CNN’s Rick Sanchez made a big splash in the world of Twitter last night by reading and displaying Twitter feeds on the air. I discovered this not from watching CNN but from watching TweetDeck display a constantly updating tag cloud showing the most popular discussion topics at the moment.

One of the things I now use Twitter for is to keep on top of the news of the moment. When I’m at my computer, I can watch TweetDeck out of the corner of my eye and observe which topics are becoming more popular. Then I either click on the topic in TweetDeck to view the conversation – or head over to the news channel to watch the stories.

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I just spotted this deal that applies to almost everything on the Nalgene site. If you aren’t familiar with Nalgene they make heavy duty water bottles that are popular with hikers, students and people who want to look like they hike. With the start of the school year you might want to pick a few of these up to send to school with the kids. As Jerry Seinfeld points out in his comedy routine – when we were in school all we got was one early morning sip out of the water fountain and that lasted us the entire day … now kids must be sent with multiple bottles of water or risk dehydration. Use coupon code TMO1 (that’s an oooh and not a zero in the code) to get the 50% discount at checkout.

Nalgene via SlickDeals

If you didn’t get a chance to watch all the 2008 Democratic National Convention speeches live – here’s you chance to listen to them on your iPod. The iTunes store just posted most speeches from the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver Colorado. This is a free download so sync them to your iPod or iPhone and listen on your way to work – or better yet save the speeches and get a chuckle in two years when you listen and compare the candidate’s actions to their slick sales pitches convention speeches.

2008 Democratic National Convention: Selected Speeches (iTunes link)

If there are people tattooing themselves with the Zune logo — just maybe there’s a market for Zune low voltage night lights. This conceptual product by designer Ashley Payne would plug into an ordinary socket and use the your Zune player’s wireless connection to route music from your Zune to the nightlight where it would react to the music’s frequency by changing color and brightness in time to the music. I think this idea is cool – especially if you had 5 or 6 Zune Bugs creating a big party light show. More pictures next page.

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Check out this Mobile DJ Art car – featuring huge speakers, two turntables mounted to a rooftop DJ booth, and plenty of sound power. All this gizmo lacks is a dance floor, disco light and a little polyester white suite for the driver. While I’m not certain if this Dutch born vehicle would be street legal in the USA, I do know that if someone driving it buys the house next door, you should hang out a “For Sale” sign ASAP.

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Brando has an inexpensive wireless microphone that can be paired with a USB receiver (included) to add some faux class to your next computer recording session. Works with Windows XP, Vista and Mac OSX. Powered by one 9V battery, the microphone has a transmitting distance of over 9 feet. Included in the package are the wireless microphone, a USB receiver/cable and a 9V battery.

USB Retro Wireless Microphone – $24.99

I’ll be the first to admit that, with only 32 MB of memory, this Treo 650 isn’t the most technically capable model. But it does hark back to the days when phone manufacturers made smartphones with talk times over 4 hours (the Treo 650 is rated for 6). This quad band (850,900,1800,1900) GSM phone has Bluetooth capabilities, 32 MB of internal memory, an SD card slot and a 65,536 color 320×320 display.

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Here’s another reason why Amazon is THE place to buy cell phones. Check out this smoking hot deal on the red Wi-Fi equipped Blackberry Curve 8320. Priced at -$75 (that’s a NEGATIVE $75) after $100 mail in rebate and 2 year contract – the phone is a full $225 cheaper than the in-store T-Mobile price. The 8320 is a Wi-Fi equipped Blackberry that also supports UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access aka cell service via Wi-Fi/Internet). If T-Mobile’s service sucks in your area (as it probably will) hook this Blackberry up to Wi-Fi inside your home or office and make use of your wireless voice minutes over Wi-Fi. Subscribe to Hotspot@Home for an add’l $9.99 per month above your regular plan and you can use your Blackberry via Wi-Fi any time of day or night to make unlimited calls (SMS, MMS and Data works too) to any number. If you travel overseas use your Wi-Fi equipped Blackberry to place calls home via Wi-Fi and avoid ANY additional roaming charges (voice or data). I used the Blackberry 8320 for about a year – and it worked perfectly. The signal switch between Wi-Fi and cellular was smooth as silk. Both phones show as out of stock but my experience is that the Amazon phone store is quick to replenish their inventory. Update: Just noticed that the ATT Blackberry 8310 (NO Wi-Fi) is also on sale for -$75 — remember that our AT&T roadmap say’s that a new Blackberry Curve with Wi-Fi is on the way so you may want to hold off on an AT&T Blackberry Curve for another month or two).

T-Mobile Blackberry Curve (Red) -$75 (after $100 MIR and 2 YR plan)
T-Mobile Blackberry 8820 $ 99 (after $50 MIR and 2 YR plan)

Hey guys, look, it’s the HTC Dream in much clear photos and branded for T-Mobile. I know there needs to be a way to work that keyboard into the design and Google’s developers are all working hard on the Android release – but couldn’t they have at least tried to pretty it up a bit? Every swivel or flip phone I’ve ever used has been a pain. Typing into them is awkward enough but they have a nasty habit of popping open on me when as I’m trying to slide them into a belt case. No further information on availability or pricing – but Engadget thinks soon.

via: Engadget

Check out this tiny, portable gadget I got not too long ago.  It is a very nice flip-style gadget.

It is about the same size as the Sprint Mogul, though maybe a bit boxier.  It is not a phone, though.  Or a PDA.  When we unfold it, we find…a flashlight??

Oh, trust me.  You are going to want to click through the jump for the rest of this one.

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General Motors Corp. said Friday it was recalling 944,000 vehicles because of a problem with a windshield wiper fluid system that could lead to a fire.

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I don’t know why anyone would buy a USB Flash Drive disguised as a Chinese mooncake pastry. Maybe one market for these tiny 4GB USB 2.0 devices could be people paranoid about saving sensitive data on their home or work computer. Imagine hiding your most secret data on one of these and storing the drive in a package of real mooncake pastries. Fast forward to the day after accidental ingestion and picture your embarrassment explaining to the emergency room doctor that yes, that thing on the X-Ray is in fact a Mooncake USB drive passing through your lower intestines. PS – Yeah it’s true all some ER doctors save their wacky X-Rays to show to colleagues and family members at Christmas time – so your USB ingestion story may live on a good 10 years.

Brando – USB Mooncake Flash Drive – 4GB for $28

Woot! has the Sandisk Sansa Clip 2GB (Refurbished) as their deal of the day for only $19.99 (the same model – but new instead of refurbed – is $49.99 on Amazon). plus $5 shipping (Hint – Woot! deals are only good for 24 hours and the $5 shipping is a flat rate no matter how many you buy – so pool your purchases with a friend). Here are the specs:

Tiny Wearable MP3 Player with 2GB of storage space

1” LCD screen with 4 line display
15 hours of playback with internal rechargeable battery
FM Tuner with 40 Presets
Voice recording with built-in microphone
Works with most subscription based music services
Supports MP3, WMA, Secure WMA, WAV, and Audible file playback
Play modes: shuffle (track; all), repeat
Drag and drop file transfer
Equalizer modes: Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classical, and Custom.
Dimensions: 2.17” x 1.35” x .65”
Weight: .92oz
Windows XP SP2 or Vista Operating System
Windows Media Player 10 or 11
High-Speed USB 2.0 port required for hi-speed transfer

In the box:
Sandisk Sansa Clip 2GB MP3 Player
USB Cable
Headphones

I predict a quick sell out on this one. Perfect starter MP3 for the kids or for use in locations where you don’t want to take your $200 iPod for fear of damaging it.

Woot – Sandisk Clip 2GB MP3 Player – $19.99

I cannot believe it’s back to school time already! The local schools in Glastonbury started Wednesday – and I’ve seen colleges trickling back for a couple weeks before that. Now that the books, computers and mini fridges are unpacked in dorm rooms – this Brando Mini Disco Dual Red and Green Laser could be the next “must have” accessory for college dorm parties. I remember years ago when laser shows were held inside local planetariums late at night. For some reason all the shows started around 11pm and featured nothing but Pink Floyd blaring Dark Side Of The Moon at ear crushing levels. Now you can skip the trip (and the Pink Floyd music) – by hosting these laser shows right in your own room. Throw on a loud set of music. Flip on the laser. Instant entertainment for the campus (though definitely not as cool as Joel’s laser) . The Mini Disco Dual Red and Green laser is $74 via Brando. PS - If you just want a laser to burn holes in the walls and stuff- here’s another option.

Brando – Mini Disco Dual Red and Green Laser with Stand

Stupid me -
I always pay attention to the warnings on Alkaline batteries that clearly state – Caution: Do not connect improperly charge or dispose of in fire. Battery may explode or leak”Apparenly Hammacher Schlemmer, whose latest catalog features an alkaline battery recharger, has decided it’s ok to recharge old alkalines despite manufacturers warnings about explosion or leakage.

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