parties

You will, no doubt, be plagued this holiday season by real-time conversations from real-time annoyances who claim to be members of your family. You will, therefore, be tempted to indulge in some excessive real-time drinking that might, just might, affect your sense of, well, the real time, the real place, even the real country you are inhabiting.

However, you will, I hope, be delighted that some very enterprising people have considered your plight and decided to offer you the latest hangover cures in real time. All you need to do is to have your smartest phone about your person at … Read more

NEW YORK--What's it like to watch a dot-com mogul spend $1 million? Well, it's sort of nice when it's going to a good cause.

On Monday night, at the annual benefit gala for the nonprofit Charity Water, Bebo founder Michael Birch, one of the event's co-hosts along with the likes of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and entrepreneur Sean Parker, made a surprise announcement. Shortly before the event's live auction to solicit donations for new wells, Birch declared that he would personally match all donations up to $1 million.

Charity Water, a favorite cause of the dot-com set, … Read more

NEW YORK--The line on Wednesday night snaked outside the New York Stock Exchange building as a swarm of marketing, advertising, and other media types waited to get into the party that AOL was throwing on the trading floor to mark its spin-off from Time Warner. Onlookers weren't really sure what the big deal was.

An evening commuter walked past, craning his neck up at the massive AOL-logo banner--yes, the one with the fuzzy blue monster on it--and asking a few of the people in line, "Why's AOL having a party?"

"Spinning off from Time … Read more

The Nintendo Wii might be leading the video game market, but at least one game developer is suspect of its software.

Lightning Fish Games CEO Simon Prytherch sat down with GamesIndustry.biz in a recent interview discussing his company and the state of the gaming industry. Lightning Fish Games develops "family-oriented" games for major consoles.

After discussing what he has learned about the industry, he shared his opinion on the state of the Wii and its market.

"Wii is a very casual, wide market," Prytherch said in the interview. "It's a market that doesn'… Read more

It's not hard to throw together a fondue party. All you need are a few friends, some easy-melting ingredients, and bread, fruit, or something of the like to dip in it. Oh, there's one more thing that would make the evening go down as easy as a vat of melted cheese or chocolate: the fondue pot. Even if you have such a device, creating the velvety centerpiece would probably require the use of a saucepan on the stovetop. That is, unless you have a fondue pot that does double duty.

The All-Clad Fondue Pot with Cast Aluminum Insert … Read more

While nothing beats enjoying a cooler full of ice-cold beverages at the park, beach, or backyard barbecue, there is a bit of a downside risk: wet cans. As drinks are plucked from the murky depths of the ice chest, ice that is no longer ice clings to the can. It's something even cold-activated cans cannot fix.

Since the dawn of mankind (or at least the invention of the tailgate party), people have looked for a way to enjoy the crisp, clean taste of their favorite drinks without the inconvenience of wet fingers. Now, finally, there is a way.

The … Read more

Although some scoffed at the notion of Windows 7 house parties, Elliott Minor of Albany, Ga., said his event was a hit.

Roughly two dozen people showed up to the event, which was held at his church. Although not a huge gathering, the event seemed to be one of many that served Microsoft's purpose--helping spread the word about its just-launched Windows 7 operating system.

Two techies from the area teamed up to highlight Windows 7's key features and answer questions.

"Judging from the oohs and aahs of guests, I'd say they were favorably impressed," Minor … Read more

Attention those with leftover Windows 7 house party kits: don't try to sell them on eBay.

Readers report that several auctions of the house party kits have been canceled. Among other things, the kits provided to those hosting Windows 7 house parties include a Steve Ballmer "signature edition" of Windows 7 Ultimate.

The auctions may have been canceled at Redmond's request, although several other auctions appear to be ongoing.

"While we cannot confirm why eBay has removed these specific auctions, Microsoft routinely works with online auction sites such as eBay to remove infringing auctions," … Read more

You know how you always wanted that fountain in the back yard? That chocolate fountain? Imagine it: a 16-foot-tall tower of gushing chocolate, always ready at your disposal. Wake up in the morning, look out through the window and across the lawn, and gaze upon one of mankind's greatest treasures. Simply go outside, take your morning cup of coffee, and hold it under the flowing waterfall of chocolate.

Unfortunately such simple pleasures can be monstrously unattainable. Luckily, the Select Home Chocolate Fondue Fountain can fill in the gap until you can afford your dream fountain. Standing at a respectable … Read more