The arms race is on. The workplace has become a dangerous place, but once upon a time, it was all a laugh. Back in the day, your workmates chased each other with squirt-guns, then disc-guns. Everybody laughed when somebody brought in the harmless Airzooka. Gleefully, somebody brought in a marshmallow blaster.

Then it went kinda nuts. Sonic Grenades, catapults, lightsabers, ninjas… Suddenly, it was less about harmless fun. Suddenly, things got serious. Deadly serious. The day that the guy down the hall brought in the USB Missile Launcher was the day the gauntlet was thrown down.

Today is the day it gets picked up, and slapped across the face of your office enemy. ThinkGeek’s new USB Rocket Launcher has more than twice the range of his missile launcher – yeah, I said twice the range. Now you can be the one your cube-neighbors fear, and fear leads to respect… or does fear lead to anger? I forget.

Get Yours At

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Youtube Videos

What’s incredible, it’s that the umbrella is for real, and there’s even plenty of interest on the product for some agencies to get them.

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Now you will have your choice of avatars for your account, that look a little like bobble heads. I am not really crazy about it, but will have to see how it looks. Actually, I think it would be much cooler if you are able to create your own avatars.

Here’s another picture of how it would look when you browse your titles:

Can you say “iPod Cover flow” without actually saying it?

Anyway, the think looks cool enough to try out. Personalization would make the difference between a great user acceptance or just an annoying feature.

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Mars Rover for your Home

Explore the dangerous terrain of your home or office with the SRV-1 Mobile Robot. This palm sized bot packs tank-like treads, a 32-bit ARM processor and a mini video camera. The included wireless transmitter interfaces via USB with any PC up to 300 feet away. The Java based host software supports Windows, Mac or Linux OS and features a built-in web server to monitor and control the SRV-1 Robot with a web browser anywhere in the world. Live video from the robot updates at a few frames per second and runs at resolutions of up to 320 x 240. The built in proximity sensors can be toggled on or off to assist when driving the robot manually. An autonomous roving mode allows the SRV-1 to explore independently while avoiding obstacles. Video surveillance recording can be scheduled based on time or date and saved as an AVI video file. Built in web based user-management controls who has access to pilot the robot or change settings. Multiple users can watch the live video feed from the robot without having access to control it. The included software is completely open source on both the host computer end and the robot firmware. Budding programmers can exploit some other nifty features of the robot such as visual object tracking.

Important Note:
The SRV-1 Mobile Robot comes fully assembled and ready to use, but requires some basic technical knowledge of Java and the command line to set-up the software. If you feel comfortable tinkering and have had experience configuring a basic web server you should be in fine shape.

Product Features Drive robot manually via web browser with live video feed Built in proximity sensors can be toggled on or off to assist when driving the robot manually Archive video on demand or via schedule Control access to robot and video feed via multiple user accounts Roving mode allows autonomous exploration with basic vision detection Wireless control up to 300 feet from host computer Fully open source and programmable Hardware Specifications Robot moves at 20cm – 40cm /second (about 1/2 mile/hour or 1 ft/sec) with variable speed control and differential steering 60MIPS ARM7TDMI 32-bit processor Digital video camera with resolution from 80×64 to 640×480 pixels (Currently only up-to 320 x 240 supported in software) Four infrared sensors detect object proximity and allow communication with other Robots Zigbee USB 802.15.4 wireless module included (Range 100m indoors and 1000m line-of-sight) Updatable internal robot firmware Internal 7.2V 2AH Li-ion battery pack, provides operation in excess of 4 hours Included AC Adapter for Charging Robot (100-240V 50/60Hz) Software Specifications JAVA based Control Application Runs on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux Robot firmware source code, written in GNUARM-compatible C, is available under open source (GPL) release

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Wall-E has the most disgusting and curious sidekick: a cockroach. Guess if you live in a inhabitable world, a cockroach is the best thing you can get. Plus, is pretty impervious to anything, even being run over.

What impressed me about the character is the ability to express emotion with a face that only has eyes hardly some eyebrows! However, he manages to express fear, joy, happiness, etc. I think this is a great result from Pixar.

The messages in the movie (we are too lazy, we depend to much on machines, we are poisoning our planet) are a little condescending, but remember that this is a movie for kids.

Ah, but don’t forget to visit the official site. The videos are a great laugh. The one with the vacuum cleaner is to die for.

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from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Don’t you hate it when you’re stuck trying to do the simplest things in World of Warcraft? Never fear; this guide will help you with your basic training.

Steps

1. Verify that your computer meets the system requirements, and then purchase and download the World of Warcraft basic game. Expansion packs, such as The Burning Crusade, provide additional content, but are not required to play. It is also possible to play using a trial version, but they come with significant limitations, and only last 10-14 days.
2. Start your game! When you log in, you’ll be prompted to select a server from the following types:
   • Normal: The standard game. Most players choose this option.
   • PvP: The standard game is modified in that Player versus Player combat can occur at any time.
   • RP: RP is an abbreviation for roleplaying. These servers have specific codes of conduct and naming guidelines. It is best to read them thoroughly before selecting this type of server.
   • RP-PvP: A Player vs. Player server that follows roleplaying rules.
3. To get a feel for the basic game, start on a Normal server. You can always make a character on a different server type, or, in many cases, transfer to another server, once you’re familiar with the game dynamics.
4. You should also consider server population during your selection process. Unless you have a friend on an existing server, “Medium” populated realms are recommended because they are neither deserted nor overcrowded, and tend to have a stable economy.
5. Create your first character! Pick Horde or Alliance, and then your specific race. Then, choose your class. Don’t just pick a class or race “because they look cool”. Read the info about them on the side, and follow your instincts. Have a reason for your choice!
6. Once you’re in the game world, take some time to get acquainted with the user interface. There are add-ons that you can download to modify, or supplement the default interface. Just go to www.curse.com for a good collection of these. Always scan any such downloads with anti-virus software before installing.
7. You can move around with the WASD keys, the arrow keys, or the mouse (by holding down the left and right buttons at the same time).
8. Once you’ve gotten used to the controls, take a look at your action bar at the bottom left of the screen. This is where all your spells and abilities are stored. The numbers in each box correspond to one of your number keys on the keyboard.
9. Near the spot where you first appeared in the game world, there should be a quest giver. NPCs, or non-player characters, with quests have yellow exclamation marks above their heads. Right click the NPC to see the quest text, read it, and then click “Accept” to accept the quest.
10. Your first fight! There should be several level 1, 2, and 3 enemies not too far away from where you start out. To begin your attack on one, right click it. You can use your spells and abilities by clicking buttons in the action bar, or by hitting the corresponding key on your keyboard.
11. That’s it! Continue on your journey through Azeroth by completing quests, and by killing baddies.

Tips

• While travelling, kill any monster that is two higher than your level or lower. The experience will help.
• Before going to the next zone, try to complete every quest in the current zone until you reach level forty. You will be happy that you did, as you will gain more experience and get rewards for doing them.
• When you reach level 10, you will be able to enter the Warsong Gulch battleground, in which two teams from the Alliance and the Horde play Capture the Flag against each other.
• Certain quests recommend grouping with others to complete a task. Many of these are dungeon quests, but some difficult creatures out in the world are too challenging to solo until you are higher level than they are. Ask for help from your friends or guild mates, or use the LFG tool to find other players.
• If you’re having trouble completing a quest, finding a certain item/NPC, there are several web sites you can go to for help. www.thottbot.com is probably one of the more popular search engines. Or you can get the quest helper add-on from curse.addons/downloads you download it into the add-ons folder. You can get to the add-ons folder on a PC by going to start, my computer, c drive, my programs, world of warcraft, interface, and then add-ons. The quest helper add-on will help you save time by getting all of your quests and find the quickest route to do it in, and it shows where all of the mobs (monsters) are
• You can add more action bars to your screen by opening up your options menu (esc), clicking ‘interface’, and opening up the ‘Advanced’ Tab.
• Familarizing yourself with Warcraft lore can help you out with quests and make your gameplay more exciting. If you can, play Warcraft 3 and its expansion and/or visit www.wowwiki.com
• If you do not have a guild or friends to play with on a particular server, you may wish to select a class that is easy to level on your own. Pet classes, such as hunters and warlocks, are easier to level than many other classes.
• If you are interested in seeing dungeon content, select a class that is in high demand: Warriors and Priests can almost always get a group.

Warnings

• When traveling, watch out for creatures with red-colored names. They are aggressive and will attack if you get too close.
• Be careful when starting a fight with a creature. Other enemies in the area may join in against you, which is dangerous if you are fighting enemies close to your level.

Things You’ll Need

• World of Warcraft
• PC or Mac computer
• Lots of spare time

Related wikiHows

• How to Tank in World of Warcraft
• How to Play a Priest in World of Warcraft
• How to Be a Good Rogue in World of Warcraft
• How to Successfully Be a Priest in World of Warcraft
• How to Play a Warrior in World of Warcraft
• How to Form a Successful Guild in World of Warcraft
• How to Play a Mage in World of Warcraft
• How to Make Gold in World of Warcraft
• How to Pick a Race and Class for the Horde in World of Warcraft
• How to Play a Horde Druid Well in World of Warcraft
• How to Duel a Druid With a Night Elf Priest on World of Warcraft

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Play World of Warcraft. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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Blackberry has it all, starting with a REAL keyboard, real sincronization, Bluetooth and much more. Why, it even has Copy & Paste! (I am being sarcastic here).

Now, the new version of Blackberry is just around the corner, code named “Storm”. I can really wait to get my hands in this beauty.

Not much information on the new BlackBerry Storm, I only found a reference to it in Gizmodo

Staying Connected
With BlackBerry’s push email technology, your email will find you without having to initiate a connection. BlackBerry devices are designed to remain on and continuously connected to the wireless network, notifying you as new email arrives. In addition to the text, you can also receive and view attachments in a wide range of popular file formats, including Microsoft Office, Corel WordPerfect, and Adobe PDF.

Browse the web with the integrated, full-featured browser, which quickly and efficiently displays HTML pages as well as enables you to set up RSS feeds to stay connected to up-to-the-minute news and blog posts. And keep up with your contacts using a variety of instant message (IM) networks, including the integrated Blackberry Messenger as well as downloadable clients for Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, and Lotus Sametime.

For corporate users, the Curve delivers all the enterprise email and messaging capabilities you’ve come to expect. It’s supported on BlackBerry Internet Service, giving you access to up to 10 work or personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts), as well as BlackBerry Enterprise Server, enabling advanced security and IT administration within IBM Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise environments.

So, what does a Bored IT needs a Blackberry for? I started monitoring my servers (I am a control freak), but now I let my dedicated server provider do the dirty job for me. Still, the thing looks great on my desk!

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What better way to pass time that to take a long Summer road trip? However, nowadays, you have to think about fuel too. There’s a solution for those of use that like to drive hard.

Named after the green fruit, the PLX Kiwi from PLX Devices is a small device (a little more than 2 inches by 3 inches) that attaches to your dashboard or windshield.

By plugging into a vehicle’s diagnostic port, it can display miles per gallon as well as trip information and even the cause of engine problems.

But really it’s designed to make your driving habits more energy-efficient.

Accelerating hard and jamming on the brakes to slow consumes more gas than a smoother, steadier way of driving.

The PLX Kiwi shows off feedback on how you’re doing in that regard and gives you a “kiwi score.” It’s also programmed with 20 increasingly difficult challenges to optimize your score.

Making changes to driving patterns can lower gas consumption by 20 percent with gas at $4 a gallon, according to the company. That savings can go up to 33 percent if your driving is mostly on highways.

Depending on the type of car you drive, the savings can be several hundred dollars a year, between $560 and $800, according to the company. You can get a read-out of dollars saved on a given trip and a cumulative total.

For the eco-conscious driver, these foot pedal changes can add up: a sedan driver can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 16,000 pounds. That’s the equivalent of changing out 500 incandescent light bulbs for more efficient compact fluorescents.

Another in-car display designed for fuel efficiency is the ScanGuage II, which doesn’t have the same slick LED display as the PLX Kiwi or the scoring system.

The PLX Kiwi will be available later this month and costs $299, according to a company representative, while the ScanGuage costs $169.

Now, I only need a Driving LED Emoticon and I am ready to hit the road!

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Second Life requires users to download and install a separate “client” software package that taps into the online world. Lively also requires a download and installation–Windows only for now–but then people can use Internet Explorer or Firefox to enter the virtual world.

“It’s integrated with the Internet. It’s not an alternate destination,” said Niniane Wang, Google’s engineering manager for the project. “Our intention is to add to your existing life.”

Integration with the ordinary Internet takes several forms. For one thing, you can pipe in content hosted elsewhere on the Internet, including photos or videos. For another, you can embed your Lively area into your blog or, using widgets Google has written, on MySpace and Facebook Web pages. And you can e-mail your friends a normal Web address to get them to join.

With Lively, you can set up you own online spaces–rooms, grassy meadows, desert islands, or, in the demo version I tried, simulated Silicon Valley office parks. You can change the clothing or form of your avatar (that’s your online incarnation, for those of you who missed the Second Life hype). And of course you can chat, do backflips, shake hands, and give high-fives.

The idea is to bring a better social dimension to online interaction, Wang said–something more sophisticated for expressing oneself than an emoticon on an instant-messenger status line.

“We think there is a desire to socialize in this way,” Wang said, suggesting that’s why Second Life got so much attention when it blossomed in popularity a couple years ago. “We hope this product will help them do that.”

Integration with the Internet is indeed a significant departure from the Internet, but much of the Lively sales pitch will sound–how to put this politely–familiar to those who’ve already read virtual worlds press releases from years past.

I had a number of burps and hiccups using Lively in my demo on a somewhat elderly but by no means ancient laptop, problems Wang said weren’t widespread. When it’s working correctly, it took a little while to master the controls for moving the perspective and my avatar around.

After that, the novelty wore off even more rapidly than with Second Life. I’m sure it would have been more exciting with somebody else to talk to than a mock-up of Google’s T. Rex skeleton, and perhaps if it were a room that I designed myself.

Don’t get me wrong. I remain a believer, overall, in this form of online interaction, however socially stunted it may feel compared with, say, a singles bar. I just think the technology has a ways to go. I found Second Life more immersive, but even so, even the relatively crude communications enabled by e-mail and instant messaging did more to revolutionize my online social interactions.

A few other differences from Second Life: Lively doesn’t have money. It’s designed to be easier to use, with a drag-and-drop interface. And it’s not programmable, at least yet, so you can only select furniture, clothes, hairstyles, and such from the prefabricated catalog Google supplies.

Money and programmability are both items the company is seriously considering, though, Yang said. A Mac OS X client also is a high priority, she added.

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It may sound like something out of a 1980s sci-fi movie, but it’s not as far-fetched as you think. In fact, home automation is a burgeoning market with all sorts of toys available.

For most part, it’s a playground limited to a few lucky dot-com millionaires. If you happen to have sold YouTube for a billion dollars, just find a contractor who specializes in this stuff and pretty soon an automated voice will announce when the milk is low.

Fortunately, the rest of us aren’t completely left out of the home automation fun. But this stuff gets pretty geeky pretty fast, and it definitely helps to have some background knowledge about electronics and networking before diving in.

Why Automate Your Home?

Aside from the nerd bragging rights, fully-automated homes can be much more energy efficient. Left the light on in the basement after that last-minute laundry dash? That’s money out of your pocket. But an automated home could have killed the lights as soon as you came upstairs.

Ditto for the A/C you left running all night or the blinds you always forget to close in the afternoon heat. Your forgetfulness is wasting money and using energy you don’t need to use. Automation cuts down on your energy use by doing the smart and simple tasks for you.

Aside from the potential savings in money and energy, you can perform other practical tasks like monitor your pets, detect unwanted visitors or even send yourself an e-mail when the water pipes in your basement burst.

Using X10

For the DIY home automator, the most popular solution is the X10 network protocol. X10 is communications protocol and network address system not unlike the TCP/IP protocol that powers the internet.

The main difference is that X10 is very low-bandwidth. It’s able to use the power lines running through your house to send commands to your X10-compliant components. The basic set up is simple, and many X10 devices are quite cheap. A command center — typically a PC — sends messages over the wires and X10 devices respond to any commands you send.

Say, for instance, you plug a lamp into a common X10 wall outlet. Just set up your PCs with a serial X10-computer interface and you can control the light with your PC.

Using Software

Of course you’ll need a way to communicate with your X10 devices. Most DIY home automators recommend MisterHouse, a collection of open-source Perl scripts for controlling X10 devices. Not only is MisterHouse more robust than the software that typically comes with a serial interface, it’s Perl, so you can hack it however you like if you know the language.

There is also an elegant-looking home automation control center application for Mac OS X Leopard called Shion. It has support for Insteon devices (which aren’t hard-wired, making them great for apartment dwellers), uses Growl notifications and can schedule tasks through iCal. It even lets you use your Apple remote to run commands. It’s also an open-source app, so it’s hackable.

Another option is the commercial application Indigo. It is neither open source nor free, but supports the most INSTEON modules (thermostats, irrigation controllers, input/output controllers, etc.) and is extensible by both Python and AppleScript. It has has a graphical Ajax-based built-in Web server and has a very active user base and home automation discussion forum.

Further Reading

• Check out the MisterHouse site for more details and some examples of the things you can do with X10.

• comp.home.automation at Google Groups.

• Another excellent resource for the home hacker is O’Reilly’s Home Hacking Projects for Geeks.

• Here’s a link to an open source Zigbee software project.

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