Crave

This dog looks seriously bummed.

(Credit: GeekAlerts)

I don't have a dog right now, but if I did, I totally wouldn't trust it to roam around my apartment while I'm not there. Who knows what kind of mischief it'll get into or what it'll find lurking in my sock drawer. This Pet's Eye View Camera makes it easy to keep track of your dog, but $55 is too expensive for what appears to be a glorified Webcam.

There's not a lot going on here in terms of technology: the little USB still camera attaches to your pet's collar and can automatically take pictures at 1-, 5-, or 15-minute intervals. The camera can hold a total of 40 shots in 640x480 resolution. It seems like the camera would be more efficient if it could automatically upload pictures via Wi-Fi to an online account like Flickr or Snapfish so you can monitor your animals on the fly, but as it stands you can only check out the pictures after the damage has been done.

The next time you find yourself combing through the refrigerator trying to find that missing steak, consult the camera--all signs point to Beethoven.

The Pet's Eye View camera is available on I Want One of Those for $55.

Just recently, Softbank Mobile, Japan's biggest cell phone carrier, signed a deal with Aoyama Gakuin University to provide iPhone 3Gs to 1,000 students to keep tabs of their attendance via the phone's Global Positioning System. The company now has a plan to equip the same amount of elementary-school students with GPS phones.

The iPhone 3G is one of the most popular GPS-enabled cell phones.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

However, the purpose this time is much more serious than nabbing truants. As reported by the Associated Press, this is to test how GPS-enabled cell phones can help track the spreading of an infectious disease and stop it from becoming a pandemic. This is part of the Japanese government's effort to promote Japan's Internet and cellular infrastructure to new users.

This government-backed experiment uses a virtual sickness that is highly contagious. A few months from now, a few students will be chosen to be "infected" with this sickness. Their movements will then be tracked via their cell phones and compared with other students. Stored GPS data can then be used to determine which children have crossed paths with the infected students and are at risk of having contracted the disease.

The families of exposed students will be notified via cell phone messages with instructions on how to get them checked out by doctors. In a real-world outbreak, this could help better control the rate of new infections.

The significance of this level of control is demonstrated via Softbank's calculation: If an infected person spreads the illness to another three people per day, and each newly infected person then makes another three people sick, on the 10th day about 60,000 people would catch the disease. However, if each sick person only infected two people a day, after 10 days, then only about 1,500 people would get sick.

The 404 studio starts its transition from toxic-waste dump site into a full-on video production system with the help of Buzz Out Loud star Jason Howell. Seriously, there are about six cameras in here pointed at things I don't even want to mention.

(Credit: Print Screen/CNET/Tricaster)

Lots on today's show. First, the Interwebs have tracked down the location of the suspected Domino's Pizza where a few employees rolled dough down their backs and stuck cheese up their nose. Speaking of douche bags, there's a new book coming out highlighting the antics of "that guy." You know, the one that strikes up a conversation at the urinal or, like Justin, who sends you pictures that leave you having nightmares. Rounding out the first half of the show, a 6-year-old boy can't return a brand-new PSP to Wal-Mart after he discovers pr0n on it.

On the second half, we've got some great voice mails, including a call from a special someone in Hawaii who wants to have Justin's babies. Stephen Colbert gets a treadmill named after him aboard the International Space Station. If you're addicted to the Internet, there's an application on the Mac that will help. And finally, AT&T allows parents and jealous boyfriends and girlfriends to track the location of their loved ones. Call it a social network and it's not big brother; it's awesometown.

Again, please RSVP for tomorrow night's BOL and 404 meetup at the Delancey in New York City at 7:30 p.m. Right now, only age 21 and up can come. We're working on trying to get 18+ to get in, but no guarantees. It is a bar, after all. If you can't make it though, please call in at 1-866-404-CNET (2638) to leave a callback or message about something asinine one of us said.

Wednesday's Nintendo press conference at this year's GDC 2009 shed some light on various details about the company's ambitions. We now know about the Wii storage solution and the pricing structure and details surrounding DSiWare. While we would have liked to see a new Wii title announced, instead we were treated to a taste of a brand-new Zelda title for the Nintendo DS.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks will be the latest adventure in the Zelda franchise exclusively for the Nintendo DS. There's not much information on the title, but it seems this adventure will have Link as the conductor of a train, traveling from dungeon to dungeon. The game's art style is very similar to 2007's portable hit, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

Nintendo says we can expect Spirit Tracks to release by year's end, but for now you can enjoy this fresh new trailer of the game in action.

Spark Nano: A tiny GPS device

You've seen them in movies: tracking devices so small they can be put inside a tooth or embedded under the skin. In reality, tracking devices--for the general public at least--are not that tiny, but they can be pretty diminutive.

Lightning GPS introduced a small tracking device on Wednesday called the Spark Nano. Of course, you'll need to take the "Nano" notion with a big grain of salt. The device is actually about the size of a 9-Volt battery--you know, the big one that's used in a smoke detector. The Spark Nano is, however, rugged and waterproof.

The new Spark Nano GPS tracking device.

(Credit: sfs)

Its size means you can easily install the Spark Nano on the object that needs tracking; you can clip it on a person's belt or put it inside your kids' backpack to keep tab of their whereabouts. The Spark Nano also features a panic button that the wearer can use to alert people if he or she is in danger. The alert would show exactly where the person wearing the tracking device was located.

For people at home, the Spark Nano can be tracked in real time via a Web site, either with a computer or via a smartphone. It can also be set to periodically send e-mails and text messages indicating the location of the tracked object.

The Spark Nano has a built-in rechargeable battery that can power the device for five continuous days with a full charge. It sports "Safety Zone" Technology that alerts you when the tracked object arrives at a target or exits a predefined area.

The new GPS tracking device is available now and costs $299.95. It also requires a service plan that starts at another $45 a month.

Google on Thursday released an application called My Tracks that turns the T-Mobile G1 Android phone into a full-fledged GPS receiver.

The free software can record tracks showing where you've been, display them on a map, show elevation gains and losses, and share data with various online services.

As a geography buff, I have to confess that this one of the first applications that actually got me excited. I carry a Garmin standalone GPS device so I can geotag my photos and keep track of my trips, but My Tracks one-ups it in several ways.

For one thing, it's a phone and therefore much more likely to be toted at all times, not just on dedicated occasions. But more important, it's an Internet-enabled device, which means it shows my position on Google Maps--either map mode or satellite image mode, not just the feeble and expensive Garmin Maps--as long as it can find the Internet. Track data can be saved not just as a GPX file, but also uploaded and shared with Google Maps. And statistics can be uploaded into Google Docs spreadsheets or even Twittered (for example using the Twidroid application).

While I love going to large events like Giants games or the circus, I hate dealing with the traffic afterward. Finally though, some good has now come out of the frustration of after-event traffic.

Engineering students at Purdue University have come up with a new method to track traffic: Bluetooth. The students tracked Bluetooth signals from cell phones and other devices carried by football fans as they drove home from a recent Penn State game.

The method uses each signal to constantly update how long it takes vehicles and pedestrians to travel from one point to another. Darcy Bullock, professor of civil engineering at Purdue believes that "Harnessing the wireless signals represents a potentially low-cost leap in technology to provide information for everything from the speed of the morning commute to the sluggishness of airport security lines."

Since each Bluetooth signal is unique, each device can be tracked by its travel time using detectors installed at intersections or along highways. In the most recent study, the students used a special antenna to identify 1,520 Bluetooth addresses in the crowd of more than 57,000.

The students then used 13 tracking stations to monitor the Bluetooth signals as fans drove home from the game at Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium along two routes leading to Interstate 65: a 4.2-mile southern route and a 5.2-mile northern route. They then determined which routes from the stadium had the fastest times.

Graduate student Mary Martchouk said "We found that the postgame travel time along the southern route was up to 28 minutes, but the travel time along the northern route was only 12 to 14 minutes, even though the northern route is one mile longer".

The researchers came to the conclusion that using the Bluetooth was far more effective than alternative methods. Typically traffic trackers employed the use of camcorders and spotters to record individual license plate numbers on cars as a means of tracking.

Seems the Bluetooth method is about 200% less invasive, since license plate tacking identifies the person being tracked.

The students will be hosting a national webinar, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Dec. 3, that's open to the public.

If you have a fancy car with integrated OnStar service, good for you, but if not, there are different ways to make your vehicle trackable. One of which is the Seeker that BlackLine GPS introduced on Thursday. Seeker is a GPS-based vehicle recovery and tracking device that a car tech savvy person can install without professional help.

The Seeker and its keyfob

(Credit: BlackLine GPS)

Slightly larger than the size of a car remote key, once installed and armed, the device continuously monitors its automatically configured GPS security perimeter. If an unauthorized individual moves the vehicle outside the security perimeter, it instantly notifies the owner via SMS or e-mail and alerts the BlackLine Recovery Service, triggering a recovery process. During this process BlackLine works in conjunction with the local authorities to recover your vehicle and bring the thief to justice.

Even when there's no incident, an owner can also track the location of the vehicle in real time via his mobile phone or BlackLine's Web site, which is a selling point for me. It's hard to believe, but I've more than once forgotten where I had parked my car.

The device comes with a key fob for the owner to carry with him. The key fob allows the Seeker to automatically arm/disarm its security function. When the user approaches Seeker's preestablished perimeter, it automatically disarms. When the user leaves the perimeter, Seeker automatically configures a GPS security perimeter and enters its armed security mode.

Seeker requires only a two-wire power connection and is compatible with both 12VDC and 24VDC power systems. It can even report the car's battery level to the owner via e-mail and text message to a mobile phone. If Seeker's power supply is disconnected, it automatically switches to to its internal rechargeable two-day battery backup system while notifying the user of the issue.

On top of that, the device also features BlackLine's sharing technology that allows users to share their locations with one another. This comes in handy when you travel in a group of multiple vehicles.

Seeker will be available early next year with a price of about $350. You will also need a plan for the tracking service that costs $20 per month or $200 per year.

Following Tuesday's official Microsoft announcement of its first BlueTrack mice, Wednesday we get word of the unsurprising extension of the new sensor technology to Microsoft's SideWinder gaming mice. The SideWinder X8 will go for $100 when it ships in February (although Amazon.com is apparently already taking orders).

The new 4,000 dpi SideWinder X8 with BlueTrack sensor.

(Credit: Microsoft)

As we reported Tuesday, the new BlueTrack sensor is a Microsoft-developed optical-tracking technology that purports to give mice greater accuracy over a wider variety of surfaces than laser or IR optical mice.

Microsoft claims scalable dpi settings from 250 to 4,000 dpi for the SideWinder X8, which should please gamers. Thankfully, this new mouse also brings back the macro-record button for on-the-fly command recording, introduced by last year's SideWinder, but missing from the more recent X5 model.