pets

There's a great line in The Truth About Cats & Dogs, when Janeane Garofalo's character--a veterinarian radio talk-show host--dispenses this advice to a caller: "You can love your cats and not love your cats." That scene came to mind upon viewing this hamster pedometer that actually keeps track of wheel rotations to ensure your pet furball is in peak physical condition.

Sadly, it's not the first such product. As Tokyomango notes, a dog pedometer has been on the market for some time. (And don't get us started on those pet translators.)

If people were … Read more

Lest you think the Tamagotchi has suffered an untimely demise (or a timely one, depending on your view), witness the Japanese icon's latest incarnation--as a robot.

Well, sort of. The "Roboco" actually looks more like a wind-up toy with a Tamagotchi's guts. Takara Tomy's new brainchild, as it were, virtually eats, sleeps, gets sick and generally follows the same path as its needy predecessors, according to GeekSugar.

And why not? We've already seen the little Mr. T go enter its teens, go virtual and even get its own Wii game. Besides, morphing into a … Read more

I'm a sucker for password tools. Since signing on with Webware late last year, I've since amassed a collection of site log-ins the size of a pulp romance novel, and despite my youthful brain, remembering all of them is clearly impossible. A solution I've been using for some months is Roboform, which is a small piece of software that will let you keep your user names and passwords safely tucked away, combined with a browser plug-in that will automatically log you in to each site. This morning I've been playing around with a new feature from … Read more

No offense to canine lovers, but not all dogs are smart enough to lead humans out of danger, a la Lassie and the fire at the Old Mill. Truth be told, some have trouble just staying near their owners.

So if your four-legged best friend has a habit of wandering off without you, something like the "Pet Tag Flasher" might be worth considering. When worn around the neck (the dog's, not yours), it flashes four red LEDs to help identify the pet's whereabouts in a street crowd or even a packed watering hole because it's … Read more

We suppose it had to happen at some point--it was only a matter of time. Now you can have a virtual pet on your iPhone with Virtual Dog. Registering is a snap with the only requirements entering a username and password. Keeping your dog alive is the hard part, with several different training procedures you'll need to do to keep the little guy entertained. The graphics aren't great, but if a virtual pet is what you've been waiting for on your iPhone, Virtual Dog might suffice.

iPhone Link: http://www.dseffects.biz/iphone/virtualpets/VirtualDog/VirtualDog.php… Read more

On my list of "least favorite animals," Paris Hilton-style lapdogs rank up there with mosquitos and cockroaches--in fact, compared to overly groomed Chihuahuas, I think roaches are kinda cute. (They'll be even cuter once Pixar makes a musical movie about them, which will probably be in about three years, judging by recent trends in animated films.) And the more spoiled they are, the uglier they are. Hence my revulsion at this crystal-encrusted "doghouse," designed for a special department store event in (where else) Tokyo, which is really more like an ornate display case for small … Read more

Two start-ups that caught our eye at last night's SFbeta here in San Francisco were MizPee and DateMyPet.com. Not so much for their services, which to be honest, aren't the most necessary we've seen, but rather their ingenuity for finding some interesting ways to direct people towards something they're looking for.

In the case of MizPee, that direction comes in the way of bathrooms. Yes, MizPee helps you find and rate public bathrooms. Like HotSpotr, another SFbeta demonstrator of the past, users can login to the service on their mobile devices and hunt for available … Read more

Hewlett-Packard, it seems, is determined to help everyone make photos fixes right in their cameras so there's no trace of the imperfect world transferred to the computer.

On Thursday, the company announced the release of nine cameras (click here to see a full photo gallery) that at first glance are pretty run-of-the-mill. But many of them incorporate the in-camera editing features that were introduced in more expensive models.

Last year, Hewlett-Packard began including software that makes people in your pictures appear slimmer or even tanner. This summer's lineup for the R-series and M-series models, which range in price … Read more

As I've mentioned before, I get the occasional handy tip from you lovely readers. This particular item, however, was brought to my attention by a cat-loving friend who does not follow the tech blogs (sacrilege, I know). Behold: the CatCam, a modified digital camera with a time-sequence controller and a furry mode of transportation. The Web site features the adventures of one such furball, a tomcat named Mr. Lee. This typically curious kitty treks around the great outdoors, and then his owner posts pics from his "trips" online. The images aren't exactly crystal clear, but that … Read more