Hitting Home
by Chris McGinnMoms and dads, it’s time to tune in, turn on and plug in. Find new ways to save time and money and get more out of your digital lifestyle with my tips to make your family-life easier and richer through modern technology, such as the Internet, wireless devices and digital television.
Carrying around a camera tripod isn’t always convenient, but this bottle cap tripod is good to go.
HealthSync, a new iPhone app, helps you keep track of your health records and those of your family.
If you have used Google docs you know the convenience of having your docs available wherever you have internet access and shareable with whoever you want. Now Microsoft has joined the cloud computing world with Office Live. People will enjoy its seemless interface with your existing Microsoft products. You can view the doc online or click “edit” to have it open in your computer’s Microsoft programs.
Fast Track
by Jessie AtkinDoes hip, techy lingo confuse you? Do you wish you were more techno-savvy without delving into the realm of motherboard circuit confusion? That’s why I’m here. This blog focuses on testing the waters. I’ll share what cool, new gadgetry I’ve come in contact with and bridge that learning gap with ideas on what’s really useful, what’s cool and what’s really not.
So I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and being a huge nerd comes along with the territory I guess. So although I know how lame this looks to other people, I think it’s pretty fun.
The Kymera Magic Wand universal remote is a magic wand for your television, literally. Just like spells in HP there are specific gestures to control volume and channel. It’s $84 so it will set you back a bit, but so will any other movie related prop or memorabilia, and this is much more useful.
So, for now, it only translates in Japanese, but I think that just makes it all that much more amusing. Tomy has released a new dog translator, the Bowlingual Voice.
You heard correct, a collar that will translate your dog’s barks into plain English (well, Japanese for now anyway). It’s a new addition (the old addition didn’t have the recorded human voice capability) and claims to be able to decipher six different doggy emotions for over 50 breeds of dogs.
The handheld controller features an action dictionary, to further decipher a dog’s mood, as well as a dog quiz, and doggy scheduler. I mean, obviously I’ll have to wait for an English version, but what a kick it would be at parties.
The evolution of comic books continues. iTunes has boasted a handful of comic reading applications for its ipod touch and the iphone, but now Marvel comics has officially jumped on board.
Through the comiXology, Fanelfly, iVerse, and Scrollmotion official Marvel comics can be downloaded and read for anywhere from .99 cents to $1.99. Current releases aren’t as extensive as they could be, but everyone starts somewhere, and it certainly is another step forward in comic’s accessibility.
Plugged In
by Richard BlaineWhen your PC is almost 2 years old, do you start to get processor envy? Is your closet filled with the “newest, coolest” gadgets that never lived up to their promises? Do you measure your computer storage in terrabytes? Do flatscreen TV’s outnumber people in your house? Welcome to my world…
Just a quick update on the Great Facebook Experiment:
All of a sudden, all sorts of electronics need to access the internet and they are nowhere near my network. I didn’t hard-wire my living room for ethernet. My media pc is wireless and I never foresaw the need. Now I need multiple net connections and I don’t want to tear the walls open again.
So, as part of the grand experimment in social networking, I’ve been on Facebook for over a week. I have 32 “friends”. Some of those people have over a hundred Facebook friends. I know for a fact that hese people aren’t nearly that popular away from their PC.
