It's Thanksgiving time in the U.S., which means we all sit down to a meal of turkey and a bunch of fattening side dishes and then pretend to watch football while we nap. At least that's the stereotype. However much truth it holds doesn't concern me, however. All I care about is that I have an excuse to play on the word turkey and do a top 5 about some of the worst tech of the year.
So watch the show, bask in the turkeyness of some of this year's tech, then come back here and enter a comment either complaining how I bashed your favorite product, or answering the lame prize question.
Answer to last week's question: Beyerdynamic DT 48
Tom and Brian name the tech they think was a turkey in 2009 and get a few turkeys from listners of the show as well.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Subscribe with iTunes (audio)
Subscribe with iTunes (video)
Subscribe with RSS (audio)
Subscribe with RSS (video)
... Read more
Should you buy that extended warranty? Tom Merritt says no. Rafe Needleman says sometimes. We'll give you some guidance on how to decide if it's worth the money.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Subscribe with iTunes (audio)
Subscribe with iTunes (video)
Subscribe with RSS (audio)
Subscribe with RSS (video)
... Read more
(Credit:
Perpetual Kid)
How selfish can one truly get? How about the $19.99 Fridge Locker, the ultimate weapon against food thieves? When it comes to bunking with roomies and even siblings who are full-time freeloaders, there's no arsenal great enough to protect your private food stash.
The Fridge Locker is really a tiny cage measuring 7.5 inches by 7.5 inches by 11 inches with a metal combination lock to keep out what the retailer can't help calling "Refrig-A Raiders." Poor pun aside, I wonder if this would kill your popularity rating if you brought one to the office? Goes brilliantly with the Ben & Jerry's combination lock and moldy sandwich bags.
(Source: Crave Asia via OhGizmo)
(Credit:
Geek Stuff 4 U)
If you just gotta have USB Warm Gloves, Japanese e-tailer Thanko has finally released a new fashion model, four years later. The latest gloves (2,500 yen, $27.75) come in white with faux trimmings for a more feminine elegance. Not forgetting the tech nerds, they also come in a more conservative black without the furry bits.
Other than those cosmetic tweaks, the gloves retain the original hood so you can expose your twinky digits for more effective keyboard work. The bummer is you'll need two USB jacks to plug in and get toasty, which could be a crowd if you're pairing these with the equally dubious USB slippers.
(Source: Crave Asia via Akihabara News)
We're getting close to the holidays and we know you're starting to make your wish lists. So we're treating this month's most popular products list as a request. You're spending a lot of your time viewing these products. We get it. Feel free to send this video around to friends and family as a hint.
And while we're at it, let's give you something. Well, one of you. Go watch the video, answer the trivia question, and come back here and post your guess. It could light up your holidays. Literally.
The answer to last week's question was: The GNU Project.
Special hint. If you have a bogus e-mail address in your account, you won't win because you'll never get the e-mail. Just a thought.
(Credit:
The Beatles)
No, the digitally remastered Beatles catalog hasn't come to Apple's iTunes. But it has come to an apple-shaped USB device.
Retailing for $279.99, the collection will be released December 8 in North America, three months after the September 9 release of the remastered set of the band's albums (as well as The Beatles: Rock Band video game). The apple shape is in reference to Apple Corps, the Beatles music publisher--which in the past, you may recall, sued tech giant Apple in a trademark dispute.
(Credit:
The Official Beatles Shop)
When the release of the remastered Beatles catalog and Rock Band game were announced for September 9, 2009 (the band has a song called "Revolution 9"), speculation arose that a concurrently scheduled Apple Inc. announcement might bring the catalog, still unavailable for digital download on the Web, to iTunes. That didn't happen. But with the release of the USB collection, the albums are available in non-CD digital form for the first time.
In addition to MP3 and FLAC versions of 14 stereo titles, according to a release, the 16GB device contains "all of the remastered CDs' visual elements, including 13 mini-documentary films about the studio albums, replicated original UK album art, rare photos and expanded liner notes."
Correction 10:45 a.m. PST: This story initially misstated the release date. It is December 8 in North America. Also, the type of lawsuit Apple Corps filed against Apple Inc. has been corrected. It was a trademark dispute.
TwitterPeek sells for $99 or $199.
(Credit: Peek)A new gadget designed specifically for people who want to tweet on the go was launched Tuesday by gadget maker Peek.
The device, dubbed TwitterPeek, does one thing and one thing only: it lets people tweet. It doesn't access e-mail. It doesn't make phone calls. It tweets. That's it.
TwitterPeek, which looks like a smartphone, features a QWERTY keyboard and comes in black or aqua blue.
The idea behind TwitterPeek is simple. After buying the device, users need only to input their Twitter credentials to get going. The gadget lets them tweet, reply, retweet, send direct messages, and download followers. It supports one account at a time. Users can also view TwitPics by clicking the "view content" option from the TwitterPeek menu. The company claims its battery lasts three to four days with average usage.
Included in the price of TwitterPeek is a service plan. According to the company, users can access Twitter nationwide through Peek's own "mobile network," which accesses mobile-phone networks. If users choose to pay $99 at the time of purchase, they will get the TwitterPeek device and six months of Peek service. After that, they need to pay $7.95 per month for network access. If customers plunk down $199, they'll get the device and service for the life of the product. In either case, TwitterPeek allows for unlimited tweeting.
It makes sense that a device designed exclusively for Twitter would come from Peek. The company already offers the Peek and Peek Pronto, which are designed exclusively for mobile e-mail and text messaging.
But TwitterPeek, while an interesting idea, will need to convince consumers that it's really necessary in the marketplace. There are a slew of mobile apps that allow people to tweet while they're on the iPhone, some BlackBerry models, and Android-based devices.
It's also debatable whether even the most ardent Twitter users will want to pay $199 just to have access to a tweeting gadget. Evidently, the gadget was built for people who don't have access to mobile Twitter apps. It may also be useful for people who access Twitter from their mobile browser; that experience tends to yield more headaches than value when people want to post a quick tweet.
If you're interested in picking up a TwitterPeek, you can buy it exclusively on Amazon.com for $99 or $199, depending on your desired service plan.
But will you? Let's hear it in the comments below.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Tom and Rafe discuss life with Windows 7, Entourage, Seagate hard drives, Ubuntu and more.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Subscribe with iTunes (audio)
Subscribe with iTunes (video)
Subscribe with RSS (audio)
Subscribe with RSS (video)
... Read more
Life-changing.
(Credit: On the Cuff)Started thinking about your holiday shopping yet? Looking for stocking stuffers? Nothing says "I love you" like kitchen gadgets, right? (Note to my husband: actually, nothing says "I love you" like a new MacBook.)
You know how it is. You're washing the dishes, and soapy water runs down your arms and under your sleeves, and it's just plain gross. Well, after years of suffering, Rana Bauer decided to "end this nightmare for all"--seriously, that's what her Web site says.
Bauer invented On the Cuff, a pair of stretchy cuffs you slip onto your wrists to stop water before it makes a mess, eliminating extra cleanup afterward. The cuffs come in a mesh bag you can hang them in to drip dry after each use. Buy a single pair for $8 or a four-pair pack for $25.
Bauer claims the product has "changed her life." I can't guarantee it'll do the same for you, but you may find it useful.
