Chanatown

Article first published as Gadget Review: Lightspeed iHelicopter on Blogcritics. I'm always intrigued by some of the displays and product demonstrations that I come across in indoor shopping malls. You know, the boomerangs, the magnetic bracelets and those pesky remote controlled helicopters. Well, the iHelicopter from Lightspeed fits right into this category of amazement, and I was privy to try one out this holiday season.  The iHelicopter is an actual working machine that can fly throughout your house or possibly outdoors on a calm day all while being controlled from an iPhone, iPad, or Android mobile device.

Image by Farid Iqbal via Flickr Article first published as Tech Review: Apple TV on Blogcritics. I returned my Apple wireless keyboard last week , not because I didn't like it, but rather because it just didn't fit my current needs. So, what's a tech geek to do with a $75 credit at the Apple Store? Well, I didn't need an iPod Shuffle and $75 wouldn't cover the tax alone on a new Macbook, so I opted to give the Apple TV a chance to win my business and affection. After one weekend with ATV, the device has got me drooling for more.

Image by Kinologik via Flickr I'm a big fan of Google Sites, and we're starting to see some momentum in that students are creating their own sites for class projects or digital portfolios. Part of the fun in creating your website involves customizing your pages to express your own personality. Google provides opportunities for such expression beyond text and images through Gadgets. Unfortunately, a quick search of "hot" when Inserting a Gadget reveals many applications that are far from appropriate in the classroom. There was a suggested tool from Google (Feed Server Client Tool) that could be installed, but this seemed a bit more involved than it needed to be. Thankfully, courtesy of a recent GCT post by E.B., there's the Domain Gadget Directory Manager (DGDM), and I found this to be a very quick and easy way to manage a domain's accessibility to gadgets. More after the jump.