space in the back for a camera. We even saw square cases for what looked to be a square, fat iPod Nano, and the truth behind those leaks was revealed as well.

Apple’s culture of secrecy is starting to show a few cracks, but not really of Apple’s own doing – it’s just impossible to get as large as Apple is and have as many partners as Apple does and not have breaches here and there – especially when your company is so popular yet so secretive that people are actively looking and scouring the web for possible leaks and clues into what your next move will be.

With that being said, let’s dive into today’s announcements. All in all, there’s little that’s earth-shattering here, mostly updates and changes that are evolutionary and not revolutionary, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth getting excited over.

Continue reading Apple Music Event: New iPods, New iTunes, New AppleTV!…

Our friends down under in Brisbane, Australia have a fantastic little hangout for geeks and gamers alike called the Mana Bar: Australia’s first video game themed bar! Events and parties held at the venue will have video game themes, and all of the house special cocktails are all named after video game characters, titles, places, and so on. For example, you can just as easily walk up to the bar and order a Princess Peach as you can order a martini, but if you’re feeling daring you can walk up and order a Mana Potion or a Health Potion if you need a little refreshment, or even a Purple Tentacle if you’re feeling a little ecchi.

Also, going to the Mana Bar doesn’t mean you just drink tasty beverages inspired by your favorite video games, it means you get to play some of your favorite video games as well! The games rotate out every month, and the bar has on-site XBox 360s, PlayStation 3s, Nintendo Wiis, and even downloadable titles for people with handheld game consoles! If you have a bit more money to spend, you can walk up to the bar, order your next drink, and buy a video game right there on the spot as well.

Before you head out though, check out the dress code page: leave your shorts and thongs at home (unless you’re in cosplay, in which case the Mana Bar apparently welcomes you!) and don’t forget to invite Pikachu! Now, if only I can get down there in time for Steampunk Saturday…

[ The Mana Bar ]

If you’re as much of a fan of iSkin as I am, you’ll be thrilled about their most recent promotion: they’re planning to give away an 3G, 64GB iPad to one lucky back-to-school student, and they’re including a dock, cleaning cloth, messenger bag, and an iSkin Vu to keep it safe!

I was about to enter the contest, but when they asked if I was actually going back to school this fall, I didn’t have the heart to lie. I suppose I could take some classes…

Still, don’t let my folly stop you – head on over and enter the contest! I’ll be jealous if you win!

[ iSkin :: Back to School Contest ]

Every year, the folks over at PC Mag put together their list of the Top 100 Web Sites of the year, and while it’s not one of those reader-submitted types of roundups (which generally result in the same list of sites year over year), it’s always interesting and a good solid mix of both classic sites that everyone is (or should be) using for their day to day activities on the Web and undiscovered sites that will likely make a huge difference for the folks who are seeing them for the first time.

Among some of the interesting sites on this years list are a few that I find particularly interesting like Critical Past and LocalDirt, the former a site that has thousands of hours of stock historical footage and the latter a site that’s designed to help you find farmer’s markets, co-ops, and CSAs in your area. Some of the classics? The venerable Lifehacker, GDGT, and Epicurious. Best of all, you can download all of the top 100 sites as a file to add to your browser’s bookmarks easily at the end of the article.

[ PC Mag :: Top 100 Web Sites of 2010 ]

The original Motorola Droid was an amazing device (full disclosure: I own one and love it, so I’m a little biased) and here we are less than a year later and Motorola has already end-of-lifed the original Motorola Droid and has unveiled its successor, the Droid 2!

The new version of the Droid will look much like the original – the same screen size, same 5-megapixel camera, and with a slide-out keyboard, but the new version will eliminate the d-pad on the original Droid (a lot of people disliked it – I don’t mind it so much, I just don’t use it often) in exchange for a wider keyboard with higher keys, and will sport a faster 1GHz mobile processor in it, a substantial upgrade from the 600Mhz processor in the original Droid.

Additionally, the Droid 2 will come with Android version 2.2 “Froyo,” which is rolling out to existing Droid devices as we speak, have its wi-fi hotspot feature turned on (for an extra $20/month to Verizon Wireless) that lets your other mobile devices use your phone as a wireless base station, and a bit more onboard storage that will hopefully also improve performance.

I’ve mentioned before that Verizon Wireless has come a long long way, baby, and this is more evidence to the fact. Verizon isn’t as afraid to put high-end premier devices on their networks as they used to be, and their speedier hardware approval process has put them in the driver’s seat when it comes to top notch devices. The Droid 2 is available now in Verizon Stores and online, and if you’re a Star Wars fan, there’s a special R2-D2 version of the Droid 2 coming next month!

[ PC Mag :: Verizon, Motorola Introduce Droid 2 ]

Obviously I’m more of a “build it, don’t buy it” kind of guy, especially when it comes to a gaming rig. I’d rather spend more on quality components that I research and choose myself and then put the whole package together on my own than trust another company’s decision-making on which components to skimp on and which are worth investing in.

Admittedly, that approach isn’t for everyone! If it’s right for you, however, the fine folks at ExtremeTech have a guide for you on how to build the right gaming PC for your budget – whatever that budget may be! The article is a series of lists of components you can pick up and put together at different price points. If you have $500 to spend? There’s a gaming rig you can assemble for that. Maybe you have twice that much – there’s a section on building a gaming PC for $1,000! What could you get if you had a few more dollars to spend than that? $1,250 it is.

Head on over and take a look at the full roundup – just in time for back-to-school shopping!

[ ExtremeTech :: Build the Best Gaming PC for Any Budget ]

Don’t forget that if you’re a big Facebook fan, you can keep up with Gears and Widgets over there without having to load us up separately! Head over to the Gears and Widgets Facebook page and like us in order to get new posts delivered directly to your Facebook news feed!

[ Gears and Widgets: Facebook Fan Page ]

Fans of Google’s Android mobile phone operating system have a lot to cheer about, as the NPD just announced that in the United States, Android devices outsold Apple’s iPhone and Research in Motion’s (RIM) Blackberry phones for the first time ever. The race had been largely between Apple and RIM with RIM still in the top spot, but Android’s had the wind under its wings in the last few months with several strong devices launching across multiple carriers from multiple hardware manufacturers.

Here’s a little snippet lifted from PC Mag, who covered the story:

During the second quarter, about 33 percent of new smartphone purchases were for Android-based phones, compared to 28 percent for BlackBerry, and 22 percent for Apple’s iPhone.

“For the second consecutive quarter, Android handsets have shown strong but slowing sell-through market share gains among U.S. consumers,” Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD, said in a statement. “While the Google-developed OS took market share from RIM, Apple’s iOS saw a small gain this quarter on the strength of the iPhone 4 launch.”

The most popular Android phones were the Motorola Droid, the HTC Droid Incredible, the HTC EVO 4G, the HTC Hero, and the HTC Droid Eris.

A number of folks *coughcoughMASHABLEcoughcough* are incorrectly headlining this news as “Android is number one now,” which is only true if you apply the conditions of sales during Q2 2010 and sales in the United States only – it’s important to note that in the rest of the world, the battle is really a three-way between the ever-dominant Nokia and their Symbian OS which has never really caught on in the US and Canada and two upstarts named RIM and Apple.

Even in the United States more broadly and outside of Q2 2010, RIM is still on top and Apple is still number 2, but Android is making a very strong showing – and the longer Apple remains locked in to a single carrier (one that no one likes, at that), the worse off they’ll be.

[ PC Mag :: Android Tops RIM for First Time in Q2 ]

If you’re running Windows 7, you’re probably right about at that stage where you still love the operating system, would never dream of going back to Windows Vista or Windows XP, but you may not be fully aware yet of all of the tricks and bells and whistles that the operating system has under the hood that can really help you in your day to day computing.

Thankfully PC Mag has this fantastic roundup of 50 tips that can help you really squeeze all of the power and juice out of Windows 7 that you could possibly need, and some of them are enough to make you want to upgrade to Windows 7 if you’re sitting on an older OS for some reason or another.

Among the tips are ways to make sure your system is performing at its peak, and others allow you to tweak and customize the look and feel of the OS so it’s just right for what you do most often. Best of all, a number of the tips work for just about every operating system in some way or fashion, so head over and take a look!

[ PC Mag :: 50 Ways to Make the Most of Windows 7 ]

One of the things I’ve spent the past couple of weeks working on has been a comprehensive roundup of some of the summer’s hottest new keyboards, including models from Logitech, Microsoft, Eclipse, and Matias. Logitech’s new Fantasy Collection is affordable, attractive, and aimed at people who want to personalize their workspaces without shelling out a ton of money. Microsoft’s new Arc Special Edition is a media center keyboard with sharp looks, a nice curved design (perfect for lap and couch use) and a tiny receiver, the Matias USB Keyboard + Smartphone Stand comes with a space to rest your phone and a powered USB hub, and the high tech Eclipse Litetouch Keyboard offers sharp looks and a high tech LCD keypad on the right side of the keyboard with customizable function buttons!

I tested each one of the keyboards over the course of several months, and when all was said and done, I had some pretty strong opinions about them all – some of the more than others. Head over to check out the review and leave me a comment either here or there: I’m curious to hear what you think!

[ Tom's Guide :: Keyboards of Summer - 4 New Keyboards, Tested ]