As an IT administrator in a previous life, I know that keeping data safe is key #1. It would have been nice to have this product on all the notebooks in the office. Especially one instance where the employee found a legal way around keeping their machine with all of our data on it.

LoJack for Laptops / Computrace creates a partnership with Intel for Anti-Theft Technology – Think of it like a Kill switch if your machine gets lost, stolen, or taken in any way possible. The laptop will be rendered useless until it comes back to the owner, in which they can then turn the machine back on. It litterally Bricks the machine.

Andy McCaskey talks with Stephen at CES about this “poison pill” technology. Best part is this option is incorporated in the laptop – Like a Dell laptop, in where you get a 1 year membership. Even a “wiped” hard drive can be detected and LoJack will load their software to brick the device.

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Other Posts of Interest:

• Cyberlink – 3D Blu-Ray on a Laptop – CES 2010
• SonyStyle – Ultra Portable Notebooks – CES 2009

While we were working at CES, Todd Cochrane found a way to get a little break and relax a bit.

The Inada chair – when not reclined – kinda looks like a captains chair from Star Trek. But when reclined, you get a full body massage. The chair uses propriatary technologies to really give you a Shiatsu style massage.

Todd talks with Monica on these great massage chairs. The price is $6499, but compared to other chairs, you get more for your money. It will work on 1,200 square inches of the body. The chair uses air and rollers, although Todd notes you cannot really feel those rollers.

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Other Posts of Interest:

• Intel Light Peak Technology Will Let You Transfer Blu-Ray in Under 30 Seconds – CES 2010
• C. Crane GeoBulb Now Use 7 Watts of Power; MR16 Uses 2 Watts – CES 2010

Bottlenecks. That is one thing companies have to deal with when putting out a faster device. The product may revolutionize in speed, but if the rest of the computer can’t handle it, you have to wait for one to catch up to the other.

Intel always works on that area. They wanted to address the connection throughout a home or business with the speed needed. Enter Light Peak technology. The hope is to eventually replace copper wiring within the house simply because it will become the bottleneck.

Todd Cochrane talks with Robert on this new technology at CES. It won’t be out until next year, but the prototype is pretty impressive. The transfer on LightPeak is 10 Gbps. In the demonstration they have 2 – 4 Gbps 1080p streams running at the same time. Therefore, the parents could be watching an action flick in the living room and the children could be watching a cartoon in 1080p and the network will not be taxed.

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Other Posts of Interest:

• Inada Reclining Chair Give Shiatsu Style Massage – CES 2010
• C. Crane GeoBulb Now Use 7 Watts of Power; MR16 Uses 2 Watts – CES 2010

Google has done a lot with mapping. Google streetview gives you a good idea what to look for in a location. I have virtually walked down a street so I could be familiar with landmarks before I even get to the location. Well, what if I could have a better representation than what Google gives? What if I could have a full 3D – 360 view of a street?

Enter Navteq - a company that will take mapping to a whole new level. They have been in the mapping industry for 25 years. With a technology known as LIDAR Scanning, the mapping – like in Google Maps – will take your map from a 2D realm to a 3D level.

The Car looks like it has a weird device on top that spins at 600 revolutions per minute. It has 64 lasers collecting data at 1.5 million points. The Navteq car also has a panoramic camera and 6 other cameras that  take Hi-res photos of signs, trees and other data.

Andy McCaskey talks with Alwil about this very interesting project. Of course, the end result is a new mapping system that might just power your next Tom Tom or Garmin system. With this option, You can bring out specifics, such as if you are looking for a Starbucks, it can point that coffee shop out.

The technology is a couple years out for consumer GPS. But what a great find for us at CES!

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Last Year at CES, we talked to C.Crane. We learned that they made more than internet radio – Which included a great new idea in LED Lightbulbs. The price point was a little high, but the bulbs were pretty darned impressive.

This year, C.Crane has come back with better bulbs and a better price. Todd Cochrane talks with Jessica once again on the C.Crane GeoBulb. This year the price is at $69.99, down $30 from last year, but if you think about it, the price will cover any electricity and bulb replacement costs. Plus they have a 5 year warranty on the bulb.

C.Crane also showed off the MR16. It’s a low voltage tract lighting system bulb that will replace a 20 watt with 2. Those cost $49.95, but as the web site says:

*An incandescent or halogen bulb costs: 8736 hours in a year X 20 Watts X 5 (years) = 873,600 Watt hours (873.6 kWh) @ $.12 KW = $104.83 in electricity saving plus the cost of replacing four bulbs per year for five years (20 bulbs) @ $7.95 = $159.00 for a total cost of$263.83. Your savings will vary according to your local electricity costs.

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I had a lot of discontinued items in my possession. The one thing that really got my goat is when something broke, I was out of luck. That is, unless I was to re-fabricate it myself.

Well that seems to be more of a reality nowadays. Last year at CES we talked with Shapeways and how you can send stuff to them to turn into reality. This year, the Makerbot Cupcake CNC is the big device.

It’s deemed “an open source, affordable printer”. The Cupcake CNC is a desktop printer that makes 3D models. You can design files, or you can go to Thingaverse to make other people’s designs.

Andy McCaskey talks with Bre Pettis on this great new device and the community that surrounds it. The kit costs $750 and you build it yourself, which means you can also pimp it out or add to it. The material is the same that makes Legos. It goes into the Makerbot and heats up, then the system will turn and layer your project together.

The Cupcake will cost $950, or $750 if you have some of the electronics already. You just need a good 3D modeling program (there are open source programs out there).

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This is a short video we shot at the Zune booth to show off the new Zune store. Our friends at Zune had done something that we were ecstatic over. They featured the Techpodcast coverage of CES in their Marketplace. You could see Todd Cochrane, Andy McCaskey and Jeffrey Powers right at the top.

Thanks Zune for the support!

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A couple years ago we saw stand alone items like the Chumby at CES where you can have an internet portal by your bed, next to a couch or in the kitchen. The item would display photos, show video and get email. Well Sony has really stepped up the game this year with a great product in the Sony Dash.

Todd Cochrane talks with Ali from Sony about this Personal Internet Viewer. With over 1,500 free apps and Wi-Fi connection, it really gives you the content you want. As long as there is a wireless signal, you will be able to get sports scores, stocks, weather or whatever you desire.

The Sony Dash is planned to be out by April at a price point of $199. It’s a 7″ touchscreen with USB 2.0 interface. You will also be able to connect to Sony Styles to get great deals.

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1996 – It was the single largest online event at the time. 24 Hours in cyberspace was coordinated by Rick Smolan to capture photos representing a day in the life of the internet user. Photos would be handed in from around the world and put out on Cyber24 dot com. The website is no longer in service and there is no good Internet Archive to the site.

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Other Technology History Facts

• The Communications Deceny Act becomes Law
• The Harvard Mark I

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No, Tiwi is not a fruit. Tiwi is an interactive system that makes your more aware of your driving habits. Sure Todd Cochrane talked to Tim about Teen driving habits, but it can do more than show how fast your employee or child is driving.

It is a full awareness system. Not just for Teens, but for all adults. It will report where the car is and how fast its being driven. The device is easily installable complete with a tamper alarm in the system.

The Tiwi only costs $299 with a $39.99 monthly subscription fee. It’s not a security device, but it might help you locate your car if it is stolen or if your child is in a situation they cannot get out of.

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When Todd Cochrane was talking to Devin about M-Edge, I sat there wondering why you would want to bring a Kindle in the tub. But as I listened I realized how much the M-Edge Guardian is needed for the Kindle. It’s more than just the Bathroom for this device. If you are on a boat and want to read a story, this will protect your Kindle from getting splashed by water. If it does fall in, the M-Edge Guardian floats your Kindle to the top so you can scoop it out and continue reading.

M-Edge has a whole host of cases and bags for your Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader or Sony PRS-700, and coming soon – all your case needs for your Apple iPad. Whether the iPad will get the Guardian for waterproof use – only time will tell. But it now makes more sense to bring an E-Reader in the bathtub with you.

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