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aquariums

Five killer apps for your docked iPad

Does your iPad pull a lot of desk duty? Does it adorn your kitchen counter or even your nightstand? Do you routinely leave it on a dock or charger? If so, you should put that sucker to good use--even when you're not using it. After all, a big, beautiful screen is a terrible thing to waste.

As you learned yesterday, the iPad already knows how to function as a photo frame--and a damn fine one at that. But not everyone wants to look at photos all day. Maybe you'd prefer stock updates? Tweets? How about fish? Here are five apps to keep a docked iPad interesting:

Bloomberg: Want to keep tabs on the stock market? It's hard to imagine a lovelier window on Wall Street than Bloomberg for iPad. It delivers news, equity indices, a personalized stock portfolio, currency exchange rates, and plenty more, all wrapped in a gorgeous interface--and updated at regular intervals. Best of all, it's a freebie!

Chirp Frame: Twitter addicts, this one's for you. The app serves up tweets as they arrive, effectively turning your iPad into a big, beautiful Twitter frame. You can choose from one of three slick backgrounds, swiping as desired to read earlier tweets. Of course, when you're feeling the need to send out your own status update, all it takes is a tap of the screen to tweet (or reply). Chirp Frame costs 99 cents.

iQuarium HD: Real fish are kind of a pain, don't you think? You have to feed them, clean the tank, yell at people to stop tapping the glass, and all that. iQuarium provides all the joys of fish-tank ownership with none of the hassles (or expense--it's a mere $1.99). Actually, the app is as much a Tamagotchi-style game as it is a virtual fish tank, as you have to feed your fish daily--eventually earning "fish points" to decorate your tank with accessories, backgrounds, more fish, etc. If you want more instant gratification, check out Marine Aquarium (also $1.99).… Read more

Get three BluScenes Blu-ray discs for the price of one

You paid big bucks for that HDTV and Blu-ray player, so you might as well utilize them to their fullest, right? That's the idea behind BluScenes, a series of Blu-ray discs that turn your TV into an aquarium, a fireplace, and, um, a space telescope.

Each disc usually sells for $14.99, but from now until April 23, you can score all three BluScenes discs for just $12.99 (plus $2 for shipping).

The Coral Reef Aquarium is pretty straightforward: it offers three different aquarium views, all of them shot in 1080p using one of those fancy RED One … Read more

Gadgettes Podcast 162: The Swank Pad Episode

We are here to help you swankify your domicile. Now, all you need to do is shell out a gazillion dollars and you're golden.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 162

ZeroEdge aquariums bring infinity pools to your fish

Dell Inspiron Zino ready to grace home theaters everywhere

9h Capsule Hotel: micro rooms with mucho luxury

Futuristic Bathtub by Spiritual Mode

Shower cubicle lets you sweat, watch TV and get clean (Thanks NDC!)

Wall of Sound’ is the world's biggest iPod speakerRead more

Home aquarium monitor

Aquarium Lab provides an incredible amount of control tracking the fish, tank, and other elements that complete an aquarium. Its comprehensive tools and simple navigation make this an impressive choice.

We liked the program's interface, especially how it listed every element that makes up an aquarium and allowed for quick glances at each one's status. We never touched the instructional Help file because the program was so intuitive. We were impressed that every element from the water's PH balance, to food, to the electricity used allowed for its data to be inputted and monitored for a comprehensive … Read more

Diverse aquarium screensaver

Dream Aquarium Screensaver offers users an opportunity to turn their computer screen into a fish tank when they are not using it. With a surprising amount of options, you can control virtually every aspect of the program except for one important one.

The program has a somewhat confusing interface that requires the user to right-click on the aquarium as it's running in order to access the Options menu. But the actual fish tank action is impressive. Up to six species of sea creatures (the trial limits the tank to six) move in realistic ways and look lifelike, whether they … Read more

Attractive aquarium screensaver

The 3D Fish School Screensaver is an attractive way for users to transform their computer screens into burbling aquariums. The simple interface and realistic graphics make this program a pleasure to use, but the limitations of the trial version are a somewhat significant drawback.

The trial version of the software allows users to choose between one freshwater and one saltwater scene; the full version includes additional options. Users can customize such features as the number and types of fish, amount of bubbles, background, and lighting. The screensaver features both bubble and wave sounds, each of which can be turned off … Read more

Your most popular screensavers

Though computer monitor technology has long since passed the days when you truly needed to "save your screen," screensavers are still a lot of fun and a great way to personalize your desktop when you're away from the computer. This collection features screensavers that are most popular with our users.

Free Fire Screensaver sets your icons and windows ablaze. Watch as each item slowly catches fire and begins to smoke on your desktop. Crackling and popping sounds and a musical soundtrack complete the effect. Add your own MP3 to customize your desktop flare-up.

3D Fish School Screensaver Read more

First Look video: Dream Aquarium Screensaver

If you're the kind of clenched-up stresser who finds it hard to relax, invest in an aquarium. Watching the fishies swim by is a peaceful, soothing pastime, experts say. But are you really going to cart the whole operation into the office? Roll up your sleeves to siphon mucky water into your garbage can? Heft the tank to your coworkers' desk when your office is locked over vacation? Yeah, right. Undersea observation may do the trick at home, but for the office, a screensaver like Dream Aquarium Screensaver is a heck of a lot more practical. It works, too. … Read more

Hello Kitty takes to the water too

It was inevitable, really. We've seen aquariums of all kind on Crave, including one that can even be controlled via Wi-Fi. So of course we would eventually encounter one from Hello Kitty.

And just so we can always stay near, Tokyomango says the Sanrio empire has generously included a USB connection for this faux tank as well. It makes perfect sense, now that we think about it: first air, then land, now water. The invasion continues unabated.

5 absurd Facebook apps

Just two months after the launch of Facebook's f8 developer platform, there are nearly 2,000 applications. While a good portion of them are useful and work well as social tools, there are also a handful that are simply absurd. In no apparent order, I've rounded up five of my favorites below.

Vibrating Hamster. The vibrating hamster is a simple picture of a lovable rodent you can put on your profile. As the name suggests, every time you click the picture, the hamster vibrates violently while playing the Web meme-famous hamster dance song. To keep anonymous hamster vibrations … Read more