Dropbox Comes to the iPhone and iPod touch [Downloads]

Dropbox Comes to the iPhone and iPod touch [Downloads]: "

iPhone/iPod touch only: Dropbox, one of our favorite cross-platform file-syncing tools, has now made its way to the iPhone and iPod touch, complete with offline file viewing.

Once installed on your device, Dropbox for iPhone provides access to all your Dropbox files, allows you to view any file supported by your iPhone (including documents, photos, music, and video), uploads any photo or video you've taken on your device to your Dropbox account, and lets you save any file as a favorite for offline viewing. If you want to share a file in your Dropbox with someone else, the application can generate an email with a link directly to the file.

I first saw a demo of Dropbox for the iPhone way back at SXSW in March, so it's great to see this app finally make its way to the App Store. In short: If you're already a fan of Dropbox and you've got an iPhone or iPod touch, you'll want to download this app. Like the Windows, Mac, and Linux versions, Dropbox for the iPhone is freeware and requires only a Dropbox account.

Dropbox [iTunes App Store]

Upgrading to Windows 7 the Easy Way

Upgrading to Windows 7 the Easy Way

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RIM Working on New Touch BlackBerry/QWERTY Keyboard Combo

RIM Working on New Touch BlackBerry/QWERTY Keyboard Combo: "We knew it was only a matter of time before we saw the first touchscreen BlackBerry with a QWERTY slider keyboard. With the Storm 2 set to be released in early October rumors of a new type of BlackBerry phone could overshadow the launch. Codenamed 'Mr. T' and no that is not a typo, this new model BlackBerry is something RIM has never done before."

Apple Releases iTunes 9.0.1 Update [Updates]

Apple Releases iTunes 9.0.1 Update [Updates]: "

Two weeks after releasing iTunes 9, Apple has pushed out a small update to the popular music player in the form of iTunes 9.0.1. The update addresses several bugs and improvements, but doesn't offer any significant updates (not surprising considering iTunes 9 just came out). Fixes include:

• Resolves issues browsing the iTunes Store.
• Addresses a performance issue where iTunes may become unresponsive.
• Fixes a problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit.
• Fixes a problem syncing Podcasts in playlists to iPod or iPhone.
• Fixes a problem sorting albums with multiple discs.
• Addresses an issue with the Zoom button not switching to Mini Player.
• Improves application syncing for iPod touch and iPhone.
• Genius is now automatically updated to show Genius Mixes.

So while the update doesn't address any of the items in our iTunes wishlist, if you're an iTunes user you should definitely grab it when you get the chance. [iTunes]

LIFE magazine now available on Google Books

LIFE magazine now available on Google Books: "Posted by Brandon Badger, Product Manager

When I was a kid I used to enjoy thumbing through a collection of older magazines that my grandfather had at his house. I remember flipping through the pages and feeling as though I was peeking through a window into life from decades past. Unfortunately, we lost my grandfather's magazines some time ago, and we've never quite managed to recreate his collection. But I know that if we could, those magazines would be just as fascinating today as they were years ago, which is why we've been partnering with publishers to digitize magazines and bring them online.

I'm excited to announce that starting today, visitors to Google Books will be able to search and browse even more magazines on Google Books. We've partnered with Life Inc. to digitize LIFE Magazine's entire run as a weekly: over 1,860 issues, covering the years from 1936 to 1972. Most of us are familiar with the term 'American Century,' but chances are few of us have been able to read Henry Luce's defining editorial in its original context, a 1941 issue of LIFE. You'll be able to find and read Leonard McCombe’s iconic cover and photo essay on a Texas Cowboy and Richard Meryman's famous last interview with Marilyn Monroe. You can find a 1968 cover story on Georgia O'Keeffe (which you may want to read if you're visiting the Whitney Museum anytime soon).

There Are More Slaves Today Than Any Time in Human History

I think we have failed as a planet. Time to start over and see what comes back in another 2 million years or so.

There Are More Slaves Today Than Any Time in Human History: "The world suffers global recession, enormous inequity, hunger, deforestation, pollution, climate change, nuclear weapons, terrorism, etc. 60 years after Article 4 of the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights banned slavery and the slave trade worldwide, there are more slaves than at any time in human history -- 27 million.

Google Sync Updates with Push Gmail Support [Google Sync]

Google Sync Updates with Push Gmail Support [Google Sync]: "

Google Sync, released earlier this year, keeps your calendar and contacts synced between your mobile phone and Google account. Now they've added that great, final bit of ultimate sync support by pushing Gmail to your phone.

If you're sporting an iPhone/iPod Touch, Windows Mobile phone, or Nokia S60 phone, you can now set up Google Sync to actively push your email to your device, ensuring you're never stuck waiting around for an update to see what's new or wondering if various work-around alternatives will follow through. From the Official Google Mobile Blog:

Sync works with your phone's native email application, so there's no additional software needed. Only interested in syncing your Gmail, but not your Calendar? Google Sync allows you to sync just your Contacts, Calendar, or Gmail, or any combination of the three.

Check out the full post at the link below to see how to get Google Sync if you're not already a user and how to enable Gmail syncing if you've already got a Google Sync account.

Google Sync: Now with push Gmail support

David Hasslehoff Rushed To Hospital With Alcohol Poisoning

David Hasslehoff Rushed To Hospital With Alcohol Poisoning: "David Hasslehoff was taken by ambulance to a hospital because he again has alcohol poisoning.

YOU LIE!!!

Even Glenn Beck Is Right Twice a Day

Even Glenn Beck Is Right Twice a Day: "President Obama and our political system are being tested by a populist rage that is no less real for being shouted by a demagogue from Fox."

Fox News Producer Caught Rallying 9/12 Protest Crowd

Once again I am shocked. Shocked I tell you.

Fox News Producer Caught Rallying 9/12 Protest Crowd: "A Fox News Channel producer has been caught in a behind-the-scenes video rallying the crowd during last weekend's 9/12 protest in Washington. The Huffington Post has confirmed that the woman in the below video — seen raising her arms to rally the crowd behind Griff Jenkins, who was reporting from the scene for Fox News.

Two-way sync coming for Gmail and BlackBerry

Two-way sync coming for Gmail and BlackBerry: "

It’s the headline we’ve all been waiting for. Caught this on Berry Review, and they found it in the BlackBerry Connection Newsletter (lots of good stuff in there). In talking about the Enhanced Gmail plugin, they dropped the bomb: “two-way synchronization is expected to be implemented in the near future.” With the two-way sync and the enhanced plugin running, the debate between the Gmail plugin and IMAP/POP retrieval. I encourage woo-hoos in the comments.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about Verizon BlackBerry.

A NASCAR double-header at Indianapolis next summer? Now, can NASCAR find a car for Danica? | MikeMulhern.net

A NASCAR double-header at Indianapolis next summer? Now, can NASCAR find a car for Danica? | MikeMulhern.net

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NERD ALERT: 360 802.11n adapter spotted in GOW2 GOTY box

Rumor: 360 802.11n adapter spotted in GOW2 GOTY box: "

To be more specific -- and much less acronymic -- it appears that the super speedy Xbox 360 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter has been spotted on a promotional flier inside the Italian version of the Gears of War 2 Game of the Year edition. Italian gaming site Mondobox.com (translation) posted an image of the leaflet, which you can see above. Assuming it's authentic, it seems to indicate that both the original 802.11a/b/g and 802.11n adapter will continue to exist in the same market. And that, hopefully, indicates a price drop on the ridiculously overpriced original adapter.

How Long Windows 7 Upgrades Will Take [Upgrades]

How Long Windows 7 Upgrades Will Take [Upgrades]: "

If you're a casual Windows Vista user with just a few documents tidily stashed away, upgrading to Windows 7 should take less than an hour. More likely, though, is a three-hour upgrade for heavy users with lots of stashed stuff.

Chris Hernandez at the TechNet blogs ran three types of computers—low-end, mid-range, and high-end—through a Windows 7 upgrade with four different configurations each, reflecting the file and application loads of a "clean user" all the way through "super user." A clean user profile on high-end hardware was able to upgrade in about 35 minutes, while a super user on mid-range gear would need about 20 hours to upgrade.

Actual users' experiences will vary, of course, but it's worth checking out your upgrade time estimates to have enough time set aside for an upgrade, or at least consider a clean install. In one Lifehacker editor's experience, a very clean and tidy laptop took about an hour to upgrade from Vista to Windows 7, while a laptop with "an obscene amount of stuff installed" took a good eight hours or so to run through—though both upgraded successfully.

Note also that the timed results were withing 5 percent of the upgrade times for Vista SP1, so it's not exactly breaking news that Microsoft upgrades can take quite some time. But we're guessing quite a few more systems might see Windows 7 discs slipped inside than Vista, so hopefully more users will be prepared.

Windows 7 Upgrade Performance [Chris Hernandez's Blog via Ars Technica]

BREAKING: MMS For iPhone Rollout Has Begun

BREAKING: MMS For iPhone Rollout Has Begun: "It's two weeks early, but many US iPhone users are reporting that their phones now have the ability to send and receive MMS messages.

Federal News Radio 1500 AM: NASA, OMB to make cloud announcement next week

Federal News Radio 1500 AM: NASA, OMB to make cloud announcement next week

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New iPod Touch packs Wi-Fi 'n,' FM hardware

New iPod Touch packs Wi-Fi 'n,' FM hardware: "An iFixit teardown reveals that Apple's new touch-screen iPod packs 802.11n wireless connectivity and FM radio transmission hardware. But 'a lot of ifs' remain."

Play Monopoly With Real World Streets – Monopoly City Streets, Google Maps Style

Play Monopoly With Real World Streets – Monopoly City Streets, Google Maps Style: "

Remember playing the Monopoly Board Game when you were a child? Then when it came out on PS2, that was just like WOW! (well, maybe not). Now it has hit the internet, and the entire world is playing. Yes, this is Monopoly using Google Maps.

The game is called Monopoly City Streets and the objective of the game is to buy streets around the world, make some money through rent and sabotage other users’ properties and streets.

Before I get started on how to play the game, let me give you some background information. It has been live since the 9th of September. It is an online game that loads entirely in your browser. There is nothing to download and you only need to register in order to play it. However, on the 11th of September, the Monopoly City Streets Blog announced that they will be restarting the game in about a week’s time. This is to ensure that every knows what they are doing and how to use it. So it is best to join, get the feel of the game, and then when it goes live, you can rule a suburb, city or a country. Also, the game will only be active until 31st January 2010, but they don’t know what they will do to the game afterwards. So get your hands on it while you still can!

Denny Hamlin wins the Richmond 400; Brian Vickers makes the chase, but Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch miss

Denny Hamlin wins the Richmond 400; Brian Vickers makes the chase, but Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch miss

Kyle Busch I would like you to meet karma. Its been waiting for this moment:))

Upgrade to iPod touch 3.1 for $5 [Deals]

I recommend this upgrade. If you ever were frustrated trying to re-organize your app icons on your I-Phone or I-Touch this upgrade lets you do that within I-Tunes.

Upgrade to iPod touch 3.1 for $5 [Deals]: "

According to Apple site 9 to 5 Mac, only 1% of iPod touch users have upgraded to the 3.0 firmware. Their guess at why: maybe because Apple was forcing iPod touch users to pay $10 for the upgrade. If you're an iPod touch user who held out, you can now upgrade to iPod touch 3.1 (released earlier this week) from whatever you're using for $5. It's still not the same as the free upgrades afforded to iPhone users, but half-price is better than full. [9 to 5 Mac via Gizmodo]

Un-Supersize Google Search with a User Script [Google]

I kind of liked it, but for those of you who hate change....

Un-Supersize Google Search with a User Script [Google]: "

Yesterday Google supersized the search box for their home page, and many of you were not amused. If you can't get used to the larger font, you can easily install a user script that puts it back to normal. Once you've installed the user script and reloaded the page, the Google search page text size and width should immediately change back to the size it used to be. [Google Operating System]

FiveThirtyEight: Size Matters; So Do Lies

FiveThirtyEight: Size Matters; So Do Lies: "yesterday, someone told a real whopper. ABC News, citing the DC fire department, reported that between 60,000 and 70,000 people had attended the tea party rally at the Capitol. By the time this figure reached Michelle Malkin, however, it had been blown up to 2,000,000."

Madden curse strikes back, Polamalu suffers knee injury in season opener

Madden curse strikes back, Polamalu suffers knee injury in season opener: "

Steelers fans witnessed a horrifying scene during last night's season-opening matchup against the Tennessee Titans -- while trying to recover a blocked field goal in the first half, Steelers safety Troy Polamalu sustained an injury to his left knee, preventing him from playing out the rest of the game. If that name sounds familiar, it's because Polamalu was featured on the cover of Madden 10 -- a promotion that has proven to be troubling for NFL players due to the titular 'Madden curse.'

Polamalu is expected to be out for 3 - 6 weeks, making this one of the least severe examples of cosmic retribution dished out by the curse to date. However, that could just be because said retribution has to be shared between two players this year. For the sake of our fantasy football standings, we urge Larry Fitzgerald to take every safety precaution imaginable during these trying times.

Kick off the NFL season with Yahoo! Fantasy Football

Kick off the NFL season with Yahoo! Fantasy Football: "

At 8:30 EDT this evening, the Tennessee Titans and the Pittsburgh Steelers will face off in the inaugural game of the 2009 National Football League season. It should prove to be a much-watched event, as is every NFL season opener, and really every NFL Sunday. While in the past the game might have only interested Titans and Steelers fans, plus a few NFL die-hards, millions of fans of other teams will tune into this one. They have been for years because of fantasy football. You might even have a team or six yourself. Since the most popular fantasy football outlet is Yahoo! Sports, it seems all too appropriate to feature their BlackBerry fantasy football application today. It’s a free download that will let you track every Ben Roethlisberger throw and every Chris Johnson run.

Not only does the Yahoo! Fantasy Football ‘09 application give you the basics, but it adds a number of premium features. Since the download is free, I’d say that’s a pretty damn good deal. These features include:

• Live scoring. This is an essential part of the app. Even when you’re away from your TV or computer, you can check how your team is doing, while they’re doing it.


• Roster management. Without this, the app would be useless. Make changes on the fly. Yahoo! usually closes changes about 20 minutes before kickoff, so this can be an essential tool, enabling you to act on late information.


• Add and drop players. If Anquan Boldin goes down with an injury, you can find his replacement quick and easy, right from the app.


• Matchups. Check out how you look head to head with your next week’s opponent. Roster management and add/drop play into this well.

Again, the app is free, and you can download it at App World. There are some complaints in the comments about an inability to log in. We can only hope that Yahoo! has already addressed this issue.

On a parting note: J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about Verizon BlackBerry.

KYLE BUSCH NOS BOTTLE MYSTERY

KYLE BUSCH NOS BOTTLE MYSTERY: "

Kyle Busch, it would appear that someone is pouring a foreign liquid into that NOS energy drink bottle. Hmmmm. What, exactly, is going on here? Why would anyone refill an empty energy drink bottle? I wonder, I wonder. Video below.

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Limbaugh: Paying Out Of Pocket Is Better Than Insurance

So says the man with millions of dollars laying around.....

Limbaugh: Paying Out Of Pocket Is Better Than Insurance: "During his radio show today, Rush Limbaugh made a very blunt case we don't hear stated so clearly by Republicans -- that paying directly for healthcare is better than having health insurance. I wonder what Rush thinks happens to people who get seriously ill."

Obama speech disrupter a health industry darling: $240k

Obama speech disrupter a health industry darling: $240k: "In fact, over his entire congressional career, health professionals represent Wilson’s top industry contributors, donating a total of $244,196 to his campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics OpenSecrets.org database. He received another $86,150 from pharmaceutical companies, $73,050 from insurance firms and $68,000 from hospitals."

Apple's iPod refresh: What you need to know

Apple's iPod refresh: What you need to know: "Apple unveils a slightly tweaked lineup of iPods, but the real star is the new software that makes it easier to manage music and applications."

Mint Map: Global Wealth Distribution

Mint Map: Global Wealth Distribution: "

The way that wealth is distributed in a country is indicative not only of the health of its economy, but also the well being and standard of living of its citizens. Here we show how distribution of income looks across the globe, with notations for the countries living in extreme poverty.

Embed the above image on your site

Check out Twitterlerts for quick Twitter searches on your Berry

Check out Twitterlerts for quick Twitter searches on your Berry: "

Is there anything left to say about Twitter that hasn’t been said? The microblogging service has grown enormously over the past few years, in part because of how well it works with mobile platforms. We’ve reviewed a ton of them for BlackBerry, and plan to round them up soon enough. Today we’ll take a quick look at Twitterlerts, the latest from Electric Pocket. It has a purpose different than most BlackBerry Twitter clients. While they’re more about using Twitter to set your status and reply to others, Twitterlerts is more about keeping up with news and other items while you’re on the go. In fact, you don’t even need a Twitter account to use Twitterlerts.

There is a lot of relevant information on Twitter if you can cut through the noise, and Twitterlerts is a program that can help you do just that. While most BlackBerry Twitter apps offer a search function, Twitterlerts is based around search.

You can easily search for keywords, and save searches if it’s a subject you browse frequently. The neatest part is that you can set up the application to send updates to your inbox. You can then set up a certain alert — a ring, vibration, and/or LED notification — so you’ll know when new Twitter updates arrive.

If you do have a Twitter account, you can update your status, reply, and add followers based on your search. So it’s basic Twitter functionality with an enhanced search mechanism. That’s not going to pique everyone’s interest, but it sounds like a useful application if you use Twitter as more than a way to send brief updates to friends.

You can get Twitterlerts for $5 from the BBGeeks Store. If you want to give it a try first, you can get a free trial from App World.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about Verizon BlackBerry.

New iPods, prices revealed early?

New iPods, prices revealed early?: "CNET Australia spots an array of photos on the Web site of accessories maker Cygnett ahead of Apple's rock 'n' roll event Wednesday."

Obama tells kids to be wary of Facebook

I guess this goes for my blog as well:(

Obama tells kids to be wary of Facebook: "Speaking to around 40 high school students in Virginia, the president suggests children should be very careful about what they post on the social networking site."

Google Voice Adds Email Forwarding and Replies to SMS [SMS]

Google Voice Adds Email Forwarding and Replies to SMS [SMS]: "

Google Voice's web-based SMS inbox is convenient for frequent texters, but it is, after all, another inbox to tend to. Now, however, you can receive, and even reply to, SMS messages through your email address.

That's convenient on a few different levels. The most obvious is that keeping a Google Voice tab open to track your voice and SMS messages during browsing hours is no longer necessary, as Voice can forward you transcribed voicemail messages with audio attachments and, as of late last night, also forward your SMS messages. If you head into your Google Voice "Voicemail & SMS" settings and turn on email forwarding, the messages arrive from a randomized address at txt.voice.google.com, which makes it nice and easy to set up a new label and filter in Gmail and other mail clients to funnel all your SMS into.

The best part of the SMS emails is that you can reply to them from your email inbox, and they'll appear just as if you'd replied to them from your Google Voice phone number. In Gmail and some other clients, too, that means back-and-forth text messages are wrapped into neat threads, just as they would be on the Google Voice inbox. If you're serious about a single inbox and have regular email access, you could turn off SMS forwarding to your phone and lower, or eliminate, your unlimited texting plan needs.

The one drawback, at least for neatniks, is that the will still sit unarchived in the Google Voice inbox, but if you're devoted to moving your phone messaging life into one inbox, an occasional Select All, Archive isn't too much to ask.

Share some of your clever uses of Voice's SMS-to-email service, or your wishlist for future features (besides, of course, more invites going out) in the comments.

Receive and reply to SMS messages by email [Google Voice Blog]

Yahoo intros new iPhone and BlackBerry apps

Yahoo intros new iPhone and BlackBerry apps: "Internet company is focusing more on developing specific applications for devices, such as the iPhone, as it shifts its mobile strategy."

4 Websites With LOTS Of Completely Free Ebooks That Don’t Suck

4 Websites With LOTS Of Completely Free Ebooks That Don’t Suck: "

If you’re a fervent reader and nerd like I am, you’ve probably encountered quite a lot of writing online. However, most of them are either absolute garbage or entirely illegal.

It’s hard to find good, legal reads online – unless you know where to look. There are several sites that offer classic out-of-copyright writing, or publishes new e-books online as promotions.

If you know where to look, you can feast on these completely free Ebooks for all the time you’ve got, and today is the day we’ll show you where to look.

Planet eBook

Planet eBook is a classy site that offers classic literature for free. These books, because they’re out-of-copyright, can be offered to you in an entirely legal fashion. However, Planet eBook doesn’t just give you any piece of ‘free literature’. Right now, they offer about 60 books to their readers, all of which have been carefully selected. True, you won’t have the buffet of thousands that you’ll find on other sites, but you can be assured that each and every piece of writing on Planet eBook is of outstanding quality. Furthermore, if you feel like a book is ‘missing’ from it’s collection, you put it up as a suggestion.

All books on Planet eBook can be read on the site, but can also be downloaded as a PDF, both in a 1-page and 2-page version.

ManyBooks

ManyBooks works in the same way as Planet eBook, they offer pieces of classic literature for free that are out-of-copyright. However, where Planet eBook presents a carefully selected array of literature, ManyBooks handles in bulk (as the name truthfully implies).

At the time of writing, there are 24,741 completely free eBooks available and although it might be true that not all of them will read your socks off, I’m sure you can find some good reads in the better part of them. To select a book, you can browse by author, title, category or language, or you can browse through the site’s recommendations. Not only does the site offer an amazing number of books, it does so in an incredible number of formats. Although you might not be able to read it directly on the site, you can check out one of the mirrors or choose between a dazzling 25 different filetypes to read it on your desktop, mobile, or eBook device.

Classic Reader

Classic Reader takes a conceptual place in between Planet eBook and ManyBooks. It offers noticably more books than Planet eBook (3,629 titles at the time of writing), its material is still more selected (by a 1-man Canadian company) and controlled.

Perhaps the major distinction with the two previously mentioned sites is that there are no eBooks available for download. Alas no PDFs, ZIPs, or anythings — the eBooks are all meant to read online, on the site. You can browse the author or title list, or filter content out by looking into a specific genre: fiction, non-fiction, young readers, poetry, short stories, drama or classical.

PublicBookshelf

Contrary to the three previously mentioned sites, PublicBookshelf is NOT filled with works of classic literature. Instead, PublicBookshelf relies completely on new, promising authors who publish online as a means of promoting their printed books. As such, you won’t be able to download the books, but will often find an Amazon link to support the author (who – with the books on this site – is often still alive).

PublicBookshelf – focusing entirely on romance novels – is a great site to sample the writing if you’re looking for something fresh, but it’s also a great site if you’re looking for a good read. Check out their top novels for reading directions, or venture off into the depths of the site and discover treasures of writing yourself. I hope you’ve got 4 fresh bookmarks for completely free ebooks that will be able to satisfy the literacy-vampire that’s inside of you. If they are not enough, check out where to get more romance e-books, 6 more e-book sites, where and how to read comic e-books, and how to make your own e-books from Wikipedia.

Is The Frugal Life Here to Stay?

Is The Frugal Life Here to Stay?: "

For an increasing number of people, frugality is a chosen way of life by necessity. The Great Recession — a phrase I’ve been seeing more of recently to refer to the past year or so — has left many Americans without jobs for a long period of time. Without the income, and with less access to credit, many are choosing to live their lives in a more frugal manner. And perhaps in some cases it seems like the choice to live this way has been made for them.

Credit: dawnzy

Economic events have pushed entire generations to adopt a certain way of life. While it is just a generalization, those who lived through the Great Depression have a different attitude towards money than the Baby Boomers have. Young workers who experienced the economic decline in the 1930s came of age with an attitude towards making the most of every cent, appreciating work, and getting by with just the basic needs.

The attitudes Baby Boomers, who benefited from the post-World War II economic boom, have are more defined by access to credit. Mortgages and credit cards, as well as higher salaries, helped those in this generational segment spend more, live in better conditions, and experience more luxuries than their parents.

The tail end of Generation Y is entering the workforce now, and they are doing so in economic turmoil. And they are adapting to the recent reality of high unemployment and tighter access to credit. As a result, a very large and important demographic has been saving more and spending less than they earn. These are great qualities, recommended for anyone regardless of level of wealth or broader economic condition, but now many people are wondering if this generation will come to be defined by a return to more conservative spending values.

I don’t think these attitudes will last long, but I would not call this new frugality a “fad.”

Spending less than you earn is not cool, like a stylish shirt pattern that catches on for a year and then fades out of existence. People don’t become wiser about their finances because they read an article in a magazine about celebrities spending smart and then wish to emulate these role models. Americans don’t watch the latest episode of “Cribs,” now featuring small one-bedroom apartments near train stations and decide they want to downsize their home.

The fact that frugality isn’t a fad does not mean that it is here to stay. Although it may be sad for those of us who like to see sensible financial behavior, Generation Y and Millennials will not be defined by the Great Recession. Life moves faster in the twenty-first century. Economic cycles move faster. In the last ten years, we experienced a bubble and a burst in tech stocks, a bubble and a burst in the real estate market, a bubble and a burst in the broader stock market, and a bubble and a burst in the credit market. In previous generations, these cycles would have been spread out more.

With economic events occurring more frequently, it would be difficult for one generation to be defined by any one particular spending philosophy like frugality. Some people who have been hit hard lately may alter their behavior for the rest of their lives, but it is more likely that in general, the adaptable younger generations will return to extensive use and misuse of credit and a desire to live above their means as economic sentiment improves.

Flexo is a finance blogger and podcaster at Consumerism Commentary. You can find him on Twitter @flexo or @consumerismcommentary.

"

Bachmann: Dems Are Sabotaging Me Because I Might Become Prez

Stop please, your killing me...

Bachmann: Dems Are Sabotaging Me Because I Might Become Prez: "Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) finally explained yesterday why Democrats don't want her in office: They're scared she'll become the first female president. 'They want to make sure no women, no woman becomes president before a Democrat woman' Bachmann said."

Vote Markakis for Man of the Year

Vote Markakis for Man of the Year

Vote for Nick!!!!

Monticello, VA

Some shots taken at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, near Charlottesville, VA

YouTube wants to offer film rentals

YouTube wants to offer film rentals: "This would be a natural progression for YouTube, a company that has for the past year attempted to become a hub for feature films, but no deals are done yet."

Xbox 360's Most Wanted

Xbox 360's Most Wanted: "FEATURE: McKinley unleashes his hit list of 10 new Xbox 360 video games you can't go without."

BREAKING: eBay to Announce Deal to Sell Skype

BREAKING: eBay to Announce Deal to Sell Skype: "The fate of eBay-owned Skype (Skype) has been in question for months now. Back in April, it looked as if eBay was going to spin-off the VoIP service as a publicly traded company. Now we’ve learned that Skype will be sold to private investors.

"