Introduction
Most of what you read here in TechnoLawyer relates
to "practical technology" - computer software,
hardware, tools, processes, case management,
litigation support, document assembly - stuff that
you need to run a productive law practice. There is
no "fun" in this stuff. Understanding and using practical
technology is "work." We all "enjoy" our work
- well... at least some of us do.
But technology can be engaging. Why not indulge
yourself (or at least your imagination) in a few
devices that will give you great joy and maybe even
a workout? Drawing on the Internet and Maxim
magazine, I have put together some of my personal
favorites. I have chosen 10 categories of items that
will "waste" your time, "engage" you in another
dimension, make you the "envy" of your colleagues,
or all of the above.
Don't expect to get the purchase of any of these
items past the management committee of your
firm... they will NEVER go for it. Rather, be prepared
to loosen your wallet instead. Besides, with all the
Return on Investment (ROI) from "useful" technology
you read about in TechnoLawyer, you will have the
time and money for the fun stuff.
Handheld Gaming Systems
These portable gaming systems do not appeal just
to kids anymore. More than half the games are
rated T (for Teen) or M (for Mature), targeted at the
adult market. Make sure to connect your earbuds
before you fire up one of these systems, and then
lose yourself in another world where you have all
the firepower you need. Use these systems to entertain
yourself on the long commute, during your
coffee breaks, or on those interminable conference
calls.
Gameboy Micro ($100 list) from Nintendo doesn't
pack the power of higher-end systems, but it can
fit in your shirt pocket without making you look like
a geek. It can be "skinned" with cool camouflage
patterns so that you can accessorize to match your
clothes. It plays all the Gameboy Advance games.
Nintendo DS ($200 list) - the DS is for Dual
Screen - from Nintendo packs more power, but is
more on the bulky side. It has some neat features
for connected gameplay, but I would leave it to the
pre-teens.
Sony PSP Playstation Portable ($250 list) from
Sony runs some of the most photo-realistic games.
The screen is so sharp that you can download full length
videos and play them on the PSP. However,
the hard-drive is not quite large enough nor the
transfer rate fast enough to turn it into a video player.
The N-Gage QD ($200 list) from Nokia takes the
first step in tackling the adult market by adding
cell-phone technology to a portable gaming system.
Now you have a "legitimate reason" for carrying
the device with you wherever you go. The system
includes a version of one of my all-time favorite
games, Civilization, where you can take a group
of people from stone-age technology up through
nano-technology in a matter of hours, balancing
diplomacy, rational investment of resources, and
armed combat.
Sporting Accessories
With the spring crocuses and daffodils blooming,
you should get outside, take in a round of golf,
practice your tennis serve, or unleash the full power
of your home run slug. But in the dark and cold of
winter, you can get yourself into training with this
slew of computer accessories for your computer or
your child's Xbox or PlayStation 2.
With the Electric Spin Golf Launchpad ($229) from
Electric Spin connected to your PC, Mac, or PS2,
you can play Microsoft Links and EA Sports' Tiger
Woods PGA Tour series. Optical sensors on the
bottom of the turf translate your swing into a shot
onscreen, measuring your swing, club head speed,
path, and angle.
The HotSeat Solo ($400) from Hot Seat puts you
in the seat of a high-performance sports car at a
fraction of the price, and without any risk of injury
from reckless driving. It includes built-in Dolby Digital
5.1 speaker-and-sub woofer system.
The ButtKicker Gamer ($150) from ButtKicker
exercises the nether regions of your body (and your
ears) while you play this action packed game. Connect
the ButtKicker module to your office chair, and
you can feel the firepower as your butt starts vibrating
like it's hooked up to a hardware-store paint-can
shaker.
DDR (DanceDanceRevolution) ($99) from
DDRGame.com will get you off your chair and
exercising. With game controllers that connect to a
PC, Xbox, or PS2, you have your choice of music.
The goal is to control the game with your feet on a
3 foot by 3 foot pad with large buttons. Follow the
on-screen directions, set your pace, and the length
of your workout. Then on to "victory" and burning
off all those nasty carbs.
GPS Devices
As we loose ourselves in our games, our cell-phone
conversations, and our MP3/iPod players, the
need for GPS (short for Global Positioning System)
devices has grown, as the price of these devices
has come down. You can now accessorize your
Palm, get a GPS equipped phone, or a dedicated
handheld device that will not only tell you where you
are, but give you voice and visual directions for how
to get where you want to go (or would rather be).
Magellan eXplorist 500 ($400) from Magellan at 4
ounces, fits in your hand or connects to your car's
cigarette/AC outlet. Use it to find where you are,
how to get where you want to go, and even how to
get to the nearest 7-Eleven store.
TomTom GO 910 ($899) from TomTom gives you
a larger database (U.S., Canada, and Europe) and a
touch screen.
For the rugged outdoors man, the eTrex Vista
($250) from Garmin remains the trekker's device of
choice. It combines a base map of North and South
America with a barometric altimeter and electronic
compass. If you ever get lost in the woods (or at
sea) this is the device for you.
Cellular Phones
From the useful, to the gorgeous, to the sublime.
Ten years ago, I ran a technology forum titled "The
New New Thing" which looked at the synchronicity
of handheld devices. At the time, I had a pager,
a cell phone, a PalmPilot, and a Sony Walkman. I
predicted that someday soon, you would find all of
these functions in a single device. Today's phones
now include all those features plus: live video
streaming, Internet access, GPS, gaming, digital
photos, and digital video. I looked at a few of the
new phones, some of which are out of even my
price range as an inveterate technologist.
If beauty is your sole criteria, Mobiado Professional
EM ($1,900 - and no that is not a typo) from
Mobiado would work for you. Crafted from polished
aluminum and cocobolo wood, it includes high-res
color screen, Bluetooth, and an FM radio.
* The prize for pure design goes to the RAZR V3
phone ($300) from Motorola. The device is one of
the slimmest phones on the market with a keypad
chemically etched from a single sheet of nickel-plated
copper alloy. At less than 100 grams, the phone
still includes Internet, MPEG4 Video, and a VGA
camera with zoom.
Few will forgive Palm for going over to the dark
side with the release of the Treo 700W Smartphone
($399). This all-in-one device does everything you
can imagine using the Microsoft PocketOS Smart-
Phone Edition operating system. If you primarily
need data (oodles of data) and broadband access,
you will want this device. From a Treo 700W you
can run GoToMyPC and control your desktop computer
from the road.
Massive Multiplayer Online Gaming
Enter a whole new world, where your currency has
little meaning, and another currency takes priority...
game currency, silver, platinum, artistry points, experience
points. These online worlds have a very real
existence to millions of players across the globe.
Items won and lost in the virtual world can be sold
in the real world in online marketplaces. Visit eBay
or even the Sony Store to see virtual items and
avatars for sale.
EverQuest and Everquest II from Sony Online Entertainment.
Beware... the nickname for the granddaddy
of massive multiplayers games is Ever-Crack,
after the the cocaine derivative. Once you enter
and engage in this world, time stands still. I have
ventured into this world with a guest pass, courtesy
of an online gamer who goes by the name Huusyer
(as in Who's Your Daddy?). Well armored, with buffs
and experience points (and virtual cash), I ventured
where only the most experienced gamers could
go. Abandoning my corpse in some strange virtual
world, I eventually emerged... at 3AM real time.
StarWars Galaxies. If you love Star Wars and want
to try out life as a Jedi or a Wookie, enter here. Featured
on an episode of Trading Spouses, this game
can become your entire existence as you travel
through the galaxy. You can try your hand against
computer generated monsters (MOBs) or against
other players assuming particular personas.
Ultima Online is the first successful online world. It
is modeled on Dungeons and Dragons and has its
own special rules.
The SIMS is for those who want to sit back and
relive high school. It simulates the real world, part
chat room, part real world game. The goal is to succeed
in life, rather than defeat monsters. And to this
end, success can be measured by money (acquisitions),
friendship (popularity), or success in a chosen
venture.
Tablet PC Redux
I have previously written about Tablet PCs and
declared that they could serve as a useful supplement
to desktops or full-powered laptops. But these
two Tablets straddle the line between "expensive
gadget" and useful tool. Because of their minute
size and weight, they are extremely portable.
The OQO Pocket Computer ($2,000) from OQO
is a real computer that is the size and weight of a
Palm. At 14 ounces (less than 1 pound), this small
device packs a fully functional Windows XP PC
with a 1 GHz processor, 256 MB of RAM, and a 20
GB hard drive. With its BlueTooth capability, you
can connect the device to a diNovo Media desktop
Bluetooth keyboard and mouse ($249) from
Logitech and a flat panel monitor resulting in a fully
functional desktop PC. Forget about "synchronizing"...
you have your full PC in your pocket.
With the release of the Motion LS800 ($1,699) by
Motion Computing you finally have a fully functional
PC that weighs only 2.2 pounds. You can take
it with you everywhere. When you need a larger
screen, you can dock it to an external monitor and
a diNovo Media desktop. You can even carry it in
a handy bump case to a construction site ... oops,
wrong client, I meant a document production. Connect
it to a Strobe XP300 portable scanner from
Visioneer and you can instantly have full imaging
capability.
Videos on Demand
iPods have launched Apple Computer into the
stratosphere, and for good reason. These players
are small, well-designed, and deliver great entertainment
value. With the release of the iPod ($299)
with downloadable videos from the iTunes store,
the iPod went from a device for joggers and road
warriors to an essential entertainment device. Not
that other devices don't let you view videos. Rather,
Apple makes it so easy. Now you can download this
week's episode of Lost or Desperate Housewives
and watch it while you commute on the subway.
Webcams and Phonecams
My wife swore this fad would NEVER take off. Who
wants to see poor grainy pictures of your friends
on a miniscule screen? She was right, for a while.
But now, the cameras support 3 megapixels, the
screens are VGA quality, and pictures download
at even higher resolutions. Still... why do you need
one? You don't! But they're fun.
QuickCam Orbit MP ($129) from Logitech is one
smart Webcam. Plug it into your USB port and
place it next to your PC. When turned on, this camera
will maintain YOU as the center of attention. Using
facial recognition software, it will follow your face
around the room, keeping it centered and zoomed
up close and personal.
Xcute S55 and Xcute DV2 from Xcute are 6.0
megapixel cameras combined with a Tri-Band
phone with TV-out.
Pentop Computing
The FLY exists in a category by itself. It takes the
technology of Anoto, and bundles it into a toy that is
NOT a toy. It is a thinking computer stored inside a
pen that functions without a screen. The key to the
system is in the paper, a specially digitally encoded
paper that can be "read" by a scanner in the pen tip
of the FLY computer. The FLY ($125) from LeapFrog
is a device for school age children to "help" them
with their work. But it includes a great device for the
office. Doodle on the special paper an eight-note
keyboard. And then, using the pen, you can play
"Taps" or "Chopsticks". Cool huh?
Robots and Other Useless Toys
With the pending release of LEGO MINDSTORMS
NXT ($249) from LEGO, LEGO toys no longer appeal
just to children. Smarter, stronger, and more
intuitive than ever, LEGO(R) MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT
is a robotics toolset that provides endless opportunities
for robotics enthusiasts and LEGO builders
ages 10 and older to build and program robots
that do what they want. A new "Quick Start" option
makes it easy to successfully build and program a
robot in 30 minutes. The "brain" of the robot features
a powerful 32-bit microprocessor, with 4 input
ports, 3 output ports, and 7 6-wire cords. It includes
a USB 2.0 and BlueTooth, as well as several sensors.
Scooba ($399) and Roomba ($329) from iRobot
are robots that wash the floor and vacuum the
carpet respectively. These little round disks scurry
around on the floor on a search-and-clean mission.
You can program each for the parameters of the
room as well as the time of day in which to do their
business. While you might not need them in your office, they could do wonders in the home, particularly
if you live alone. It might even be worth a night out
with your favorite person... while the Scooba and
Roomba do their work.
ERS-7M3 AIBO from Sony is the pet you have all
been waiting for. It never needs to be fed, taken out
for a walk, or brought to a vet. It is the perfect companion.
It only needs an occasional "charge".
B. Robosapien V2 ($225) from RoboSapien is
less of a cuddly companion and more of... well... a
robot with personality. At 24" it may not be the most
impressive humanoid, but it responds to verbal
commands, walks, talks, and does the rhomba.
Conclusion
If you are still with me reading this TechnoFeature,
I have one comment - GET BACK TO WORK!
This stuff may seem fun, but can result in a colossal
waste of time and money. In fact, I spent far too
much time researching this article. On the other
hand, some of this stuff is way cool so if you have
some spare cash and some spare time, go ahead
and indulge.
Click
here to download the PDF of Top 10 Categories of Useless Gadgets
Games & Gizmos
