Back in the day, the only television show my mother did not let me watch was "Married with Children" - which, of course, only made me want to watch it more.

At the time, there were no options to block specific content through your cable box, so Mom had to hope I was dumb enough not to turn down the volume when the familiar "Love and Marriage" theme song wafted through the rec room. Usually I was, and Peg and Al Bundy were soon replaced with less offensive Nickelodeon fare.

These days, parents can program their TVs to block certain shows, prevent junior from accessing inappropriate Web sites, and track their whereabouts with cell phone GPS. But is that enough?

Apparently not, according to Sen. Mark Pryor, an Arkansas Democrat.

The House last week approved a bill from Pryor that calls on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to more thoroughly investigate the availability of parental monitoring technologies and produce a report within 270 days of the bill's enactment. The Senate already approved the measure, but must reconsider it with House-approved amendments.

TiVo scored a victory Monday when the Supreme Court refused to intervene in a $74 million DVR patent case against Dish Networks.

The high court rejected a bid by Dish Networks to invalidate a 2006 Texas District Court decision that found Dish guilty of violating TiVo's patent for "time warping" technology, which allows TV viewers to tape one show while watching another.

TiVo sued EchoStar, which changed its name to Dish Networks in December 2007, in 2004 for patent infringement, and won a $73.9 million judgment two years later. An appeals court upheld that decision in April 2008.

"We are extremely pleased" by the ruling, TiVo said in a statement. "We look forward to the expeditious receipt of damages awarded by the District Court covering the period through September 8, 2006 and remain confident that the District Court will enforce the injunction and award further damages from EchoStar's continued infringement of our Time Warp patent."

Dish Networks said the high court's rejection was "expected" and that it will not affect future production of its DVRs.

Fellow PCMag.com Network site 1Up's Philip Kollar did the work for all of us: He's parsed all the info that's been disseminated so far on the anticipated next version of Nintendo's beloved handheld gaming console, the DSi, and pulled all the pertinent stuff together.

Such as this: Yes, we've all heard the DSi will feature a camera. But did you know it'll actually have two? And why?

And how about backward compatibility? Which games will you have to give up with the new console?

Get your answers and lots more at 1Up.com.

Digital Foci announced today what it's touting as the "highest pixel density digital photo frame" available today: the Image Moments 6-inch high-res frame , with a 5.7-inch VGA (640 by 480) LCD screen.

The snazzy-looking $149 list chrome frame offers quite a range of cool features and options: 450MB of internal memory, numerous playback options for both photo and video (with or without music), compatibility with a wide array of image-, video-, and audio-file formats, the ability to play photos, video, and music files from multiple memory sources at the same time, and an LED backlight. It has slots for CompactFlash, SD/HC card, MMC, Memory Stick, MS PRO, xD-Picture Card, and even MS Duo/MS PRO Duo memory cards; or you can play pics and videos directly from your camera.

Shipping starts October 13, but you can preorder now.

Now this is a great idea: Joel Durham of our fellow PCMag.com Network site ExtremeTech, decided that instead of buying an updated PC for his family, he'd build one. Even better, he enlisted his 10-year-old son to help. (The perfect age to begin--or perhaps to complete?--the geekification process!)

Joel details the entire process, including all the components he rounded up and each step the father-son duo took to create their new PC. The story's instructive--and encouraging--not only for building systems with kids, but also for those of us who haven't quite worked up the courage to take a crack at this ourselves. Check out the story along with plenty of photos at ExtremeTech.

Of course, it wasn't true. But what I couldn't quite get my head around, once I started looking into it, was why anyone would believe it to begin with.

The thirst T-Mobile users have for the upcoming T-Mobile G1 Android phone is intense, it seems. We got a statement today from T-Mobile where they said they're all sold out of their stock to be delivered on Oct. 22, but they're still taking orders:

"Given the great anticipation and the heavy pre-sale demand for the T-Mobile G1 with Google, we nearly tripled the number of phones initially available for delivery on our Oct. 22 launch date, and have sold through them all. However, to accommodate additional T-Mobile customers who want to pre-order a device, they now have the opportunity to place a pre-order through Oct. 21, for delivery at a later date. Also, people can still pre-register on the T-Mobile G1 Web site to be notified prior to launch where they can purchase the device beginning Oct. 22. Details are available on the T-Mobile G1 Web site, www.T-MobileG1.com."

If you're curious about the G1, you can check out our hands-on preview on PCMag.com.

As a Gearlog reader, you may not know Veanne Cao by name. But if you've watched any videos on the PC Mag Network over the past year or so (save for those poorly shot, grainy ones that appear on Gearlog from time to time, which are primarily my work/fault), you certainly know her work.

Today is Veanne's last day as our East Coast video producer. During her time here, she's been incredibly busy shooting video product reviews, episodes of What's New Now, and most recently, Smashd.tv--in fact, regarding the latter, she's the one thing that's kept it from becoming an unmitigated disaster (no offense, Kyle).

Veanne leaves us with three videos this week, at least two of which might have gotten her fired, if she hadn't already given notice. OK, that's not actually true--but these videos are the epitome of the ways in which her output has helped shake thing up around here.

First off is the Smashd.tv episode, in which I accuse Ms. Cao of weeping softly over the course of the video.

Second is Veanne's final episode of What's New Now. Stay tuned for the end, where we present her with a gift she almost certainly never would have asked for. Thanks, PJ.

The last is her coup de grace, the blooper reel she's been threatening to release for a while. It features, among other things, at least two PC Mag staff members singing selections from "West Side Story."

Thanks, Veanne. And stay tuned for next week's Smashd.tv, which will be shot with a video camera taped to the back of a feral cat.

Sony Ericsson has submitted a patent application for what seems to be a process to improve zoom functionality with its cameraphones. Automatic zooming is supposed to work like this: The closer you hold the cameraphone to your subject, the wider (or closer) the zoom, and the further it's held away, the more telephoto (or zoomed in) the camera will be. This interesting concept involves the use of accelerometers and proximity sensors--sort of like a Wii controller.

This USB 4-port Hub from USB Fever may have a totally different practical application than the Super Kid or the Octopus. The hub has three embedded magnets, so you can place it anywhere metallic--which could make it easier to get some clutter off your desk. Attach the hub to the body of your desktop, a filing cabinet by your computer, or your desk.
As the site states, "If your just usb your USB Hub once for a while and don't brother to put one more stuff on your desk, will you consider this Hub." Unfortunately, magnets don't help much in translating to English. Get your own for $13.99, with a $2.99 shipping charge for U.S. orders.

Sony announced a new Sony Portable Reader System model last night at a press event in New York, and Dan Evans and I were there to check it out. The PRS-700 ($399, due to hit retail shelves sometime in November) won't be replacing the previous e-reader, the PRS-500 but will be an addition to Sony's line.

What will you get for the extra money? Most important is a touchscreen, which lets the reader swipe a finger to turn pages; with the PRS-500, you use D-pad controls to navigate through your i-book. With the new model, you can turn a page at a time, either forward or backward, and swipe-and-hold to move more quickly through pages. Sony has also added LED side-lights to the screen, which, like the previous model, is not backlit.

More details, pics, and our impressions after the jump.

I'm pleased to report that, after producing the first episode of Smashd.tv, neither Kyle nor I were promptly fired. After that sort of behavior, we both expected to have had our key cards forever deactivated. Instead, we've lived to shoot another day.

In this second episode, we brought on PC Mag's CE reviews editor, Dan Evans to talk about the MIO Knight Rider and Bug Labs' Peter Semmelhack, who spoke about his company's cool, hack-friendly device.

And, of course, the show wouldn't be complete without a bit of smashing. An old LG clamshell gets the business-end of a hammer, and that's a wrap for episode two.

Oh, and if you haven't yet, don't forget to check out episode one. Back story is very important.

HP is looking to expand its iPaq beyond the stodgy business world. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company is looking to position its next smart device to consumers, as well.

The new device, the latest in the iPaq line, will run Windows Mobile and will feature both a touchscreen and a key--and of course, it will be able to e-mail and access the Web.

The latest iPaq is most likely set to make its European debut in the next two months, with an international launch following after.

Currently the company holds a 3.3-percent share of the global smartphone market.

Samsung has recently launched what it touts as the very first dual 2.2-inch screen cell phones, the SCH-W570 and SPH-W5700. Both are 3G handsets utilizing a clamshell form factor with a screen that works on both sides. When the clamshell is closed, the external face of the display shows a dedicated user interface that allows quick access to music, videos, mail, and other data on your phone. No more minute OLED external display to put up with. When flipped open though, the same 2.2-inch screen displays the usual cell phone user interface. Other than the dual screen, the Samsung SCH-W570 and SPH-W5700 phones are equipped with a 3-megapixel camera.

Victor Japan or JVC and the Japanese National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) have developed a 3D display presented during CEATEC 2008. The large 72-inch display doesn't need special 3D glasses--the effect could be seen by the naked eye. The display has full HD resolution (1920 x 1080p) and allows users to view the image on screen with a 20 degree 3D angle on both sides (sample image above).

The 3D effect is accomplished by using multiple full HD projectors to project images from the back and produce images with more than 100 million pixels. By optimizing alignment of projectors, light on screen could appear as if it's bouncing off of the 3D image. NICT and JVC plan to commercialize the 72-inch prototype exhibited by 2011, although it's possible to produce 3D displays using the same technology that are 200 to 300 inches in size.