geekosystem

Heads up, gadget geeks -- Google is opening the floodgates on Google Glass. Well, kind of, anyway. As of today, you can appeal directly to Google to tell them what cool things you would get up to with Google Glass wrapped around your head. Tell them on Twitter or Google+ why you'd be a great Google Glass guinea pig and just $1500 later, you could be the envy of all your friends while also never being more than a sideways glance away from checking your email.

Isn't technology great? At this rate, everything we create in ten years will be able to immediately provide us with feedback in some way, if not audibly. Our gadgets and gizmos giving us clear and concise updates out loud, rather than via some sort of text interface or gauge, is simply the best. Better than all the rest, in fact. It's not like we've been ignoring things from the past, either. Hit the jump to check out our five favorite things that we're totally glad can talk to us now.

There's something to be said when antiquated technology is totally hip to today's music scene and reproduces it in their own computerized language. Now the machines have something to play over the loud speakers to boost the morale of human slaves as they toil away, assuming our soon-to-be technological overlords even choose to keep us meatbags around. While that day is still a ways off, why not get a jump start listening to the rigid and lifeless rendition of Fun's "We Are Young," which we guarantee will be topping the charts in our not-too-distant-post-apocalyptic future!

As everyone probably guessed, adding technology to the classrooms has its advantages and disadvantages. Sure, it allows for students and teachers to interact with subjects and lessons in entirely new ways, but technology can also prove just how inept we truly are when it comes to gadgets. At Highland Middle School in Anderson, Indiana, four boys have been suspended after viewing a "partially-clad" photo of their teacher on a school-issued iPad. Their teacher had apparently not realized that her phone had synced with the device.

There seems to be a trend going on where we'd rather our livestock electronically warn us of things rather than actually checking in on them. For example, sheep might soon warn their shepherds of attack via text. Not content to let sheep get all the cool gadgets, Swiss dairy cows are about to get in on the action too. Due to the fact that it can be difficult to discern when a cow is in heat, sensors attached should be able to take measurements and alert farmers by text so they know when to inseminate the critters.

We live in a world where enormous corporations have backed themselves into a legal corner. Essentially, companies like Google and Apple religiously patent anything and everything they can in order to avoid lawsuits. The theory is that if they create a large enough stable of patents, they'll be able to curtail the majority of disputes. It's also rather expensive to go about doing this. Last year, Apple and Google spent more on patents than they did on research and development. This is the first time this has happened, but it's not likely to be the last.

Microsoft has finally had to abdicate its throne to Google; the Internet giant has surpassed Microsoft's market capitalization to take second place among technology companies. Only Apple sits above the two, though it has more market capitalization than Google and Microsoft combined. If nothing else, this finally does confirm that the Internet is serious business, especially for a company in the technology sector.

Google's been testing self-driving cars for some time now. It is known. Most of this has been private tests, conducted on approved courses. Following in the footsteps of Nevada, however, California has now approved Google's autonomous cars for their roadways -- in a trial capacity, anyway. Google will still be required to have a human handler present to take over if needed, but all the heavy lifting will be accomplished by the car itself. Obviously, Skynet has already won.

By now, you've surely heard about the Kate Middleton topless scandal. Basically, some paparazzi managed to snap a few pictures of the lady relaxing on a terrace with it all hanging loose and then sold those photos to a French tabloid called Closer. Said tabloid was then sued, and a French court has ruled that they must pay a hefty fine of €10,000 -- which comes to about $13,000 -- each time they're republished. Oh, and they also have to turn over the "original" photos or face even more fines. Yeeeeeah.

Well, folks, it's official: The latest mobile phone offering from Apple has been officially revealed as the iPhone 5. The phone features many of the features long rumored to be included, like a new version of the connector and iOS 6 already installed, and should come as no surprise to anyone that's been following the coverage closely. Even so, Apple fanatics will likely start lining up to preorder now though they won't be available until this Friday, September 14th. Apple's newest phone will then ship a week later on September 21st.

It's no secret that the amount of Carbon Dioxide in Earth's atmosphere is steadily rising. A variety of factors contribute to this increase but one thing is for sure: It's kind of a drag. However, we aren't totally screwed quite yet. Researchers at the Georgia Institue of Technology have not only developed techniques for absorbing CO₂ directly from the atmosphere, but have also determined that these techniques are much more economically feasible than originally anticipated. Learn more about the logistics of Georgia Tech's methods after the jump.

The world of technology waits for nothing. It’s probably not news to you that we’re innovating, creating and developing new technologies faster and faster as years go by. For example, new interfaces can lead to entirely new ways to interact with objects, both domestically and otherwise. But even with the accelerated growth in the technology sector that we’ve seen just during our lifetimes, trying to actually gauge that from our own perspective is almost impossible. We’re just too close to the action. Perhaps, then, a story of my childhood, my father the computer programmer and Wolfenstein 3D can successfully relate just how quickly things manage to move and how little we often recognize it ourselves. Sometimes, it takes the experience of watching it happen to another person in order to fully appreciate the circumstances we live in.

If there’s one thing we can be sure of in this world, it’s that companies will generally release an upgrade for their primary gadget or software if the original was well-received. This can range from the minor upgrade to the spiritual sequel or even an entirely new endeavor with the old name slapped on. There will always be those riding the coattails of their former achievements, but there are also those companies who seem to be genuinely trying to improve their product and just miss the mark. Whether it’s a matter of public perception, a number of times they fall short of their goal, or a combination of factors. Both of these can lead to disappointing results -- financially and otherwise -- that can leave the general public jaded. So, here at last is our list of the most disappointing technology upgrades and additions.

Adding to a long line of fascinating and generally horrifying things to be created by the Japanese, which includes artificial meat made from human feces, a gaming system for urinals, and the make out box, is a new "pill" that swims through your gastrointestinal tract. The pill, nicknamed the Mermaid, is directed by a doctor-controlled joystick. The tadpole-like capsule endoscope self-propels through a host's digestive system relaying pictures of the situation on the inside back to the doctor. While the device has not been approved for widespread clinical use, it has been tested successfully in a living human patient. The device is approximately one centimeter in diameter and 4.5 centimeters long, and can be swallowed for examination of the stomach, or inserted, well, in the other end, to capture images of the colon. The test images taken were of the colon.

The computer mouse can take on a variety of shapes and sizes while retaining functionality, including looking like impossibly adorable robot pod creatures. Artist Aaron Ristau has created these unique computer mice, which use a micro USB transmitter for wireless capability and use repurposed typewriter keys for the mouse buttons. Each mouse is different, and can be customized with specific character keys, colors, and other features. (Gizmodo via Boing Boing)