Extreme Holiday Decorations December 21, 2008

You’ve seen over-the-top holiday lights and ornaments, but have you seen one that’s controlled by web surfers over the internet?
Komar.org/christmas
This man in Colorado keeps taking his holiday decorations to ever more ridiculous levels. At his website you can turn his lights on and off and inflate or deflate several of his lawn ornaments. [...]

Organizing the Holidays December 18, 2008

Getting organized can take some of the stress out of the holiday season.
OrganizedChristmas.com
This site has some good advice no matter how you celebrate the holidays. From saving money on holiday dinners to organizing address books to send thank-you cards in a snap.
Picasa.com
Family photos are a big part of the holiday, but it’s not easy [...]

Testing Digital TV December 17, 2008

This afternoon, Wednesday, December 17, WBAL-TV and other Baltimore stations will conduct a Digital TV test. This is your chance to test your TV sets to determine if they’re ready for the DTV transition next February.
Here’s how to do it. Tune into 11 News at 5:00 at 5:45pm next Wednesday. Turn on [...]

Holiday Tunes to Suit Your Mood December 15, 2008

AOLRadio.com
With 12 different channels of holiday music, there’s sure to be something in here to get you in the spirit. There’s even a kids channel and holiday-themed standup comedy.
Pandora.com
Just type in your favorite song of the season and Pandora will begin building a holiday playlist based on your tastes. [...]

Having a Woot-Off! December 12, 2008

It’s one of the most unusual online shopping sites out there.
Woot.com
Their strategy is “One Day. One Deal.” They only sell one product at a time, usually an electronic gadget offered at a significant discount.
Every few weeks the site holds an unannounced “Woot Off” where new items appear every few minutes, [...]

Checking Out Charities December 9, 2008

Holiday donations to charities may be difficult this year as the economic slide continues, but for those able to give, there’s some valuable information helping you make the most of your donation.
CharityNavigator.org
I said “.com” on the air, which will still take you to this same site, but the official name and [...]

Holding Out for a Bargain December 4, 2008

If you didn’t finish your holiday shopping on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, there’s still plenty of time to hold out for better deals.
ShoppingNotes.com
This new site will help you track prices on items you’re interested in and get alerts when online retailers put them on sale. Just use a special [...]

Talking Tech on WBAL Radio December 4, 2008

Here are some links to the stories Dave Durian and I talked about this morning on WBAL AM1090.
I mostly liked the Blackberry Storm, at least for users who appreciate the Blackberry style. David Pogue in the New York Times couldn’t contain his revulsion at the device.
PC Magazine ranks Maryland 10th for best internet service.

Holiday Greeting Videos December 3, 2008

What would the holidays be without embarrassing online greeting videos.
ElfYourself.com
Remember this one from last year? Office Depot has teamed up with JibJab this time to offer even more options for pasting your own mug into dancing elf videos. Just upload up to five photos and share the video online.
Holidays.AniMoto.com
This [...]

Picking Baby Names December 1, 2008

Here are those sites I mentioned this morning to help choose a baby name.
WhatALovelyName.com
This newcomer offers a simple way to browse names based on attributes like “happy,” “adventurous” or “quirky.”
BabyNameWizard.com
It’s been around for a while, but they’ve added some new features to this one. I like the Name Mapper that [...]