Every day is a Super Bowl for new gadgets at USA Today.com. Be sure to let us know about your game day best.
From USA Today’s Tech Now with Jennifer Jolly:
Click here to watch video:
Game Winning Gadgets

With temperatures so cold “cops yell ‘thaw!’ when chasing bad guys,” and “you’re thankful for hot flashes,” the best place to get your game on this Sunday Bowl Sunday might just be right in your own home. But before you cuddle up with a basket of chicken wings (did you know that Americans will eat some 1.25 BILLION this weekend?!), here are the top game-winning gadgets to keep you basking in glory all year long:Photo courtesy: Logitech

1.Logitech Harmony Remote
Juggling a hand full of remotes every time you want to change the channel or turn up the volume is like fumbling the kickoff. The Logitech Harmony Ultimate ($349) universal remote is that opening play you need, akin to scoring touchdown on the opening drive. The backlit touchscreen is easy to use to control every aspect of your home entertainment center, including pairing with Philips Hue light bulbs to set the ultimate mood. It’s also completely customizable, and lets anyone in the house turn their smartphone into personal universal remote, including 50 favorite channel icons and one-touch activity control.
2. Jawbone Big Jambox
When it comes to sound, why not go big or go home? The Jawbone Big Jambox ($299) has 15 hours of battery life and also manages to be a lot louder than its modest footprint would suggest, making it perfect for listening to the big game. You can connect Big Jambox to your tablet, smartphone, or computer via Bluetooth to listen to music or live game commentary, or even plug it into your portable television with a 3.5mm jack to even more sound.Funflicks large screen for parties.
3. New HDTV — Sales All Around
Hopefully you already have a superb set to catch all of the action, but if you don’t you can rent a giant movie screen from funflicks.com.

This is also a great week to score a great deal on a new TV. Amazon has Sony and Samsung HDTV’s for a $1,000 off — while Target and Best Buy have a 60-inch Vizio E-series running about $800. Costco is offering a deal on a high-end Samsung 75-inch LED TV. At $2,500, it’s not cheap by any means, but it’s about $200 less than anywhere else.
4. Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE
Now, for the fun stuff. Food and drinks. You can’t have a proper tailgate-esque party without burgers and barbecue, so you’ll need a grill that’s easy to roll out or carry along to your Super Bowl celebration, no matter where it is. The Coleman RoadTrip LXE ($179) is powered by propane and folds up for easy transport, all while providing enough cooking space — 285 square inches — for all of your grilling needs.
5. Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker by WeMo
Okay, this is just a tease, because Belkin’s WeMo Crock-Pot Slow Cooker (available Spring of 2014 for $99.99) isn’t on the market quite yet. Still, start planning for next year’s party now with this Crock-Pot that lets you change the cooking time, set a reminder, and check on your dish — all from your smartphone. Foodini 3D Printer
6. Foodini 3D Food Printer
If you can’t be bothered to cook — at all — there’s a new 3D food printer that will soon be on the market as well. Just load the Foodini (available mid-2014 for around $1400) with capsules filled with fresh ingredients and out comes printed cheeseburgers, raviolis, chicken nuggets – even a sort of gourmet version of nacho’s. This printer doesn’t actually cook the food for you, so you will have to that yourself. Still, a gadget that preps your food for you? Score!Beer Cooling Rods
7. Chillsner Beer Cooling Rods
No one likes warm beer — unless that’s going to be some weird new trend that takes hold in the sub-zero weather expected at this year’s uber-frigid Super Bowl venue — but you’ll be super hot if you show up to a party with these Chillsner beer cooling rods ($29.95). Just freeze the rods and then drop them into a bottle of beer — they fit most 12 ounce bottles — for an icy cold brew. Seriously cool. Photo: Roddy Blelloch
8. Remote Controlled Rolling Beverage Cooler
Have a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out)? Then don’t get up to get a cold one, rely on this remote controlled rolling beverage cooler from Hammacher Schlemmer ($59.95) to save the day. This little beer-bot carries a six pack with style, rolling across a patio, rug, or kitchen floor to deliver a well-timed beverage to parched party guests. The radio remote’s simple controls send the cooler forward, backward, and left or right.
9. Grillbot
Once the Super Bowl is over, you’re left with the unfortunate task of cleanup. But why not turn to some high-tech help? The Grillbot ($119) is, as its name implies, a robot that scrubs down your grill — so you can save your energy for next football season.
10. Moneual Rydis Robot Vacuum+Mop
Even better than the halftime show, and maybe even some of the commercials, is this new Moneual Rydis H67 Hybrid Robot Vacuum Cleaner ($399). I took this little baby for a test drive in my own home recently, and it swept the competition when it came to pet hair, crushed tortilla chips, and even avoiding my rambunctious cat who likes to play aggrssive games of chicken.
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Posted in Girlfriend's Guide, Great Gadgets, In The Press, TechNow, Tips & Tricks, Top tech news

As seen on Chip Chick:
October means it’s time to wish last year’s iPad models a happy birthday — and welcome in the next generation of Apple’s popular line of tablets. So just what does Apple have in store for us? Though Apple didn’t wow us with an iWatch, a larger iPad, or the long-rumored Apple Television, they did show off new iPads and MacBooks. Is that enough to pique your interest? I’ll let you know what you need to know about Apple’s latest.
The latest iPads
If you’ve been following the rumor mill — or even if you haven’t — it’s not much of a surprise that Apple’s new iPad — the iPad Air — is 20% thinner, has a new A7 processor for faster performance, and has an upgraded 5MP camera. It has the same 9.7″ display but a 43% smaller bezel and weighs in at just a pound — making it the lightest full-sized tablet on the market. Sorry, but there’s no fingerprint scanner or gold color option for iPad Air — but you can get it in space gray or silver with 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB of storage space. You can buy a Wi-Fi only model or add cellular service — for an extra cost — with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon This new iPad starts at $499 and will ship on November 1st.
The iPad mini looks much the same, but there are big performance boosts under the hood: the mini has a faster processor and a high-resolution Retina display. Like its big brother the iPad Air, the mini is silver by the top-of-the-line A7 processor, which makes it much zippier than the last generation. The iPad mini is also available in space gray and silver with 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB of storage space, in Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi plus cellular models. The mini with Retina starts at $399 and will ship later in November.
These faster tablets — and the thinner and lighter iPad Air — are certainly compelling, but the prices are high — especially for those on a tight budget. Apple’s solution for budget-conscious users is the $399 iPad 2 iand the original iPad mini, now available for $299 — and though you can find better bargain buys for Android tablets, that’s as close to a budget tablet as you’re likely to get from Apple.
On the accessories side, there are new cases and smart covers to fit Apple’s new tablet lineup, but no Surface-like keyboard cover — though Logitech and Zagg make great keyboard cases for anyone who needs to do a lot of typing on their tablets.
New hardware and software for Mac-lovers
Apple has been talking about its latest operating system, OS X Mavericks, for a while, but it’s available to download today — for free. And though a new operating system doesn’t have the glitz or glamor of a golden iPad, Mavericks offers some big performance improvements, including better power management to let your Mac last longer on a charge, iCloud Keychain for keeping your passwords secure, and a smarter calendar application for keeping on top of your schedule. These improvements are definitely worth the $0 price tag.
The MacBook Pro line also saw a refresh with new Intel 4th generation processors for better battery life. The 13″ MacBook Pro with Retina display is thinner and lighter, and the updated Haswell processor will give it up to 9 hours of battery life. The 15″ MacBook Pro with Retina display is powered by the quad-core Crystalwell processor which will give it 8 hours of battery life. And both have a $200 price cut over previous versions: you can order them for $1299 or $1999, starting today. And for those of you who are tied to the desktop, there’s the new top-of-the-line Mac Pro, a high-powered desktop machine which starts at $2999 and will ship before the end of the year.
And for apps, there are updates to iPhoto, iMovies, GarageBand, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote — all of which are free on new Macs, iPhones, and iPads. Though it may not sound like much, these are great apps — and now you won’t have to pay for them. What’s not to like?
These upgrades are sure to put Apple on the holiday wish list: but high prices and tight budgets could still keep you from these new tablets.

Elizabeth Harper contributed to this report.

Posted in Great Gadgets, In The Press, Top tech news

For the first time ever, Apple has announced not one, but two new smartphones, the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5S. The 5C is cute, colorful and cheap. The new 5S is speedy, sophisticated, and super secure. Here’s everything you need to know:
Candy-coated colors:
The new iPhone 5C It has the same guts as the current iPhone 5, but comes wrapped in a polycarbonate (fancy name for plastic) shell instead of Apple’s standard aluminum. It also comes rainbow of bright colors, including green, blue, yellow, pink, and white. Apple is also pulling a Samsung and launching a handful of new super colorful leather cases to go launch with it.
While the spec’s are solid, the price tag on the new 5C is especially appealing, starting at just $99 (16GB) or $199 (32GB) with a contract. This candy-colored gadget will definitely appeal to kids and teens — and the lower price tag makes the iPhone 5C a juicy option for budget shoppers who want the best of Apple for an Android price. The 5C goes on pre-sale Friday, September 13th and is available in stores on September 20th.

Bringing the bling:
The new iPhone 5S is Apple’s newest flagship phone — equipped with “Touch ID,” a new fingerprint sensor that’s built-in to the home button — so you can just touch it to unlock your phone or authenticate an App Store purchase. (Phew, no more taking a half second to type those passwords.) Made of high-grade aluminum the new 5S sparkles in silver, gold, and a new color Apple calls “space gray.”
Under the hood, the 5S has a new A7 chip that includes 64-bit capabilities, which makes it faster than anything we’ve seen before in a phone, and boosts graphics performance as well. (Though gamers will likely want a bigger screen.) The newest phone also has a feature Apple calls the M7 — a “motion co-processor” that tracks steps and motion, so that the phone will now work like a fitness band. There’s also a beefed up 8MP iSight camera, with a new burst feature, so that you can take rapid fire snapshots with no lag time in between. This high-tech smartphone is priced the same as the iPhone 5, running $199 (16GB), $299 (32GB), or $399 (64GB) with a new 2-year contract.
The real star of today’s show – iOS 7:
Both the 5C and the 5S phones will ship with with iOS 7, which is the most dramatic makeover to Apple’s operating system to date. Redesigned from the ground up, iOS 7 is packed with a bevy of thoughtful new features — including Control Center, iTunes Radio, and Siri will be able to search Twitter! Even if you aren’t planning on snagging a new phone, iOS 7 will be available — for free — to current owners of the iPhone 4+, iPad 2+, iPad mini, and 5th-gen iPod touch.
C for Copycat?
If you’re thinking that some of these new Apple features sound a lot like Samsung Galaxy S4 – it’s because they do. It’s weird to see Apple playing a bit of catch-up on a field they once dominated; Nokia already has cheap and colorful phones, the Samsung Galaxy S4 already has the snazzy new camera features, and the new iTunes radio sounds an awful lot like Pandora. Seeing Apple play catch-up with the competition today left some people saying that it’s more proof Apple’s has lost the upper hand when it comes to innovation. No surprise, Apple fans disagree, and say the iPhones are Apple’s way of giving critics the finger.

What do you think? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below.

Posted in Digital Parenting, Girlfriend's Guide, Great Gadgets, Health & Fitness, In The Press, TechNow, TechStyled, Tips & Tricks, Top tech news, What The Tech

I had so much fun with Natasha Curry and the crew at CNN/HLN this past weekend. It was 95-degrees in the TV studio and breaking news pushed this segment back nearly two hours. Natasha was SO kind, helpful, and positive – one of the nicest hosts I’ve ever met. Thanks again to all involved! You can watch more here: http://www.hlntv.com/video/2013/08/31/high-tech-essentials-your-student

It’s time to kick off a new school year for many students. With so many newfangled gadgets, school supply shopping is no longer for the faint of heart. Long gone are the days of kids only using folders, pencils and pens.

Tech expert Jennifer Jolly shares her favorite back to school gadgets. Among her picks– an air-cushioned back pack, a versatile cooking station and a new way to jam to your favorite tunes.

Posted in Connected Kids, Digital Parenting, Girlfriend's Guide, Great Gadgets, In The Press, TechNow, TechStyled, Tips & Tricks, Top tech news, What The Tech

There are a few things you can count on in early September. Kids go back to school. Some people will keep wearing white long after Labor Day. Apple will unveil a new iPhone. Thanks to Apple’s much studied “silence,” iPhone rumors are spreading faster than VMA tweets about twerking.

Here’s my take on fact versus fiction – and whether you should wait or just upgrade now:

Fact:
September 10th – two new iPhones – a faster 5S with a better camera, more storage and a fingerprint scanner for cool security features. And – bringing the bling – and phone could come in silver and gold – along with traditional black and white.
Fact:
I also buy the rumor that we’ll see a less expensive new iphone – the 5C – aimed at people choosing lower-cost Android smartphones. Those phones will likely come in a rainbow of ipod-esque colors too.

Fiction:
No iPhone 6 – designs will be evolutionary – not revolutionary. No bendable iPhone. No new iGlasses – and no iWatch to be unveiled at the September event. No giant screen iPhablet. No see-through device. And no – a new iPhone will not have a Siri who can actually do your real work – like your job – for you.

I expect the new iPhones to ship out around September 20th – if history repeats itself as it so often does in iPhone land. Another fact – the trade-in market is hot – so if you’re thinking about getting the new – new iPhone – lock in your trade-in value now through a site like gazelle. Those values typically drop the closer we get to launch.
You can read a whole lot more at www.usatoday.com/tech.

Posted in Girlfriend's Guide, Great Gadgets, In The Press, TechNow, TechStyled, Tips & Tricks, Top tech news, What The Tech

Tech Now Back to School Gadgets: Click here to watch video

To see the full story go to usatoday.com/tech. (Can’t find it? Do a quick search for “Jennifer Jolly + Tech Now.”

From lunchboxes to laptops, smart-phones to smart-pens, most parents like me are staring down the barrel of a really long back to school shopping list right about now and feeling pretty overwhelmed. When it comes to tech-ing our kids, how do we give our kids what they really need for a price we can really afford?! Here are some smart choices for every budget:

For Computing on the Go: An Ultraportable Laptop
Today’s slender laptops are the crown jewel of the back-to-school buy. By elementary school, most students will need access to a computer, whether at home or on the go. If they are of an age where they need to pack one around with them, you’ll want to find something that has an all-day battery life, sturdy — yet lightweight and small, so that it can fit in a backpack — and a device that won’t be obsolete in a year or a two.

In this category it’s hard to beat the MacBook Air, which is as portable as they come — the 11″ model weighs just over 2 pounds — and has truly extraordinary 9 hours of battery life. Prices start at $950 with student discounts.

Another great pick is the new Sony Vaio Pro 13, which is one of the best new Ultrabooks I’ve ever tested. Its 4th generation Intel processor delivers ultra fast speeds and masters the most demanding tasks, such as multimedia, full-on gaming, and keeps the battery boosted all day long. It’s also super-tough, encased in carbon fiber. Prices on this little beauty start around $1250.

If you’re on a tight budget and you’d still like to get a light-weight laptop, don’t despair — Samsung’s 11″ Chromebook starts at just $250. It’s runs Google’s Chrome operating system instead of Mac OS or Windows, and focuses on running applications over the Internet. This means the Chromebook could take a while to get used to, but that’s not a big deal, since kids are so tech-adaptable. Overall, it does a fine job doing most things your average student needs, like researching topics online or writing papers with online tools like Google Docs.

For Taking Notes: Livescribe Sky Wi-Fi Smartpen
Today’s students have a modern equivalent of the #2 pencil on steroids in the Livescribe Sky Wi-Fi Smartpen. It records a digital copy of what you write and draw, as well as audio of your class lectures. You just takes notes like normal, then later, go back, tap any word, symbol or doodle and the pen plays back the lecture that it was recording while you were writing. It also syncs digital copies to an Evernote account via Wi-Fi, so you can access everything from your computer or mobile device wherever you have Internet access. The Sky Wi-Fi Smartpen starts at $150, and to use all of the pen’s features you’ll need to purchase notebooks from Livescribe as well — these start at $25 for a pack of 4 single-subject notebooks.

For Apps and Ereading: The iPad mini
While I’m really fond of the size, price, and performance of the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD — and love that the Sony Xperia Tablet Z is waterproof — Apple’s iPad mini is still the tablet I find myself recommending to parents the most. Oh, sure, we read everyday how quickly Android’s catching up, but iPads still offer the most robust selection of learning, study, and organizational apps overall. It’s also an easy way to access to digital textbooks, as well as iTunes U, which gives your student free, easy access to college-level courses as podcasts, videos, lecture notes, and other media. Best of all, the iPad mini has a mini-ish price tag, too, starting at $330.

There are, of course, great non-Apple options out there for students of all ages — so be sure to see our full story just on tablets for teens later this month.

For Keeping in Touch: Smarter Smartphones
Giving your child a smartphone may not seem like a great idea, but it is the best way for them to stay in touch — not just with their friends, but with parents, family, and emergency services if needed. There are so many great options for students of all ages that we’ll be doing an entire story just on phones for kids – some of which are even free. We’ll have an entire series on the subject coming up shortly.

For Taking a Load Off: Airbac Backpack
My daughter’s backpack is bigger than she is, and has been since about the forth grade. Half the time it seems to weigh more than she does too. Roller bags are outlawed at her school, yet bad backs, apparently are not. For this issue, there’s Airbac, with a built-in “air cushion” that nestles in against your lower back and, quite literally, takes a load off. You can use an air pump to put more air in whenever and wherever you need. The whole design behind this pack is to alleviate the pressure pulling down on your shoulders, while distributing weight more evenly throughout, and resting more comfortably on your hips. For this, you’ll pay a pretty penny, around $60, which I think is a small price to pay for knowing their back is protected.

For Music at Home, in the Dorm, or on the Go: Satechi iFit-1
This speaker dock for your smartphone or tablet is compact and portable, but still features the power to provide great sound wherever you need it — with a battery that will last for up to 6 hours. This gadget is compatible with most smartphones and tablets and, best of all, comes in at a bargain price of $16.

For the Wow Factor: Pebble Smartwatch
The Pebble Smart Watch is more for the college age student who wants to look both tech, and fashion, forward. It’s a great way to know what time it is, and gives you a way to read to read texts, emails, and get calendar notifications, all on your wrist. But, if you or your student is prone to attention issues, this could be a huge distraction, since it vibrates and flashes social media alerts right on their wrist. Prices start at $150. http://getpebble.com/

For Going from Lost to Found: StickNFind
And once you’ve invested in this great tech, be sure your kids don’t lose it with StickNFind. These quarter-sized stickers broadcast a Bluetooth signal that you can track within a 150-foot range using StickNFind’s smartphone app. At $50 for a pack of two stickers, these are probably best used on the items that are easily lost, like wallets, smartphones, tablets, or even one another.

Because You Say Students Still Need Printers: Epson Expression Home XP-410 Small-in-One
There’s been a great debate among the tech-recommending crowd, do students still need printers, or is a USB memory stick or trip to the nearest campus Kinko’s enough? I took that question to you, the viewers and readers, who overwhelming responded that, “YES,” many students still need the ability to print papers and projects and it’s too inconvenient to go someplace to have them printed all the time. For a decent printer that works wirelessly across most mobile devices, the $99 Epson XP-410 is a fine choice. Yes, the ink will still be the biggest cost, so teach your students to print wisely.

What’s one gadget or school-tool you miss from your days as the big man on campus? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below.

Posted in Connected Kids, Digital Parenting, Girlfriend's Guide, Great Gadgets, In The Press, TechNow, TechStyled, Top tech news, What The Tech

Posted in Girlfriend's Guide, Great Gadgets, In The Press, TechNow, TechStyled, Tips & Tricks, Uncategorized

Whether you’re heading out this spring, or just enjoying a break at home– Spring into action with some of the hottest new tech that will make the season blossom.

1. What’s hot right now are these – Intel-inspired Ultrabook Convertibles like the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga : Starts at $1049
• It’s a full, powerhouse PC that goes from laptop to tablet mode by flipping, folding or twisting the screen.
• Just over 3.4 lbs with up to 8 hours of battery life

Here’s another great multi-tasking gadget with built-in flexibility:

2. iHome iDL45 Clock Dock : $99.99
• Spring forward with a clock that charges and plays all your old and new i-devices with a Lightning connector, 30-pin and USB.
• What really sets this iHome clock apart is the sound quality:
• Reson8 Speaker gives you crystal clear sound that can really fill a room or office.
• According to the NPD group – iHome is the #1 for digital audio and #1 for docking stations

Time for some spring cleaning:
3. iRobot Looj 330 Gutter Cleaning Robot : $300
• You may know iRobot for the Roomba vacuum cleaning robot – they also make robots that clean outside your home
• The Looj is super easy to use: just climb up the ladder, place the robot in your gutter, and use the wireless remote to drive the robot while the augur spins at 500 RPM, kicking out all the debris, leave, and muck.
• It stays charged for 3-hours and can clean 30-feet of gutter in 5 minutes.

… Which means more time for fun!

4. Sony Action Cam (HDR-AS15) Built in Wi-Fi $269 / $199 (no Wi-Fi)
• POV camera’s are all the rage and I recently tried out Sony’s Action Cam on the Zipline at the Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah. Action Cam is the perfect name for the incredibly small, lightweight video camera that will mount anywhere and stream video from anywhere, including during the middle of a 2,000 foot zipline, some 300-feet above the forest floor.
• With the Wi-Fi remote – you can actually frame, shoot, and watch right from your smartphone in real time – or stream video to YouTube or Facebook.
• Works great in low-light
• Is complete with SteadyShot image stabilization, a 1080/30p capture mode and a 720p option at 120 frames per second, enabling some pretty slick slow-motion effects.

5. Playstation MLB The Show 13 PS3 – $59.99 & PS Vita – $39.99
• You can’t talk about Spring without thinking about Spring Training and Baseball.MLB 13 The Show is the most realistic baseball video game I’ve ever seen.
• Its jaw-dropping detail captures the mechanics and the raw emotion of Major League Baseball.
• What’s really cool – you can play other people on the go through Cross-Play with your PS Vita in Home Run Derby mode.

Perhaps the most important spring tech gadget of them all –

6. Motorola P4000 Universal Portable Power Pack – around $70
• This is the MUST HAVE gadget for all spring-breakers – stop getting caught with your battery down.
• You can recharge your devices at the beach, at your kids’ little league practice, working from a café or anywhere in between.
• It’s compatible with phones by all manufacturers, so will work with any device you use.
• It provides up to two full phone charges, so you can keep the movies rolling, listen to hours of music, browse the Web, text or tweet without skipping a beat.
• In as little as 15 minutes, your smartphone can be recharged with up to 2.5 hours of talk time.

For more information, you can go to jenniferjolly.com or see my reviews via TechNow at USAToday.com/tech – or watch the TV segment here:
Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

Posted in Great Gadgets, In The Press, TechNow, TechStyled, What The Tech

There’s no shortage of cooking apps on a mobile device near you these days, but why clutter your connected kitchen, or your brain, with a whole bunch of them that you don’t really use? Here are five of the very best apps available today, for saving time and adding inspiration in the kitchen.
1. BigOven
Free, Android, iOS, Windows Phone and Kindle Fire or $15 Pro

With more 250,000 recipes, BigOven serves up a healthy portion of brand new concoctions and interesting twists on classics for just about every appetite. It also features drag-and-drop recipes into a calendar for a day, a week, or a month. If you fork over $15 for the Pro version, the app automatically generates your grocery list for you. You can also share recipes via email, Facebook or Twitter. There’s a reason why more than eight million people have downloaded this app – it’s kind of like the King Kamehameha of cooking.

2. Panna App
Free to download on iPhone and iPad, then $15 per year subscription

For true video-magazine style food porn, take a look at the new Panna App. It’s a real foodies cooking app in the form of a beautifully designed and rendered digital multi-media magazine. You can sort recipes and how-to videos by cuisine or by a chef’s name. You can also add ingredients to a shopping list with a quick one-tap button.

3. The ChefTap Recipe App
Free, Android

Remember the old days, when we tore recipes out of magazines, wrote them down on index cards, and cluttered our kitchens with sticky, stained, and faded notes? The ChefTap Recipe App for Android fixes all of that. It lets you import any recipe from any website or blog. See something awesome on Pinterest? Pull it in. Want to bookmark a favorite via Epicurious, Food Network or AllRecipes? No problem, there’s never too many cooks in the ChefTap’s kitchen. It can even scan your phone’s bookmarks and import recipes from food blogs you’ve saved, if that’s more your cup of tea.

4. Cook4Lyfe
$1.99, iOS

Got a handful of ingredients in the fridge, but not sure how to put them together into a good meal? The Cook4Lyfe App will come to your rescue. It recommends recipes from a library of over 40,000 based on what you already have on hand, (mustard, cheese, asparagus … hmmm…) or sends you to a nearby grocery store based on what you need. You can even set dietary filters for gluten free or low-fat recipes.

5. Matthew Kenney’s Everyday Raw Express
$2.99 Android, iOS

Ironically, one of the cooking apps getting a ton of buzz right now, is for food that’s … “raw.” Matthew Kenney’s Everyday Raw Express features more than 50 healthy and quick raw food recipes with videos, photos and nutritional data also included. 


If all else fails, there’s always the Chefs Feed AppCooking Apps. It tells you where the pros go when they need someone else to cook a great meal for them.

What are some of your favorite go-to cooking apps? What are some of the apps you still want to see? So you like cooking with your tablet or your Smartphone better? Be sure to let us know in the comments section!

Posted in Digital Parenting, Great Gadgets, In The Press, TechNow, Tips & Tricks, Uncategorized

Watch video here

It may not always be easy to find a discount deal on Apple products, but you can land one if you know where to look:

— Go for refurbished. Apple sells its own refurbished Macs, and they come with a one-year warranty. Go to the “Special Deals” section of Apple’s website. Or try refurb-tracker.com to create a personal RSS feed on latest offers.

— Deal site Offers.com is another great way to find discounts on Mac products. You can find discount codes and coupons for retailers like MacMall, and MacConnection.

— There’s always eBay, Amazon, and Craigslist — but go in with eyes open. With eBay and Amazon, see if the seller takes returns. With Craigslist, see if you can meet in a public place and take the laptop for a spin — and don’t pay new computer prices for something that’s used.

Check out these tips and more in USA TODAY’s new daily digital video series TECH NOW.

Posted in Great Gadgets, In The Press, TechNow