Dave Schumaker

Community Editor and Manager

Before he ever set foot in a tech publication's newsroom, Dave could be found gallivanting around deserts of the American Southwest as a geologist, searching for fossilized algae. He spent time breaking rocks open with hammers and writing science papers with ridiculously long titles that made no sense, such as Environmental Conditions of the Tecopa Basin during the Pleistocene based on fossilized diatom assemblages below the Bishop Tuff. Who even knows what that means? More recently, he's been involved in building and managing technology communities for a variety of startups and organizations. When he's not making friends in our comment sections by replying to everyone or banning the occasional troll, he can usually be found talking about baseball or playing lots of Civilization V and Kerbal Space Program.

Articles by Dave Schumaker

Feedback Loop: Old gadgets, Android tablets, photo management and more!
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week. This week, Engadget turned 10 years old! So, we discussed what we were using way back in 2004. Also, we talked about ditching iPhoto, Android tablets and good game controllers for the iPad. Head on past the break and join the conversation.
What gadgets were you rocking 10 years ago?
Ten years ago, the internet was introduced to a new tech blog called Engadget. The world was a much different place. Smartphones as we know them didn't exist and almost everyone had a flip phone. The cloud? What did that even mean back then? Tablets and e-book readers were just a glimmer of hope in an engineer's eye. You have to wonder how we managed to survive such a dark period in history. Somehow though, we did. And we were every bit as enthusiastic about technology back then as we are today. So, what gadgets were you using way back in 2004? Head over to our forums and share the goods!
Feedback Loop: Favorite messaging apps, rooting Kindle Fires and more!
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week. This week, we discussed our favorite messaging apps, rooting Amazonian tablets, the games we're playing and whether 3D movies are coming to next-gen consoles. Head on past the break and join the conversation.
Feedback Loop: Breaking down fitness trackers, Magic Mouse alternatives, 4K projectors and more!
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week. This week, we compared wearable fitness trackers and discussed which ones are the best for you. We also looked for some viable alternatives to the Magic Mouse on a PC, asked about 4K projectors for our home theater, shared the best cameras for recording sporting events and posted about our favorite apps that make a game out of being productive. Click past the break and read what fellow Engadget users like you have to say.
Feedback Loop: Gaming PCs and next-gen consoles, favorite Kickstarter projects and more!
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week. This week, we discussed whether gaming PCs and next-gen gaming consoles can peacefully co-exist in the same home. We also tackled tips and tricks for tracking daily routines, fondly remembered our most satisfying app experiences and shared our favorite Kickstarter projects. Click past the break and read what fellow Engadget users like you have to say.
Feedback Loop: Strange games, desktop recommendations, iTunes alternatives and more!
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week. This week, we took a look through Steam's catalog and highlighted some of the strangest games we could find. We also asked for recommendations on reliable and cheap desktop computers, as well as discussed options for data recovery. Lastly, we kicked off the Engadget Game Club with Outlast on the PS4. Click past the break and read what fellow Engadget users like you have to say.
Feedback Loop: Pebble apps, music services, Google happenings and more!
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week. This week, we discussed the best apps for your shiny new Pebble smartwatch. We also had an enthusiastic discussion over our favorite music services, speculated about what's happening with the Google/Motorola/Lenovo deal, waxed poetic about the future of Nintendo and debated the benefits of 1080p and 4K televisions. Click past the break and read what fellow Engadget users like you have to say.
Have a favorite music streaming service? Sound off, people of Engadget
Wrapping your head around all the various options for streaming music can be overwhelming. How do you choose between Spotify, Rdio, Beats Music, Rhapsody, Google Play Music All Access or any of the other services out there? Engadget Forums member daninbusiness is here to help, and he's done a great job breaking down the pros and cons of each music provider that he's used. But one man's opinion does not a consensus make, y'all. What's your go-to choice for music? How would you persuade your friends that the benefits of Spotify far exceed those of Rdio? Sound off in the forums, folks, your wisdom is needed.
Feedback Loop: 30 years of Mac, mechanical keyboards, Bitcoin alternatives and more!
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week. This week, the Macintosh turned 30, so naturally, we had to share our fondest memories of our first Mac. We also dove into the complex world of mechanical keyboards, examined the potential health benefits of WiFi-connected LED lightbulbs, discussed the viability of Bitcoin alternatives and asked about the best laptops for software development. Click past the break and read what fellow Engadget users like you have to say.
Feedback Loop: TiVo services, getting fit with apps, fun with a NAS and more
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week. This week, we broke down the cost of TiVo services, shared our favorite apps and gadgets for getting fit, asked for recommendations on underwater cameras and looked for fun things that you can do with a NAS. Click past the break to read what fellow Engadget users like you have to say.
Feedback Loop: Ducking autocorrect, Steam Machines, 12-inch tablets and more
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week. It's hard to believe CES is finally over and it seems like the Engadget community was just as busy as the Engadget editorial team. This week we speculated about who would be buying Steam Machines, discussed whether or not 12-inch tablets make sense, wondered why the duck autocorrect is annoying, sought good headphone recommendations for the PlayStation 4 and asked about USB hubs to manage the cable clutter. Click past the break and read what fellow Engadget users like you have to say.
Feedback Loop: NSA spying, favorite gadgets, New Year's resolutions and more
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week. As 2013 came to a close, the Engadget community took time to share their favorite products and games of the year and made predictions for the year to come. We also donned our tinfoil hats to discuss whether recent NSA revelations have affected our browsing habits. Lastly, we shared some of our favorite book recommendations related to technology and the companies behind it. Click past the break and read what fellow Engadget users like you have to say.
Feedback Loop: frustrating applications, form factors vs. operating systems and more
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week. The Engadget community never sleeps. That's why discussions this week revolved around our favorite mobile operating systems (since we're constantly on our phones), the best mobile applications that don't require a data connection, rage-inducing applications that we still use for some reason and a deep discussion into how operating systems ultimately affect how we use our devices. Click past the break and read what fellow Engadget users like you have to say.
Add your new toys to your Engadget profile
Throw out all the wrapping paper, finish eating the leftover turkey and have the last of the eggnog, because Christmas has come and gone. It's time to take stock of all your fancy new loot. Yesterday, you told us what you received. Today, you should show all of it off. Head over to your Engadget profile and add the new gear to your have list. If you're not sure how to do that, check out this helpful primer on the new Engadget.
Feedback Loop: computer names, Google Hangout alternatives, cord-cutting and more
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There's so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week. This week, the Engadget community shared how and what they name their devices, switching from Android to iOS (wait, what?), SMS alternatives to the Google Hangouts app, styluses for winter use and whether or not it's possible to finally cut the cord. Click past the break and read what fellow Engadget users like you have to say.
Be a part of the Engadget community!
Welcome to the new Engadget, where the surprises never stop coming! In addition to the updated design and logo, we just recently launched some great new community tools for your consumption. They include profiles, discussions, user reviews, a gigantic product database, gadget lists and more. Basically, it's everything you need to stay plugged into the world of technology. So, how do you become an essential part of the Engadget community? Jump past the break to find out!

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