Even with the many innovations in television over the past five years -  H.D., streaming, interactivity- an upcoming and bizarre invention known as Dog TV may be the most out-of-the-box development for the tube yet. Dog TV boasts that it will be the first cable network made exclusively (and scientifically) for man’s best friend.

Originally launched in February on local networks in San Diego, Dog TV was pushed mostly as a cure for canines with separation anxiety. With the backing of certified veterinarians and canine experts, Dog TV uses a series of techniques to make mentally and emotionally stimulating programs for dogs to watch while their masters are away.

“For years, pet owners have been leaving a television or radio on when they go out so their pets have company,” said Dr. Nick Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at TuftsUniversity. “However, with analog television, dogs could only see a flickering screen. Dog TV uses HD screens in order to allow dogs to see the picture more clearly.”

Alterations have also made to color and sound of the programs to make them more accessible to dogs. “Dogs can see blue and yellow, but not red or green,” Dobman said, “so colors are altered for Dog TV, too. Also, because high frequency sounds can be very irritating to dogs, they’ve been removed, and music is written and tailored for their hearing.”

According to Dog TV’s website and press releases, the channel’s programs will be divided into three categories: Relaxation will reduce stress levels with calming music, sounds, and visuals; Stimulation will use footage of other animals and fast moving objects in order to stave off lethargic behavior; and Exposure “uses special sounds and visuals to help habituate the dog and make them more comfortable in their environment, by exposing them to different day-to-day stimuli.”

While the channel’s backer, P.T.V. Media, boasts the testimonials of several veterinary experts stating that Dog TV will help improve the lives of dogs across the country, some skeptics remain.

“I think a lot of this is to make us feel better as opposed to making the pet happier,” said Dr. Ann E. Hohenhaus, a veterinarian currently practicing in Manhattan. “Your pet needs adequate exercise and an interesting environment. You cannot just put on the TV and hope your dog is going to get better.”

Despite these objections, the projections for the channel’s success remain positive. After launching an online version in early April, the creators hope to start an add-free, paid cable channel internationally come late 2012 or early 2013.

As the Daily Mail stated, “If you figure more than 46 million U.S. households have dogs and 97% of U.S. homes have televisions, the future looks promising.”

Google may be overhauling its search engine technology in a big way, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The popular search tool might begin to rely on something called “semantic search,” which finds that actual meaning of words. Keyword searches, which it uses now, won’t be abandoned in the overhaul but will be used in unison with the new technology. Google will also provide more answers and facts on its own, rather than linking to other sites, the Journal reports.

However, Search Engine Land refuted the rumors, claiming that Google already uses this technology, and it would not be new.

Google did not respond to questions from PCMag, or the Journal, and the source of the rumors is unknown so far. The news is believed to have stemmed from a Journal interview with Google executive Amit Singhal, in which he said the future of Google searches will “better match search queries with a database containing hundreds of millions of entities’ – people, places, and things – which the company has quietly amassed in the past two years.”  He claimed the searches will be more intune with how people think.

A flag for the Anonymous hackers group.

Cyber security is under constant threat as hackers are increasingly bold, organized, and sophisticated in their attacks.

Most recently, the loose confederation known as “Anonymous” has made waves for defacing and hacking websites ranging from the Boston Police Department to Paypal.

To track down hackers across the U.S. and globally, law enforcement efforts focused on one informant who would help catch the group of “politically inspired hacktivists,” the New York Times reported.

The informant’s aid helped charge four men in Britain and Ireland with computer crimes yesterday. In Chicago on Monday, the FBI arrested 27-year-old Jeremy Hammond in relation to a breach of Stratfor, a global intelligence provider. He hacked into Stratfor, allegedly stole credit card information, and accumulated $700,000 worth in charges, the New York Times said.

Two others, Darren Martyn, 25, also known as “Pwnsauce,” and Donncha O’Cearrbhail, 19, known as “Palladium” were also charged in New York, according to the New York Times.

Law enforcement members have reason to suspect a possible association of the prosecuted hackers with the Anonymous movement. Interpol recently announced 25 arrests of people suspected for being Anonymous members, the New York Times reported.

Serving as the informant, 28-year-old New Yorker Hector Xavier Monsegur – -known for his Twitter alias “The Real Sabu” — is a former hacker who pleaded guilty to counts of conspiracy in attacking computers last August.

Since his court appearance, Monsegur continued to spur on followers — and potential hackers — to instigate computer attacks on companies and government agencies, the New York Times reported. He also suggested his followers attack Interpol’s websites following the arrests of the potential Anonymous members.

One of his tweets suggested the federal government consists of “cowards,” and he urged his followers, “Don’t give into these people. Fight back. Stay Strong.”

According to the New York Times, the informant’s ability to hack and simultaneously “deceive fellow hackers” could “sow even more distrust in the ranks of Anonymous.”

“It is going to be very difficult for Anonymous to recover from such a breach of trust,’’ said Mikko Hypponen, a security researcher at F-Secure Labs in Helsinki, in an interview with the New York Times. “You can see the Anonymous people now looking left and right and realizing, if they couldn’t trust Sabu, who can they trust?’’

Anonymous has been known for its methods that aim to “slow or shut down sites,” or to “break into computer systems and expose embarrassing communications,” the New York Times noted. Other Anonymous hacking victims have been Fox News, Sony, and the FBI.

Geek Noun/g?k/

-An enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity

Minimal (Adj  \?mi-n?-m?l\)

- Barely adequate, the least possible

It’s hard out there for a geek. Not only do I find that statement to be true, it’s even tougher for a geek who loves gadgets, yet has little to no money to purchase any such technology. Consequently, I call myself a “Minimal Geek.”

I love technology and I don’t remember a time where electronics weren’t on the top of the list of things I wanted to own. To this day, I find myself wanting gadgets and gizmos aplenty before I even think about buying other things I might actually need; like clothes. With all the passion I boast for technology, there’s one little roadblock that gets me every time. I don’t have the money to buy ANYTHING expensive, and electronics/gadgets (whatever you like to call it) tend to be on the pricy side.

As a “Minimal Geek”, I’m slightly forced to keep my collection of technology, well, minimal. I own a four-year-old MacBook Pro, an iPhone 4 and an Xbox 360. I would love an iPad 2 and a new MacBook Air, but that’s just not going to happen anytime soon. If I was to add just those two products together, that’s roughly $1,500, and that’s if I get the cheaper forms of the products! These prices may not sound ridiculous to some people, but I can’t drop a cool thousand ever time a new gadget hits the scene. So, as broke as I am, I try to keep the technology I do have nice, so it never craps out on me. I hope to get a new laptop soon, but seeing as my cash flow is more minimal than my electronics’ collection, I’ll have to save up for a long time.

As simple of a choice I have to whether I’ll be able to make a big tech purchase (an easy yes or no), it still seems to be a tough decision either way. Until the day I’m filthy rich, without a money problem in the world, I shall geek out with the best of them and plague my mind with wishful thinking of sparkly new tablets, laptops, and electronics galore. It sure doesn’t help that I have expensive taste. Thanks a lot Apple.

By 2015, there will be approximately 804 million smartphones worldwide. Lucky for football fans, the NFL and  mobile advertising agency Adzookie.com are already looking to the future, promising that by 2015 the Super Bowl will be streamed live via an iPhone.

Romeo Mendoza, CEO of the Orange, Calif.-based company that plans to handle the advertising, Adzookie.com, said in a statement that “Streaming the Super Bowl on a phone just makes sense. Cell phones already outnumber television sets 5-to-1.”

Given that the 2010 Super Bowl brought in 106 million viewers and earned over $300 million in network advertising sales — that’s $2.8 to $3 million per 30-second advertisement — streaming the Super Bowl on smartphones is a smart business decision. Further, through cell phones, advertisers can run multiple ads at the same time, catering to individual viewers based on age, gender, income and location, something that television ads cannot do.

“Companies prefer to promote their business via mobile ads than other forms of advertising,” Mendoza said.

Because of the increasing popularity of smartphone use and the edge that mobile advertising has over television advertising, viewers can expect to eventually watch all of their favorite shows via cell phones, said Mendoza.

“The Super Bowl is just the beginning,” he continued. “Eventually all programming will be mobile. We plan on being there when it happens.”

Avdeep Sahi (Media Credit/Avinder Sahi)

LEXINGTON — At 3 a.m., his alarm clock went off, and Avdeep Sahi, 16, slowly rose from bed, his legs and body aching from the previous day’s football practice. While the rest of Lexington was asleep, Avdeep was getting ready to call India and get to work.

After shaking away his early morning drowsiness, Avdeep, in his ever-gregarious tone, called developers in India to troubleshoot some problems he was having as he worked towards completing the challenging project he undertook at the beginning of the summer: developing an iPhone application from scratch.

In addition to being an entrepreneur, Avdeep is an active and vibrant member of the Lexington High School community. Even though his family moved to the United States from India just four years ago, in 2006, he has adjusted quickly to his surroundings, even introducing his American friends to Indian culture by starting a cricket club in school. As if his numerous endeavors are not enough, he is also a student teacher in a computer programming class.

“He has proven to be a natural leader who is hardworking and active,” Avdeep’s father, Avinder, said.

The iPhone application project originated this past spring when Avdeep was deciding where he wanted to intern for school credit between his sophomore and junior years in high school. Due in large part to his love of Mac computers, he chose to work at Lexington Community Media Center (LexMedia), which has a substantial and well equipped Mac lab for digital editing.

LexMedia covers local events in Lexington, and Avdeep’s main responsibility was to record and edit some of the content that would be broadcast. While interning, he had an idea for how he could help LexMedia take advantage of the fact that people are spending more time on their Smartphones and less time on their computers.

“For about a year I had started teaching myself the basics of how to program applications by viewing videos online and reading magazines,” Avdeep said. “I then proposed that if they let me use their resources, I would attempt to create an iPhone application that would make all of their content available for users, streamlined to their Smartphones.”

When Avdeep offered to volunteer his time to produce the iPhone application, LexMedia said they would be happy to let him attempt to do it. However, there were some questions as to whether or not he could complete such a complex project.

“Avdeep told them that he would have to get connected with the process, the resources, the training, and he would try to make the application, but was not sure if he would be able to do it,” Avinder said.

“Before the summer I didn’t even truly know how to program,” Avdeep added.

Despite his uncertainty, Avdeep dove in head first and dedicated nearly all of his free time to developing the application. However, he soon found that the labyrinthine project was impossible to complete without the help of others. Luckily, he knew a couple of companies that specialize in iPhone development, one of which is a company in Cambridge called Endeca. On Fridays, Avdeep would commute to Cambridge and pick the brains of the professionals at Endeca.

In addition to calling developers in India from home, Avdeep spent many nights in the lab at LexMedia. He also sought the help of individuals at CMC Americas, another application development company. Near the end of the process Avdeep ran into a problem with PC hardware and started using his high school’s Mac lab. His teachers took an interest in his project and helped Avdeep troubleshoot while uploading the content.

“All of the people were truly gracious with their resources and time,” Avdeep said. “They were really nice to me.”

Avinder believes that the country’s recent economic struggles had a lot to do with why people were so willing to lend a helping hand to his son. Avdeep’s mentors and teachers saw a bright future in him and wanted to give a young man a chance in a tough economic climate.

“Ever since the downturn we have become pessimistic about what is around us, but there are pockets of people who are an open source,” Avinder said. “People are available with their time, knowledge, resources, and are raising their availability to high school kids,” he said.

In September, after three months of working tirelessly, Avdeep finished the application. He submitted the content to Apple for them to review. During the review process, the Sahis realized how lucky Avdeep was, as he was exposed to talented professionals who provided him with guidance and let him use their resources for free.

“People are putting their faith in a much younger generation today,” Avinder said.

In early October, Avdeep was informed that the LexMedia iPhone application had been approved, and at the age of 16 he had its copyrights. The finished product, available through iTunes and App Store, provides updates from LexMedia’s portal, Facebook page and videos, as well as access to Lexington news and events schedules. Avdeep is currently working on new features for the application’s updates, including a live feed option.

The process, from start to finish, cost a few hundred dollars and proves that sometimes the only capital you need is drive. This is a young man who saw an opportunity and did not simply dream — he made his dream happen.

“All you need is motivation,” Avdeep said.

Below are screen shots from Avdeep’s LexMedia iPhone application, courtesy of Avdeep and Apple:

The folks over at Joby were kind enough to send this Blair Witch style video-taker a nifty device. The Gorillapod Video can be placed anywhere with its ridiculously strong magnetic feet and positional legs that you can twist in any direction or attach to just about any fixture. Joby suggests that “video seasickness be gone” with either your point-and-shoot cameras with video capabilities or mini/pocket camcorders.

The Gorillapod Video has a compact 7-inch design which allows for easy toting and storing. The Omni-directional aluminum positioning video head allows you to direct the camera in any possible direction with a smooth 360-degree pan and 135-degree tilt. You can easily attach your camera to the Gorillapod Video by screwing in the plate to the camera and sliding it into the base. The quick release button allows you to quickly remove your camera making the Gorillapod beyond easy to use. You can even use it for still shots for when you need that 3rd pair of hands.

The Gorillapod Video definitely ranks as a favorite little gadget with its simple yet unique design and easy to use features. You may even find yourself taking more videos since they will actually be worthy of viewing at a later date.  For under $30 at the Joby website, you can’t beat it. You can also find them in many brick-and-mortar stores throughout the US by using the search feature on their website to find the one closest to you.

So we’ve all been in one of those frustrating and utterly annoying situations when you are forced to sit next to some loud annoying person, whether it be at on the bus, train, airplane, doctors office, commute to/from work or even sometimes at home. But before you decide to pull your hair out, or even ask that person if they would mind keeping it down so you can hear your self think or be able actually listen to some of your favorite tunes consider a longer look at our review of ableplanet’s True Fidelity NC300 noise canceling headphones.

Out of the box, the NC300 headphones include everything you need to get started using the headphones — except the iPod or MP3 player of course. The box contains the NC300 headphones, a hard protective carrying case, airplane adapter, AA battery and a 1/4" home stereo adapter. With this, you will be glad to find that everything packs away easily in the included hard protective case for easy portability, so there wont be any lost cables or accessories.

The first question with headphones is always “how do they sound?” In my experience, after using the headphones for a while, I wasn’t all that impressed with the audio quality and noise cancellation for the $150 price tag. I found the audio when using the headphones to have more bass than normal and at times the voices were almost suppressed by the low tones. While keeping in mind that people often like heavy bass, it just seemed somewhat overpowering toward the vocals.

I did like the design of the product. The build quality of the headphones seems to be solid, besides the battery door being a little flimsy, but this shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

But I can’t say I’m impressed by the noise cancellation either; while it does filter out slight noises, you can still hear some background noise. There was also a slight hiss when using the noise cancellation, which was less noticeable when you’re listening to something loudly.

ableplanet’s True Fidelity NC300 noise canceling headphones are available for $149.99 in either white or black online from ableplanet’s website. Audio quality wasn’t horrible, but I did feel it wasn’t on par of what you expect with a product in this price range. I feel the $150 price tag is way too steep for the product and the most I would pay for these headphones would be around eighty dollars. If your still interested in the NC300s, I definitely recommend you try them for yourself before you buy. You may even find the added base to be a plus, however for me, I don’t think I’m ready to dump my $10 JVC Gumy earbuds for the NC300 headphones just yet, although the solid build quality, comfort and the light weight was definitely a plus.

BOCA RATON, Fla., — Information technology search and staffing specialist, PROTECH, released its “2010 South Florida Tech Talent Survey” results, which showed that 79 percent of the respondents are not originally from South Florida.

And while our weather was cited by 37 percent of the top reason for making a move to the region, “career opportunity” came in second at 30 percent.

“Many still think of South Florida as a tourist and retiree destination,” said PROTECH CEO, Deborah Vazquez. “But the region also does a good job of attracting technology professionals. We have deep roots in technology innovation with the first personal computer invented here by IBM in Boca Raton. Florida also ranks as the third state in the number of high tech companies and as the fourth largest state in high tech employment.”

Other highlights of the survey included:

• 81 percent of the participants who are currently employed said they would leave their current employers for a better opportunity.
• “Corporate Stability” was ranked as the No. 1 motivator when considering a job offer. Salary came in second.
• The average pay increase for 2009 was 6 percent; this was down from 8 percent in 2008.
• “Telecommuting” was cited as the number one perk received from an employer.
• Sentiment is also improving in terms of outlook on economy – 3 percent last year said they felt things were getting better; this year that number is 15 percent.

Vazquez said that “telecommuting continues to grow in importance and prevalence due to the maturity of technology which allows many workers to work remotely, and to be as (or more) productive than their in-office counterparts. Companies wanting to better compete for the most talented workers should consider incorporating some type of telecommuting policy as an additional differentiator.”

The survey targeted 12,327 South Florida IT professionals in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Dear EarthTalk: Some time ago there were issues with Native American tribes storing nuclear waste on their land, something that was both unhealthy to the communities and caused considerable controversy among tribal leaders. Where is this issue today? — M. Spenser, via e-mail

Native tribes across the American West have been and continue to be subjected to significant amounts of radioactive and otherwise hazardous waste as a result of living near nuclear test sites, uranium mines, power plants and toxic waste dumps.

And in some cases tribes are actually hosting hazardous waste on their sovereign reservations—which are not subject to the same environmental and health standards as U.S. land—in order to generate revenues. Native American advocates argue that siting such waste on or near reservations is an "environmental justice" problem, given that twice as many Native families live below the poverty line than other sectors of U.S. society and often have few if any options for generating income.

"In the quest to dispose of nuclear waste, the government and private companies have disregarded and broken treaties, blurred the definition of Native American sovereignty, and directly engaged in a form of economic racism akin to bribery," says Bayley Lopez of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. He cites example after example of the government and private companies taking advantage of the "overwhelming poverty on native reservations by offering them millions of dollars to host nuclear waste storage sites."

The issue came to a head—and Native advocates hope a turning point—in 2007 when public pressure forced the Skull Valley band of Utah’s Goshute tribe to forego plans to offer their land, which is already tucked between a military test site, a chemical weapons depot and a toxic magnesium production facility, for storing spent nuclear fuel above ground. The facility would have been a key link in the chain of getting nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, the U.S. government’s proposed permanent storage facility.

In February 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced intentions to scale back efforts to make Yucca Mountain the nation’s sole repository of radioactive nuclear waste and to look into alternative long-term strategies for dealing with its spent nuclear fuel. The National Congress of American Indians, in representing the various tribes around the region, no doubt breathed a sigh of relief.

The issue essentially goes much deeper: As long as we continue to make use of nuclear energy—and many in Congress are looking to expand its role to get away from fossil fuels—the waste and spent nuclear fuel will keep coming and need to be stored somewhere. Groups like Honor the Earth, founded by author and activist Winona LaDuke to promote cooperation between Native Americans and environmentalists, are trying to persuade tribes that availing their land to nuclear power and other toxic industries isn’t worth the potential long-term damage to the health of their citizens. Honor the Earth helped convince the Goshutes to turn down a lucrative deal to store waste on their land, and is working with dozens of other tribes to try to do the same.

CONTACTS: DOE, www.doe.gov; Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, www.indian.utah.gov/utah_tribes_today/goshute.html; National Congress of American Indians, www.ncai.org; Honor the Earth, www.honorearth.org.

Dear EarthTalk: What is the potential for carbon "nanotubes" in battery technology? I heard them referred to as the biggest battery breakthrough to come along in years. And what else can we expect to see in terms of new battery technology in coming years? — R.M. Koncan, via e-mail

The rechargeable lithium-ion batteries now so common in everything from iPods to hybrid cars can store twice the energy of similarly sized nickel-metal hydride batteries and up to six times as much as their lead-acid progenitors. But these advances are only a small evolutionary step from the world’s first battery designed by Alessandro Volta in 1800 using layers of metal and blotting paper soaked in salt water.

With battery technology advances long overdue, researchers are racing to develop more efficient ways to store power. One hopeful option is in the use of carbon nanotubes, which can store much more electricity by weight than lithium-ion batteries while keeping their charge and remain durable for far longer.

But what are carbon nanotubes, and how can they be used to store energy? Technicians skilled in working with matter at the molecular (nano) level can arrange pure carbon molecules in cylindrical structures that are not both strong and flexible. They have significantly higher energy density and can store more electricity than any currently available technology. These tubes, each only billionths of a meter wide, essentially become highly efficient, electrically conductive pipes for storing and providing power.

Electrical engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have formed carbon molecules into tiny springs that store as much electricity as same sized lithium-ion batteries but can maintain a charge while dormant for years and work well in temperature extremes. Stanford University researchers have created ink made from carbon nanotubes that can be drawn onto paper where it serves as a high-capacity rechargeable energy storage medium. And University of Maryland scientists have created nanostructures able to store and transport power at 10 times the energy density of lithium-ion batteries.

Other technologies in development include batteries using zinc-air, lithium-air and other combinations of elements to provide longer run-times between recharges. Others still are working on prototype nuclear batteries, the trick being to make them small enough to be practical, let alone safe.

Of course, the accelerating growth of nanotechnology itself, which has not yet been thoroughly tested to evaluate potential down sides, has some health advocates worried. Animal studies have shown that some nanoparticles, if inhaled or ingested, can harm the lungs and also cross the blood-brain barrier, which protects the brain from toxins in the bloodstream.

And then there are fuel cells, created in 1839 but only recently commercialized. Not batteries per se, fuel cells generate, store and dispense power by forcing a reaction between a fuel (hydrogen from water, methanol) and oxygen, creating usable non-polluting electricity. One major hurdle for fuel cell makers is making them small enough to be able to work in laptops and other small personal electronics.

CONTACTS: "Researchers fired up over new battery," MIT News, http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/batteries-0208.html; "Carbon Nanotubes Turn Office Paper into Batteries," Scientific American, www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=carbon-nanotubes-turn-off.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 16, 2009
Renown Boston tech writer Mark Baard gets "Heretical" on BlastMagazine.com

Mark Baard has a knack for fringe science and, let’s say, odd areas of technology.

The renown Boston tech writer and Boston Globe columnist will get to explore Boston’s boldest and outwardly oddest people and discoveries in the world of science, technology, gadgetry, medicine, research, and much more with today’s launch of THE SCI-TECH HERETIC on BlastMagazine.com

“Boston is home to the world’s biggest risk-takers in science. Doctors dosing their patients with “Phase 0″ super-longevity compounds. Cyborgs trolling about with augmented vision and artificial smarts — and tracking chips under their skin. College professors moonlighting as UFOlogists and crypto-zoologists," quipped Baard. “Now, the only place to meet these people is at Blast, and The Sci-Tech Heretic. I’m here because John Guilfoil knows a bit of our future lies inside all of that ‘crazy talk’ about science.”

The blog, located at http://heretic.blastmagazine.com covers everything from Scooby-Doo’s connection to Cryptology to artificial reality. It is the latest addition to BLAST: BOSTON’S ONLINE MAGAZINE, a 250,000-reader Generation Y-themed lifestyle publication founded here in Boston.

"This is simply a perfect fit for Blast," said John M. Guilfoil, a Boston news reporter and the founder and editor-in-chief of Blast. "Our readers have a thirst for the latest technology. The weirder, the better."

"Mark Baard is a name in the field of sci-tech in Boston," Guilfoil continued. "He adds to Blast his level of professionalism, expertise, and name recognition in the local scene. We’re ecstatic to have him with is."

“Blast is an outpost for real world journalism, in a world made surreal by out-of-control technology. There is simply no other place in Boston where you will find this kind of reporting, or The Sci-Tech Heretic," said Baard. “John is brave and smart enough to try something different."

ABOUT BLAST:

Launched at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve 2007, BlastMagazine.com, Blast: Boston’s Online Magazine, has grown like a weed for three years. It is a Generation Y publication focused on young, hip Bostonia with a global vision. Blast covers music, movies, tv, video games, fashion, food, sex, relationships, science, health, technology, and more. The site also covers world, local and national news. According to Alexa.org, Blast is the third most followed online publication in Boston behind Boston.com and BostonHerald.com. Blast has more than 100 contributing writers, bureaus in New York and San Diego, and reporters on three continents.

The driving dilemma for so many young Bostonians is simple. We love to drive, but we don’t have a car. And considering how much I love singing Taylor Swift at the top of my lungs when I’m driving in a car “" even when I forget that I have the windows down “" this is a sad plight indeed.

But no matter how much I try to justify it to myself, I just don’t have that much of a reason to personally have a car. I ride my bike around town eight months out of the year and curse the MBTA’s existence the other four. Cambridge, the place I call home, is replete with bike lines on practically every major thoroughfare, and Boston is certainly attempting to get there too. And when all else fails, I’m always up for a lovely stroll through town. It’s Boston, after all!

But there are times when it’s clear that I need a car. Like for my frequent trips to Ikea. Or like every eight or so weeks when I go on a massive grocery shopping binge because I hate walking back and forth between the grocery store, even though its only ten minutes away form my house. Or like every eight weeks when I do the laundry because I hate doing laundry with every fiber of my being.

Luckily for those times, there’s Zipcar. If you’ve been living underneath a rock, I’ll “" pardon the pun “" zip Zipcar up for you. The Cambridge based and founded company allows licensed drivers aged 21 and over to rent a wide variety of cars parked all over the city by the hour or by the day.

If you’re feeling eco-conscious, grab Prius Pete “" every Zipcar has an adorable, alliterative name “" from the Genzyme Garage in Kendall Square for $7 per hour. If you’re feeling flashier, grab Baker the BMW 328 for $13 per hour from the Boston Common garage.

To become a Zipcar member, users pay a $50 annual fee to join. For those who only grab a car every now and then, they pay the hourly or day-rate for whichever vehicle they want. For those who drive more often, users can make a minimum monthly commitment, and cash in on discounted rates. Every reservation includes 180 miles of driving, a gas card to fill the car up “" and make sure to use it any time the vehicle falls beneath a quarter tank! “" insurance to cover your indiscretions, and a parking pass if the Zipcar lives in a non-free lot.

Users make a reservation, tap their RFID-tagged Zipcard on the windshield to unlock the vehicle, which already has the key inside the ignition. They then zip around town, and then lock it up when finished by tapping their Zipcard on the windshield again.

Car sharing is as simple as the name sounds. The cars are meant to be parked near where users will need them. Because everyone pays a membership fee, they all in a way jointly own and share the vehicles. Everyone is expected to fill the gas when it gets low, keep the car relatively clean, and keep it from being damaged. Zipcar will even reimburse users that pay for a carwash. Another big part of car sharing is making sure the vehicle is where it’s supposed to be. When Zipcar says your reservation is over at 6:00 PM, they mean 6:00 PM, sharp. If you haven’t locked your car up by then, you’ll get a late fee. Get enough late fees, and Zipcar will suspend you from driving.

Obviously, I don’t want to turn you off from Zipcar. You have to really piss someone off to actually get your account suspended, and because it’s a car sharing program after all, users are usually rather fanatic and therefore largely respectful of the rules. Overall, Zipcar is simple, effective, and much better than having a car and insurance payment every month “" plus, for me at least, it’s the closest I’ll ever get to driving a Beamer before I can ever afford one of my own.

While Zipcar got its start in Cambridge back in 2000, it has since spread to 49 cities across the world. Zipcar was founded by residents Robin Chase and Antje Danielson who based the company on car-sharing programs similar to those in Europe. By the end of 2002, the company had 6,000 users in Boston, D.C., and New York.

Zipcar got its start by stocking different neighborhoods with different cars, giving each area it’s own identity. In Cambridge, home to the recycling, biking, hippie granola crunchy type, the company filled the neighborhood with gas-sipping Priuses. In the Back Bay, Zipsters were more likely to want a showier convertible Mini-Cooper for weekend trips to the Cape.

Now in 2009, Zipcar has merged with former rival Flexcar, and now commands a fleet of 6,000 vehicles for 675,000 users in places as far as Ann Arbor, Mich., Tuscaloosa, Alab., and even across the pond in London. In fact, in one of the tougher economic times we’ve seen, Zipcar is preparing itself to go public, and is launching an IPO in 2010. The company is constantly adding cars to its fleet and expanding its user base. With the influx of cash from an IPO, Zipcar really will be going places.

What makes Zipcar so special is its amazing blend of cute personality, sharp business prowess, and of course, cutting edge technology. The technology starts when you try to start the car. Sitting in the upper right corner of every Zipcar is a little black box. When you tap your Zipcard on the windshield above it, the system sends out a signal to Zipcar HQ over EVDO “" yes, that ancient data technology your old cell phone used to run “" that matches your card to a reservation to a specific Zipcar. When everything aligns correctly, the black box unlocks the car door, the black box releases the kill switch on the engine, and you get in and drive off.

The black box is also hooked into the on-board diagnostics system, or OBD. When my Zipcar wouldn’t start on a particularly cold January night, I called Zipcar, and the helpful man on the phone could already tell me that I had killed the car battery by leaving my headlights during my quick trip into Trader Joe’s. If you somehow lock your Zipcard inside the vehicle, a quick phone call to Zipcar customer service can unlock it. Likewise, the black box has a simple GPS system so that the vehicles can be located should they wander off and get lost. The same kill switch that keeps the car from being stolen can also kill the car should it somehow manage to drive off.

However, the newest technology debuted at the tail-end of September is, of course, Zipcar’s new iPhone app. Up to now, users have had to make reservations though the Zipcar website, the mobile website, or over the phone. Both of the websites are robust, AJAXy, and a breeze to use. The phone however, well, lets just say it’s not Zipcar’s fault if you’re using a technology from the 19th century.

But now with the magic of the Zipcar iPhone app, users can locate themselves on a map of all of Zipcar’s offerings, make a reservation, and even unlock the car from inside the application. When I did just that with my iPhone app, I almost cried from the sheer amazingness of what I’d just done. It also made me feel amazingly futuristic, despite the fact that we’re all supposed to have personal jetpacks in the future. And OK, fine, people have been able to remotely unlock cars since OnStar in the 90s, but that still required calling someone who was sitting at a computer somewhere in Arizona. Now, I can do it from my touch screen god-phone.

Using the rest of the app was just as easy as you would expect Zipcar to make it. Making my reservation was a breeze. The app grayed out all Zipcar lots that didn’t have a car that matched my time reservation. If you needed the exact location of a Zipcar lot, the app would send the exact coordinates to your Maps application which would then direct you to the lot. While my reservation as open, I could extend the time I needed the car from inside the app as well.

Zipcar polled its users and found that 25% of them had an iPhone, hence releasing their first app on Apple’s platform. Everyone else without an iPhone can still use the mobile website to make reservations. Also, once you’ve given Zipcar your cell phone number, they’ll send you text message reminders about your reservations. You can then extend your reservation just by texting Zipcar back. “Ext30m” will get you an extra half-hour to get back while “End today 4pm” will do just what it says.

Zipcar has always been a company to embrace technology, and now every car in their fleet now comes equipped with an auxillary cord to plug into your iPod or mp3 player of choice, so you can jam out to Taylor Swift, or any other embarrassing musical offering you might enjoy. Every car has a toll-tag that auto-magically bills your Zipcar account for the tolls.

Another thing that’s hard to ignore about Zipcar is that the company is rather green”"and we’re talking about more than its logo. Like I said before, I only drive a Zipcar when I really need one. But if I had a car of my own, I’d probably take a lot more places. That means I’m driving more, burning more gas, and doing my part to warm the earth with more carbon dioxide. When you factor in people who just use Zipcar instead of owning a car, that’s a lot fewer miles being driven out there.

Zipcar recognizes this, and discounts the Priuses in its fleet more than the other vehicles. Zipcar even ran a “low-car diet challenge” which in return for media coverage, encourage drivers to hang up their keys for a month and ride public transit or use a Zipcar when absolutely necessary. While the miles saved from these twelve users is merely a minuscule blip in the amount of carbon spewed into the atmosphere by the millions of drivers in the U.S. every day, the ideas are still a good one. It’s also a counter intuitive notion, considering that Zipcar essentially makes its money when people drive, but it’s just the good-nature of the company. When was the last time you saw gas companies encouraging eco-consciousness?

Zipcar is here for good it seems, and that’s something that I, and thousands of other users certainly embrace. While Zipcar advertises through print frequently, a lot of Zipcar’s brand strength comes through word of mouth. Zipcar user Matthew Lasek shared just such a story. “About two weeks ago I rented a Volvo and zipped to the hardware store to fill up on more paint, brushes and cleaner to remove all the paint I would inevitably spill. While locking the car a 65 year-old woman asked ‘So how does Zipcar work?’” Lasek then explained the entire membership and rental rental process to the questioning woman, Brookline resident Lauren Smith, who lamented how expensive it is to rent a cart through a traditional car service and how she hated asking her daughter to drive her on her errands.

When asked to sum up the Zipcar experience, Lasek put it like this: “I think this is what Zip Car is: freedom. This strong and able senior wanted to have the freedom to do something as simple as go to Johnny’s Fresh Market; while my exploits in Zipcars to the beach or Six Flags are a little more adventurous, the fact remains that Zipcar lets us do things that our own two legs can’t, or what our wallets would prohibit.”

Images courtesy Zipcar, the author, and Flickr users Andrew Currie, rakka, reinvented, and scoobyfoo.

Men may generally be considered more tech savvy than women, but a new study shows that these days, women know gadgets, and its the men who are behind the curve.

A new study conducted by Retrevo, a company that matches consumers with compatible electronics, found that although men are confident about the latest gizmos, women are actually more astute when it comes to deciphering tech lingo and devices.

“There’s a myth that men are more technical than women,” said Andrew Eisner, Retrevo director of content for Retrevo. “Now we’re finding in consumer electronics that more women are carrying the ball.”

Debunking the long believed myth, only 17 percent of women who were asked what “1080p” meant answered incorrectly, while 25 percent of men did so, according to the study.

1080p is the abbreviation for a high definition video mode.

Educational programs like the Women in Technology Project, at Vermont Technical College, are committed to encouraging young women in middle school and high school to study math, science and technology. (Media credit/Vermont Technical College)

The study revealed that only 55 percent of women consider themselves “extremely tech savvy”, while a whopping 79 percent of men believe they are.

More women than men in the study knew that “MB” stands for megabytes.

This new trend may affect who the industry targets, according to Vipin Jain, president and CEO of Retrevo.

“Every single component of the CE industry has been affected by the recession and is trying to figure out how to make money in the new economy. Our Gadgetology report suggests that women might be the answer,” he said in a statement about the study.

Indeed, the study also found that more women than man would give up caffeine over their computer.

Said Eisner, “Anecdotally we hear about women being the keepers of the camcorder and camera and the laptop.”

Although Retrevo found that more women than men think tech jargon makes it more difficult to shop, the data clearly show that those same women are buying and using gadgets at least as much as men are.

“Advertisers would be very wise to direct advertisements at women,” Eisner said. “So go get ‘em.”

The U.S. Department of Justice released the following:

Three leading electronics manufacturers “" LG Display Co. Ltd., Sharp Corp. and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. “"have agreed to plead guilty and pay a total of $585 million in criminal fines for their roles in conspiracies to fix prices in the sale of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, the Department of Justice announced. Of the $585 million in fines, LG will pay $400 million, the second highest criminal fine ever imposed by the Department’s Antitrust Division.

Today’s charges were filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The companies have agreed to cooperate with the Department’s ongoing antitrust investigation.

Thin-Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) panels are used in computer monitors and notebooks, televisions, mobile phones, and other electronic devices. In 2006, the worldwide market for TFT-LCD panels was approximately $70 billion. Companies directly affected by the LCD price-fixing conspiracies are some of the largest computer, television and cellular telephone manufacturers in the world, including Apple, Dell and Motorola.

“Today’s charges and criminal fines emphasize the commitment of the Department of Justice to crack down on international cartels,” said Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey.

LG Display Co. Ltd, a South Korean corporation, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, LG Display America Inc., a California company (LG), agreed to plead guilty to participating in a conspiracy from September 2001 to June 2006 to fix the price of TFT-LCD panels sold worldwide. During the conspiracy, LG Display Co. Ltd. was known as LG.Philips LCD Co. Ltd. (a joint venture between LG Electronics and Philips Electronics) and LG Display America Inc. was known as LG.Philips LCD America Inc.

Sharp Corp., a Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer, has agreed to pay a $120 million fine for its participation in separate conspiracies to fix the price of TFT-LCD panels sold to Dell Inc. from April 2001 to December 2006 for use in computer monitors and laptops; to Motorola Inc. from fall 2005 to the middle of 2006 for use in Razr mobile phones; and to Apple Computer Inc. from September 2005 to December 2006 for use in iPod portable music players.

Chunghwa, a Taiwanese TFT-LCD panel manufacturer, has agreed to pay a $65 million fine for its participation with LG and other unnamed co-conspirators in a conspiracy from September 2001 to December 2006 to fix the price of TFT-LCD panels sold worldwide.

“These price-fixing conspiracies affected millions of American consumers who use computers, cell phones and numerous other household electronics every day,” said Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department’s Antitrust Division. “These convictions, and the significant fines they carry, should send a clear message that the Antitrust Division will vigorously investigate and prosecute illegal cartels, regardless of where they are located.”

LG, Sharp and Chunghwa are each charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act. Each violation carries a maximum fine of $100 million for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

LG Display Co. Ltd., based in Seoul, South Korea, reported $15.3 billion in revenue for 2007.

Sharp, based in Osaka, Japan, reported $34.2 billion in revenues for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, including $6.8 billion in revenue from LCD sales.

Chunghwa, based in Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China, reported $4.8 billion in revenue for 2007.

These pleas are the result of a joint investigation by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Field Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in San Francisco. The plea agreements are subject to court approval.

Anyone with information concerning illegal conduct in the TFT-LCD industry is urged to call the San Francisco Field Office of the Antitrust Division at 415-436-6660.

Dear EarthTalk: As an online gamer, I spend a lot of time in front of my computer. What’s the environmental impact? And are “greener” PCs available?  – Bob Grant, Burlington, Vt.

Online gamers and other heavy computer users are definitely leaving an environmental mark. Depending on when it was made and how it was designed, a standard desktop PC can use anywhere from 60-300 watts when in use, while an inefficient gaming PC with powerful graphics card, multiple hard drives and optical drives, flash memory reader and a 30-inch LCD might consume as much as 750 watts, or about as much as a typical refrigerator. Until July of 2007, government Energy Star requirements only measured a computer’s energy use while in standby mode, which allowed the majority of brands to carry the label.  

New stricter efficiency requirements have brought greener models. You’ll find the largest selection from companies like Dell and Hewlett Packard. Many businesses use the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) to assist in the purchase of greener computing systems, and the evaluations can be useful to consumers, too. EPEAT evaluates and rates computing equipment on 28 efficiency and sustainability criteria, awarding them bronze, silver or gold for overall performance. 

Technology company VIA is well regarded as an industry leader in low-wattage processors (central processing units or CPUs), with some barely sipping only a dozen or so watts from the power supply. Some typical VIA designs can outperform competitors using only 23 watts, or less than half the power called for by Energy Star specifications. Of course graphics cards used by PC gamers are serious energy hogs. Your top-end ATI or nVidia card will render great graphics, but use 300 watts or more. Newer cards are better, but much depends on their use. The best advice is to buy only the graphics power you need.  

One of the easiest ways to save on computer power is to use technology that automatically rests when you do, and to shut your computer down when you’re not using it. Windows XP allows users to configure power management settings, and Vista Ultimate lets you configure power-saving options in even more ways. Vista can actually throttle its power consumption for some tasks and power down at other times. If you’re just typing a Microsoft Word document, performance will back down, whereas if you are editing video in a powerful program like Adobe Premier Pro, Vista will use all the processing power available.  

Bear in mind that screen savers are not energy savers. In fact, power-down features may not work if you have a screen saver activated. Happily, LCD color monitors do not need screen savers. In terms of shutting down, while PCs use a small amount of energy when they start up, it’s considerably less than the energy used when they are on for long periods of time. Consider turning off the monitor if you aren’t going to use your PC for more than 20 minutes, and both the CPU and monitor if you’re not going to use your PC for more than two hours. 

If you’re concerned about the “wear and tear” of turning PCs on and off, don’t be. Most PCs reach the end of their “useful” life due to advances in technology long before the effects of being switched on and off multiple times can have a negative impact on their service life. 

CONTACTS: Energy Star, http://www.energystar.gov/; EPEAT, http://epeat.net/; Recycling an old monitor, http://www.via.com/.  

Dear EarthTalk: Vegetarians and vegans are so self-righteous about not eating meat and how meat eating is so bad for the environment. How true are these claims? Frank Doolittle, Sudbury, Mass.

There has never been a better time to go vegetarian. Mounting evidence suggests that meat-based diets are not only unhealthy, but that just about every aspect of meat production-from grazing-related loss of cropland, to the inefficiencies of feeding vast quantities of water and grain to cattle, to pollution from “factory farms”-is an environmental disaster with wide and sometimes catastrophic consequences. 

There are 20 billion head of livestock on Earth, more than triple the number of people. According to the Worldwatch Institute, global livestock population has increased 60 percent since 1961, and the number of fowl being raised for food has nearly quadrupled in the same time period, from 4.2 billion to 15.7 billion.  

The 4.8 pounds of grain fed to cattle to make one pound of beef represents a colossal waste of resources in a world teeming with hungry and malnourished people. According to Vegfam, a 10-acre farm can support 60 people growing soy, 24 people growing wheat, 10 people growing corn-but only two raising cattle. 

Food First’s Frances Moore Lapp© says to imagine sitting down to an eight-ounce steak. “Then imagine the room filled with 45 to 50 people with empty bowls… For the feed cost of your steak, each of their bowls could be filled with a full cup of cooked cereal grains.” Harvard nutritionist Jean Mayer says that reducing U.S. meat production 10 percent would free grain to feed 60 million people.  

U.S. animal farms generate billion of tons of animal waste every year, which the Environmental Protection Agency says pollute our waterways more than all other industrial sources combined. The infamous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill dumped 11 million gallons of oil into Prudoe Bay, but the relatively unknown 1995 New River hog waste spill in North Carolina poured 25 million gallons of excrement into the water, killing 14 million fish and closing 364,000 acres of shell fishing beds. Hog waste spills have caused the rapid spread of Pfiesteria piscicida, which has killed a billion fish in North Carolina alone.  

Other than polluting water, beef production alone uses more water than is used in growing our entire fruit and vegetable crop. And over a third of all raw materials and fossil fuels consumed in the U.S. are used in animal production. Meat also increases our carbon footprints. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, livestock around the world contribute more greenhouse gases (mostly methane) to the atmosphere-18 percent of our total output-than emissions from all the world’s cars and trucks. 

“There is no question that the choice to become a vegetarian or lower meat consumption is one of the most positive lifestyle changes a person could make in terms of reducing one’s personal impact on the environment,” says Christopher Flavin of the Worldwatch Institute. “The resource requirements and environmental degradation associated with a meat-based diet are very substantial.” 

CONTACTS: Food First, http://www.foodfirst.org/; UN Food and Agriculture Organization, http://www.fao.org/; Worldwatch Institute, http://www.worldwatch.org/. 

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

In this day and age finding love has become a more-than complicated issue for some. Long work hours, an overall sense of independence amongst young people and a 24-hour technological world, are some of the causes. Because of these problems many people have turned to dating sites that, "promise results within six months," or your money back. If it’s going to take six months to find me a date while I pay for the searching, I rather invest the money in shoes!

Enter Sam Yagan. He understands my conundrum, shared by "millions out there," as he explains. Sam is one of the creators of a different type of dating site. A site where people don’t pay a subscription; fill out witty questionnaires that help them draw down their list of possible love matches; and can have, pretty much, no expectations in a good way.

"At OkCupid.com we don’t promise to find you a partner or your money back, the time you spend in the site reflects results, we are not pressuring you to use that membership for all its worth" said Sam, CEO and co-founder of OkCupid. At the same time, Sam said that the time people spend on the site could be entertaining, because their profile and formatting styles are much more nonchalant. In the hopes of improving services he has done personal research, finding a way to make online dating even more entertaining.

"I talked to users and friends who are single and debating about online dating. Many women have complaints about traditional online dating, because it’s too much work. You need a profile, a photo, a quiz, all these things, and at the end you don’t get a date. Guys argue that there is no spontaneity in online dating, there’s no chance to say ‘lets go on a date tonight!’ So, we though of how to create a site that’s not a lot of work and has spontaneity."

The Eureka moment came with CrazyBlindDate.com, and since its launch last November the site is becoming popular. As the name implies the new site under OkCpid.com is about, well, blind dating. Crazy blind dating, to be exact. People in the major cities served by the site at the moment, log in their contact details, likes and dislikes, length of the blind date, and a time and location where the date can take place. After that the system takes over and tries to match the requested types of persons with the time and location given to set up a date, cutting the middle friend who is known to ask, "wanna go on a date with this friend of mine?" There is nobody to blame, and maybe much to gain.

"We wanted a site that got you off the site and outside dating. There’s nothing to do except log in info for the date and get out, it’s revolutionary because it turned the model out of itself. With 5 minutes of work you could have a date tonight or tomorrow," added Sam.

Although it can be unnerving, going on a date with a total stranger you can’t even get basic facts on, the concept is indeed revolutionary. As Sam puts it, this new site is like going to the bar and meeting a stranger you set up a date with. Because contact information is only used by the computer system to set up dates and text or email users about the confirmation details, the fear of getting calls from that odd individual you met with is not present.

"The concern for safety or comfort is a very common first reaction. Upon reflection users consider that they are in public setting and can say for how long they want to meet," said Sam. "We are the only ones that use and know the user’s cell number and we protect users by making their information private as well. People can also see other’s date reviews so that they decide not to go if the person is ruled as rude, for example."

If the fear of getting paired with your total opposite is still present, there are also double-blind dates you can set up with a friend. Finally, there are "either" dates where you can join a previously scheduled double date that’s missing a couple. Since the launch of the site, Sam said the response has been tremendous. The system has already set up over a thousand dates.

Thanks to date reviews people share their experiences and word of mouth has accounted for new users. One of the users has even been on 16-plus dates since she joined at the end of November.

"We don’t see it as competitive site for OkCupid.com because it’s our task as a company to innovate as much as possible in the online dating world. If this is the future of dating we want to lead it," added Sam.

The two sites compliment each other since CrazyBlindDate.com uses the database of users from OkCupid.com to match people, having the ability to choose from thousands of users. So far, 20% of users said they have gone on a second date with the person they were set up with, and many feel "a connection."

Our voluntary guinea pig, Elizabeth*, tried the service and was amazed by the quick process and date setup. Overall she had a good experience. "I had a good time, it was an exciting way to meet someone and although there were no sparks we still enjoyed the coffee!" our brave tester added.

Although, in her second try our tester had to cancel, due to scheduling issues. ‘I felt so bad because the texts are encouraging. But, I cancelled and got this sassy e-mail saying, ‘Guess you already knew it because you did it! It was shocking and amusing and it made me want to set up a new date to make it up."

For Sam, defining success is relative. What he is most happy with is the fact that people are going out and meeting others all over. The goal for this new project is to go live in more cities and be widely accepted as the "off-line" dating site.

"Me and my partners checked what we could offer for free because that’s what I love to do, offer things free. People pay for porn, gambling and dating as top three online things. I’m married so porn is out and I can’t offer free gambling; so dating was or thing and there was nobody offering free services so we came up with a good product and its been immensely popular since. Now, we just keep innovating," Sam aid.

*Our tester’s last name was omitted to protect anonymity and privacy.

Dear Staff,

From now on when we do reviews, you need to put the following info … for example:

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Developer: Level-5 Inc.
Platform: Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, DS, GBA, PC, MAC, Linux
Genre: Strategy/RPG
Players: Single-player
Launch Date: August 2007