Collective intelligence knows all about you

 The NYT's John Markoff has an interesting article about collective intelligence - the emerging field that uses data from Web surfing, smart phones, GPS etc. to assemble a picture of the life of a consumer. This could be used to predict buying habits or for more nefarious purposes.

TechMan's wish list of gifts he won't receive

Every year (well actually this is the second year) TechMan makes a holiday tech gift wish list. And every year he doesn't receive any of the items on the list.

Last year, TechMan handed Santa a list totaling just under $200,000. What he found under the tree Christmas morning were gifts totaling $0.

So it is time to change tactics. This year I am appealing to patriotism.

We have been told that the problem with our economy is that consumers have stopped spending. So spend. Of course, since no one has any money except car company CEOs and the heads of failed investment banks, we'll have to take on debt we can't afford, using credit we're sure to default on.

Wait, isn't that what got us into this in the first place?

So think not what your country can spend for you, but what you can spend for your country. Price is no object since you won't get any of this stuff anyway.

Last year, TechMan requested an Asus EEE ultramobile PC. Did he get one? This year he still wants a small light "netbook" meant for Web surfing, e-mail and other everyday tasks. And this year there are more choices.

Asus has added to its line with larger screens and more memory. A model in the 900 line for about $330 would be fine. But the Dell Mini 9, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10, or the MSI Wind are all fine netbooks. Any one would do.

When times are tough, people tend to nest -- and part of that is getting their entertainment at home. But that does not mean we can't still spend. TechMan would like to make the movies, music and TV programs that reside on his computer available to all the devices in his house. For this he will need a media center extender.

One of the first widely popular ones was the Apple TV and it is a fine device for about $320. But there have been others coming out to work with the Media Center in Windows Vista and XP. Of those, the HP MediaSmart Connect in the $300 range would be fine. The XBox 360 with 60 GB hard drive (about $250) is a good media extender and you get a gaming machine to boot.

With all those movies and TV programs to store, TechMan needs some additional hard disk space. Being a loyal Pittsburgher and knowing that Seagate has a facility in our fine city, the Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme 1.5 terabyte (1,500 gigabytes or 1.5 trillion bytes) external drive (about $250) would be just the ticket.

Of course, TechMan needs something to watch all this media on. Although Samsung has shown a 102-inch plasma TV and an 82-inch LCD TV, they are not on the market yet. So TechMan will have to settle for something a little smaller. The Pioneer Kuro 60-inch Pro-151FD for an MSRP of $6,500 should do the trick.

A good home theater setup needs a good sound system. The Bose 3-2-1 GSX Series III for about $1,350 looks like a good one.

And there are times when TechMan will need to leave the nest and go out into the cold cruel world. That would be a lot more enjoyable with a pair of Sennheiser MX W1 in-ear wireless earphones. Eliminates getting the cord caught in your zipper, a problem TechMan constantly has.

Finally, the most expensive of last year's gifts that TechMan didn't receive was the Bentley Continental GTC convertible at $190, 000.

In recognition of hard economic times and worry about the planet, TechMan will back off on that a little. Instead, he'd like the all-electric Tesla Roadster. With a top speed of 125 mph and 0-60 in less than 4 seconds, it is sporty and green (about $109,000 of green). Right now they are taking orders for cars a year in the future, so don't delay.

So there it is, a complete list of gifts that TechMan won't get for the holidays. Maybe this will give our readers some ideas for gifts they won't get.

Make your own all-in-one PC

If you already have an LCD monitor that is pre-drilled for wall mounting, then something like this could be a cool way to put an unobtrusive PC in your kitchen or some other small space.

Not a bad idea, really.  It was announced in France and hopefully we'll see this or something like it here in the U.S. very soon.

(Source: Gizmodo)

Facial recognition advances

An interesting post on advances in facial recognition technology. While I realize that this sort of stuff is necessary in the modern world (particularly in light of what is going on in India), still the fact that machines will be able to find me and report on where I am freaks me out.

Storm hardly blows Pogue away

 New York Times technology writer and reviewer, David Pogue, whom TechMan respects as one of the best in the business, put out a review savaging BlackBerry's new smartphone, the Storm. The Storm became available on the Verizon network last Friday.

Lost toolbag spotted by skywatchers

The $100,000 bag of tools that floated away from astronat Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper last week has been spotted by ground-based (are there any other kind?) skywatchers, and with a pair of 10x50 binoculars, no less.

After sunset on Saturday, Edward Light, using 10 x 50 binoculars, spotted the bag in space while he scanned the sky from his backyard in Lakewood, N.J., Spaceweather.com reported. On the same night, Keven Fetter of Brockville, Ontario, video-recorded the bag as it passed by the star Eta Pisces in the constellation Pisces.

More bag-viewing opportunities are expected.

The tool bag can be seen through binoculars, a few minutes ahead of the space station's orbit. The satellite tracker predicts that the bag will be visible from Europe and western North America during a series of passes this week. By late next week, the tool bag should appear in the evening skies over most of North America.

How would you like to be the Snap-On tool salesman that has to drive up there and replace these tools?  And I wonder if you'd get your mileage reimbursed after the trip...

Apple dumpings

 Paul Thurrott, usually a measured guy, really takes off on the new Apple ads. Although they don't bother me as much as they do him, there is a certain smugness that irritates. But I forgive all for popularizing John Hodgman, who plays PC.

Windows Home Server on the cheap

I've talked before on this blog and in the podcast about my Windows Home Server.  It's probably one of the best things Microsoft has ever put out.  You can read my review of its features here.  To sum up: it backs up your computers, creates a central repository for all of your data, and gives you secure remote Internet access to all of it.

And one more thing to like about it is that HP's version (the MediaSmart EX470 server) is on sale for $299 with a little bit of financial gymnastics (but totally legal, I assure you). This machine comes with one 500GB drive and slots for three more.  If you want to be extra geeky, put four 1TB drives in there and you'll have storage to last a lifetime (YMMV).

A big shout-out for the excellent blog Home Server Hacks for the tip on this.  I may have to spring for one myself at this price.

Reaching back through time to see the dead, or perhaps not?

Scientists in Warsaw, Poland claim to have identified the remains found in a grave to be those of Nicolaus Copernicus, the famous 16th century astronomer and scientist.  DNA comparison between some hairs in an archive and the skull are the proof. 

WARSAW, Poland – Researchers said Thursday they have identified the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus by comparing DNA from a skeleton and hair retrieved from one of the 16th-century astronomer's books. The findings could put an end to centuries of speculation about the exact resting spot of Copernicus, a priest and astronomer whose theories identified the Sun, not the Earth, as the center of the universe.

Polish archaeologist Jerzy Gassowski told a news conference that forensic facial reconstruction of the skull, missing the lower jaw, his team found in 2005 buried in a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Frombork, Poland, bears striking resemblance to existing portraits of Copernicus.

This is all very interesting and I'm sure they worked very hard on this, but the skeptic in me disagrees.  So after careful consideration and a 30-second search through IMDb, it's plain to me that they've not found Copernicus, but rather James Cromwell, noted character film and television actor.  What do you think?

(L to R: Nicolaus Copernicus, James Cromwell)

PC Mag goes all-digital

Another casualty in the print media. The venerable PC Magazine has announced that it will cease print publication in Jan. 2009 and go all-digital. TechMan remembers a time when computer magazines were competing for shelf space. Now only a few are left, many coming out of Great Britain.