Nartech

The global community of long run marathon fans have long used watches as part of their daily training routines and this niche market has proven to be a profitable one for watch makers able to meet those runners' needs. A variety of different terrain and conditions come into play in this market so manufacturers have had to stay focused on their offerings and try to provide the most value possible while keeping the upgrades they offer immediately useful to fans. Now, things may be changing for the market as Garmin, a popular watch maker for the running community, has come out with a GPS enabled watch. The gadget has taken off, now being reported as prevalent at many running events and becoming something of a status symbol. The watch is actually developed to sync up with satellites in the sky and create a lock link to them in order to offer runners their GPS coordinates to help them track not only their progress, but goals they set for themselves and the watch is also able to offer more than a compass could in case the training runner becomes lost in an open environment. Since many runners today utilize public and non public trails, the community has responded positively with the Garmin model, but some have been concerned that the satellite link up process takes longer than they like according to reviews. The ability to upload tracking of their work out to their computer and watch the course they ran on a map also gives them detailed data to be able to improve their training....

The ever popular software package for open source blogging fans, WordPress, is now 7 years old as of May and now boasts nearly 12 million blogs running the software, including pro level blogs by corporate bloggers and media companies. This month, WordPress will finally release version 3.0 which comes almost 5 years after version 2.0 and was hotly awaited by the massive blogging community that surrounds the open source package. With over 28,000 downloads of WordPress each day, experts believe it will have a high level of success with this latest version. The major changes are centralized around the integration with WordPress MU, a multi user variation of WordPress that allows more than one blog to be run from a single installation of the software package. The open source software community is abuzz with news that this blogging platform, noted for its user friendly interface that has pushed it above competitors Joomla and Drupal, has hit its third official release and adoption is expected to be rapid since the blogosphere has a noted tendency to quickly upgrade when it comes to WordPress. The super simple and quick installation process made WordPress a household name among tech fans and now the 1 click installation packages are quite popular, but users have been warned that these may not yet have adopted the latest version of the software since the hosting provider will be in charge of that aspect. One major change is the use of the login name for the administration account ...

The iPad from Apple burst the tablet computer market wide open, creating an industry that was virtually non existent only months ago, but now competition is flooding in to get a piece of the action. Hewlett Packard has introduced their Slate and a range of other companies are planning different types of similar devices, each designed to give them an edge in the market and take things to the next level with the possibilities of a tablet size computer. While size and capabilities are yet to be standardized, many companies such as Dell are trying different routes to get the interest of consumers at the retail level. One such company is the Japanese electronics giant Sony which has decided to take a novel approach to the tablet computer by offering something that might not have the same level of raw power as the iPad, but costs far less. The company hopes the mix of features and attractive price point will lure in consumers who may have been sitting on the fence in regards to getting involved with the nascent gadget technology. The Sony Dash, as the device is called, will need a constant power source around such as a wall outlet in order to run, but that allows the 7 inch backlit display with touch screen to offer a variety of features for those who do not want to do keyboard based computing. Being able to use the device with a Wi Fi connection in any room of the home will appeal to those who want to use the web without the high price of either a tablet or a full scale laptop....

Those wanting to be able to catch TV shows on different devices they own that are made from Apple are now in luck thanks to a brand new gadget from a company called Elgato. The new device, known as the EyeTV Hybrid will be able to help users watch TV across a variety of different Apple products using the iPod Touch mobile device. By making use of the iPod Touch and a Wi Fi network, consumers will now be able to watch TV on their Touch device or iPhone. By using their Mac computer and EyeTV software package, users will be able to schedule recordings of shows they want to see, watch those shows at any time they want and even change the channels. Included with the package is a remote control that allows for a more TV like experience. The iPhone will be able to access the TV capable Mac wherever it may be via its 3G connection to allow for TV viewing on the go, as well. The EyeTV Hybrid dongle looks similar to the popular jump drives and plugs directly into a USB port. The device is able to connect any Mac to a cable line, satellite feed or even an antenna. The package also includes a year's worth of TV Guide listings that are similar to free program information listings similar to more standard broadcast TV of the past. The remote is a full size model and the device also includes cables which make it simple to transfer movies from a camcorder, VCR or DVD player to the computer so they can be watched on a hand held device....

If it appears that the latest word on the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill of the southern coast of the United States resembles the plot of a sci fi movie, that would be because in many ways it does. The movie in question is Kevin Costner's infamous box office bomb Waterworld which featured a variety of imaginative technologies set in a future where most of the world is covered in water. As it turns out, Costner's Hollywood vision was transformed into a company called Ocean Therapy Solutions that is also aimed at developing future technologies for various environmental water disasters and this company has now developed a machine specifically designed to battle the oil spill and help restore balance in the environment. Working out of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, Costner was on hand has BP began to deploy 32 of the machines his company offers, each of them mounted to the decks of oil finding barges which will take them to their place of action. The machines, known as V20s, will be deployed over the course of the next 60 days and are being used by BP in its ongoing efforts to clean up the disaster its company created after an oil well leak began quite some time ago. Each machine will be able to process around 13,000 barrels of the leak which as of this report flows into the water at a rate of 100,000 barrels per day. Costner's machines were designed 17 years ago and the actor has invested $20 million of his own money into the venture....