christmas

Happy Hanukkah! Tonight is the first of the eight-day holiday, so tune in to the first half of the show as Wilson and I try our best to explain to Jeff what that means.

On today's show we take a look at Dance Central for the Microsoft Kinect, and offer our sincerest opinions on the best printers, scary PC games, and books! Yes, we're actually learning how to read.

Verizon announced its 4G data plans, but it's not going to come cheap. The "Gs" refer to the speed a mobile device can receive and send data, so 4G will enable Web pages, videos, and e-mails to load faster. Carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile already have 4G data infrastructure in place, but don't expect the same speeds on every carrier.

Starting December 5, Verizon's 4G service will cost $50 for just 5GB a day, $80 nets you 10GB of data, and it's $10 per gigabyte if you go over the limit. The company claims that 70 percent of its 38 markets will gain access to 4G on Sunday, and users can connect with a laptop through a USB modem.

Microsoft's Kinect motion controller accessory is already boasting bigger sales than than the Sony PlayStation Move, having reached 4.1 million dollars in sales worldwide since launching three months ago.

Jeff and Wilson were skeptics when they first saw the controller in action, but Dance Central changed it around for the Bakalar house and now they're hooked. And if all goes right with a hack we're working on, keep a lookout for a YouTube video of that on the show. In the meantime, check out this Kinect joyride fail video and let us know what you think!

Everyone's favorite finch-flinging frolic is going festive for both iOS and Android devices (just try saying that five times fast after downing a glass of egg nog).

Rovio Mobile's next big update for Angry Birds, which celebrates Christmas, has been hinted at, detailed, and screenshotted, and now the company has made it official, though we don't have an exact release date yet.

Angry Birds Christmas will be free if you purchased the 99-cent Angry Birds Halloween edition for iOS devices. Rovio had initially tweeted that the Christmas title would only be coming to the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad, but today posted a message that it's flying onto Android too.

Now we're just waiting to hear if Angry Birds fans with MeeGo, WebOS, and Symbian devices will see their Yuletide cheer turn into jeer this holiday. … Read more

This year's Black Friday saw a healthy rise in online sales, according to stats out today from ComScore.

Cybershoppers collectively plunked down $648 million online on Friday, a gain of 9 percent over the same day last year. Thanksgiving, a day where people typically spend more time filling their bellies than emptying their wallets, saw a solid 28 percent rise in cybersales from last year, hitting $407 million.

Overall, the online holiday shopping season has been robust so far, according to market researcher ComScore, with $11.64 billion spent at e-commerce outlets from November 1 to 26, a gain … Read more

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Today is Cyber Monday, which is mostly a marketing scam in IMHO. Regardless, you will find it worthwhile to check out CNET's gift suggestions

Angry Birds' Christmas Edition is coming soon

Meanwhile, Angry Birds for Windows Phone 7 is not coming soon

Richard Branson is said to be launching an iPad magazine to compete with Rupert Murdoch's rumored iPad magazine. Branson's version will simply be called Project

A village in India has banned unmarried women from using cell phones

Lady Gaga and the Twitterati have gone silent on social networks … Read more

It's the Monday after Thanksgiving and you're sitting at your work computer suffering from food coma. Too bloated to get any real work done, you decide to do something that doesn't occupy too much of the brain--online Christmas shopping.

There's more at stake here than the cost of shipping and handling, though. First off, your boss probably doesn't want you to be surfing Amazon when you have spreadsheets to complete. Secondly, you could be opening up the corporate network to malicious hackers during what is known to be a particularly risky period.

Scammers are ready … Read more

Google launches search tools to help Americans vote

Sophos unveils free antivirus software for Mac users

T-Mobile announces a $10 Android phone

Hotmail now works with other e-mail accounts, even Gmail

Google blurs images of homes and faces in Germany on Street View maps

Ubisoft's Michael Jackson Experience game will come with a free sparkly glove if you preorder the Wii version

Martha Stewart launches an iPad app to help you make the best holiday cookies on the block

Consumer electronics retailers may be in store for some early Christmas cheer this year.

Sales of consumer electronics and appliances are expected to total $10.1 billion this November, a 4 percent rise over the same month last year, according to a forecast out today from IBM. Consumer electronics alone could ring in about $8.6 billion in sales for the month.

Looking ahead to December, overall sales from both categories should reach $13.8 billion, a 4 percent rise from December 2009, with $12.1 billion of that spent on consumer electronics. In another twist, the sales momentum going … Read more

Porsche yesterday announced it has sold out of the 911 GT2 RS; the German auto-makers fastest sports car to date.

The limited-edition 911 GT2 RS, which has a twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter flat-six and delivers 620-horsepower, has sold out in just two months. Since its introduction at the Moscow Auto Show, Porsche secured 500 preorders. The units are scheduled to be delivered to owners in February, 2011, Porsche said in a press release.

Also sold out is the special edition 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible featured in this year's Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. Limited to 100 units, the $75,000 car … Read more

Since 1939, The Christmas Book from Neiman Marcus has featured luxurious, exotic and limited-edition items including his-and-hers matching airplanes, an ark with all the critters, and several luxury vehicles.

This year the catalog includes the Neiman Marcus Edition 2011 Chevy Camaro convertible. The car comes with a 6.2-liter, V-8 engine. The six-speed manual transmission delivers 426 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. The six-speed automatic delivers 400 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque.

The car features a deep Bordeaux exterior color and "ghosted" rally stripes.

"The tricoat, metallic paint shifts in response to natural light," … Read more