crave

Vista makes the list as one of the top-10 worst consumer tech products of all time

I'll admit: I've used Vista once or twice and I didn't think it was all that bad. I didn't run into the horrible nannying that others reported. But CNET's Crave still felt compelled to rank it up (er, down) with products like The Squircle:

Oh, the Squircle. Not only the product with the lowest score on CNET.co.uk, but the one we felt less love for than our televisions editor feels for his PC. This MP3 player, complete with zero megabytes of internal memory and lump-of-dirt design, had the audacity to sit on shelves asking for money.

This MP3 player uses SD cards to store music. Nay-sayers, don't shout just yet. While an MP3 player running on removable media sounds moderately useful, bear in mind it sounds about as pleasant as a baby seal being clubbed to death. Why such a product even exists is utterly beyond our combined comprehension.

So, you can see the kind of company Vista keeps. Crave writes:… Read more

Craving NYC: Toy Wishes Holiday Preview

I'm practical, no-nonsense, and down-to-earth, despite what other people who write for this blog may tell you. So when our local CNET TV honcho, Rich DeMuro, told me I might want to check out the Holiday Preview event held by trade magazine Toy Wishes earlier this week, I kind of rolled my eyes. I'm not really one for kid stuff. And indeed, the entertainment tie-ins and crazy web-enabled light-up flashing gadgets are kind of insane. I'm still not understanding the appeal of a Darth Vader action figure that morphs into the Death Star.

But you kind of … Read more

Craving NYC: Holiday gift gadgetry, in September

What do you call it when people have started to bust out the fake snow and start talking about holiday gift buying before you've even begun to plan your Halloween costume? I'll tell you what you call it. You call it scary.

But such is our culture. Last week, Jeff Bakalar and I went over to the "Holiday Spectacular" event held by Pepcom, that company that has turned a combination of open bars, schlocky decoration themes, and display cases of cell phones and cameras into a cottage industry. I saw cool gadgets. Enough said.

But Jeff, … Read more

Craving NYC: Poker and pedicures

I know it sounds a little trite, a little stereotypical, a little girly, etc., but I really did find the idea of learning the ropes of mobile poker to be slightly more accessible when I was told that I could have a pedicure in the process. That was the thinking behind an event to publicize Hands On Mobile's latest release, World Poker Tour: Texas Hold'em 2, which introduced a handful of curious females to the seemingly boys-only world of poker by providing lessons and demonstrations in the context of an afternoon of spa treatments at midtown Manhattan's … Read more

Craving NYC: The censored CNET videos

Our esteemed CNET reviewers are always making those "First Look" videos, in which they talk about the latest smart phone or LCD flat-screen TV or overpriced home theater system. Well, here's a look at one of the First Looks that the CNET overlords deemed unworthy of a second look. It's somewhat shocking, really. I had no idea that our seemingly mild-mannered reviewers could stomach that sort of thing. If you don't believe me, I guess you'll just have to watch it.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. We here at Crave would like … Read more

Crave U.K.: Five things wrong with the BBC iPlayer

We want to love iPlayer, we really do. The BBC is always trying hard to make sure its content is available to as many people as possible on as many platforms, and we love Auntie for that. iPlayer, which we should point out is still in beta, goes far beyond the services from other broadcasters--the amount of programming on offer is vast, with something for everyone.

But as much as we love the concept, there are a few things we hate about iPlayer in practice. Here are the five key things we think need changing before the final iPlayer release. … Read more

Crave turns 5,000: A retrospective

Yes, Crave looks all new-wave and fancy and youthful, but did you know it just turned 5,000? That's right.

On Friday, July 27, Crave celebrated its 5,000th post. With this monumental occasion, it gives us an opportunity to look back on the magic we've experienced since last October.

So here we go: the best and worst that Crave has to offer. We may even add new awesomeness and atrocities as our collective memory bank kicks in.

Crave's faves

Best convergence of Crave obsessions: Hello Kitty pirate cell phone charm Cravers Mike Yamamoto and Caroline McCarthy … Read more

Craving NYC: Table tennis, anyone?

There's a storefront in Manhattan's Lower East Side neighborhood called Grand Opening, home to a table tennis venue that's actually a design studio, but won't be a table tennis venue for too long because then it's going to be turned into something totally different after July 1.

Oh, and there's a live webcam.

Confused? Just watch the video.

Craving NYC: Return to ITP!

The Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at NYU is very close to my heart. First, because it's one of those few magical places where you can say something like "That is so steampunk of you!" and actually have people know what you mean. Second, because its winter 2006-2007 student show was the setting of my very first video blog. Awwww!

So, this time around, I went over to the ITP spring semester show, which was held in one of NYU's building spaces on Tuesday and Wednesday, to see what the students over there have been coming up … Read more