rides

Tony Hawk gets a new skateboard

This article was updated on 5/19/09 to add the info that you actually CAN "ride" the board. Thanks Cravers for pointing this out.

The last Tony Hawk game I played was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 on the Dreamcast. Getting good enough to pull off trick after trick in succession in that game was close to gaming nirvana for me.

Since then, the series has had its ups and downs and with strong competition from EA's Skate series, and Activision--publisher of all things Tony Hawk--needs to find new ways to get players excited again … Read more

Cordarounds keep bikers in bright sight on light nights

Cycling commuters are forced to deal with a million obstacles on the ride to and from work. In urban areas, cars remain our biggest foe, largely because people don't make the effort to look out for our blinking lights. Plenty of companies offer cycling-specific clothing, but they're terribly unflattering in all the wrong places.

But check this out: Cordarounds has developed these Bike to Work Pants. The inside of the pockets and pant cuffs are actually made from a material that reflects lights, thus increasing a cyclist's visibility and safety.

In "daytime mode," the pants … Read more

Podio music player adds a soundtrack to your bike ride

Listening to headphones while riding a bike is obviously dangerous, and yet I see so many fellow cyclists mashing around with wires dangling from their ears. Why? Well, that's easy: because everyone loves riding to a soundtrack.

Unfortunately, there are too many important road noises (honks, sirens, etc...) that deserve attention, so music has to take a back seat...that is, unless you have the Podio, a digital audio player with a built-in speaker specifically designed for jamming in the bike lane.

The portable Podio includes a special bracket that easily mounts onto a set of handlebars. You can … Read more

Taxi Magic's new iPhone payment powers

Last week I wrote about Taxi Magic (download), an iPhone app that, along with RideCharge--its cousin for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile phones--lets you order a cab to your present location, and track it as it wends its way toward you. Version 1.1, released on Wednesday, gives Taxi Magic the one main feature missing from its BlackBerry and Windows Mobile counterparts: the ability to pay your cab fare with a tap of the iPhone.

This mobile payment option works by associating one or more credit cards to your RideCharge account (RideCharge's privacy policy). When it's time to pay, … Read more

RideCharge: Tip a cabbie from your phone

Not everyone is as lucky as we are to work adjacent to a hotel with a fresh supply of taxicabs pulling up to its curb. When you're stuck without a ride, cab-calling applications can make ordering a taxi through local companies a surer, safer thing than throwing yourself in the middle of a darkened street and flailing your arms wildly.

A recent application we've looked at, RideCharge for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile (www.ridecharge.com from the mobile browser), not only lets you order a cab from your phone without placing a call, but it also has you … Read more

Sled on

The iPhone and iPod Touch version of the cult classic Flash game "Line Rider" is every bit as enjoyable on the slim, slick phone as it is online. The nearly identical controls let you draw a track for Bosh the sledder to ride once you press Play. An eraser tool and infinite undoes make it easy to adjust a deadly pitch, and the flag button helps you mark a new starting place for your rider, so you don't have to start at the beginning each time you test a length of track.

Creating a route can be … Read more

'Line Rider' iPhone game sleds on

Even in the Web 2.0 universe, a literally two-dimensional concept can give way to a cult classic, provided it contains a compelling kernel of originality and ways to brand the finished product as your own. The sledding game "Line Rider" humbly began as an online Flash game in which a boy sledded down a track of your design, but it quickly garnered fans who created fantastically creative tracks across which the rider dramatically tumbles and swoops.

It's only fitting that "Line Rider" make the leap onto the iPhone. "Line Rider iRide" ($2.… Read more

Bicycle in NYC without being killed using Ride the City

My CNET colleague in New York, Caroline McCarthy, insists there's not a single safe street for bicyclists in New York City. Don't tell that to Ride the City, a mashup for bikers who don't want to end up road kill in the streets of one of the busiest cities in the world.

Like Google Maps, you just plug in your start point and destination and it does the rest. But instead of simply giving you the fastest way there it will map out a route that takes advantage of streets with dedicated bike lanes, and completely avoids … Read more

Where Bakalar isn't just his name...he's actually Back-a-lar

EPISODE 39

Today, we actually get it right! We sucker in Tom Merritt to talk about Amy Winehouse's drunken badness, a guy gets denied an all-star game marriage proposal, unlimited cell phone minutes, and N+, like stick figure lemmings...but for Xbox 360, and Pimp My Ride for Wii. Listen in on the fun!

Listen now: Download today's podcast