“Family” collection
Navigate the intersection of family life and technology with expert advice on household gadgets, digital parenting, and home safety. This section focuses on tools and strategies that enhance family connections and simplify domestic logistics in a digital-first world.
HTD Tech Briefs
View all →August 14, 2010
A Dude Ranch Vacation at Greenhorn Creek Ranch – Riding, Fishing and Generally “Horsing Around”!
My family and I spent about a week up at a Dude Ranch in Northern California called "Greenhorn Creek Guest Ranch". Since I have 3 girls, their grandparents thought that introducing them to horses and ranching at their age would be great for them. I couldn't agree more! Earlier this year, we set out looking for a nice dude ranch…
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August 12, 2010
What Do Dude Ranches, Snoop Dogg, Katy Perry, NyQuil & Cooking Have in Common? Cast of Dads Podcast #29 Of Course!
Quite a variety of topics in the latest Cast of Dads podcast #29, "Dude Ranches & Snoop Doggs", wouldn't you say? Well I had just gotten back from a week with the family up at a dude ranch and I shared my thoughts about that type of family vacation. Note: we are always looking for sponsors! If you would like…
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August 9, 2010
“The 39 Clues” Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway – Stop #5 For “The Black Circle”
I usually write about technology, gadgets, software, hardware and other gizmos. I also have been know to talk about parenting from time to time. One thing that I preach to my kids (but unfortunately don't practice as much as I should) is that of reading. And this is odd because I was an English Major and have lots of books…
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August 2, 2010
“Where’s the Pause Button” – TweetDeck’s User Stream Preview is Real-time Web
I was lucky to be one of the first 5000 people to get access to test out a new version of TweetDeck called "User Stream Preview." In this preview build is the ability to use Twitter's new Streaming API which essentially turns the Twitter firehose on full blast. In the past, you were at the mercy of Twitter's API limits,…
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July 28, 2010
Daddy Got an Owie! Making Your Own Injuries A Lesson to Your Kids – Cast of Dads Podcast #28
Well I managed to acquire 18 stitches this past weekend, but still had enough brains to be able to participate in our weekly podcast of Cast of Dads. We did the recording just a few hours after I had returned from the ER and enduring the wonderful process of someone sewing my forehead back together (sorry for the graphics there).…
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July 27, 2010
Wrapping Up the AT&T “Lose the Laptop” Challenge – A Retrospective
We are now in the final days of voting for the AT&T Lose the Laptop Challenge. It has been an interesting four months writing about different topics and how they relate to the HTC Tilt 2 smart phone. You can see all of my articles on the Lose the Laptop site here. But I thought that it might be a…
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July 23, 2010
Cool Birthday Parties, Pool Safety & Live Parenting Failures Round Out “Cast of Dads” Episode #27
Sorry for the delay in posting about our latest Cast of Dads podcast. Coordinating family schedules are hard enough…but when you attempt to coordinate 5 different schedules from different families, it's a monumental task. And even after we record, there is still the production work that has to take place (bit hat tip to CC Chapman for his hard work…
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July 22, 2010
HTD’s Tech News Snippets – July 22, 2010 (Flipboard, Google Voice, Router Hacks, Safari, AT&T & Twitter)
Some really interesting news floated by today. Flipboard is a pretty interesting iPad app. Be sure to check it out. But you may have some issues hooking up your Twitter and/or Facebook feeds. I'm still waiting...and waiting...and waiting for Google Voice to be approved. Is your home router hackable? Be sure to read the article and visit your router vendor's…
Read more →July 21, 2010
HTD’s Tech News Snippets – July 21, 2010 (Ford, Skype, Antennagate, Facebook, Apple & Blackberry)
Once again, scouring the web for the latest tech news that grabbed my attention. Below are some links to some Amplify.com posts. You can see the beginning of my commentary below. Clicking through the links gives you the rest of the commentary as well as the article that I snipped. I LOVE the NEW Ford Motors - 2011 Explorer Unveil…
Read more →July 13, 2010
Laptop Got Stolen? Send PREY Out to Find It, for Free!
I'm sure that many of you have heard of the Find My iPhone service for MobileMe that helps you locate missing iPhones or iPads. Or the equivalent on Windows Mobile phones called My Phone. And I'm sure you know about LoJack that helps you locate stolen cars. LoJack also offers a service for computers as well, for a price. There…
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July 10, 2010
Apple’s iTunes App Store Hits the “Terrible 2?s” – On to the “Thirsty 3?s”
Being a parent of 3 daughters, I well remember the "terrible two's". Well, another child that many people play with daily has hit that milestone, the iTunes App Store. As Apple blows out the candles, I thought it important to recognize this event, especially as we move towards the "thirsty three's". The iTunes App Store is just starting to assert…
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July 9, 2010
Milking an Almond, Bacon Explosions & Bakin’ in the Heat – Cast of Dads Podcast #26
As if we didn't do enough drinking during our respective 4th of July festivities, with our voices and brains lubed up with wine and beer, the Cast of Dads convened Tuesday night to record Episode #26 titled "From Snips to Squirt". Before I dive down into the meat (literally) of the podcast, I want to remind people to be sure…
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