Gear Patrol

More and more, men and women are looking online — not just for books and flat-screen TVs — for companionship. Much like they’re shopping online, these guys and gals scroll through page after page of potential partners. But we’re not talking about straightforward online dating here. On the sites we’re talking about, users are looking specifically for who’s rich, who’s hot and who’s able to keep a secret. In this special report, we decrypt the pay-to-play world of digital get-downs.

We’ve all got one. Maybe it’s you: The mediaphile in the family who’s impossible to shop for because he has it all and he’s seen it all — twice. His TV? Projected. His surround sound? 9.2. His wardrobe? Needs work. His love of movies and music has been fueled in the past by those enabling…

It seems like everybody’s jumping on the social media bandwagon (some more logically than others). Canon’s decided to take a shot too with their curiously named, cloud-based storage service Project 1709. Currently in beta testing, this online photo warehouse places heavy emphasis on UI and sports the ever-popular tile layout (cough, Flickr) for quick viewing,…

Let’s face it. Unless you carry around an AmEx of the black variety, most travel services wind up tendering sub-par services and useless bonuses. Not so with Valet, the wayfaring brainchild of co-founders Josh Spear and Aaron Rutledge. Blame it on our self-reliant approach to travel, but we can’t think of a single service in…

YBUY.com is a new Netflix-like service for gadgets that lets members “try” an array of home electronics before committing to purchasing them. Simply sign up for the $25 per month subscription service and then pick any product offered on the site. YBUY will then mail it to you free of charge, and allow you to…

If you like your watches as much as we do then you’ll want to point your browsers over to the new HODINKEE. A drastic departure from the previous design, the daily dose of all that’s great in wristwatches has introduced an all-new site complete with magazine-style cover images, beautiful typography (glad to see someone still…

With the trappings of pure genius — coffee, interesting cars, and Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David — Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, is such a refreshing take on comedy that we think it might just be one of the best things we’ve watched since the first season of Louie. Entirely free of plot, of course,…

Need some high style and good design in your life today? Then head on over to Selectism, and its must-bookmark brother, High Snobiety. Our good friends have ensured your otherwise mundane day of RSS-reader clicking will be remarkably improved by visiting their new digs, which feature an all-new design, full-screen galleries, turbo-fast performance, handsome typography…

The Vimeo Awards Thursday night kicked off Vimeo’s 2012 Festival weekend in New York with a goofy, off-the-wall bang. In attendance at the NYU Skirball Center were some of your Gear Patrol compadres, lending nicely into the creative sandwich of talented and upcoming filmmakers. We missed the red carpet, but managed to land ringside seats…

Yes, you’re right, there’s more than enough travel booking sites on the Internet, but if we could just hold your attention for a few seconds, you may want to check out Superfly. Its unique engine uses all of your various travel account info when searching for flights, hotels and ground transportation to help locate the…

Unless you’re a serious editor, investing the time and money to learn Avid or Final Cut can be a boondoggle, but now you don’t have to. WeVideo (Free+) is a simple video editing application that handles all your basic movie-making needs, and has three things going for it the big guys don’t: it’s online, it’s…

Having a hard time getting a seat in Yountville? Instead of constantly hitting the redial button for reservations, the chefs-for-hire team at Kitchit offers a different solution that will have you feeling right at home. The San Francisco-based web company brings some of the top chefs in the country — including those of The French…

The problem with charitable giving is the lack of transparency. Sure, pitching in your money to the larger channels gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling, but wouldn’t you like just a bit more control over what and how you do your charitable giving? Online giving isn’t new, and it may not just yet be…

You’re a considerate person. You enjoy that feeling of giving someone a gift and having them light up with thankfulness. You also know gift cards are about as personal as a Monday morning TSA Agent. The only problem is finding and buying gifts is an unnecessarily painful process — especially when you barely have time…

Park and Bond is a new venture from the mind’s behind Gilt Groupe and the more relevant Gilt Manual. Unlike its larger e-commerce parent, Park and Bond is designed exclusively for men and combines informative editorial content with a well-curated mix of the best products/brands in men’s fashion (think Billy Reid clothes with vintage Rolexes…

Another day, another browser. Right? Wrong. Built over the past two years on Chromium (the same stuff that Google Chrome is built off of) RockMelt is a brand new browser that melds your day-to-day browsing with your social media ongoings. For example, there’s no need to visit Gear Patrol’s facebook page/widget or our twitter feed…

In a day and age where emails and texts have become de facto communication methods, it’s nice to know that there are services that, well, take longer. Once you draft a message (no morse code required), Telegram Stop ($6) will send your recipient a telegram that looks and feels like the classic right down to…

Thanks to the efforts of The Commons, an immense world of photographs previously unseen or easily accessible (many in Kodachrome goodness) are making their way to the web on flickr. A great example, and personal favorite, are the 180 NASA photographs that recently joined the collection. A veritable treasure trove of vintage and nostalgic images,…

San Francisco has proven itself to be a hotbed of great ideas far beyond Silicon Valley. As a matter of fact, some seem to pop-up everyday. One of those people behind the ideas: Chris Lindland, founder of Cordarounds (the brand behind Black Sheep Sweater, Bike to Work Pants, and the USA World Cup pants), a…

Web 2.0 has made the internet a daunting place when it comes to following your favorite sports team. There are untold numbers of blogs, Twitter(ers), and websites that all have information pertaining to your squad, team, or franchise (or as the case is for most – squads). Fortunately Spitter.com aggregates all of that information into…

Don’t get us wrong, we love classic rock as much as the next guy, but hearing “Welcome to the Jungle” for the tenth time in a day can make anyone go ape. Enter New Normal Music. This site has been streaming music since July 2nd and boasts a non-stop 50,000 song playlist. It might not…

Just because you don’t have 20/20 vision, a PhD, or 1,000+ logged flying hours doesn’t mean you can’t help NASA or even visit the moon. Virtually, that is. With the launch of Moon Zoo, NASA is turning to the public (crowd-sourcing) to help examine a massive set of new high-resolution moon surface photographs taken from…

The best way we can describe thesixtyone (American music culture of Highway 61, get it?) is a collaborative new-artist Pandora meets VH1′s pop-up video. Their focus is the burgeoning music ecosystem where record labels and their life-sucking $0-2 per album deals are a thing of the past (thesixtyone featured musicians make $7+ per album). Thesixtyone…

Own and iPhone or iPod touch and in need of some (free) applications? Then head on over to Apploot.com. Designed to work in a similar fashion to the daily deal phenomenon Woot.com, everyday the site reviews a new application and offers visitors the opportunity to access a limited number of free download codes. Simply click…

The Apple iPad is here, and it’s both as much/little as people had hoped, expected, worried, drooled over, and even prayed for. The Apple Newton 2010 iPad ($499-$829) will arrive well equipped: 9.7″ (1024×768) IPS enabled Multi-Touch LED backlit display, 1GHz A4 processor, built-in speakers, Bluetooth, microphone, ambient light sensor, 720p video playback, fingerprint-resistant oleophobic…

In time for this year’s winter, Fjällräven has launched its North American presence with a store in New York City, but finally bringing its wares to the masses with the newly launched online shop. One of the world’s foremost outdoor gear outfitters, the Swedish company founded by Ake Nordin 50 years ago, focuses on durability…

Bikers, pedestrians take heed! Google needs your help. Well, not so much your help but rather your insight. Google is looking to bring their map street view to bike trails, paths, or pedestrian malls, and they want your opinion on where to go. Know of one? This is the place to sound off. There’s no…

Ticket buying, especially from the secondary market (e.g. scalpers) is rarely a pleasant experience. Since we know there’s a limited quantity, we automatically assume that the closer it gets to go time, the more expensive attending becomes. Though in general terms of supply and demand, this logic is sound, the people behind SeatGeek.com are here…

Attention Google Reader and RSS fanatics. Google Labs’ new Fast Flip is a web app that helps you discover news, articles, and sites for that matter. Better yet, it does so with Google’s signature simplicity and a bit of panache. Sound like a site you know (hint hint)? The premise is simple. Flip through pages…

Formula D, New Jersey – “The Gauntlet” from Joshua Herron on Vimeo. Man’s love for fast cars is instinctual. Their speed, sound, and power, speak to the grunting, club thumping brute in us all at a subconscious level. Unfortunately, many of us may never have the opportunity to sit behind the wheel and experience the…