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A gadget for every cookout and grilling quandary
By Patti Ewald, Times staff writer
If you can't dazzle 'em with your barbecuing brilliance, you can always baffle 'em with the hottest new grilling gizmo. Like the Stake — tongs, spatula and fork all in one. The Swiss army knife of grilling tools. Grip it. Flip it. Serve it. You'll be the Houdini of the hibachi.
“I started by taking the tools that I used most when barbecuing," Peter Wachtel, toy inventor by day, Stake inventor by night, said. "Then I chopped, cut and broke them apart, and started to make a rough prototype," he said.
After a lot of trial and error — and the help of his 6-year-old son — he came up with tool that worked, looked and felt great. A smooth leaf spring mechanism makes the tongs easy to use; the fork slides out for use and tucks safely into the spatula for storage. ... Read more
What are the best phones out right now?
If you're in the market for a new cellphone and you're not tied down to a carrier, this is worth a look. PCWorld named the best phones from every carrier (for now). Among them, HTC One S, Apple iPhone 4S, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and Motorola Droid Razr Maxx.
View-Master to iPhone: 14 gadget masterpieces
Weve seen some incredible gadgets and gizmos the past few decades. From the View-Master in 1939 to the more recent iPhone, Time magazine takes a look at 14 masterpieces of gadget designs.
Roundup: Annoying telemarketers, safeguarding Android, more parental control
Robocalls, telemarketers and politicians, oh my! Don't let telemarketing calls annoy you. Make sure you register your number (including your cell number) with the Do Not Call registry. But this doesn't guarantee you'll be call free. The New York Times explains the exceptions.
Protect your Android: Android devices are popular targets for malware. Some can defeat antivirus detection. PCWorld recommends three free apps to keep your device safe. ... Read more
The Daily Drivers: Porsche 911 Carrera S is perfection in the making
Porsche's 911 body style has endured for decades, needing only incremental changes. Now comes the sixth generation of the rear-engine sports car, which gets a hard tweak rather than a redesign. The more fundamental changes are under the sheet metal, where Porsche says 90 percent of the components are either new or redesigned.
A new twist to opening bottles and cans
Opening cans and bottles can be a challenge for some seniors with limited hand strength and others with special needs. Youngsters may find popping open a soda can difficult. Women with freshly manicured nails might not want to dig under tabs for fear of ruining the finish.
Along comes the Extreme Magic Opener to make it easier to open any kind of cans with tabs or bottles with pop-off or twist-top caps. The 4-in-1 device has a slot to grab a tab or pull ring to easily open food cans all the way with its leverage. There's are built-in grabbers so twisting off small caps is easier with a larger handle. A traditional opener can pop off bottle caps.
The Extreme Magic Opener is available at www.magicopener.com, starting at $19.99.
Take a vacation from your desktop: Yosemite Falls webcam goes live in HD
Associated Press
FRESNO, Calif. — Just in time for spring snowmelt: a webcam pointed at one of Yosemite National Park's main attractions, the soaring 2,425-foot Yosemite Falls.
The HD camera went live on North America's tallest fall Monday, allowing anyone with computer access to watch in stunning detail as shadows race across the towering granite monolith over which Yosemite Creek crashes in a series of plunges and cascades. It's updated every 30 seconds through a high-speed DSL connection. ... Read more
Wake up to a brighter side
Do you wake up in the morning crawling to the coffeemaker or bright-eyed and ready to conquer the world? A variety of devices claim to help you start your day right by waking you up at the right time of your sleep cycle: between light sleep and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. The Los Angeles Times takes a look if these monitors really work.
High Fives: Gadgets and Gizmos roundup
Are brand names audio badges worth paying more for? More and more devices are adopting brand-name badges of big-name audio system makers. But do they really sound that much better? (Popular Mechanics)
One-stop shop for Facebook apps: From Farmville to Spotify, Facebook has created a hub for users who want to find games and other apps compatible with the social network app, including its first storefront for paid apps. (Chicago Tribune)
... Read more
The Daily Drivers: What's new for 2012? A look at 6 car updates
Sometimes we find ourselves in a quandary: We get a new model year of a car we've driven but there aren't enough differences to justify a full review. So here are brief looks at some recent cars with incremental changes.
About the blogger
Living in a convenient and connected world means keeping up to date on the latest technology and gadgets. To help you sort out what's worth exploring for your own tech needs, we'll give you a one-stop guide to some of the newest products on the market -- smart phones, cameras, video games, automotive products, household gadgets and more. In other words, the cool stuff.
E-mail Lyra Solochek: timesgadgets@gmail.com
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