Websites to stream the game online, watch Super Bowl commercials, and more
Regardless of whether or not you, the geeky PC enthusiast that you are, are excited about watching (arguably) the two top teams in the NFL meet for their annual head-to-head, commercial-filled extravaganza; we've got 10 fun Super Bowl-related websites to keep you entertained. Puppy Bowl, anyone?
So if you truly want to enrich your bone-crunching football experience, check out one of the many companion websites below that will help make the big game day even better.
For the Android fanatic who has everything, there's the new Xperia SmartWatch from Sony, an Android powered wristwatch that taps into your Google smartphone via Bluetooth. Why would you want to do that? Think of it as a secondary screen for your Droid or Nexus or whatever Android device you're packing in your pocket. Sony's SmartWatch vibrates in response to certain events, such as an incoming call. You can read texts and emails, and keep up with Facebook and Twitter all without ever reaching for your smartphone.
Are you the type that hates it when complete strangers bother you for the time? Yanko Designs' LED Array watch is your ticket to getting back at them.
Just flip your wrist and flash your watch at the next person who asks for the time, and then try not to smile when you see a pained look cross their face as they try to figure out what they're looking at. It's actually pretty simple to tell time on the LED Array watch, but only if you know the trick.
There are three rows of LEDs, the top tells the hour and the middle and bottom rows tell the minutes. If it's 2:38PM, for example, two LEDs light up on the top, three in the middle, and eight on the bottom.
Alternately, ThinkGeek's LED Binary watch is another similar option.
There are several places where you should make sure your smartphone is turned to vibrate, or off completely. The movie theater, for example. You should also silence your phone at the doctor's office, during lectures, and while attending class. But what if you forget? Just tap your watch.
That's part of the idea behind Casio's new watch using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. Casio's been showing a prototype version at CES, demonstrating how it communicates with your smartphone by sharing a two-way data link. One of the things you can do with it is stop your smartphone's ring or vibration alerts simply by tapping the watch rather than feverishly fumbling around your pants pocket.
The watch will also alert you to email messages and provide accurate time information from the smartphone. According to Casio, you can do all this and still wear the watch every day without recharging it because it doesn't consume any more battery life than a conventional wristwatch.
Yes, we're fully aware we said "awesome" twice, and that's only because we thought three times might be pushing it. But if there's a more appropriate adjective to describe the Tron-inspired LED watch, feel free to post it the comments section.
Sadly, the Tron watch is only a prototype, so it doesn't actually exist. If it ever becomes a shipping product, go ahead and sign us up for one. And don't worry about not being able to tell teh time. Two Tron-style rings make up the face of the watch, with the outer ring representing the minutes and the inner ring the hours.
Part of the fun in wearing a watch like this or the popular Binary Watch is shoving your wrist into a confused stranger's face when they stop and ask you if you have the time.
Happy Gilmore's game wouldn't have improved any with Garmin's new Approach S1, but maybe yours can, or so Garmin hopes. As the GPS maker tells it, the Approach S1 is the world's first GPS wristwatch designed specifically for the links.
"With the Approach S1 golf GPS watch, Garmin has once again created an entirely new category for fitness and outdoor recreation," said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. "Golfers who want their data and their device as streamlined as possible will find Approach S1 to be a sleek and simple hands-free solution to taking the guesswork out of their game."
The Approach S1 comes pre-programmed with over 14,000 U.S. and Canadian golf courses. All you have to do is select "Start Round" and you're off and running with "precise yardages to the front, back, and middle of greens."
It weights just 1.8 ounces, has an ultra-thin backlit display, and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery good for up to eight hours in GPS mode and up to three weeks in watch mode.
Trying to pick the best Youtube videos of X time period is a lot like trying to pick your favorite flavor of ice cream when you haven’t eaten for two weeks. Everything just looks so good and tasty—or viewable—that it would be impossible to concoct a meaningful “Best Flavors Ever” list with even the slightest bit of accuracy. Everything just looks so scrumptious!
Well, the same problem is happening in our attempt to catalog the 25 greatest Youtube videos of 2010. And, to stretch the analogy even further, we’ve noticed that not everyone likes the same flavors of ice cream: Your Rocky Road of groin-hitting videos is our Orange Sherbet of pranks; Your Strawberry Katy Perry music video is our Chocolate cat movie; et cetera. In short, what you love isn’t necessarily what we love, and vice versa.
So how, then, do we come up with a “best-of” list? And more importantly, what's on it?
Soccer madness is upon us. If you're a true geek, you're watching game, after game, after game of this year's World Cup from the privacy of your personal computer. It's not that hard to find an online stream of any of the games in this year's tournament, and it's the perfect way to combine your love of the foot-ball and your need to actually get work done during the day. Can't lug a television into your cubicle, after all-right?
Anywho, two Firefox add-ons come to mind when I dream of soccer balls, 90+ minute feats of endurance, and that annoying horn sound buzzing in the background of every single match I watch. One of these add-ons is pure entertainment--it does nothing to enhance your Firefox experience beyond expressing your pride for a particular World Cup team in a grand, digital popularity contest. The other, however, is the add-on for up-to-the-minute World Cup scores... and more!
As I mentioned in my previous Firefox Add-on of the Week, it's World Cup time here in the ol', er, world. And just as there's a handy add-on or two for those interesting in keeping up with the latest scores and information via their Mozilla-based browser, so is there an equivalent way to stay on top of the World Cup through Google Chrome.
Just like before, I'm going to take a quick look at two different extensions for the browser. Unlike my choices for Firefox, however, there aren't any prettied-up or theme-changing elements to go around this time. It's nothing but pure soccer in this week's batch of extensions--whether you want to watch stats or watch the games directly, you're covered.
You're not paranoid. Repeat it with me: "I. Am not. Paranoid." There' s nothing wrong with wanting to know just who accessed your shared network files, how long they accessed them, what they did, and when this all went down.
I commend you for being an altruistic Windows user and opening up your public folders for all to visit. But just because you're feeling friendly with your files doesn't mean that you need to throw away the keys to the kingdom--system security should always be in the forefront of your mind no matter how much you trust you've placed through the access rights for those in your personal network.
That's where a little application called ShareMonitor comes center-stage. This portable app, when loaded, begins monitoring Windows 7's public folders for any and all connections. And if you think this is just your average, "someone just logged into my network share, oh gee!" application... you're dead wrong.
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