Four rules of thumb to help you decide which features are worth paying for when buying your next gadget or gizmo, courtesy of the New York Times: [More]
Gizmo Eliminates Supermarket Checkout Lines, Lets Shoppers Scan Their Own Stuff
By May 27, 2011
In the future, there might be no checkout clerks at the supermarket. WSJ reports on how a device at Stop & Shops and Giant supermarkets in the northeast is eliminating checkout lanes and increasing store sales. It’s a “ScanIt!” and it’s a handheld device that shoppers use to scan their own groceries as they put them in their shopping cart. When they want to pay, they just plug it into self checkout station at the end and settle the bill. [More]
Install Netflix On Nearly Any Android Device
By May 16, 2011
A Netflix app finally came out last week for Android, but due to the complications of the plethora of devices running Android, it only came out for a few of them. Netflix says they’ll slowly but surely roll out the app to other devices, but if you don’t feel like waiting you can do a little cellphone hackery and get it on your phone now. [More]
How (And Why) A Pack Of Twitter Vigilantes Recovered A Stranger's Stolen Laptop
By May 13, 2011
A guy was able to hunt down his laptop after he lost it by using a program that gave him remote access to it, tracking its location and taking screenshots of the person who was using it. He even got the guys name after watching him log into Skype. Problem was the laptop was in New York City and the owner was traveling in Canada. So he began live-tweeting his predicament and the Twitterverse rose up and rescued his laptop. [More]
Netflix Releases App For Some Android Devices
By May 13, 2011
(Some) Android users can now finally get in on the instant-streaming candy train with the long-awaited release of a Netflix app on their platform. For now the app is only available for a relatively thin number of phones, HTC’s Incredible, Nexus One, Samsung’s Nexus S, Evo 4G, and G2, but the company says they’re working diligently to roll it out to more phones. There’s just damn many of them. [More]
Fisticuffs Erupt When iPad 2 Goes On Sale In Beijing
By May 9, 2011
Four people were sent to the hospital when the crowd outside Beijing’s number one Apple store turned violent as they stormed to get their hands on the new iPad 2 when it went on sale there this weekend, reports AFP. [More]
Find Your Stolen Camera By Searching Web For Uploaded Pictures From It
By April 28, 2011
The descriptively named stolencamerafinder.com helps you track down your stolen fancy digital camera. Just drag and drop photos from your camera before it was stolen onto the box on the website. The site then scans scraped databases for the EXIF data embedded in the picture to locate other photos encoded with your same serial number. If there’s a hit, that person might have your camera. [More]
What If Someone Told Edison About The iPhone?
By April 21, 2011
What would have happened if someone from the future traveled back in time to tell Thomas Edison about the iPhone? What would he have done? This cute comic from reader Ken Fager explores the possibilities… [More]
The Classic Commodore 64 Reborn As Modern PC
By April 8, 2011
If you fetishize the look of old technology but are frustrated by how it can’t actually be used to perform present-day tasks, it’s time for a party. Commodore is making new PCs running Windows 7 housed in those familiar and beloved beige Commodore 64 shells. [More]
AT&T, Verizon Have To Let Smaller Rivals Use Network For Data, Just Like Voice
By April 7, 2011
Just like with voice traffic, AT&T and Verizon have to let smaller competitors use their network for data roaming, the FCC today ruled. This would let wireless users clean their inboxes of spam and look up the capital of Greenland in less than 5 minutes of loading, just like they would at home. [More]
Android On Crack Dance Sets Hearts Aflame
By March 28, 2011
This show really puts our mall cellphone carts to shame. Instead of a bored guy with a pencil goatee sitting on a stool, they have a full-on breakdancing show. This one features a life-sized inflatable Android just going absolutely ape-nuts on the dancefloor at the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc cellphone stand near 101 Tower in Taiwan. As commenter Oranges w/ Cheese puts it, “Those inflatable suits are so weird because the movements are so sudden and odd. ” I don’t know how many cellphones it sells, but the branding effort endears the plucky green guy to your heart. He just tries so hard! And that positive association can pay dividends in brand goodwill down the line, just like his masters planned. Muaha – break it down! [More]
Man Gets Lead On Laptop Thief Using Dropbox Program
By March 24, 2011
Ryan believes he has a lead on who stole his laptop thanks to the Dropbox filesharing program that was installed on his computer. Turns out his laptop could be just up the street from him right now. But what does he do with the IP address he got from Dropbox? [More]
Best Buy Calls Police On Guy Waiting Outside For 3DS, He Comes Back Anyway
By March 24, 2011
It’s tough enough to wait for several days outside an electronics store for an item you desire, but even more difficult when you’ve got to contend with unsympathetic managers and police. A man who’s such a hardcore Nintendo fan he calls himself “Triforce” thought he’d wait outside a New York Best Buy in the days leading up to the release of the 3DS, but a manager called NYPD to have him removed. Undeterred, Triforce hopped back in front of the store and is posting YouTube videos on his adventures. [More]
Doctors: Nighttime Gadget Use Can Screw Up Your Sleep
By March 8, 2011
A Sleep America poll finds more than half of Americans fail to get adequate sleep almost every night, and scientists say electronic distractions are the culprit — getting you all riled up before it’s time to hit the sheets. [More]
Get $150 In Dell Inspiron "Deceptively Designed" Class Action
By March 3, 2011
A class action lawsuit claims Dell “deceptively designed” its Inspiron laptop series to have “1) inadequate cooling systems, (2) a power supply system that prematurely fails when used as intended, and (3) motherboards that prematurely fail when used as intended.” If you had one of these laptops and paid Dell for a repair, you could be eligible for a $150 payout. [More]
Block Unwanted Calls And Texts With PrivacyStar
By February 28, 2011
It’s always puzzled me why smartphones are smart enough that I can toss virtual birds at virtual pigs, but they’re somehow too stupid to let me block unwanted calls or texts. Well now there’s PrivacyStar, an app for Android and Blackberry that lets you do just that. [More]
School Tracks Truant Students With GPS Devices
By February 18, 2011
To combat seventh and eighth graders who constantly skip class, a school in California is equipping the worst offenders with GPS tracking units. If you have more than four unexcused absences, you’re assigned to carry a handheld GPs device. Five times a day you have enter in a code to verify your location. You also get an automated call in the morning reminding you to come to school and three times a week an adult assigned to you calls you to check in and discuss attendance strategies. The devices have increased attendance by truants to 95% up from 77%, but some parents feel it treats their kids “like common criminals.” Do you think this program is a good idea? Take our poll and sound off in the comments. [More]
Only 8 People Waited In Line For The Verizon iPhone At Apple's Flagship NYC Store
By February 10, 2011
CNN Money reports that a paltry eight people were lined up before doors opened at Apple’s big glass cube in New York City this morning to get their mittened hands on the new Verizon iPhone 4. Those numbers are a stark contrast to the thousands who showed up in June when the AT&T iPhone 4 went on sale. That it was about 11 degrees with the wind chill probably had something to do with the sparse turnout. [More]
