dan tynan on Feb 05 2009 | Filed under: Da Web, Gadgets, US Airways Magazine
The boob tube is about to get a whole lot smarter
It’s the biggest change to television since Gilligan woke up one morning in 1965 and discovered that all the coconuts were suddenly in color. Later this year U.S. television will leave its analog past behind and enter its all-digital future.
[Note: Just this week, Congress pushed [...]
dan tynan on Jan 01 2009 | Filed under: US Airways Magazine
The earth contains enough heat energy to power the world many times over — if we figure out how to tap into it.
Want to see the greenest land on earth, where fossil fuels are almost fossils themselves? Look to an island in the North Atlantic the size of Kentucky.
I went to Iceland recently to [...]
dan tynan on Dec 11 2008 | Filed under: Gadgets, Music, Reviews, US Airways Magazine
The Sonos System will be music to your ears
The Sonos Multi-Room Music System lets you enjoy digital music at home wherever you roam. All you need is a high-speed Internet connection, a home network router, and about 15 minutes of your time.
It’s rare to find electronic devices as simple to set up as the Sonos [...]
dan tynan on Nov 18 2008 | Filed under: Da Web, US Airways Magazine, Video, Web 2.0, politics, youtube
The Internet has changed presidential politics forever – and mostly for the better
As I write this column, the U.S. presidential race is still tighter than a pair of $2 shoes. But this time around, it might not be hanging chads or hockey moms that determine who wins. It might just be the Internet.
[Note: I [...]
dan tynan on Oct 07 2008 | Filed under: Apple, Sony is baloney, US Airways Magazine, Video, Web 2.0
The future of entertainment can be found inside a game console
Hi, my name is Dan and I have a problem with electronics. (“Hi, Dan.”)
As a professional gadget wrangler, my home often looks like an electronics warehouse. These days my living room is filled with devices designed to deliver content from the Internet to my [...]
dan tynan on Aug 07 2008 | Filed under: Da Web, US Airways Magazine, Web 2.0
Collaborative Web sites are becoming tools for social action
(A version of this post originally appeared in the June issue of US Airways Magazine – but for some reason I never posted it til now.)
Do you use a wiki? If not, you probably will soon.
A wiki is a Web site where virtually anyone can contribute. [...]
dan tynan on Aug 05 2008 | Filed under: US Airways Magazine, Web 2.0
Micro-blogs offer new ways to reach out and touch—140 characters at a time
(This post originally appeared in the August issue of US Airways Magazine.)
When American photojournalist James Buck was taken into custody by Egyptian security forces last April, he didn’t call his lawyer, the US embassy, or his mother. He whipped out his cell phone [...]
dan tynan on Jul 03 2008 | Filed under: Da Web, US Airways Magazine, Web 2.0
Recommendation engines know what you want — even if you don’t
(A version of this post originally appeared in the July 2008 issue of US Airways Magazine.)
Some people remember their first kiss or the first time they drove a car. I remember the first time I recorded a show on TiVo. It was an old Rockford [...]
dan tynan on May 01 2008 | Filed under: Da Web, Privacy, US Airways Magazine
Someday all your home appliances will be logging onto the Net — and keeping an eye on you
I have seen the future of the Internet, and it’s sitting on my desk inside a squishy leather pouch.
I’m talking about The Chumby, a clock-sized gadget that logs onto my home network and displays Web content. But what’s [...]
dan tynan on Apr 06 2008 | Filed under: US Airways Magazine, environmental
Global climate crisis? Technology can help.
(A slightly different version of this appeared in the April 08 issue of US Airways Magazine.)
by Dan Tynan
Al Gore I am not. But I do what I can to leave a lighter carbon footprint on the world – recycling religiously, replacing our incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents, and nagging [...]
dan tynan on Mar 02 2008 | Filed under: Music, US Airways Magazine, Video
Eventually, you’ll be able to watch whatever you want wherever you want. But not today.
(A slightly different version of this appeared in the March 2008 issue of US Airways Magazine.)
By Dan Tynan
My family and I don’t watch television anymore. However, we consume TV shows the way Homer Simpson eats donuts. Those two concepts [...]
dan tynan on Feb 23 2008 | Filed under: Gadgets, PC World, US Airways Magazine
The Chumby is the latest in Internet appliances — and unlike most gizmos that use this term, this one really is like an appliance. This of it as a WiFi-powered clock radio that also does photos, video, news, and games, among other things.Plug it in, activate it online, and pick the “channels” (widgets) you [...]
dan tynan on Feb 16 2008 | Filed under: Gadgets, Reviews, US Airways Magazine
VACUUM PACKED
The latest in digital devices is part room cleaner, part robotic buddy.
(This article originally appeared in the December 2007 issue of US Airways Magazine.)
by Dan Tynan
iRobot’s Roomba is more than a vacuum cleaner: It’s a cultural phenomenon. More than two million have been sold since it was introduced five years ago, making it [...]
dan tynan on Feb 14 2008 | Filed under: Da Web, Google, Privacy, US Airways Magazine
Have you Googled yourself lately? You may not like what you find.
(A version of this story originally appeared in the November 2007 issue of US Airways Magazine.)
by Dan Tynan
They used to call it Ego Surfing. Type your own name into a search engine and see how many matches turned up. If you got more hits [...]
dan tynan on Feb 02 2008 | Filed under: Privacy, US Airways Magazine
Don’t look now, but that web ad may be following you….
(This article originally appeared in the February issue of US Airways Magazine.)
I don’t remember much from my college philosophy courses, but one phrase from Nietzsche keeps coming back to me: When you stare long enough into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you.
Twenty-odd years [...]
