Internet

Not satisfied with the current crop of Android tablets and the restrictions Google often places on its mobile OS? Finally, the Linux army has its own portable, touch-screen option.

As of this morning, PengPod, a spin-off of a Florida-based importing company, officially closed its crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo for its line of open Linux and Android-based tablets and mini-PCs on a stick.

It wasn't a barn-burner campaign like some of those seen on Kickstarter for things like the Ouya game console or Pebble smart watch, but it did raise more than $72,000 to meet its $49,000 goal and be able to start production.… Read more

It's easy to pamper your pet with some table scraps, a few extra treats, and a little too much dog food. Before long, your fit Fido has become a hefty hound. Fujitsu is looking to help dog owners fight the fat with a pedometer and cloud service system.

The Wandant pedometer is based on motion-tracking technology from Fujitsu Laboratories. It measures and records the steps your pooch takes, picks up shivering motions, and monitors temperature changes.

All that data gets uploaded to an accompanying cloud service so you can view graphs and reports on your dog's activities.… Read more

Microsoft is readying an Xbox set-top box focused on casual gaming and streaming video, The Verge reported today.

According to the report, several sources told The Verge that Microsoft is planning on releasing the new device next year as an inexpensive alternative to its longstanding hit console, the Xbox 360. The set-top box is expected to offer the ability to play casual games and stream videos, and would be sold alongside the existing Xbox.

"The device will run on the core components of Windows 8 and support casual gaming titles rather than full Xbox games typically found on a … Read more

This year, some retailers are so impatient to open their doors for Black Friday that they're calling in employees to kick off the sales bonanza as early as 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. But why wait even that long? In fact, why even get off the couch when that tablet resting on your turkey and pie-filled belly has access to both your wallet and a whole universe of deals?

Digital ad agency Digitas told its hometown paper the Boston Globe this week that its recently commissioned survey (conducted by Harris Interactive) of consumers found that 28 percent plan to shop via a mobile device this Thursday. … Read more

Those of you in search of gifts for family or friends now have another option: Skype gift cards.

Available through the VoIP provider, the gift cards can be used to make Skype calls to mobile phones or landlines or to send text messages, either inside or outside the U.S. Skype gives you a few options for buying a card.

You can grab a physical card at your nearest Target, OfficeMax, or Microsoft Store. Or you can pick up an e-gift card from Skype's Web site or its Facebook page, which are then delivered to the recipient electronically.

Buying … Read more

It was a year of fakers: fake degrees, fake demonstrations, even fake interviews. It seems the tech industry this past year has been awash in people who couldn't tell the truth -- or maybe wished the truth were something different.

We had executives racing for the exits of what was a year ago one of the hottest companies on the Internet. We had a head scratcher of a mistake from Apple that even the company's CEO seemed to think was a conundrum. And we have a system that's supposed to protect entrepreneurs that -- and not to … Read more

If ever a story called for the use of an emoticon, this would be the one: text messaging volume in the U.S. has declined for the first time ever, according to a new research report.

Regardless of whether the emoticon you'd assign to the story is a smiley or a sad face, it's worth noting that after years as a growing communications medium, texting may be starting to fall victim to new market trends, at least insofar as it generates revenues for wireless carriers.

In a report looking at the U.S. mobile data market in the third quarter, Chetan Sharma wrote that although other western countries have already started to see falling revenue in the messaging segment, this was the first time that American carriers have both mirrored that revenue pattern and seen a drop in the total volume of SMS messages sent. … Read more

Forget Black Friday and be sure to slam a Red Bull at the Thanksgiving table this year. You'll need it to offset the effects of that turkey's tryptophan and be primed for some serious shopping following the feast.

That's right. Black Friday is now Black Thursday.

Toys "R" Us is among the retailers that will call employees in on Thanksgiving evening to open its nationwide locations at 8 p.m. and help fulfill shoppers' "hot toy needs," according to a release. HDTVs and tablets like the Tabeo for kids and Samsung Galaxy Tab series are just a few of the hot digital toys the stores will be pushing for a possible second dessert on Thanksgiving night.… Read more

In certain corners of America, there is a mood of relief and joy. In others, rampant despair.

This partly stems from the rather limited number of candidates at the voters' disposal.

Unless, that is, you choose your own. In that searing home of live-and-let-live that is Georgia, almost 4,000 people knew exactly who was the right man to lead its state into the future.… Read more