Where were you when you first heard about the now infamous “Balloon Boy” incident? On Thursday, October 15th, at a little past 2 p.m. Central Time, Dan and I were IM’ing when he abruptly told me to turn on CNN.

Once I did, the screen was filled with the image of a large silver balloon speeding and spinning, thousands of feet above the Colorado countryside. The balloon supposedly carried a six year old boy, appropriately named Falcon.

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OK, so I may be one of the only people I know that hasn’t jumped on the Blu-Ray technology yet, mostly because I can’t decide if I would prefer to by a Playstation 3. But for those of you not interested in gaming, there is a great offer over at Woot! A Pioneer Blu-Ray player for only $134.99, which is not a bad deal if you are just looking for a Blu-Ray player.

Pioneer BDP-121 Blu Ray Player w/Remote $134.99 at www.woot.com

With my schedule I find myself with tons of down time throughout any given day. Being in Dr’s waiting rooms, bus rides in the spring during baseball season, or just sitting on a bench while my wife spends hours in the mall emptying our bank account…I always turn to one thing, my BlackBerry. While I have tons of games that could pass the time, RSS feeds to read, or movies to watch…sometimes I just want something more, something live, maybe even a newscast to watch instead of reading the news. Well SPB TV Is an application that shows live TV from across the world on your BlackBerry device. I was lucky enough to get advanced review copy of the application, here are my thoughts….

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I. Am. A. Mobile. Computing. User… Period.

I live for converged devices, laptops, netbooks, and data on the go. I’ve got unlimited data on my Smartphone account; and have tethered my laptop to my phone when I need to be online in a pinch. When I travel, I need to take it with me; and when it comes to airport security, I dread the TSA required aerobics and mandatory disrobing… Thankfully, to help make things easier, Skooba Design has created the CheckThrough Backpack.  Let’s take a quick look to see how (and if) this thing makes traveling easier…

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Legos are for the little ones, now MicroRAX are the Tim “The Toolman” Taylor version for us big guys(cue the grunt)!  TwinTec, Inc.out of Washington has just announced the release of pre-cut MicroRAXkits that are compatible with Erector, Meccano and Eitech construction sets. MicroRAX are made from high-strength precision extruded aluminum, in other words MicroRAX is much stronger than plastic building systems or thin punched sheet metal. From taking a look at the website the only limitations to what you can build is based on your general engineering skills, so for me I guess I will only be making a box! Some if this equipment has been used in the Space Elevator Games, for those of you not in the aerospace or engineering fields get back to me on what you think about that, I’m still trying to figure it out.

MicroRAX a light weight miniature T-Slot framing system. Suitable for use on your desktop or bench top to build science, engineering, or advanced hobby and DIY projects. This small rugged framing system is ideal for use in machines, school science projects, robotics, design houses, workshops, prototypes, repair, models, gadgets, maintenance, etc.

MicroRAX are available directly from the manufacturer here. Prices vary based on need and kit.

My wife will tell you that I forget absolutely everything! But she’s my wife so she’s allowed to exaggerate, and the truth is I do forget stuff…as I am sure many of you do too!  I have gotten a little better now that I have my BlackBerry and the calendar and Notes apps, but creating calendars is very tedious and the notes don’t alert me. So what do I do now…BugMe! That’s what. Electric Pocket has just released the BugMe! app for BlackBerry phones, I had the chance to review it over the last week.

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If you are looking for a new skin or armband for that shiny new iPod Touch, why not get a quality case AND support Breast Cancer Research. Belkin yesterday announced the release of the DualFit and Grip for the Cure!

Maintaining the fight against breast cancer, Belkinintroduces new designs of its pink-ribbon cases for the iPod Touch. For each DualFit and Grip case for iPod Touch sold, Belkin will donate $2.50 to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure (with a minimum guaranteed donation of $100,000).

DualFit for the Cure-$29.99

Grip for the Cure–$29.99

These are an update to the old style and make for a great gift idea for those in the fight or who have beaten this disease. Be sure to check them out, they support a great cause and are very functional. Both will be available mid-October directly from the manufacturers website for $29.99.

I cut the cord a long time ago, as I am sure many reading this already have also. What is the use of a home land line if all I ever use is my cell phone?  But if any of you have a house like mine, then you have a toddler that will run off and hide everything in sight…including my cell phone! VTech has just released the DS6321-3, their expandable cordless phone which connects wirelessly through Bluetooth to you cell phone….actually it will connect to 2 cell phones at the same time!

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So there is BlackBerry… then iPhone…and then there is, according to our own Clinton Fitch, the new HTC Touch Pro2 which “could well be the only phone business users could need.” Clinton posted a review of the HTC Touch Pro2 on his website that is dissection goodness, you can read the review here.  His review is one of the most in-depth I have read to date and covers everything from the updated calendar and start menu, to the new TouchFlo3D  v2 and how it changes the Windows Mobile game! There are also nearly 2 dozen screenshots of the phone in action. I am hardcore BlackBerry to the bone, but this review even entices me to stick my toes in the water to check the temp! And for you hardcore business users, remember the term Straight Talk!

Head over to http://www.clintonfitch.com/reviews/htc/touchpro-2/default.asp to check out the full review. You may want to hide your checkbook before hand!

Kevin and the gang  at Crackberry broke the Hippopost app earlier today, and I must say if this app has some longevity it will certainly be great. The Hippopost app gives you the ability to take a photo with your BlackBerry, and send it as a physical postcard to any recipient for only $0.00 – yeah that’s right…FREE! They do this by placing sponsor ads on each postcard.

Currently postcards in Canada are being sent, as the creators of this app are former RIM employees. They will start shipping stateside beginning October 15th. Hippopost integrates seamlessly with your Contacts to pull addresses. This is a free app that can be downloaded at http://mobile.hippopost.com from your mobiles browser.

Now this gives me something to do with all my photos from weekly trips to the Zoo!

OK, so the name alone makes me think of that mind numbing “Jitterbug” jingle (don’t even try to deny that you just blurted out that little tune!). But what we have is Twitterlerts for BlackBerry smart phones, and the app is for Berries running OS 4.3 or higher. Twitterlerts, by Electric Pocket, gives BlackBerry users the ability to receive notifications when any keyword is discussed on Twitter. I find it to be a great tool for marketing research, because you can use it to determine how often a product or company name is talked about on Twitter. For instance, I might set it to track anything Buckeyes or Cowboys, but that’s just me! Users can also easily tweet or share tweets directly from their phone.  For those of you that haven’t caught on to the Twitter craze yet, this app does not require you to have an account to track tweets!

Twitterlerts is available directly from the Developer for US$4.99, or you can get it for 15% off at the Gear Diary Store, with the code GDFallTweets.

Well looks like calling to any mobile number for free is the “Game Changer” that Sprint was talking about, I’m not sure that I would consider it a game changer…but who am I to judge. What it does do is put pie in the face of the ‘Fav 5′ of T-Mobile, and completely steals the thunder of AT&T starting a similar ‘Fav’ plan. So much for editing your 5 monthly, now you get to call any mobile phone. Now if Sprint could only shake that “Are you really dating HER?” reputation they have!

This new plan will be automatically added to Everything Data plan subscribers and allows for unlimited free calls to or from any mobile phone. There’s no need for a limited circle of friends or to worry about only calling subscribers on your own carrier. This is free mobile to mobile calling without restrictions on the carrier. Sprint’s Everything Data plans smartly roll in unlimited SMS, MMS and BlackBerry Internet Service with no added fees. If you’re not on an Everything Data Plan you can swwitch without renewing your agreement.

Any Mobile

So today was 9-9-09, and that got me thinking….

10 years ago today my eyes felt like they were being burned with battery acid, but there was no way they were getting peeled from my TV screen. I was still settling in for my freshman year of college at Ashland University, and much to the dismay of my grades, sleep patterns, and wallet the Sega Dreamcast was released on this day 10 years ago.

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OK, so I am browsing the blogosphere and came across this; now Sprint is up to something else? The message boards have been burning up since this email came out early Wednesday evening. Word is Sprint is unveiling their new Unlimited Voice/data/MMS/SMS @ $70/month, but the voice is unlimited to only mobile phones….again this is only speculation, but I will update when an official release comes out. Competing carriers should hope Sprint’s Data package prices don’t go any lower.

While this is not a sports site, nor one that normally writes about this kind of stuff, I had to make an exception. As a father, former college athlete, and fan I have to say that the beginning of the college football season has not given me that warm fuzzy feeling. Last years Oregon vs. Boise State game ended with much animosity, which led to Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount’s pre-game statement saying they must keep their emotions in check…..heh. Well that didn’t turn out very well!

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