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Cell phone radiation: A self-defense guide (FAQ)

Editors' note: This is the third of a three-part series on issues related to cell phone radiation. Revisit Tuesday's story on the inconclusive state of research on cell phone radiation, and Thursday's story about the trouble with federal safety standards, or click here for a roundup of related coverage.

When my sister--a mother of four--was shopping for a new cell phone last summer, she wanted to know: what's the safest cell phone in terms of radiation?

At first, I simply directed her to CNET's Quick Guide: Cell phone radiation levels, which shows the specific absorption rate, … Read more

Amazon unleashes Kindle 3G With Special Offers

Amazon's response to Barnes & Noble launching the new Nook? Counter with a new ad-supported version of the Kindle 3G for $164.

The new model, like its $114 Wi-Fi-only counterpart, is called the Kindle 3G With Special Offers. It costs $25 less than the standard Kindle 3G.

Here's a link to Amazon's press release, but it's really just the $114 model with 3G plus Wi-Fi. … Read more

Should you buy the $114 or $139 Kindle?

With the arrival of the $114 Kindle with Special Offers last week, Amazon.com has created an interesting dilemma for buyers.

The company has duplicated its Wi-Fi-only e-reader from a specs and hardware standpoint but offers you a $25 savings if you're willing to contend with some ads. Or you can choose to see it from a different perspective: to keep your Kindle ad-free, you must pay an extra $25.

Now some of you are probably saying: what's $25? Not much really. Here in New York, it's a couple of drinks at a bar (and sometimes $25 … Read more

Crave giveaway: Kindle With Special Offers

Target wants you to know that it's carrying the new Kindle With Special Offers so it gave us one to give away to one lucky reader. It says it's the first retailer to get the $114 Kindle in stores and if you happen to have a Target RedCard, you can also save 5 percent on your purchase. Woo-hoo.

For those of you who don't know what the Kindle with Special Offers is, it's an ad-supported version of the Wi-Fi only third-generation Kindle, which would run you $139. Some of those ads are for "special" … Read more

Amazon intros new $114 ad-supported Kindle with Special Offers

First, there were friends with benefits. Now Amazon has Kindle with Special Offers.

That's right, Amazon will be shipping a new ad-supported version of its popular e-reader on May 3 for $114 or $25 less than the standard Wi-Fi-only Kindle, which retails for $139. This new model--available for preorder now--is also Wi-Fi-only and comes in the same carbon color as its ad-free sibling. Specs-wise, the two devices are identical.

The big question, of course, is why $114 and not some other number, say $99? Apparently, Amazon isn't willing to go quite that low quite yet, but Russ Grandinetti, … Read more

At just $4.99, watch the weather unfold on your computer screen with YoWindow! 50% savings.

Not sure if you need your rainboots or an umbrella today? Look no further than your computer screen and YoWindow will not only tell you the temperature, but it will show you what the weather is like outside. There are a ton of desktop weather apps, but YoWindow is a different kind of a weather app that is fun and useful at the same time.

Why? Here is a quick summary of what YoWindow does:

Watch the weather unfold in your city or anywhere around the world--see if it's rainy, sunny, hailing, or snowing outside your house or on … Read more

Foursquare upgrades its iPhone and Android apps

Foursquare has upgraded its Android and iPhone apps to version 3.0 to kick off some new and enhanced features.

Officially debuting yesterday in Apple's App Store and Google's Android Market, the free Foursquare 3.0 app has added a new Explore tab that can zero in on the places you want to go.

Tap a certain category, such as food, nightlife, or shops, or type in a specific phrase, such as "books" or "gas station," and Foursquare will show you a list of local spots, anywhere from 2 to 10 miles from your … Read more

Where are the Beatles-branded iPhone, iPod, and iPad?

The biggest disappointment with The Beatles arriving on iTunes is that there's no satisfying way to give music downloads as gifts. There will be special Beatles-branded iTunes gift cards, undoubtedly, but who really wants to unwrap a holiday present to find a plastic card?

No, if Apple has any sense, we'll see a repeat performance from 2004, the year Apple made the special U2-edition iPod.

Of course, with iPod sales on the decline, special Beatles-edition iPhones or iPads are just as likely. In fact, it's the best reason I've heard yet for the delay of the … Read more

Top-10 tech tricks we're sick of seeing in movies

Think how awesome it was the first time you saw a lightsaber in action. Or how your mind was officially shredded when Neo mastered the Matrix. Technology in movies is cool. When artfully filmed, gadgets, gizmos, robots, and computers can captivate and amaze audiences.

But for every thrilling example of cool tech, Hollywood seems to produce a tired, dated cliche. There's the obligatory no-cell-phone-service scene in horror flicks. There are robots with ATTITUDE in science fiction. There are impossible user interfaces in action films. The list goes on and on.

Here, then, are the top-10 tech tricks that are officially played out.

10. Zoom in! (aka, enhance!) You know the scene I'm talking about. Someone (usually a detective) loads a fuzzy photo or video into some sort of software that can manipulate images in implausible ways. Pan left! Zoom in! Bam! There's the clue we were looking for, now clearly visible. This scene was cool in "Blade Runner." Anything after 1982? Not so much. BoingBoing alerted us to this smart montage showing just how cliche this image-mapping tech trick is.

9. AI with attitude Computers and robots that talk with any sort of personality are a terrible cliche. They are also a bad idea. Examples of this tech tragedy include evil computers (HAL from 2001); sad robots (Marvin the Paranoid Android from "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"); neurotic androids (C-3P0); and annoying holograms (the doctor from "Star Trek Voyager"). Even Jarvis, the computer program from "Iron Man," can get snippy.

The presence of emoting robots begs an important question: why would anyone make a machine that was capable of getting angry? Or sad, depressed, lonely, and vindictive? If taken to its logical conclusion, emoting machinery would produce a future kitchen in which my coffee pot got jealous of my tea kettle because I use it more often. I have enough problems in my life without fighting with my toaster. Leave the emotions out of machines. … Read more