Click here to read the Official Rules.

The Avengers, brought together by Director Nick Fury, are a group of super-powered beings charged with the task of protecting the planet from impossible threats. Each member plays a critical role on the team, displaying a variety of skills, weapons and personalities. Now, you can’t have a big-budget film without some major licensing power, can you? So with that in mind, how would today’s top gadgets, gizmos and electronics compare to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? Okay, it may sound odd, but just picture CowBoom’s best and brightest products joining forces to take on the dreaded evil of… high prices! Here’s how they’d all match up with their Avengers counterparts:

Captain America
A born leader, Captain America may be the living embodiment of Apple Pie and the good ol’ U.S. of A, but he’s one tough fighter who will never back down. He’ll persevere despite the odds and keep a level head, no matter the danger. His biggest asset, though? Well, his near indestructible shield. But that’s not what I meant. No. What makes him tops is that he’s a natural leader, able to take charge and bark out orders whether it’s to a partner, a team or an entire army. We’re talking the King of Communication here.
Avenging Gadget: What could be more fitting as an electronic equivalent for the Super-Solider than a Smart Phone? Whether the latest iPhone, Droid or Samsung Galaxy, smart phones connect people instantly. These days, communication goes way beyond just talking on a phone. There’s e-mail, instant messaging, social media and more. Want to find someone quickly, get the word out on something instantly, or connect with hundreds of people at once? Yeah, you’ll need a Smart Phone.

Iron Man
They don’t make them much cockier than Tony Stark. But the billionaire inventor has good reason to be so sure of himself: he’s one of the smartest tech-heads in the world. What do gadget geeks love most about their tech? Two things: power and slickness. As Iron Man, Tony has both. His armor is one massively powerful weapon, able to fly at incredible speeds, shoot robot-decimating laser beams, as well as massively increase his body’s strength. Not only does he do insanely powerful things, but in that Iron Man armor, Shell-Head looks real good doing it too.
Avenging Gadget: When it comes to slickness, nobody does it better than Apple. From iPhones to MacBooks, the company knows how to make user-friendly products that are as much fun to look at as they are to use. Heck, even Apple’s packaging is first-rate. And when it comes to power, the Mac Pro Desktop is certainly up there. Slick and powerful, the Mac Pro can churn out calculations as quickly as you can request them. In fact, short of asking for a few martinis (and hitting on its secretary), it may be tough to tell a Mac Pro and Iron Man apart.

Hulk
You won’t like him when he’s angry. Heck, you probably won’t like him much when he’s happy either. The big, green fighting machine is just the super personification of raw power. He may not be the sharpest tool in the superhero toolbox, but he’s certainly the strongest. The Hulk is big. He’s loud. And he’s incredibly colorful.
Avenging Product: Have you seen a 46-inch Samsung 3D LED HDTV? Those things are huge, loud and mega colorful. It’s like cramming an entire movie theater into a perfect rectangle to hang on your living room wall. (Minus the sticky floors and soda-stained seats.) Watching movies on this bad boy is about pure power and adrenaline. Just like our jolly green giant of a friend.

Thor
Okay, so he may have been a bit of a spoiled brat, but can you blame poor Thor? After all, his dad Odin’s the ruler of Asgard. That’s not like being President Obama’s kid. It’s more like having the Emperor of Earth as your proud poppa. But regardless, Thor learned his lesson (humility!) and now the God of Thunder fights for the rights of Earthlings everywhere! With his magical hammer Mjolnir at his side, Goldilocks can bring down the lightning on any baddies who dare mess with the wrong guy. If Thor existed in our world for real, you just know he’d make everyone’s “Most Eligible Bachelor” list. Good looks. Powerful. Mysterious. Overflowing with confidence. He’s quite the catch, ain’t he?
Avenging Product: In all of gadgetdom there is nothing more coveted and mysterious than Apple’s iPad. It’s this gorgeous-looking device that can do practically magical things at the merest touch of your finger. A super bright, vivid screen that just gives off a super (almost godlike) aura of confidence.

Black Widow
Sexy, stealthy and secretive are just three alliterative words to describe the Avengers’ Super Spy Natasha Romanoff. A skilled assassin armed with an extensive arsenal of deadly weapons including her customized widow stings and cluster bombs, the Black Widow is as sultry as she is deadly. She sees everything, but is never seen. She’ll never forget a face. And nothing escapes her gaze.
Avenging Gadget: Small, stylish and able to perfectly record every moment pretty much describes today’s top-of-the line digital camcorders. Whether it’s Sony, Canon, Panasonic or any other major brand, you’ll see and record everything you set your eyes on. With slick features and plenty of curves, the only way to tell one of these from the Black Widow herself is the red hair.

Hawkeye
If anyone loves being a superhero, it’s got to be Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye. An expert marksman, Hawkeye’s bow is a natural extension of his arm. His weapon? A quiver full of various customized arrows, each with a different purpose to suit the moment. With a steady hand and an eagle eye, Hawkeye’s one superhero who rarely misses his mark.
Avenging Gadget: Shooting at targets? Precision marksmanship? Sounds like just about any disc you could pop into the crazy-entertaining video game console known as the XBox 360. Small and assuming, the Xbox 360 is most definitely one product you shouldn’t underestimate.

Which superhero is your favorite?

Andrew Kardon is the president and co-founder of JoeShopping.com, the friendliest coupons and deals site on the Web. He’s also a freelance writer and editor.

Update: Congrats to Cheryl C! The winner of this giveaway!

Click here to read the official rules.

By: Geek Squad Agent Danny P.

Modern smartphones are amazing. They are also an expensive investment. To safeguard our investment we buy cases, screen protectors, and protection plans.
Despite these precautions, nothing will prevent us from accidentally leaving our phones somewhere. And then there’s theft. They haven’t invented an accessory guaranteed to prevent that yet.

Losing a prized possession can be rough, especially when it’s an expensive one like a smartphone. Just the thought of misplacing my phone makes my heart sink and my wallet cry out in pain. The fear really comes in when I think of all the private data that ends up stored on my phone. Losing that could be embarrassing, inconvenient and potentially costly

Fear not! Its 2012 and our mobile devices are smarter than ever. Helping clients through the process of replacing mobile devices prompted us to put together the following step-by-step guide for protecting your phone or tablet.

Step 1: Lock Down Your Phone
If you want to make it more difficult for someone to access your data, lock your phone down with a password. Android phones and Apple iPhones both have a feature that requires pin codes and passwords to unlock them. Android phones can also be locked with a pattern that you must draw (or even facial recognition).  Note: unlocking your phone with your face is a cool feature but is not as secure as using a pin code or password. Pattern unlock is also susceptible to attacks because your fingers will leave marks as they slide across your screen.

Step 2: Encrypt it!
New tablets and phones that run the “Honeycomb” and “Ice Cream Sandwich” versions of Android allow all the data on the device to be encrypted. The encryption options are available in the security settings menu and will require you to set up a pin number that will give you access to your device when you turn it on. Encrypting your device isn’t a necessity, but it does increase how secure your phone is.

Step 3: Disable potentially risky settings
There is a function in the Options and Security section of the “Settings” menu in your Android phone called “USB debugging.”  Developers use this setting to access and update data on your device. This setting can also allow others to install apps on your phone. Android users should make sure this setting is “off” during normal operation.  Leaving this option “on” would give thieves access to data on your device should they get their hands on your smartphone.

Installing apps from outside of the Android Market isn’t necessarily bad, but once you go outside the recognized market, you need to be very careful about the sources of the apps. Don’t install an app from the web unless you’re sure that it’s safe.

Step 4: Here’s where it gets fun…
So far, so good. But how would you like to use Google Maps to find where you lost phone is?  How about using remote commands to have your phone to take a picture of the thief? Many phone and tablet security apps will allow you to do just that.

Android Lost is a free app that you can install on your Android phone that allows you to control the phone remotely. (Heck, the app can even be installed remotely.) With the app on your phone, you can remotely lock or wipe your phone, view its location on a map, play messages, read texts and even take photos using the phone’s camera. Once installed, you can prevent the app from showing up in the app list, and can control it right from the app’s website using any computer.  (Pretty sneaky and cool, eh?)

Other good Android security apps include Lookout Security and Where’s My Droid. If you own an iPhone with the latest version of iOS, you can use “Find my iPhone” functionality to locate your phone using any computer. This is part of Apple’s new iCloud services suite.

Locked&Found is our contribution to the mobile device security market.. Our program is available for all Android, iPhone and Blackberry phones and Android and iPad tablets. Locked&Found service is available as a standalone service and is included as part of our Black Tie protection plans for  tablets and phones.

We hope these tips help prevent future disasters.. If you don’t choose to put a password on your phone, at least install a security app. There are plenty of free ones, and it only takes a few minutes to setup. If these help you in the future, let us know! We’d love to hear about your success stories on Facebook.

Click here to read it on the Geek Squad Blog!

Join us for a game of movie trivia leading up to the big awards night on Sunday! We’ll be giving away fabulous prizes including DealCows, Best Buy Gift Cards, Fandango Gift Cards and a JVC camcorder! We hope to see you there!

Please click here to read the official rules.

]]> http://blog.cowboom.com/twitter-party-lights-camera-action/feed/ 8 http://blog.cowboom.com/whatever-you-want-giveaway/ http://blog.cowboom.com/whatever-you-want-giveaway/#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:55:16 +0000 Chelsea Osoling http://blog.cowboom.com/?p=4166 Continue reading →]]> If you had $500 what would you do with it? Go on a shopping spree perhaps? Pack your bags and take off on adventure? Whatever you want to do, we want to help make it happen. Consider us your virtual genie! We’ve teamed up with our friends at DealsPl.us to give one lucky CowBoomer a $500 Visa Gift Card to do whatever they want. Simply visit us on our Facebook page and fill out the entry form or pop over to our Twitter page and Re-Tweet the Giveaway tweet to enter to win.

Congrats to William N.! Winner of this giveaway!!

Click here to read the official rules.

Update: Congrats to our winner Jacqueline G! 

Please click here to read the official rules.

• Use proactive software protection. Anti-malware software is a basic requirement for initial protection on all computers. Viruses and spyware can creep into your computer and easily degrade performance and corrupt or even destroy data.
• Use a firewall. Firewalls assist in blocking dangerous programs, viruses or spyware before they infiltrate your system. Various software companies offer firewall protection, but hardware-based firewalls, like those frequently built into network routers, provide a better level of security.
• Steer clear of websites of ill repute. If you’ve fallen down the clickable rabbit hole in search of a “free download”, beware. That’s typically the first step in clicking on something that is meant to harm your computer, not help it.
• Keep your operating system updated. Repair the security holes that hackers love to exploit with the newest critical updates from Microsoft or Apple.
• Consistently backup crucial data. Backing up to a separate media device, or an online backup solution, on a regular basis ensures that important files are secure. Click here to search for deals on external hard drives.

Keep your PC clean of clutter!
Over time, hard drive space can get used up by temporary files (from the Internet, program installations, and more). The easiest and safest way to get rid of these and reclaim disk space is to use the built-in Windows Disk Cleanup Utility. You can search for “Disk Cleanup” in the start menu, or find it under “All Programs” > ”Accessories” > ”System Tools”. Not only will this utility safely find the files unnecessary for your PC, but will allow you to select which of them to be removed.
Another source of frequent clutter on your drive are files stored by your Internet browser.  These files accumulate as you surf the net every day.  To clear these unnecessary temporary files in the latest version of Internet Explorer, IE 9, click the gear icon in the top right-hand corner of your browser and select “Internet Options”. On the very first page/tab, you’ll see a “Browsing History” section in the middle of the window, with the option to “Delete.” On the next window, you get the option of deleting some or all of that data. Some of the information stored within Internet Explorer, like cookies, you may want to keep, as they help track when you revisit certain websites, preferences from last visits, however you can choose to delete all the information here safely. If you’re using another popular browser, like Firefox, you would find similar options under a “Tools/Preferences” menu, typically listed as “private data.”

Keep your PC healthy and up to date!
Updates are an important part to keeping your PC/Mac as secure and bug-free as possible. If you are using Windows, search for “Windows Update” in the Start Menu, or find it directly listed in the “All Programs” menu.  On a Mac, you can click the Apple logo in the top left-hand corner of your screen, and click “Software Update.” For both, it will scan your computer and check for any available updates. Once it has determined which updates you need, you can review them prior to installation, and determine if they appeal to you. If you’re not sure what something is, just use this rule of thumb: if the update is not listed as important, then you don’t have to install them; they’re optional. Anything listed as important, however, is vital to keep your computer as secure, and well behaved, as possible.

Keep your PC safe!
Antivirus or antimalware is another thing to keep in mind while maintaining your PC. If you have an active antivirus program, we recommend opening it on occasion to make sure it is up to date, and has scanned your PC recently. If you don’t have a current antivirus program installed, there are several recommendations we can make.  Norton, Trend Micro, and Kaspersky all make very effective products for a variety of terms and options.  If you prefer a no-cost solution for your antivirus, we can also recommend Microsoft Security Essentials. While lacking some of the features of a paid antivirus product, it offers you basic protection, and is updated by Microsoft themselves.

Keep your PC dust free!
Lastly, there is the physical cleaning of your PC. If your PC is over a year old, or in a dusty location, you may want to clean it with compressed air.  Keeping your PC clean of dust allows air to flow more freely, keeping the temperature down, and protecting the PC from overheating.  If you choose to use compressed air, be careful and follow the instructions listed on the can. Not doing so could result in damage to your computer from condensation (hold the can upright, spray in short bursts).

Geek Squad recommends performing these steps every 6-12 months, to keep your PC in optimal condition.  Not sure this is a project you want to undertake?  These are some of the same steps Geek Squad Agents utilize when performing a PC Tune-Up on your PC.  Agents are standing by 24/7/365 to keep your PC in prime condition.  Chat with an Agent today at GeekSquad.com or give us a call at 1-800-GeekSquad.

Read it on Geek Squad’s blog here.

For great deals on computers click here.

1. Remembering Steve Jobs – The tech world lost a great leader and visionary when Steve Jobs passed away on October 5, 2011. As a pioneer of personal computing and co founder of Apple, Jobs revolutionized the way we live our lives and will continue to influence generations to come.
2. Larry Page becomes CEO of Google – The co founder of Google stepped up to oversee the day to day operations of the company in addition to leading technology development and product strategy, his two greatest strengths. With growing properties including YouTube and Google+ as well as its dominance in the search market, Google is and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with.
3. Amazon’s Reign – Amazon is sticking to its guns with its A to Z motto. The internet giant has infiltrated just about every product category they can compete in this year. With the success of the Kindle in the e-reader category, the introduction of the Kindle Fire in the tablet category as well as products in mobile apps, music, TV and more.
4. AOL acquires the Huffington Post – The Huffington Post transformed the way many of us receive our news online and created a community of people that were able to contribute their ideas and content to the mix.  AOL acquired the HuffPo for $315 million and subsequently named its founder Arianna Huffington President and Editor in Chief. Huffington said, “by uniting AOL and The Huffington Post, we are creating one of the largest destinations for smart content and community on the Internet.”
5. The Groupon Frenzy -  Groupon has become one of the fastest growing companies in history. Its popularity has spawned a massive amount of start-ups all looking to cash in on the daily deal business. Most notably Living Social. While Groupon said no to Google who tried to buy them for $6 billion they have decided to give it a go on their own. While there is some controversy surrounding their IPO its certain that the group buying deal of the day phenomenon is here to stay.
6. Facebook reaches the masses – Earlier this year I was in the grocery store when I saw two soccer moms run into each other and immediately started chatting about something they saw on Facebook.  I thought to myself “its reached the masses”. Facebook announced it surpassed 800 million active users this year.  Not to mention the success of the Hollywood flick about the company entitled “The Social Network” which snagged a few Oscars in January.
7. Michael Arrington departs from Tech Crunch – Editorial independence was the issue at hand according to Arrington who sold Tech Crunch to Aol for $30 million in 2010. There was clearly some ego clashing between him and Arianna Huffington who became his boss when Aol also acquired her blog, the Huffington Post this year. Arrington made his last appearance for his site at the annual Tech Crunch conference “Disrupt” where he wore a shirt donning the phrase”Unpaid Blogger”, referencing a remark Huffington made starting “Arrington must step down as an editor but could remain an unpaid blogger.” Arrington has been focusing his efforts on his new venture capitalist endeavor “Crunch Fund” which Aol has invested $10 million in.
8. Netflix + Qwikster = Big Mistake - The company made headlines this year when they announced the separation of their DVD and streaming services. Given that customers would now have to pay more if they wanted to continue to subscribe to both services, sign into two separate sites and receive separate billing statements etc didn’t go over too well. Not to mention the decision to name the new DVD entity something as silly as Qwikster before checking the available Twitter handles made this move one of the dumbest. The CEO Reed Hastings qwikly realized his mistake and revoked the service before it launched albeit humiliation from the public in the process.
9. Mobile Sales Soar – It’s been a serious shopping season in the online world this year. E-commerce sales this holiday season have increased by 33% from last year and mobile sales soared, increasing 200% from last year. The majority of those mobile sales have been done via iOS devices, predominately via Apple’s iPad. This is certainly only the tip of the iceberg. We can expect to see a whole new wave of innovation surrounding applications to cater to this market in the coming years.
10. SOPA – If you haven’t heard about SOPA yet, get ready. SOPA or the Stop Online Piracy Act was introduced in October in an effort to control the content that is published online. It’s supporters include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the MPAA (Motion Pictures Association of America), and the Recording Industry Association of America. What exactly needs to be protected you might ask? According to a statement by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “Rogue Web sites that steal America’s innovative and creative products attract more than 53 billion visits a year and threaten more than 19 million American jobs.” An initial supporter of the act was the popular domain registration company, GoDaddy. Once their customers learned of their support they began leaving in droves, including the organization Wikipedia. GoDaddy has since changed their minds and  now oppose the legislation. Additional opposition includes Google, Facebook, Twitter, Zynga, eBay, Mozilla, Yahoo, AOL and LinkedIn. Recently, the opposition above wrote a letter to key members in Congress stating “a serious risk to our industry’s continued track record of innovation and job creation, as well as to our nation’s cybersecurity.” Learn more about SOPA from Cnet who wrote an impeccable article outlining the legislation and how it affects you. This is undoubtedly the most crucial event on this list and we’ll continue to hear more about it in the coming year.