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Top innovative holiday gifts under $100

Mon, 19 Dec 2016 10:00:00 -0500

On the hunt for budget-friendly, innovative tech gifts for your loved ones, friends, or colleagues? Check out our top tech gift picks under $100.

For the car lover

Christmas Car Tree

Special holiday deal: $75 (originally $130) with code Special25. Offer ends Dec. 20.

Car enthusiasts can now forget the old antlers and take their game to a whole new level! The world’s first Christmas tree for your car was released this year. It features 70 weatherproof, pre-affixed multi-color LED Christmas lights that are powered by any car’s cigarette lighter. It is easy to assemble, wind resistant and its six-inch stem with folding mechanism makes the tree bendable for low ceilings.

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This gift is ideal for a family member or friend who loves to decorate for the holiday. Many people go through huge effort and expense to decorate their home and yard for the holiday-- and then go off to grandma for Christmas and leave it all behind-- but not anymore: They can take their holiday spirit with them and spread the light – literally.

This product is reinventing the way people express themselves on their car for the holiday and from what we hear they have other "car top expressions" coming soon.

Plus: A car menorah is also available via a different company. Check it out here.

For the gadget lover

Samsung Gear VR Headset

Price: $60

This mobile VR headset allows Samsung phone owners to play amazing games and watch Hollywood’s best movies in their own private cinema right from their phone.

For a limited time, Samsung is also giving the VR headset for free with a purchase of the Galaxy S7 edge or Galaxy S7.

For the cook

Drop Scale: Drop kitchen non-slip silicone connected kitchen scale and interactive recipe app

Price: $72.99

Drop, the Wi-Fi-equipped food scale, helps you prepare food the smart way no matter what your experience.

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Almost out of flour? Just place what you have left on the scale and use the resizing feature on the Drop app-- it will adjust the measurements and offer substitutions with step-by-step instructions.

For the traveler

HooToo: HT-TM05 TripMate Versatile Wireless N Travel Router

Price: $39.99

This device is a secret weapon for the frequent traveler.

Not only is it a power bank that allows you to charge most smartphones three times, it also serves as a travel router, a backup for your photos and videos, a media streaming device, and a chip that allows you to plug in a hard drive or flash drive to transfer photos and video within your storage and mobile devices.

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If you are at a hotel with only a wired connection, this device also allows you to easily convert the wired network to a wireless one.

For the music lover

Chromecast Audio

Price: $25 (Holiday special)

Chromecast Audio is a small device that will turn any speaker into a Wi-Fi-enabled one that allows you to play music from your phone, tablet or desktop. Now any music lover can use Chromecast Audio to play music on their stereo straight from the Spotify app (or another online music app of their choosing).

Music apps can also be streamed to multiple speakers simultaneously with more than one Chromecast Audio.

For the over-sleeper

Beddi Smart Alarm Clock

Price: $99

Give your friend or family member the gift of becoming a morning person this holiday season. The Beddi alarm clock does much more than just help you wake-up: It has a white noise generator, features a wake up light to gradually prepare you to wake up naturally, can tell you the weather forecast and traffic, and even has programmable buttons that can control your music, smart lights, or even order you an Uber.

For the fitness enthusiast

Fitbit Flex 2

Price: $79.95 (holiday special)

A Fitbit is a must-have for a fitness enthusiast. It is a health and fitness tracker you wear every day, like a watch. They come in different styles and have varying features depending on the model.

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The Fitbit Flex 2 is slimmer, swim-proof, offers call and text notifications, and the company even sells sleek accessories available for purchase to transform the Fitbit into a piece of jewelry. The removable tracker fits in to bands, bangles, and pendants.

Fitbit is offering a $20 discount on trackers and free two-day shipping for a limited time.

For the pet lover

FitBark

Price: $59.95–$69.95

Yup, it's the "Fitbit" for your dog. Many devices are out there for humans to monitor their health, but what about our best friends? FitBark is a dog activity and sleep monitor. Pet lovers can use FitBark to track their dog’s health, catch early signs of illness and discomfort, and be notified of any actionable insights, potentially increasing their life expectancy.

Digital gate: Smart lock acts as your personal doorman

Tue, 06 Dec 2016 12:51:00 -0500

With over 23 million Americans falling victim to package theft last holiday season, 'holiday porch pirates' are projected to be at an all-time high and the old-fashioned lock and key might not be keeping up with the job.

The Gate smart lock, built by two former Google Glass engineers, can change the way people allow access and protect their home by offering an all-in-one solution to home access. This innovative device features a physical lock which has incorporated facial recognition software, a keypad for remote key-less access, 2-way enabled audio, real-time motion activated video monitoring, and time stamping. These features are packaged neatly into a single standalone device so homeowners can manage their front door from anywhere.

The Gate smart lock allows the user to manage everything from their phone. “Over the last two years we have built a hardware that will directly connect to your home wifi and has a motion activated camera so if somebody comes to your door, you would get a notification to your phone,” said Gate CEO Ehsan Saeedi. “You can see who is there through a real-time video camera that is on the door, you can talk to them through the app, and you can open the door for them.”

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Saeedi also told Foxnews.com how the device can be ideal for Airbnb hosts, dog walkers, package deliveries, working parents to check on their kids, and home guests. “Besides all the security aspects and motion activity the camera presents, (Gate) provides convenience for Airbnb hosts, people that have dog walkers and/or cleaning services on demand… they can do it all from the office as they are sitting remotely.”

Gate’s motto is ‘Protecting what’s inside and connecting what’s outside, securely’. As your personal doorman, this smart lock allows you to give trusted and reliable access of your home to family and friends, and common household services and deliveries while you are away.

“We are hoping to be the ‘Gate’ for your home services: from package deliveries to short-time rentals, dog walking, cleaning, dry cleaning,” said Mr. Saeedi. Gate Labs have already partnered up with a few companies in the San Francisco area, including a grocery delivery company and a dry cleaning company, and are working on partnering up with more in the near future.

To give us a base point of comparison on how Gate Labs plans to achieve these partnerships securely, Mr. Saeedi compared the Gate model for home services to the Uber model for transportation.

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“You can compare this to Uber: basically asking someone to sit in a stranger’s car might sound not that trustworthy but the way they did it is they authenticate these people and you know their photo, phone number, plate number of the car," he said. "The company has the gps location of the car when you are going to be picked up and where they are going so that’s why most people trust them and use the service so I am hoping we can achieve the same thing with the hardware and software we have.”

For example, Gate homeowners will be able to see the photo and name of a scheduled delivery man from verified partners at time of service, similar to an Uber driver profile.

The Gate smart lock is available for pre-order here and will ship Spring 2017.

Top 5 iOS apps of the month: August 2016

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 11:16:00 -0400

With over 2 million apps in Apple’s App Store, it can be hard to find the ones that suit you best. We’re here to take the tedium out of your search. These are FoxNews.com’s top five apps of the month:

Up Hail

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch
Price: Free

Need a cab quickly? Want to avoid that crazy Uber surge fee and find the cheapest ride in your current location without opening all your ride-sharing apps?

Up Hail is an app that allows you to compare ride-sharing services at the click of a button by searching through all available service options and promos from Uber, Lyft, Yellow Taxis and other modes of ground transportation, in any given city across the country. Once you enter your origin and destination, a rate comparison page will open up displaying everything you need on one page.

The app has a few cool features worth noting:

"Feeling Lucky" button: This handy button automatically opens up the taxi/rideshare app that offers the least expensive rate from point A to point B. All you have to do is enter the origin and destination as you normally would and instead of pressing the "Compare Fares" button, press the new "Feeling Lucky" button.

Alerts: You can choose to get notified when new service tiers are added in a particular city (ie. uberPOOL, Lyft Line), and when rates change.

Search Filters: This app allows you to filter by attributes such as "handicap accessible," "cash only," party size, and more.

Real time traffic data: When calculating an estimate for a trip on some of the native ride-sharing apps, most models don’t take traffic in to account and assume a traffic-free ride. Unfortunately, traffic can dramatically increase the cost of the trip. Luckily, the rate calculations on the Up Hail app use Google Map’s real-time traffic data to better estimate trip duration and cost.

If you use a lot of ride-sharing services, this app is for you.

Canva

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch
Price: Free

Canva makes professional design accessible to everyone. The design platform that took the Web by storm, with over 10 million users, is now available for iPhone.

The app allows you to choose from thousands of stunning layouts for social media, blog graphics and print. Moreover, users have access to Canva’s library of millions of stock images, illustrations, backgrounds and fonts, allowing them to design superb graphics in seconds.

If you would like to easily design on the go, this app is for you.

Tinycards

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch
Price: Free

Tinycards is a brand-new app that helps you memorize anything while playing a game using virtual flashcards. Subjects include the solar system, country capitals, Pokémon names, history, vocabulary, and much more.

It was created by the team behind Duolingo, the world’s most popular way to learn a language and most downloaded education app in the world.

Tinycards uses spaced repetition and other smart learning techniques to help you master new material efficiency. Users first look at the card, memorize pieces of information, and get tested on them later.

If the topics included in the app aren’t what you are looking for, you can even create your own deck, and pass on knowledge in your area of expertise.

If you are looking for a fun way to learn new material, this app is for you.

Pokémon GO

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch
Price: Free/ in–game purchases available

“Pokémon GO,” the location-based augmented reality gaming sensation, became a global phenomenon and was one of the most used mobile apps, reportedly having been downloaded by more than 100 million people worldwide.

As a player, your goal is to discover and capture the Pokémon all around you. The app uses your phone’s location and camera to make it look like Pokémon you have stumbled across are right in front of you in the real world.

One aspect that’s unique about this game is Pokestops, places that allow you to collect free items such as eggs and more Poke Balls to capture more Pokemon. Pokestops are indicated on the game map with floating blue cubes and can be at major landmarks, people’s homes, police stations, parks and more.

Pokestops are one of the features that causes many players to walk around while playing this game. “Pokemon GO” offers a fun way to get people off the couch, exploring the city, and meeting new people.

Overnight

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch
Price: Free

Overnight lets you find a place to stay at the last minute. Think Airbnb customized for on-demand booking.

To book a place, you drop a pin in the area you want to stay and are allowed to request a place to stay for up to five nights. Your request is sent out to suitable hosts who have the option to review the request before their place is shown to you. This allows them to privately decline the request, or agree to host you. Once they agree, their listing appears which can save you time because you are only browsing through the various hosts that have agreed to host you and book instantly. Hosts have 10 minutes to respond to a request, making it a quick and efficient process.

Both guests and hosts are verified by Overnight, which conducts background checks and requires a Facebook login, phone number, government-issued ID, and credit card on file.

If you are going away or have extra space, you can also become a host instantly by renting your extra bedrooms and more. This app allows you to decide last-minute if you would like to host someone.

Overnight is currently available in Los Angeles, Austin, San Francisco, and New York. They also aim to expand internationally.

Top 5 iOS apps of the month: July 2016

Wed, 06 Jul 2016 13:15:00 -0400

With over 2 million apps in Apple’s App Store, it can be hard to find the ones that suit you best. We’re here to take the tedium out of your search. These are FoxNews.com’s Top 5 apps of the month:

POLLTRACKER

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch
Price: Free

If you’re a politics junkie, you know there are a lot of polls to keep up with in the heat of the presidential campaign. TPM (Talking Points Memo) has released an app that lets you “follow” the races you’re interested in and sends a push notification to your device every time a new poll comes out.

If you don’t want to wait until dinner to learn the latest poll results, this app is for you.

CLEANZ

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch
Price: $0.99

The average iOS user takes hundreds of photos each month, and going through them to eliminate the ones you don’t want can be a hassle.

Cleanz simplifies the process by providing an easy way to clean up your photo library: Viewing each photo on full display and swiping up to keep it or down to move it to the trash.

Cleanz lets you browse by album, in reverse chronological order and by device. For example, you can choose to browse only the “Snapchat” folder on your device.

If you save a lot of photos, this app is for you.

LIVE.LY

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch
Price: Free

Millions of users have registered with livestreaming services, with Facebook Live and Periscope dominating the space. But Live.ly proved there is still room for competition when it shot up to become the most downloaded free app in the U.S. on the Apple Store.

Live.ly is a live streaming video platform that works inside of Musical.ly, a megapopular lip synching app that has taken teens by storm with almost 100 million downloads in just over a year.

Users can broadcast to their fans through the Live.ly app, and the streams become available on Musical.ly. Users can comment and even send virtual gifts to the person who is performing live, making it very interactive for broadcasters and their audiences.

NEVER ALONE: KI EDITION

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch
Price: $4.99

Millions of PC and console players around the world enjoy "Never Alone" (Kisima Ingitchuna), an award-winning game developed in collaboration with the Iñupiat tribe of Alaska. Now it has been reimagined and made available for iOS.

"Never Alone: Ki Edition" leverages the power of games to share, celebrate and extend culture. Users can experience the epic journey of Nuna and the Fox as they search for the source of an eternal blizzard that threatens the survival of everything they’ve ever known. Players can switch between the companions at any time, as they rely on each character’s unique skills to succeed in the quest.

Users can also unlock fascinating video insights from the Alaskan native community in this app, which includes every level and all the excitement of the original game.

This app is also available on Android.

GOGOBOT

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch
Price: Free

Tired of the old-fashioned generic search to find activities near you? Gogobot is a game-changer: a travel-planning app that uses artificial intelligence to find the perfect places to go, based on your interests, the time of day, weather and location.

This app is not new, but its latest update heralds the start of AI-like “intelligent travel.” No matter where you are, it helps you discover the best places to play, eat and stay by keeping tabs on what you’re most likely to search for at a certain time of day, whether you’re routinely at your location or just visiting for a few days, and how far you’re willing to go for various activities.

Gogobot makes sure you are never bored on a Friday night — or any other time — by using millions of data points to anticipate your entertainment desires.

This app is also available on Android.

'Tom Clancy's The Division' Review: Complex and rewarding

Thu, 16 Jun 2016 12:01:00 -0400

"Tom Clancy’s The Division" had the biggest first week ever for a new video game franchise, with over 9.5 million registered users clocking an average of three hours a day, according to its publisher, Ubisoft.

There’s a reason for that.

The game marries a compelling storyline and a beautifully rendered modern-day New York City setting with multiplayer functionality, a rich soundtrack and first-rate weapons and customizations. While there are some glitches, repetitiveness and a lack of personal connection to the characters, the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

PROS

Storyline:
A gripping intro sets the scene: New York is devastated and on the brink of collapse in the aftermath of a smallpox pandemic, and it’s your job to prevent the fall of civilization. Pretty scary, right?

I enjoyed the narrative’s creative execution. And as I went through the game, I got to learn more about the story, with key moments receiving full cut scenes and constant radio banter clarifying how my next objective would contribute to the mission of saving the city.

What made the storyline all the more compelling was that the inspiration for "The Division" came from a real-world event called Operation Dark Winter, a senior-level bioterrorist attack simulation conducted in 2001. Intended to establish better response strategies, it carried out a mock version of a smallpox attack on the U.S.

Graphics/Scenery:
The haunting recreation of midtown Manhattan gave this native New Yorker the jitters. I felt like I was wandering through very familiar streets as I saw civilians fighting over food, corpses piled up in parks, hopeless graffiti covering some walls, collectibles and pictures from what was lost, children being treated at the pediatric ward in the “Base of Operations” and signs like “New York will rise again!” appearing by the Flatiron Building, providing an inkling of hope.

The game lives up to the visual hype. It’s jaw-dropping, even after the “graphical downgrades” during production. The level of detail is impressive: You leave accurate boot marks in the snow and you cast shadows when you walk down the street. When you shoot at a car window, it leaves a precise ripple effect as chunks of glass fall off, making it feel all too real.

Soundtrack:
The sound designers went to great efforts to enrich the gameplay experience by embodying the feel of the scene, the diverse locations and the danger that lurks in the background.

The relaxing tones of walking through the safe house or Times Square contrast wonderfully with the musical suspense you hear when you go rogue in the “Dark Zone” or Grand Central in mission mode.

Multiplayer/Co-op:
This game uses raw human nature to create a PvPvE (Player versus Player versus Environment) AI (Aritificial Intelligence) experience that’s suspenseful, fun and exhilarating, and it’s definitely better with friends. You can play in teams of up to four outside the Dark Zone, but once you’re inside, you can decide to collaborate with other agents or betray them, kill them and take their loot.

Honestly, players can get quite savage. One moment you’re waving hello to a fellow agent, and moments later that person you thought was your friend may murder you in cold blood. I found that players can turn the odds of the game around if they play together in the lawless Dark Zone.

CONS:

Repetition:
I was pumped when I started playing, but, unfortunately, very similar side missions, shooting the same AI enemies from place to place and walking through the same streets got too repetitive throughout the game.

The enemies can be really difficult to kill and don’t fight any differently, regardless of which “group” they belong to, making them all feel the same.

Lack of personal connection:
The storyline is great, but there was a lack of personal connection to the characters. They’re neither deep nor memorable. I don’t even recall their names. The experience would be better if the player felt more connected with his agent role.

Also, aside from some body bags, you never see the effects of the virus. It’s a missed opportunity to evoke emotion and connect the player to the catastrophe behind the game.

SCORE: 8/10

Overall: "Tom Clancy’s The Division" is the best open-world game Ubisoft has created. The gameplay is complex and rewarding –almost everything that was advertised. If you love the shooting game genre, you’ll be satisfied. But if you don’t, there are few things you can do that don't involve guns. There is a lot to expand on, since the game takes place in just a small part of Manhattan. But over time, this game can reach its full potential.

Online course teaches kids to program while having fun

Tue, 18 Aug 2015 13:13:17 -0400

With technology skills becoming as important as readin’, ritin’ and ’rithmetic in today's digital world, many parents want to ensure that their children develop the right skills for the future. But many don’t know where to begin and how to make learning tech skills fun for their kids.

A new online course, “Server design 1,” is using one of the most popular video games ever – Minecraft, which has more than 100 million registered users and has been a hit among younger players – to teach code to children between 8 and 14. The course teaches kids how to create a Minecraft world that they develop and design themselves using Java code.

This is the latest online course designed by Youth Digital, a technology education organization whose mission is to “create creators” by teaching children how to code, develop apps and design 3D modeling in a fun but challenging manner.

“What’s so great about tech ed is that it really has the ability to shift the way kids see the world and change the way they interact with technology, which is obviously a huge part of their world and will continue to be as they grow up,” says Justin Richards, Youth Digital’s founder and CEO.

He said his approach is to get kids motivated by “learning how to make something that they are actually excited about.” But while young people want to make apps and videogames, the resources often aren’t there, he said.

“If you ask children, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be awesome to make an app this summer? Or create a videogame? Or a fashion collection? Or a Minecraft mod?’ almost across the board kids would say ‘yes.’”

“Server design 1” allows players to design servers that will let them define the rules of their Minecraft experience from the ground up. It provides students with other motivators, like course badges, coins and funny videos that reward learning, but “ultimately it’s that intrinsic motivation around wanting to create their own video game that motivates them,” Richards said.

Just ask Ronan Boyarski, a 10-year-old student from Virginia who is enrolled in the course.

“I loved learning about how to code in Minecraft,” Ronan said. “It opened up all sorts of new possibilities for me … Youth Digital really showed me what I wanted to do with my life. I really wanted to become a game designer, because once I started coding, I loved it.”

For $250 a year, students can expect to learn coding in Java and basic programming concepts. If students get stuck, they can type in a message to teachers who are ready to assist. The course includes access to a Java server, curriculum, tools and hosting with Youth Digital.

Youth Digital’s other online courses include 3D Animation, App Design and even Fashion Design. It also has summer camp programs in cities across the East Coast.

“We don’t just teach them how to do one thing and how to use the product,” Richards says. “We are really trying as a product to teach them how they can explore and how this is just the start of years potentially of digital creation before they get to college.”

5 apps that can help keep your kids safe

Wed, 22 Jul 2015 11:37:03 -0400

The numbers are horrifying:

Nearly 800,000 children – one every 40 seconds – will be reported missing or abducted every year in the U.S., according to the Justice Department.
Throughout the world, 8 million children vanish every year, according to the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.
U.S. law enforcement agencies have seen a dramatic increase in cases of sexual exploitation of children: 1 of 4 girls and 1 of 6 boys will be sexually abused before they’re adults, the DOJ reports.

And the cyberworld has been anything but helpful. While the Internet opens a wonderful world of possibilities for children, it also exposes them them to a variety of dangers. According to Crimes Against Children Research Center, approximately 20 percent of children between 10 and 17 receive unwanted sexual solicitations online.

Whether your child is in kindergarten or going away to college, these apps can help keep him or her safe.

FBI CHILD ID
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android
Price: Free

The panic that sets in when you lose sight of your child while out shopping or at a crowded event is indescribable. But what if your child truly vanished? Would you know what to do?

The FBI created the FBI Child ID app to help you prepare for the unthinkable. Because the first three hours are the most critical when trying to locate a missing child, the app stores all the information authorities need to begin their search immediately.

It stores up-to-date images and physical descriptions – including ethnicity, height, weight, birthmarks, hair color, eye color, and other key identifying information, such as fingerprints – and it enables you to quickly and easily email the information to authorities in an emergency.

LIFE 360

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android
Price: Free

Managing the family’s to-do list while keeping a close eye on the kids can be tough. Life 360 is a one-stop solution that not only helps you keep your kids safe, but also helps you manage everything from carpools to dinner plans. Using the app, families create closed groups, or “circles,” with private maps, messaging and check-ins. You can see your whole family on a private map and stay in touch with a one-tap check-in button. It lets you know where your kids are, and it lets your kids check in while they’re with their friends without suffering the embarrassment of calling mommy and daddy.

If there’s an emergency, an alert button sends everyone in the family an instant email, voicemail, and text message. For regular stops like school, work and home, Life 360 can send automatic notifications so you know when people come and go. You can also create other circles on this app for carpooling, babysitters, grandparents, the Little League team and more.

MAMABEAR
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android
Price: Free

MamaBear is a parenting app that helps you see your family on a map and receive arrival and departure notifications, but what’s unique about this app is its ability to keep your children safe online.

Using MamaBear, parents can monitor their children’s interactions across social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and they can be alerted to signs of cyberbullying or inappropriate language on social media posts. The app will even notify you when your child is driving faster than your own speed limit.

TEEN SAFE
Platforms: iPhone, Android
Price: $14.95 a month after a 7-day free trial

Parents have good reason to worry about what their children are doing and seeing online. The amount of time kids spend on the Internet is steadily increasing; 12- to 17-year-olds who use texting send and receive an average of 1,500 messages per month; cellphones have become the medium for bullies who think they can hide behind the electronic screen.

If you want to monitor your child’s online activity closely, Teen Safe is for you. It lets parents view texts, deleted messages, call logs, the device location and location history, Web browsing history, Instagram posts and much more.

If you've ever told your children that you have eyes in the back of your head, this may convince them.

CLOUD BABY MONITOR
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple Watch notifications
Price: $3.99 (app store) $6.99 (Mac app store)

If you’re looking for a baby monitor, this may be for you. This app works over Wi-Fi, 3G, LTE and Bluetooth, so you can easily keep an eye on your baby when you’re home or away.

Features include high-quality live video, the ability to soothe the baby with your voice remotely, night light intensity control and super-sensitive noise and motion alerts. You can even create custom playlists for your baby using songs, white noises or fairy tales in your iTunes library.

Carly Fiorina supporters hope Silicon Valley background will help her stay in race

Mon, 22 Jun 2015 10:29:28 -0400

Technically, Carly Fiorina is seven years younger than Hillary Clinton. Technologically, Fiorina's supporters say, they are a century apart.

Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard, hopes her Silicon Valley background will make her stand out among the ever-growing list of Republican presidential candidates, and that her 21st century technology chops will make her the logical choice in a one-on-one matchup against Clinton next year.

"Carly Fiorina brings with her to this contest a series of secret weapons that, if ever given an opportunity to be operationalized, could make her candidacy very compelling,” said Tony Sayegh, a Republican campaign strategist and Fox News contributor who is not aligned with any candidate.

“For example, her understanding of technology, as a matter of public policy, national security and campaign tactics, is arguably greater than any other candidate in the race. She makes Hillary Clinton appear particularly inept and ill-prepared when you consider that even the most generous interpretation of the Clinton defense in ‘Servergate’ is that Hillary is ‘behind the times’ when it comes to technology.”

Fiorina, 60, is widely considered a long shot in the GOP race. But she broke into the top 10 Republican candidates in a Quinnipiac University poll late last month, and she’ll participate in the early primary debates if she can stay there.

Whether voters will warm to a candidate who has no legislative experience and has never won an election remains to be seen, but Fiorina’s supporters believe she can use her understanding of the tech industry to reimagine government and engage those who feel disconnected. They believe her understanding of how the tech sector affects the U.S. economy will help innovation flourish, which could be crucial for the next president of the United States.

“Carly Fiorina understands the issues facing employees in the technology industry as well as any candidate running,” says GOPAC Chairman David Avella, who is not aligned with any candidate. “By bringing these issues and her ideas to the table, she helps herself and Republicans as a whole as we work to earn the votes of tech employees and younger voters."

The political stakes of cyberwar and espionage, ISIS and Chinese hacking, flash trading and hate speech online have magnified during the Obama presidency, and there is no reason to think they won’t continue to rise as technology advances. Add the importance of technology to economic growth, and it’s easy to see why a candidate who has limited computer skills and business experience could be a liability for either party, the Fiorina camp says.

“Carly can effectively argue that we can't afford to have the commander-in-chief need on-the-job training when it comes to dealing with 21st century issues, cyberwarfare primary among them,” Sayegh says. “If Hillary Clinton admittedly can't even manage two email accounts, how can we expect her to lead us into the brave new world presented by advancing technology?”

Fiorina’s critics, on the other hand, are quick to point out that she may have an advantage in understanding technology, but her record at Hewlett-Packard was far from stellar. Early in her six-year tenure, HP merged with rival computer manufacturer Compaq and laid off 30,000 American workers. Fiorina was forced to resign in 2005 after HP stock fell 53 percent.

Eric Schiffer, CEO of ReputationManagementConsultants.co m, says the layoffs and botched merger will haunt Fiorina, and that she will be shredded by the Clinton political machine.

“Fiorina used Sherlock Holmes-like tech marketing research at HP,” Schiffer says. “This ear-to-the-ground excising of consumer talking points helps connect her with voters by feeding them what they want, but her reputation as CEO was a disaster – and this will shove her over the Republican plank.”

And Eliana Johnson, Washington Editor of “National Review,” says Fiorina’s technology expertise may not be as critical as her supporters think. A presidential candidate doesn’t need to be a “subject-matter expert in technology,” Johnson says. A candidate needs only to “know that this is an issue of critical importance, which means surrounding him or herself with the best experts on the subject so that he or she can make well-informed decisions.”

But many Fiorina supporters believe technology expertise is, in fact, critical. “Technology is tied to everything we do,” says Republican strategist Jessica Proud, pointing to its huge impact on the world’s economy and “how we fight our wars and the emerging threats of cyberterrorism.” She says Americans “require a President with an understanding of how technology works.”

Prior to joining HP, Fiorina spent almost 20 years at AT&T and Lucent, and led the latter’s spinoff from AT&T in 1995. During her time at AT&T, she was responsible for the telecom giant’s hardware and systems division. At Lucent, she became group president of the company’s global service provider business.

Whether Fiorina wins the GOP nomination or not, her run raises an interesting point: Would a background in technology provide a decisive advantage for the leader of the free world? Her supporters say yes, and American voters will soon have their say.

5 must-have Apple Watch apps

Thu, 21 May 2015 12:13:39 -0400

Quick and glanceable. These are the two magic ingredients for a superior Apple Watch app.

The Apple Watch is more than the typical watch. Yes, it tells time but it also aims to cut the ‘digital noise’ in your daily life. Some apps help you do that better than others.

With 5,107 apps available for the Apple Watch as of May 17, according to app market data analysis specialist App Annie, a growing number of apps are using Apple’s new wearable device. Here are the 5 must-have third party apps you should know about, which all work on Apple Watch with an iPhone:

7 Minute Workout (Johnson & Johnson) – Free

Don't have time to squeeze in a full workout? Experience the 7 Minute Workout app right from your wrist. You can view the timer, current exercise, upcoming exercise, and adjust the intensity from your watch.

Health and fitness are two of the biggest areas of focus for the Apple Watch, and many third-party apps are jumping on the bandwagon. While Apple’s default health and fitness apps can help you stay active throughout the day, the 7 minute workout app can be a great addition for those days where you are tight on time and/or want a specific workout routine.

Things – $9.99

Just remembered you have to do something? Apple apparently decided you don't need a reminder app on your wrist. But, don’t you worry, Things is a third-party app that does just that and more.

The watch display revolves around a "Today List," making your daily goals viewable and easy to mark as complete on the go.

Chipotle - Free

Need a burrito fix? Not only does Chipotle now deliver, you can now press the ‘Burrito Button’ to order right from your wrist!

The Chipotle app even has a countdown clock, counting down to the time when your food will be ready. Long waits are long gone.

Trivia Crack – Free

While the watch can help us be productive, having fun can be just as important. Game apps for the watch are far from scarce, currently accounting for 10% of Apple Watch apps, according to App Annie.

If you need a trivia fix then Trivia Fix could be for you. Spin the wheel to get a trivia quiz on topics ranging from history to science. Additionally, when you compete against friends and people around the world, you will be notified on your wrist the moment your opponent is finished with their turn.

Dark Sky - $3.99

Want to go grab lunch outside or walk your dog but not too sure if it’s going to rain? Dark Sky acts as your personal weather station and can notify you just by tapping your wrist if it is going to rain or snow in your precise location up to an hour in advance.

Dark Sky uses your exact location to predict the chance of rain down to the minute. It even includes an accurate 24-hour timeline of weather conditions for today, tomorrow, and the next day.