While everyone else is getting tired of talking about the iPad, I couldn’t get enough–especially when I heard that Skype is possible with the new iPad.

Think about it: a tablet, just 1.5 pounds and 9.7 inches square, with internet/microphone?

Tell me it’s too good to be true!

Skyping on such a piece of machinery is akin to the futuristic phones on Disney’s made for TV movie “Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century” that my 12-year old girlfriends and I all coveted, but knew we couldn’t have (“but maybe our children will,” we said).

Then as I read about it closer, my heart sank. It turns out one key element is missing to get a pure Zenon phone: the video recorder at the top of the screen.

Get on that, Apple, and I’ll buy iPad/Zenon phones for myself and all my friends.

Google recently applied for approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the right to buy and sell electricity from renewable sources, much like utility companies, according to a New York Times article.

Google has a philanthropy established through Google.org, and has invested $45 million since 2007 to research global issues, including energy efficiency and innovation. One of the new services launched by Google is “Google PowerMeter,” a free tool that measures the amount of electricity used in a household throughout the day.

Despite the philanthropic arm, Google is still a for-profit company. Should extra energy be created from this project that Google doesn’t use, it can be sold back to the power grid. “We’d be delighted if some of this stuff actually made money, obviously; it is not our goal to not make money. All else being equal, we’d like to make as much money as we can, but the principal goal is to have a big impact for good,” said Bill Weihl, Google’s “Green Energy Czar,” in an interview with the New York Times on Thursday.

“There are three areas we’re looking at: concentrated solar thermal, enhanced geothermal and high-altitude wind,” Weihl said. Concentrated solar thermal uses special mirrors rather than panels to collect sunlight, and geothermal collects steam from water thrown on heated rocks deep in the earth, closer to the magma layer. Google’s research team is even considering going into the jet stream to collect wind power.

This green initiative and desire to become a power broker hasn’t been without criticism. Critics say Google is attempting to do too many things at once, or trying to control everything off- and on-line.

I think Google is one of the few companies with the money, time, resources and commitment to revolutionize the way we collect and distribute our energy. Full steam ahead, Google, especially if the steam will keep my lights on one day.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is going to unveil its revolutionary touch tablet later this month at a conference in San Francisco.

Apple’s tablet would retail for around $1000 and be equipped with a 10- to 11-inch touch screen, according to WSJ. The tablets may come with a nationwide WiFi plan. Tablets will be shipped in March.

The product sounds like a large iPhone to us, without the phone. Will it replace laptops? Only time will tell.

Microsoft technology chief Nathan Myhrvold believes he has found a cure for Global Warming, and it will only cost $250 million and won’t disrupt the carbon-emitting world as we know it.

Myhrvold proposes we combat climate change by pumping liquid sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere through nozzles in a hose lifted more than 15 miles into the atmosphere with helium-filled balloons. This sulfur cloud will dim the sun in critical areas of the world by just enough to reduce or reverse the effects of global warming. He calls this cloud a “Stratoshield.”

Since sulfur occurs naturally in the environment, he says it will not disrupt our climate in a negative fashion, and will lower temperatures as desired in areas that need to be cooled.

Do you think this could work?

Source: http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2009/10/video_nathan_myhrvold_explains_how_to_save_the_world.html

There is still time to pick up a perfect gift for those blanks on your list!

5. Digital Photo Frame, $9.99-49.99

I once thought these were an awkward way of displaying photographs, but they’ve become more commonplace and thus they have grown on me…and I want one! Sold under many brands at any computer–or even gift–store. Consider picking one up for your favorite digital photographer this Christmas.

4. Rubik’s Touchcube, $84.99

This toy is a new twist on an old favorite—but it’ll actually give you hints! Swipe your finger across the rows to find the solution, and just tap on a middle cube when you’re stuck, or even *gasp* tell it to auto-solve.

3. Dell’s Mini 10v Netbook, $299

A must-have for techies on-the-go, the small Dell netbook has all the bells and whistles of a full-size laptop but can fit in a purse or briefcase. Specs: 1 GB Memory, 160 GB hard drive, WIFI with optional Bluetooth, and a 10.1” display.

2. iPhone 3GS, $299 with a new AT&T plan, $499 without new AT&T plan

The fastest, most powerful iPhone is up for grabs this year. New features include voice recording, voice control, video, a 3-megapixel camera, advanced text messaging with pictures, copy-paste, and up to 32 GB of storage.

1. Amazon Kindle 2, $259

The Kindle’s revolutionary way of delivering books has been touted “the future of reading.” Over 390,000 titles are available to read on the “electronic-paper” screen, including 101 of 112 current New York Times Best Sellers. Magazines and newspapers are available too, and all of this can be done without wires, cables, or syncing. The new Kindle 2 is thinner, has a sleeker design, and the pictures are sharper with enhanced 16-shade technology.