In 1990, the internet was something used by fantasy baseball fanatics on CompuServe and mobile phones were the size of toddlers — a luxury for those who could afford to not use pay phones. Satellite TV meant having a massive dish on your property; millions struggled with programming their VCRs to tape L.A. Law; bills were paid by check… in the mail. [More]
technology
21 Banks And Credit Unions That Accept Remote Check Deposits
By 8.8.10
Why trek to local bank to deposit a check when you can slap it on a scanner or use your smartphone’s camera to upload it directly to your bank? Even though it still scares most of the bigger banks, remote deposit checking represents the future of consumer banking. Inside, a list of twenty-one credit unions and banks that are ready to save you a trip to the bank and the hassle of deposit slips. [More]
Thief Steals iPhone While Victim Is Participating In GPS Tracking Demo
By 7.22.10
On Monday, a man in San Francisco rode his bike up to a woman holding an iPhone and snatched it out of her hand, then took off. What he didn’t know was that the woman had just walked out of her company’s office to test a new GPS program that provides real time tracking. She went back inside, gave the police location updates over the phone, and man was arrested a half-mile away, reports the San Francisco Chronicle’s Crime Scene blog. [More]
USB Typewriter Turns Ancient Object Into Something Almost Useful
By 6.15.10
If you’re a computer user of a (cough, cough) certain age, you may think the IBM Model M is the only real keyboard and everything else is a poor imitation. If you’re of an even hoarier vintage, you may wax nostalgic for your trusty Underwood. Well, wax no more! The USB Typewriter is here, and it will take your century-old doorstop and turn it into a keyboard for a newfangled computer faster than you can say Jack Robinson!
Supreme Court Doesn't Know Difference Between Email And A Pager
By 4.20.10
Better hope your technorights-based lawsuit doesn’t make it all the way to the US Court of Last Resort, because these august judges might not have a freakin’ clue of what’s going on. Turns out they don’t know the difference between email and a pager, among other things. [More]
Sony Finally Realizes iPhone Exists, Decides To Make PSP Phone
By 3.8.10
With its finger on the pulse of the industry, eagle-eyed Sony developers have uncovered secret knowledge that Apple has released a device that lets you talk on the phone, listen to music and download video games. And as a result, it has decided to give one of its next redesigned PSPs the ability to call, text and email, the Wall Street Journal reports. [More]
1983 PleaseRobMe, 1977 Foursquare
By 2.23.10
Technology is scary! People will use all these status and twitter and facebook updates to find out when you’re not home and come and steal all your DVDs! At least that was the ballyhoo last week when the site PleaseRobMe launched. Turns out, they were just reinventing the fear wheel. Andy Baio found an article from 1983 that warned consumers that burglars would know by your answering machine picking up that you weren’t home, and one from 1977 that advised against posting funeral notices in the paper, lest robbers make off with the silver while you’re burying grandpa. The more things change, the less they do. [More]
Bloom Box Can Supposedly Power A Small Home, But You Can't Afford It
By 2.22.10
60 Minutes has reported on a new fuel cell product called a Bloom Box, a big metal box containing a small stack of ceramic disks and “ink” that can supposedly provide enough power to run a Starbucks. The big questions are: Does it work? And will it ever help the average homeowner save on energy costs? Google has supposedly been using four of them to power one of its data centers for the past 18 months, so yes to the first question. As for home use, a Bloom Box currently costs over $700,000, so no. Inventor K.R. Sridhar optimistically says he wants to get the price to under $3,000 in the next 5 to 10 years, though. Watch the 60 Minute segment below. [More]
Now Your Dog Can Post Mindless Drivel To Twitter, Too
By 2.15.10
Have you always wanted to use an Internet-enabled collar and a Twitter feed to keep up with what your dog is up to when you’re out of view? Me either, but Mattel thinks that there might be a market for this sort of thing, and will bring Puppy Tweets to market this summer. [More]
Don't Let Your Parents Buy An Awful Laptop For Too Much Money
By 1.29.10
It’s easy for companies to target non-tech savvy people to unload outdated products that pale in comparison to the stuff on the lower end of the market. Alvaro spotted this terrible deal, which offers a machine with 512MB of RAM, a Pentium IV processor and a 30GB hard drive for $400. [More]
HP Face Tracking Camera Doesn't Track Black Faces?
By 12.21.09
If you want to take advantage of this HP web cam’s face tracking feature and you’ve got dark skin, you’d better, I dunno, sprinkle glitter on your cheeks first or something. The software doesn’t seem to be able to recognize you otherwise. [More]
17 Extinct Things You Probably Don't Miss
By 12.13.09
Collectively as a culture, we never did figure out what to call the decade that’s ending in two weeks, did we? The ’00s… the aughts? Whatever you call it, our everyday lives have changed quite a bit in the past ten years. New York Magazine rounded up a few of the things that used to be common, but have now disappeared. We’re sure you can think of some even better ones. [More]
Pay Restaurant Tabs From The Comfort Of Your Table
By 10.4.09
If you dislike handing your credit or debit card over to restaurant employees and letting them wander off with it for a while, you’re not alone, and that’s why some restaurants are experimenting with mobile pay-at-the-table technology.
Now In Stores: Video/Book Hybrids
By 10.2.09
Great news if you enjoy books, but have the puny attention span of a person raised on television and the Interne—oh, look at the kitten!
Make-Your-Own Ice Cream Kiosks Debut, Obesity Crisis To Worsen
By 10.2.09
Imagine if you could combine enough ice cream flavors and toppings to outfit a mini Coldstone Creamery with the efficiency and compactness of one of Coke’s new futuristic beverage machines. That’s just what MooBella’s amazing ice cream kiosk does.
Chris Walters On BBC Tomorrow
By 9.16.09
Consumerist’s Chris Walters is slated to be a live guest on the BBC’s “World News Today” tomorrow morning at 7:30 am Eastern, shown on the BBC America and BBC World News cable channels. He’ll be talking about those talking ads in the Sept 18 issue of Entertainment Weekly which combine singing greeting card technology with tiny LCD screens. Set your DVRs, and bust out the tea and crumpets.
Gird Yourself, Video Advertising Is Coming To Print Magazines
By 8.20.09
Here’s one horrible thought about the steady advance in display technology: there could be a future where a noisy, hyperkinetic commercial plays as you turn the page of your magazine, and your Tivo remote will not be able to save you.
