Tag Archives: Gadgets

Has anyone else noticed that the mobile Internet is blowing up?

I guess I like to blog in clusters. Tuesday, I posted a blog on Pew Internet’s site. Today, I put up a related blog on gnovis’ website. And as I have come to realize in my thesis research on Facebook, the evolution of cell phones is the next big hot topic. We’re going to see so much happening in 2008 in the world of cellular technology that you should probably buckle yourself in. In you didn’t get enough to sate your appetite reading my Pew post, check out my latest gnovis blog here.

Here’s a tasty snippet:

The U.S., which has never been a leader in mobile technology, may finally be catching up (ever so slightly, at least) with foreign markets, thanks in large part to Google and Apple’s recent efforts to make the Internet mobile.

At the very least, American demand for many of these newer technologies, especially phones with internet capabilities, has been experiencing a significant upswing in the last year. Earlier this week, I posted a blog on the Pew Internet Project’s website that looked at the organization’s most recent data in light of some recent tech business news. For example, Pew’s most recent data suggest that many Americans cannot live without their cell phones — 51% say that it would be “very hard to give up” using them. This number has increased by 15% over the last five years. Even more significant is the percentage of Americans who report they would have a hard time giving up their Blackberries, which has jumped from just 6% of respondents in 2002 to 36% of respondents in 2007. I expect if this same question was asked at year-end 2008, we would see that number approaching, if not surpassing, the 50% mark. [More…]

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I may need to change professions, now that I know I’m a psychic (at least when it comes to DVD turf wars)

The battle royale is over and the victor has been chosen. Not since the Sony-Betamax showdown have consumer electronics fought so bravely to win dominance over the market. But after months of indecision, we can finally announce our winner: Blu-ray high definition DVDs have vanquished HD DVDs.

And who predicted this? Why, me of course. I think it was the obvious choice as soon as they announced PS3’s would contain a Blu-ray player, but apparently some others out there are not quite as quick at these things. And on top of that, Warner Bros. said in January they would only release their films on Blu-ray. If that wasn’t the final nail in the coffin, I don’t know what else could be.

So what caused this tipping point in favor of Blu-ray? Today, Toshiba revealed they will no longer make HD DVD players, thus effectively handing victory to Sony and Blu-ray. Luckily for me, I am typically not an early adopter for this very reason. At minimum, buying the technology too early can cause headaches when rebates are offered just a few months after the product is released or having to pay for upgrades to the software. At the worst end, you’re stuck with an expensive gadget and a few movies, and you can’t buy anything else. AND, no one will want to buy your now useless piece of electronics. Of course, it isn’t that expensive anymore, with the price of the players plummeting to just over $100 in many cases. Maybe now IS the time to buy one so you can show it off to your friends in 20 years as a collector’s item.

Of course it’s not too late to buy me a Christmas present! In fact, I’m happy to receive presents at all times of the year

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I love cooking. In fact, I love cooking so much that in those weak moments where I have thought all this higher education I’m going through was not worth it, I’ve seriously considered going to either culinary of pastry school. My friends can attest to my love of cooking, too. There’s the ridiculous amount of cookies I make each year (see these posts), the fancy dinner parties with two appetizers, two entrees, four sides AND dessert, and the weekly dinner I cook for friends to eat while watching House and reruns of The Office.

Anywho, one of the best parts of cooking is getting to use knives. Another dream of mine is to run away to the circus and become a knife thrower, or a knife-throwing trapeze artist, or something fun like that. My friend Matt bought me a beautiful 7-inch Furi East/West granton-edge knife a few years back, and I think I love that knife more than anything except my teddy bear. I love chopping up garlic and onions, dicing tomatoes, slicing peppers and meats… Ah, even thinking about it relaxes me.

But alas, that is just one knife. And while I do have others, they rest in a boring wood block. I need some excitement for my knives, a way to take out frustration at the men who have caused me grief. I need this! This beautiful knife holder known as “The Ex,” allows me to stab boys through the heart whenever I go into a rage. This would make my kitchen – and me – much happier. So buy me this for Christmas friends. In fact, I think one of those lovely men who caused me past grief should buy it for me as it is a just dessert.

There I go getting all bitter again. Stupid holidays. (But I still want the knife stand.)

Amazon offering pretty sweet HD DVD deal

Amazon is currently offering a deal where if you select one of three offered HD DVD players, you will receive 10 free HD DVDs. The three players offered, all on sale, range in price from $225 – $360. The catch is that you 1) automatically receive 300 and The Bourne Ultimatum with your purchase (that’s not much of a catch to me); 2) you then select three HD DVDs from a list offered by Amazon; and 3) you have to send a mail-in rebate for the other five DVDs you choose, from Amazon’s list. Oh yeah, and the list only has 24 choices.

Even still, this isn’t too bad of a deal. Of course, there’s also the debate as to whether HD DVD or BluRay will win the battle to become the next video player in America. Since there has been a ridiculous amount of debate already (and because I’m too busy at the moment), I won’t get into the specifics. I must say that I, however, will be waiting on the sidelines to see who wins before I go out and purchase a new DVD player. I don’t want to be like one of those poor souls stuck with a Betamax.

It’s time to buy me some presents people!

**UPDATE** Ok, screw the red version. I just found a black 160 GB on Buy.com for $70!! I couldn’t say no. Sorry boys, you’ll just have to shower me with diamonds and Lexuses this Christmas.

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Our friends at Engadget have come out with their yearly gift guides for him and for her. And since I know at least one person reading this blog is uber-rich and wants to buy me a kick-ass Christmas present, I’d like to offer you a beautiful option from their holiday guide.

Behold, the WD Passport, a 250GB portable hard drive in five different colors! (I want the red one por favor).

WD Passport

So I humbly beg my audience to consider purchasing this for me this upcoming holiday season, as my 3 1/2-year-old G5 has reached capacity and I need someplace to move a large amount of files. Yes, I know I c0uld just go out to Best Buy and purchase myself some ugly, lame external hard drive on my own, but it wouldn’t be nearly as colorful – or as portable – as the Passport.So buy away my friends, and I will pay you back in cookies and my eternal love…or maybe just cookies.

The headset for when your 13-year-old daughter wants to steal the car and talk on her cellphone hands-free

For the last 10 years, since I first decided I wanted a career in the communications/media industry, I’ve dealt with the question of diversity. Do more options make for a better experience? For example, the case of media consolidation is always a hot topic. As the power within the media pours into fewer and fewer hands, will this lack of diversity in ownership lead to a worse experience for the consumer?

However, this is my personal blog, so I will leave my deep insights and brilliant thoughts to my other, more professional blogs. Here I focus on the fun, silly, and dumb aspects of technology.

hello kitty headsetToday’s winner is the Hello Kitty and Chococat Bluetooth headsets. Now I do not have children, but if I did, I would certainly not be buying them cell phones before they are teenagers, let alone buy them headsets. Why does a child need a headset? What could they possibly be doing that required they use their phone hands-free? Maybe this is for those kids in DC who like to steal cars and then leave them burning on the side of the road. Now they can retain a sense of morals, knowing they are only breaking one law by stealing the car, and not two by not using a hands-free device.

We have got to stop turning our children into adults at such a young age. They do not need adult gadgets like cell phones, PDAs and the like while they are in elementary school. Let children be children for god’s sake. They should be climbing trees and playing tag, not texting their friends down the street or strutting around the house with a headset on so they can be like daddy (albeit a much more stylish daddy). Sometimes I feel like my generation was the end of the era, before technology ruled our lives. While I freely admit I am addicted to technology now, I am forever grateful I was free of it (for the most part at least) until my teenage years.

[Courtesy of Engadget]

I want the Kindle…wait, no I don’t…yes, I do…damnit, I can’t decide!

This week Amazon released the Kindle, a wireless book-, newspaper- and blog-reading device for the low, low price of $400. If only it wasn’t so damn expensive. If only it didn’t require a subscription fee. If only books were free to access. If only it read books to me in Sean Connery’s voice. Sigh.