Post-it

In the tech news this week, Stephen and Brian bust me for buying an iPhone 4 on eBay to tide me over until there's a phone I really want--or until my Verizon contract is up. Nicole Lee joins us to talk about Nokia and Microsoft's new baby, the Lumia 800, and Sony's plans to get serious about making smart phones. Plus, stock advice from the gang, the coming nightmare that is the Stop Internet Piracy Act, and Computer Love.

A Post-it pillow? The idea of sleeping on a giant Post-it pad lookalike that might leave ink doodles on my mug doesn't appeal much. But what the heck. It's great for throwing around on the couch.

And if inspiration strikes or there's a TV shopping number you just gotta scribble down, the Post My Pillow ($24) is more likely to be within reach than a reminder pad and pen.

Fortunately, it's erasable, though the site says nothing about replacements for the marker. Plus, you'll have to go through the hassle of stripping off the cover … Read more

Note taking is an important aspect to many computer users' lives. A program needs to be quick, efficient, and only visible when needed. Notez claims to be all of those things and more for the modern note maker, but we found its features to be fairly standard.

This freeware embeds itself into your tray for quick access. The note's interface is that of a traditional yellow sticky note with a few buttons and a scrolling bar at the top. The note can quickly and easily be written in the body of the sticky. The buttons are a bit surprising: … Read more

After spending some time with NoteZilla Portable, we quickly came to the conclusion that there is a lot more than meets the eye to this very functional calendar and task tool.

Using sticky notes, the program lets you input important tasks. Simply type the text on the note and that's it. You can position the sticky notes wherever you like on your desktop and even place them on top of specific Web sites. If you don't like desktop clutter, you can save the notes in the Memoboard. From the Memoboard, you can organize the sticky notes into categories, … Read more

Not quite your heavyweight CES showpiece, but the Origami Sticky Notes ($4 at Think Geek) are just the thing for post-holiday work blues. Banish those moments of boredom or take a break from deadlines by turning on your creative juices and recycling your office notes into 3D models.

There are 10 different origami shapes for you to fold into patterns--including pig, penguin, boat, crane, and butterfly--with instructions printed on each Post-It sheet. It's not as if you're skiving, of course, since you'll be scribbling down those to-dos that your boss gave you this morning.

(Via Crave Asia)… Read more

Taking a cue from real-world Post-It notes, Stick provides an equivalent product for your computer desktop. A few differences from other sticky note programs make this a valuable asset for any PC.

The most noticeable is that notes, when closed, turn into tabs you can then append to the sides of your screen. This makes keeping your desktop tidy a snap. In addition to basic text notes, you also can create Explorer notes, which are actual Windows Explorer windows. You can navigate the file system from within these or even use them for Web browsing.

Each note features a variety … Read more

Postica has to be one of the more single-serving Web apps I've seen in a long time. The service lets you create a slew of tiny sticky notes that can be maneuvered around the confines of your browser with ajaxian flair. They don't hover over pages you're looking at like Diigo or Fleck; instead it's all about your personal note space. Whatever notes you create are saved, and can be accessed from wherever. You can also share them with others, and they can send notes to your workspace, too.

Each note is confined to just 140 … Read more

Like their real-world counterpart, a quickly jotted digital sticky note placed prominently on the desktop can be just the reminder or inspirational message you need. And it won't bulk up the landfill when you trash it.

Software sticky notes are simply movable widgets that contain text, and even the simplest possess some font, color, and formatting customization. Most of the apps I looked at let you add alarms, sounds, and hot key shortcuts. The more advanced programs are surprisingly powerful, adding sophisticated synchronizing features and management platforms to track notes and reduce desktop clutter.

Not all the sticky notes products are free (NoteZilla) , and not all the paid products are good (StickyNote). Here are six popular studs and duds you should take note of.… Read more

Let it be known that Crave is always looking out for your communication needs. Last week, you may recall, we offered up the "Memo Motion Sensor," which automatically plays a message to anyone who walks into your office at work. But as fond as we are of this idea, it's not the most practical for most households.

So to leave messages for your loved ones at home, we suggest something like the "Message Magnet," a simple but effective way to leave the equivalent of a 10-second voicemail for up to six individual recipients (or all … Read more