Remember the days when you’d need to bring a roll of film somewhere to get developed when you wanted hard copies of your photos? Wasn’t that quaint? Yes, film, physical film! And paying someone to develop them? Ah, those were strange days. Now, you simply have a digital camera and print out your photos in your own home, only printing the ones you really want. It’s a much better system.

But in order to have prints that are as high quality as the ones you used to get back from the lab, you need a printer designed for color photos. A printer such as the Canon PIXMA iP4500 Photo Printer, which will deliver photos of such high quality you’ll swear they just came back form the lab. It can print you up a borderless, full-color 4×6 photo in a mere 21 seconds, and you can use it as a normal printer as well. It’ll shoot out color prints at a rate of 24 pages per minute, with black and white prints shooting out at a speedy 31 pages per minute. A great all-around printer as well as a stellar photo printer? What’s not to love?

We might still be a few months away from the college football season, but that doesn’t mean you have to be deprived of all the NCAA action that you so crave for the entire summer. You’ll just need to be a little proactive. Pick up a copy of NCAA Football 09 and you won’t have to deal with that terrible college football withdrawal.

NCAA Football 09 is the most realistic, action packed college football game to ever hit game consoles. It’s got all of your favorite schools and teams, and it was developed with a new breakaway mechanic that gives you amazingly realistic and quick-responding movement on the field. You’ve got hundreds of offensive, defensive, and special teams plays to choose from that are specific to the team you’re using, and the graphics are absolutely stunning. You’ll almost forget that you’re playing a videogame and not actually watching a game on TV.

Nothing cools you down during the hot summer months quite like ice cream. The problem? Ice cream is expensive! Who wants to pay $5 for a pint of ice cream that you’ll polish off in two sittings? And that’s cheap compared to going to a scoop shop. No thanks.

Instead, why not make your own? The Cuisinart Pure Indulgence Frozen Yogurt-Sorbet and Ice Cream Maker puts that ability in your hands, allowing you to make 2 quarts of your favorite frozen delight in a mere 25 minutes. That’s less time than it takes to go to the store to buy ice cream, and you get more delicious results. And you can choose exactly what flavors you want as well. Peanut butter and banana? Sure, why not. Sweet cream and strawberries? Sounds delicious. Peanuts and stewed prunes? I’ll pass, but hey, it’s your ice cream maker. And that’s the beauty of it.

Academy Award® winning actor Billy Bob Thornton will be stopping by J&R on August 18th for an in-store signing with his band The Boxmasters. They will be on hand to promote their recently released, self-titled debut CD.

The autograph signing will begin at 5:30pm at the J&R music store at 23 Park Row.

Sid Meier’s Civilization series of strategy games has allowed PC gamers to create societies from scratch on the PC for years now, becoming one of the most successful and famous strategy game franchises in gaming history. It’s a set of games that’s always pushed the boundaries of gameplay, graphics and scope, but also a series that’s been exclusive to the PC. Until now, that is.

Civilization Revolution is the first game in the series to be released for next-gen consoles, the Xbox 360, specifically. Its interface has been completely redesigned for the Xbox 360, eschewing keyboard-based controls for the fewer buttons and thumbsticks of the Xbox. What results is a streamlined experience that doesn’t lose any of the complexity that you’ve come to expect from Civilization. You still get the epic task of building an empire from scratch, and you can now play multiplayer over Xbox Live. Finally, Civilization on a console!

It’d be great to be able to listen to music in your pool, hot tub, or bath, but what if the speakers get wet? That’s not really a risk worth taking. But music can add a lot to any aquatic adventure, so you shouldn’t give up on the dream too easily.

The Grace Digital Aqua Sounders Floating Speaker is not only waterproof, but it floats! It’s designed to float around in your pool or hot tub, pumping out tunes while you soak or swim. It has batteries that gives it up to 10 hours worth of juice, and it can be heard from up to 150 feet away. It wirelessly streams music from afar, letting you set up a playlist in the house and have it beam out to the pool where you can enjoy it from your inflatable floating lounge chair. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Want a sleek and stylish camera that can also take the abuse of your active lifestyle? Look no further than the Olympus Stylus 850 waterproof and shockproof compact camera. The sturdy metal exterior is able to withstand falls from 5 feet and other accidents without damaging any of the camera’s internals. Getting caught in the rain with the Stylus 850 is not a danger, but rather a unique photographic opportunity to take pictures where others cannot. Bring the Stylus 850 skiing or snowboarding without worrying about dropping or freezing the camera, as it is also freezeproof up to 14 °F.

But the Stylus 850 is especially built for taking underwater pictures—and movies. Snap and film carefree wherever there is water to capture impressively clear aquatic scenes. The Stylus 850 goes wherever you go.

For those with an active outdoor lifestyle or those wanting a fun camera for travel, the Stylus 850 SW is the perfect solution.

There’s nothing worse than having a beloved pet run away or get lost and not being able to find them. Putting up “Lost Dog” signs is a nightmare scenario for any pet owner, one that they’ll avoid at all costs.

Thanks to technology, you never have to worry about losing track of your dog again. Simply get one of these Zoombak Advanced GPS Dog Locators and attach it to your dog’s collar. Then, whenever you need to, you can see exactly where it is on a computer using GPS. Simply pay $60 for the first six months of service and then $15 a month after that and you’ll have total peace of mind knowing that you’ll never, ever lose track of your dog. You can even set up a safety zone to be notified if it leaves a certain zone, such as your yard, so you know right away if it gets out. Since your dog can’t call you and tell you its lost, this is the next best thing.

The New Jersey super rock band Bon Jovi will be in Central Park on July 12th to perform a free concert. According to the Associated Press, the concert is supposed to be the prelude to the July 15th All-Star baseball game, which will also highlight the final season at Yankee Stadium.

Bon Jovi performing for free at Central Park is sure to bring throngs of fans and onlookers alike. We’re sure this is going to be a popular show, so make sure you get there early to secure a good spot on the lawn.

Personally, I’m hoping they play “It’s My Life”. What about you? What is your favorite Bon Jovi song?

There’s no better way to cool off during these hot summer months than with a frosty blended drink. To make one, you’re going to need all of the required ingredients as well as a blender to mash them all together into a delicious blend.

Grab yourself one of these Hamilton Beach 52145H Dual Wave Blenders and you’ll have everything you need to be the life of any party. It has a huge 80 ounce pitcher that you can detach once you’re done blending and pour from. In addition, it has a little dispensing spout for letting people serve themselves. Can’t decide which drink to make? You can blend two drinks simultaneously with this bad boy, offering up pina coladas and margaritas at the same time. And if there’s a more popular guy at the cookout than the one wielding a pitcher filled with both pina coladas and margaritas, I’d like to meet him.