In July, Google announced their App Inventor which allows non-developers to create Android apps if they were so inclined. Today, they are opening up who can use the App Inventor to anyone with a Gmail account. Users can trot over now and begin building their app. So far, Google’s seen apps that teach vocabulary to more »

Ning has just added apps so social network creators can make their social networks function better. Here are some examples of the new Ning apps: the Sellit app allows a site creator to build in a store, a WordPress app that shows WordPress.com blog posts, and Ustream.tv and Qik for live streaming video. Ning is more »

Looking to mount that flatscreen television to the wall? Well, you’re going to need a drill. Take a look at the Black & Decker 18V Smart Select Drill that currently sells for under $90 at Amazon. Can it handle your day to day tasks? Gadgetell.com put it through some tests to see if you should add this to your toolbox.

New netbook announcements can tend to be fairly boring. Most of them hold pretty much the same form factor and specs, just with slightly varying designs and company logos slapped on the lid. When OCZ announced their Neutrino netbook it seemed like just another netbook with nothing special about it. Turns out OCZ is actually more »

The net is full of recipes. How can you tell the difference between some crazy person with a site vs. something tried and true for your Valentines meal? Easy, follow Gadgetell’s guide for cooking a sweet Valentine’s meal and be assured if it fails, it won’t be the recipes fault.

First, follow the pack.

How do you know any of these recipes are any good? Easy, user ratings. My favorite recipes site is easily allrecipes.com. There, user ratings guide my decisions plus have the added boost of some nifty changes they made to make it come out better. Based on a five star system, the site encourages responses and makes them easy to decipher: a simple mouse over opens the comment for quick decisions. The site is super easy to navigate and a high user rating usually means the eats are good. I just this site at least 3 times a week and haven’t gone wrong yet.

Stand out recipes:Carne AsadaBourbon pecan chicken

You knew it was coming. As if the “For Dummies” line of books, software, and DVDs wasn’t enough, you can now access the new Dummies.com. This newly launched site is another “how to” resource, similar to eHow and Wikihow. The website will have free how-to videos and instructional articles. Dummies.com is employing a team of knowledgeable bloggers to produce the content on the site. Their goal is to replace the large amount of inaccurate information on the web with facts from a trustworthy brand.

Click for a larger image.

Bug Labs was at ShowStoppers in Las Vegas tonight showing off their new BUGmodules for their BUGbase. They introduced a new pico projector module, a QWERTY keyboard, a 3G module, Bluetooth/Wi-Fi module, and an audio module with multiple lines in and lines out.

Bug Labs introduced their BUGbase last year at CES. This device lets you play with pre-fabricated components to build your own gadget. Alicia Gibb, Gadget Wrangler, gave a great example of a person who created a GPS alarm clock.

As anybody new to computer building will tell you getting as much help as possible is crucial. I know as well as anyone that when you are dealing with hundreds of dollars worth of hardware you do not want it to go wrong. Fortunately there are products out there to help you, and the newest of which is the USBcheck which checks your wiring for USB ports.

I really like simple things. I got this press release today about a DIY (do it yourself) flash hard drive using little more than six SDHC cards. SDHC cards are simple things. This tech comes straight out of Germany and almost as good as that is, it sells for just $102 US (SDHC cards not more »

Apple’s iPod is a great music player…with not so great battery life. This makes me wonder when Apple will finally come out with a better battery life’d version of the seemingly popular gadget. If Apple’s not going to come out with one, the least we can do is work with what we’re given. If you more »