This Kickstarter project has funded pretty quickly over the past couple of days, and I certainly expect it to overfund significantly before the campaign is over. The concept behind the Siva Cycle Atom is using a bicycle as a generator to power a battery pack, which can be used to charge electronic devices via USB. The Siva Cycle Atom is designed with top of the line magnetic rotors and powerful lithium batteries. As you ride, it harnesses the kinetic energy to directly charge a device or store the energy in a battery. The Atom is for the modern commuter cyclist, the urban biker, the...

As you’ve probably guessed from previous posts, I’m a big fan of Pocket Informant for task and calendar management. But sometimes an app like Informant is just too much. Or perhaps you want to keep track of certain tasks separately. I’ve found Astrid Tasks to be a good option for those times. It has many features of a full-function task manager, but it can also be used for the simple things. Besides, who can resist the cute octopus? I use it for grocery lists, meal lists and packing lists for camping. Sure, there are apps out there for all of those, but I’m comfortable with task...

So I was sitting on the worst part of the plane flight, right after they told me to shut off all electronic devices. Being a good traveler, I stowed my Kindle and looked around for something to do. Ah! SkyMall magazine. Always a good way to waste a few minutes. In and around the usual silliness, I found a couple of items that would actually be useful to an e-book reader. What do you think of these? 1. iPad Power Case ($129.95) iPad batteries are good, but they can't stand up to marathon reading sessions. This one sports a 9000mAh battery, which should give...

The New York Times reports that a new study from Scholastic, the American publisher of the Harry Potter and Hunger Games novels, comes to some interesting conclusions regarding youth and e-books. The survey encompassed 2,000 children between the ages of 6 and 17, and their parents. According to the survey, 25% of children had already read e-books, and 57% of those between 9 and 17 were interested in doing so. Only 6% of parents owned an e-reader, but 16% planned to get one within the next year, and 83% of these said they would allow or encourage their...