The announcement of Google Mail Goggles is cracking me up. If you haven't already heard, the Goggles (hopefully) prevent you from sending email you may later regret, be they the product of inebriation or whatever else you might do on Saturday night. When enabled, the Goggles check to make sure you really want to send that email to your ex-boyfriend at 2 am on Friday night with, what else, but a few math problems. I guess the idea is that if you are cognizant enough to solve some math problem, you can be trusted to make the right decision on your own. However, if you cannot answer what 196 x 7 is, maybe you should wait until the morning to profess your love or tell someone off. I like this idea... although I think for some people it might be more useful on cell phones...

-posted by Stephanie

I've been trying to resist blogging about the "I Am Rich" application for the iPhone since it first started making news last week, but I can't hold back any more. After a respectable 8 purchases, the $999.00 app has been pulled from the App Store... but it still has some "fans." Gizmodo has posted a guided tour of the "I Am Rich" app, and it is truly a work of art - I mean, how can you not get ahead with the inspiring mantra and beautiful gem that glows in the background, reminding you that "you could afford it." Watch this video, its delightful... and if they ever let "I Am Rich" back in the App Store, consider getting it, you "deserv" it!

-posted by Stephanie

As a follower of celebrity gossip, I buy certain weekly magazines on occasion to catch up with what my favorite stars are up to. One magazine always has a section called "Celebrities, They're Just Like Us!" which I disdain. They include pics of celebrities being "just like us" normal folks, and include such stupid things as buying groceries, wearing hats, walking, driving, etc. Wow, after seeing a picture of a Jennifer Aniston buying a gallon of milk I do suddenly feel like she is just like me!

Right...

Anyways, I saw this article in Forbes about celebrities who choose not to (or don't know how to) use technologies most of us use on a regular (and by regular I mean constantly, all the time) basis.

For example, Vince Vaughn doesn't have a cellphone. Orlando Bloom doesn't use email or even own a computer. Paul McCartney doesn't know how to use an ATM. President Bush doesn't use email (and was famously quoted in 2006 for saying he uses "the Google" to look at maps). Simon Cowell doesn't know how to use a computer. There are many more examples and funny tidbits in the article.

I think this does teach us an important lesson.... celebrities aren't just like us... which is probably a good thing.

-posted by Stephanie

This week, our fearless leader, Paul, was part of a panel presentation put on by Businesswire (www.businesswire.com) about PR during times of recession. A few of us had the pleasure to attend and heard some really interesting insights from a variety of industry experts, including Jennifer Gehert (Communique PR), Amy Bohutinsky (Zillow) and of course, our very own Paul Forecki. The panel was moderated by Erik Elvejord (Holland America Line).

Below are some pictures from the event, enjoy!


The panel (From left: Erik Elvejord, Amy Bohutinsky, Jennifer Gehrt, and Paul Forecki)














-posted by Stephanie

VOXUS client AirMagnet is in the midst of a nationwide 802.11n workshop series, and when they hosted the event in Seattle, I had the opportunity to attend. Led by wireless expert Keith Parsons, the event is a rundown of all things 11n, and I left feeling as though I could successfully deploy a new 802.11n network all by myself (with the right AirMagnet tools, of course). So far, the workshop has been held in Atlanta, Seattle and San Jose. Upcoming dates include Washington D.C. (June 10) New York City (June 11) and Chicago (June 12). If you'd like more information about the event or would like to register to attend, go here.

Below are a few pictures from the Seattle event.

Wireless expert Keith Parsons prepares to share his knowledge with the group.


Attendees prepare to absorb lots of 802.11n information.


-posted by Stephanie

So, on May 21st, Wii Fit was released in the U.S. (with the exception of NYC, which got an early batch last Monday). As a proud owner of a Wii (which was played constantly for the first month or two after Christmas and has since been collecting quite a bit of dust... which I suspect has happened to many of the Wii owners such as myself who have no kids and can only swing a remote in the air like a tennis racket so many times before finding the couch and American Idol far more interesting) I am very intrigued by this whole concept.

The Wii Fit is a bundle of game software and a white board that you stand on that can weigh you (boo!) and sense your movements (yay!). "Games" include yoga, hula hooping, skiing, running and many more. There have been a ton of articles written in the past week about the Wii Fit, including this one from CNN that gives a good summary of what it's like to actually experience the Wii Fit. The general consensus seems to be that it is super fun, somewhat challenging and will get people off the couch and moving around, although it may not be quite enough to replace regular work-out routines.

In conclusion, yes, I will probably go out and buy this new contraption, because I do things like that - and yes, it will probably be fun and entertaining - but no, I don't think I will be canceling my gym membership... at least not yet.

-posted by Stephanie

The winners of the 2008 Best of Interop Awards were just announced at the Interop Las Vegas show, where VOXUS client AirMagnet won the Best of Interop Award in the Mobile and Wireless category. This is the second year in a row that AirMagnet has won the prestigious award.

You can find the full list of this year's winners at http://www.bestofinterop.com/winners/

-posted by Stephanie

Blogs are becoming more and more powerful every day. It looks like super-blogger Perez Hilton, aka Mario Lavandeira, is once again parlaying his widespread influence into a new job. First it was VH1 specials and guest appearances on television shows, now, as the New York Times was first to report, Hilton is negotiating a deal that would give him clout at Warner Brothers Music. On his gossip blog, Perez often blogs about new artists, usually unknown and sometimes unsigned, and songs that he thinks his readers will enjoy. With 2.8 million visitors each month, these postings get a lot of exposure, so much so that the blog has been credited with these relatively unknown artists breaking into the top 10 on iTunes and gaining priceless exposure with club promoters and record labels. If the deal goes through, Hilton will be using his keen ear to bring these future stars to the Warner Brothers label.

And to think, it all started with a blog...

-posted by Stephanie

If you are look for some last minutes ideas on where to take that special someone for Valentine's Day, Network World has a new slide show up that lists the 10 best places to take a techie on a date. Grabbing the coveted number one slot is San Francisco's Exploratorium, a so-called "playground for the techie in us all," NWW even mentions that if you can't make it to the real location, you and your date's avatars can visit the Second Life version... so romantic. Also making the top ten are Cambridge's MIT Museum, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Seattle's very own Experience Music Project, which comes in at #7.

-posted by Stephanie

After watching their presentation at DEMO '08, John Cook recently wrote about a new "current affairs search engine" in his Venture Blog named Silobreaker because of the founder's desire to break the "silos" of traditional media. Nominated as the official VOXUS Guinea pig for all things Silobreaker, my initial report is very positive - with Silobreaker offering a fresh alternative to traditional search engines. Not only can you search through current news stories, videos, research reports, and pretty much anything else imaginable, you can also track trends in media coverage of companies, people and topics. Not to mention a cool feature that shows a visual web of relationships between searched items and other newsmakers. So far, very awesome tool... more to come after further investigation.

-posted by Stephanie

Voxus client Sandlot Games has just announced a sweet contest, the Jill Evans Look-a-Like contest. Sandlot is encouraging all the Cake Mania fans out there to send in a picture dressed as Jill, the cake-baking heroine of the mega-popular Cake Mania games. They will be accepting photo entries until November 12, the grand prize winners will receive a Nintendo DS in addition to other game prizes. You can find out more about the contest and how to enter here.

-posted by Stephanie

The Ergo Bike Premium 8i has finally arrived. Germany's Daum Electronics has started to ship to the U.S. - 20 have come so far - the most high tech and interactive stationary exercise bike ever. The Ergo Bike allows riders to virtually compete with other riders around the world, via an internet connection, webcam, VOIP-enabled headsets, and brute strength. Groups choose a time and a course and go head-to-head in hardcore competition, with some courses comparable to Ironman Triathlon segments. The onboard computer also keeps track of each riders vital statistics (speed, pulse, distance, etc.) and has tons of other built in features. This fancy workout is priced at $3,500.

Article from CNET.

-posted by Stephanie

Last Tuesday evening, Bothell-based casual gaming company (and VOXUS client) Sandlot Games hosted a party at Club Venom in Seattle in conjunction with the Casual Gaming Association conference. In attendance were various members of press, gaming industry notables, and a woman dressed as Cake Mania's heroine Jill, complete with a freshly frosted cake and a robot-like walk. Cake Mania was the top casual game of 2006 and a major hit for Sandlot; at the party, Sandlot founder and CEO Daniel Bernstein gave the first glimpse of Cake Mania 2 (out in August) during a 10-minute run through of the game on Venom's huge projection screens. Needless to say, the party was a "treat" for all who attended.

-posted by Stephanie

It was recently announced that Konami Corp. has created a "Dream Skincare" game for the Nintendo DS handheld. The "game" allows players to enter in their body temperature and weight into a graph and answer questions about their skin quality. The result: advice on how to keep skin healthy, including diet and other helpful hints. The game game also includes videos of Chizu Saeki, a Japanese beauty expert, demonstrating facial massages and skin maintenance. "Dream Skincare" is set to go on sale in Japan in October for $37.

-posted by Stephanie