Tech Archives - Page 6 of 6 - Serendipity Mommy

Vintage Fun: 90s Toys and Games You Can Still Buy

April 6, 2016 by Mandy

The 1990s was a revolutionary and exciting time for games and toys. These were the days when board games and video games still shared equal spotlight in the family room, and the era when portable gaming really took off. Innovative designs were integrated into simple, classic concepts and made even better. If you want to relive your own ’90s childhood, or introduce your kids to the pastimes that you loved, here are a few games and toys from the 1990s that you can still buy.

Tamagotchi

Having a pet isn’t new, but having a digital one sure was. This widely popular digital toy was one of the first to engage both boys and girls equally. This was also one of the first portable gaming systems, and was so well made that many will still function even after years of inactivity. You can find the classic Tamagotchis on EBay for a variety of prices, or mix new with old and download the modern cell phone app.

The Super Soaker 50

One of the few times that outdoor sports made a real splash (pun intended), was with the Super Soaker series. These innovative expansions on the simple water pistol were a sure-fire way (again, pun intended) to get the kids out of the house on a summer afternoon. The Super Soaker 50 was created in 1989, but was popular throughout the following decade. This vintage item is popular and expensive, appealing equally to boy and girls, kids and grownups, and typically costing over $100.

Crossfire

This board game is a combination of table-top and video game, and very cleverly played upon the “fight game” phenomenon that was so popular with arcade and console games at the time. There are still many entertainment companies, such as Breaking Games, that still follow this trend of producing similar board and video-type crossovers. This game is now a Collector’s Item valued at almost $400, a testament to its popularity.

Nintendo 64 or Gameboy

When it came to home gaming systems, Nintendo was the unmistakable ruler of the 1990s. As if the console wasn’t enough, with titles like Starfox and Ocarina of Time, we also had the Gameboy. The era of Role Playing and Portable digital gaming had begun, and Nintendo was its first ambassador. Plenty of the old games are still available on the newer Nintendo consoles as classic compilations, and older Nintendo 64 systems (along with several games) are still available online, often for the same prices for which you originally bought them.

Furby

The Furby phenomenon dates back to the 1990s and still continues on its adorable way to the present day. Recent productions like Furbacca, the very first Star Wars furby, are currently available for retail sales. This toy has retained its popularity with two simple but very effective characteristics; versatility and cuteness. Available in a plethora of colors and themes, these fuzzy little guys are a cheerful, low-maintenance addition to any desktop. Hasboro still makes and sells them, and you can find vintage ones online or at your neighborhood garage sale for a variety of prices.

Certain trends come and go, as anyone who saw the big hair of the 1980s will tell you. The quality games that were genuinely fun and innovative are the ones that withstand the test of time. Don’t be afraid to enjoy that Nintendo 64 system along with your kids, or invest in that grown-up income to re-live your glory days as a Supersoaker Badass. You’re a child of the 1990s. Put that Furby on your desk with pride!

Thomas Black is a keen writer who draws inspiration from daily life with 3 kids. His articles mostly appear on parenting and lifestyle blogs.

How Satellite TV Serves the Whole Family

December 20, 2015 by Mandy

There are a lot of articles out there that go on and on about how television is bad for you. As avid television lovers we decided that, given the season (one where most of us are stuck inside for months on end), it might be time to talk about why television is good and tell you about some of the great programming that is out there for everyone in your family, no matter their age.

Channels Channels Everywhere and Not a Show to Watch

It doesn’t feel like all that long ago when the number of channels available was still in the double digits. Now there are literally hundreds of channels available to choose from. Not just that, but thanks to the invention of On Demand and DVR, nobody is beholden to a channel’s programming schedule anymore. Now, when you want to watch a show you just search for it through your Direct TV on demand menu.

When you have thousands of options available to you, deciding what to watch can feel incredibly overwhelming–enough so that you might be tempted to turn off the television altogether! Before you do, though, consider the following…

Why Television is Good For You

There are plenty of reasons that watching television can actually be good for you. For example, there is a swath of programming out there that is educational. From the reboot of The Cosmos that Neil DeGrasse Tyson narrated a couple of years ago to Going Deep with David Rees and the educational programming built for kids, there are plenty of opportunities to learn something new.

Another reason that watching television can be beneficial is that it gives people a look into what life is like in other cultures. This is particularly true for music and in children’s programming.

Good television programming can introduce difficult topics that give parents the opportunity to talk about serious issues with their children in a safe space. This type of programming can also act as a catalyst for discussion among adults about the issues of the day. A great example of this is the American Crime series that debuted on ABC last year and will be starting its second season in January.

Good television can even be a great way to encourage people to read–and not just because they belong to Oprah’s Book Club! Television shows are one of the best ways to help kids that are reluctant to read get into the medium as most popular kids’ shows have complementary novels and series that feature the same characters. As an older kid, teen, or adult, comparing a book to the movie on which it is based is a great way to find new authors and genres of books to read.

It is also true that books inform a lot of the programming that is on the air today. Some shows are even directly based on books (or series of books). Check out shows like Arrow, the Flash, Agent Carter–any series that is based on comic books. Game of Thrones is based on George R.R. Martin’s series A Song of Ice and Fire. Boardwalk Empire is based on a non-fiction book of the same name. Elementary takes its cues from actual Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Bones is based on the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs.

Finally, while it is true that we might get most of our breaking news through social media these days, television news networks help us understand the minutiae of what’s going on in real time.

The point is this: television can be a great facilitator; not just for entertainment value but for critical thinking, social progression, education, etc. While it’s understandable that you might be hesitant to set your screen up as a baby-sitter, allowing some TV viewing time for yourself and your kids can help you all grow as humans. What’s your favorite show that’s on television these days?

Put Your Shopping Skills To Use To Save Money on Utilities

November 24, 2015 by Mandy

christmas-ideas

When it comes to gift giving, you already know the importance of shopping around. You likely have a list of cheap (all under $25) Christmas gift ideas. If you don’t find what you’re after at one store or website, you will just go to the next one. In that way, the U.S. is a consumerist paradise.

Many citizens of the world do not have this privilege. Their grocery stores do not have 17 different brands of catsup in 12 convenient size, in your choice of glass or plastic bottles. We not only have that kind of choice for catsup, but for everything. It seems we often forget that as there are some things for which we still do not shop around. Here are a few things you might consider applying more of those well-honed, consumerist skills:

Utilities

For a long time, utilities were among the necessities of life for which we could not shop around. The government fixed the prices so that they were the same for everyone. While that seemed fair on the surface, it just meant that we were all stuck with no choices for service providers. And innovation in the energy space stagnated near the point of death.

According to Just Energy

Deregulation gives consumers choice – the power of the buyer. A deregulated market allows you to choose your commodity supplier. It also motivates retailers to differentiate their products from the utility and those of competitors by developing innovative features, pricing plans and options that would have otherwise not been available to you.

Just Energy is one of the newer suppliers of energy made possible by deregulation. Alberta residents can find their offerings, and many others at AlbertaEnergyProviders.com. There, you can find competitive rates with innovative services and solutions.

One of the areas where competition has really heated up is natural gas, and cleaner electricity options. You might have to pay a little more for more environmentally friendly options. But thanks to deregulation and the ability to shop around, more eco-friendly options are now on the table.

Cell Phone Service

The two things on which people tend to agree regarding the cell phone service situation in the U.S. is that we don’t have enough choice, and that all carriers are evil. For most Americans, choosing a provider is a choice of the least available evils. Sticking with the theme, people tend to go with the devil they know.

Making matters worse, carriers tend to engage in a number of tactics that make it nearly impossible, and terribly expensive to move to a different provider. T-Mobile, however, has been on a campaign to change all that. They have been marketing themselves as the Un-Carrier. Moreover, it is not just marketing. A consumer research group found that T-Mobile was actually making a difference in the industry:

More broadly, CIRP found that T-Mobile’s “Uncarrier” plans are quickly changing the way we pay for smartphones: 13% of Verizon customers, 16% of AT&T customers and 18% of Sprint customers who were eligible for new phones decided to take advantage of their carriers’ new early upgrade plans. In this way, consumers are shifting more toward paying monthly increments on their mobile device so they can upgrade sooner instead of agreeing to two-year wireless contracts.

This research was done about two years ago. Since then, T-Mobile has made several more moves. Most recently, they started offering unlimited video streaming that doesn’t count against the data caps of customers who do not have unlimited plans. This is not to say that anyone should ditch their carrier of choice and jump ship to T-Mobile. It is only to point out that there is now a real choice, where once before, one carrier was much the same as the other.

This post is not about me picking the best services for you. Only you can do that. It is just to remind you that in areas where you may have once felt trapped, you now have a real choice. That can only be a good thing.

4 Awesome Educational Apps For Kids

June 5, 2015 by Mandy

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The use of technology with your children can be a hand-wringing dilemma: how much is too much? Is it bad parenting to allow them free reign? Should I use a reward system?

The dawn of the iAge has brought many parenting puzzles (as well as guilty solutions to child-related dinner party problems) with it. However, the use of tablet technology doesn’t always have to be the reluctant surrender to your child’s demands or reward for their good behavior. There are now available huge numbers of Apps which are both fun and educational, so relinquishing the iPad to your youngster can be a guilt free experience.

Here are four of the best:

LEGO Creationary

It’s no secret that LEGO can be hugely educational, so it’s our luck that they’ve created an App for young learners. Incredibly simple but fun, the app delivers a timed guessing game, where you have to guess the object being constructed on the screen to earn points.

Great for vocabulary and visual analytical skills. Game on!

Ages: 5+

Zoo Train

Two kiddie favourites for the price of one: animals and trains! This app is perfect for very early learners. There are 5 educational games to play (alphabet and letters, shape recognition, word construction, musical note recognition, and matching patterns) plus a bonus sticker activity. Lots of original music and original animations, this will keep your little one learning for hours!

Age: 2-4

Hakitzu: Code of the Warrior

This highly original (and entirely free!) app wants to teach your kids to…code! While it’s probably too late for many of us, many predict that coding will soon be a subject taught in schools and possibly essential for many areas in the not-so-distant future workplace. This app teaches children to code in the JavaScript language, in the form of a game where your child builds robot warriors and battles them against friends or themselves in single-player mode. Cool!

Age: 8+

Mystery Math Town

Get your kid down with numbers early with this fun and hugely educational app. Presented as a game where you explore mysterious houses, tapping on windows, doors, ladders and stairs and solving math problems before you can enter them. The difficulty level can be adjusted for the age and ability of your child. Who knew math could be fun?!

Age: 5+

Remember to allow your kids downtime to play on fun ‘in the now’ apps, but make sure they earn it first. No one wants their kid to become one of these zombie-kids who stare at screens all day. Fight the system and mix education with pleasure when your little ones want to let loose in the digital world!