Have you grown tired of the same old two-dimensional web browsing? If so, this should really pique your interest. If not, I think you’ll be equally impressed. Read the rest of this entry »

Everything evolves, even Thanksgiving. This year a host of high-tech achievements are enhancing the experience of gorging on food and avoiding weird relatives.

Turducken - a chicken stuffed in a duck stuffed in a turkey. Truly the pinnacle of bird-based meat dishes.

Turkey Deep Fryer - make your own deep fried turkey with this all-in-one system. Be careful though, heating a huge vat of flammable liquid to high temperatures can be dangerous.

Smoked Beer Can Turkey - this stroke of genius combines turkey, beer, and several scientific principles to infuse your meal with beer flavor.

Oh what fevered dreams bid to rip the cellular industry a twain? With Google’s new mobile OS out, talks about a 700Mhz bidding war, and a possible Sprint acquisition rumor, the wireless industry is becoming very interesting.

Content providers like Google are increasingly becoming worried over being squeezed by network owners, and with the recent Comcast debacle, Google’s fears are appearing well-founded. The major network owners could destroy content providers’ revenue models if the cost to reach customers skyrockets.

Owning their own networks is the best insurance policy content providers can have, and Google knows this. My guess is, when everything shakes out, Google will own one or more major pathway to its customer. It may be cellular, land-based fiber, or a combination.

Through November 26, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) will be handing out two XO laptops per donation – one to a child in a developing country, and one to a child of your choice. The program is called Give 1, Get 1.

Who can resist when Masi Oka is the spokesman?

Additionally, T-Mobile is rewarding donors with one year of HotSpot access, available in about 8,500 locations in the U.S., such as Starbucks, Borders, airports, and Amtrak stations.

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I have been reading some very interesting things about the brain lately, particularly regarding memory. Memory has always been puzzling to me. Why is it I can remember every Futurama episode ever made, hundreds of IP addresses, and countless CSS tricks, but not all the names of my forty-some cousins?

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Great strides in the brain / computer interface domain recently. Researchers at the Wadsworth Center (apparently affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh) have created a brain/computer interface which enables severely disabled people (completely unable to move their limbs) to do complex computing tasks like writing Word documents and sending email.

They have even taught a monkey how to control a robotic arm to grab food and feed itself. All with the power of the mind.

Read the original article.

It gives me hope that I might see the day where I can toss out my keyboard and mouse and simply put on my thinking cap…

After many months of speculation, today Google finally confirmed their intentions for the mobile device market. Some expected a radically new take on the cell phone, while others speculated Google would stay in its comfort zone, and begin their foray into the cell industry with mobile software.

The latter group was correct, Google announced a mobile software platform named “Android”. Android is part of the Open Handset Alliance, which aims to create an open and powerful set of tools that will power a new generation of mobile devices.

This all sound slightly familiar. I could swear a few years ago another company tried the same thing and failed. I would write the Open Handset Alliance off, but hey, it’s Google. I have a feeling things are about to get very interesting in the world of cell phones.

A week ago I was strolling through my local shopping complex with the kids in tow. The weather was rotten, and I was desperately searching for something to keep them occupied for a few minutes so I could rest my weary bones.

To my surprise it wasn’t a toy store, candy machine, or fountain that provided my rug rats with the sensory distraction they so desperately needed. It was an advertisement. More specifically, an interactive advertisement platform from a company called Reatrix.

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One of my biggest complaints about PHP5 is that you can’t do genuine object overloading, you can only fake it using the __call() method and its brethren. The crappy part about __call() is that if you want to do anything complex, you end up reinventing the wheel in a big if, elseif… else block, or maybe a switch statement. It’s not well suited for real overloading, Java style. We’re better off just using func_get_args() at the top of a method and choosing different paths based on what we find in the function arguments. But that too can get overwhelming. I thought of a solution which I find interesting. I’m not saying it’s right, or even a good idea, but it comes as close to real overloading as anything, is quick enough to use, and demands strict variable typing. Read the rest of this entry »

The same division within Microsoft that makes its mice and keyboards plans to launch a new interface for interacting with computers. Dubbed “Microsoft Surface” it turns your desktop into your desktop.

The surface lays flat on your desk - you no longer have the keyboard, mouse or monitor, you simply interact by touching the surface of your desk. There are some videos if you want to see it in action. They are predicting a price point between $5K and $10K.

This is a classic example of a technology created first, seeking a market second - fairly risky. Where it would be nice is when you’re in a highly interactive, collaborative environment - say working with an architect. You could move design elements around interactively - rather than huddling around a screen and fighting over the mouse.

I’m going to wait for the 3-D Microsoft Holo-Surface. I think I saw that on Star Trek once, so you know it’s gonna happen….