Wolfram|Alpha (also WolframAlpha and Wolfram Alpha) is an answer-engine developed by British physicist, mathematician, author and businessman Stephen Wolfram and his Wolfram Research team.  The online service with a new approach to knowledge extraction was launched last week.  Still in its infancy, perhaps the engine should be titled Wolfram Beta.   Be as it may, Wolfram Alpha answers factual queries directly by computing the answer from structured data, rather than providing a list of documents or web pages.  Want to know the distance from San Francisco to Tokyo?  How about the path of Hurricane Dolores?  Find the answers to questions that aren’t written on web pages, “what is the current position of the Hubble Telescope?

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Like most of the world, I was overwhelmed with emotion last Tuesday night when the people of the United States elected Barack Obama for president.

Wow! How’s that for poetic irony. Just when we thought we were helplessly enslaved by an administration of nearly insane, power-starved, mostly-white, science-rejecting megalomaniacs, in walks a smart-talking, free-thinking black man to emancipate us.

Also, I have been taking extra pleasure in pondering all those hardcore racists out there who must be quite aghast as they watch black people on TV dancing in the streets and sobbing tears of joy. In my fantasy, I imagine some skinhead knucklehead pacing in his living room, muttering racial epithets to himself. Perhaps there is a shotgun in his closet, perhaps he will put the shotgun in his mouth. This is my fantasy, so it ends my way.

Yes, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008, was a day when you truly felt proud to be an American. But then, on Nov. 5, I read something that changed all that.

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It can be tough finding the best car stereo and navigation system for your vehicle, but you’ve come to the right place.  At Essential Gear Guide we don’t like to make things too complicated and that’s why we love Pioneer.  These guys like to make the most sophisticated/top of the line products simple to use; and we appreciate it.  I was a huge fan of the AVIC-Z2 and now they have the Z3 which retails for $1800.00 and is worth every penny.  But before you go out and drop 18 Benjy’s, you might want to consider the new AVIC-F Series due out this June (08).  The AVIC-F900BT (shown above) combines navigation, bluetooth, voice recognition and iPod capabilities, along with all the ultimate in car entertainment choices. 
The VoiceBox technology is the best available, but your going to have to keep reading to find out why. 

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It’s been obvious for a while that tactile feedback is important to any human being that hasn’t lost their sense of touch.  Apple, the multinational consumer electronics corporation has frantically been writing patents and experimenting with new methods of enhancing tactility on touch-screens.  The fruit loving fiends that gave us the iphone have recently filed a few patents that describe varying arrangements for accomplishing the aforementioned goal.  One of these tools would be through the use of an articulating frame below display capable keys that allow the user to feel resistance when applying pressure.  The frame could be accomplished with silicon or spring based membranes.  Apple’s also playing around with the idea of pressure-sensitivity; i.e. touchpads that explore the varying use of force as a means of prompting various commands or controls; a concept similar to the pressure sensitivity of a musical keyboard. 
Once Apple has effectively cornered the market on tactile touch screens, they’ll be turning their attention to devices that freeze time and allow users to walk freely between here and the world of the dead.