News & Features

Design Custom Jewelry Online with GemKitty

Ever wanted to design your own jewelry but don’t know where to start? Well, you no longer need to pore over the aisles at the craft store–just jump online at gemkitty.com and design your own earrings! Next week GemKitty is introducing their custom earring platform that allows users to customize a pair of earrings with five different styles, two quality metals, and over seventy real semi-precious gemstones. I was able to preview the site and it’s super easy to use–just a few clicks allows you to set your style, select from sterling silver or 14K gold filled findings, and choose…


Landmark NIST Handbook of Mathematical Functions Published After Decade of Development

If the image above makes you salivate or at least gets your mind buzzing with excitement, you want to head directly over to Cambridge Publishing and grab the new 422 page Handbook of Mathematical Functions. Why? As noted in the press release: The NIST HANDBOOK OF MATHEMATICAL FUNCTIONS has been the most widely distributed and cited resource for scholars, scientists, and engineers ever since it was first published in 1964. Over the past few decades, tremendous advances in applications of mathematics have taken place and the 2010 edition reflects these modern developments in theoretical and applied science. So what do…


Fun with magnetism: Nanodots

Back when I was my son’s age, I was a science nut.  I loved learning all about our universe, electronics, magnetism and the world we live in.  My favorite catalog from then was Edmund Scientifics.  They had and still have science products and lots of toys similar to what Nano Magnetics Inc are announcing today in the form of Nanodots. Nanodots are little tiny magnetic spheres that you can build things out of.  It’s also been suggested when you stock them all together in a big ball that you can use them as a stress ball.  They will not come…


Aluratek Drops a Brick (For Your iPhone, That Is)

When I think of a brick, I either think of the actual structural element from which buildings are constructed, or I think of any electronic device that seems unnecessarily large and cumbersome.  Now, Aluratek wants us to reimagine the word as an audio component. Aluratek is releasing their latest product, the Brick Speaker Dock for iPhone/iPod this week.  Aluratek boasts that the Brick offers high-quality sound at an affordable price.  It will work with the iPod Touch, iPhone, and any iPod model with a click wheel.  As it includes a 3.5mm auxiliary input, the Brick can also be used with other mp3 players. …


Let the iPhone 4 Cases Rollout Begin! iLuv Intros Its New Line

One of the great things about a new iPhone is that you can start getting all kinds of new cases. And with the first redesign in two years for our beloved iPhones a lot of us were ready for a change. Well iLuv is already out of the gave with a nice assortment of cases that will range in price from $14.99 to $49.99 and will be available some time this month. iCC727 FUSION: A dual layer case made of silicone and PC with stand – $34.99 MSRP iCC728 FUSION: A dual layer case made of silicone and PC and…


WWDC Keynote Roundup…

Well, today’s the day. After much anticipation Steve Jobs has finally taken the platform and is ready to announce all sorts of new goodies. Over the last few years WWDC has become the launchpad for some of Apple’s more significant items and upgrades. And it’s no surprise that today is once again serving such a purpose. Much of the anticipation was reduced by the week next generation iPhone that made its way to Gizmodo and cause the whole ruckus in recent weeks but even still, there remained a host of unknowns about the phone as well as what else Apple…


WWDC Keynote Fail… How Did Steve Handle It? NSFW

The saying goes “don’t perform live with children or animals”. In 2010 it finally and officially needs to be officially changed to “Don’t go live with children, animals or technology”. And the poster-child for the new saying… Steve Jobs himself. We’ve all been there. We’re ready to do a keynote presentation and for some reason we can’t get it started, the image is distorted or some other small glitch keeps us from being able to move forward. But when you are Steve Jobs it sure doesn’t look good when you are trying to present your latest iPhone to the world…


Wall Street Journal Fans the Flames of Malicious App Paranoia

Know how you can tell smartphones and app stores are truly mainstream? No, it’s not because my mother just bought a Blackberry! It’s because the Wall Street Journal is writing articles on apps, and that <gasp> malicious apps have been creeping into the smartphone space. I am being a bit tongue in cheek; the Wall Street Journal is, as always, fairly even and conservative in their tone: As smartphones and the applications that run on them take off, businesses and consumers are beginning to confront a budding dark side of the wireless Web. Online stores run by Apple Inc., Google…


Android and the iPhone 4 Announcement (NSFW)

Well, it was only a matter of time after Steve Jobs made his infamous “If you want porn, buy an Android phone” comment…but there’s officially a youtube parody of the iPhone 4 announcement, which features dancing robots singing that the Android phone is for porn (like the Avenue Q song “The Internet is for Porn”.) It’s not suitable for work, but it is quite funny! And for your viewing pleasure, the Avenue Q song “The Internet is for Porn”: Via AndroidCentral


Today is National Running Day! Here’s Some Gear Worth A Look

Today is National Running Day! It is a perfect day to check out the Couch-to-5K Running Plan Larry turned a bunch of us onto a few weeks back… …or grab one of the numerous C25K iPhone apps currently available in the App Store. There are a number of them. It is also a great day to check out some good accessories to go along for the ride run. Here are two examples… If you are using an iPod Nano during your run instead of an iPhone or touch (the C25K apps require OS iPhone) take a look at the iSkin…


iPad App- “Bible’s Top10 – ‘Spoken by God'”- When You Really Need to Get Your Fire and Brimstone On

Ah yes, now you too can hear the voice of God uttering the Big 10. A new iPad app lets you: Listen to the holy word of God on you iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Feel the strength and passion of the Bible´s most sacred laws. God spoke on Mount Sinai to share with the world these 10 rules to be followed for a holy and moral life. Touch the screen and listen. Each law appears in text and with sound as you touch the stone tablets on the screen. I just had to hear what the “voice of God”…


Best Buy Steps up Their eReader Marketing

When I was in my local Best Buy this weekend, I spent some time exploring their ebook reader displays. A few months ago I was in Best Buy and noted the extent of their eReader display was a sad shelf of Sony Readers. Not terribly exciting, and worst of all it was off at a weird angle, sort of tucked away from the main aisles. If you didn’t venture through the middle of the store you wouldn’t find it. Now that Best Buy is selling the Barnes and Noble nook, it’s a whole new ballgame. They cleaned up the Sony…


John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension – To The One Review

Apparently April was CD-release party month at the old-British guitar legends home! Hot on the heels of Jeff Beck’s Emotion & Commotion comes To The One from John McLaughlin. While McLaughlin might not carry the same name recognition as Beck outside of the jazz world, the impact of the contributions of the 68-year old McLaughlin rival if not exceed those of his younger country-mate. Another similarity is that neither of these greats have rested on their laurels, constantly pushing ahead. Yet there is always a common thread and respect for their own history and fan-base. Such is case with the…


C25K Week 3: Protect Those Feet

Larry: Week 3 of the C25K is in the books.  This week’s workouts got a little harder and the first 3-minute run was a bit of a struggle but once out of the way I could start to feel the return of my endurance, even if it was ever so slightly. Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes) Judie: Those three minute jogs were a killer, and since I got a new…


New eBook Readers Coming This Summer?

Looks like this might be the summer of ebook readers! Rumors are flying about new Kindles and nooks, the Kobo reader is hitting Borders Stores, and that’s without considering the impact all the potential Android tablets will have on the reader market. While there’s been some ebook rivalry so far, I think this next wave of readers is where the B&N-Amazon-Borders-Tablet rivalry is really going to get heated. Engadget caught an interesting FCC filing for a WiFi-only ebook reader from Barnes and Noble. Most likely it is the rumored “nook lite”. No word on whether it will be the same…


Sling for Android Is Almost Here!

I’m in the process of deciding how to rework my home tv setup. At this point it’s a matter of when, not if, my TiVo will die…and as I’ve said before, I don’t really see the value of upgrading to another TiVo. Since I’ll be reworking my whole setup anyway, the thought crossed my mind that a Slingbox might be fun to have. Now that I’ve seen Engadget’s preview of Sling for Android, I DEFINITELY want a Slingplayer! It looks really slick, even if it did have some beta bugs, and I am sure it will look great on the…


Skype Finally Enables iPhone Calls Over 3G

At long last Skype has enabled calling over the 3G connection. This feature has been promised and promised and promised and finally it’s why. That means that when you’re away from your WiFi connection you can still use Skype to make voice calls. But it gets even better than that. Until the end of August Skype calls over 3G will be free. (Of course data connections will still apply.) According to the upgrade information, there will be a small charge for such calls after that but for now… call away. Do you think AT&T can handle the additional traffic? We’ll…


MacCase iPad Line Up Revealed, Pre-Ordering Begins

Michael Santoro President/ Chief Creative Officer of Mac-Case just let me know that pre-ordering for several of their new Premium Leather iPad case designs has begun, and the first are scheduled to arrive toward the end of June. The initial shipments include their Flight Jacket, Vertical Sleeve and their first ever Horizontal Sleeve. The final touches are being put on their new Folio which should also be available for pre-order soon. At the current time the cases will be available in Black and Vintage, but they will be adding Red if there is enough customer interest. In addition Santoro noted…


R.I.P Gary Coleman – Child Actor and Star of Diff’rent Strokes

Gary Coleman died yesterday after falling into a coma following an intracranial hemorrhage, with some reports indicating he might have had a fall that led to the brain trauma. For many of us who grew up watching Coleman on Diff’rent Strokes, it is yet another “died too soon” on a growing list of our childhood icons. According to an ABC article: Celebrity website RadarOnline.com said Coleman, 42, was taken off life support on Friday, and similar reports were filed by showbiz site TMZ.com and by CNN, citing a spokeswoman at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah. The…


Apple TV… “I’m Not Dead Yet”

According to Engadget Apple TV is not only not dead but it is coming soon as a totally revamped item that will bring streaming media to your TV. According to the post- The new architecture of the device will be based directly on the iPhone 4, meaning it will get the same internals, down to that A4 CPU and a limited amount of flash storage — 16GB to be exact — though it will be capable of full 1080p HD (!). The device is said to be quite small with a scarce amount of ports (only the power socket and…


With Line2 Update The iPad Really Is A Phone

We are spending a few days up in the mountains. It is beautiful. It is peaceful. It is a great place to get some work done. Only problem is… The cell reception here is terrible and our landline costs a fortune. Luckily I still have my subscription to the Line2 VoIP app and it works great. Seriously the call quality is fantastic, and it is what I am using constantly up here. Better still, if your iDevice is jailbroken, then you can leave the app running and receive calls on it. Well an update just hit my iPad and iPhone,…