talks

After a whirlwind of Apple announcements, it's nice to take a quick break and chuckle at the experience after all the hype settles down.

During yesterday's "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" on CBS (disclosure: CBS is the parent company of CNET), the amusing Scottish talk show host took on the iPad Mini during the opening monologue.

In a futile attempt to explain the latest and greatest Apple product to the general audience, Craig points out that many people continue to repeatedly purchase the same thing in different sizes. You might have a laugh as the eccentric comedian tries to explain that 8 inches isn't really that small. … Read more

Google Talk is an instant-messaging service from Google that you can use to send messages, files, or e-mail or make VoIP calls to people on your contact list. Since Google Talk is based on an open protocol (XMPP), it can be used to connect to any device that supports this protocol; this currently means Windows, Android, and BlackBerry devices, although other clients are bound to appear soon.

Google Talk reads your Gmail contact list, and the tight integration between Google Talk and Gmail allows you to send IMs to contacts in your Gmail account. Any chat conversations you have through … Read more

You've always wanted to see an animated cat say things in a squeaky voice, haven't you? If so, then Talking Tom Cat is for you! Talking Tom Cat is a free app that shows a cartoon cat onscreen that repeats whatever you say into the device in a funny voice. Talking Tom Cat also responds to pokes and strokes of the screen.

Talking Tom Cat lets you say anything into your microphone, which it then repeats with sound modifications, as well as onscreen animation. You can pet the cat and hear him purr. You can pour him a … Read more

So you Skype; do you OoVoo too? Because OoVoo is a free HD video, voice, and IM chat app that lets you chat with up to 12 friends at once (6 via video and 6 on the phone). It records voice and video on your hard drive, not an online account, so file size is unlimited. You can use OoVoo to share large files (up to 25MB) as well as make phone calls to landlines, text chat, record video messages up to 1 minute long, and do a whole lot of other cool things. Mobile and tablet users have a … Read more

I have a very basic grasp of sign language, including the alphabet and few simple words like "thank you," "snake," and "chicken."

The last time I spoke with someone who was speech impaired, we resorted to a scrap piece of cardboard and a pencil to get our messages across. A new invention may help break down those barriers.

The EnableTalk smart glove recognizes sign language gestures and sends them for text and voice translation to a smartphone or other device. … Read more

Talking Tom Cat 2 is a well-designed app that provides a virtual pet cat that responds to touch and repeats everything you say in a funny voice. Despite its well-designed interface, even true cat lovers might get bored with the limited interaction offered in this free version.

As soon as you launch the program, Tom the cat appears in the center of your display and you can pet him, poke him, or even try to grab his tail if you can (we couldn't). The interface is well-designed with easy-to-understand control buttons spread across the right and left of the … Read more

IMVU is "the world's largest 3D Chat and Dress-Up community." Launched in 2004, Instant Messaging Virtual Universe is simple in concept: Combine the social networking power of IM chat with a 3D virtual "universe." Participants create elaborate new identities, called avatars, that give free rein to self-expression. As with other virtual communities, you can make friends among IMVU's millions of users. But IMVU is much more than a 3D chat room: it's a real simulated world (or the real world, simulated). You can design, make, buy, and sell things like clothes and accessories, … Read more

As a slew of Internet companies have started creating their own content, Yahoo is also getting in the game.

The Web pioneer announced today that it is working on a social media talk show called #HashOut with some big-hitter names like Arnold Schwarzenegger's ex-wife and journalist Maria Shriver, Princeton professor Anne-Marie Slaughter, "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof, and more.

Yahoo is deeming the show as "a new way to talk about the news," and says that it is also "the first talk show conducted over social media."

Besides the people listed above, other guests … Read more

Latest update: 8:57 a.m. PT

Google Talk went down hard this morning, but is getting back up and running.

"The problem with Google Talk should be resolved," Google wrote on its App Status dashboard at 8:25 a.m. PT. "We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support. Please rest assured that system reliability is a top priority at Google, and we are making continuous improvements to make our systems better."

The Google Talk service, which works across Windows, OS X, and Linux, allows users to hold text, … Read more