Category Archive

electronics

Snap a photo of a house to learn everything about it

When we were searching for a house, Zillow was a GODSEND. It makes so much relevant housing data available at your fingertips. But I’ve found something even better: HomeSnap — an iPhone app which uses GPS data, combined with the nifty hardware inside your smart phone like readings from the gyroscope and accelerometer, to give home shoppers instant access to data on a neighborhood, a home’s value, its trending value…all based on a photo you snap of the house.

Outdoor TV, kawaii piggy bank, and one big pink house in this week’s reader photos

Hi Homies! Let’s tiptoe through the tulips of the Offbeat Home Flickr pool and see what everyone’s been up to lately.

And in this week’s collection of Clicky Links, you’ll find bento boxes, bike baskets, and a magic remote.

Hack junkmail, take power naps, and ring doorbells: there’s an app for that

If you have a smartphone, do you use any apps for your home? I’ve loved the new Reminders feature iPhones got with the last major update — I have it set to remind me every day through April 20 to turn my grow lights on and off in my makeshift nursery.

Here are three apps you can use to make household life easier: one zaps junk mail, one programs power naps, and one is a magical doorbell.

Moral dilemma of a first worlder: Let’s talk about the ethics of the goods we buy

What with recent events in the news about Foxconn, the Chinese company that produces gadgets for Apple, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and others, I’ve started to sit down and wonder if I really want to be purchasing products that were made by people living and working in poor conditions. But I need tech. What do I do?

Spring clean your computer in 6 steps

Spring might be a ways off (especially in the Southern Hemisphere) but any time is good for a clean-up — for your computer as well as your home. This advice is for Windows XP, Vista or 7 (sorry Mac/Linux users but I wouldn’t know where to start!) and should be super-easy for anyone to follow.

We lost the TV and found bowling dates, sleep, and a travel budget

While in college, we gave up TV in order to see more of each other. Seven years and two kids later, and we’re still without TV — and it’s enabled us to live more richly!

Library furniture in the living room and boosting your wifi with something from your fridge

Every Monday we do a roundup of reader photos and interesting links from across the web.

In the Clicky Links this week, you’ll find a trailer for a documentary about cosplay, a way to combine an appliance and closet door to up the storage space, and a designer’s idea to make a table out of anything.

Stock your home office with cute-mazing office supplies and gadgets

If you’re looking for fun supplies for your home office, look no further. We made a list of office supplies and decorations that are less “I got this from Staples,” more “My favorite thing in my office is this kawaii thumbdrive.”