Not to sound like a total buzzkill, but cute viral wedding proposals are a dime a dozen these days. Seems like every geek on the Internet is trying to outdo one another by popping the big question in a "quirky" techie way that exhibits their mad photo/video/PhotoShop/Final Cut skills. But nine times out of ten, the result is kinda cookie cutter -- or just really ridiculous. (Anyone proposing via tweet or Facebook post, I'm looking at you.)

Still, that one time out of ten, a guy gets it right and uses technology to make a unique and bold proposal to the love of his life. Consider Jim Brazda, a 31-year-old Omaha, Nebraska photographer, who recently asked his girlfriend Tiffany to be his wife through a video game he designed.

When you've been in a relationship a long time, you kind of fall into a routine. Dinner, wine, couch, fall asleep, repeat. It's lovely and cozy, and everyone likes what they know, but every once in a while, it's nice to mix things up a bit. Every once in a while, it's nice to play a game.

We're not talking board games here -- though, those are nice, too. We're talking video games. A little friendly competition among partners. It's exactly what you need to perk up an otherwise hum-drum Monday night.

Here are 5 ways gaming can improve your relationship.

SOPA, iPhone 5, Apple's crappy Maps app, oh my! Doesn't it already seem like these things were news forever ago? As we stare down the barrel of a brand new year, let's take a moment to revisit some of the hottest tech moments that happened in 2012:

Facebook went public. Facebook's much-anticipated IPO happened in May, drumming up so much media hoopla in the process it earned its own Wikipedia entry. It opened at $38/share, as of today's writing it's worth $25.91.

So Christmas is over and your house is full of gadgets. Now what? As the proud owner of far too much gear, I don't often follow my own rules of the road, but here are a few quick tips to keep them safe for you and yours this holiday. 

Rather than run down a list of games that your kids might play all alone in their rooms, hunched over their controllers, I decided to recommend a few games that you and the little ones (or not so little ones) can play together. These are some of the best titles I've seen this year and they're all available now for various platforms.

New Super Mario Bros U - If you've picked up a Wii U (or are planning to), this is the game to get. While NintendoLand is fun -- it's sort of a Wii Sports for the U and it comes free with every console -- the real winner on the console is NSMBU. It's basically Mario Brothers in HD with lots of chances for multi-user play. Best of all, the littlest players can use one of the controllers to place platforms for other players to jump on during tough spots in the game, allowing less experienced players to leap and swoop through the various levels without dying too many times.

As a gadget fiend, I love to help folks pick out the best gear. To that end, here's a quick guide to some of the cool things to shop for (and not to shop for) this holiday season.

Buy - Windows 8 Touchscreen Laptops

Don't Buy - Windows Desktops

Windows 8 is here whether we like it or not, and the new OS works best on a brand new touchscreen mobile device rather than a stodgy old desktop. Unless you're looking at an "all-in-one" PC - a PC with a big touchscreen and built-in processor and storage - you're not going to be happy running Windows 8 on a non-touchscreen device. Newer laptops will be a bit more expensive - about $999 for the Yoga pictured above - but it will be worth it if you're planning an upgrade.

It's Thanksgiving! Hooray for thankfulness, gorging on food, spending time with loved ones, and gazing fondly at your well-behaved children as they engage in quiet, polite conversation while sitting peacefully and -- what's that? Your kids have been feral monsters all morning and you're about to cram them in a gravy boat if they don't stop galloping back and forth in front of the football game? Ah, you've come to the right place, then. If you're looking for a little child-related distraction in the form of mobile gameplay, I've got some fantastic suggestions for you.

Sometimes you just need to plug a kid in front of a smartphone or tablet for a half hour or so in order to reclaim your sanity, am I right? But it's also fun to sit down and play games together as a family, so what I've got for you is a list of my top 5 favorite mobile games that my kids and I BOTH love. Check it out:

My boys have lots of age-appropriate tech devices, can set the DVR by themselves, and know about the latest viral YouTube videos before I do. But sometimes I worry I am ruining them with technology. What are all these "convenience tools" doing to their "sponge-like" kid brains? Squelching their innate talents? Robbing them of the glory that comes from good old-fashioned benign neglect and boredom?

When I think back to my childhood, spent pretending my bike was a horse and making eraser people, I do think my kids are getting a little screwed. We had no technology (unless you count Lite Brite); we had to learn to make do. We were boredom survivors. Some of our best days revolved around playing House (the only one left standing in a nuclear war) and making great duct tape things, which we then sold to strangers from mom's card table. It was a wonderful time. Life's answers weren't a Google search away, and we, no doubt, came out brighter (briter?) because of it. Didn't we?