Technology & Gadget Blog

Okay, so we don’t have Virgin America flying out of Canada just yet (let’s be hopeful!), but man-oh-man would I love to cruise the air in one of their jumbo jets. Check out the pic below of their first class lounger chair:

Not only do the lounger chairs look great all done up in white leather, but guests are treated to the full VIP tech treatment too. You can plug in your laptop and surf the web, play video games, or watch a movie on the screen in front of you. Are you and your friend sitting at opposite sides of the plane? No worries there — Virgin has introduced the Seat-to-Chat feature where you can have an instant messaging convo with other people on the flight. And, if you want to tune out the chatty person seated next to you, scroll through the 3000 MP3’s available at the press of a button.

Picky eaters aren’t left behind either. Choose what you want from an a la carte menu on your personal screen and just swipe your credit card to pay. Even better? Virgin strives to give you the best flying experience for the lowest price possible. I’d say that’s a mantra that sounds pretty sweet!

For more info and flights within the U.S., check out virginamerica.com.

Okay, so I know I’ve been on a Twitter kick lately, but how sweet is this cocktail napkin? I just couldn’t resist! I think I’ll stock up on these and bring them at out at  the next Style at Home get together — we’re always tweeting our exciting ideas for upcoming issues. These cuties are available on Etsy for only $5 US per pack of 30.

Want to follow the Style at Home editors on Twitter? Read on to see what each of our editors are tweeting about.

Natalie Bahadur, senior web editor: Our resident Twitter-er on everything that’s happening on styleathome.com

Laurie Grassi, executive editor: She’s got all the goods on the hottest eco items for your home and lifestyle

Brett Walther, associate design editor: Let Brett hook you up with info on the latest and greatest finds in the world of homewares

Lauren McPhillips (me!), senior editor: I’m a tech gal, but only have a love for the cool and stylish goodies

Margot Austin, senior design editor: You’ll love all of the great design inspiration that Margot offers … plus pics of her adorable French bulldog, Lulu

Jane Francisco, editor-in-chief: Meet our new editor and follow her tweets on an exciting life in the magazine world

Isn’t this just cute as a button? The other day I got lost on Etsy, as I often do, and I found myself clicking through to find this gem (the original item I searched for was apple spiced soap … go figure). I loved the Twitter-inspired birdie looking so simple and haughty on the tiny gloss-coated clay bowl. Measuring just 3 1/2″ in diameter, it would look super cute holding rings on your dresser or paperclips on your work desk. And, if you’re over the whole Twitter thing (shame on you!), you can request the birdie to be a different colour.

$14 US,  available at Elm Studios on Etsy.

Remember the days when your computer router was an ugly old thing with unattractive antennas and a bland boxy shape? It’s an unfortunate computer staple that’s all to familiar to most of us. These days, one of those most important aspects of home technology is its attractiveness and ability to appear seamless with your home’s design.

Cisco Consumer Business Group that produces the Cisco by Linksys Group is changing the way we view the router, and it’s about time. I had the chance to talk to Linksys’ CBG’s Senior Executive Director of Worldwide Design & Experience, Chris Landry, about the sleek new design of home routers and why they took so darned long to get a makeover.

Tech Style: Chris, technology seems to be evolving at the speed of light. Why did it take so long for the home router to be redesigned?

Chris Landry: The thing is, when we started the redesign 2 years ago, we had 48% market share, so there wasn’t a huge push for us to change anything. We started to think, though, ‘Can you imagine what we could do with a good product like what we have, but with a better design?’. Essentially, it’s easy to get stuck if you’re doing well, but we realized that in today’s world, you can no longer present the same product for more than a few years.

TS: When you set out to redesign, what did you take into consideration?

CL: The biggest thing was eliminating the antennas. Some people actually liked them and perceived them as the only way a router could communicate wirelessly. There was a lot of resistance from our engineers about getting rid of them as well, but they eventually saw that the routers worked just as well, if not better, without them. Consumers also had a distaste for the clunky shape of the router, so we set out to make a product that was contemporary in shape and colour and also left a smaller footprint in your household.

TS: Why did you decide to stick with the standard black colour?

CL: We did a bunch of market research and results showed that most people associate high technology with dark colours. It was interesting to see that North American consumers prefer dark colours, whereas European consumers prefer lighter shades.

TS: So is this product mainly geared towards the North American consumer?

CL: No, not at all. We’re constantly creating demo products and trying new things for consumers worldwide. We’ve actually established design studios in California and Copenhagen, and we have international designers who can tap into what’s popular in the different markets.

TS: And finally, the price — does a sleeker model mean we have to shell out more hard-earned cash?

CL: Nope! The prices of our routers have stayed the same, and in some cases have gone down. They’re also easier to set up, so all in all, this is a better and more attractive product for the same price as before.

For more information on Linksys by Cisco routers, visit linksysbycisco.com

Yeah, I’ll admit it — I like to tweet. For those of you in the technological Dark Ages, tweeting is the biggest phenomenon to hit social networking since Facebook. A ‘tweet’ is a 140 character message/update you can send out over Twitter, and people who are following your message feed will be able to read it.

Moving on from Twitter 101, check out this über-cool laptop bag I found at the Mareri store on Etsy. The little bird silhouette is so obviously paying an homage to the Twitter logo (or it is in my world, anyways), and the bag is padded to protect your precious hardware.

$50 US, available at Mareri on Etsy.

Follow me on Twitter! twitter.com/tech_style

Social networking sites seem to have taken over the web world, and they show no signs of slowing. MySpace, Twitter, Facebook — they’ve all become part of our everyday digital lives. It seems like everyone and their grandparents have Facebook these days (no, seriously — my 81-year-old Grandma uses it). So the question is this: if you haven’t signed up for a Facebook or Twitter account, what the heck are ya waiting for?

Well, the Style at Home editors are giving you even more of a reason to join the web phenomeon that is Facebook: we’ve upgraded our user group to a fab new fan page! Complete with gorgeous images, a discussion forum and posts on all things news and contest related, the fan page is your one-stop-shop for the most up-to-date happenings at the magazine.

Just click the link below to join our Facebook fan page, and don’t forget to follow Style at Home on Twitter as well. Jump on the bandwagon, because we’re not making any stops.

Join the Style at Home Facebook page!