This century has been named the age of technology or even the more famous  term Digital Age by many note worthy people. We have been hearing about many strange events taking place due to all the technology available today.

A recent article published by CNN about a novel written completely by text messaging caught my attention. The novel is titled “The Last Message” and it’s about an IT excutive who resigns his job in Finland to travel throughtout europe and India. All throughout his journey he keeps in touch with his family with only one means of communication which is text messaging.

The novel is completely fictional but you have to give the author credit for his orginality. All the messages and replies total to about 1,000 - are listed chronologically in a 332-page novel written by Hannu Luntiala. Its interesting to note that even the common abbreviations used in texting are included in the novel.

Sari Havukainen, spokeswoman at Finnish publishing house Tammi, said the company is considering translating the book into other languages.

All those text messages must of cost him a substancial amount but still a remarkable idea none the less. I am sure many of the older readers might find it harder to comprehend the text used in the novel but the young tech crowd will surely find it interesting.

The Situation room located at washington D.C is the center of presidential activities during times of national significance.It s no wonder that everyone has been calling for a upgrade to suit modern needs. 

Now all of a sudden gets a long awaited upgrade, inspired somewhat by the situation room used by Wolf Blitzer at the CNN situation room.President Bush felt that the Situation room wasn’t capable of handling the massive information network needed for a post 9/11 era.

The new and updated Situation room comes with some impressive technology that will definitely set the white house in to the modern age.The president’s primary conference room is outfitted with high definitions screens ,each with split-screen technology.Also the situation rooms comes with cameras, microphones and speakers in the ceiling.

A new ”surge room” is positioned next to the situation room, where the watch officers will moniter threats and information coming in 24/7.

The latest modifications aren’t the type of technology you will find in those high budget hollywood movies but it does the job.The price for the upgrade is classified but they claim to have been on a budget during the whole process.

Image Credit:cnet

Are you lieing to a buddy of yours on skype?I am sure we all have said some things that were not entirely true at some point, just for the heck of it.Well, there is news for you, as skype has announced an addition of a new feature called lie dectector.

This will be an add-on for skype users called KishKish Lie Dectector,which is made by a company called BATM.Basically, it analyzes audio streams over a skype call in real time and illustrates the stress levels of the other person.Users have the ability to even record calls over skype and then later analyze it using the lie dectector as well.

Kishkish is responsible for designing many of skpe’s current features including voice mail, book & mobile and call recorder. BATM says it hopes to be able to provide Skype users with further additions in the near future like the lie detector.

Many argue that the lie dectector is only capable of detecting variations in sound frequency and thus providing flase results.Thats almost a given since lie detectors used by law officials are not even capable of providing accurate results.

This add-on will certainly provide for a greater communication experience, but not one of importance.Hopefully this technology will increase the popularity skype currently holds which is 126 million users. 

Download Skype | Watch Lie Detector in Action | Download Kishkish

The make blog has an interesting post regarding a visual guide made with Comic Life, which is a comic book creation software for the mac.Lock picking has produced a large amount of enthusiasts,who come together and share their knowlege of Lock Picking.It is described as being a fun/challenging hobby and some even go to the degree of claiming it as a sport.

This comic verson is simply a brief introduction to the art of lock picking by Locksport International.It shows a visual step by step guide into picking locks.The comic is catagorized into chapters from introduction to locks,various picking methods,necessary tools and even a membership application to join Locksport International.

In my view,Lock picking would be fun to do,but not to the degree of my complete devotion.However,I wouldn’t mind picking couple of locks for fun.

Download Guide (PDF)      

I always had a hard time going to the bank. I hated the long lines and the rude tellers. Now a California based company called BankServ has an alternative for my bank deposits in the form of a new low cost check scanner and electronic deposits. The check scanner is called the SB1000 and is designed to allow users to scan their own checks and make electronic deposits. You can either buy the duplex scanner for a reasonable cost of $225 or you can lease it for $12 per month.

Unlike most check scanners currently on the market, the SB1000 is equipped with a top-feed slot that accommodates documents up to 8�� by 14�, and offers the full functionality of a two-sided color scanner with most widely available imaging programs.The SB1000 uses just 2 watts of electricity when running, and draws all the power it needs from an ordinary USB 2.0 port. At 12�x2�x2� and just over a pound, it takes up a minimal amount of desktop space while delivering 600×1200 dpi resolution and the OCR/MICR recognition required for compliance with the Check Clearing for the 21st Century (Check 21) Act.

More at Bankserv

Google has bought Youtube for $1.65 Billion. Its a smart move on Google’s part. Now what Google is gonna do is they will try to monetize Youtube. I mean Youtube is nolonger going to be the old Youtube. You are gonna see more video ads and stuff. Well I have to give it to the creators of Youtube. Good job guys.

Virgin Atlantic owner and British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson is making it possible for civilians like you and me to take a tour of the space. In this video you can see his Virgin Galactic Spaceship.

You can find more about this at Popsci.com