Somewhere right now in Georgia, a girl is screaming in delight that she's won our final Hello Kitty Valentine's Day Giveaway :-) Congratulations to ...

Jennifer S. of Marietta!

OK, well that's it! I'm totally tapped out on Mimbots for now, but as I've said all along: Get your butts to http://www.mimoco.com/ and check out the company's vast selection of 2-gig USB flash drives! They average about $30 each, are the perfect gift for geeks in your life and they just make the act of transferring files more fun.

I do the whole cubicle thing, too, so I really appreciate a company that can add some spice to my otherwise bland office walls ... though, truth be told, my office walls are totally not bland :) I'll have to post pictures some day ...

Anyways, back on topic, I can't thank you all enough for entering this contest and for reading Byte-Sized three times a week!

Now, as promised, we're back to business as usual at least for a few days. The entire Eastern seaboard (including my perch up north in Boston) is being hammered with snow today, so I'm going to make this quick and cut outta here just as the first flakes start to fall! Here are your headlines:

--Ohh, how could I resist this review? If you're in the market for an e-reader, check out what happens when you pit the Kindle Gen2 against the new B&N Nook. *Love* it. Meanwhile, if you're looking to get your love the Nook, looks like it will be in stock around the US this weekend. (If you're gunna make the leap into that and not the Kindle, at least go for this Kate Spade case, too. Just saying.)

--Check out this review for the new Bioshock 2 game. I'm *dying* to play with the Big Sister!

--This CNet video feature looks at the changing world of passwords ... and why it's starting to look like a mirror.

--I really like the newest Facebook redesign, but in case you're a member of the very vocal dissent, good news: If you don't like it, you don't have to use it anymore. You know, just as long as you can get all of your friends to switch over to Gmail's new social experiment too. Otherwise, pipe down and get used to it.

Have a good rest of the day, stay warm and cozy, and we'll see you back here on Friday!

Labels: Hello Kitty Giveaway

While I am still calming my heartbeat down from the numerous times I jumped off my couch cheering and smacking my husband's hand in shock -- and in the process woke up every sleeping child in my house -- I'll get you right to the goods:

Today and tomorrow (until midnight tomorrow night) are the very last days you have to enter yourself into the Hello Kitty Valentine's Giveaway right here on Byte-Sized!

The response to this giveaway has been overwhelming to say the very least, and I want to take a moment not only to thank our partner in this event -- the wonderful, creative folks at Mimoco, whose products are really just that cool -- but also to the 600+ people who've entered the contest! You all are fabulous, and you've really made this an exciting month here in my little cubicle!

For those of you just joining the party, here's the rundown: Send me your name and other relevant contact info to bytesized@captivate.com. Wednesday morning, I'll randomly pick one lucky winner to win the last Hello Kitty Mimbot!

Specs: Aside from obvious adorability factor (love those overalls!), this little lady packs 2 gigabytes of storage in her teensy 2 inch-body -- plenty to carry around music, books, files, pictures, etc., to always have them at your fingertips! Even if you just want to carry her around for the fashionability of it, trust me, I can relate to that :)

If you don't win, be sure to visit http://www.mimoco.com/ to scoop up your own Mimbot -- there are so many different, eclectic styles and designs to choose from!

And, as promised, for all you lovers out there looking to pair that Hello Kitty Mimbot with some delicious chocolate for your sweeties, the female editors here at Captivate (namely me, Jacqui and Kate) spent a day eating the most delicious chocolate truffles in the world and reviewed them just for you! I call the feature 'We (Heart) Chocolates' and it's live right now over at www.Captivate.com!

... Don't be too jealous, I actually got sick from the whole thing -- a definite case of too much being a bad thing.

See you back here on Wednesday where I'll announce the final winner and catch you all up on some awesome headlines! L8rs!

Labels: Chocolate Review, Hello Kitty Giveaway, valentine's day

Did you *see* 'LOST' last night?

How could I possibly be expected to think about anything technology related whilst also pondering the concept of two connected-yet-separate strands of time co-existing on the same path yet separated by years and experiences?

The sheer acting feat of playing the same characters from different perspectives -- one evolved, who we've grown to love, and the other the fresh face we met 5 years ago -- is banging my head around and around!

But, before I delve into any concept of theory in relation to the best show on TV, let's announce this week's winner of the Hello Kitty Valentine's Day Giveaway, courtesy of the fine folks at http://www.mimoco.com/!

Congratulations to ... Jeremy G. of San Ramon, CA

If that's not you, email me at bytesized@captivate.com! ... Gosh, what am I going to do when I have no more Mimbots to give away? ;)

OK, back to 'LOST'. I had a text-date with a friend of mine, and we gasped at all of the revelations! Here were our biggest take-aways:

Where the heck is Christian's body?
I think it's the strand that connects the two different times! Maybe Jacob is to Christian as Smokey/Gray Shirt is to Locke! I mean, you heard what Jacob said: 'There's only one end. Everything else is just progress.' Ohhhhh :)

What happened to Sayid?
My husband, who only got part-way through Season 1 because he 'didn't like the flashbacks' (GAH,I *know*), called this one minutes into the episode: If Christian isn't the new Jacob, Sayid is the new Jacob.

Why was non-crash-Jack bleeding?
This is my proof for my ultimate theory that the different timelines will reconnect -- both careening to the same end. What happens on the Island effects what happens in LA, and vice versa!!

Who didn't get goosebumps when Charlie said, 'I was supposed to die.' ? Liars! :)
What a prophetic statement -- actually, we got prophetic statements from all of the returning deceased! Boone suggesting that, should the plane go down, he's sticking with Locke!

What's up with all the lists?
We keep seeing a 'list' being brought out -- first when the Others kidnapped the plane survivors form the beach, and now with Jacob's massive ankh holding a note to the weird Asian guy and the hippie!

What in the frickity frick was Desmond doing on the plane?
Your guess is as good as mine.

Got a theory or an observation you want to share with the group?? Leave a comment below or email me! I'll post up the best ones on Friday along with your weekly look into the biggest technology headlines!

Labels: Hello Kitty Giveaway, Lost theories

'Oh Monday -- What have I ever done to you?'

Well, here's a Monday treat: Enter now to win the third (of five) Hello Kitty USB flash drive! This one is bright red, and looks like Miss Kitty is wearing an apple costume -- pure and simple in design, it packs 2 gigabytes of storage into a drive smaller than a lighter and infinitely cuter!

Email me at ByteSized@Captivate.com if you haven't already entered your name to win! If you have, well, I always like getting fun emails, but it won't up your chances! Click HERE for the official rules, in case you're interested ...

And remember: If you want to bypass the whole giveaway, head straight over to http://www.mimoco.com/ to by your own before they're sold out! At $24,99 each, how can you resist, really?

Now, onto bigger things ... I'd like to talk to you all about TiVo.

We all know how much I love my TiVo. If I had to ditch my satellite TV and go back to bunny ears (or their now-digital equivalent), I'd still save enough money to keep this service running -- that's how much I love it. And, I don't mean DVRs in general -- the competitors made by DirecTV and Comcast are laughable in comparison. Terrible GUIs and databases, and brand recognition is embarrassing.

Anyway, so why am I ranting on TiVo? Well, the company recently announced they are pursuing a lawsuit against AT&T for patent infringement. Fine, they aren't paying you for taking a portion of your technology that, really, you never had 100% claim to (more on that in a sec). But, in response to TiVo's suit, now *Microsoft* has filed a counter suit on TiVo as a way to back up AT&T, one of their big-time sponsor companies.

So, Microsoft is suing Tivo because TiVo is suing AT&T. Got it?

Now, how this will all play out legally really doesn't matter to me. I just want to take a moment to recognize two separate camps in the battle: the TiVo engineers and the TiVo management.

Tivo engineers: You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for making an amazing product that I adore and that has changed the way I watch TV forever. You guys totally rock, and I'm so sorry that your management is being retarded and not giving your product enough exposure and, honestly, making your job go unnoticed. They are *actively trying* to put you all out of business. Totally sucks.

TiVo Management, meet me at Camera Three: Are you all completely out of your ever-loving minds? Your engineers and software guys gift-wrap for you the best, highest quality DVR on the market, and it's like you're in a sick competition to see how horrendously you can eff it up. First, you screw up deals with Comcast AND DirecTV separately, both of whom made absolute crap products to try to duplicate your DVR and failed. Then you miraculously get back in their good graces long enough to pick a fight with *Microsoft*, a company who could buy and sell you twice in its sleep? Seriously??!!

Look, guys, I'm sorry you have brand management issues with your product being verb-ified and losing its cache -- 'I have to TiVo the game,' in the same way 'I need a Kleenex,' and 'Let's FedEx that package' -- but please fire *every single person* giving you such terrible business advice and hire intelligent people to manage your business! Geez!!

For more on this story (but without any commentary from yours truly) DOW JONES has a wrap on it.

See you all back here Wednesday, when I announced this week's Hello Kitty Winner!!

Labels: ATT, Hello Kitty Giveaway, Microsoft, TiVo

I'm so tired of people saying TGIF -- like I'm an extra in 'The Office' remake or something -- so, I'm forgoing all of that today in favor of announcing our Hello Kitty Valentine's Day Giveaway winner:

David L., from NYC!

Thank you again for all of your entries -- it's been overwhelming and one of the best giveaways we've ever had the pleasure of hosting. The people at Mimico are fab, and so are their products! Head over there and browse the totally geeky assortment of little Mimbot characters! Even if it's a sweet treat for you (or wicked cool gifts for friends/wedding attendants/dinner party guests), it's totally worth carrying around your files in style.

So, onwards and upwards, the third week of the Hello Kitty giveaway will kick off Monday, with the winner being announced on Wednesday. Until then, I'll have some byte-sized headlines to chew on later today!

Labels: Hello Kitty Giveaway

Just as promised, today we are featuring Week 2 of our Byte-Sized Valentine's Day giveaway -- and she's just as cute, if not cuter, than the Week 1 model:

This Hello Kitty could be yours! Enter NOW to win by emailing me at ByteSized@Captivate.com! (Last week's official rules still apply, btw.)

If you entered before for the Hello Kitty Mimbot and did not win, you are automatically entered into this week's giveaway (though I'd sure love to hear from you :) hehehe).

All of our Hello Kitty USB flash drives are courtesy of the folks at MIMOCO. If you want to bypass my giveaway, please head straight there and buy your own! The 2-gig flash drives cost around $25-30 each, and they are a perfect gift for your Valentine's Day love!

... So, let's say you've won the Hello Kitty gift, you've already bought a dozen of your Valentine's favorite flowers (because if you show up without then, be prepared to have a door shut in your face) -- but you are at a loss for what chocolates to buy! Well, check out Captivate.com on Feb. 1 for a feature on the best of the best gourmet chocolatiers in the world, and how to order some truly original treats that will have your sweeties melting in your hand!

See ya back here FRIDAY when I announce the winner of little Miss Kitty and her sweet, painted-on teddy. OH, I just got another idea for a Valentine's Day must-have ... :-D

Labels: chocolates, Hello Kitty Giveaway, valentine's day

OK, note to self: Next time I want my blog to crash, all I have to do is mention Hello Kitty! Holy overloaded servers, Batman!

Needless to say, I got WAAAY more entries than I ever expected into this giveaway, and I'm feeling a bit guilty that I only have one of the sweet little 'Hello Kitty Balloon' Mimbots to hand out this week ... Either way, you never win if you don't enter! :) So, thanks a zillion times for everyone's record response!

Congrats to our super-lucky winner ... Kathy D.C. from Dallas!

For all of you who did not win (and there are, like, a thousand of you), your name will automatically be entered into next week's drawing of another 'Hello Kitty' Mimbot from the generous, awesome folks at Mimoco! I'm just going to take a moment to thank them for their participation and for making such cool products all the time. Really, really top notch.

Should you not want to wait for the next 4 weeks' drawings, please visit http://www.mimoco.com/ and order your own USB drive today -- at $24.99, they are srsly the perfect gift. Oh, and have I already mentioned how they only make so many of these? So order the one you want before it's gone!!

The next Hello Kitty Giveaway starts next week, so check back to put your name in the hat.

Now that I have your attention, let's talk headlines ...

-Apple insiders are quietly gunning the rumor mill by hinting the next-gen iPhone is going to debut in April.

--For fashion-savvy men, looks like skinny suits are SO last decade ...

--For my regular readers, you all know I'm not a Twitter fan. Regardless, if you're looking to go to the dark side, here are some tips to get started tweeting.

--Google is not happy with China -- and China isn't too happy with them either.

--If you have Verizon Fios and, for some whacked-out reason, aren't digging it, your cancellation fee is about to go up.

Quiet day in Captivate land, so log on to our main site and check out our Spotlight: International Business! I wrote a complete guide to fitting in and not making yourself look like an idiot when you're traveling abroad, so check it out! See ya Friday!

Labels: Hello Kitty, Hello Kitty Giveaway, MIMOBOT USB Flash Drive