leisure

Computerized fishing rod won't put worms on hooks

If you like a little high-tech help when fishing for dinner, leave the fishfinder at home and try this electronic rod.

The SmartRod has an accelerometer that tells you when a fish bites your line. A sound or light alarm goes off so you can try reeling it in promptly.

Billed as the first of its kind in the world, the SmartRod is the subject of an Indiegogo campaign that's aiming to amass $50,000 for development with 20 days remaining. It's got a long way to go. … Read more

For the modern Tarzan, a cocoon bed in the trees

You may have had a cool treehouse as a kid, but would you want to spend more than five minutes in it today? Well, try spending the night in this deluxe pod that hangs from the branches.

The Cocoon Tree is a spherical tent formed by 24 aluminum rods. It hangs from polyester ropes tied to trunks and branches, and has a net below for access and safety.

The tent weighs about 130 pounds without anyone in it. The structure itself can support more than 2 tons. The ropes can bear loads of 1.6 tons, and there are six … Read more

Xbox co-creator channels arcade classics at mobile-game startup

Innovative Leisure is a startup with a singular purpose: Create great mobile-gaming experiences. To accomplish that mission, co-founder Seamus Blackley has assembled a crew of industry veterans who know a thing or two about developing popular titles.

The team includes the developers responsible for arcade classics like Asteroids and Centipede; Battlezone; Major Havoc; and Missile Command. In other words, some of the most popular titles in gaming history.

The coming together of the startup has been largely credited to Blackley, who also helped launch the original Xbox at Microsoft before leaving the company in 2002. So one might question whether … Read more

Podcast: Goby helps you find fun things to do

Goby is a new search engine designed to answer the age old question, "what is there to do for fun around here?"

Goby.com is designed specifically to help people find things to do in their leisure time ranging from hiking to biking to finding a good restaurant or bed and breakfast.

Goby CEO Mark Watkins talked with Larry Magid about why his search engine is a better fun finder than general search tools like Google and Bing.

Subscribe now: iTunes (audio) | RSS (audio)

When a computer decides you must choke to death

Perhaps you are skeptical about the notion that computers will, one day, actually control us.

Perhaps you might imagine yourself to be a little dependent on your digital friend but not to the degree that it tells you what to do.

Perhaps, however, you have never stayed at the Hotel Monte Mulini on Croatia's Adriatic Coast. Please allow me to explain.

I am currently in Rovinj, Croatia, home of the Weekend Media Festival. The festival has speakers from companies such as Google, MTV, and Nokia and, well, there was this one speech Saturday titled, "Why advertise when you … Read more

Study: 'Leisure browsing' increases productivity

Updated at the end with response to some reader comments

Here's some good news that you should forward to your boss.

A study conducted in Australia found that people who engage in "Workplace Internet Leisure Browsing" (WILB) are more productive than those who don't. Workers who "surf the Internet for fun at work--within a reasonable limit of less than 20 percent of their total time in the office--are more productive by about 9 percent,"* according to the study's author, Professor Brent Coker, from the University of Melbourne's Department of Management and Marketing.… Read more

A foam football that keeps stats

Sonny "Molasses Hands" Frankfort. Lou "250 Rushing Yards Before Dinner" Melvin. Morton "Grass Stains" Phillips. Max "Banana Legs" Shaughnessy. These are the legends of backyard football, and now your name can join them in the pantheon of leisure sports.

The foam Virtual Distance Football, available from the Discovery Store, measures how far you can huck a Nerf-like football. The ball's "advanced sensor technology" calculates the in-air yardage of your pass, then displays it on an LCD screen right on the ball.

Unfortunately, the ball does not calculate "yards … Read more

iPod cases to hide your secret identity

Let's say that, by day, you're a thirty- or fortysomething who works in a buttoned-down office setting. But by night, you still get the occasional urge to boogie, much to your children's dismay. (Not that we know anyone like this--it's a strictly hypothetical scenario.)

Griffin Technology may have something that can help you maintain your dual identity. The self-described "creator of all things iPod" says it is introducing two popular cases for the new Nano lines. The "iClear " model holds true to its name, a transparent but durable polycarbonate shell that won'… Read more