If you've been underwhelmed with other recipe sites because they seem to give you thousands of recipes but not a whole lot of useful information, Yummly is a free and intuitive recipe search tool with a strong focus on the big picture

Click on the image above for a closer look.

At Yummly you don't just search for recipes or use ingredients as a springboard for finding recipesthough you can certainly do bothyou can also search and browse recipes by dietary requirements, allergies, and the course they'll be served in.

Setting up a profile at Yummly unlocks even more useful features. When you create your profile you specify your cooking skill level, habits, and preferences for types of food and where you prefer to shop. You then receive customized recommendations based on your level of cooking skill, types of food allergies, special dietary requirements, your preferences for local, organic, and whole foods, and where you prefer to do your shopping. These preferences are incorporated into your searches while logged in for even more convenient recipe finding.

Yummly is a free service and requires a basic email registration to store your preferences and saved recipes.

Filed under: Tech, Websites, Lists

Sometimes I burn through hours just clicking deeper into rabbit holes on the internet. At what point do they take away my keyboard and jack me into a pod with a USB cable at the back of my neck?

Here they are, the 15 Most Addictive Websites Ever as determined by Urlesque -- a list comprising of wikis, blogs, gaming sites and more. We tried to focus more on individual sites providing unique content, but we just couldn't leave out a few aggregators that allow us to cherry pick fun stuff from millions of places throughout the web.

Everything Is Terrible

It's not hard to find soul-crushing video content on the web. But you won't find a single source that so carefully curates hilariously bad video clips that you haven't already seen a hundred times on Everything Is Terrible. I am consistently amazed at how many infomercial weirdos and bizarre Christian kids shows they're able to dig up every week.

Why it's addictive: The so-bad-they're-good videos bleed together for marathon rubbernecking sessions.

Ffffound!

Ffffound is an image hosting platform like Flickr but cooler. It dynamically recommends photos you'll like as you browse. It's invite-only, which prevents a bunch of social media dorks dorking it up with stupid photos of what they ate for dinner that day.

Why it's addictive: Hey look, it's a picture of a man wearing a wearing a bird's nest on his head. And look over there, a mosaic made out of candy corn. And so on.

Digg & Reddit

Content aggregators like Reddit or Digg make it easy for you to find the stuff that everyone's talking about. These communities have developed distinct personalities, going beyond just recommending stuff and actually help each other out and engage in weird collective pranks.

Why it's addictive: The content is so rapidly refreshed that you could easily just read interesting new stories indefinitely. Plus, you'll want to argue with or rally the community.

Failblog

Will we, as a society, ever get tired of watching each other fail? People falling! Bad parenting! Bad spelling in signage! It's always the same dumb crap, but we can't get enough of it.

Why it's addictive: Just look at those YouTube screenshots as you scroll down the page. The teaser images will entice you till you're pages deep.

FML & MLIA

FML (or F*** My Life) is a site made up of user-submitted disappointments such as

Today, I daringly tried that fish bath thingy (the one where all the fish come to you and eat all of your skin's dead cells). I submerged into it and after 15 minutes of being a human buffet, 20 of the fish died. FML

And then, MLIA (My Life Is Average), which celebrates life's mundane moments:

Today, I renamed my iPod "This ship" just for the pleasure of seeing the phrase "This ship is syncing" MLIA

Why it's addictive: Sort the responses by popularity and spend hours marveling at other people's problems.

Gifsoup

Bloggers and forum dwellers have revived animated GIFs in a huge way over the last few years. Gifsoup allows users to create their own gifs from existing YouTube footage, and also hosts a huge gallery of embeddable GIFs.

Why it's addictive: If scrolling through endless galleries of twitching, squirming animations wasn't enough, it's easy to make your own.

Know Your Meme

Know Your Meme is a wiki for memes. Anyone can submit information about a particular meme, and the good stuff rises to the top. It's also carefully curated and peppered with insightful videos explaining some of the more complex memes. You can easily burn a few hours tumbling down a rabbit hole of interrelated memes.

Why it's addictive: Each entry contains links to other memes, so even if you've found your explanation of the meme about which you were curious, you'll inevitably learn about a ton more.

Wikipedia

Because it's so comprehensively cross-referenced, it's inevitable that looking up a quick data point on Wikipedia turns into an hours-long aimless graze of information. If that's not addictive enough, there's a game for iPhones and iPads called Wikihunt that challenges players to navigate from one random Wikipedia page to another in as few clicks as possible.

Why it's addictive: Look at all those underlined words that are waiting to be clicked. Even if you came here for a specific reason, it's guaranteed you won't be able to leave without learning about something else worth sharing at the water cooler.

TV Tropes

If you have any interest in pop culture or creative writing, you WILL spend hours absorbing the storytelling cliches at TV Tropes. Every plot element or characterization is documented exhaustively, with as much weight given to some dumb Anime as to Citizen Kane.

Why it's addictive: Because a lot of the tropes are built on top of several other tropes, you end up having to dive four or five pages deep to figure out what anything means.

Kongregate

There are many browser-based gaming sites, but this one's the best. On top of hundreds of games offered, there's also a meta-game, wherein you win points and earn badges for accomplishing certain in-game goals.

Why it's addictive: The impulse to make numbers go up is rarely so cleverly manipulated.

Facebook

Who among us hasn't found ourselves awake at 3:00 AM staring slack-jawed at an ex's Facebook wall or flipping through photos of people you don't know? According to Mashable, one third of women between the ages of 18-34 check Facebook first thing in the morning.

Why it's addictive: Facebook is explicitly engineered to keep you clicking, from its annoying games to its lure of keeping tabs on crush objects.

YTMND

YMNTD, or You're The Man Now Dog (A Sean Connery quote from Finding Forrester) is a simple site that allows users to upload an image or animated GIF, a caption and a sound file. What results is a fertile meme farm that churns out hundreds of ridiculous intertextual pages each week. (See: Some of the most classic examples)

Why it's addictive: Each entry is an easily digestible chunk of a pop culture artifact. So they're perfect for consuming in huge, irresponsible amounts.

ONTD

Oh No They Didn't is one of the only thriving blogs on Livejournal because it's one of the smartest celebrity gossip blogs out there, and its use of user-generated content allows it to scoop a lot of big gossip sites like TMZ or Perez Hilton.

Why it's addictive: It's alluring in the same way that all gossip rags are, but this one does it the best. Not to mention the endless hilarity encompassed in the members' avatars and use of animated gifs in the comments.

Meme Hall of Fame: Double Rainbow [Nerve]

LEGOS with Tattoos [Flavorwire]

Candy Colored Crochet Bike [Crushable]

New Thor Trailer Owns the Web [Geek Sugar]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

If you feel like you have your best ideas after a jog or while mountain biking you're not imagining things. Small lengths of exercise produce long lengths of boosted creativity.

Photo by eduardomineo.

Many people who exercise attribute the change in scenery to their creative burstswhich certainly can't hurt!but the principle cause is the exercise itself. Newsweek magazine, in their overview of current research on creativity, reports the following about exercise-related creativity:

Almost every dimension of cognition improves from 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, and creativity is no exception. The type of exercise doesn't matter, and the boost lasts for at least two hours afterward. However, there's a catch: this is the case only for the physically fit. For those who rarely exercise, the fatigue from aerobic activity counteracts the short-term benefits.

Check out the full article at the link below for more interesting insights on creativity including gems like how you should never tell somebody to be creativesuggesting that they show you how they would solve the problem differently than anyone else, however, doubles creative output.

Have your own creativity-boosting methods to share, exercise related or otherwise? Let's hear about it in the comments.

Mary and her husband set out to build a stock portfolio worth $25,000 as a college graduation present for each of their children. That's a lofty goal. How did they do it? In her entry to the GRS video contest, Mary explained:

Here's how Mary describes her method in a post at her site, Frugal to Rich:

When our children were born and people wanted to get a gift for the baby, we asked family and friends to give us the gift of money that we would invest for them. We felt this was a much wiser choice than some new toy that would soon be worn out or in which they would lose interest.

We set up a very low cost stock index mutual fund (such as VFINX), along with a general stock mutual fund for each child and started investing.

When the children were old enough to start working, we wanted to really encourage their frugal living and investing, so we made them an offer they could not refuse: For every dollar they contributed to their savings, we would match it so they would double the amount of money they had to invest!

When Mary's kids graduated from college (debt-free!), she and her husband transferred portfolio ownership.

I think this is a fantastic idea. It's a great way to teach children about frugality, investing, priorities, and more. Do you know anyone who's done this with their children? What other effective ways have you seen to teach kids about saving and investing?

---
Related Articles at Get Rich Slowly:

• Beat the Market with Lazy Portfolios
• Workshop for Kids
• The Lazy Way to Investment Success
• Index Funds: Why Choose Anything Else?
• How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get on With Your Life

Shared by Jim
I agree with this, I loved my Kindle. I sold it when I got my iPad because it didn't make sense to have two devices, but it was great for reading. If you're a reader, at this price now it doesn't make sense for you not to own a Kindle. (if you don't have the need / want for an iPad)

Yesterday, Amazon announced a new Kindle, similar in design to the new DX and just $140/$190 for WiFi-only and 3G models, respectively.

Naturally, the tech press is already declaring it dead, because the tech press loves product killers and other perceptions to completely rule out entire classes of products because they lack the empathy or worldview to recognize these products' markets.

Dave Winer says:

When I read on tech blogs that Kindle is a goner, I think these people must not read very much.

I love the Kindle. The iPad didn't kill it. Amazon is going to sell a ton of these, especially at this new price point.

Reading on the iPad is a bit of a kludge. You can read on it, and it's a lot better than reading on a computer, but it's still too reflective, heavy, bright, and power-hungry compared to the Kindle.

People often assume that the iPad's backlit LCD screen is an advantage over the Kindle because it doesn't need a separate light to be read at night. But the Kindle's e-ink screen is actually more versatile for different lighting: not only does it work in bright sunlight just as well as paper, but I find it easier to read a Kindle at night with a small lamp on than with an iPad in the dark, even using dark mode and low brightness. And I often can't use those same nightstand or headboard-clip lamps with the iPad to light the area less harshly because the iPad's screen is too reflective. The iPad is also too heavy to comfortably hold in most ways for long periods, and its wide range of software capabilities can be distracting. When you're holding a Kindle, all you can do is read. When I read on an iPad, I always want to go check my email. And my feeds. And Tumblr. And Twitter. Just for a minute.

The iPad is a great casual computer, but the Kindle is the superior reading device.¹ And there doesn't need to be any killing. If you really like an iPad for its other uses, now that a Kindle's entry price is $140, it's perfectly reasonable to have both.

Tiff and I are taking our first backpacking trip in a few weeks. We'll presumably have no access to AC power for 6 days, and we'll likely regret carrying anything heavy or unnecessary. But we'll have times at camp in which it will be nice to be able to entertain ourselves.

I'm not bringing the iPad. I'm certainly not bringing a laptop. I'll have my iPhone for emergencies, but powered off to conserve its battery. I'm bringing the S90, not the 5D Mark II.

And I'm bringing a Kindle, loaded up with books and Instapaper compilations, in a Ziplock bag for waterproofing. No case, no charger, no extra batteries. Total weight: 10 ounces. (I'll be carrying more coffee than that.) If it breaks, it's a lot cheaper to replace than an iPad. Its battery will outlast the trip, even with heavy use. It holds so much text that I'll always have a great selection and more than enough supply. And I'm simply bringing a few extra sets of AAA batteries (2 oz.) for my headlamp to light it at night if needed.

Gizmodo and the like probably don't care that the Kindle is the perfect device for so many uses like this that people encounter on a regular basis in Real Life. But Kindle owners, and Amazon, don't need them to.

Yes, kids, this is what happens when a Donkey mommy and a Zebra daddy love each other so much they bump uglies. And voila this cutie was born! Technically, this redonk beautiful baby is called a Zedonk. I might just have to make my next vacation to the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve in Georgia .... [The Daily What]

Our continually updated list of all the best laptops available today.

Choosing the best laptop computer for you can be a tricky business, and the level of choice can be overwhelming.

There's no shortage of cheap laptops out there to choose from, but with new models bring released and almost immediately replaced by manufacturers, the choice is no easy task.

The lure of netbooks and the rise of the mini laptop are also huge factors for those looking for a new notebook, but each has their downsides.

• 15 best netbooks in the world today

That's why we've proured over our huge database of laptop reviews and picked out the best notebooks money can buy. We've picked out five of the best cheap laptop computers in each of four categories - the sub 400 and sub 600 price ranges as well gaming laptops and lightweight notebooks.

We've also picked out the most important information from each laptop review to help you choose at a glance - just click through to the main review to read more.

Think about your needs and your most important factor, be it laptop battery life, and the features which aren't worth spending money on. The most important part is to be honest about what you need, and you could save a fortune on getting the best laptop for you.

Acer Aspire 1410-74G25n - 299

Acer's Aspire laptops represent the company's consumer range, and the Aspire 1410-74G25n is a CULV (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) laptop that offers fantastic value for money.

Performance isn't this laptop's strong point, but it isn't meant to be the laptop offers superb portability instead. At only 1.4kg, it's a pleasure to carry around. The small form factor makes it very easy to fit into almost any bag, but if you're after th slimmest machine possible, go for the Elonex Sliver instead.

The Aspire 1410-74G25n is put together well, and will provide good durability on the road. The shiny screen lid does quickly attract fingerprints and grime, but the mock brushed-aluminium palmrest inside doesn't, and looks and feels great.

The keyboard is very firm, but is also flat and therefore easy to get lost on when typing at speed. Unfortunately, the proximity of the touchpad to the keyboard makes it all too easy to brush against it while typing, causing irritating and erratic cursor behaviour.

The Aspire 1410-74G25n has the latest 802.11n high-speed wireless networking technology making it well suited to connecting to a router or hotspot at home or in a cafe and it's also the only laptop here to boast both VGA and HDMI out ports, offering good flexibility when connecting to external analogue and digital monitors.

The Acer Aspire 1410-74G25n sets a very high bar for the other laptops on test, and the excellent battery life will be a clincher for many buyers.

Read our full Acer Aspire 1410 review

Advent Modena - 339

Advent is PC World's in-house brand and comprises a range of affordable entry-level machines and the Advent Modena is a usable option for the first-time buyer and includes a bright and vibrant screen, but performance is poor.

The slim chassis carries the same basic design scheme we've come to expect from the Advent range, but its patterned glossy lid and matt-plastic interior create a nice contrast.

The plain black design is a little uninspiring, but doesn't detract too much from the sleek consumer styling.

At 2.5kg, the Advent Modena is easy to use around the home or on shorter journeys. With a depth of just 33mm, it slips easily into a carry case, so it's disappointing that the battery runs for just over two hours .

Surprisingly at such a low-price, high-speed wireless connectivity is provided by 802.11n Wi-Fi. An integrated camera is also in place, fitted above the screen, and lets you capture snapshots and even record video for easy online video messaging use.

Offering good usability, a great screen and ample storage at such a low price, the Advent Modena is sure to please first time buyers looking for an affordable and portable bargain.

Read our full Advent Modena review

Lenovo ThinkPad X100e - 355

Lenovo's ThinkPad range is known for offering arguably the best business laptops you can buy, but prices have traditionally been quite high. The ThinkPad X100e remedies this and brings effortlessly high-class corporate usability to the entry-level market.

The first thing you notice is how small the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e is. Weighing just 1.5kg, it easily fits into even the smallest luggage for regular travel use. The 226-minute battery life is bettered by the eMachines G525-902G16Mi but provides basic mobility.

Despite the low price, none of Lenovo's famed build quality has been lost. The matt plastics and rigid chassis provide ample resilience and will easily withstand the knocks of life on the move, while the plain black design is sleek and stylish.

ThinkPad keyboards are rarely bettered and the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e is no exception. Unusually for Lenovo it uses the isolated-key style with each key cut through a hole in the chassis. The board is also spill-resistant and is both spacious and responsive, making it by far one of the best at this price point.

While its mixed levels of power and small size make it more akin to a netbook than a laptop, there's no denying the sheer quality of the ThinkPad X100e. By offering the key strengths of more expensive machines at a cheaper price, this is a truly great ultraportable for the price.

Read our full Lenovo ThinkPad X100e review

eMachines G525-902G16Mi - 397

While eMachines is not the best-known brand, it provides a good range of entry-level laptops ideal for those on a budget.The eMachines G525-902G16Miis a highly likeable big screen laptop, but is unfortunately flawed by limited power and features.

With its striking 17.3-inch screen, this is a great choice for viewing movies and photos. As well as its size, the screen on the eMachines G525-902G16Mi is far brighter and more vibrant than its rivals, making it comfortable to view in all conditions. We found the Super-TFT coating inevitably reflective, however.

Disappointingly, graphics performance is very low, with only the most basic multimedia use possible. The integrated Intel graphics card quickly struggles with demanding video editing tasks, but basic photo editing is possible.

Where the eMachines G525-902G16Mi truly stands out is its solid build quality and great usability. While the matt-black chassis and textured lid provide a conservative appearance, they also make the laptop very resilient, ensuring you can let the family loose on it without too much fear of damage.

In short, the eMachines G525-902G16Miis very much a mixed bag. While its stunning screen and great usability are easy to like, the limited power and features mean many users may quickly outgrow this machine as their skills develop, so be sure to consider your future needs before buying.

Read our full eMachines G525-902G16Mi review

Acer Aspire 5542-304G32Bn - 399

The Aspire 5542-304G32Bn is a budget machine that packs in some unexpected features at a low price point. One of the stand-out features is the inclusion of a Blu-ray drive, a rarity for laptops at this price.

While the 1366 x 768-pixel screen resolution is not enough to take full advantage of the high-definition visuals, images are still crisp and the 15.6-inch LED backlit Super-TFT display provides rich and vibrant colours.

Other features also impress, including the 5-in-1 memory card reader and four USB ports, letting you easily connect external storage and peripherals.

The 320GB hard drive is enough for storing a large number of songs and videos, while leaving space for essential applications.

The only downside is the gaps between each key, which lets in dirt and other debris. The touchpad is one of the largest in this group, although easy to brush while typing. Thankfully there's a button for disabling the pad when not needed.

Overall, the Aspire 5542-304G32Bn is a feature-packed and highly usable laptop that is only let down by limited power and portability.

Read our full Acer Aspire 5542 review

Samsung R530 - 389

Not only is the Samsung R530 a great looking laptop, it also boasts great usability, performance and portability - and all at a very competitive price.We very rarely see laptops that have exciting designs at this price point, but the Samsung took us by surprise with its moody red and black lid and mock brushed-aluminium palmrest this is the sort of styling we would expect to see on a laptop costing significantly more.

Build quality is also decent and, although the chassis doesn't feel as substantial as the Acer Aspire 5732Z-443G32Mn, it's quite a bit lighter, making it a better travel companion.

Its battery life is also decent - at 244 minutes - and will keep you productive on the road for quite a while.

The keyboard is excellent, with the typing action proving surprisingly firm and the travel smooth. The touchpad is fast and responsive, and also features Samsung's now trademark lighting effects round the edge, which make it easy to use in low light conditions, such as the cabin on a plane.

The more we used the Samsung R530, the more we liked it. Performance is above average and the design and usability of the machine really endeared it to us.

If that wasn't enough, there's also decent portability chucked in for good measure, making this machine a good choice indeed.

Read our full Samsung R530 review

Dell Vostro V13 - 409

The Dell Vostro V13 us arguably the most handsome Dell has ever produced and what's more, you can buy it for under 500.

The Dell Vostro V13 feels great. It's eminently portable at 1.6kg, but the low weight, which edges it towards ultraportable territory, doesn't equate to a flimsy-feeling laptop. The back of the screen feels solid and shock-resistant, and the aluminium casing gives the Dell Vostro V13 a truly premium feel. We're also fans of the all-in-one case design, which looks both lovely and tidy.

The V13's portability isn't all encompassing, though. The battery is a clear weak point for anyone who spends a lot of time away from the mains, or would rather leave the charger behind. With the V13 loaded down by applications, it survived barely two hours on battery power alone; left with the screen on and nothing happening it managed four hours. Fairly respectable, but far short of what's frequently being achieved by cheaper netbooks.

But, performance issues aside, it's stunning to see such a good looking, well-made, cleverly designed laptop available for under 500. Indeed, if you have only the most basic computing needs, you could bag the lowest-end Dell Vostro V13 for a mere 359. Just don't forget to lie about how much it cost.

Read our full Dell Vostro V13 review

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge - 499

Lenovo's ThinkPad range has traditionally been aimed at the highend business market, but with a lower price and more accessible style, the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge now opens the brand to a wider market of consumers.

A choice of Intel and AMD processors are available, with the unit we tested being powered by a dual-core AMD chip. Performance of the LenovoThinkPad Edge is in line with the majority of CULV laptops on the market, suiting basic home and office use, but struggling with more demanding multi-tasking.

Graphics performance fares slightly better. The integrated ATI GPU delivers enough power for running complex multimedia presentations, as well as basic photo and video editing. Both VGA and HDMI ports are in place for connecting to larger screens at home or in the office.

The use of a glossy Super-TFT screen shows the consumer leanings of this laptop, as business machines traditionally use less reflective matt-finish panels. The 13.3-inch screen is suitably vibrant, with strong brightness levels, but is not quite as sharp as we would have liked.

By combining the quality and usability of more expensive models with the style and features of a consumer machine, the LenovoThinkPad Edge is another strong addition to the Lenovo range. The low-performance won't suit all needs, but this is a great machine for frequent travel use.

Read our full Lenovo ThinkPad Edge review

Acer Aspire Timeline 5810T - 560

Although the Acer 5810T boasts a large 15.6 inch screen, its light and thin build means that you won't be bogged down by this laptop when you're taking it out and about. The 5810T's body is an attractive metallic grey made out of plastic that while sturdy, is light enough to keep the weight of the laptop to around 2.4 kg.

The big feature of the 5810T is the large battery life. Acer is keen for this laptop to be used for 'all day computing'. Whilst it won't manage a whole day of heavy use away from a power supply, the 5810T can manage around seven hours which is still a fantastic length for a laptop's battery life.

Video playback, both standard and high-definition was very good, with the images reproduced clearly on the decent screen. The 5810T comes with a HDMI output, so if you have a high-definition TV you can play your video files though that. Although this is hardly an essential feature, it's certainly a nice one to have, and adds to the overall value of the laptop.

Overall this is a nice, reasonably powerful laptop, whose light weight and large battery life means it is a great companion for working on in the great outdoors.

Read our full Acer Aspire Timeline 5810T review

Dell Inspiron 1564 - 587

Dell has had an impressive track record over the past year, delivering one stunning consumer laptop after another. The Dell Inspiron 1564 continues this run of success by implementing cutting-edge technology in this powerful and well-rounded machine.

Built around a processor from Intel's Core i3 range, the Dell Inspiron 1564 among the most powerful entry-level laptops we've seen to date. Effortlessly outperforming all but the similarly specified Samsung R580, multi-tasking with even more demanding software is possible.

Despite using an integrated GPU a graphics technology traditionally associated with limited power Intel's latest onboard chip provides surprisingly powerful 3D performance, allowing high-definition (HD) video and even less demanding games to run with little effort.

The stunning 15.6-inch screen adds to the multimedia usability on offer. It is a very bright panel, and delivers fantastic colour reproduction and sharp images, ensuring movies, photos and games are shown with impressive clarity and vibrancy. While some rivals provide high-speed wireless and fixed access, an older and slower technology is used here. Speeds will suit basic home use, but it is worth bearing in mind before buying.

More pleasingly, storage is excellent. The 500GB hard drive will hold all your family's data with ease. Comprehensive support for flash storage cards is also provided. Continuing Dell's recent run of success, the Dell Inspiron 1564 is an impressively powerful and portable machine. While its limited network connectivity is disappointing, it excels in all other areas, making it one of the best entry-level laptops we've seen this year.

Read our full Dell Inspiron 1564 review

MSI GX740 - 999

We're big fans of the MSI GX740. By making sensible and realistic cuts think Core i5 instead of i7 processor, no Blu-ray drive, lack of full HD screen MSI has managed to deliver a laptop that boasts serious graphical prowess at a very competitive price.

The GX740 also looks great, and we're told by MSI this is the last model to feature the famous style, with the inbound GT660 demonstrating the way of things to come, so if you like the design we'd suggest you get stuck in before it's too late.

The graphical power here is formidable, and the latest games run as smooth as you'd like with settings up high.MSI has been using this design to great effect for quite a few years, it's neither garish nor boring, and we'll be sad to see it go.The relatively low weight and form factor of the GX740 make it very easy to carry around, not something often said about gaming rigs.

The lack of a Full HD screen may bother some, and images may not be sharp enough for the hardcore. The laptop maybe easy to carry, but realistically you'll be sprinting between power points thanks to a truly shocking battery life.

However, the MSI GX740 is one of the best priced, best looking gaming notebooks around. There's plenty of power under the hood for the avid gamer, while the Intel Core i5 processor provides plenty of performance for your average consumer.

Read our full MSIGX740 review

Alienware M11x - 1,184

TheAlienware M11x was launched as the world's smallest gaming laptop,offering a unique blend of graphical power and portability. A dedicated Nvidia GeForce GT 335M graphics card has been used featuring 1024MB of video memory and proved stunningly powerful in our benchmark tests.

A 256GB Solid State Drive provides ample space for your content, as well as very fast access to your data. 802.11n Wi-Fi is included and connectivity is comprehensive with VGA, HDMI and a DisplayPort connection all in evidence.

Processing power is courtesy of a Consumer Ultra Low Voltage Intel chip, which is especially resource light on the machine's battery resulting in an impressive 414 minutes of mobile use. The downside is that everyday performance isn't particularly fast.

However, we found the laptop a pleasure to use and certainly fast enough, and we had no issues multi-tasking with various applications.

We are seriously impressed by the Alienware M11x. Not only is it the first of its type, but it succeeds in combining great 3D performance with everyday portability and usability at a competitive price.

Read our full review of the Alienware M11x

Alienware M15x - 1,422

The Alienware M15x is another fantastic gaming system which boasts very strong graphics power, excellent styling and fast everyday performance - and offers it all at an affordable price.

This isn't a laptop you'll want to travel regularly with, however. It weighs a hefty 4.3kg and offers just 164 minutes of battery power with a 9-cell battery on board, and so is much better suited for use as a desktop replacement system.

The 15.6-inch screen features a 1600 x 900-pixel resolution. It is very sharp and provides vivid colours. It isn't the brightest panel we've seen, however, and a shiny Super-TFT coating has been used, creating noticeable reflections in bright light.

The M15x is one of the best gaming laptops we've seen. Its great design is perfectly complemented by decent performance and it's also very reasonably priced not something we can say very often about gaming systems.

Read our full Alienware M15x review

Asus G73JH - 1,780

The Asus G73JH is an aggressively and uniquely styled machine that looks fantastic and boasts great performance for gamers. The laptop's striking design with angular lines and tactile matt finish is inspired by the F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Bomber, but there's more purpose to the design than looks alone

Where this machine justifies its price is in gaming performance. The DirectX 11-compatible ATi graphics card provides stunning 3D power for running the latest games and multimedia applications.

The 17.3-inch screen adds to its abilities. It's not the brightest panel around, but colour reproduction is excellent, with contrast especially impressing. Blu-ray movies using the integrated Blu-ray drive and games look great in particular.

We like the G73JH a lot. It's a great looking and uniquely designed machine that provides stunning performance, but for those who are watching the pennies at the moment a lot of us a similar experience albeit with not quite as much style can currently be found for cheaper elsewhere

Read our full Asus G73JH review

Rock Xtreme 790 - 1,990

UK-based Rock is well known for its high-performance gaming laptops and offers the latest components housed within generic chassis designs. The Rock Xtreme 790 brings Intel's Core i7 technology to the range and provides truly stunning levels of quad-core power.

Powered by an Intel Core i7 920 processor, performance goes beyond what you would expect from a laptop. Running at 2.66GHz, the CPU is backed by a staggering 6144MB of high-speed DDR3 memory and vastly outperforms every laptop that we've ever tested.

Graphics are provided by a top-of-the range Nvidia GPU for impressive gaming power. In a chassis this large, it is a shame that Rock hasn't used two cards in an SLI configuration, as the extra performance would have perfectly complimented the high-powered quad-core CPU.

The 17-inch Super-TFT screen has a 16:10 aspect ratio, rather than a 16:9 true widescreen design. Quality is excellent nevertheless, with sharp and vibrant images on offer. The panel is not as bright as we'd have liked, but it is still ideal for gaming and home entertainment use.

Overall, the Rock Xtreme 790 is a mixed bag. While performance is outstanding and is backed by strong usability and features, the lack of SLI-graphics is an odd omission considering the machine's size and price.

Read our full Rock Xtreme 790 review

Acer Aspire 1825 - 585

2010 is already proving to be the year of the tablet PC, with Apple's iPad leading the charge. The Acer Aspire 1825PTZ-413G25n is the latest such convertible, and while the bright and responsive touchscreen adds a fresh layer of usability, this hybrid is unlikely to tempt any iPad fans to convert.

With the screen in a normal upright position, the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ is a typical compact laptop. With a weight of just 1.7kg and a thickness of 35mm, this is an ultraportable laptop that can easily be slipped into a bag.

The chassis itself is firm in all areas, which gives the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ a semi-rugged feel. This laptop likely wouldn't survive a tumble from a desktop, but it can bounce around inside a rucksack all day with little complaint.

3D performance is provided by an integrated Intel graphics card, which lacks its own dedicated video memory and so leeches from the main system memory instead.

As a result, graphical performance is very basic. Watching video and simple photo editing is no problem, but more complex multimedia jobs such as video editing and gaming are beyond the Acer Aspire 1825.

Read our full Acer Aspire 1825 review

MSI X600 - 594

The MSI X600-055UK is the second machine we've seen from MSI's ultra-slim X-series range, following on from the smaller X340.

With a 15.6-inch screen, this machine is a more rounded package, while still providing excellent mobility. The 15.6-inch screen features a glossy Super-TFT coating, which is reflective in direct sunlight.

You'll find a mid-range ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics card supporting the display. It provides the MSI X600-055UK with enough performance to handle basic graphics tasks with ease and you'll even be able to play older games.

As with the smaller X340, this machine uses an Intel CULV (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) processor, but this is the first system we've seen to feature a CULV Core 2 Duo chip.

Running at 1.6GHz, and backed by 4096MB of DDR2 memory, performance is akin to regular Core 2 Duo processors, proving easily able to carry out intensive tasks and run multiple programs smoothly. Battery life is also good, letting you work for 248 minutes.

Providing excellent performance in a large yet thin and light chassis, the MSI X600 offers a great compromise between size and power. As with much more expensive systems, you'll be able to work on the move without resorting to a smaller and slower form factor

Read our full MSI X600 review

Apple MacBook Air - 1,174

The MacBook Air is an enigma. Its key strength is its lightweight, ultra-thin design making it ideal for carrying around with you. Yet it makes significant sacrifices to achieve this degree of style and portability.

Despite an inevitable speed boost, the Air is still the slowest machine in the Mac range. The entry-level model, with a 120GB hard drive and 2GB of RAM, has a processor running at only 1.86GHz. The high-end version boasts a 128GB solid-state drive instead of a hard drive and a 2.13GHz processor.

A welcome price cut brings the 1.86GHz model down to 1,149 from 1,271, and the 2.13GHz Air reviewed here is now 1,349, down from 1,761.

Although Wi-Fi is still its main means of connecting to networks or the internet, you now get a USB Ethernet adaptor in the box, should you need a wired connection. Trading power for portability and connectivity for convenience means the MacBook Air will never be a machine for everyone, but improved specs at a lower price can only be welcomed.

In short this is a refreshing update for the Apple MacBook Air that just oozes style.

Read our full Apple MacBook Air review

Fujtsu Lifebook P770 - 1,378

The Fujitsu Lifebook P770 is one of the first laptops we've seen with this new technology and we eagerly tested it out to see what difference the new low-voltage Core i7 processor would make. With a weight of just 1.5kg, the Fujitsu Lifebook P770 is an ultraportable laptop that is almost as light as a netbook. It's just as compact too, with a 12.1-inch screen and a chassis that's only 30mm thick. The Fujtsu Lifebook P770 can be slipped into a bag or case and carried around all day without weighing you down.

Intel's new ULV Core i7 processor is a hybrid of the two, which offers buckets of power, but also vastly improved battery life.The Fujitsu Lifebook P770 is powered by this Core i7 620UM processor and the results are truly stunning.

This is easily one of the most powerful low-voltage chips currently available, comparable in performance to Intel's standard Core i3 and top-end Core 2 Duo chips, and we could comfortably multi-task with a number of resource-intensive applications thanks to the dual cores and 4096MB of speedy DDR3 memory.

This is easily one of the most powerful low-voltage chips currently available, comparable in performance to Intel's standard Core i3 and top-end Core 2 Duo chips, and we could comfortably multi-task with a number of resource-intensive applications thanks to the dual cores and 4096MB of speedy DDR3 memory.

Read the full Fujtsu Lifebook P770 review

Toshiba Portege R600-149 - 1,526

Toshiba's Portg R600 range has been a favourite of ours for quite some time, thanks to its great usability and resilient, lightweight design. The Portg R600-149 is the latest model and it's hard to imagine finding a better business machine at this price.

As soon as you pick it up you're struck by just how light it is. At just 820g it feels as if there is nothing inside this machine. With slightly slimmer dimensions than the equally small Fujitsu LifeBook P770, this is a machine built for frequent and comfortable mobile use.

Performance is more pleasing. While this is the only laptop to use Intel's older Core 2 Duo technology, rather than the latest Core i5 and i7 processors, there is ample power on offer for most business use. Only more complex multitasking shows the limits of the older CPU.

The screen is driven by an integrated Intel graphics card, so performance is in line with the Fujitsu LifeBook P770 and falls far behind the Lenovo ThinkPad T410s. Image quality is strong and while colour and contrast are slightly muted, this is a very comfortable screen to work with.

Unless you need the latest cutting-edge features or the longest battery life, this is a fantastic travel partner and we like it a lot.

Read our full Toshiba Portg R600 review

From Facebook to facial recognition, the police state imagined in the Tom Cruise flick feels a bit more real every day.

Steven Spielberg's Minority Report wowed audiences with its futuristic tech: flashy hand-gesture computers, flex-screen displays, holograms, and Lexus-designed auto-piloted vehicles. The sci-fi flick also showed the world a dystopian, draconian picture of a crime-free society: "precogs" predicting murders, eye-scanners dotting the streets and subways, a jet-pack-toting police force, and a public seemingly deprived of any right to privacy. Spielberg envisioned this for 2054, but advances in technology are bringing that future sooner and sooner. Here's a look at some of our own sci-fi crime fighting tools.

1. Blue CRUSH IBM's new Blue Crime Reduction Utilizing Statistical History (CRUSH) programs feels almost directly inspired by Minority Report. Similar to the "precogs," IBM's new system uses "predictive analytics," mining years and years of incident reports and law enforcement data to "forecast criminal 'hot spots.'" Police in Memphis have already had great success with the $11-billion "precrime" predicting tool: Since installing Blue CRUSH, the city has seen a 31% drop in serious crime.

2. Facebook There's no escaping the system when we've all voluntarily tapped into it. With Facebook having some 500 million registered users, the social network is quickly becoming a powerful source of data for the police, who can scan profiles for suspect clues. Only this week, law enforcement used Facebook to nab a murder suspect through photos posted on his page. Witnesses were able to independently ID the alleged killer using these pictures alone, which the city police chief called "ironclad" evidence. And this isn't the first time. In 2009, an escaped criminal used Facebook to taunt police while on the lamb, posting pictures of himself flaunting his freedom--before he was soon caught.

3. Google Maps Internet crime updates such as Gothamist's incident map now allow the public to track the police blotter next-to-real-time. But it's not just concerned citizens and nosy neighbors who are plugging into Google's mapping tech. Google Earth has given law enforcement access to satellite imagery, enabling them to track down criminals from the sky. In Sweden, for example, police were able to zoom down close enough to discover a two-acre marijuana plantation, leading to the arrest of 16 perps and the seizure of 1.2 tons of pot. Drug-sniffing dogs are now a thing of the past.

4. OnStar In the film, all vehicles are auto-piloted along tracks and can be controlled by law enforcement. When scanners detect a wanted criminal entering a car, police can automatically pull the vehicle over. Looks like this directly inspired OnStar's Stolen Vehicle Slowdown technology. The system enables customers and police to locate a stolen car using GPS, depower the vehicle, and watch as it glides to safety along the side of the road, ending any chance for a high speed chase. Did I mention OnStar even force-locks the doors until police can arrive?

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5. Scanners, Everywhere The days of comical-disguises are numbered for Boris and Natasha, who will have to figure out another way to get past airport security. New facial recognition scanners such as the one installed last year in London enable airport security to measure "points on a person's face and compare them with [their] digital passport photograph." Of course, law enforcement isn't only tracking you by air. Automatic number plate recognition technology is becoming more ubiquitous, allowing police to monitor you real-time, even when they're not looking.

6. Drones A bill circling the House of Representatives aims to legalize unmanned aerial vehicles to fly over domestic skies for enhanced border security and oil pipeline monitoring. British units are already using UAVs to keep watch of its citizens, which would perhaps raise more questions over privacy violations if London wasn't already chock-full of CCTV cams.

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7. Mii? Easily the best Minority Report-like tool, however, comes courtesy of Nintendo. In Japan, police searching for a hit-and-run suspect put up wanted posters around town, but they didn't have the perp's photograph. Instead, they just used his Mii image. So if you happen to run into him at the Wii resort, be sure to alert the proper authorities. (On second thought, this could just be awesome viral marketing.)

OK, this is a neat finding

The Centered Librarian pointed to LifeHacker's survey about what their readers thought was the best book recommendation service on the web

Here's the chart with the results:

In first place was GoodReads (39%), a book lover's web site with lists, lists, and more lists to fit your interests. Second was the recommendation engine at Amazon.com (27%), followed by Shelfari (13%), and then LibraryThing (11%). In last place were Other (7%) and GetGlue (5%).

So I am interested that libraries would have a difficult time making the list since our efforts are both face to face and quite diffused throughout the land and ver many sites. I think we'd be ner the top except for this lack of concentration.

The Gypsy Librarian points to an interesting article in Salon.com (and makes some good points too) which is basically describing what a good librarian skilled in reader's advisory does.

The Fine Art of Recommending Books by Laura Miller.

Anyway, my question is, Has anyone seen a great site in libraries that highlights the wonderful reader's advisory services in a modern and interesting way? I like the work of Bibliocommons and LibraryThing for Libraries, but what else is out there?

Stephen

Dogs are great people trainers.

Those of you that have dogs know this already, but my girlfriend and I have been learning it over the past few weeks with a new Whippet/Lab mix. It's amazing.

A dog will try to exert dominance over you again and again. If you don't react appropriately, the dog realizes it has power over you. It doesn't respect your authority because it's getting mixed messages. The dog wins.

People are also great people trainers. They teach you how to treat them. They test you to see how you react, often without even knowing it.

I have a great story about a girl I know whose boyfriend had cancelled on her one night. She didn't know what to do, so I suggested she call and say in no uncertain terms that it wasn't acceptable.

She did this. He showed up with flowers.

I don't know for sure, but I imagine kids are great people trainers too. If they whine and get a sugary treat to shut them up, they will detect a pattern and act on it. We teach them to do this. Am I right?

Confidence is a circular pattern. It will reinforce itself in either direction, heading either towards zero or infinity, until it is regulated by an outside force. Whatever outside force stops it is an outpost of dominance, a kind of flag that says beyond this point, you shall not pass.

These flags eventually start feeling like walls, and these walls impact what decisions you make about your life.

Maybe this is the reason you stopped playing guitar, or stopped working out. This may be why you haven't quit your job, I don't know. But the reality is that these markers of confidence are just as fluid as the relationship you have with your dog. They are fluid. They can be changed.

We act as if our life right now is the way our life is supposed to be, but you could just as easily be a CEO as you could be a janitor or homeless or dead. But you happen to be alive, and you happen to gave a fair amount of freedom in your life.

Maybe it's time you exerted it.

EVER met someone who was rich for a really annoying reason? Someone who flipped his condos just before the sub-prime crash? A trader who made millions betting his employer's money in a bull market but is so stupid he thinks the London underground is a political movement? So much is down to dumb luck. For all those who feel hard done by, read this story from Michael Mauboussin, the strategist at Legg Mason and contemplate the unfairness of life.

For almost two centuries, Spain has hosted an enomously popular Christmas lottery. Based on payout, it is the biggest lottery in the world and nearly all Spaniards play. In the mid 1970s, a man sought a ticket with the last two digits ending in 48. He found a ticket, bought it, and then won the lottery. When asked why he was so intent on finding that number, he replied "I dreamed of the number seven for seven straignt nights. And 7 times 7 is 48."

Back a few years ago, we all had LiveJournal accounts. After that, we had accounts at Blogger and the like. The advantage to these, of course, was that you could share your writing with the world. OhLife thinks that maybe we should keep those doors shut.

OhLife is a web-based journal application that, while remaining completely private, has its own little ways to prod you into writing daily. Each night at 8pm, you'll get an email asking how did your day go. Respond to that email and your daily entry is posted in your OhLife journal.

The OhLife dashboard, above, is wonderfully simple. All you have is your entry for today, your past entries, and then some settings such as your time zone and password.

What's really cool about the service is that, as time and entries gather, you'll get snippets of past entries emailed to you as well so that you can take a moment to reflect on what happened.

If you've read TNW Apps for any length of time, you'll know that I'm a huge fan of beauty in simplicity. To this end, OhLife is about as stunning as an application can get.

Now if I could just find time to reply to the email

Original title and link for this post: OhLife is private journaling, with a twist. It's time to write your memoirs.

Thuuuugg Life.

Florida

It has long been thought that the quality of kindergarten education does not have lasting effects on students as they mature into adulthood. This conclusion was based on the findings that by high school, children who had received a superior early education had equivalent scores to peers who had inferior teaching in their childhood.

Now, Raj Chetty, a Harvard economist, and a team of researchers have found that kindergarten teaching does in fact continue to have an impact on students when they become adults. The information was gathered based on a study of 12,000 Tennessee residents -- all of whom participated in the Project Star education study in the 1980s and are now adults.

The New York Times reports:

Students who had learned much more in kindergarten were more likely to go to college than students with otherwise similar backgrounds. Students who learned more were also less likely to become single parents. As adults, they were more likely to be saving for retirement. Perhaps most striking, they were earning more.

All else equal, they were making about an extra $100 a year at age 27 for every percentile they had moved up the test-score distribution over the course of kindergarten.

Chetty and his colleagues have attached a monetary value to the impact of quality kindergarten teachers -- arguing that they should make $320,000 a year.