Cutting the cable cord: 5 things that happened when I finally did it
I'd been considering cutting the cable cord for about a year before I actually took the plunge. My kids and I rarely ever watch cable, and pretty much never use the landline (I don't think I ever actually learned that phone number!), so it didn't seem to make sense...
Rooms by Tim Kubart: Kids’ music download of the week
Sundays are a great day to turn up the tunes and dance around the house. And to help ward off winter's chill or maybe break up a long day indoors, our download of the week is a boogie-filled number called Rooms off the Grammy-nominated album Home by Tim Kubart....
An eco-friendly printer with ink cartridges that don’t need changing every minute? Whoa.
There's a pop-up on my computer that alerts me when the ink on my home printer is running low. And every time the little window appears, I think, wait, didn't I just put new cartridges in the printer? It's definitely an annoyance and a huge expense. And one that...
Sponsored Message: Meet Curbi, the screen time management solution parents have been looking for.
This is a sponsored message on behalf of Curbi. Whether your family added some new devices to the mix this holiday season or you've been pretty gadget-reliant in your home for a while, you'll want to check out the free trial of Curbi, which can help you manage screen...
Star Wars Home t-shirts: Because for Jedis – or smugglers – home is where your ship is
I had to laugh when I saw these clever Star Wars shirts, designed in the style of the popular home state tees you may have seen all over the place. But with these, your little (or big) Star Wars fans can share their love of their home ship instead. We know more than a...
3 free fitness apps for the not-so fit. No judgment here.
My workout routine took an unfortunate turn when the holidays hit, and I'm struggling to get back now that life has slowed down a bit. If you're like me and are starting from ground zero, here are 3 fitness apps that might come in handy. Keep in mind: If you're...
Snow Days by Trip Shakespeare: Kids’ music download that’s not actually a kids’ music download
I've retired our collection of Christmas music for another year, but there's one song that has been such a favorite wintery tune on my playlist for the past--gulp--25 years, that it will remain on heavy rotation until the first days of spring. Snow Days, by 90's...
Learning about genetics becomes child’s play with the Avokiddo DNA Play app
We're definitely fans of the way Avokiddo tackles educational apps for young kids. And its latest release, the DNA Play app keeps our praise parade going. This time kids get to delve into genetics, but it's not heady or complicated. Quite the opposite! In fact...
Happy New Year, from all of us at Cool Mom Tech
Here's to a wonderful 2016, friends. May it be full of neatly wrapped cables, charged batteries, and lots more geeky awesome. Thank you all much for your support all year long. Kristen, Liz, + Team Cool Mom Tech Science and math calendar art prints via Get Your Nerd...
Apps to help you tackle your New Year’s resolutions
If you're looking for help tackling your 2016 New Year's resolutions, we're here to help. Check out these cool, free apps that our Editor Kristen featured on The Today Show this morning. Lark: To help you keep your fitness goals Lark (free, iOS + Android) The...
The top 10 Cool Mom Tech posts of 2015: Tips, hacks, apps, new products and more.
It's always fun for us to look back at the end of the year and see which posts captured our readers' interests and imaginations the most. And while we have some perennial favorites like our picks for 30 of the coolest iPhone 6 cases or how to get your personal...
A 2016 photo calendar that will make you happy all year long
Considering how much I love photo wall decals, it's no surprise that I'm digging these cool photo calendar decals from Pinhole Press that let you turn your favorite 2015 photos into a fabulous 2016 wall calendar, no hammer and nails required. This is such a perfect...
Tips & Tricks to Make Life (Way!) Easier
Essential tips to help you organize your photos, and the new apps and services that make it easy. (Really!)
New year, new you. Of course, we've all heard (and probably said) this catchy line each time January 1 rolls around. But instead of promising to completely overhaul our lives with major changes, we're starting small and smart with this resolution: Organize our digital...
Tech productivity tip: How to temporarily disable iMessage on your iPhone, iPad, or MacBook
If you're like me, you pretty much can't live without iMessage. And now that you can sync it between your iPhone or iPad and your MacBook, well, it's like a communication dream come true. Except when you need to turn it off. The buzzes and beeps can be hugely...
7 tips and helpful tech to get better sleep. Because being tired is so last year.
It's no secret that not getting enough sleep can seriously affect our health and overall well-being, so it's at the top of my list of resolutions for 2015 to get better sleep. And hopefully, more of it. If you're on the same mission, check out these 7 tips, plus some...
The 15 coolest new tech gadgets of the year: Editors’ Best Tech of 2015
We're always excited to try out all the new gadgets each year and wow, what a long way we've come since Cool Mom Tech launched five years ago. Technology like pressure touch screens, the overwhelming adoption of streaming music and media, the desire for portable...
The best apps for parents of the year: Editors’ Best Tech of 2015
Next up in our Editors' Best of 2015, we're sharing our picks for the best apps for parents. All of these apps made their debut in 2015 and really do help make our lives as parents a lot easier. Though, the truth is, plenty of these apps are terrific for non-parents...
Our editors’ most helpful tech tips of the year: Editors’ Best Tech of 2015
Over the course of the year on Cool Mom Tech, we’ve put together so many helpful tech tips and tricks, many of which are answers to reader questions we get via email, over Twitter, on Facebook, and heck, even from our friends and family in person! So we've combed...
A very Merry Christmas to you, cool moms!
Here's hoping that all your gadgets come fully charged, your cables stay untangled, and you don't step on too many Legos today. (You'll need more than the force to help you with that one). Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday! - Kristen, Liz, and Team Cool...
Where to stream or download your favorite Christmas and holiday movies right now
Ah, remember the days that you'd run to Blockbuster Video Christmas eve to find there was like one copy of Silent Night, Deadly Night left and that was pretty much it? No more! We asked our staff and our Facebook fans for their favorite Christmas and holiday movies,...
Make your own Star Wars BB-8 and more, with free tutorials from littleBits
To celebrate the release of The Force Awakens -- you have heard of it, right? -- the team behind one of our favorite tech toys, littleBits, has put together a very cool user-generated #BITSWARS campaign, generating nearly 100 (so far) DIY project ideas conceived of...
Tons of truly last-minute holiday gift ideas: tech to the rescue!
With only a few days until Christmas, we want to make it really easy for you to finish up your holiday tech gift shopping with some last minute holiday gift ideas. In other words, no need to drive yourself crazy -- or drive yourself to 15 different stores and battle...
Our favorite Santa apps that make the magic even more magical.
We're big fans of Santa around here, as you might have guessed. What, us risk making the naughty list? Never!) So if you're looking for some fun Santa apps to help bring the big guy to life on your phone, tablet, or laptop and make believers out of any kid at all, we...
75 year later, View-Master enters the world of Virtual Reality. But was it worth the wait?
When I heard that View-Master had updated and gone full Virtual Reality, I was intrigued. Had the toy I'd grown up peering through to see tiny photos of animals in the wild really gone high-tech? All for under $30 -- or even under $25 on sale at Amazon? Yep, that's...
DxO One connected camera: The tiny device that turns your iPhone into a pro DSLR camera.
I've taken hundreds of photos of my kids just in the last couple months. And almost every single one was taken with my phone. Even though I have a nice DSLR camera, it's so heavy, it's just not practical to lug it with me everywhere. Especially considering I'm just an...
Free Christmas music for the kids: Santa Flying In Your Sleigh by Todd McHatton, our kids’ music download of the week
If your kids' Christmas music playlist is already feeling worn out, we've got a great tune for you to check out, with the funky Santa Flying In Your Sleigh, by singer-songwriter Todd McHatton. And it's free! The song contrasts a young child's excitement over Santa's...
Fun Christmas apps for kids: 8 options that they’ll still want to play in January.
Sometimes I need just a little quiet at home over the holidays, you know? And since my kids are app-crazy anyway, they always think it's a treat to find cool new Christmas apps for kids that they haven't tried yet. While we have a few from years past that they still...