Monday, March 30, 2009

What College Dorms are Really Like

Top 10 Must Have Gmail Add-ons and Hacks


Maximum PC has a great article listing the 10 most noteworth apps and add-ons you should have for Gmail. Some are user oriented, some are just plain handy. All are worth a look.

Deals: Monitor

Dell is currently offering a 24 Inch HD widescreen monitor for $209. Use coupon code 1Z829VM32T983V to bring that price down to a cool $188. Oh, and get free shipping too!

[Via Slickdeals]

***UPDATE: Due to an apparently huge demand, Dell has ended this deal***

Friday, March 27, 2009

Gmail Makes a Small Change

If you're using Gmail, and you're not using the 'Mark as Read' button, leave now, and go enable it and start using it! Now that you're all using it and up to speed, you'll be happy to know that Google is making a small, but very nice change to the already handy tool. Check it out.

Microsoft Commercials Getting Better

I think we can all agree that while its funny to watch how awkward Bill Gates can be, the commercials he did with Jerry Seinfeld just didn't do it for many people.



Microsoft has been doing their homework though, and have pumped out this new video that actually works, and speaks to the thoughts of the average computer shopper.

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:0bb6a07c-c829-4562-8375-49e6693810c7&showPlaylist=true&from=shared" target="_new" title="Laptop Hunters $1000 – Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion">Video: Laptop Hunters $1000 – Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion</a>

Geico is Evil




Geico has always had a lot of fun with their commercials. From the cavemen, to the Celebs with real customers, to this new money clip guy, they have hooked us all on their zany clips. The latest series of clips have included a dance/techno song in the background that usually plays at the end. This song is very catchy, and I know I'm not the only one that now has it embedded in my brain stem.

They say the best way to get rid of a stuck song is to listen to it fully a couple of times. So, in the spirit of saving humanity (until they turn on the TV again), I have the link to the song, that you may go and cleanse your thumping eardrums.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Sexy Cellulars

Ah, technology. Its allowed us to do many good things, like the personal computer, or portable telephones. And speaking of that last one, did you know that these phones can have cameras built into them? And that, just like every other camera ever made, they will take pictures of anything you put in front of them? Did you also know that since the camera is built into a phone, you can send the pictures wirelessly to other people, and even websites? Are you sick of these run on questions? Me too, phew. Anyways, a new trend has emerged where people, and more importantly teens, are sending racy, or even nude pictures of themselves to other people or websites (now deemed sexting). This is causing an uproar, especially with the involved parents. And so, now you have to figure out whether/where the child porn laws kick in. Ars Technica has a great article on this, and whether or not you typically like the law side of the tech world, this whole debacle will surely affect your life, so you may want to pay attention.

New J&A

Funny guys Jake and Amir have uploaded a new video.



Looking at this, and comparing it to their older stuff, you realize the long way they have come.


Proverbs from Jake Hurwitz on Vimeo.

Woot-Off Today

Not much else to say. If you haven't enjoyed one of these before, you're missing out and should definitely click here! If you are running vista, or have the ported Vista sidebar for XP, you may like these two gadgets as well to keep an eye on things while not taking up a browser tab.

Gadget 1
Gadget 2

However, if you don't mind keeping Woot! open, but don't want to have to manually refresh the page, ReloadEvery will support your laziness (Firefox users only).

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Play New Games on Crappy Equipment

Are you one of the many people who have a machine now considered sub-par by the video game industry, and their increasing amount of detail in their products? Well, there may be good news on the horizon. OnLive has been making the rounds on many sites, and there is a lot of buzz about this new software. The idea is simple; render the game on a cloud (see cloud computing), and then send the pretty pictures back to the host machine. This allows for amazing graphics, and eliminates the ridiculous requirements of new games. Plus, the service will make the games playable on your television, giving the PC gamers more ammo against those stupid console nerds. Of course, the speed of your internet will have a lot of effect on the output quality, so those of you on DSL are probably not going to love this service as much as the Cable'd remainder. (You can test your connection speeds, both download and upload here).

Monday, March 23, 2009

Price Matching? Not Really says Best Buy

Ars Technica, and many other sources, have it that Best Buy's not actually trying to match prices. Instead, they are offering employees bonuses to make sure that the prices are NOT matched. Don't you love big chain stores?

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Internet Explorer 8 Available for Download

Internet Explorer 8 has been officially released! There is a good chance that the famous 404 errors will start to appear, so be patient, and keep trying.

Hulu Gets Even Better

Hulu has been feeling the pressure to keep their TV on the web service new, fresh, and full of good shows/movies to watch. In a move that will surely help gain some viewers, they have added an all new Documentaries section, and hired some big name actors to start doing some TV spots. While I don't think this is going to quadruple their viewing audience overnight, things like this help a ton by getting the word out into the public. As a person who's been using Hulu from the beginning, I'm very excited to see what they do next, and hope that they will be around for a long time to come.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Google Voice Tour

For those who didn't hop on the Grandcentral train (pun intended), and missed out on the Google Voice thing (for now), Lifehacker has a screenshot post showing off all the new goodies. Enjoy.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Gadget and Other Deals

I hate paying for anything. I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that I'm not the only one. But, I also realize that there are things that you will just always have to pay for. That being the case, I would like to minimize the damage as much as possible. Enter Dealhacker (from Lifehacker), and Dealzmodo (from Gizmodo). They are articles that the two sites post typically once per day with a list of the best deals that they have spotted across the web. And while you could sit and surf the same websites that they do (like FatWallet, Meritline, and even Newegg) and try to find the best deals yourself, I have found this mashup to be very timesaving and much easier than browsing myself.

Got a site that you like? Post it in the comments!

Monday, March 16, 2009

St. Patricks Presents

St. Pattys is coming, and what better way to say I love you to your schnookum than this. Just remember that when you give this gift, you'll want to actually fill the empty boxes you just bought.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Grandcentral now Google Voice

After acquiring Grandcentral in July 2007, Google had seemingly forgotten about this potentially awesome product.  We got a wonderful surprise though last night when Google announced Google Voice.  GV promises many new features, the most anticipated of which being voicemail transcription and SMS support (entire features list here).  If you aren't already using Grandcentral, you're going to have to wait a while though.  You can sign up here to be informed via email that Voice is now accepting new applications.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

10 Second Charging for New Battery

Ars Technica has it that a new breakthrough could give new lithium batteries the ability to completely discharge or recharge their energy in approximately the same amount of time as a capacitor.  The same technology could also have the new battery holding a much denser charge, leaving you with more time for your device.  

4G and WiMax to Demolish 3G Speeds

Gizmodo has a very interesting article explaining why 4G and WiMax are going to finally give mobile users the quick data access we've been craving for.  It looks like Verizon is going to be the first to cross the finish line, with AT&T clinging on to 3G for just a bit longer.  Keep in mind, however, that its expected that the 4G roll out will be even slower than its 3G predecessor.  Ah, the wait for decent speeds on cell phones continues...

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Free Concerts Online

Dealnews has an excellent article detailing and linking to sites that stream concerts online for free.  Its a great resource, especially since at least 1 out of 10 of you are unemployed now, statistically speaking.


Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Mouse Gestures in Gmail Finally Fixed

It appears that the Google Labs feature, Mouse Gestures for Gmail has finally been fixed.  Its been down for at least a month for most people, causing a lot of frustration for people that were loving the feature (myself included!).  But now, with the awesome back, we can all take a deep breath and dive back into our obsessive emailing.

Free software

If you're like me, you absolutely hate paying for something that you could very easily get for free.  Whether it be video games, or coffee, free stuff is just better!  But, when it comes to software, if you want free, you either get open source (read:Linux), or you get crappy 15 day trials.  Neither of those have ever been appealing to me.  Enter Giveaway of the Day.  GotD is a site with the same sort of idea as Woot!, with one difference; they never charge for any of their products!  They give away one free piece of software every single day.  From screensavers, to video converters, they've had it all, and will hopefully continue to be able to for a long time to come!

Violent Video Games and the Apocalypse

A friend of mine over at the Girl-Economist brought to my attention at matter of utmost importance; improper preparation of our young ones for the inevitable apocalypse of this planet.  If we don't hop on this fast, our already impending doom will that much more horrific.  We need to immediately start purchasing consoles, PC's, and games, and start seperating our kids from other children forcing them to play these realistic simulators.  This will put them in the proper state of mind and give them the skills they need to defend themselves and planet Earth, thus saving our dismal futures.


Sunday, March 01, 2009

LG Versa Hits Verizon Today

Verizon Wireless has officially released the LG XV9600.  Its price: $199.99 if you buy it online and sign a 2-year contract.  Cnet has a great review here.  Personally, I'm loving the detachable qwerty keyboard and I think that more phones had features like this.