| Friday, 21 December 2007, 9:25 am Tags: cfrb, John Donabie, News, Technology |
My regular segment on the John Donabie Show, Saturday mornings on CFRB is coming up. These are the top stories I’ll talk about this week:
- It’s not all iPhone, Blackberry sales doubled this quarter. Black Friday (the day after US Thanksgiving) was the best day in RIM history.
- After three years in court, Apple rumor site ThinkSecret shutters, but they don’t have to reveal the names of their informants.
- Last minute gift idea: try donating to Kiva.org – this charitable site helps people in developing nations create new businesses with small loans. Gift certificates are available.
Happy holidays to all my friends in Toronto!
| Friday, 21 December 2007, 8:45 am Tags: |
Today at 7:45a Pacific on the Bill Handel Show on KFI Los Angeles, I’m going to offer some last minute gift ideas.
It’s not to late to shop Amazon.com. They’re offering $3.99 overnight shipping as late as 11a Pacific on Sunday to guarantee delivery by Christmas Eve. They’ll gift wrap, too. But many items are backordered or out of stock, so check before you buy to make sure they can ship the item immediately.
Gift cards are always a good last minute choice, and they’re better than ever this year. Borders is offering personalized gift cards with pictures and messages for $4.95 plus the value of the card, and you can buy online, too (but go to the store to get it in time for Christmas). And every geeks loves a Starbucks gift card – Starbucks is also customizing their cards this year.
I give my mom a Netflix subscription every year. She loves movies and it’s the easiest way for her to get them. $9 for a month to $107 for a whole year
Memory for cameras is less expensive than ever, and always a welcome gift. Most cameras use SD cards these days. The $100 Eye-Fi card is even better because it combines wireless with 2GB of SD memory.
Photo frames are also a hot gift this year. Ceiva is the best known name, but they require a subscription to share photos online. I prefer the DSI MF-8104, a beautiful 10 inch screen with wireless photo sharing that’s free to use. $350.
| Tuesday, 18 December 2007, 10:23 pm Tags: Appearances, Bill Handel, Gadgets, KFI |
Here are my gadget picks for the kids in your life, as heard on the Bill Handel Show on KFI Los Angeles, Wednesday 19 December 2007 at 7:45a.
- Kajeet – the cell phone for kids, with parental controls on what the kids can do and when. No activation cost. No termination fee. 35¢ per day. Phones for $60.
- Everybody wants Webkinz, the stuffed toys from Ganz that have a second life online. $10 and up
- But if you want a dinosaur instead, how about Pleo. An autonomous robot that learns as you play with it. $350.
- Rock out with Rock Band for the Xbox360 and Playstation – the whole family will love this game as you form your own band, create and customize your own rocker, and travel on a fast rise to fame around the world. $60 for the game, but you’ll want to get the guitar, drums, and mic, too, for a total of $170.
- Get up close and personal with your belly button lint, hair follicles, and fingernails (eww) with the Jakks EyeClops Bionic Eye. This $40 200x microscope camera hooks up to any TV and provides hours of grossout fun.
- The Leapfrog FLY Fusion Pentop Computer puts a computer in a pen. Not as useful as they make out for doing homework, but lots of fun and a real tech marvel. $80
- I mentioned it Monday, but it’s still a great idea: A USB, camera, and green screen for the kids for under $100, the RipRoar Creation Station.
What are you getting for your kids this holiday season?
| Monday, 17 December 2007, 8:38 am Tags: |
Here are my last minute gadget picks for the geek in your life, as heard on the Bill Handel Show on KFI Los Angeles, Monday 17 December 2007 at 7:45a.
- Hate those clamshell packages? Try the Zibra Open It, an easy to use Plastic Container Package Opener, $15
- Palm’s cheapest cell phone is also its best, the Palm Centro $100 with a two year Sprint contract
- The most amazing tech invention of the year, a 2GB SD memory card with Wi-Fi! It’s the Eye.Fi. Transfer your pictures wirelessly to your computer and Internet. $100
- Ironkey – the USB thumbdrive that surpasses US military specs for security. $80-150 depending on capacity
- A mouse that fits inside your laptop, the MoGo Mouse, $70
- A laptop bag that charges your laptop while you go, the Voltaic Messenger solar bag. $230.
- A USB, camera, and green screen for the kids for under $100, the RipRoar Creation Station.
| Friday, 14 December 2007, 10:44 am Tags: Appearances, cfrb, News, Technology |
I joined John Donabie Saturday morning, as I do most Saturdays, to talk about the hot tech news. Top stories for this week:
- Parliament blinks on the Canadian DMCA
- Windows Vista SP1 Release Candidate publicly available
- iTunes brings TV shows to Canada!
- Canadian man receives $85,000 cell bill
| Thursday, 13 December 2007, 11:00 pm Tags: BlogWorld, Speeches |
This new section will feature information about upcoming appearances, and after the appearance I’ll post links and more information.
Let’s kick things off with my keynote from Blogworld last month. Six Apart’s Anil Dash begins the talk with a survey of Google’s Open Social platform; I start around 15 minutes in.
| Tuesday, 15 May 2001, 7:46 pm Tags: Appearances, Austin, Barbecue |
We had a good time in Austin. People were very friendly, as usual. And my ill-prepared speech on the Future of the Internet went well enough that I think I’ll continue to develop it for the repetoire. I didn’t do any Powerpoint slides and I was a little nervous about doing a speech with no visual aids at all (that’s probably my TV brainwashing talking) but people didn’t seem bored by it. I still think I’ll add some slides.
On Saturday night we had an incredible barbecue banquet at Hill Country Barbecue. Thanks to Gus, the Pit Master there, and a TechTV fan! Jessica swears she ate a whole chicken. I had ribs (beef and pork), brisket, cole slaw, potato salad, beans, their incredible fresh baked honey bread, and peach cobbler and ice cream for dessert. Mmmmmmm.
Thanks to all the folks who came from as far as El Paso (10 hours by car!) to be part of the show. It was a great success.
Swag
