Otterhop Tech - binary bits for parents

Coming off weeks of hype leading up to Apple's newly unveiled iPad, some tech-minded parents and pundits believe the new "magical" touchscreen tablet could have appeal for kids in an educational context. Textbooks on-demand, homeschooling apps, word processing, art and learning tools; the form and function is near perfect, and portable. And at $499, it's a real alternative to a notebook or desktop.

We officially canceled cable last year, the final step in moving to a completely on-demand cinematic lifestyle. OK, "cinematic lifestyle" is a stretch, but since we certainly enjoy movies on the tube, and given the availability of (legal) movie download sources on the web, we thought we'd take the plunge, maybe even save a few bucks in the long run. Last year, as my husband hooked up our Mac Mini to the TV and viola! Who needs live TV? Even our demanding Friday night movie crowd (e.g, our kids) adjusted nicely. Call it an experiment, but it's been a successful experiment.

In March, we'll be packing our bags for South by Southwest 2010 in Austin, TX. While we'd love to be with the hipsters who cover the awesome indie music and film scene, we're better suited for (and quite frankly, much more interested in) the Interactive portion of the festival. Specifically, those that deal with emerging trends that affect parents, children, education and culture/society.

In March, we'll be packing our bags for South by Southwest 2010 in Austin, TX. While we'd love to be with the hipsters who cover the awesome indie music and film scene, we're better suited for (and quite frankly, much more interested in) the Interactive portion of the festival. Specifically, those that deal with emerging trends that affect parents, children, education and culture/society.

It's that time of year again, the hippest-of-the-hip in the indie music, film and interactive scene converge on Austin, TX for South by Southwest, aka SXSW, "an exhausting and exhilarating feast of music discovery and industry deal-making, South by Southwest draws more than 1,700 bands and untold thousands of fans to Austin, Texas, for a four-day music festival in the middle of every March." At npr.org, hear live concerts, see exclusive photos and get blog and podcast updates.

If you're a parent like me, you've probably got a list of games to buy your kid this holiday season. And if said kid is under the age of 11, you've probably spent some time online or in Best Buy trying to determine which Lego or Mario or Potter or whatever game on his list might actually be age appropriate and entertaining. You read reviews. Talk to other parents. Check the the ESRB ratings. All good, but -- even with an "E" rating, it's still a video game, right? Pangs of parental guilt.

When we said we'd be relocating from LA to San Francisco everyone we knew--who has either lived or visited the city--told us it was imperative we visit the Exploratorium. Nestled inside the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina district, it truly is an extraordinary place. Noted American physicist and educator Dr.

A few years ago, I worked on the advertising launch of the PS3 console. I remember being briefed by the PlayStation brand team, and a question was asked of them: how does Sony view the Wii -- is it a competitor, like the Xbox? Sony's response was confident, and a little condescending. Basically, as Japanese electronics companies, the rep explained, Sony and Nintendo were "like family." Microsoft was the real enemy. Sony, she said, didn't want to put Nintendo out of business. Heck, Sony was rooting for the little guy. In fact, Sony didn't view the Wii as a competitor at all.

While we didn't exactly jump on the board, Wendy and I watched quite a few folks try their hand (er, feet) on Activision Blizzard's new skateboard controller. It's a potential reset for the venerable Tony Hawk franchise, which has seen renewed competition to a genre it once created and dominated, thanks to EA's SKATE franchise (excellent in its own right).

Our first stop today @ E3 was the Sony pavilion, where the upcoming massively multiplayer online game, DC Universe Online, was prominently positioned on a multi-screen end cap display. The first MMO set in the world of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman (and a whole host of Justice League heroes and villains), DC comic creatives -- Jim Lee, Marv Wolfman and Geoff Johns -- were intimately involved in crafting a narrative authentic to its roots. This is not the DC universe of the Hollywood movies. It's pure DC.