04:10am - The Technology Hour, Late Edition

It's been awhile since a technology hour post. There are three topics I want to hit, so let's get started.

First of all, head on over to http://presidentialpolygraph.com/ to get your own, personal USB lie detector test. That's right, no training required, 70% accuracy claimed on the website, and comes with

• Pulse Oximeter Finger Clip
• Skin Galvanization Finger Wraps
• Breathing Apparatus
• USB Cable
• Electronics box
• CD-ROM
• Creepy software that emulates a presidential candidate

What is the price of truth? $50.00 plus tax.






Next up - and this is truly amazing - is the ASUS splashtop linux now built-in to notebooks. If you don't understand most of those words, don't worry. ASUS makes motherboards, and now they are building a special version of linux, known as Splashtop, right into the motherboard. The result? No installation required, and it boots in a few seconds. Also, the operating system runs in RAM, which means it is *incredibly* fast. Also, this yields extended battery life for the mobile platform. Applications are limited to web browser, music player, photo manager, Skype, and Chat; but then, you can always install a traditional operating system and boot it when you need it. Santa will be bringing one of these to our house. Read more at http://www.splashtop.com/


Finally, before I sign off, I wanted to mention a cool unconference that I will be attending in November in Palo Alto CA. If you're not familiar with the term, an unconference is a facilitated, participant-driven conference centered around a theme or purpose. The term "unconference" has been applied, or self-applied, to a wide range of gatherings that try to avoid one or more aspects of a conventional conference, such as high fees and sponsored presentations. This particular unconference is Convergence08 and the topics range from Synthetic Biology to Artificial Intelligence. Special brain food will be served for lunch.