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Think

Online youth need critical thinking skills

I both envy and worry about young people who are growing up in the age of the Internet.

I envy them for their lifelong access to a media that's diversified enough to bring them news, information, and opinion from an enormous number of sources.

There's something to be said for having access to thousands of media outlets. Unlike those of us who grew up in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, young people who smartly use the Internet to consume news today don't have to worry about everything being filtered by a small, elite, and typically white male … Read more

frog design, the book: How design strategies are shaping the future of business

Forgive this self-serving plug but I think this is worth sharing: My colleague, Frog Design founder and former CEO, Hartmut Esslinger, has written his first book, and it is available in stores now: A Fine Line - How Design Strategies Are Shaping the Future of Business. Part autobiography, part how-to innovation guide, part outlook to the future of design, A Fine Line is "a must-read for designers and business people alike" (Satjiv Chahil, senior vice president, Hewlett-Packard).

A Fine Line offers a step-by-step overview of the innovation process -- from targeting goals to shepherding new products and services … Read more

Lenovo's reasonably priced stylish consumer 14-incher: IdeaPad Y450

Formerly known for the iconic, if boxy, ThinkPads (which the company still does well: see our review of the T400s), Lenovo has also begun branching into more stylish consumer products, loosening up its slightly uptight design aesthetics along the way.

The recent IdeaPad line reflects the change most starkly: we looked at the 16-inch IdeaPad Y650 awhile ago, and were impressed by the thin, sturdy feel and bolder touches, including texture-patterned lids and glossy materials used in the interior.

While the IdeaPads retain Lenovo's comfortable keyboard and some of the same custom software, the prices are also more reasonable, … Read more

Reviewed: Lenovo ThinkPad T400s thins down your executive briefcase considerably

Although Lenovo has been reinventing itself as of late with its IdeaPad and Netbook lines, it's still a company known for boxy, business-end ThinkPads. There's no shame there: the ThinkPad was revolutionary in its time, and the iconic (if plain) design defined the modern business laptop. It also put Lenovo on the map after taking the brand over from IBM.

Despite having similar looks to its predecessor, the new 14-inch T400s is markedly thinner and lighter than the original T400, creating a highly portable machine that still packs a full-powered Core 2 Duo processor under the hood, unlike … Read more

Lenovo tweaks ThinkPad line with slim T400s

(For more hands-on impressions, make sure to check out our review of the T400s.)

ThinkPad laptops from Lenovo (formerly made by IBM) are among the most ubiquitous PCs found in offices around the world. Of course, most of those systems are boxy 14- and 15-inch models, which aren't usually the sharpest-looking machines in the coffee shop.

To keep up with the increasingly design-conscious consumer, Lenovo is taking some cues from its own popular X300 laptop--a slim, upscale 13-inch--and incorporating them into the new ThinkPad T400s, a reasonably svelte 14-inch mainstream business laptop that's 0.83 inches thick and … Read more

Twitter T-shirt says, 'You don't know me, man'

Twitter is great, but there usually comes a time when phenomena like it jump the proverbial shark. The fact that these T-shirts from ThinkGeek exist could mean Twitter is approaching that point, but I do kind of want one anyway.

The brown and blue shirt essentially turns you into the Twitter "anonymous" icon, or the default Twitter profile image for people who haven't uploaded their own pic (I use my CNET headshot, natch!).

The icon's pictured to the left, but for those who don't know it, it's o_O. Just like that. It's an … Read more