News

Are High-Energy Cartoons Rotting Your Kids' Brains?

Are High-Energy Cartoons Rotting Your Kids’ Brains?

As a child I remember waiting anxiously for Saturday morning to watch cartoons like the Bugs Bunny / Road Runner hour. This (obviously) was well before the era of cartoon-specific channels and 24 hour programming, so our choices were far fewer. Yet even then adults said that watching that stuff was ruining our minds, that the Three Stooges was creating a culture of violence, and that Batman was infusing us with bad pun-filled expressions! According to a report from FOXNews there might be some truth – at least to the thoughts on the impact of cartoons: The problems were seen…

Hey Judie, Your Next Phone Just Called...

Hey Judie, Your Next Phone Just Called…

Judie, forget about the Vertu you reviewed last June and are using as your daily-driver. Serously, THIS phone makes THAT phone look like… like… a Moto Razr. Behold the Æ+Y PHONE. With a price STARTING at $10,425 it is sure to impress and make pretty much every other phone feel inadequate. No, it doesn’t have the cool concierge service the Vertu offers but hey, with such fine materials, and handcrafted artistry they had to cut corners somewhere. The phone is on pre-order with a gold option also available. As the site explains, Æsir is currently taking pre-orders for the first production quantity…

MOG Music Service Adds Mac Desktop Player

MOG Music Service Adds Mac Desktop Player

I have been happily using MOG subscription music service for a little over a month. For most of my life I have been a huge collector of music. I never thought I would quit keeping physical media, much less give up owning a copy, in favor of a streaming service. Long story short, I am in love with the service! And it just keeps getting better. The MOG staff seems to be interested in listening to, and acting on, feedback from users. One thing I had requested was a resident Mac desktop app instead of the web interface. Well, the…

HP TouchPad ... Prepare for the Final Onslaught

HP TouchPad … Prepare for the Final Onslaught

It is hard to believe that the #2 Tablet in the world was released and cancelled within six weeks … but that is the situation with the HP TouchPad. ‘Soft launched’ in early July and formally launched a couple of weeks later, the webOS tablet was cancelled with the entire webOS product line by mid-August and existing inventory sold off quickly in a ‘fire sale’. In early August Staples had a big sale paired with a ‘weekend coupon’ from HP for $100 off, making the TouchPad a delicious $299! Yet I didn’t buy one, and described why here. I also…

Today Only — Buy a Book, Save a Kid from Malaria!

Today Only — Buy a Book, Save a Kid from Malaria!

Looking for a good book on leadership? How about a way to help prevent malaria in Africa? Today only (September 7th), you can combine them and do both! If you buy a copy of “End Malaria” from Amazon, $20 of the proceeds will benefit “End Malaria Day”. And you get a great business book! Win! Here’s what marketing guru Seth Godin had to say about this promotion: Six weeks ago, at midnight, I found myself awake but wiped out from jet lag. I was in a lumpy bed, in the dark, in an obscure, $20 a night, John-Waters’-esque former country…

Would You Like an Invite to BlackBerry's New BB Music Service?

Would You Like an Invite to BlackBerry’s New BB Music Service?

image courtesy of BlackBerry Smartphones Week If you live in North America or the UK, and if you have a BlackBerry, you have no doubt heard about the new BlackBerry Music service that we mentioned earlier this week. $5 per month gets you 50 songs that you can share with your friends … but only if you own a BlackBerry and they own one, too. And this service is not available to the general BlackBerry population yet. According to Digital Music News, the plan details are: (1) $5 a month. (2) User chooses 50 songs to access anytime, on-demand. (3) User then invites…

Waterfield Unveils Their New Tablet Ultimate SleeveCase

Waterfield Unveils Their New Tablet Ultimate SleeveCase

As much as I have been disappointed with the Blackberry Playbook, HTC Flyer and other 7″ tablets I have tried I still love the size. They are easier to carry and hold than their larger cousins. That alone makes them worth considering if you are in the market for a tablet this fall. If you have a small tablet or plan on getting one Waterfield has a great way to take it with you. Their new Ultimate SleeveCase looks great and offers tremendous protection thanks to its great build-quality, impact plastic and a thick nylon shell. Here’s what they have…

Gaypon: Daily Deals and Giving Back to the Community!

Gaypon: Daily Deals and Giving Back to the Community!

This is such a cool idea, I’m surprised we haven’t seen more “daily deals” type sites trying the Gaypon concept. Basically, they are a regular deals site, but a portion of the proceeds go to gay and lesbian charities, plus the companies featured in the deals are specifically vetted as being gay-friendly. It’s a great bit of niche marketing, and supports some very worthwhile organizations. Here’s a bit more background on Gaypon: Gaypon offers deals, discounts, coupons & special offers from gay friendly businesses that support the LGBT. We make arraignments with businesses that agree to extend special savings to…

Wacom Inkling Digital Sketch Pen Is New Spin on Digital Analog Technology

Wacom Inkling Digital Sketch Pen Is New Spin on Digital Analog Technology

(Image courtesy of Wacom) While the iPad has become synonymous with the term “tablet”, there has been other digital tablet technology, such as the Tablet PC and the Livescribe Pulse Pen which came out before and is surviving, albeit in more of a niche market. So it is rare for me to see any new devices, especially in the analog-to-digital space. While I love handwriting recognition on the Tablet PC and touch typing on the iPad, there has always been an appeal to writing on actual paper. The Livescribe handles this well, but requires the use of their special (Anoto-based) paper…

Chatbots Prove Robots Want intro to Philosophy, Not War

Chatbots Prove Robots Want intro to Philosophy, Not War

Engadget caught this bizarre and amazing video from some Cornell researchers, who pitted a Chatbot in a conversation with itself. Apparently, all Chatbot wants is to study philosophy! Don’t believe me? Watch the video below, and then check out my commentary showing how the Chatbot(s) just want to talk Plato. Let’s see…the Chatbot(s) start with social contract theory. They exchange pleasantries and indicate an attempt to set rules of engagement so no one gets stabbed in their sleep (do Chatbot(s) sleep?). Then they move on to personal identity theory; what are they? What is a robot? If one Chatbot is…

Keep Other Kid's Hands off Your Kid's Food with Lunch Bugs

Keep Other Kid’s Hands off Your Kid’s Food with Lunch Bugs

Now that the kids are back in school, it’s time to think about practical matters such as how to make sure your son’s lunch doesn’t end up in some other kid’s mouth. Here’s an idea: Lunch Bugs sandwich bags. Lunch Bugs Sandwich Bags have a skittery surprise. Need some security when it comes to your sandwich? Our Lunch Bugs Sandwich Bags have a pre-printed bug on the sandwich bag. So the pest that goes to steal your sandwich will see a pest of another kind already calling dibs. There are 24 Lunch Bugs sandwich bags in a pack, and if…

iPad 2 Case Review: Aranez iPad 2 Notebook Kangaroo Leather Case

iPad 2 Case Review: Aranez iPad 2 Notebook Kangaroo Leather Case

The other day we brought word of a new folio-style case for the iPad 2 that is made of kangaroo leather. It looked great and carried a premium price north of $100. Then again, the case is made from kangaroo leather and that stuff ain’t cheap. (Or so we hear.) Well, the Aranez iPad 2 Notebook Kangaroo Leather Case arrived right after the news post went live and we’ve run it through its paces. Is it worth the price? Does the kangaroo leather really make a difference? You decide. Fortunately, while the case comes in a nice box it didn’t…

New Sony Reader Leaks — How Badly Do They WANT to Fail???

New Sony Reader Leaks — How Badly Do They WANT to Fail???

Big news if you’re a Sony fan! A Dutch site has leaked pictures and specifications of the new Sony Readers. (The same ones Sony has been denying were coming) They look…well, let’s check out the specs and then I’ll give my opinion. Translated from Google: Description The Sony PRS-T1 watching his brother looks on Mobile, the Xperia, with its curves and high quality chrome finish. Thin and light, so easy to take. The Sony PRS-T1 weighs only 168 grams. The screen is of the highest quality and provides optimal reading conditions. And while the battery will not suffer it. The Sony PRS-T1 read it one…

The KAMMOK Kometh

The KAMMOK Kometh

Over the past year I have helped fund a number of Kickstarter projects. I backed the Vere Sandal Company, with an iPad stand, and with a watchband for the iPod nano. If you are not familiar with Kickstarter, it is an online threshold pledge system for funding creative projects. Kickstarter has funded a diverse array of endeavors,ranging from indie film and music to journalism and food-related projects. One of a new set of fundraising platforms dubbed “crowdfunding”, Kickstarter facilitates gathering monetary resources from the general public, a model which circumvents many traditional avenues of investment. Project owners choose a deadline and a target…

Food Sanitation Just Got a Lot Easier with the CleanCut Touchless Automatic Towel Dispenser

Food Sanitation Just Got a Lot Easier with the CleanCut Touchless Automatic Towel Dispenser

A few years ago Elana trained as a chef at the Natural Gourmet Cooking School. One of the most important lessons she learned had to do with food sanitation. (She’s a nut about it which is a good thing. She also once commented that “If you knew what went on in some restaurant kitchens you would never eat out again.”) It is important to keep kitchen surfaces as clean as possible and that means, in part, using paper towels to ensure that all surfaces touched by raw food are sprayed and cleaned on a regular basis. To ensure this happen,…

SanDisk Brings Out the Sansa Clip Zip

SanDisk Brings Out the Sansa Clip Zip

While I do like iPods, I still love other MP3 players as well. One of my favorites is the Sansa Fuze+ after the latest firmware update. Sandisk also has made many other Sansas, and one of the Linux community’s favorite ones has been the Sansa Clip. Just when I didn’t think the Clip could get any better, Sandisk brings out the Clip Zip, which adds some nice things to the Clip’s form factor. Stylish, Feature-Rich Player Delivers Affordable On-The-Go Music Experience · Packed with features, including a larger color screen, compatibility with all major music formats, a stopwatch, an…

G'Day to the Aranez iPad 2 Notebook Kangaroo Leather Case

G’Day to the Aranez iPad 2 Notebook Kangaroo Leather Case

We’ve seen iPad 2 cases made from a variety of different leathers. We’ve seen a gorgeous example of one made from crocodile thanks to Orbino. But this is a new one for us. Aranez has released an iPad 2 case made from Kangaroo leather. We’ll skip all the sill puns and jokes and just hop over to the company’s description of it. (Oops, sorry that just kinda slipped out by accident.) Presenting the world’s first iPad 2 Kangaroo Leather Case crafted by Aranez. This stylish case features genuine high-grade Australian kangaroo leather which is known to be the best performance…

Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense System Active for the First Time

Israel’s Iron Dome Missile Defense System Active for the First Time

It’s not the Star Wars Missile Defense System but it is real, it is here now, and it works. Yes, Israel’s new Iron Dome missile defense system was used in the field for the first time and … it worked. Over the past few days the Israeli cities of Beersheba, Ashkelon and Ashdod have seen a barrage of rockets sent over from Gaza (this started right after the attacks on tourist buses on the Egyptian border). While many of the rockets that were aimed toward civilian populations actually landed in fields when fired, enough of them hit their mark and…

« 1 … 174 175 176 177 178 … 222 »