free or close to it

If you're a fan of quotes and cameras and maybe even quotes about cameras, I found a special treat for you: free computer wallpapers from CMT fave Photojojo . Head over to their site for the first few inspirational wallpapers, all ready …

H i Cool Mom Tech, I just got a NOOK for my five-year-old. Any suggestions for inexpensive learning apps? - reader, via Facebook Ooh, lucky kid you've got. Having a fun device like the NOOK is certainly a great way to encourage reading a…

Whether his day involves breakfast in bed, a family hike in the woods, TV time, or a frosty mug of something he doesn't have to share, it can definitely include some Father's Day music too. We're so happy to be able to offer you this eig…

School's almost out for summer where I am, so I'm glad to find an awesome new educational app called My Incredible Body that takes kids -- and hey, parents too -- on a fascinating journey through nearly all the organ systems in our body …

I really appreciate the initiatives in recent years to get young kids involved in STEM and tech-centric activities like coding at younger ages. We've covered awesome resources like Tynker and Hello Ruby and now I've come across another c…

Have you been hit with the jump-action shot photo craze? It's that thing where you or a group of people jump into the air and someone tries to capture the this is the good life , split-second moment with everyone virtually gravity-free. …

Along with a chorus of I love you!' s following you around all day (hopefully), you can fill your Mother's Day weekend with great family-friendly music by downloading this free playlist of songs thanks to the generosity of some of our ve…

I'm all for gift cards as Mother's Day gifts (or any other gift) when it's really appreciated and thoughtful. For me: $500 to the shoe department at Saks will do. (There's a reason it's in our Mother's Day gift guide this year, ha.) For …

With today being Teacher Appreciation Day (and the whole week being Teacher Appreciation Week), I've been trying to figure out how to properly express my gratitude to all the wonderful teachers in my life--both my own growing up, as well…

As we well know, Pinterest can be a wonderful source of information and inspiration; we provide lots of it ourselves. But the lack of great search functionality can make it a tad overwhelming, especially if you're not entirely sure what …

Editor's note : Unfortunately, Carousel by Dropbox is no longer available. I'm a big fan of Dropbox , especially for sharing photos. From trips to parties to big games, Dropbox is such a smart way to get pictures out to everybody without…

For those of us who survived the Winter of 2013/14, the words "no school today" may give us the shakes, but I think those shakes will turn to dance moves when you hear the rocking song No School Today off of They Might Be Giants' Danny W…

With the plethora of cool camera apps out there, it can be tough to know which ones to download. And if you're like me, then you're taking a lot of photos (and sharing them on Facebook and Instagram ) and you want them to look amazing. N…

So much of social media relies on storytelling. Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, even YouTube and Vine -- they are all platforms for sharing our stories with each other. Pubsoft recognized this need we have to capture and share our memories, an…

I've seen my fair share of funny pet apps over the years because let's face it, pretty much every kid we know loves pets, or even just the idea of a pet -- especially for kids with allergies or parents who prefer to enjoy other people's …

I love developments like the Roku apps which turn your Android or iOS devices into remote controls for your TV. We always joke about the old days when we actually had to get up to change a channel. Now that we're too lazy to even find th…

The new The MoMA Art Lab app is for every parent who knows that kids are the original modern artists. Think about it: a child's artistic interpretation of the world is not always realistic or literal, they love to use non-traditional mat…

If I had to pick a favorite moment from last night's Academy Awards, I would have to say the Ellen Oscars selfie was at the top of my list. I'm sure I'm not alone here. Well now you can do what we all wanted to do last night when Bradley…

If you're an Amazon Prime member, then you might be wondering how to borrow a book from the Kindle library--one of the excellent benefits you get with your membership. Now granted they're probably not all books you actually want to read …

I truly cringe whenever I receive my cell phone bill. Usage charges, unlimited data, texting...oof, it adds up. I can see why the search for a good free phone service over WiFi is so important for a lot of people. As for me, my phone is …

My kids will no longer settle for any old box of Valentine's cards, especially now that they know how easy it is to dig up some cool printable Minecraft Valentine cards to hand out in class. Even for those of us who aren't sure if the Sh…

You'd think that when baby #3 came along, parenting would be old hat. But...nope. Forgot everything. Rather than comb the Internet for hundreds of different solutions (and I use that term loosely) it's nice to know that expert advice fro…

This week, you may have heard buzz about the launch of the new Facebook Paper app . (It's been a busy week for them, considering the huge success of the Facebook Lookback videos we shared yesterday.) In a nutshell, Paper combines your Fa…

Life can be crazy for me as a working mom of multiple kids. And even though it's good-crazy, sometimes I really want just a few moments away from the clutter in the living room and the constant pinging of my iPhone to just get a bit of c…