magic

If you've been holding off on buying the Lytro light-field camera because you're a Windows user, you can now get out your credit card. The revolutionary little camera that lets you shoot first and focus later can now be used with both Mac and Windows computers.

When the camera started shipping in March, the desktop software required to offload and process the camera's "living pictures" required Mac OS 10.6.6 or higher. A Windows 7 64-bit version of the same desktop software is now available for download.… Read more

What a difference a month makes. (This is an update of a post I wrote a month ago, almost to the day.)

Landlines? Pffft. I haven't used one for years. And why would I when I'm already paying for broadband Internet service, which has more than enough bandwidth to carry my voice? All I need is a voice-over-IP adapter.

There are lots of options here, including well-known ones like MagicJack and Vonage. But there's another product that's just as good, if not better -- and it's on sale.

Today only, and while supplies last, 1SaleADay … Read more

Spellsword is an excellent and almost blindingly fast-paced arena-combat arcade game with addictive RPG elements, super-cute 16-bit fantasy art, and often hypnotic chiptune sound.

At first glance, Spellsword shares some similarities with another great game, Super Crate Box: Both have you dodging enemies and chasing powerups around a satisfyingly cramped playscreen--but Spellsword adds a couple of twists, with a mini RPG-style purchasing system (you collect "rupees," which you can then use between levels to buy equipment and make your powers more effective) and a unique take on power-ups with "spell cards." As you bounce around the (… Read more

-Facebook quietly adds creepy "Find Friends Nearby" feature.

-Apple no longer claims immunity from viruses on its Web store.

-New site "weknowhatyouredoing.com" tracks Twitter and posts incriminating patterns.

-Hot Toys' Joker action figure is serious...ly amazing.

-No one watches TV, Nielsen, and you know it.… Read more

I haven't had a landline phone for years. See, I'm already paying for broadband Internet service, which has more than enough bandwidth to carry my voice. All I need is a voice-over-IP adapter to bridge the gap between my cordless phone system and my router.

There are countless options here; you've probably heard of the more famous ones like MagicJack and Vonage. But there's another product that's just as good, if not better -- and it's on sale.

Today only, and while supplies last, 1SaleADay has the refurbished NetTalk Duo VoIP adapter for $29.99, … Read more

If you need to know the dimensions of a room in your house, there's no need to retrieve your tape measure. More than likely, your iPhone or iPad is closer by. Install the free universal app MagicPlan and you'll soon have your desired measurements. And if you are an armchair architect, property manager, or are planning some variety of project that requires a floor plan, MagicPlan can do that, too. Here's how it works:

When you first launch the app, it shows you a brief video tutorial that covers the basics for capturing the dimensions of a room. Basically, you stand in the middle of a room and snap a picture of each of the corners. As you snap each shot, the app drops an orange cone in the corner. Once you take a second picture of the corner you started with, MagicPlan creates a plan for the room.… Read more

Things I didn't know existed until just recently: the Obihai OBiTalk, a gizmo that plugs into your router and pairs with SIP-based voice-over-IP services like Google Voice; and GVJack App, a Windows utility that links a MagicJack to your Google Voice account.

Why are these products significant? Simple: Google Voice offers free local and long-distance calling -- through the end of 2012, at least. After that, it's anybody's guess. Google might continue the free-phone goodness, or it might start charging for service. (If the latter happens, it's a good bet it'll be cheap.)

Whatever the … Read more

I have tremendous respect for two groups of engineers: Apple's hardware designers and Google's Web programmers. But when it comes to Google Maps, boy, do I wish the two got along better.

For months now, I've suffered from a problem using the mouse on Google Maps: when I'd click and drag to pan the map using the Magic Mouse, the view would zoom out when I released the button. Instead of feeling the magic, I felt hexed.

The issue stems from the fact that sliding your finger forward or backward along the Magic Mouse is equivalent … Read more

It seems that nothing in Windows can't be improved by a little (or a lot) of tweaking, and the perfect example is the Clipboard. ClipMagic Lite a freeware version of a clipboard management tool. Like the others, it lets you save, store, and manage clips, especially text files and images. It automatically adds clips when you press CTRL+C or select Copy, and even saves URLs when copying text from online sources. It has many other features, though some of the tools and options described in the extensive Help manual and tutorials are only available in the paid upgrade, … Read more