Month: December 2010

Word Lens “Stunning” But Not That Useful

iphone3Word lens is an app for iPhone which is meant to translate words immediately as you scan your iPhone over the problematic word or words. The app uses the iPhone’s camera to read the word, and while the app itself is free, the translation features at the moment only include Spanish to English and vice versa, and each translated set will cost you $4.99.

The app comes with a demo to show you how it works. The demo takes English words, and immediately reverses them, accurately and fast. The translation mode however is equally fast, but its accuracy was hard to measure because of the tendency of the app to jump between possible translations of the words as it struggled to read the text.

Gift Ideas

Now is definitely the time of year when gift-giving is on everyone’s mind. Of course buying presents for the children in your life always take precedence. While kids of pre-school age and above can – and usually will – let you know exactly what they want, babies and toddlers cannot tell you what’s at the top of your wish list. Whether for holidays or birthdays or any other day that you want to buy the little boy or girl in your life a gift, here are a few tips:

Be Age Specific – there is a reason why toys come with an age range; they usually tell you important information about either the safety or interest-level of the item.

Be practical – don’t buy toys that require 6 batteries; don’t buy an all-white outfit for a baby just learning to crawl or walk.

Think out of the box – how about a donation to a kids’ charity instead of yet another toy? Or perhaps a gift certificate to an activity center that parent and toddler can enjoy together?

Gift-giving can be overwhelming, but if you put a bit of thought and creativity into the planning, then the actually purchasing might even be fun – and the giving definitely will be!

Kroger Co. Recalling Pet Food

The Kroger Co. is recalling certain packages of dog and cat foods, as the products may be dangerous for pets’ health. The recall involves bags of Pet Pride Cat Food, Pet Pride Kitten Formula Food, Old Yeller Chunk Dog Food, Kroger Value Chunk Dig Food and more. The food is suspected to contain aflatoxin, a carcinogen produced by fungus which can be found in some corn. This carcinogen can be harmful to both humans and animals. Consumption could cause liver diseases in pets, which cannot always be remedied.

The Kroger stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio, North and South Carolina and Texas are all recalling these pet food items.

Google Pulls the Plug on Launch of TV Sets

Google-TVGoogle is on the verge of introducing internet surfing directly from television sets, only not just yet. Google Inc. has requested that some manufacturers delay the planned launch of these TV sets which are based on their company’s software, until they do some tweaking on said software.

The Wall Street Journal reported the delay, quoting people who are knowledgeable about Google’s plans. According to the report, Google sent out word to a portion, but not all, of the hardware manufacturers not to announce the release of any new products yet, allowing them to make some necessary improvements in the software.

Despite this announcement Samsung Electronics Co Ltd will not be delaying release of their version of the Google TV at the Consumer Electronics Trade Show scheduled for early January in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Benefit From TV

While it is virtually impossible to prevent your kids from staring at that TV screen, it is important to maximize the positive aspects of their television watching. Try the following:
1. Check TV listings and program reviews for shows that make for good family viewing. Watch shows together – and then talk about them afterwords. Use the program as a starting-off point to discuss your family’s views and values or to learn more about the subject featured on the program.
2. If you are going to permit your child to watch a program alone (or with friends), watch it first.
3. Check the ratings – these age-group rating tools are there for your benefit
4. Plan a family TV schedule that everyone can agree on – then ensure that the schedule is enforced.
5. Plan fun and interesting alternatives to TV watching – arts and crafts, reading, board games, outdoor activities, a cooking evening – the choices are endless!