High-Tech Gifts For The Techies On Your List

Techies will love the almost unlimited options available this holiday season. From affordable tablets to the newest cell phones, there is sure to be winner on this year’s list of the hottest in all things techie.

(For instant news updates follow Patch on Facebook and Twitter.)  Small tablets are becoming a major selling point as consumers look for options packed in smaller packages. Apple has dominated the larger tablet industry with its iPad, and the iPad 4 will be released Nov. 2 with a starting price of $499. But competition is heating up in the smaller tablet market, with four worthy competitors vying for market share.   Gaming systems are continually being updated and reconfigured. If there’s a gamer on your list, maybe a new system is high on their list. eReaders are turning paperback enthusiasts into digital reader converts. Two new eReaders are brightening the industry this holiday season. These days, smartphones are everywhere, doing …

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Five Places to Pick Apples In and Around St. Louis

Check out these local places to pick apples.

We've got a round up of five places you might not have heard of where you can pick apples. All are within an hour or so of Town and Country and Manchester. 1. Herman's Farm: Herman's Farm in St. Charles has Jonathan, Red Delicious and Jon-A-Gold and Honeycrisp Apples available for picking from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. 2. Thierbach Orchards: Thierbach Orchards, located in Marthasville, MO, has apples available for picking on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. and to 6 p.m. for $1.30 a pound. They have bags available for you to use. Varieties include Prima, Gala, Honeycrisp, Missouri Red, Jonathan, Lura Red, Ellstar, Empire and Ultra Red Deli, among others. 3. Centennial Farms: Located in Augusta, MO, Centennial Farms has pick your own …

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iPhone 5 Is Coming: Are You Buying?

The latest incarnation of Apple's smartphone is set for release this month, the Huffington Post reports. An announcement is expected Wednesday.

Long lines. Waiting for backorders. Is it Black Friday already? No. But it is almost time for Apple to release the newest version of its iPhone. The iPhone 5 is set for release in the coming weeks. According to the Huffington Post, the phone could be in stores on Sept. 21. In addition to AT&T and Verizon stores, iPhones will be available at the two local Apple stores in West County Center and the Saint Louis Galleria. Apple is set to hold an unveiling today, the Huffington Post reports. Sources tell the Huffington Post that employees in local AT&T and Verizon stores are being denied vacation requests for late September in anticipation of large crowds seeking the new iPhone. CNET is reporting that Apple is planning for sales of near 10 …

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He Had Me at iPod: How Steve Jobs Made a PC Person Into An Apple Adopter

Upon hearing of Steve Jobs's death, Patch Regional Editor Holly Edgell recalls how her first Apple product changed her from a PC to a Mac.

I confess to feeling a bit like a member of an exclusive club when I enter the Apple Store at the St. Louis Galleria.  But I was a late Apple adopter. I never really got the Mac "thing." In college (circa 1990), one of my journalism classes met in lab where we usedMacintosh Classics. Thinking of a Mac-loving friend, I asked myself, "What's so great about this computer?"  I remained strictly PC as technology advanced and streamlined through the 1990s and early 2000s, both at home and in the newsrooms where I worked. First came the iPod The watershed moment came when I was teaching at Florida A&M Universityin 2005: Apple gave the faculty members iPod Classics.  The cool factor was immediately apparent: the design struck me as light years …

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Culinary Corner

It's Time For Apple Pie

Learn about the best apple varieties for pies, sauces and butters.

Apple season is upon us.Those crispy, refreshing, crunchy balls of juicy goodness will be lining the shelves of Walmart, Schnucks and Dierbergs in Manchester and Whole Foods Market and Straub's in Town and Country. There are many varieties, each having characteristics best suited for different cooking methods—pie, tart, sauce and cider among them. Some of the best for eating raw are the McIntosh and Honeycrisp varieties. Tangy and juicy McIntosh apples have a thin, tight skin and a fine, white flesh. Despite their superior flavor, McIntoshs cook down quickly and make for a mushy pie. Honeycrisp apples, as the name implies, are quite sweet. Incredibly crisp and juicy, they make a great snack with peanut butter or on their own. Honeycrisps …

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Do It In A Day

Pick A Good Time in Eckert’s Orchards

Eckert’s pick-your-own orchards in Belleville has fruit, food and fun for the whole family.

If you’re looking for farm-grown fun this weekend, take a trip to Eckert’s Country Store and Farm where you can pick fruit by the sack full. Late summer and fall are the best time to visit Eckert’s, when the orchards are bursting with peaches (June through August) or apples (September through October). It also grows pick-your-own strawberries, blackberries, pumpkins and Christmas trees. Check the ripening schedule here for a full calendar. Eckert’s Belleville farm is where Alvin Eckert opened his first roadside stand in 1910. Now it’s the heart of a thriving agritourism business where visitors from the “big city” can bring kids to see where food comes from. Of course, Eckert’s is more than just a field of crops. You can spend the whole day…

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