Ten Techie Gifts for Your Valentine
Every year I go through the same routine. I procrastinate on buying my wife a Valentine’s Day gift until the very last minute, and then usually end up getting her flowers and candy. Sure, I’m surrounded by technology, but I worry that a hard drive won’t make a very romantic gift. Looking over PCMag’s “Ten Techie Gifts for Your Valentine,” I realize just how wrong I am. Once again I’m way late on buying my beloved something, but this list could solve my and probably your gift-buying problems. My favorite gift on this list is the 8-bit Dynamic Life Shirt set. It’s an awesome idea. Read and then save yourself some heartache.
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Mobile World Congress Report
This Barcelona, Spain, conference formerly known as 3GSM, has been literally bursting with new mobile technology news. Microsoft announced that it purchased Danger (they make the software in your beloved T-Mobile Sidekick), nVidia introduced a mobile CPU, and Sony Ericsson and others unveiled a slew of cool new phones, many of which share some neat features with the super-popular Apple
iPhone. Mobile Analyst (and writing machine) Sascha Segan is there covering the whole thing and has written a ton of deep, analytical, and entertaining stories for this show floor. Read it all to learn about the shape of mobile technology for the rest of 2008 and beyond.
Microsoft’s Danger-ous Play
I haven’t any idea why Microsoft bought Danger. It could be crazy, but one never knows. I’ll give you a hint: ZunePhone.
Microsoft Revamps Office Live Small Business
It’s funny to watch a company work so hard in two opposing directions. On the one hand, Microsoft is trying to acquire Yahoo! for $45 billion. On the other, Microsoft is busy rolling out updates to products that compete directly with those of its acquisition target. Yahoo! and Microsoft actually have many duplicative services. Among them is Yahoo! Small Business service and Microsoft’s Office Live Small Business. I guess keeping Microsoft’s SMB offerings fresh makes sense since Micro-Hoo! is by no means a done deal. All that aside, it looks as if small business can really benefit from Microsoft’s now largely free service that includes e-mail, a domain, storage, apps and more. PCMag got a sneak peak at the latest offering. Check it out.
Firefox’s Best Extensions
If you can get past the fact that ExtremeTech Producer Jeremy Atkinson is dead wrong when he says that “it’s only a matter of time before [Firefox] claims the top spot [for browsers],” then you’re sure to love his top-ten list of Firefox extensions. I’m not saying I don’t use Firefox. I do, every day, but its ascendancy to the throne is by no means preordained. In any case, try to skip past that little bit and get right to all the good stuff you can do to your copy of Firefox.
Grading Vista 64-Bit
Windows Vista 64-bit is a real product, but you’d scarcely know it from the near-nonexistent product and peripheral support it receives—and that includes from Microsoft. Still, the OS is out there and a hearty few like ExtremeTech Editor Loyd Case are trying it out. The results are, to put it mildly, mixed. Read Case’s report for more details.
Comcast Clarifies Things Users Cannot Do
Comcast has been taking its lumps since last year for ratcheting down service on file-sharing companies and conspicuous bandwidth consumers. This year, despite trying to defend itself and clarify its position, Comcast is faring no better in the eyes of the pro-consumer press. At this moment, I can’t honestly say whose side I’m on. If I’m a Comcast user and my bandwidth’s getting hosed because Joe down the block is running a little file-sharing network from his home, I’m unhappy. But if I want to watch a few 2-hour movies a night that I download through Comcast broadband network, could I be penalized? This is a sticky mess that we all need to watch very, very closely. Read
PCMag’s latest news story for more details.
An LED Aquarium for Your Desk
What’s better than a virtual fish tank on your screen? A real one. Check out the latest wacky—and fishy—gadget Gearlog uncovered.
Yahoo! Set to Reject Microsoft Offer
It looks as if Yahoo! is shaking its head over Microsoft’s above-stock-price offer, but rumors are swirling of a possible AOL/Yahoo! merger, and over the weekend someone heard whispers of Google possibly buying CNET. Has the world gone mad? Nah. For one thing, the Yahoo! rejection could be a bargaining tactic, as could the AOL-Yahoo! courtship (why would anyone think Yah-OL! is a good idea?). As for the Google rumor, well, I predicted as much late last year.
Turok (Xbox 360)
My son is a diehard, Xbox 360 gamer and welcomes each new game release with all the enthusiasm of New York Football fans congratulating the conquering Giants. His latest obsession is Turok. This actioner puts you and your compatriots on a distant and hostile p***t full of criminal enemies and dinosaurs. To find out absolutely everything I need to know about this game, my son and I visited 1UP. I love how the site pulls in news, reviews, consumer reviews, videos, slide shows, and more all in one place. I could spend hours learning about one game alone. Get all the deets on Turok at the site.
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That's all for now. I'm back on Thursday.
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-- Lance Ulanoff
lance_ulanoff@ziffdavis.com
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