Good morning! Let’s get right to the goods, shall we?

Today marks the opening day of the 2nd Annual Byte-Sized Holiday Giveaway! (Cheering…) And, the gift of the year is: The Rubik’s TouchCube!

This is exactly what it sounds like: Your favorite Rubik’s Cube – and my arch nemesis – with a techno slant that brings it up-to-date and really makes it slick! Touch the 6-sided game surface, drag your fingers to make the color rows move, and even query the cube for hints on what to do next!

Now, the Rubik’s TouchCube is no slouch – at $150 a pop, this is the most expensive giveaway we’ve ever featured on Byte-Sized, so enter early for this giveaway at bytesized@captivate.com.

I know what you’re thinking: Who in their right mind would pay $150 for a single game that doesn’t come with a video game console? But, I can assure, this really is everything you (and your kids, mother, brother, etc.) need for hours of intelligent fun!

(Not that video games aren’t intelligent – don’t get me wrong: I love video games, it’s just the Rubik’ Cube is my intellectual nemesis. So are first-person shooters – if I had those to give away, I would totally call out ‘Modern Warfare 2,’ too. BTW, check out Captivate’s Gamer’s Edge’s review of ‘MW2’ here.)

We’ll post a review in a few days, but for now, here is the deal:

Send us your name, address and contact info to bytesized@captivate.com anytime from now until midnight on Wednesday, Dec. 9. We’ll draw 3 winners Dec. 10 and announce them on this blog Friday, Dec. 11.

I’m not Santa or Amazon.com, so I can’t guarantee Christmas delivery, but I’ll have them in the mail by EOD… So as long as you’re not in Alaska or the Himalayas, it should be there in a week or so, which is perfect time to either take it and brag at your friend’s holiday party or give it away to a deserving, happy new home : )

Of course, if you want to bypass the giveaway and make sure you have one under the tree, visit http://www.rubiktstouchcube.com/.

So, let the balloting begin! Catch you on the flip side for more reviews, headlines and the Byte-Sized Gadget Gift Guide, starting next week!

Labels: Byte-Sized Holiday Giveaway, review, Rubik’s TouchCube

Good morning, everyone! It's a bit of a late morning for us all, digging out of multiple feet of snow, but we are warm and cozy and extremely excited to announce the winners of the Byte-Sized Holiday Giveaway!

Congratulations to....

Peter "Dusty" P. from Va.

Jennifer S. from Ga.

Sara H. from Va.

Theresa E. from NYC

Each of these winners will be contacted by email over the next few hours -- so if it's you, sit tight! Otherwise, thank you so much to everyone who entered! I loved reading all of your geeky memories. Here are some great ones from our winners!

"My favorite geek gift was my very first jump drive (flash drive). I had no idea that something so small and portable could hold so many files (of course, it only held 256 mb, but back then? That was HUGE!). It totally changed my life. I no longer had to carry around zip disks and lug spindles of CDs everywhere I went, not to mention saving the time it used to take to sort through each one to find what I needed (usually just one measly file)!"
--Jennifer

"The first Sony CD Walkman. It looks like a tricorder, it was so huge. The external battery pack took D-cells, IIRC. But it got me used to portable music and living in my own world, and I've been a hardcore geek ever since."
--Peter

Thanks again to all those who entered!

I'll be back in a few hours with some top headlines, so until then, have a great day!

Labels: Byte-Sized Holiday Giveaway

It's a slow day for news today as the East Coast hunkers down for a monster snowstorm -- a week after we all got coated in power-killing ice. But... at least it's Friday...? At least we have a few headlines to keep us company:

Yay! my favorite professional online video blog of the year is finally coming to DVD! Neil Patrick Harris' brilliant turn as Dr. Horrible in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is available today exclusively on Amazon.com for $9.99 -- a great price for all the extra features, including a 'Making Of...' portion and "Commentary! The Musical,' which is exactly what it sounds like... Too fun :) And, seriously, how much do I love Nathan Fillion? Oh, let me count the ways...

Digital Trends has come out with an awesome gift guide that just makes me laugh in its absurd truthfulness -- What your geek friends *don't* want for Christmas. Give it a read and you'll be laughing at all the things you've either gotten from a kind soul looking to do the right thing or a hapless one who just had no clue. I do have one exception, though ... I love geeky clothes, especially on geeky guys! :) That is the coolest. The 'Talk nerdy to me' shirts and 'I've got great hands' XBox live beta freebies totally make me swoon...

Are there better people in this world beside Bill and Melinda Gates? Well, I mean besides Angeline Jolie and Brad Pitt. Our favorite multi-gazillionaires, the Gates, have donated millions to public libraries in 7 states to make their broadband connections faster. This will ensure that the public, especially kids, have access to the Internet and a sophisticated technology outlet. Good for them. Do you realize that in less than one day Bill Gates makes enough money to buy my house? That just boggles my mind...

*Don't forget -- today is the last day you can register for our Byte-Sized Gift Giveaway for a MIMOBOT USB Flash Drive. Get those entries in and maybe you'll be one of the lucky 4 to get this awesome little characters in your snail-mailbox!

See you all Monday, and if you live anywhere east of the Mississippi, drive safely and leave early!

Labels: Bill Gates Foundation, Byte-Sized Holiday Giveaway, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, MIMOBOT USB Flash Drive

Good morning, everyone! Today is a double tall mocha day in New England, so wrap your hands around your beverage of choice and let's get to the headlines...

Obviously, the biggest news of the day is out of Apple -- Steve Jobs will not be giving his annual keynote address at the Macword Conference this year. No word on whether this has to do with his illness, but Apple also took the time to announce that this will be the last year the company will even attend Macworld. Something is brewing over at Apple and I don't like the looks of it.

File this one under "Bad idea from the start." Dell has decided, after being the butt of too many India-based customer service jokes and complaints to enumerate, that it will offer customers the 'option' of dealing only with U.S.-based reps. The kicker? It is charging customers $13 a month or $99 a year. Seriously. WTF, Dell -- understandable customer service (no offense) should be free, not a premium. Ridiculous.

A new survey finds that Americans place Internet access above TV and having sex. That's seems like skewed data -- numbers that I don't necessarily agree with. I can understand the pleasure of a nice night at home clicking through the channels in jammies so fluffy and baggy that even thinking the word 'sex' around them seems wrong, but foregoing sex to sit in front of a blinky computer screen? Nope, I'm all set with that. Thoughts? Which would you prefer?

A new device is available that disconnects cell phone service in cars when the engine in running. This is a hot issue, but I can't say that I'm for or against either side. (How's that for a double negative tandem positive?) See, on the one hand, I love chatting in the car. I can hold all my tedious but still important phone conversations, like making appointments and catching up with friends, during my commutes, leaving me able to play with my kids while I'm at home. On the other, my husband can't talk on the phone and drive without missing an exit or driving in the wrong direction for 20 miles. So... a device to stop cell phone service in a car? Eek.


Have a great day, and don't forget to enter the Byte-Sized Holiday Giveaway for a MIMOBOT USB Flash Drive! The response has been great so far, so make sure to get your ballot in! You won't win anything if you don't enter!

Labels: Apple, Byte-Sized Holiday Giveaway, cell phones, customer service, Dell laptop security, Internet and sex, Macworld keynote address, MIMOBOT USB Flash Drive, Steve Jobs

C'mon, it's been a long, stressful holiday shopping season -- who doesn't need a gift for themselves, too?

I'm incredibly excited to announce the Byte-Sized Holiday Giveaway!

Over here at Byte-Sized, we want to thank you all for your loyal reading this year, so we partnered with MIMOBOT to give away 4 USB Flash Drive characters! Each has a gig of memory encased in the tiny little guys -- such a great treat for everyone, and so cute you won't want to give them away! (If you win, I don't choose which design you will receive, so please don't ask.)

The drawing will be random, but we'd love it if you sent in your best geeky gift memories with your entry to get us all in the mood for some holiday cheer. Tell us what you got, why you loved it and how it turned you into the awesome geek you are today :)

To Enter: Send your name, phone number and address to bytesized@captivate.com.

Prize: 1 MIMOBOT USB Flash Drive, courtesy of the MIMOBOT -- A big thanks to them for making this contest possible!

Here's all the legal stuff...

Labels: Byte-Sized Holiday Giveaway, MIMOBOT USB Flash Drives

GENERAL SWEEPSTAKES RULES


1. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR TO WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR ODDS OF WINNING. ALL FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS APPLY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.


2. ELIGIBILITY: Each promotion is open to legal residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Puerto Rico) who are 18 years or older at the time of entry unless otherwise stated. Employees of Captivate Network (“Sponsor”), Gannett Co., Inc., and each of their subsidiaries and affiliated companies, advertising and promotional agencies, and the immediate family members of, or any person domiciled with, any such employees are not eligible to enter or win. You are not a winner until you have been notified as a potential winner, your eligibility has been verified, and you have complied with all terms of these rules.


3. HOW TO ENTER: Send an email to Bytesized@Captivate.com with your name, phone number and address where prize can be shipped. Contest opens Dec. 10 at 7:00 a.m. EST and ends Dec. 19 at midnight EST. THE FIRST NAME, CITY AND HAIR TIP OF WINNERS WILL BE POSTED ON INDULGE, PERMISSION IS GRANTED BY THE WINNERS BY SENDING IN THE EMAIL ENTRY. The Sponsor is not responsible for incomplete, lost, late, postage-due, misdirected or illegible entries, or for failure to receive entries due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, hardware or software, whether originating with sender or Sponsor. All entries become property of Sponsor and none will be returned


4. SWEEPSTAKES WINNER SELECTION & ODDS: Sweepstakes winners will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received by Sweepstakes deadline. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.


5. PRIZES: One MIMOBOT USB Flash Drive, average retail value of $30.00


6. WINNER NOTIFICATION AND ACCEPTANCE: Winners will be notified at the telephone number, email address and/or U.S. mail address provided on winner’s entry form. Email or mail notification: Sponsor will email or mail notification and affidavit/release forms at the address provided. Return of prize notification as undeliverable may result in disqualification and an alternate winner may be selected from among all remaining eligible entries. Winners are required to confirm acceptance of the prize, complete an affidavit of eligibility/liability and publicity release which must be returned within the time period specified. Failure to sign and return the affidavit or release or to comply with any term or condition of these Official Rules, may result in a winner’s disqualification, the forfeiture of his or her interest in the prize, and the award of the prize to a substitute winner.


7. PRIZE TERMS: PRIZES WILL BE MAILED TO THE ADDRESS PROVIDED BY THE WINNERS. Winners may waive their right to receive prizes. Prizes are non-assignable and nontransferable. No substitutions allowed by winner. Prizes and individual components of prize packages are subject to availability and Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value. Winners are solely responsible for reporting and payment of any taxes on prizes. If the prize involves travel or other benefits for a companion in addition to the winner, persons traveling as guest of the winner must also sign any affidavit or release as Sponsor may require. Acceptance of any prize constitutes winner’s consent to the publication of his or her name, biographical information and likeness in any media for any commercial or promotional purpose, without limitation or further compensation. Prizes not won and claimed by eligible winners in accordance with these Official Rules will not be awarded and will remain the property of Sponsor.


8. PARTICIPATION: By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify persons found tampering with or otherwise abusing any aspect of this Sweepstakes as solely determined by Sponsor. In the event the Sweepstakes is compromised by a virus, non-authorized human intervention, tampering or other causes beyond the reasonable control of Sponsor which corrupts or impairs the administration, security, fairness or proper operation of the promotion. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate any promotion at any time. Should a promotion be terminated prior to the stated expiration date, Sponsor reserves the right to award prizes based on the eligible entries received before the termination date.


9. CONSTRUCTION: The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any such provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable, these rules shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or unenforceable provision was not contained therein.


10. The decisions of Sponsor regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of a promotion shall be final and binding in all respects. Sponsor will not be responsible for typographical, printing or other inadvertent errors in these Official Rules or in other materials relating to the promotion. If you have questions on a specific sweepstakes, contact: Amber Plante, aplante@captivate.com, or for a list of winners: send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the “Byte-Sized Gift Giveaway,” Captivate Network, 2 Executive Drive, Suite 301, Chelmsford, MA 018240.

Labels: Byte-Sized Holiday Giveaway, Official Sweepstakes Rules