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Thirty years from now will every adult have cell phone shaped cancerous tumors around their ears?
Disturbingly, the answer to that question is: maybe.
Some government agencies, such as America’s Food and Drug Administration, say risk from cell phone radiation is minimal. Others, such as the UN’s World Health Organization, say that alarm bells would make for an appropriate ringtone. France has gone so far as to ban children from using cell phones specifically because kids are most susceptible to radiation.
The wisdom of French lawmakers aside, the truth is that no one really knows with certainty the effects years of cell phone radiation can have. Only after long term studies can there be conclusive answers. At which point it might be too late.
So what’s one to do?
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The makers of MagicJack have, for years now, implored you in late-night infomercials to ditch your telephone company landland and use their product instead. Their device, about the size of a deck of playing cards, connects to a computer on one end and to a regular telephone on the other. With a MackJack thusly installed a user can place any phone call over an internet connection; calls to or within the U.S. are completely free.
(Or course, what MagicJack doesn’t tell you in their infomercials is that theirs isn’t the only internet telephony service. See our comparison of MagicJack, Skype and Vonage. Ooma also has a VoIP product that’s more expensive but otherwise superior to MagicJack’s).
Starting in the spring of 2010 MagicJack will be expanding their competitive sights to the cell phone companies. A new MagicJack device will allow users to use their mobiles to make and receive free calls.
This new MagicJack has received a great deal of press. The AP even ran an article titled MagicJack’s next act: disappearing cell phone fees.
But will the new MagicJack really let you ditch your cell phone company?
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The S5 is the smallest consumer device capable of running a full version of Windows
In our holiday review of 10 Superb Travel Gifts we suggested a cool MID (Mobile Internet Device) with built in wi-fi, GPS and HD 720p video playback functionality, a 4.8-inch screen and a long battery life:
The Viliv S5.
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The Beamz Interactive Music System lets even the most musically untalented get their groove on
What instrument does Yo-Yo Ma joke that he’ll give up his cello for, and lets you crank out a Van Halen-like guitar solo and can be competently played by even the most musically untalented without a single lesson?
It’s the Beamz Interactive Music System.
And, oh yeah, you play it with lasers.
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Depending on what source you believe, it will be called the iSlate or the MacPad or the iTablet or the MacBook Tablet.
It will have a touchscreen that will be 7 inches diagonally. Or 10 inches. Or 11 inches.
The device will be a piece of junk that will cause a massive crash in Apple’s stock price, recently pumped up by the tablet netbook rumors. Or it will be a revolutionary must-have item that will create a whole new product category, spell the end of the competitor’s netbooks and e-reading devices and propel Apple to still greater heights.
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A gadget that supposedly translates dog barks into human speech—is it cool or just plain kooky?
What an incredible year 2009 was for gadgets and technology. Here’s a countdown of our favorite posts from the year past:
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The qualities that make for a superlative travel camera are all those that make for a superlative camera in general. Plus, the joy of travel photography is improved by a camera that’s small, light and has a longer battery life. Plus, a camera must be well built and, preferably, weatherized to withstand frequent travel. Plus, some cameras have features especially geared towards travelers such as self cleaning sensors and optional GPS devices that will record the exact location on the planet a particular photograph was taken. Whew!
Spot Cool Stuff considered all those factors when determining the best travel cameras and then divided our selections into these categories:
For SLRs:
For Point-and-Shoot cameras:
Click on the category that most interests you. Or, continue reading . . .
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As a kid we used to sled on a wooden Flexible Flyer. As a college student we used sled on food trays we, um, “creative acquired” from the school cafeteria. That’s what sledding was like back then. This is sledding today:
The Hammerhead Sled.
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