vanity

Nombray is a new site that lets you buy vanity domains for your name. The service is aimed at people with very little experience setting up a Web site, letting them "squat" the page while funneling any traffic to third-party services they're already using.

On Nombray's home page, you simply type in your first and last name, and the site will search to see which coordinating domains have been taken and which are still available. From there, you're able to claim available domains for $20 a pop, which gets you a free year of hosting … Read more

Not content to just sit around recovering from Independence Day shenanigans this past weekend, TinyURL released a much-needed feature to its URL-shortening service that others have had for ages: vanity URLs. This means the nonsensical shortened URLs it spits out from your 1,000 character-plus links can now be changed to whatever name you want after the forward slash--that is as long as it hasn't been taken by someone else.

With the popularity of TinyURL and it's automatic integration with services like Twitter, most of the good ones have already been snatched up, so if you're looking … Read more

Despite their functionality, not all built-in computer desks need to have a minimalist or futuristic design. In fact, if Vanity PC has its way, computing will blend almost seamlessly into furniture of the most traditional origins.

At first glance its offerings look like a throwback to the faux armoires used to conceal ridiculously bulky tube TVs in the living room, but Vanity PC goes beyond that. Not only does it integrate the computer into all manner of furniture--including a coffee table, as pictured here--but it also builds the technology directly into the pieces, such as an LCD underneath a folding desktop … Read more

Nothing is more jarring to Crave than an interruption to our morning routine, a time reserved for such sanctified rituals as long, hot showers and the day's first cup of coffee. That's why we think this "smart" mirror is an invention of the devil.

In addition to helping you straighten your toupee, the "+336+ SMS Mirror" acts as a remote receiver that picks up text messages streamed from a mobile phone or PDA and displays them on the shiny surface, according to Ubergizmo. (It's also worthy of Crave's odd-name category.)

Obviously perfect … Read more

We felt that something had been amiss lately, and it finally dawned on us: It's been days since we've blogged about a pink gadget. But this one more than makes up for our dereliction of duty, if we do say so ourselves: the multimedia "Girls" keyboard.

All of the keyboards made by Greybusters are colorful, to say the least, but this one seems over the top even by the company's own garish standards. And not just because it's shocking pink from A to Z--as Chip Chick points out, it's also got a vanity mirror … Read more

Anti-aging products are everywhere. Most of them merit nary the blink of an eye on Crave, as we choose to focus on personal technology, not personal vanity. Sometimes, however, the two intersect. We recently read on Textually that the French cosmetic company Clarins has launched a new product specifically geared toward protecting one's skin from the effects of cell phone radiation. Really? I knew cell phones gave you brain tumors and killed sperm, but apparently now they can give you wrinkles, too. In other words, your Prada phone might be killing that youthful glow! Quel horreur!

But never fear. … Read more

When in doubt, change colors. Samsung has perfected that tactic, and it's applied the concept to its NV3 line of combo MP3-playing, 7-megapixel cameras.

The original model in basic black got a decent rating from fellow Craver Will Greenwald last year, but it appears that Samsung thought it was time for a makeover. But rather than slap on some cheap lipstick, the NV3 is now finished in stainless steel or, more exotically, "Oriental Plant Lacquer" that Gadget Candy says is environmentally friendly.

Oh, by the way, the price of these newly outfitted cameras is considerably higher--about $450 … Read more