Can't Stop Geeking

If you have a home office but don’t like the idea of it being in the house, here’s the office pod. A 7×7 square cube that accomodates one person is only available in the UK at this point, but who knows who soon it will appear over here. I think the benefit to this is the carbon footprint it leaves is very light.

But these are not any ordinary cufflinks. These cufflinks have been made with recycled typewriter keys. So, you can get a set with your dad’s initials.  I think this is a great idea. It’s funny, unique and actually makes use of some old technology that would otherwise be sitting in a landfill.

I’m working on a Windows Vista computer, and let me tell, this thing is sssssllllloooowwww. I can’t begin to say how much time I have lost waiting for my computer to boot up completely, so I started looking for something to help make the transitions easier. My friend told me about application performance management solutions. I haven’t tried them yet, but I guess they make it so your computer software runs more smoothly.

In an apparent effort to compensate for the competition from Apple’s iPad, Amazon released a software update that allows it e-reader to access Facebook and Twitter. So, if you have a book you’re reading and want to share a passage on Twitter or Facebook, you can now do that. I still want to make sure I can highlight certain passages for later reading.

I see that some of the innovations for laptops are coming out and one of those innovations is the increased use of virtual keyboards.  What I see are holograhipc projectors beaming an image of a full QWERTY keyboard that is supposed to eliminate and reduce the bulk of mobile computers. I wonder how well these things will work. I may be labeling myself as a dinosaur somewhat, but I have trouble working with touch pad keyboards. My wife’s iPhone, for example, is one of those gadgets I love but will never own because of the keyboard.  I just like the feeling and response from actual keys. The problem for me is the sensitivity of the virtual keypad is so hard to get right for everyone. So, you either end with a keyboard that feels like it never responds or is to eager to respond.  Hope the IT guys can figure a way to please everyone.

I was born in 1977 so I obviously missed Star Wars’ initial theatrical release.  I was old enough to remember seeing the second movie in theaters, and I have been a fan of the series since then.  I dragged my family to the theater to see Return of the Jedi 6 times.  As a kid, some of my favorite toys were the Star Wars toys. While my parents weren’t poor, we didn’t exactly have a lot of disposable income, so some of the bigger toys remained fantasies in my head.  MSNBC just did a story today on some of the most memorable Star Wars merchandise not only from the original trilogy but also from the prequels. Some of the memorable merchandise is not necessarily for the better either.  This one, for instance, had me shaking my head. Now, some fans would love to have put Jar-Jar Binks’ head on a plate as a war trophy.  I didn’t have a grudge against him, but he was definitely not one of my favorite characters.  But to make a loolipop in the shape of a tongue then encase it in a set of Jar-Jar lips that pop open just creeps me out.  Think about this. A kid would look like he or she is kissing Jar-Jar in some overly affectionate passion.  And this was marketed to kids.  All I have to say is, “What were people smoking?”

This is multi-tasking on a whole new plane. Ondrej Vaclavik has designed a wristwatch that is actually a 1 GB jump drive. The band is the connecting cable and the USB connector attaches underneath the watch face. So, you can check your time and remind yourself that you need to get those files onto your laptop at the same time. Ah technology, where would we be without you? Well, we’d be unsure of the time and not know where the data is.

Depending on who you talk to, the new product from Apple could be just the next big thing in a long list of tech toys, or it could be the the next shift in technology.  I have to wonder.  I know some people who work on computers for a living and the work they have to do requires a computer that is capable of handling large programs, capable of very specific operations.  Putting these programs on an iPad is both impractical and inefficient from a memory standpoint.  It’s like some people need commercial lighting for their business while people who live in the home don’t require that much to turn light up their lving room. I think for most people who want a computer to surf the web or watch one of the variations of YouTube, the iPad is right up their alley.

image from inhabitat.com

This is a really cool idea, and it’s one that is fairly obvious to the point where you wonder why you didn’t think of it. This comes from the mind of a recent graduate of a design school. It’s an office desk that incorporates plants to create a cubicle atmoshpere. Not only does it provide a break from the standard cubicle walls, it’s environtmentally friendly and the design allows for either dense or light shrubbery. So, the degree that you can see the rest of the office is your personal decision. I just wonder where people are going to hang their Dilbert comic strips.

For an encore to yesterday’s bathroom mirror TV, comes a more practical bathroom gadget from PCWorld. This little guy is called a smart faucet. It uses facial recognition to adjust the water temperature and flow to your specific settings.  There’s also a touch screen that allows you to access email,  weather and other stuff.  I don’t know about the weather feature, but the water temperature is a cool idea.  I know my wife and I when we use the shower without turning the water off in between, she always seems to have a volcanic flow coming from the shower head. This would make life easier for both of us.