The Buzz

We try to stay up on things, but sometimes a hot product flies under our radar. That was the case, it seems, with Animal Rubber Bands. In the words of a 10-year-old in the SLJ family: “Those are so 2004.” At any rate, these brightly-colored silicone bands are as cute as they are functional—good design is rarely available so inexpensively. Apparently, the bands have been all the rage among youngsters, especially girls, who’ve been known to wear the flexible critters as bracelets. Zoo Animals and Pets come 24 to a box. $7.95. www.wishingfish.com.

“Blogito, ergo sum.” For all of you who slept through high school Latin, that’s “I blog, therefore I am.” There’s a blogger born every minute it seems, and this fun/corny logo sends up the complete identification that Web journals seem to inspire in their creators. The charcoal T-shirt sports a brown button, which is emblazoned with the white logo. A nice detail is “Comments (0),” which appears in the lower right corner. The design seems to mimic the font used by Blogger, if that matters to you. Now that bloggers are covered, what’s next in geek attire? A wiki wrap, perhaps, or a tagger’s trench? $14.99-$16.99. www.thinkgeek.com.

Think you’ve got what it takes to impress Google? Then prepare to set up your drawing board. Following the recent updates of Google Earth, Google SketchUp, and the 3D Warehouse, the search engine giant is seeking contributors, who can see their creations posted to Google Earth. You’ll need to download Google SketchUp, making sure to geo-locate your model in Google Earth. Then upload your model to the 3D Warehouse. Next time you visit Google Earth, check out the “Best of 3D Warehouse,” your model might be there.

About 32 million Americans have illegally downloaded a feature-length movie at some point in the past. In a recent survey of 2,600 people, the consumer trend study Digital Life America also found that unauthorized downloading is not perceived as a serious offense. “There’s a Robin Hood effect,” says study director Kaan Yigit. People justify their actions by thinking studios and celebs are rich already, therefore downloading is no big deal, he says.

Media specialists can access materials that support specific state standards with the latest version of InfoCentre, the library management system. In addition to linking to state standards, InfoCentre 2.3 features enhanced cataloging power, with accessible MARC records increasing from 700,000 to more than 7 million. The upgrade also facilitates cataloging and circulation of ebooks purchased from Follett. www.fsc.follett.com.

ZINK Imaging has developed a novel way for consumers to print full color digital images without ink cartridges or ribbons. Protected by more than 100 patents, ZINK’s special paper is embedded with dye crystals, which are activated by heat from a ZINK printer. The crystals then colorize, producing high quality, durable images. The company plans to release two consumer products, an integrated digital camera printer and companion printer to go with your cameraphone in late 2007. For more information, visit www.zink.com.

Imagine being able to scan hundreds of pages with a wave of a pen. You actually can with the DocuPen RC800, a new portable color scanner from Planon System Solutions, Inc. Weighing a mere two ounces, the handy little gizmo boasts an 8 MB Flash memory, as well as a memory slot, enabling users to add additional TransFlash memory cards to allow endless scanning. Featuring three scanning modes—24-bit color, 12-bit color, and monochrome, the DocuPen is powered by a lithium ion battery and can also be recharged via a USB port. The DocuPen comes with a leather case, USB cable, and Scansoft Paperport SE and Twain Drivers software. $300. www.planon.com.

An impressive number of wired citizens are tagging. According to a recent survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 28 percent of Americans have tagged or categorized online content, including news stories, photos, and blog posts. By choosing to assign their own keywords, users are customizing information as never before and abandoning traditional classification formats such as the Dewey Decimal System. The study, which includes a list of sites that demonstrate how tagging is done, can be found at www.pewinternet.org.

Sure, there are plenty of inkjet printers to choose from. But, yeesh, those costly ink cartridges make you think twice about printing photos. Enter Kodak’s new line of all-in-one inkjet printers that promises to save users up to 50 percent on printing costs. Available in three models, the Kodak Easyshare AiO printers use a new high-quality, pigment-based ink, priced at $9.99 for a black ink tank and $14.99 for a five-ink color one, so users can print the same pages at half the cost of other inkjet printers. $150-300. www.kodak.com.

Interwrite Learning has released the latest in its line of student response systems. Designed for use with networked computers or Windows-based PDAs in classrooms with or without Interwrite’s PRS RF clickers, the new Interwrite Virtual PRS application allows students anywhere to participate in an interactive environment, also giving educators the benefit of instant assessment. www.interwritelearning.com.