At a preview of what is to come at the 2009 Toy Fair, Mattel showed off a high tech toy that prints fashion designs right on little girls finger nails.  Featuring more hi-tech bells and whistles than many printers, the new toy is something of a technological marvel.  Here's how it works:

On December 8, 2008 I showed off some great family friendly hi-tech gadgets and games for the holidays on the Today Show. To view the segment click here.

Ultimate Band (Disney $49.99) Apparently Disney’s marketing people didn’t get my memo suggesting that naming their programs the “ultimate” was serving up low hanging fruit for critics such as myself. “Ultimate”? Really! Really? No, not really.

With the economy in tough shape, the Today Show asked me to come up with four back to school tips that won't break the bank. I decided this was an opportunity to include free, top-notch, open-source software, a topic that has rarely gotten major play in the mainstream media. You can see the video here.

The Backyard sports franchise still does what it has always done best: provide simple game play for children who want to play sports games, but aren’t ready for the big leagues. There is even a bit of graph reading as kids choose ups sides, though it hardly counts as a math lesson.

I'm reviewing Mario Super Sluggers in the Children's Software Section, though it might equally fit in the Games Section. However, the marks might be very different. Although it is a sports game, Mario Super Sluggers is not the kind of deep, rich, challenging baseball game hardcore sports freaks are looking for. I suppose most of them would have gotten that from the anthropromorphic mushrooms, dragons and fairy princesses on the cover, but I promise you some gamer sites will evaluate this program as if it was designed for dorm room play.

Does the Nintendo DS have a role as a learning platform? For over twenty years computers have been used for drill-and-review of math and spelling. Disney, Learning Company, Knowledge Adventure and others have transitioned from computer to dedicated portable systems like Leapfrog, and onto the internet. What about the Nintendo DS? Perhaps, but Crave’s $19.99 spelling program doesn’t make the case very well.

While software manufactures have largely stopped making new consumer educational software, there are some notable exceptions (including makers of hi-tech toys). Be sure to see our new reviews of Jumpstart World and Disney's Playschool for computer users. In addition, here is a sampling of games and gear that help develop kids instead of turning them into video game junkies.

There was a time when children’s learning software was critical to the growth of home computing. Dozens of titles were released every year. And yet, this year there are almost no new learning titles on the PC (aimed at consumers) and precious few on other gaming platforms.

So, who killed the home educational software market and what lessons can be applied to other software markets like gaming and Web 2.0? Like a CSI team, let's examine the corpse for clues – and see if the killer is still on the loose

The twenty-four arcade style mini-games in Majesco’s Turn It Around provide rapid fire, short attention span fun. However, it does make me wonder about the ESRB’s rating system This “E” rated game features one activity where the “entertainment” is helping a “subordinate” get a drunken boss through a maze of people, muttering “pretty girl” at the women he runs into.