parties

Open source overrated by U.K. conservatives?

President Barack Obama recently made waves by tapping Sun Microsystems' chairman to pen a white paper on the benefits of open source.

Not to be outdone, Britain's Tory (conservative) party is now suggesting that it will, if elected, shift to open source to save an immediate 600 million British pounds (about $858 million).

While I support any organization's greater adoption of open source, the Tories seem to be treating open source like a campaign slogan, rather than a thoughtful IT-purchasing policy. (As a conservative, it pains me to have to write that. :-))

Yes, open source can save … Read more

Quicksnap ice tray pops out one cube at a time

As the day of the big game draws closer, households everywhere are planning menus, inviting guests, and figuring out just how many TVs it takes to actually host a successful Super Bowl party. However, some of us prefer to keep things a bit less extravagant, instead opting for a small gathering as opposed to an all-out affair. Years of study (42 to be exact) have shown that the optimum number of invitees for a Super Bowl party is eight people. Large screen or small, this number (which coincides nicely with the amount of previous games) is scientifically proven (or arbitrarily … Read more

Raclette grill for Super Bowl parties

Finally, it is time for the Super Bowl. The flip side to Thanksgiving, where delicious homemade full meals are served, Super Bowl Sunday is another great food day, albeit with less, shall we say, wholesome foods. Gone are the turkey and potato dishes with vegetable sides, replaced instead by greasy and fatty snackable treats. If Thanksgiving is the true start of the holiday season, perhaps Super Bowl Sunday is a fitting end.

Even though the Philadelphia Eagles lost and won't be appearing in this year's game, the Philly cheesesteak is still a timeless success. Deconstructed, its constituent ingredients … Read more

First 3rd-party iPhone Mail Client: Send Multiple Photos

A new iPhone application allows users to bypass the iPhone's inherent one-photo-per-email limit. Appropriately dubbed "Multi-Photo Email," the applications works by connecting to a user's SMTP server and sending photos as simple attachments. Users can designate a subject and body, in essence making this application the first third-party email client for the iPhone.

Multi-Photo Email includes the following features:

Pick photos directly from the library Import recipients from the Address Book Adjust photo quality and reduce photo size

The new app is priced at $0.99 and is available through the iTunes App Store.

Newsweek asks design firms to "resurrect the Republican brand"

A somewhat unconventional yet challenging task: Newsweek invited four "hot (and nonpartisan) design firms" to provide ideas and design direction for "resurrecting the Republican brand," featured in this week's (December 29) print issue. The full-page feature presents concepts by frog design (full disclosure: my employer), Pentagram, Razorfish, and The Groop.

The article is not available online so check it out at a news stand (and support print media!).

Better drinking through chemistry (cocktail set)

As party season ratchets up to full swing, those with an appreciation for the sciences might enjoy this novelty Chemistry Cocktail Set. The chemical composition of drinks won't be affected, but for the mad scientist in all of us, this cocktail set glows with (hopefully nonradioactive) whimsy.

The set includes four glass test tubes, a glass beaker, a stirrer, a cocktail shaker, and a metal tray. It is hand washable.

Fun is fun and all (and we all know science is fun), but I am a little confused by this product. I can imagine it sitting on my kitchen … Read more

Looks good, less filling

Cocktails recipes may be the sustaining purpose and anchor for the bartending application Party Pro, but the drinks library isn't the only character in the cast. An international unit converter, basic bartending tips, and a blood alcohol calculator make up the other three-fourths of the application, along with those recipes for the Lady Love Fizz and the Bloody Brain.

While the library is excellent, the application's organization could make the recipes more readily accessible. Instead, it favors a list-like architecture. The search function would be better were it predictive, and the application's bar locator misses an opportunity … Read more

WiiWare and Virtual Console releases for this week

This week brings us the next episode in the Strong Bad saga, a kahuna part, and a classic arcade racer from Sega. WiiWare Strong Bad Episode 5: 8-Bit Is Enough (Telltale Games, 1,000 Wii points): Is it episode 5 already? The fifth installment of the game based on the lovable flash cartoon characters is ready for download on WiiWare. Big Kahuna Party (Reflexive Entertainment Inc., 700 Wii points): Big Kahuna Party is a family-oriented collection of minigames with a kahuna theme. The game offers more than 100 levels to play through, all with varying difficulty. Virtual Console Enduro Racer (… Read more

Heat up the party with a warm dip

I like parties. Maybe not so much hosting them, but going to them. At first, the reason for party-hosting-avoidance may seem obvious, as nobody enjoys the day after clean up, but there is more to it than that. I like going to parties to check out the spread.

I am always appreciative of the party treats as I table graze. With an endless assortment of snackable treats out there, the combinations can be truly overwhelming (deliciously overwhelming, that is). As I make my way past the obligatory crackers and occasional veggie, I keep my eye open for the one thing … Read more