launch

When only Big Bird is safe enough

Toy makers have made good progress in robots and pretty much anything with a remote, but they've never quite been able to figure out computers for tots. Usually they're just toy laptops with lame black-and-white screens that are barely legible, making them kind of like fancy Etch A Sketches with some flashing lights and a mouse.

The latest offering from Fisher-Price, the "Easy Link Internet Launch Pad," takes a different approach. Rather than just try to look like a notebook for kids, it's a plug-and-play navigation device that works with any regular computer with a … Read more

iHype: Is the iPhone today's Cabbage Patch Kids?

My friend Chad, a techie and savvy lawyer at a tech firm, and I had lunch today where we spent more time pawing at my iPhone than catching up. He said to me that he's been reading blog after blog, review after review and lusting after one of these puppies. Apparently, there are now outages of the 8 gig, which validated my 10-hour wait, in some part.

Anyway, in the midst of sitting at a street cafe on Belden Lane on a sunny day in San Francisco we were more focused on the hot little item in our hands … Read more

Manhattan iPhone Watch: T minus 3.5 days

NEW YORK--They're heeeeeee-ere.

Actually, I owe you all an apology. When I first showed up at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store earlier this afternoon, I didn't spot anyone waiting in line yet. That's because I didn't spot the one person in line, who'd gotten there at 5 a.m. EDT. Security personnel for the building, however, have mandated that Camp iPhone be located off to the side of the building, out of sight of people who are approaching the Apple Store from 59th Street (the nearest subway stop). The Craigslist crowd was assuming that people … Read more

Apple junkies, mark your calendars: iPhone on June 29

Not much else to say here, other than that Apple has made it official that the iPhone will be released on June 29. That's a Friday. This means, depending on your affiliations, that you can either breathe a sigh of relief that after the 29th you'll optimally stop hearing annoying iPhone rumors, or you can stop speculating and focus on raising that $600 to feed your addiction. Now go!

Update: Check out the iPhone TV ads!

(Via Engadget)

Where 2.0 under way, new geo services aplenty

I'm here at O'Reilly's Where 2.0 conference here in San Jose, which is about to kick off. At last night's Launch Pad event, four new services launched.

Fatdoor made its official alpha launch. Originally slated for a release at last month's Web 2.0 Expo, the service opened its doors for people interested in testing the service on their way to making it publicly available. The service touts itself as being a "neighborhood-based community social network," and a place to find local people or events. We'll try to get a hands-on … Read more

Weapon of mass consumption: the beer-launching fridge

Robotic Beer Launching Refrigerator - The best bloopers are a click away

If you're too lazy to drive your beer keg around, then this might be the solution you've been dreaming of: the beer-launching fridge. The fantasy of frat houses worldwide, the BLF can be loaded with up to 10 cans, which can be fired out at will to those installed on the couch on the other side of the room.

Launch angle and firing are controlled remotely using a keyless vehicle entry system: pressing the Unlock starts the catapult arm rotating to the desired angle, pressing it … Read more

Disney.com relaunches, gets slower

Disney.com unveiled its new look this morning. Announced last month at CES by CEO Bob Iger, the new Disney.com aims to bring more personalization to the site and cash in on provide Disney content to share with others. Funny thing is, you can't even share the content on outside sites like MySpace or blogs.

It's downright tough to find the new personalized area of Disney.com, but it's called XD. The Flash-based XD interface takes about half a minute to load, and you're greeted to a smattering of widgets featuring Disney content that appears … Read more

Who are Microsoft Vista's earliest adopters?

We'll confess: When we heard CompUSA was keeping its stores open until 2 a.m. for the Vista launch this morning, we scoffed. Sure, we reasoned, people will show up at the locations where they're giving away free gadgets and food, and a visit from a pro football player will certainly draw more than your typical techie crowd. But we were convinced that every other store would be filled with the sounds of crickets chirping, accompanied by bored employees drumming their fingers on idle cash registers.

But when we pulled up to the CompUSA in Culver City (Los … Read more

Blogger's sloppy stumble out of beta

Blogger's new makeover, launched in a selective beta back in August, was supposed to make the personal publishing software easier to use. After all, in order to remain a blogging platform for everyday users, the Google-owned service was going to have to do something. Its previous incarnation required a basic knowledge of HTML, which is practically prehistoric in today's world of Ajax-spiced platforms like Six Apart's Vox, which launched earlier this year. So Blogger released a new beta version that featured tags (or "labels" in Googlespeak), "friends-only" posts, and drag-and-drop capabilities. On … Read more