Each year, for the past 10, I brace myself for The Last Gadget Standing, an event at  International CES that admires the spirit of creativity and the fact that CES attendees not only appreciate cool technology, but that they can pick the winners from the losers. As the competition starts to heat up I’ll point [...]

Accoding to NPD, a research firm, families are using video games big time. After sports games and action games (each holding approximately 20% of the market), family games represent 12%, the next largest category. Though the press would have you think otherwise, nearly 50% of games sold are rated “E” for everyone. And the game [...]

Kids are getting an A for effort and bypassing their parents in learning how to manage their online reputations. According to a Pew Internet study, kids who use social media do, in fact, care about their reputations. “Young adults, far from being indifferent about their digital footprints, are the most active online reputation managers in [...]

What do kids really need when it comes to digital literacy and learning? And what are their ever-anxious parents willing to spend to get a leg up on the educational ladder? For LeapFrog, the answer is the newly announced $69 Leapster Explorer. For the price, the features are awesome. It has a nice color screen [...]

Remember Silly Putty?  It was born as the high tech replacement for rubber during the shortage in WW II. What about Winky Dink? The first interactive TV program that asked kids to lay a sheet of acetate over their TV screens and draw Winky out of a jam. Yesterday’s toys are tomorrow’s innovation.  Better graphics, better interaction, but is the [...]

Flight Simulator the Microsoft game thats ultrarealistic controls and navigation path gave many armchair pilots a chance to take control of the wheel.  Now the kids can get into the act with two games announced for the junior set. Heros in the Sky MySims Sky Heroes: launching by this Sept  Most of you are familiar [...]

If you’re 17 or so and getting ready about to say goodbye to high school  prom night might figure high on your to do list this week.  The ultimate sign of digital times are the numbers of kids who’ll invite their dates via a text message.  The conversation might go something like this, says Margaret [...]

“Someone told me it’s all happening at the zoo” just took on new meaning. This week, students on a class trip to the Central Park Zoo were equipped with the latest Intel Classmate PCs. They used the notebook-cum-tablet features to sketch puffins and penguins. They attached USB sensors to explore temperature and humidity in the [...]

Every year I get to witness a different sort of CES event. Different than the usual Vegas cacaphony*. (*of which I am a willing partner and participant) Held in Washington, DC, the Digital Patriots Dinner brings technologists and policy makers together to trumpet the successes of innovation.  CEA  President and CEO, Gary Shapiro, made it a point [...]

Now that buying a mobile phone is like buying a computer, moving, adapting and configuring your phone has become a full time job.  In the last few weeks I’ve heard the newest excuse for bad phone behavior –pocketbook dialing, misdials, and phones sounding off in inappropriate places.  “I just got a new phone and I’m still [...]