Since April 8, 1953, when the first major 3D Hollywood movie was released, people have been in awe of motion picture that literally jumps off the screen. Since then, countless Hollywood hits- from Disney’s “Meet the Robinsons” to James Cameron’s groundbreaking 2009 blockbuster “Avatar”- have leapt off the big screens and into audience’s memories. Movies have been released in 3-dimensional format more and more in recent years, but that hasn’t caused the wonder and excitement to taper off in the least.

Now, viewers can feel the same wonder and excitement at home. Samsung (as well as a few of its competitors, including Sony and Panasonic) has recently introduced its series of 3D-capable home entertainment products. Here you will get a closer look into what it’s all about.

Samsung introduces its 3D home entertainment products in four platforms- LED TVs, LCD TVs, Plasma TVs, and the ever popular Blu-ray Players. The technology behind bringing home such a great entertainment experience isn’t quite simple, but in laymen terms:  the TV “will display two separate but overlapping images of the same scene simultaneously” at ever-so-slightly different angles.” Just like in the movie theaters, these new 3D TVs require a pair of very fashionable but functional glasses that will allow viewers to see the two separate 2D images as one, incredibly clear and eye-popping 3D image.

Samsung’s 3D home entertainment products work with the revolutionary Blu-ray discs, so when movies like Toy Story 3 come out on Blu-ray, your entire family can watch them in all their 3D glory with the ultra-stylish Action Glasses.  And if you don’t want to watch movies all day, but want to continue to enjoy the wonder of 3D, Samsung’s TVs have a built-in processor that can convert 2D media into 3D with just a push of a button. All of this is offered in full HD clarity.

Samsung isn’t the only company capitalizing on the 3D market. Sony Bravia and Panasonic have also introduced home entertainment systems that utilize the same technology to bring you the same great experience. This new world of 3D Home Entertainment is not only for watching great movies; it can even open up a whole new world of entertainment in sports, music, and so much more. In fact, DIRECTV has introduced a brand new channel dedicated to HD3D home entertainment.

Panasonic is also putting the power of 3D in your hands with the world’s first 3D camcorder, allowing users to capture and view life’s great moments in a completely new way.

Having so many options to choose from in this exciting, new era of entertainment may be pretty overwhelming, and you may have loyalties to one or another of the brands (or their celebrity spokespeople-Sony’s commercials feature Justin Timberlake and the Colts’ Peyton Manning), but the best way to figure out whether or not 3D home entertainment is for you and your family is to take a trip into a Samsung, Sony, or Panasonic store or retailer, and experience it for yourself.

Samsung’s 3D-compatible TVs range in price from $2,000-$7,000. Sony Bravia’s 3D-compatible TVs range in price from $2,100-$4,500, and Panasonic’s 3D-compatible TVs range in price from $2,500-$4,300. For a full list of all these brands’ 3D-compatible products, check out their websites at www.samsung.com/us/learningresources3D/ (Samsung), www.sonystyle.com (Sony), and www.panasonic.com (Panasonic).

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Cookouts, barbeques, and block parties galore! Amazing summers like these are what amazing grilling gizmos are made for! And who better to be at the helm of the Grillin’ Bandwagon than the grillin’ master himself. Cooking up a perfect fun-in-the-sun meal has gotten much easier and much more enjoyable. Here, we offer up must-haves that are beyond worthy of his manly “Kiss the Cook” apron.

*Weber Smokey Joe Grill-  $49.95

It’s one thing to be able to throw down in the grilling arena while at home, but how about throwing down on the beach, at the park, or at a football tailgating party? Now, with the Weber Smokey Joe Grill, your guy can throw down just about wherever he pleases without throwing out his back in the process. The Smokey Joe Grill is a lightweight, portable grill that packs all the punch and grilling power as a regular sized grill. Made of steel and aluminum, and boasting a 14.5”-diameter cooking grate, it is essential for all of your portable grilling needs. Available exclusively at Crate and Barrel.

*George Foreman Evolve Grill- $129.99

Your guy may or may not be the type to bake muffins, but if he is, the Evolve Grill – the newest from the ever-popular George Foreman grill company- will allow him to do that and more. With bragging rights including an 84-square-inch cooking area that allows for cooking up to four servings of food, four removable plates for versatile cooking options, and 11 more removable plates coming soon for added versatility, the Evolve Grill by George Foreman will give your man tons of grilling pleasure, and never a dull cooking moment.

*Digital BBQ Fork- $29.99

If your grill master is one to take swift precision and accuracy very seriously, then the Digital BBQ Fork from The Sharper Image is his ideal item. It allows you to set the desired temperature, and beeps when your food is done. It also includes a built-in flashlight, making it perfect for a midsummer night’s dream grilling session. Available at The Sharper Image.

*Grill-It iPhone app- $1.00

With this fun and functional app for the iPhone, your guy will be able to use one gadget he’s loyal to in order to become even more loyal to another. This app for the iPhone features recipes for grilling up almost everything under the sun, from poultry to seafood, and pork to veggies. The app also allows you to save your favorite recipes, so your guy can cook them to perfection again and again. This app is available on iTunes from the iTunes Store, or straight from the App Store from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

*Broilmaster Super Premium Series Grills- Prices Vary

Known as “The Most Durable Grill Known to Man,” Broilmaster grills go above and beyond most peoples’ expectations of a good grill. Products from Broilmaster’s Super Premium Grill Series are not for the novice griller. They are for the man who knows his way around 695 square inches of heavy-duty cast aluminum mighty grilling power. A pricey choice, but if your guy has a passion and talent for whipping up delectably yummy grilled decadence on a regular basis, a Super Premium Series Broilmaster product is well worth the buy. Broilmaster products are available through selected dealers. For a list of dealers in your area, go to broilmaster.com and type in your zip code.

With these great grilling gadgets, the rest of your summer is sure to be deliciously mouth-watering, and chock full of perfectly placed grill lines. Happy Cooking!

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These days the heat is hard enough to beat even with fans and air conditioners blasting at their highest settings. It would literally feel like a horrible day in hell if one or both of those appliances were to succumb to the scorching temperatures. However, sometimes that turns out to be the unfortunate scenario.

Even though such an adverse situation is sometimes unavoidable, every Guts.Glam.Grace girl knows that it is neither cute nor healthy to sweat it out during this especially sweltering season. What she may not know is what else she can do to beat the heat when it has beaten her first lines of defense. Fortunately, we are here to help with a list of great gadgets to help keep cool when the fan and AC fail under the hot pressure.

FirstStreet Artic Ties – $20 for a pack of two

They may look like regular bandanas, but these neck ties not only have great fashion potential, they’re also hiding gel crystals that keep you cool. When soaked in cold water, the gel expands, allowing you hours of cool bliss, no freezing or refrigerating necessary. FirstStreet Artic Ties are available at firststreetonline.com.

Misty Mate Personal Air Cooler – $30

It’s great to be able to move around.  The Misty Mate allows you to do just that. It may be only eight ounces, but it packs a punch. Requiring no batteries and having no motorized parts, the Misty Mate is super easy to use. Just fill it with water and with a few pumps, you will be in misty- cool heaven. Available at Target.

The Bedfan -$75

Being hotter than the months of June, July, ans August put together is already pretty unbearable, but it gets worse when you’re trying to sleep. By sending cool air traveling between your sheets, and stopping your own body heat from getting trapped, the Bedfan keeps you feeling breezy and comfortable through the night.  Available online at secure-bedfan.com

The Insulated Evaporative Cooling Cap – $25

This may look like a regular cap, but it does more than just shield your eyes and face from the dun. Using its Hydroweave technology, this cap uses solar energy to cause water to evaporate, drawing heat from your head. All you have to do is run the cap under cool water, and wring out the excess. This cap keeps your head 30 degrees cooler than temperature outside. And don’t worry about ruining your hair or dealing with a dripping wet hat. The cap includes an inner lining that keeps your head cool and dry as it does its job. Available through Hammacher Schlemmer (online at hammacher.com, through the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog, or by phone: 1.800.321.1484)

This heat may feel like too much to handle, but it’s easier than ever to stay breezy and cool in these sizzling summer days.

Stay Cool!

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Mimoco, maker of the MIMOBOT® collection of pop-art infused USB flash drives, announce the latest in the Infectious^TM x MIMOBOT community-designed series of MIMOBOT storage devices: GiddyUp by Hila Rosenberg Arazi. Hila is an Australian/Israeli artist who loves to draw tiny things and create miniatures.

In August 2009, Mimoco partnered with Infectious.com (purveyors of adhesive art for iPhones, iPods, laptops, walls, and cars created by a mix of professional artists and a thriving designer community) for the second contest in their community-designed MIMOBOT series. Mimoco received an astounding number of entries (666 to be exact). Hila’s whimsical dreamy illustration was the perfect precursor to a killer MIMOBOT.

“I’ve been a fan of the Mimobot USB drive from its very start,” said Hila. “I’m a proud owner of a few, including one of the first series to be released. I missed out on the first Mimobot challenge and was hoping for a new one to come along… and when it finally did, I knew that my personal challenge would be to confront the Mimobot shape in a different way. To think outside of the Mimobot bear-like-shape, if you will. In addition to the shape aspect, I knew I’d like to offer Mimoco an innocent girly design that I, as a girly (and not so innocent) buyer would like to see in their collection… And that’s how the GiddyUp design came about.”

In addition to having her design made into the next community-designed MIMOBOT flash drive, Hila received a MIMOBOT and Infectious Prize Pack, and a $1,000 cash prize – an award that will surely help her growing business creating worldwide orders for custom dolls and miniatures.

With an Israeli mother and Australian father, Hila spent her childhood traveling back and forth between both countries, juggling hobbies such as building a cozy house for the garage opossum (he ate it) and making tiny gas-masks for all her stuffed animals during the first Gulf War. She went on pursuit of a bachelor degree in Visual Communications but slowly drifted towards the Animation department, concentrating on stop motion and the wonderful world of miniature set design.

Hila’s winning design joins the MIMOBOT USB flash drive roster including original characters and licenses from Star Wars^TM and Hello Kitty® to pop-artists like Gary Baseman, tokidoki^TM, and FriendsWithYou, amongst other graffiti and contemporary artists. MIMOBOT flash drives are available in 2GB to 16GB capacities, are Mac/Windows compatible, and include preloaded bonus content like wallpapers, avatars, screensavers, and mimoByte^TM sound software. Visit http://mimoco.com for more info on Boston-based art toy meets consumer electronics maker, Mimoco.

Infectious collaborates with artists from around the world to turn blank surfaces into canvases for art. Current artists include Junko Mizuno (Japan), Julie West (UK), Dalek (USA), Tara McPherson (USA), Shag (USA), and nearly 100 others. For more info on San Francisco-based Infectious, their design community and vast selection of adhesive art for iPhones, iPods, laptops and more, visit http://infectious.com.

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The Fitbit is a new device that tracks a person’s activity by logging in the number of calories burned, sleeping patterns, distance traveled, and sleep quality. It conveniently records how far you have walked and how long you were sedentary throughout the day and compiles that information with nighttime statistics of when you went to bed, how many times you were awakened, and your actual sleep time.

All of these metrics are stored in a small apparatus about the size of an iPod Nano, and it comes with a docking station and a band to attach the device to your arm at night. Whenever you approach the wireless base station, the day’s data is uploaded to the Fitbit.com website.

The user can store minute-by-minute data for up to 7 days or daily data for up to 30 days on their website. Unfortunately, there are no long-term benchmarks, graphs, or any overall indication of personal achievement from a “digital personal trainer”. For this reason, the Fitbit comes off as fairly two-dimensional, not for its purpose but for its lack of data summary. The tracking data does give a good sense of how your activity levels and sleep patterns change from day to day, but the question remains: What does the user do with this data and how is it compiled to help you lose weight, become more healthy, or sleep better?

Sadly, America spends more money on dieting annually than many other countries do on food. The Fitbit falls into the caste of glorified pedometer mixed with Weight Watcher’s calorie-counting, a dash of an Ekg, with a touch of a toddler leash. Nonetheless, there is a formidable market of consumers that still try to meander around the concept of eating reasonably and exercising often so there may be some demand for this product.

The Fitbit costs $99.00 and there is no cost to register on the www.fitbit.com website. We look forward to your comments and opinions on this product and its overall utility.

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Just in time for the holiday season comes the Verizon Droid Smart-Phone, which is poised to bring the most formidable market challenge to the already favored iPhone. This is because the Droid is the brain child of three powerhouses: Motorola, Verizon, and Google.

Motorola has fashioned a very finished and sophisticated phone with slide-out full QUERTY keyboard, a 5 megapixel camera, a highly touted 480 x 854 pixel resolution with a 3.7-inch display that is said to be the best on the market, and it’s all run on the Android 2.0 operating system.

Verizon forms more Voltron with inclusions like Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connectivity and full multi-media and social networking capabilities. The knockout blow may lie in the fact that Verizon has 5 times more 3G coverage than AT&T, which exclusively sells the iPhone.

The Droid also incorporates a high-powered Google search engine. A highly innovative option is the voice-activated search selection, so now you don’t have to type a search option in the search engine for results. You can simply speak your search, and it will respond. For instance, say you’re driving to a meeting in the next state and using your turn-by-turn directions from Google Maps, you can now speak the command and the Droid will dictate directions right back at you.

The Verizon Droid costs $199.99 for a two-year contract with a $30 per month mandatory data plan. This data plan does have a 5GB cap whereby the iPhone has the same $30 per month data plan with no limit. Despite this, it can be said confidently that the Verizon Droid is the best contender to come to the Smart-Phone platform since the iPhone itself!

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Now in the new millennium, women can make their adoring presence known to their men from any distance. Whether it’s in the bedroom or at the office, he will always have a little piece of you to cherish even when you are away by using these fun and hip gadgets.

For the Home:

If your man prefers beer and cocktails over wine, these Fred Cool Shooter Shot Glass Molds are the perfect gift for him. He can impress his friends with a shot glass made entirely of ice. A little water and time will create the perfect shooter for the next game or party. Fill it with orange juice, freeze, shoot some gin, and then take a bite out of the shot glass.

Sold for $7.95 at X-tremegeek.com

For Commute:

If your man’s car has more scratches on its tail than Freddy Krueger’s face, then you should get him the Roadmaster Wireless Backup Camera with a 2.5-inch LCD Monitor. With this cool gizmo, he can finally see what is happening behind his vehicle simply by installing a license plate frame backup camera that transmits a wide-angle color picture to a dash-monitored receiver. No more backing up into the only BMW parked on the block anymore. Think lovability and no liability!

Sold for $99.95 at X-tremegeek.com

For the Office:

One of the best gifts you can give this year is a digital photo frame. Check out the Insignia 8″ widescreen LCD Digital Photo Frame. This gift totally trumps Facebook pictures, and you can create your own special 40+ high-quality photo slideshow.

Sold for $89.99 at BestBuy.com

For the Office:

If the most interesting object on your man’s desk is a plastic carton containing leftover lo-mein noodles from lunch, you know you have to get him the Iz from Zizzle. This cubical companion plays music from any mp3 player and even bops to the music as it streams. The Iz also says funny things that are sure to put you in a good mood, and there are lights you can turn on to accompany the music.

Sold for $39.95 at Amazon.com

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At a loss for what to get your kid this holiday season? Check out the following creative options featuring the hottest kid-friendly gizmos on the market!

Vtech Touch Tablet Advance Pearl Ice by Vtech

Folks, this isn’t the Speak & Spell you used to marvel at during the 1980s. This new kid’s notebook computer with detachable touch tablet monitor provides users with over 100 academic and adventure games that will pique your child’s interest, imagination, and intellect.

The system’s Artificial Intelligence Technology tracks your child’s progress and caters to his or her learning status and needs. Programs contain subjects, like Science, English, Math, Geography, History, and Spanish. You can also download more activities and games through its CD-Rom capability, and it includes a USB connection so you can upload data to a PC, print it, and make a sweet collage on your refrigerator door.

Ages 8-11 years

$29.99  www.Toysrus.com

ATM Machine

First, it started with Monopoly using credit cards, and now it’s official that kids of the new millennium will have their old piggy banks collecting dust. This new ATM machine for kids, deemed the best by the Hammacher Schlemmer Institute, will have your future Accountants, IRS Auditors, and budding Mr. Ferley’s collecting and managing money like a pro.

The ATM collects and distributes cash up to $999.99 and provides you with a working PIN number to make real deposits, withdrawals, and check your balance, all with the easy-to-use keypad.

Ages 5 and up

$39.99  www.hammacher.com

Mindflex: Mental Acuity Game by Mattel

Maneuver a ball through this fun and remarkable obstacle course, the perfect gift for your rebellious teenager. Put on the headset and earlobe clips, focus and concentrate on where you want the ball to go, and air fans direct a foam ball though this course, all by using mental commands.

Ages pre-teen and up

$126.98  www.mindflexgames.com

Ultimate WALL·E Remote Control Robot

Enter stage-right, WALL·E. Now, you can bring Dinsney/Pixar’s intergalactic champ to your home with this new remote-controlled toy.

WALL·E can scoot around the house on real working treads and can grab, blink, chat, dance, and play music from your MP3 player. This toy has obstacle, motion, and audio sensors so WALL·E can respond to sound, react to movement, and explore with no collisions. Best of all, this toy captures the innocence and curiosity of the movie character to a tee, so your child will be convinced that the real WALL·E from the film is really there to play with him.

Ages 5 and up

$259.95  www.disneystore.com

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We have all seen the ongoing advertisement showdown with the Microsoft Guy versus Mac Guy. They are clever, funny, and even a bit true… depending on who you talk to and whether or not they are PC or Mac people. Even the “I’m a PC” response ads are interesting, especially in their creative influences, showcasing a wide range of PC users doing multiple functions and loving their product.

So how do people react to the software on a PC? Enter Microsoft’s newest baby, launched for retail this October: Windows 7. Judging from these new commercials, Windows 7 is marketed as a more user-friendly operating system. Windows 7 doesn’t live in isolation, though. It is an answer to Vista’s failures, the changing landscape and fact that Mac cashed in on this failure, making them more popular and user-friendly. Just a few years ago, the definition of “computing” was more like using programs and browsing websites on laptops and desktops. ”The advent and ubiquity of mobile computing devices like the iPhone and Netbooks, the impending arrival of “cloud computing platforms” and the proliferation of “cloud applications” like MobileMe and GoogleDocs changed all that,” software developer Juan Suero says. Location-aware devices that allow users to jog to their favorite tunes while tracking where they are going and how much energy they use are the kinds of nuances that people now want in their computing devices. The idea Microsoft is pushing is a more compatible and device-friendly program for developer tools to users trying to create applications or consolidate their devices. Windows 7, it seems can do for device users what Google did for someone trying to find that answer or a location faster than the encyclopedia and the yellow pages.

The launching of Windows 7 has been anticipated by users fed up with Windows Vista, analyzed by everyone with anything at stake (read: developers, programmers and customers on the verge of a changeover) and probably even sniffed at by its competitors. We wanted some idea of how the advanced user, programmers, and overall technology experts had to say about its importance thus far.

For Juan Suero, Microsoft’s new endeavor serves as a manifestation of the company’s new perspective of its users. Installs with the OS running are a bit flaky, Juan says. The better thing would be to do a clean install without XP getting in the way. The newest commercials push the adage, “Built By Me”, which is a direct reference to the flood of responses Microsoft oversaw after Windows Vista launched (and crashed, in many users’ opinions) about three years ago. Windows 7 is marketed as a more focused, streamlined product with multi-touchscreen support, a new super-functional taskbar and multi-browser compatibility through miniature previews. Juan also likes the better handling of memory because the task manager uses a fraction of the RAM that Vista used to use. Another boost for Windows 7 is the possibility of future markets involving touchscreen applications similar to IPod Touch’s appeal.  The foundations are there, Juan says, we just have to see where Microsoft goes with it.

CNET.com techies focus on installation and startup pros and cons. For hosts of The Real Deal 185: Road Test: Windows 7, Tom and Rafe tried many different methods of beginning Windows 7 on their computers. The clean install method (from scratch without having Windows Vista previously) was a bit dicey for Rafe. He backtracked and decided to do the reformatted Vista upgrade instead, and reported a faster, more stable installation. He also mentioned that the User Interface (UI) had better, nicer features. One complaint here was the fact the home upgrade costs $120, the Professional costs $200 and Windows 7 Ultimate is $220. After the disaster of Windows Vista, Rafe suggests that perhaps there should be no costs for upgrades. On the pro side, Windows 7 has built-in drivers, so there is no need to go to others sites for installing different drivers associated with the operating system. Tom tried another method of installation over Vista on a virtual machine, which caused the “blue screen of death” crash. Tom had no problems even after installing Microsoft Office 2007, but after choosing Bing as the new search engine and/or installing Google Chrome he crashed three times, struggling with restoring instead of safe modes and Microsoft Works recognition and compatibility. There has been a lot of uproar online about this, and Microsoft has fielded many concerns for possible remedies, but not every expert had a problem with Chrome.

The next obvious question is how does Mac’s Snow Leopard, launched just a bit earlier than Windows 7 compare? Some people still believe that the $120 for an upgrade (or less if using with a new computer) is better than a $29 service pack for Mac’s OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard. All commercials aside, those of us that are ready for a change will make the leap regardless, so these early days of reviews and comments may not have their full force yet. Changes are similar and maybe more accessible to users first hand in Windows, but Mac may still have an edge on the long run. Stay tuned!

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7

http://www.cnet.com/8301-17920_1-10386605-84.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10381386-62.html

http://www.pcworld.com/article/174592/ultimate_showdown_snow_leopard_vs_windows_7.html

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Now is the time to solidify yourself as the most current and trendy gift-giver of the holiday season. Take the time to review the hottest new gadgets from around the globe that are guaranteed to radiate smiles and hugs from boyfriends, brothers, parents, and other loved ones from right under the tree to miles away.

Some gadgets are timeless, and with a little new millennium flare, they are contemporary and cutting edge too. For instance, check out the Sketch 3D that’s made by o2 Creative Solutions. With this new software and classic Etch-a-Sketch designed hardware, users can create 3D drawings that appear on any output device such as plasma displays and LCD screens. Just use the Etch-a Sketch’s three dials and two-color glasses to create stereoscopic imagery that’s both fun and functional. Keep your eyes peeled to see when and how they market this device, and you may see Etch-a-Sketch installation art at the next party on the coolest house on the block.

If you want something more practical, check out the Viper SmartStart, by Viper. Now, you can start your car from virtually anywhere when you buy the remote car starter and download the accompanying app to your iPhone. Feel free to unlock your car, protect it with a Viper alarm, and start it from anywhere in the world with this new device. If you’re ending your movie in the middle of the winter, and you want to warm and protect your car at the same time, use this app from inside the venue to do both. Also if you get locked out of your car, your loved ones in LA can unlock it for you using this new iPhone app.

The Viper SmartStart costs $499.99 and you can get it at BestBuy. The first year of service is free, and it costs $29.99 for every year after.

A new toy and device from Japan is the Otamatone designed by CUBE Works and Maywa Denki. Leave it to the Japanese to create this “out of left field” instrument/toy that is catching wind fast. The Otamatone is a little character that is shaped like a musical note. You can activate the notes and sounds by scaling its body with your fingers to create your own music. When you move its mouth, it will sing to you in vibrato. Move over 1980′s Casio Keyboard.  People won’t be able to keep their hands off this new gadget retailing at $84.99. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qecPQ0FB-64

The best iPod speaker system out there is the Griffin Evolve Wireless Speaker System. This new speaker system can transmit wonderful, full-bodied sound from your iPod touch or 4^th generation iPod Nano wirelessly up to 150 feet away. At your next get-together, have one speaker in the kitchen and one in the living room playing crisp booming music for up to 10 hours.

These stylish cube speakers each have their own lithium Ion battery pack that even charges wirelessly. No more fumbling around with wires and carrying your iPod deck into the next room. The Griffing Evolve Wireless Speaker System retails for $350.00 and is available now.

These new gadgets may just find themselves in your own crib instead of under their tree, but at least your intentions were good, right?

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