Filed under: Editor’s Picks, Top Lists, Slideshows

Need a last minute gift idea for that special someone this Valentine’s Day? Switched offers you a variety of gadget gifts that won’t wilt like roses or pack on calories like chocolates. But remember - they’ll only get you so far. The rest of the romance is up to you.

Pink iPod Nano

If your lady’s in need of a new digital music player, why not go for an iPod nano in this brand new color? With 8-gigs of space, this non will let you load up plenty of her favorite tunes and maybe even some romantic playlists, if you feel like going the extra mile. Or, load her favorite shows to watch on the nano’s 2-inch screen. Best of all, if you think she can wait a little longer for her gift, you can order it from apple.com and have it engraved at no extra charge.

$199

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Filed under: Audio/Video, TV

Yesterday was a bad day for HD DVD. We’ve already declared HD DVD dead in the water, but not everyone has come around just yet. Yesterday both Best Buy and Netflix helped bury the Toshiba-backed HD DVD coalition. Netflix announced that it would begin exclusively carrying Blu-Ray discs, and Best Buy will continue to carry HD DVDs and HD DVD players, but will “recommend” BluRay to customers.

The HD DVD Promotional Group released a press statement in response to the two major setbacks:

“We have long held the belief that HD DVD is the best format for consumers based on quality and value, and with more than 1 million HD DVD players on the market, it’s unfortunate to see Netflix make the decision to only stock Blu-ray titles going forward. While the Best Buy announcement says they will recommend Blu-ray, at least they will continue to carry HD DVD and offer consumers a choice at retail.”

Obviously, some of the spark and fight has left the group when the best they can come up with is Blu-Ray hasn’t pushed us off the shelves yet.

From Engadget

Related links:

• BluRay Disc Player Sales Skyrocket
• It’s Finally Time to Pick Blu-Ray over HD DVD
• HD-DVD’s Long Walk Back to the Locker Room of Shame

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Filed under: Computers

New York State Governor Elliot Spitzer has launched an effort to collect state sales tax on goods purchased online. The governor has said that forcing online retailers, such as Amazon.com, to collect the taxes would send an influx of $47 million to Albany.

Amazon is fighting the proposal tooth and nail. New York consumers are sure to not support the idea, but local merchants and small business owners think it’s about time that online giants like Amazon lose their tax-free advantage.

Spitzer’s budget proposal, which includes the online sales tax, faces an uphill battle. As if opposition from online retailers and consumers wasn’t enough, law and precedent may not be on his side either. In 1992 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could not force online retailers to collect sales taxes unless they had a physical retail outlet in the state.

New York currently collects sales taxes from online sales from companies with brick and mortar locations in the state.

From AOL Money & Finance

Related links:

• Amazon Buys Audio Book E-Tailer Audible
• HDTV Sales Surge in Super Bowl Lead Up
• National Intelligence Director Wants Access to All Internet Communications

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Filed under: Cell Phones

Here’s a somber reminder of why it’s important to pay attention to the road while driving.

A California woman was driving along a highway at 66 miles per hour when she crashed in to a line of cars stopped by a construction zone. Why didn’t she see the line of cars stopped ahead of her? Because she was too busy sending text messages from her cell phone.

Many states and provinces in North America have banned talking on cell phones without a hands-free device while driving. Some states are going a step further, banning use of a cell phone while driving altogether. But fewer states and municipalities have banned texting while driving. Some are getting wise to this major and dangerous distraction, with Washington State leading the way.

A 2006 University of Utah study found that people driving while talking on a cell phone were as impaired as if they were driving with a 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level. Another 2006 study by Liberty Mutual Insurance Group and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) found that instant and text messaging while driving leads the list as the biggest distraction while driving for teens.

From Textually.org.

Related links:

• CellCoach Annoys Teenage Drivers Until They Get Off the Phone
• Teen Imprisoned for TXTing While Driving
• Text Messaging to Blame in Teen’s Car Wreck?

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If we’ve learned one thing from the KFC Famous Bowls, it’s that Americans love to find absurd ways to make food more convenient and efficient. OhGizmo! has a pair of food related innovations that stop shy of a “failure pile in a sadness bowl,” but at least one still crosses the line in to fast food ridiculousness.

With only six locations nationwide, Korean-based BBQ Chicken USA is a somewhat obscure fast-food chain, but it is bound to make waves with its new Col-Pop Chicken menu item. The dual-leveled cup features a top section for chicken nuggets that fits above the bottom soda container. Yes, you can have warm soda and cold nuggets in one easy-to-carry vessel!

On the slightly more useful side, but still somewhat of a novelty, is Cereal on the Go. The ingenious, two-compartment container keeps milk or yogurt cold in a bottom-insulated cup with the help of a freezable gel pack, while keeping cereal dry and crisp in a attachable bowl until it’s ready for consumption. Cereal on the Go even comes with a foldable plastic spoon. As clever as it is we’re not sure how much we’d be eating cereal “on the go,” and the idea of carrying around a container of milk in our bag or briefcase that could open and ruin everything inside scares the hell out of us, but we’ll file these doodads under “nifty!”

From OhGizmo!

Related Links:

• Fast Food Heat Lamps Can Cure Hemorrhoids
• Dough-Nu Matic Makes a Dozen Donuts in Less Than Six Minutes
• How to Get Rid of Killer Bacteria in Food

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