gadgets

Here in Houston, summer lasts 10 months--and then there's July and August. In other words, it's hot here most of the time, and the thought of heating up the house does not exactly, shall we say, warm my heart. But I do want to serve dinner each night, so I need some way to cook.

The Nesco Jet Stream oven lets you fry, broil, bake, steam, roast, and grill--up to 3 times faster than a conventional oven and twice as fast as a convection oven. Cook pizza, bake bread, brown and cook your meat, all without heating up … Read more

Sometime early next week when you walk into the electronics section of your local Wal-Mart, you're likely to notice some changes.

More big name brands of TVs, Blu-ray players, smartphones, and other gadgets will begin to populate the store shelves as the retailing giant tries to expand its reach and customer base even further. The new products will include the latest in TV technology, meaning displays with LED backlighting and Internet connections, Web-connected Blu-ray players, and home networking equipment. There's also going to be more emphasis on getting the trendiest smartphones from carriers on the first day they're available elsewhere, and more accessible mobile broadband plans.

Wal-Mart isn't an underdog in many categories, but in electronics, it's far from being the category leader. Best Buy, whose revenues in 2009 totaled $45 billion, is the largest seller of consumer electronics. Wal-Mart beefing up its gadget offerings is likely part of an effort to play a little catch-up with Best Buy. In 2009, Wal-Mart's electronics sales were $33 billion, or 13 percent of its $258 billion overall revenue.

Wal-Mart, of course, has plenty of things going for it that Best Buy doesn't. Its reach is extensive, and when the recession hit, Wal-Mart was able to take advantage of many people's freshly discovered frugality. Another thing that happened is technology has become essential to a lot of daily activities. As things like computers and TVs become must-haves for all demographics and not just the geeky early-adopter set, Wal-Mart is well-positioned to make even more sales of gadgets. … Read more

So, you have a corner cabinet in your kitchen. And you have items you'd like to store there, but you'd also like to be able to reach them when you need them. You need the KorderKing Cabinet Module, which combines a drawer and a lazy Susan in a single unit.

Store frequently used items in the drawer to access your things easily. Spin the entire unit to take advantage of all the space offered in deeper cabinets to store--and reach--even more. Retrofitting an existing cabinet is straightforward, and there are plenty of how-to videos right on the site. … Read more

As the weather turns warmer, the joyful sound of the ice cream truck driving around the neighborhood becomes more common. And since I have no intention of paying $4 for a Sponge Bob-shaped treat with gumball eyes, I've stocked my freezer with less expensive, if more boring, boxes of chocolate and vanilla goodness.

Whenever my parents serve ice cream, they first microwave the container for about 30 seconds. I prefer my ice cream cold, so I usually just leave it out on the counter for a few minutes to soften enough for easier scooping. But apparently, so many people … Read more

Everyone knows that carbonated drinks start going downhill immediately after you open them, at least in terms of fizziness. Putting the cap back on helps, but it's not a perfect solution: even if you screw it on as tightly as you can, you won't have a perfect seal. Carbonation will still move upward and out of the bottle. Jaeseok Han came up with a solution that ensures your bottles don't lose their carbonation: the Legcap. Rather than using the cap that comes with your bottles, cover them with the Legcap and turn them over. The design of … Read more

Google loves to build platforms on which programs run--Android, App Engine, iGoogle, and in the biggest picture, the Web itself. But platforms are of no use, and aren't much fun, without applications on top, so Google often also kick-starts development with applications of its own.

Now it appears Google is interested in boosting development in a variety of casual gaming and entertainment areas with the acquisition of LabPixies, announced late Monday. The company offers a collection of games and lightweight utilities that run on iGoogle, Google's customizable home page, and on the iPhone and Android phones.

Terms of … Read more

GPS devices, cell phones, and MP3 players have been coexisting with cars for years, so one might think that people would know by now how to use car tech without irritating and endangering the lives of others. One would be wrong. To that end, several states (six for handheld calling and 22 for texting, to be exact) have passed laws banning various types of cell phone activity while driving.

But tech in the car isn't all bad. Gadgets can provide much-needed directions for exploring a new city or hours of entertainment on lengthy road trips. Sometimes it's hard to imagine how we ever lived without such niceties in our vehicles, though I'm sure many of you remember it as clearly as I do (I went on a lot of road trips when I was young...and played a lot of I SPY*). I would never suggest we ditch car tech, but I can provide tips to keep yourself safe, sane, and entertained on the road.

First, let's get a no-brainer out of the way: DON'T text while driving! No matter what the law in your state says, it's never a good idea to text and drive. In fact, one Car & Driver study found that it's safer to drive drunk, not that I recommend that, either. If you must check a text from someone or shoot off a note of your own, either pull over or wait until you're at a red light. And speaking of obvious: how about you put down that hamburger/cigarette/mascara/infant (!!!) and focus on the freakin' road already.

Also, DO consider purchasing a Bluetooth headset for talking while driving, though I'm not convinced that this necessarily safer than talking on the handset. However, it is the legal route in some states (including CNET's home state), and--hey--at least it comes in handy for other situations, such as yammering on the phone while you prepare dinner or fold the laundry. And while we're still on the topic of cell phones, DO make sure you brush up on the laws of whatever state you're driving in so that you'll avoid tickets--and the unnecessary delays and humiliation caused by local police pulling you over and doling out a lecture.

Of course, phones aren't the only things that can distract you while behind the wheel. Make sure you DON'T input GPS coordinates while driving; instead, have a passenger do it, or program destinations before your trip or while stopped. Also, make sure the GPS is mounted on the windshield or dash at eye-level or, when prohibited, set loud enough that you can hear audio directions. In other words, limit taking your eyes off the road as much as possible.… Read more

Luggage-maker Samsonite is releasing a new line of bags this summer seemingly aimed at on-the-go green techies.

The bags will incorporate solar panels from Ascent Solar, the same company that provides flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules for Bye Aerspaces' solar-powered surveillance drone, the Silent Sentinel.

The light-weight CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide) modules to be used in the Samsonite products will produce enough electricity to recharge small mobile devices like cell phones, GPS navigators, and media players, according to Ascent Solar.

While this is the first major luggage brand to begin offering solar products in earnest, it isn't the first. … Read more