Generator

Anyone who's ever written a story knows how hard it is to make up names for characters. If you're having trouble coming up with one, you can use the Random Name Generator. It will give you a long list of names, but most of them won't work for what you need. The program itself has a bunch of hang-ups that limit its usefulness.

Your antivirus program might flag this program as a malicious download, but when we were running Random Name Generator, nothing came up worth being concerned about. Whether you click the Normal, Odd, or Strange … Read more

Time to dust off that hype machine. The next generation of video game consoles may debut as early as February 20. That's the date Sony has set aside for an event in New York City, leading some to believe this could be the first-ever announcement of the PlayStation 4, the inevitable successor to the company's current PlayStation 3 game system.… Read more

Those ladies who are fluent in Klingon but just can't seem to find a boyfriend are now in luck. Apparently, a certain someone is seeking women for "Star Trek" role-playing -- strictly "The Next Generation."

A recent Craigslist ad titled "Make It So" is making the joke rounds on Twitter today. The ad promises "no nudity, no touching" but asks for two to three women to get in character with the ad's author as he plays the "honorable" and "intellectual" Captain Picard.… Read more

Chipmakers are preparing for the second-generation iPad Mini and Samsung is on track for a phone with a bendable display and possibly an early intro of the Galaxy S4, according to a research note from RBC Capital Markets.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Doug Freedman -- who is in China visiting chip companies this week -- offered this ambiguous Apple note: "iPad Mini Gen-2: Apple's gen-2 iPad mini is getting pulled-in, and is likely to have several new suppliers, with TXN gaining content."

"Pulled in" would seem to imply that Apple is moving up introduction of … Read more

Maybe today's youth aren't as different as older generations when it comes to tech.

A new report by Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism looks at how different people use their smartphones and tablets to consume news. It finds that younger users are just as likely to get news on those gadgets as older folks.

"While they are much lighter news consumers generally and have largely abandoned the print news product, young people get news on mobile devices to similar degrees as older users," the report reads. "And, when getting news through … Read more

Soon there will be more than just one way to contact 911.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced today that the four largest wireless carriers in the U.S. have agreed to fast track a service that will let people text the emergency 911 line.

AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile have all signed on and major deployments are planned to roll out in 2013 and the service should be fully available nationwide by May 15, 2014.

"Access to 911 must catch up with how consumers communicate in the 21st century -- and today, we are … Read more

Apple's new 7-inch tablet should be nicknamed Mini the Cannibal as it eats up sales from its bigger brother.

A poll of 50 Apple stores conducted by Citi this week found limited stock of the iPad Mini but wide availability of the iPad 4.

Among the stores called, 80 percent indicated that some version of the Mini was on the shelves. But 96 percent said that overall availability was limited based on the amount, storage options, and colors that consumers were seeking. Among the various models, the 32GB iPad Mini showed the greatest availability.

In contrast, 100 percent of … Read more

You asked, we answered. It turns out that the iPod Touch is the product a surprising number of you wanted to see unboxed and tortured on our show -- so here you go! In addition to the regular gauntlet of tests, it seemed pretty obvious that the Wild Card for the iPod Touch pretty much had to involve children. So we rounded up four kids, ages 2 to 5, and gave them pizza, chips, candy, fruit, and juice, and let them go crazy with the iPods. Let me be honest: I could watch this video all day long, and not … Read more

The iPhone 5 and new iPads will trigger a surge in sales for Apple this quarter and next, says Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty.

In an investors note out today, Huberty pointed out that key suppliers for both devices say their own revenue will be higher than anticipated for the current quarter. They're also seeing above-average orders from Apple for next year's first quarter. And demand could rise even higher before the year is over.

The analyst believes the iPhone 5 will drive more customers to upgrade this quarter and on into next year. At the same time, … Read more