Attention parents and caregivers … Approximately 2 million Graco Quattro and MetroLite strollers have been recalled due to risk of entrapment and strangulation, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Graco Children’s Products Inc. announced on Wednesday.  Continue Reading

The Apple peel can turn your iPod Touch into an iPhone.  Wish that your iPod Touch could take calls like an iPhone? You aren’t alone…and in China you can do something about it. “The Apple Peel” is a Chinese made device that “peels” your Touch and turns it to an iPhone.

The device is a sophisticated case that houses a SIM card, docking station, and battery.  The docking station connects to the bottom of your iPod Touch (where you charge it).  The battery powers the device that takes the calls, which are allowed by the SIM card.

This means that you can have a Verizon iPhone, Sprint iPhone, or T-Mobile iPhone just by purchasing a simple case. It’s quite the sophisticated and cool device, if you ask me.

A new iPhone costs from roughly $500-$800 while an iPod Touch is only a couple of hundred dollars.  The Apple Peel only costs $57 which makes this an affordable way to “jailbreak” your iPod Touch into taking calls.

Sadly, the device isn’t available in the US for sale. However, I would expect that those traveling to Asia may purchase these devices so that they, too can transition their iPods into phones.

Photo Credit: (Credit: PConline)

A Verizon iPhone 2011 may be in the mix.  Apple’s iPhone could leave exclusivity from AT&T and go to Verizon by January.  Of course, everyone has heard this song and dance before making it almost like the quintessential “boy who called wolf” tale.

However, Verizon boasts one of the largest networks, with millions of subscribers.  In addition, the Android based smartphones are the leading competition against Apple’s coveted handset.  Verizon is one of the largest sellers of Android handsets – so placing the new iPhone at the carrier just makes good business sense.

Don’t get me wrong. I use AT&T – but I also don’t use the iPhone. I’m a Blackberry kind of guy. But I still call it as I see it, and it’s time for the Verizon iPhone.

The “rumors” are actually quite credible, with blog “Tech Crunch” indicating the story this time around. They claim the secret lies within the making of CDMA chips to be used in the handsets.  However, we saw this from the Wall Street Journal near the end of March and those stories didn’t come to fruition.

Are you thinking that a Verizon iPhone could be in the works?

Skype public share offering could be coming soon.  A Skype IPO has been reported by both The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.  It appears as if a public share offering will be soon, as both news medias have reported that Skype has gotten the ball rolling with the SEC and will be filing an IPO (Initial Public Offering) sometime in the foreseeable future.

OF course, the starting share price and the total number that will be sold are not available at this time. The total is not going to exceed $100 million.

The company started out private, but the owners sold all but 14% of their ownership stake to eBay.  The internet auction company couldn’t figure out how to make the acquisition work in its portfolio – which also includes PayPal – so they sold their stake for $2 billion.

And now the company, which makes money off of charging people discounted fees to use their computers to call  phones all over the world, will be going public.  One of two things will happen – the company will have phenomenal success, or it will be just another .com that bites the dust.

The Unemployment extension bill, HR4213, has been the center of political news for the past few months.  The legislation allows people to extend the filing for tiers 1-4 of the benefits extension, allowing for up to 99 weeks of total unemployment benefits.  The controversial bill was held up in Congress for months, as Republican Senators didn’t want to add to the nation’s looming deficit spending.

The final vote on the measure was 59-39.  Earlier this week 60 votes were needed to end a GOP lead filibuster of the bill.  All but two Republicans approved of the ending of the filibuster, whereas only one Democrat opposed ending it.

The bill is funded by tax increases on S-Corporations, deficit spending, and increases on taxes of investment managers and venture capitalists.  Many Republicans cited that these tax increases would wipe out all the good done by giving money to Americans via their benefits extension.

Those who start to receive their extensions once again will notice that they may not have as much money.  This is because Congress did away with a $25 bonus previously added, and also did away with the COBRA subsidy that was previously provided.  The subsidy paid 65% of the premiums experienced by jobless workers through their former employer’s healthcare plans.

Now the focus should be on a  Tier 5 extension.  Once people exhaust their first four tiers they will need

Sunday is not only July 11, or 7/11, but it is 7-Eleven Day 2010!  That means free slurpees!

Participating 7-Eleven stores in the U.S. are honoring 7/11 with free slurpees, their signature drink.  Just stop in to a participating 7-Eleven store on Sunday untill 11 p.m. for a free 7.11 oz. slurpee drink, according to their site.

For more details and to find a location, click here.  There is even a Facebook page with fans stating whether or not they will attend Free Slurpee Day ().

Spirit Airlines is canceling all of its flights through Tuesday due to a pilot strike.

The airline announced on its web site on Sunday that all Spirit Airlines flights have been cancelled through Tuesday, June 15.  The pilot union has declared a strike as of Saturday, June 12.

Customers who were scheduled to fly between June 12 and June 15 will receive credit (view full statement, right).

For the latest from Spirit Airlines, click here.

The Apple iPhone 4 was revealed by CEO Steve Jobs at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco on Monday.

The Apple iPhone 4 will be 24 percent thinner than its predecessor at 9.3mm thick, contain a front-facing camera, and offer greatly improved battery performance with up to 40 percent more talk time, according to Jobs.  It will also have 32 gigabytes of storage, a gyroscope (which will allow for more precise motion detection), and HD video recording capability.

Jobs described the phone as “the most precise thing and one of the most beautiful things we’ve ever made.”

The iPhone 4 will be priced at $199 for a 16GB model and $299 for a 32GB model.  It will go on sale on June 24.

For more about the iPhone 4 from Apple, click here.

McDonald’s is recalling 12 million glasses sold as a promotional item for the latest “Shrek” movie because they contain the toxic metal cadmium.  Will this recall tarnish McDonald’s family reputation?

The “Shrek Forever After 3D” collectable drinking glass are 16 ounce glasses that came in four designs, Shrek, Fiona, Puss n’ Boots, and Donkey.  They were sold at McDonald’s restaurants nationwide from May 2010 into June 2010 for about $2.

McDonald’s is asking consumers to immediately stop using the glass out of an abundance of caution, the CPSC reported. Visit www.mcdonalds.com for additional instructions on how to obtain a full refund.

No injuries have yet been reported.

The CPSC stated that it was made aware of issues with this product through the Office of Congresswoman Jackie Speier from California. 

There are some reports stating that this recall could tarnish McDonald’s reputation, such as this from The Wall Street Journal (click here for full report):

The voluntary recall is a rare lapse for McDonald’s, which is known for tough oversight of suppliers, and could hurt its standing with families that have driven the fast-food chain’s growth.

What do you think? Sound off below.

Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio, has recalled romaine lettuce sold in 23 states and the District of Columbia because of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 19 people, three of them with life-threatening illness, according to reports.

On May 5, 2010, the New York state Public Health Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, in Albany reported finding E. coli O145 in an unopened bag of Freshway Foods shredded romaine lettuce being recalled, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The recalled shredded romaine lettuce was sold to wholesalers, food service outlets, and some in-store salad bars and delis in the following areas: Alabama, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, according to Freshway Foods.

The recalled shredded romaine lettuce has a “best if used by” date of May 12 or earlier. Freshway Foods advises restaurants, distributors, and retailers to throw out or refrain from using shredded romaine lettuce from Freshway Foods with these “use by” dates.  Freshway Foods is also advising consumers not to eat “grab and go” salads sold in-store salad bars and delis at Kroger, Giant Eagle, Ingles Markets, and Marsh stores.

FDA investigators are looking at a farm in Yuma, Arizona, as a possible source of the widespread E. coli outbreak in romaine lettuce, according to The Associated Press.

Escherichia coli O145 bacteria (E. coli O145) causes a diarrheal illness often with bloody stools. Most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, but some people can develop a form of kidney failure called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). HUS is most likely to occur in young children and the elderly. The condition can lead to serious kidney damage and even death.

Click here for more details about the recall from Freshway Foods.