awesome

Lightning has struck more than once for Russell Simmons -- the man created successful TV shows like Def Comedy Jam and Def Poetry Jam and made himself an entertainment mogul -- but he knows he's losing out now because he's not creating content for every device.

"I'm really late, but I came to the party and there's still a block, there's still a hole in the market," he told an audience at CES 2013 today.

Simmons is gearing up to build a new network with new stars -- plucked from YouTube fame -- … Read more

My first Android phone, the original Motorola Droid, was one of the first phones to debut Google Maps Navigation. Now, Google knew that this feature would get drivers interested in using their Android phones in the car and that the tiny virtual buttons and shortcuts that worked well when the device was handheld wouldn't cut it behind the wheel. So, when users popped their Droids into their car docks, they were presented with a simplified interface with large shortcut buttons to car-centric apps, designed for safer use while driving.

Smartphones have come a long way since I retired my … Read more

When a Web site or app rejects your password as weak, the wrong length, or containing the wrong characters, don't swear and start adding stuff to an existing (and expired) password; download and run Awesome Password Generator instead. This simple, free tool from InfoPro quickly creates strong, random passwords and WPA passphrases of just the right length, type, and number of characters, and other parameters you set. But it doesn't just generate random strings of characters; its algorithms can create strong passwords that aren't difficult to type or that omit confusing characters such as 0 (zero) and … Read more

Diigo's Awesome Screenshot for Firefox is a fairly accurate description of this free extension for Mozilla Firefox: it's pretty awesome, as screenshot tools go. With it, you can quickly capture, edit, and monkey with screen captures before you send them to your friends. You can add text, arrows pointing here and there, and other effects while you're still waiting for your "full-featured" graphics tool to load.

Awesome Screenshot installs without requiring Firefox to be restarted, and it has its own Options sheet, though we could configure its updates from the Firefox add-on manager page. Awesome … Read more

I've been on a screenshot bent lately, and here is a screenshot tip that will appeal to both Mac and PC users. If you take a lot of screenshots of Web pages, check out Awesome Screenshot, a handy little Chrome extension that's easy to use, with just the right amount of features.

When it installs, it adds a small button to the Chrome toolbar. Click on the button, which looks like a camera lens, to see the three capture options: Capture Visible Part of Page, Capture Selected Area, and Capture Entire Page.

When you capture a screenshot, Awesome … Read more

Hulu keeps scoring new original TV shows. With three already under its belt, the streaming service announced today that it will be adding four more original shows that will include some big name actors, according to TechCrunch.

The new shows come at the same that the streaming service is announcing that Hulu Plus has now hit 2 millions subscribers, according to TechCrunch. It had about 1.5 million subscribers in January, so that means that it has added a half-million people in the last four months.

The new shows -- "We Got Next," "The Awesomes," "… Read more

Instagram created a social-media uproar last night when it changed its terms of service to state that it could license user photos for display by advertisers without consent and without compensation. Granted, Instagram isn't the first social-networking service to claim the right to use uploaded content, but the broad language with phrases like "without any compensation to you" spurred a quick and vocal backlash. And rightly so.

Fortunately, it took less than a day before Instagram began to realize its mistake. As rivals began to pounce on its fumble and users threatened to leave, CEO Kevin Systrom … Read more

On today's show, we talk to the guys from Chaotic Moon Studios, the ones building Kinect-controlled skateboards and shopping carts and more. They're moving into mind-controlled devices. No, really. Also, the problem with Google's new privacy policies: Web search! The iPad 3 rumor roundup, how to make the most of Google+, and Windows 8 vs. OS X Mountain Lion.

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Remember the Board of Awesomeness, the Kinect-controlled motorized skateboard from CES? Well, it just got more awesome.

The creator of this high-tech board, Chaotic Moon Labs, has come up with a new version called the Board of Imagination that works by reading your brain waves. That's right, a mind-controlled skateboard. You simply imagine where you'd like to go and how fast you want to get there, and the Board of Imagination will take care of the rest.

It's powered by the same 800-watt electric motor and Windows 8-enabled Samsung tablet as the Board of Awesomeness, but it … Read more