Maghound Fetches Magazine Subscriptions

So let's say this month you are feeling you need help from Martha Stewart to prepare a Thanksgiving feast, but next month you are interested in the latest in business news. No problem says Time Inc., which in September will launch Maghound, a service that promises to blend the convenience of subscriptions with the flexibility of newsstand sales. How does that work? You pay a monthly fee for the home delivery of the publications you want. However, unlike with subscriptions, which typically run for fixed terms, you can go online and swap one title for another whenever you want. Maghound will start with about 300 consumer magazines including People, Sports Illustrated and Fortune. Users will pay about $5 a month for three magazines, $8 for five, $10 for seven and $1 for each additional. About 10 percent of titles, including some weeklies, will cost more. Sounds like a pretty innovative way to pump up magazine publishing which has been in a slump of late.

Staying Safe in the Land of E-Commerce

Some people swear by online shopping, others wouldn't be caught dead making that seemingly fateful click-to-purchase online. Making purchases in both realms has its pluses and drawbacks. The truth is that in both realities the middle guy may be the biggest threat. Out in the real world, for example, the wait staff or clerk has possession of your credit card out of sight just as when you make an online purchase you have to trust that your credit card info is going to the right people who will send you what you are looking for. Always pour over your monthly credit card bill to make sure you haven't been scammed by the middleman. For more tips, see Staying Safe in the E-Commerce Jungle.

Digital Divide On the Home Front

An interesting new survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project points out a that there is a digital divide of massive proportions on the home front and it shows little chance of changing in the near future. The new study shows the majority of Americans are still on dial-up Internet access and keeping the slow connection by choice. In fact a whopping 62 percent of dial-up users reported no interest in switching over to broadband. About a third cited price as the deciding factor, but 19 percent indicated they wouldn't make the change regardless of rates or anything else. Just over a quarter of Americans are not even getting online at all -- and the vast majority of these people also say they're simply not interested, find it too difficult or expensive, or just see it as a waste of time. Most of these users are older -- a median age of 61 -- and many are also lower-income families. In fact, the Pew study indicates non-Internet users are more than twice as likely to live in low-income homes, compared to those who are net-savvy.

You have to wonder how the over 25% of Americans who are not online at all are getting along. We have a couple of older members of our family who are in that boat and they complain about calling for information and, if they should get a human being on the other end of the phone, being told that the information is only available online. What do your kids think of this? Hard to build compassion for a generation so out of touch with their own online- focused world. The digital divide has enormous connotations for the future it seems on many levels.

Identity Theft Risk Maybe Tied to Where You Live

There is an old real estate joke about location being everything and the same may be true when it comes to identity theft. While overall identity theft seems to be in a downward trend, depending on what surveys you read, mail and telephone fraud seem to be holding their own.  And interestingly enough, where you live -- rather than how you travel around the Internet -- can determine your chances of become an ID theft victim, according to a report from Javelin Strategy and Research. For example, citizens in Illinois, Delaware, California, Idaho and West Virginia are most at risk, while the Plains states and the Northeast claim the lowest incidence of ID fraud. States with the lowest incidents include Alaska, Utah, Nevada, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Indiana, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine. No matter who, where, when and why people are being scammed the cost of fraud per consumer rose overall by 25 percent, from $554 to $691 on average in 2007 and the telephone still seems to be the bad guys weapon of choice.

Some how this all sounds like a great poster contest for kids?

The Organized Family: Bento to the Rescue

If you are using Mac OS X Leopard, you'll certainly want to take a look at Bento. It's a personal database with an iTunes-like interface. When you load it onto your computer, it automatically enters your address book and calendar information into its database. Those who have used FileMaker will find Bento much less complicated. That's because it's designed for computer users who just want to get the project done. It comes with 20 ready-to-use templates to help you get organized with just about any type of project. Besides working on your Apple computer, it can be used with iPhone and Mac through the Address Book and iCal. Your information can be displayed in a number of ways such as spreadsheet format or form format. It is a great way to keep a sports team organized, your Christmas card list in order and any kind of collection in line. Why not take a tour of Bento or watch the video to see if this product is for you? For less than $50, it looks like a great way for parents without much spare time to get organized or even for kids to keep track of a collection.

Welcome to the Age of Distraction

Can't focus? Feel like you never get to finish anything? You are not alone. In a recent column in the New York Times entitled "Fighting a War Against Distraction" some major research and observations on the subject are cited and you may find they ring amazingly true. Of course the biggest casualty of this divided focus is the attention (or lack, thereof) we pay our work and our family. As the author of this article points out, this is not a new development and it isn't time to ban the Blackberry (although there are times at my house I'd like to throw my husband's out the window), but rather to institute a "renaissance of attention - a revaluing and cultivating of the art of attention, to help us achieve depth of thought and relations in this complex, high-tech time."

You've probably been thinking about this yourself, or at least it might have been nibbling at the fringes of your consciousness - if so, give this article a read and let us know what you think. Attention - given, received, missing and yearned for- certainly has enormous parenting and educational implications in the digital age.

Will Better Technology Add Up To More Olympic Gold?

Will better technology add up to more Olympic gold? The answer to that question seems to be a definite yes according to Sports Technologist Peter Vint who works for the U.S. Olympic Training Center's performance technology division. He and his team have influenced the diets of lugers and beach volleyball players, tweaked the flip turns of swimmers, persuaded track athletes to wear weight vests and even helped to increase the flexibility of men involved in mixed pairs figure skating all after analyzing very specialized data. Of course you have to wonder about the mere sports mortal... will they ever be able to keep up with an analyzed athlete?

How Many Steps a Day?

There's so much talk today about childhood (and adult) obesity and about how we need to encourage our kids to be active. One of the best ways to get kids going is with a pedometer. Many schools purchase pedometers for physical education, and the kids love to use them and families should think about following suit. Keeping track of their step count pushes them forward to more steps each day. It's known that most adults take about 2000-5000 steps in a normal day, but the number they need to be considered active is 10,000 to 12,500. According to Penn State's Guy C. Le Masurier, kids generally take more steps than adults, but after the elementary years, the total begins to decline. Girls are said to take fewer steps a day than boys. So to get our kids stepping away from obesity, get them started on a lifetime walking program. If you are looking for online incentives related to walking and pedometers, Walk4Life honors,  in February of each year, outstanding schools whose kids are "caught being active."  Awards include a trophy and cash. At WalkSmart Active Schools, teachers, parents and students can download materials that encourage activity.

Teen Hackers Face Long Sentences For Fixing Grades

Kids have seen it in the movies - when kids hack into the school computer system and change their grades - and get away with it. But in real life, especially if you are a Senior and 18, such actions are seen as adult crimes with adult consequences. Two Seniors from Orange County , CA are finding that out after being accused of hacking into school computers to change grades and planting spyware on a district computer. One of them faces 69 felony charges, which could land him in prison for up to 38 years if he's convicted. No one laughs at these kinds of Senior pranks anymore.

Digital Dream House Now Open at Disney

The Innoventions Dream Home, a joint project involving Microsoft, HP and Disney, is now open to Disneyland visitors in California. The house in the park's Tomorrowland section features existing or pending technologies that use touchscreens, personal recognition and wireless networking, among other cutting edge accommodations. Of course, it wouldn't be Disney if a fictional family complete with faithful dog didn't lead you around the house to see the digital array. This time computers greet each family member, including the faithful hound as they walk through the front door and other technology advances are shown off in every room.