LifeStyler Presents: Anti-Valentine’s Day Activities

Despite what the media, society, and the crazed cat lady down the hall has to say, Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a stuffy, saccharine-filled day of chocolates and roses. No, my friends, you can do far better than that. That’s why we at LifeStyler present to you our Anti-Valentine’s Day activities, which will prevent you from engaging in the ho hum. Read more

Dollar Burgers, Cheap Beers, and Cheaper Shots in NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen

Living in New York City, one is used to everything being massively overpriced — from rents to movie tickets. Fortunately, there are a few low-cost oases in the desert of exorbitant prices; places like Hell’s Kitchen’s 123 Burger. Read more

4 Ways To Slash Your Cell Phone Bill

Cell phones have become invaluable tools in modern day-to-day living for job hunting, meeting up with friends for a cheap drink, or a myriad other situations that would have required you in years past to be tied to a land line. Unfortunately, they can prove pretty pricey if you aren’t taking advantage of the many options that can help you lower you monthly bill. Here are some of our favorites. Read more

The Polar Bear Club Swims For The Kids On New Year’s Day

A thin layer of snow has befallen NYC this New Year’s Eve, but that isn’t stopping a few intrepid individuals from prepping for one of the area’s most time-honored winter conditions: taking a dip into the icy Coney Island waters. Read more

A Dollar And a Dream: Knapp Street Pizza Offers Free Pizza For Life

There are very few things in this world better than “free.” There are very few things in this world better than a good slice of New York City pizza. So what do you think of the possibility of winning free pizza for life? That’s a bit of magic sprinkled generously with awesome. Read more

Digital Trend’s Scott Steinberg Talks Gadget Gifts Under $100

It’s that time of year again when our thoughts turn to turkey, pumpkin pie, and lots and lots of holiday gift shopping. In a soured economy, many folks are looking to scale back on big ticket purchases, but that doesn’t mean that you need to distribute crap gifts.

There are plenty of gems available this holiday season that will bring smiles and cheer to the recipients, so we tapped Scott Steinberg, publisher of the wonderfully informative Digital Trends, for his suggestions for kick ass presents that you can purchase for under $100.

SanDisk Sansa Clip+ (starting at $49.99)
You may want to take a look at the Clip+, the new media player from SanDisk. We’re seeing a lot of these budget, pocket music players. The nice part about it is that it’s like the iPod Shuffle in that is very minute, and it clips onto your backpack or jean. It has a microSD slot on it, so you can insert your own microSD card filled with stuff from iTunes or Amazon.

iPhone 3G ($99.99)
The iPhone 3G is a great value at $99. I essentially call them personal digital lifestyle hubs, but I personally feel compelled to kick my own ass for using words like that. Basically, the iPhone 3G has a pricey data plan, but for the business person, it’s essentially a laptop replacement. You can surf the web, check e-mail, and download all of these apps that add an incredible array of functionality, so you can do invoicing, billing, inventory management–even games and music.

Gift a Downloadable Video Game
What is better than waking up on a holiday, purchasing a new game, and having it downloaded instantaneously? The beauty of it is that there are some fantastic games that are happening away from retail shelves. Shadow Complex, which is a spy/thriller take on Metroid, is on the high end at around $20, but downloadable games typically go for $10-$15. On the PC you have even more options like Steam or Goodoldgames. Downloading games direct to your hard drive is one of the fastest, coolest trends out there and in fact makes a terrific stocking stuffer. The savvy shopper will recognize it’s a great value.

DJ Hero ($99.99)
Not everyone has updated to even a Wii at this point, let alone a PS3 or Xbox 360. DJ Hero you can pick that up for $99.99 on the PlayStation 2. Lets not forget that there are well over 100 million of those consoles out there, so there a huge install base. Its a DJ simulation with an actual turntable and you get to remix music and ad your own samples. The whole family will get a kick out of it. You’re not seeing a ton of new software for the PlayStation 2, but DJ Hero is a convincing reason why you don’t need to throw it out, or put in in a yard sale.

Give A Subscription
Netflix? Now that’s Hollywood’s gift to mankind. You don’t have to buy someone a full annual subscription, you can buy in increments. Gamefly (starting at $8.95 per month), and I hate to keep harking on video games here, is also a great rental service. If you’re a music lover, getting a Rhapsody (starting at $12.95 per month) all-you-can eat account is much better than buying a CD. For the cost of a couple of albums on iTunes, you’re able to have access to hundreds of thousands of more tracks. The catch being that as soon as you stop subscribing, because of the DRM, you no longer own them.

Photo credit:  davdibiase

Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012: An Excellent Low-Cost PC

Penny-pinching PC purchasers whose fancies lean toward budget computing have enabled netbooks (low-cost, lightweight PCs that typically cost anywhere from $350 to $500), to become the fast growing segment in the portable computing marketplace. If you more of a desktop person, however, you may be thoroughly surprised at just how much computer you can get for $329–a slick PC about the size of a hardcover book. Allow me to introduce you to the Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012.

The specs:

* Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System
* 1.6-GHz Intel Atom 330 CPU
* NVIDIA GeForce 9400M GPU
* 2GB RAM
* 160GB hard drive
* 6 USB ports (two front, four back)
* HDMI
* eSATA
* VGA
* Memory card reader
* 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi radio

The first thing you’ll notice about the Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012 when you remove it from the box is it’s remarkably svelte build. This desktop computer is about the size of a hardcover book and weighs about as much. Due to its small build, the nettop can be easily toted from room to room if need be, or stashed into your entertainment center to serve as media center.

Like the 10-inch Acer Aspire One netbook that we reviewed earlier this year, this nettop is designed for light computing such as web-surfing, checking e-mail, and updating Twitter, but it packs a snappier dual-core Atom CPU that enables it to operate with extra punch. What is dual-core? Well, to break it down in a way that won’t require a PhD to decipher, a single-core CPU (such as in the aforementioned 10-inch Acer Aspire One netbook) is the equivalent of a single lane of traffic on a busy street; it gets the job done, but could use some help. A dual-core CPU is the digital equivalent of adding a second lane, allowing that same amount of traffic to flow more efficiently.

That meager Atom CPU is paired with Nvidia’s 9400M as part of the “Ion” platform, which lets you do a surprising amount in such a small machine. While ION-less notebooks and nettops choke on mid-range games like Spore, ION let us play the game on the Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012. Firing up the Street Fighter IV benchmarking demo program required me to lower the resolution and graphics to their lowest settings to get the game moving at a blistering 56.5 frames per seconds, but the game still looked relatively good (much better than it does in this still shot) and I was quite happy in knowing that I could play Capcom’s fighter on the nettop.

Naturally, the experience wasn’t as robust as what you’d find with a pricier system with a more potent CPU and GPU, but the jaggies were quite tolerable, especially when you factor in the money saved.

Even better, with monitors and televisions going high-definition on recent years, ION smoothly handles high-definition video. When I downloaded the HD version of Iron Man from iTunes, the spectacularly awesome action wasn’t at all hindered by the hardware.

Where the hardware did stumble a bit was when I tried to stream full screen HD content from Hulu. The Atom processor can’t quite handle the hi-def internet video, and the Flash format hasn’t been boosted to take advantage of the Nvidia GPU, but that fix is supposedly coming soon from Adobe.

As such, the Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012 makes a pretty sweet, low-cost multimedia hub when paired with a monitor (like the 21.5-inch Acer H213H) via HDMI. Plus, the eSATA port and six (count ‘em!) six, USB ports will allow you to hook up an external storage drive to play music, or check out movies or photos on a big screen. Acer kindly includes a wireless keyboard and mouse so you can kick back in the easy chair without being tied to the PC. A small pair of wired speakers are also bundled with this slick little PC.

What the Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012 doesn’t have, however, is a monitor, which helps keeps the price low. Chance are, however, that if you’re a computer user, you have at least one in your home. It also lacks a CD/DVD, which gives the PC its slim bod.

Priced at $329, it’s hard to go wrong with Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012, a computer that an blend near-invisibly into your desktop or multimedia area. It’s good for every day computing light-to-mid-range gaming, and multimedia. Once Adobe releases the Flash update for HD video streaming,  the Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012 will get even better. If you’re looking for a low-cost, non-bulky desktop this holiday season, this is the one to get.

The Secret Science Club Returns To The Bell House To Talk Gravitational Waves

The Secret Science Clubs returns to the Gowanus’ Bell House with more brain-stimulating lectures, starry-eyed cocktails, and stratospheric sounds for astronomy nerds with a thirst for knowledge and tasty drinks.  All-star astrophysicist Janna Levin is in hot pursuit of the cosmic drumbeats produced by gravitational waves. Read more

Hook Up at The Brookyn Meatup

Park Slope may possess more baby carriages per square foot than any other location within Brooklyn, but all of those little seedlings signify one thing: Mama and Papa once got it on – - and you can too. Three of the borough’s finest blogs (Brokelyn, Brooklyn Based, and F.I.P.S) are tossing a party on September 30th that will hopefully allow Brooklyn singles’ to meet and, uh, do other stuff.

Read more

The Peek Turns One and Gets Facebook and Twitter Updates

Last week the Peek, the low-cost e-mail device and one of our favorite gadgets we’ve ever fondled, celebrated a year of existence. To mark the occasion, the little-handheld-that-could sees the addition of a number of free feature updates that may leave naysayers that rag on its “lack of functionality” a little less vocal. Read more

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