There's no phony theme for this week's collection of gizmos and gadgets, except that most offer some sort of technological boost or improvement to differentiate them from similar gadgets that have gone before, or boost or improve the user's ability to use it. And all are, of course, kind of cool.

Not all gizmos and gadgets used about the head are designed to emit audio, and not all gizmos used around the house are designed simply to be used in the living room. Today's collection includes a hair dryer, a kitchen spice garden, a new-fangled front projection HDTV and a text messaging bracelet.

Learning how to photograph people is easy with a few basic photography tips. I wish I could have shared some tips for portrait photography with my relatives during a past visit, or could have handed them a camera like the Sony NEX-5R that can automatically compose the perfect portrait. Read on for some easy tips to take better portrait photos. 

Samsung's presentation of its new Galaxy S 4 smartphone last Thursday night at Radio City Music Hall and Times Square in New York City was perhaps one of the most extravagant ever for a new gadget. Unfortunately, the tall format of these photos doesn't capture the wide-stage nature of the events.