F for Fun Finds

Today's quick post features a few quirkies. They made me laugh - and that's always worth passing on!


Ninja Bread Men, $7.99
I have seen plenty of fun cookie cutters over the past few years but these step it up.



Tandars, $50
Must watch this video. Bizarre must have interactive robot monkeys. Made for clipping on clothing or laptop screen. Sensors sit in the eyes and around the body for reacting to light and motion and also communicating with each other. The more you interact with them the better their vocab gets. Had a sneak peek at these at The Toy Fair - and I have to say I'm weirdly obsessed....I think they had me at "rechargeable fruit".




Nooooooooooooooo.com > Star Wars fans just trust me and click.



Shape Up Dumbbell Alarm Clock, $26
Pure ridiculousness. The last thing I want to do when I wake up groggy is give 3 sets of 12 reps on an alarm clock dumbbell. Can you imagine!?




Random Fun Pics:








Special thanks to input from these funny people you should follow: @teluric, @carpedyim

iPad2 and Tablet Influx! - CNN

Updated: March 1st.

Many are awaiting what must be the announcement of the iPad2 March 2nd at 1pmEST in San Francisco. The official Apple invite says “Come see what the year 2011 is all about” with an image peeling away on an iPad.

What are the fair guesses to the iPad 2’s update?

** We definitely know that it will be lighter weight and sleeker. While its only 1.5 lbs, and a half an inch thick Apple will at the least take off a few millimeters. Apple is known for making things smaller on upgraded versions.

** Front and rear facing camera; for taking pics and video chatting

** Larger speaker

** More RAM and processing power.

** It will also likely feature a dual-mode wireless chip for both CDMA and GSM network compatibility.

** We will definitely see a price drop in the original iPad as well just like they dropped the price of the older iPhone models.

** The announcement is today and initially I guessed we’d be about two weeks out for production but Im going to put my over under on Monday for retail availability.

*** We will definitely see a price drop in the original iPad as well just like they dropped the price of the older iPhone models.

***I don’t think we see it come down in size to a 7” screen – Steve Jobs in the past has said that a 10” screen is the minimum for a tablet. However, I think an iPad 3 could loan some flexibility to size - just not this time around.

But I must say as much as rumors of an iPad2 continue, there is still much buzz on talks of an iPad 3 this fall. There has been speculation that an Apple staffer claims the iPad 2 is just a bump up and that the iPad 3 will have all the bells and whistles worth waiting for. This could be great for Apple heading in to holiday but hurt shares right now if announced with the iPad 2. For Apple to announce both each would have to be unique unto themselves.

Tablet Influx

The iPad isn't the first tablet ever on the market – its just to have really nailed the concept and after selling more than 15 million iPads in 9 months and with that said you can completely understand why companies want to be in this space. The problem is there is a lot of noise and a lot of rushing to the market. Believe it or not there is an estimated 85+ tablets on the market and still most people can't name three! To date there has really only been one competitor to the iPad which is the Samsung Galaxy Tab. It has sold over 2 million units since November and is a bit more portable at 7" and under a pound. It runs on Android 2.2 and has front (3MP) and rear facing (1.3MP) cameras and up to 32GB of storage. More notably, Samsung also recently unveiled a 10.1 Galaxy Tab in March with advanced specs including running on Android’s Honeycomb (first Android OS made for tablets) and an 8MP rear camera and 2MP front camera and is additionally lighter than the iPad at 1.3 pounds and touts a dual core processor. No release date or pricing info for the US market at the moment. And update: there is also speculation they will announce an 8.9" Galaxy Tab March 22nd.

Another unit that is highly anticipated is the Motorola Xoom which debuted at the Consumer Electronic Show with much praise and a Best in Show win. The Xoom became available Thursday for $800 or $600 with a two-year Verizon

contract. It has a powerful dual core processor and runs on Android Honeycomb. It has a front facing 2MP camera and a rear 5MP camera with an HD wide display. It will also be free to upgrade to Verizon’s 4G LTE network so fairly “future-proof”.

The Xoom also offers tiers of pricing for the data plan which I think can always be daunting. I asked a Verizon rep what is the average data usage for a tablet user and she noted “Tablets are still relatively new so I don't have an average use but would recommend starting with the least amount of data; you can always move up.” Plans start at $20 per month for 1GB and go up to $80 for 10 GB.

But the big question has the iPad 2 announcement on Wednesday upstaged the Xoom’s retail debut and are consumers waiting it out? I personally don’t think its smart to pick up a Xoom before knowing what the iPad 2 has to offer. Plus its not unreasonable for a price drop for a Xoom with its best competition spoiling the fun as early as a few weeks.

Staying Competitive in the Tablet Marketplace

Interface and price. At the end of the day the iPad has an incredibly simple interface. I call it the "get-it-factor". I always watch as someone picks up an iPad (especially if they aren't tech savvy) and they are able to quickly adapt to the intuitive interface and then they usually want it. Companies need to take cues from that and keep it simple.

And price point is huge. You’re going to have to undercut the iPad to make it a worthwhile purchase. Plus, lets talk about the downside of purchasing from mobile carriers - which many tablets offer. It is undesirable to be signed up for another 2-year contract even if the device is subsidized. (The 7” Galaxy Tab is available at $249.99 with a two-year contract from T-Mobile and the Xoom is $599.99 on Verizon as well with a two-year.) It's hard enough for an individual to commit to renewing a phone contracts let alone hop into another one for a separate device - after all at the rate gadgets are upgrading daily who wants to commit to anything right now.

In emailing with a Verizon rep she did note “If you sign a contract for a data plan for any device but late change the device, you do not incur a penalty by using the new device on the existing plan. Keep in mind that to get a new device you would likely pay full price for the new device. You only get promotional pricing on new contracts.” That is good to know if you ever wanted to swap over to something new.

Vision for a Nation - CNN

Here is a more in depth article corresponding to Vision for a Nation segment as discussed Saturday evening on CNN.

In third world countries prescription eyewear is really considered a luxury.

An estimated 40% of world’s population needs glasses. Additionally, The World Health Organization has declared that 1 billion people need but lack eyeglasses.

One innovative UK non-profit is trying to change that. Vision for a Nation Foundation, a non profit, has goal is to provide adjustable lenses in areas where eye care services are incredibly limited. They are tackling the global issue one nation at a time starting with Rwanda.

While in the US there is one optometrist to 4,500 people, in the entire country of Rwanda (10.7 million people) there are only 12 optometrists - total. And an estimated 1.2 million require eyeglasses.

Adjustable Glasses

The company has created continuously adjustable glasses. They are developed by American physicist Luis Alvarez and while they are constantly being tweaked and refined but the current state of the product is working and successful. Basically each side of the glasses is made of two lenses that slide against each other (via tiny knobs on each side) to find the right prescription. Since the glasses can also be continuously adjusted it allows for family members to share one pair.

Distribution

The Vision for a Nation Foundation Partnered with Rwanda’s Government (Ministry of Health) which was key. While there are only 200 doctors and 5 hospitals in all of Rwanda there are 417 health care centers and 60k community workers that work closely with villagers. With proper training they are able to distribute the glasses to individuals in need. It really takes the backing of the Rwandan health system to remain organized and give this company the right mechanism to reach the right individuals.

Cost

In much of the developing world glasses cost 1 -2 months earnings making a pair not possible to purchase. While the Rwanda the government believes that no goods or services should be given free of charge so they charge $1 for a pair of glasses the destitute do receive them for free. Vision For a Nation donates all that money back to the health centers which goes into training the nurses and health care workers.

The average income is $510. But this is a country that is heavy into bartering – very different than the US.

Impact

The stories of impact are already so powerful. One story focused on a man who is a tailor who started his craft at the age of 15. He has regular clients he He meets and creates clothing for. He particularly had trouble not being able to see threading the needle. He relied on relatives and strangers passing by to assist. If there wasn’t someone around he couldn’t thread and in turn his work slowed down. With 5 kids and 8 grandchildren work slowed. He exclaimed “I can see clearly!” One can imagine what a dramatic difference this makes even for just one person.

As noted Vision for a Nation is constantly changing the material and refining the process but they have already come such a long way.

Vision for a Nation began its work through funding from philanthropist James Chen who has a Foundation based in Hong Kong.

People can donate at www.visionforanation.org

Forget "Keeping up with the Joneses"

Dear Hammacher Schlemmer,

Today, you deserve your very own post. The myriad of gadgets you continue to offer really showcases what you can bring to the table; a mixture of both practicality and ridiculousness.

And with that said here are some of my new and old favorites that I one day dream of buying for my family. Forget the rental moonbounce thing, pony rides at birthday parties and lame 1980s trampolines - my kids will obnoxiously own these gems- for pure funs. Because when the neighbors roll by in luxury cars we'll say "we dont need that we have a Dragon Paddle Boat and a Light Cycle". Okay...one can dream.

Tron Light Cycle, $55k
Custom built - street legal Tron Light Cycle. Perfect for every family member and the local 4th of July parades.

9 1/2 foot remote controlled bald eagle, $500
Kites are out.



The Amusement Park Dragon Boat, $5,000
Paddle your way to carney joy.


The Ten Person Water Totter, $4,000


The Two Person 60mph Hovercraft, $17k


The Personal Submarine, $2 million
This has panic attack and stuck written all over it, but still sounds like fun.


and for the deal of the day...

The Motorized Oasis.... only $200?!
This six person 2mph "oasis" has a built in cooler, waterproof speakers and aux out. And, they knocked it down $300. I honestly might just buy this right now.

Following Libya - CNN

Stay tuned to CNN as we bring you the latest regarding the situation in Libya. We are still collecting information from our international sources but there are a few things I would like to note as I discussed on-air yesterday evening from the tech front.

From a tech perspective, what we have witnessed in the past two months is really unprecedented in the history of the web with governments pulling the kill switch on the net. The Libyan government is certainly taking cues from Egypt. According to our international sources the Internet is now up and running but has been shut down twice (Friday evening and Saturday early am). The speculation we are gathering is that the government is keeping it up during the day to keep business running and then shutting it down at night to keep activists groups from organizing and uploading content from protests. Libya is also suspected of jamming Al Jazeera broadcasts and intermittently cutting international calls at times (though our teams were able to get calls through as of Sunday night.)

Social media has had an obvious role in recent movements spanning Egypt, Yemen, Morocco, China, Bahrain and Algeria. And while all movements and protests differ it cannot be argued what a core platform and voice social media has given for successful rallying of democracy and refusal to settle for unjust regimes. Who would have thought the same tools that have us hitting the "like" button on vacation pics could be changing the world at such a rate and offering such a level of national transparency? It is amazing to be able to go on Twitter and find people in each region tweeting on the forefront. I found my best information during the Egypt crisis from a journalist (and Egyptian citizen) on the ground via Twitter.

And let's take more cues from what we learned from Egypt – shutting the web down does not bring order to chaos. It only creates more chaos. And, if you shut down the web, cyber activists will find a work-around even if it is as primitive as dial up connection, fax machines or ham radios. A friend of a friend was actually communicating to associates in Egypt with a ham radio – which I found fascinating. While we are seeing a strong arm in power with "Gov't 2.0" truing to pull a kill switch on the web and cutting communication, we are also seeing "Social Media Revolution 2.0" from the people that is far more powerful.

We will keep you posted as we have more information.

Military Robots - CNN

Last week according to Lt. Col. Dave Thompson, the Marine Corps' top robot-handler, we learned that 1 in 50 U.S. troops in Afghanistan is a robot. (This statistic with article an accompanying article was first reported by David Axe at Wired's Danger Room) By 2013 the number will likely increase to 1 in 30.

This weekend at CNN we got to give you a look at one of the most popular military robots; the PackBot.

PackBot is made by iRobot - a company known for its home appliances like the Roomba as much as they are for their military bots. Over 3,000 PackBots have been delivered to military and civil defense forces around the world.

PackBot Stats
Small in size but that actually makes him even more efficient and portable. In short, PackBot’s mission is to get in the line of fire.
- With its multiple cameras it can look around corners for snipers keeping operators at a safe distance
- Cut wires, dispose of bombs
- Constantly samples the air for radiation and chemicals, which is great for hazmat or bomb squads
- Great for hostage situations for law enforcement by entering and beaming video imagery back to first responder teams
- Lift up to 30 lbs.

PackBot robots were present at the WTC site after 9/11 attacks and is widely used in all terrain areas like Iraq and Afghanistan.

The PackBot can travels at speeds of up to 6 miles per hour and easily climbs stairs. It can withstand being thrown into a window and flip itself over if it lands on its back.

It's powered by a lithium ion battery and has about rechargeable about 6 hours of continuous run time on 1 charge – up to 10 miles of travel (set of spare batteries and charger included)

Operating the PackBot
Many assume a soldier would need hours of training to be able to operate the PackBot, not really.
It is controlled by an Xbox or PlayStation controller - a controller most young soldiers are already familiar with. Also, it is key that the PackBot is portable at 60lbs and the SUGVEE (its more mobile counterpart) is even lighter at 30lbs. It can be ready to go in under 2 minutes.

PackBot is controlled via a laptop, but SUGV is controlled with the goggles. (The SUGVEE is controlled with a heads up display (goggles) and wearable OCU. PackBot is controlled using a laptop as the OCU.)

Customizable
PackBots are incredibly a la carte. Think of them like an erector set. They can be configured and customized depending on the needs. The operator can swap in and out (plug and play) different sensors and/or arm configurations quickly. This makes one robot platform well suited for multiple missions. The 510 PackBot can be hand carried and deployed by one person in less than two minutes. No expensive, specialized equipment or vehicles are necessary; PackBot can be easily loaded into a MOLLE pack, the trunk of a car or a helicopter and then good to go.

Cost
Cost is depending on set up, but they average about $100K. According to a new study by ABI Research, Defense Robots: UAVs, UGVs, UUVs and Task Robots for Military Applications, the global market for military robotics will grow from $5.8 billion in 2010 to more than $8 billion in 2016.


How many lives has the PackBot saved?
It’s difficult to count the lives saved, however, iRobot receives a lot of postcards and thank you notes from soldiers. The bot is kind of a hero in his own sense and even has his own Facebook page where soldiers write in.

Candlelighters - NYC

I am thrilled to become part of Candlelighters NYC and wanted to share my experience thus far. I recently saw a local TV spot highlighting the group and was incredibly moved. I immediately knew I was ready to jump right in to the organization.

Candlelighters mission is to help families through tough times when their child is diagnosed with cancer. Candlelighters helps families from all over the country coming in to NYC. Barbara Zobian, the founder, is an absolute rockstar. In a city that can be overwhelming in itself the group provides emotional support, visits, special events or even things as simple as errands. It is a small group that accomplishes quite a bit.

The first pic is of my new friend Jojo who was going home to Florida that day from treatments (and of course the Candlelighter's mascot Uno.) The other is with a Lego mastermind named Cole who had a great time playing the close-your-eyes-open-your-hand-for-a-surprise game.

I truly encourage you to learn more about the organization. You can click here for a recent news segment or here for the website.

If you are in the NYC area and just want to donate something as small as a toy please shoot me a line!

No matter how busy you are... you can always find time. Be compassionate, be inspired.

O for Offbeat.

Bacon, Pickle and Cupcake Toothpaste, $4.50
I'm definitely obsessed with that minty fresh toothpaste feeling. But hey, I guess some people like the idea of mixing it up a bit.

ctsy: thatsnerdalicious, technabob

Slide to Unlock Car Magnet, $6.99
Kinda ghetto, kinda awesome.
This is right on par with recently seeing a RT sign on the highway (right turn) and thinking it meant Retweet. Yeesh.


Worms in Dirt!, $14.99
Yes! This is one of my favorite childhood treats. And since I have zero culinary skills the fine peeps at Perpetual Kid have made an inexpensive kit!



MAC Wonder Woman Collection, prices vary.
A must for any chic geeks glam kit! - I had a sneak peek at these a few weeks ago and they are awesome... and now on avails at retail.



There's also some exclusive gear like a Wonder Woman tee and tote can be found online.

And last but certainly not least my good friend Jason Freeny has been hard at work! Here are some of his new creations including the most convoluted brain (Rubik's cube) ever...all about anatomy style!


And just because...


ctsy: @teluric

Fitness Magazine - Apps to Keep You Motivated!

Here is my latest article in Fitness Magazine on the best apps to keep you motivated in your workouts and personal life in 2011! 8-)

If you want to lose five pounds:
MyFitnessPal (Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch; free)
This tracker, which charts calories, workouts and pounds lost, is easy to use, and the extensive food database even included my go-to Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna Bar.

If you want to save money:
Mint (Android, iPhone; free)
I had no idea I was spending $60 more than the average joe on coffee every month until Mint showed me where every dollar went in a graph. Now I order an espresso and add milk myself—a latte for half the price!

If you want to sign up for a race:
Couch to 5K (Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch; $3)
As a lifelong runner, I didn’t think I needed this one, which provides workouts that become more rigorous as you build strength and endurance. But I loved that it challenged me.

If you want to improve your zzz’s:
Sleep Cycle (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch; $1)
Sleeping with a phone in the bed seemed weird, even for a techie like me. But this app analyzed my sleep patterns and then woke me in my lightest stage of sleep, so I felt energetic.

I heart IBM's Watson.

Jeopardy greats Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings will take on Watson - IBM's Super Computer on Valentine's Day. I had the opportunity to take on Watson myself in a full game.

Join me behind the scenes at CBS chatting about the experience.

Here is the link to my CNET post.
Here is the link to The Early Show video.

Sheet Music is So Passe - there's an app for that.

Like most nerds I play piano - but I do so rather digitally. With a digital piano + digital sheet music on my iPad. Yup, there's an app for that and I wanted to share it because its one of my favorites consistently for the past few months.

So about 20% of my music comes from paper sheet music while the other 80% I download from MusicNotes.com. I have a stored account (and while I can print out a copy) I naturally just sync everything right to my iPad. Yes, the sheet music costs money but the app is free.

Why bother? Because I find it much easier. The pages can be flipped with the touch of the screen and I can make colored notes on to indicate things like sharps or rests with a digital marker. There is also a highlighter option and an option for notes to be turned on and off.

I also can easily access all my songs in one spot as opposed to digging through books and folders. And since I carry my iPad pretty much everywhere all my sheet music can come with too.

I've attached a vid of my fabulous piano teacher Adam Tendler hard at work. :)

Valentine's Search Results Heat Up

Interesting Search Results Courtesy of Google:

• Searches for ‘gifts for girlfriend’ are about 30% higher than searches for ‘gifts for wife’ in the month of February
• Searches for ‘gifts for boyfriend’ are more than 55% higher than searches for ‘gifts for husband’ in the month of February
• Searches for ‘gifts for boyfriend’ are currently outpacing searches for ‘gifts for girlfriend’ by 81%
• Searches for ‘gifts for husband’ are taking place twice as often as searches for ‘gifts for wife’
• This year, after roses, searches for ‘lilies’ are most popular followed by ‘tulips’ and ‘carnations’

Comparing this February to last:

• Searches for ‘unique valentines day’ are up about 20% year over year
• Searches for ‘homemade valentines gift’ are up almost 10% year over year
• Searches for ‘romantic restaurants’ are up almost 5% year over year
• Searches for ‘free valentines day’ are down 5% year over year
• Searches for ‘sapphire rings’ are up 15% year over year (still thinking Royal Wedding...)
• Searches for ‘diamonds’ are up 5% year over year

Chocolate and other sweet treats

• While searches for ‘chocolate’ (which most people assume to be milk chocolate sans qualifier) beat out searches for specific types of chocolate, there are people looking for more specifics. Search volume for ‘white chocolate’ beats out both dark and milk chocolate by 32% and 30%, respectively. Searches for ‘milk chocolate’ outpace those for ‘dark chocolate’ by 2% in the month around Valentine’s Day.
• Searches for ‘dove chocolate’ have risen by 100% since January 1
• In the past 7 days:
• Searches for ‘chocolate strawberries’ are up by 120%
• Searches for ‘chocolate covered strawberries’ are up by 90%
• Searches for ‘chocolate ganache’ are up by 60%
• Searches for ‘chocolate fondue’ are up by 50%
• Searches for ‘chocolate truffles’ are up by 50%
• Searches for ‘chocolate hearts’ are up by 65%
• Searches for ‘heart shaped cookies’ are up by 64%
• Searches for ‘valentines day dessert’ are up by 35%
• Searches for ‘cookie bouquets’ are up by 66%
• In the past 30 days:
• Searches for ‘valentines chocolate’ are up by 1,450%
• Searches for ‘valentines day chocolate’ are up by 1,400%
• Searches for ‘chocolate delivery’ are up by 100%
• Searches for ‘chocolate covered oreos’ are up by 41%
• Searches for ‘heart shaped chocolate’ are up by 76%
• Searches for ‘chocolate flowers’ are up by 21%, year over year
• Searches for ‘valentines chocolate’ are up by more than 5%, year over year

Clothes and make-up

• Searches for ‘red lipstick’ have risen by 24% in the past 7 days

Sound Board FTW!

I like new words. Here are some to freshen/hip up your digital vocab.

Halfalogue:

"A halfalogue overheard on the street or the next cubicle provides only half to the information being communicated, provoking the listeners to focus on filling in missing pieces of the conversation."

How I would use in a sentence: "Excuse me sir your halfalogue on the Acela is really unnecessary and increasingly rude, plus I am running out of creative mad libs ways to fill in your nonsense."

Cyberhoarding
Actual Urban Dictionary Definition:

When a individual has an excessive amount of pointless word documents, pictures, etc. saved on their computer that they will never look at.

Urban Dictionary Example: Cyber hoarding is Katie's flaw because she has 2000+ photos on her computer of random stuff like jellyfish and city landscapes.

Bomb Dot Com

Actual Urban Dictionary Definition:
another way to express when something is awesome/cool/amazing.

Urban Dictionary Example: That burrito was bomb dot com.

*Note - be careful with this one. My friends and I have been addicted to it for about a year and people will definitely think you are using it seriously. It's like bringing back the word "bomb" in itself.

straight like

when someone goes straight down your Facebook page and likes everything. including wallposts, comments, statuses, etc.

usually it's a close friend of yours, or someone who's bored to death.

internest

The concoon of blankets, pillows, duvets, and comfy things you gather around yourself to keep warm whilst spending long amounts of time on the internet.

Urban Dictionary Example: Hey were's Jane tonight? Oh she didn't want to leave her internest.

Special thanks to @teluric, The Futurist Magazine and Urban Dictionary for filling my new slang needs.

xo

On the air with Jackson Blue z104.3

Here are some more of my select favorite Valentines Gifts of Gadgetry for Guys tailored just for Jackson Blue. Some are my favorites from The Early Show this week!

Mini USB Beverage Cooler, $20

This gift has been a hit. Great addition to any boring office desk. Just plug in via USB and the cooling begins. There's a light inside too in case you can't find what you're looking for.

BBQ Branding Iron, $22.98

For the ultimate grill master you can't go wrong with a personalized branding iron. Trust me once the warm weather rolls around this will make you a hero. Includes every letter and spaces so you can switch up the messages to keep things fresh, no pun intended.

Liquid Image Summit Series HD , $250

Perfect gift that keeps on giving for the skier, snowboarder in your life. Takes 720p video and 5MP stills. Capability to store up to 9k photos and 6 hours of vid.

Melting Bookshelf Clock, $14.99

Lets reduce the awkward work office banter ... here is a practical, random and inexpensive conversation starter.

Speakal iBoo, $89.99

I gave this to one of my guy friends as a dock for his Nano and he claimed; "It changed his life." While that might be an overstatement it is a pretty sweet docking station.

Valentine's Gadgets for Him

Ditch the Whitman's and cheesy card.

Today on The Early Show I shared some of my fave Valentines Day gift ideas for the man in your life.

Click here for the full article.

Click here for the video.

<3

Super Bowl Technologies - CNN

The most hi-tech Super Bowl of all time is here! Here is a look at some of the technologies (and many we didn’t get to!) from our CNN segment Saturday.

TICKETS? At a price…

If you want go to the big game plan to pay up. While the average face value of a ticket is $600 - $1200, your best bet is probably finding one at an online auction site and they don’t come cheap.

The average cost of a ticket on eBay is $4,875.

The average cost of a ticket on StubHub is about $3,500 but prices are coming down - and is believed to be because of the weather.

The least expensive ticket purchased this far has been $1,700, which was last weekend. The most expensive is currently $15,002, for club seats on the Steelers 50.

This game is already the highest grossing event in StubHub's history. A StubHub representative stated the success of sales was due to the avid Steeler/Packer fanbases.

Cost for the ads

Super Bowl ads have went from 40k in 1967 to an estimated $3 million for a 30 second spot.

HI-TECH STADIUM

The 1.2 billion dollar cowboys stadium was completed in 2009 and got a lot of attention with the technology inside including 3,000 HDTVs and the worlds largest worlds largest HDTV at 72 feet by 160 feet (20yd line to 20yd line). But there is also a lot of tech going on behind the scenes for the big game that is notably impressive.

Cell phones in stadium

The big carriers have spent millions amping up their services the past few months as they prepare for 100,000 people vying for bandwidth and talk time. They will monitor data in real-time and are prepared to bring in reinforcements if needed.

GPS

Using GPS technology the league is now able to track team buses and cars carrying teams, officials and VIPS in real time. It is also said that some credentials will use RFID for added security.

IT Infrastructure

- 884 free wireless access points scattered throughout the stadium provided by Cisco
- There is more than 8 million feet of Ethernet cabling
- 260 miles of fiber optics to support all the connections
- 120+ servers and 100T-bytes of data storage

With all that said make sure to pepper in some of these stats while watching the game with friends to sound smart with your cheesehead on or terrible towel waving proud!

Go, Go Gadgets for Funs

Shout out to @teluric for some great gadget suggestions!

Stay Puft Singing Plush, $20
This plush comes in both happy and mad....lulz!
I will be pre-ordering at least three. Plays nicely with Bacon Plush.


Crazy Cat Lady Glasses, $10
Not sure I see the point of these but just a great gift for any crazy cat lady - we all know at least one. Also pairs with the Crazy Cat Lady Action Figure that's also only $10.



StreetFlyer
Half bike half hang glider. This concept would be fun to try out.

Ctsy: Gizmodo

Paper Tweet Notebook, $5
I always sees these sorts of notebooks but I particularly enjoy this one for the avid Twitter lover.

Do You Have Facebook Envy?

Check out our latest piece on The Early Show. A new study shows individual's Facebook facades could be making others feel they aren't having as much fun as they thought.

I think the only thing I've negatively faced (minus loss of all privacy) on Facebook is mega annoyance... from the people that continually post pictures of their food. Just eat your dinner for crying out loud!!

February For The Win!

Here are some gadgets to start the month off right!

Visualizer Umbrella
At first I thought this looked ridiculous then I realized it was totally practical. Although it still doesn't beat my LED Lumadot umbrella.



Playschool Triceratops, $349.99
Amazing!! This upstages Big Wheels by like 10 fold. Imagine when someone calls and they ask what your kid is up to... "Oh he's just riding his triceratops."
Over 3' tall and comes with sound and motion.


Photoshop Wall Art, $69.99
Get your Adobe on.
Size is 6.7" x 31.5" x 0.6"


Yeti Microphone, $50 (Flip mic option coming out early 2011)
A great, portable way to enhance sound quality on your iPod or Flip.


And just because...