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An app that turns the content from your social graph into a customized magazine-like experience. All the interesting stuff your friends share, presented in a single, slick, user-friendly experience for your iPad.

OK, so maybe the headline is a bit misleading because this is actually pretty cool. Pilot Pens has unveiled a new app that allows you to turn your handwriting into a personal font for your computer - which brings us back to the headline. Even I can't read my own handwriting.

More at http://www.pilothandwriting.com

It will only be necessary to carry an inexpensive instrument not bigger than a watch, which will enable its bearer to hear anywhere on sea or land for distances of thousands of miles.”

– Nikola Tesla predicts the cellphone in a 1909 interview with the New York Times

Well worth watching as a glimpse (pun intended) into how new computing interfaces are blowing technology wide open - even if you're not an Apple fangirl. From the video:

"To this technical-ninny it's clear in my compromised 100th year, that to read and to write are again within sight of this Apple iPod pioneer"

My daughter loves playing "office", a game that generally involves the employment of some kind of robot to improve productivity and profitability. While I'm sure she would have played with this when she was a bit younger, I have to agree with Gizmodo's assessment that this toy (basically a toddler version of the corporate drone workstation) is a pretty depressing concept.

But a nice one with some great, up-to-date numbers.

... without any of the masturbating men you don't want to know about.

My take on Buzz so far? *yawn*

But we'll see. In the meantime, if Google hasn't turned you on yet, you missed the announcement or haven't yet grown tired of the knee-jerky blog posts alternately slamming it as lame or presenting it as a social media game changer, this here is Google's official demo clip that shows how the thang works.

I'd love to tell you how this thing will work but [leans in close for full effect]... it's magical. I suppose this is what passes for good copywriting these days?

Killer highlight reel of 1983's most awe-inspiring new gadgets: from portable cassette decks and palm-sized TVs to betamax recorders and (wait for it) personal robots "literally with minds of their own." Where do I get in line for one of those?

Bonus points for perms and special effects.

A fantastic presentation about how to give a fantastic presentation. Loaded with good, practical easy-to-follow advice for anyone who finds themselves standing in front of a room of people. You don't need to be a business icon or work for one of the world's coolest tech companies to rock a room - of course, it doesn't hurt if you are either...

Interesting stuff - the top trending topics by category for all of 2009.

I see myself falling into a few of these - thankfully NOT 'dewey decimal system' though.

Clearly the answer is, "no."

I'm almost three years out of date on this one but today I happened across a now-defunct blog called 'Today I Typed on Google' and think it's dorky-cool. Basically, back in 2007 two bloggers published images of the top Google search result for a bunch of random things. The site provided an interesting window into how easily information on just about any subject -- from the sublime to the ridiculous -- can be had with just a few keystrokes. I also love that the authors gave Google a gender: it's a boy... :-)

It was a great concept. Somebody with a little extra time on his hands should be doing this today.

'Nuff said.

Listening to Orbital "You Lot" at 30,000 feet. Haven't listened to the brothers Hartnoll in years. Good shit...

You are becoming Gods
There's a new master of creation, and it's you
You've unraveled DNA
And at the same time, you're cultivating
Bacteria strong enough to kill every living thing
D'you think you are ready for that much power?
You lot? You lot?

I've always liked the "Did You Know?" series of (first) presentations and (then) videos -- they're great perspective-giving, vertigo-inducing romps through the ways in which technology has changed and will continue to change the way people communicate, connect, learn and work.

The latest edition -- created by xplane as a promotional piece for The Economist's Media Convergence Forum -- is the best yet. It takes a panoramic look at change across the media landscape. And while it includes the requisite 'old media is dying' proof points, it also looks at the ways old and new have (and will continue) to combine in game changing ways.

ReadWriteWeb's round-up of the top 5 web trends of 2009. Not a forecast (of course) but a summary of the technologies and trends that represent the most important (augmented reality) and/or prevalent (real-time, personalization, etc) today.