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There is a plan to bring back BattleBots, the TV show with dueling robots controlled by human beings. But really, a robot by definition is supposed to be independent of outside control! A few years back, BattleBots were all the rage. Well, it’s time for a new breed of robot battle competition, and what would really spice things up would be - Artificial Intelligence. Today we have an international ’soccer robot‘ competition, which is nice, I guess, but we NEED real autonomous robot carnage! Read the rest of this entry »

We can’t guarantee what will happen if you try these, but they can be fun!

1 - The Screen Flip

First enable rotation the default key combination Ctrl + Alt + F1.
Holding down CTRL and ALT while pressing the DOWN ARROW flips the screen upside down.
To undo it, and flip it back to normal, hold down CTRL and ALT and press the UP ARROW.
This works with most computer setups, you can also try right clicking on the desktop and clicking properties, then settings, then advanced, and choosing the graphics card setup to flip the screen image. Read the rest of this entry »

So, while jogging on the beach, Marcus Plizinsky III is watching some guy doing magic tricks and throwing fireballs from his hands like Super Mario… wait, let’s back this up a bit.

1970’s: John McEnroe demands for a computerized judging system to replace line judges.

1980’s: Pong is invented to replace tennis and maybe appease John McEnroe. Read the rest of this entry »

Take a picture! It will last longer! Photography allows us to become masters of a single moment in time. From special occasions where that once-in-a-lifetime event happens, to vacation photos, capturing that moment with a camera really is priceless. Read the rest of this entry »

Devices touch us just as much as we touch them. We need to connect, select and direct! The connection we have is through something called an interface or simply put, an input device. If you have ever turned anything on whatsoever, you have used an input device! Congratulations!
The designers of technology have always strived to make it so that getting out of your chair was the last thing you had to do, Read the rest of this entry »

Since the dawn of the electronics revolution, (say like, 1920, just to round it off) people have had crazy ideas about what technology could do or what it could do for them. Their expectations were monstrously huge to begin with and in the decades since have been equally impossible, but have thankfully have leveled off. For instance, in the 20’s, people had huge expectations about electronics and thought that a trip to the moon (made of green cheese, of course) was going to be standard for everyone. We actually have proof of this on film, maybe you’ve seen it on PBS. You know the one where the rocket hits the man in the moon’s eye. Anyway, this was the era of jet packs and laser guns which have not really been perfected yet, but we do have TV in our cars. That’s pretty good.

The 40’s were a time when society was really banking on electronics to save their boring lives, not knowing that their boredom would soon be remedied by a war. An era of superhighways with no more smog was ‘just around the corner’ but didn’t they stop to think that these two things really just worked against each other? They were expecting to just tell their kitchen to make dinner, call them to the table, feed them, wipe their mouths, wash the dishes and put them away. Then “The Jetson’s” cartoon showed up and made kids everywhere think that they were getting a robot for Christmas. Radio serials like Flash Gordon only added to the eventual disappointment that interstellar travel and subsequent meeting of alien races was not in our future.

The peace loving 60’s and hairy 70’s was, ironically, a time of conflict and haircuts. The reality of technology not solving EVERY problem we had finally sunk in and people moved to communes to get away from it all. If they only knew that their favorite bands were using technology to make music. Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” album contains more electronic music than most 80’s bands, but we’re not in the 80’s yet, so hold on. Some groups thought that technology would be the answer to certain, shall we say, “Red” issues. This just scared the people instead of calming their fears.

The 80’s brought forth new technology such as cable TV, but also strange movies that led us to believe that technology was capable of anything. Apparently, a ‘freak storm’ and your buddies’ computer could create a woman, as seen in “Weird Science”, also that some kid could bring on nuclear destruction with his home computer in the Matthew Broderick vehicle “WarGames”, and continuing the theme of ‘technology gone wild’: “Short Circuit”. Hopefully Honda’s Asimo robot won’t get struck by lightning and wreak havoc. And if you think “RoboCop” or the original “Terminator” movie are even better examples, they are not, as those movies portray events in the future.

Today we have come to the realization that electronic devices are not meant to rule our lives, but enhance them. We are going to remain human, (that is, until nanotechnology changes us) even if bionic parts don’t really make us run super fast, they don’t cost six million dollars. Still, we have benefited from the use of electronic devices to communicate, to entertain, and do your banking at home. The best part is that you have the choice whether to use technology or to shun it, and if you do shun technology, why are you reading this online?

In the last 100 years or so, technology has risen far beyond anyone’s expectations. DaVinci thought up a tremendous amount of inventions that may or may not have worked, but he would have never have come up with a device which projects the human voice through waves in the air half way around the world. What does stand out among technology and the advances made are three basic uses for technology that most if not all types fall into.

1. Information: Starting with movable type and into today’s age of information gathering, storing, and retrieval, technology’s greatest contribution is just that: information. Think of the trillions and trillions of words, numbers and facts that are transmitted every day. This would include every telephone/cell phone conversation as well as every file sent, read and used. Every scientific calculation, and every calculator calculation would be counted here as well. Not to mention every email, webpage and texting/instant message that is sent. Technology allows us to hold on to and disseminate information as we please. It kind of blows the mind when you realize that we probably could not have made these strides in technology if we did not have the technology that held on to the information needed to make it!

2. Entertainment: From the humble beginnings when someone discovered that you could take a camera and engineer it so that you had a long spool of separate film frames and take moving pictures, we have always sought to use technology to entertain us. Today, we have DVD’s, video games, digital cameras, mp3 players and the list goes on. Technology as entertainment is how we relax and unwind, even if that ‘relaxing’ means a shoot ‘em up fest with a group of friends. Better sound, better graphics, better interfaces, there will always be a market for consumers to improve their experience. It’s a fact that we thrive on our senses being bombarded with entertainment. Plus, when you combine certain technologies, you become the entertainer, not just the entertained!

3. Ease of Life: Did you ever stop to thank your alarm clock for waking you up? Or maybe your TV remote for allowing you to just sit there and enjoy the show? How about your water heater for hot water? We take a lot of things for granted that modern technology has provided. We are still a few years away from Marty McFly’s Nike shoes that lace themselves, but look at what we have! Our digital watch tells us the time without having to calculate the angle of the sun to the horizon! We no longer have to pick up each speck of dirt from the floor! Who would have thought that GPS devices would actually TELL us where to go? Thank goodness we don’t have to go to the barber for a close shave! Our lives have improved tremendously with every advent of technological advance, but we hardly ever consider it.

In some of the examples, different kinds of technology could actually fall in multiple categories. However, these three just seem to stand out. Maybe they design technology to ease your life while entertaining you with information! Everyone uses technology for different reasons, but we all have benefited from each advance. Who knows what could be waiting for us in the ‘future’!

It’s that time of year, guys, when the real test of manhood rears its head! Oh, you haven’t been to ANY store and seen the Valentine’s Day display? Well if this is news to you, here are some great gift ideas for your lady that won’t die and won’t make her fat!

1. Don’t get that lame chocolate rose from the corner drug store! Try this instead:

It’s a baby dinosaur! What could be cuter? That teddy bear from the greeting card store? Please. This guy is interactive!

2. Yes, it may seem that a frame is not that romantic, but this is different:
You are showing you care because all she has to do is take her memory card out of her camera and slide it in this digital frame and… you get instant oooohs and aaaaahs. Couldn’t be easier.

3. Pay attention: this ONLY is for you guys whose girls ALREADY run or jog! Ok, that being said, she has an ipod, so why not make it so she’s not carrying the thing while running? Your answer:

The iPod Nano Armband - and, it’s red!

4. This is great for those couples who have those ‘he won’t ask for directions’ issues. Solve this relationship woe with

your Navigator GPS system. Your Valentine’s Day dinner place was never easier to find.

5. Did your girl get a Nintendo DS for Christmas, the pink one? Girls LOVE accessories, so why not accessorize her hand held?

You can brain train together all night long!

6. One way to patch up the “you’re always on your computer, spend time with me” issue: Get her a laptop of her own and… problem solved.

7. Pair this up with bath bubbles, okay?

8. This one is easy, guys: girls dig music. Streaming music on the Internet right in your home. Give her the gift of limitless entertainment!


And yes, her mp3 player attaches to this WiFi radio too!

9. “I love you. I love us. I love our whole family.” When she sees that safety and well being are at the top of your list, you will be on the top of hers. Watch your pride and joy with a

sweet baby monitor.

10. This can be a great hit and all you have to say is that it’s movie night, every night!


“It’s for US!”

Well, there you go. Show you care. Make your gift count, and don’t forget the power of the “Valentine’s Day card”. They go really well with the above items.

And speaking of geeks in the real world, there’s a gadget that’s trying hard to bring the real world into the geek. I’m speaking of the GPS, the greatest single effort to convince non-geeks to embrace the gadget. So how does a GPS turn a non-geek into a believer?

Good maps. Let’s face it, the point of a GPS is to use maps. You’ll want a system that provides good maps that are easy to load. Maps find their way to the GPS in basically two different ways. 1. Internal memory or hard drive 2. CD/DVD. Geeks probably won’t mind uploading maps from theinternet or the included DVDs through their computers to their GPS units (particularly in the case of portable GPS units the need to go jogging with you), but non-geeks will probably want a device that comes with the mapsthey’llneed preloaded.

Points of interest (POI). A good map will not only get you where you know you want to go, it will also get you where you don’t know you want to go. What do I mean? A good GPS will help you find points of interest nearby in the form of local business, landmarks, parks, schools, etc. Most commercial brandGPSs come with a vast number of POIs already programmed into their maps.

Readable display. This is where it really gets personal. Everyone has different taste, different eyes, and different needs. Whether you’re hiking, biking, or driving does make a difference to the type of GPS you’ll want, so think about your primary needs when you buy and buy accordingly. Thatwidescreen display looks pretty, but it’s going to be awful heavy when you’re meandering up Mount Everest.

This is the opening post in a series of “Bridging the Geek Gap” posts intended to find the common ground between geeks and non-geeks, and the gadgets that will appeal to everyone.

Lets face it, being a geek in the real world is hard. People don’t understand us. We talk about BAUD rates and Bandwidth and their eyes glaze over like a Christmas ham. The proliferation of internet use has helped a bit, but it hasn’t really advanced the cause of the electronics. Sure most households have a computer, many have more than one, but how many have real gadgets; the fun toys that geeks love and mundanes mock?

So where’s the common ground? Where’s our meeting point? What gizmo pleases everybody? In this series, we’ll those address those questions.

First gadget on the list: the Digital Photo Frame.

You’ve been to people’s home and offices and you’ve seen the same pictures for years. The kids grow, but the pictures stay the same. It always bothered me that I could never guess the ages of people’s kids from the pictures in their offices or homes. Not anymore.

As with all picture frames, it’s important that you find the frame that best matches your room. Luckily, the come in various finishes from classic wood finish to choose your own look . Mine is basic black.

Size does matter. While I don’t object to 5″ pictures in theory, in practice, I really preferred at least the 7″ screen unless you’re working with a small space to fill. Tastes will differ, so again, judge it by your surroundings, but generally I wouldn’t expect to go smaller than that unless you’re actually planning to carry it around with you, (but keychain photo albums are a different subject entirely, we’ll save it for another day)

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Ease of use is critical. If it takes more than two, clicks, Mom is going to give up. Luckily most all digital picture frames come with a handy remote with the all-powerful “slideshow” button. Press the button and that’s it. Obviously there’s some setup involved, choose how long each picture displays, stretch image, or display with original aspect ratio, transition effects, etc, but aside from intentionally performing setup tasks, if it takes more than two clicks to get from power on to picture, it’s not going to get used.

Memory cards -vs- internal memory -vs- wireless. We had a commenter on a previous post insist that wireless is a must. Wireless is a geek thing. I like wireless. Wireless allows you, the geek, to download your photos directly into your non-geek family’s picture frame. Not much downside in that.

Beyond that, it’s really a personal choice. If you or the people in your family or you have digital cameras, make sure whatever card your camera is using is supported by your picture frame. Not all frames support all cards. In our family, we have MemoryStick (Dad, Brother, Husband), CF (Me), and SD (2 sisters, and some parents). Any frame we get has to support all of us, so pictures can home easily from any source. All picture frames do have USB, so they’ll usually take USB drives as well.

The digital picture frame, a gadget that brings the family together.

If you have any gadgets that cross the geek-line into mainstream culture, feel free to suggest them for consideration in this series.