SATURDAY SHOW EDITION

NERDY CHRISTMAS II: THE WRATH OF KAHN
(hat tip boingboing)
How about gingerbread laptops and motherboards?

ELECTRONICA 2004: The Top Tech we've heard about this year ...

Here it is, the year end list. The coolest, most cutting edge electronica we can find. Stuff way ahead of it's time - almost like it came from the future to make our tech life uber cool (and they make great Christmas gifts as well - hint hint).



VIRTUAL LASER KEYBOARD - This bad boy got 2004 hitting the ground running. Originally designed by an Israeli tech company, many people thought it was an urban tech legend. Until they started selling them. And now you can get one, for a paltry sum of $199!

The Virtual Keyboard uses light to project a full-sized computer keyboard onto almost any surface. Used with Smart Phones and PDA's, the VKB provides a practical way to do email, word processing and spreadsheet tasks, allowing the user to leave the laptop computer at home. VKB observes the user's finger movements to interpret and record keystrokes. Since the virtual keyboard is an image projected in light, it completely disappears when not in use.



BLUE DOCK - Turning your Pocket PC into your desktop.

Couple it with the Virtual Keyboard and a wall- mounted LCD screen, and you've completely cleared your desk of tech-clutter!



ELUMENS VISION STATION - a 160 degree field of view, parabolic monitor. DOOM 3 will never be the same.



SERIOUS MAGIC VISUAL COMMUNICATOR, ULTRA, and DV RACK - with this trio of uber cool applications from SERIOUS MAGIC, budding Spielbergs can not only create video movies and tv shows in stunningly high quality, they can have a complete studio on their PC! Applications include VIRTUAL SETS and GREENSCREENING, TELEPROMPTERS, and DIRECT RECORDING TO YOUR HARD DRIVE - freeing your camcorder's miniDV tape to be a slaved backup. These guys really GET IT.

So much so, that Serious Magic gets E-R's SOFTWARE OF THE YEAR FOR THE SECOND YEAR RUNNING! Well done, guys!


APPLE's iMAC G5 - Stylish, functional and fast. Everything you expect from the Mac. Did you really expect it to not be on the list?



TAPWAVE ZODIAC - So cool, E-R had to have one. Not only is it a rock solid PDA using the latest PALM OS, but it plays games - with force feedback mind you - has an mp3 player with stereo speakers AND earbuds, and can play MOVIES off one of it's twin SD Card slots. And now, you can surf the internet via a SD Card WiFi card. The only thing missing is a hard drive. Are you Tapwave guys listening? GIVE US A HARD DRIVE!

http://www.tapewave.com



DESKSPACE ANYPLACE - Perfect for the business traveller who has to do work ANYWHERE. Adjusts To Standup Height. Can be used in a car. Great Portable Projector Stand. Strong, Stable, Slim and Lightweight. Instantly attaches to your rolling luggage, wheeled laptop case or cart. And at $79, this is a must for any laptop user stuck in an airport. DeskspaceAnyplace.com.



CAR LOCATOR - If you're a parent, having the ability to track the car you just loaned to your teenage son or daughter is a godsend. CARLOCATE.COM



BIONIC DOLPHIN - Travels like a submarine, swims like a dolphin. The ultimate underwater ride. You can't buy one yet, but it will certainly be a hot commodity once it hits the market for real!



And speaking of Dolphins, honorable mention goes to the guys who invented this - an artificial dolphin fin for Fuji the dolphin.




POWERSKI JETBOARD. Who needs a "tasty wave" when you have this bad boy? So what if the waves are all beach break or blown out? Now you can jump into any body of water and hang ten. TOTALLY!

And the ultimate tech gadget of anykind for the year 2004 ...



SPACESHIP ONE
Burt Rutan won the $10 Million Dollar XPrize and it has flung the door WIDE OPEN for private space exploration, space tourism, and other commercial space ventures in the final frontier. Even William Shatner wants to fly it!

NINTENDO DS WILL SOON PLAY MP3s and VIDEOs

(hat tip daily rotation)

Coming soon - a special plugin that allows Nintendo DS users to not only play games, but listen to MP3s and watch MP4 Videos as well!

Now that's what I call listening to the target audience.

A POCKET SCANMAN?

(hat tip the Giz)



Tokyo University researchers have invented a flexible, plastic scanner which can get into the spine cracks of OLD books and actually scan the image. It uses a set of organic diodes to register the image using reflected light - i.e. a light bulb!

Man, it's a good time to be a geek.

SIGHT UNSEEN

(hat tip engadget)



Researchers at UC Santa Cruz are developing a "virtual cane" for the blind. What's next, Aibo Guide Dogs?

OH TENENGEEK

(hat tip engadget)



A Christmas tree for computer geeks. Wow. Imagine the wreath.

1000 uses in your pocket ...

TECH TUESDAY: DIGITAL MUSIC

(hat tip yahoo)

JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS - USB CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!

Now you too can have a Yuletide PC with this HOWTO.

HACK: CONTROL YOUR XM RADIO FROM YOUR PC

(hat tip i-hacked.com)

Not that you would, but you could.

iPOD: REAL SONGS NOT ALLOWED ... WE'RE SERIOUS THIS TIME

(hat tip slashdot)

The latest childish broadside in the Apple/Real war is that new iPod firmware updates lock out RealNetworks Music, making them unplayable. Essentially picking songs right out of your pocket.

Come on, Steve Jobs, GROW UP. Can't you fight a war against Real without waging it on your OWN customers?

RIP DIGITAL

(hat tip The Giz)

Now you can pay someone else to put those 1,000 songs in your pocket.

I WISH I WAS A SPACE MAN

(hat tip geekpress)

Oracle is running a Sweepstakes where the first prize is a free suborbital flight into space.

I'm in. Let's light this candle!