Orange County Register

Store this in the distractions-for-work category, Goggles is a flash-based game that I stumbled on over the weekend. British designer Mark Caswell-Daniels merged aviation with Google Maps for another clever use of the online mapping program. Goggles is a flight-simulator game where you can study various cities from a bird’s eye view. But don’t get too close or you’ll crash. I see Mark added Washington DC and New York, but nothing on the Left Coast. I imagine flying to OC would take hours, possibly days, and get you a good dose of carpel tunnel.

I believe I managed to fly to the Capitol building, right?

Why hasn’t the Gadgetress blog been updated for days and days? Because of this game. Thanks to all readers who sent in their high scores. I finally got to level 8 and topped 14,000 points but at what price? The top reader, so far, is Diana, a reader, who e-mailed me her top score below. She admits that she had some practice. “This game is similar to that of a Neopets game called Sutek’s Tomb…so I got some experience…heh.”

There’s a lot of useful stuff out there on the Web, but sometimes it’s hard to slog through the boring stuff to get the good stuff. Hopefully, these recent links of sites I found will interest you, and, of course, to add your two, feel free to comment below or send me an email.

Cool Google Maps: A collection of useful geographical guides on local bars, restaurants, gas prices, AIM users … made using Google Maps. (via Daypop)

Robots take over the world (not really) at the recent iRex 2005 International Robot show in Japan. Included photos of a floor-cleaning robot that recognizes human voices and the Kondo Kagaku’s KHR-1 robot that can balance on one foot. Source: CNET.

Make magazine issue #4 is now available. It’s pretty good. The DIY mag for techies shows you how to make an electric guitar out of a cigar box, among other geeky things.

Back to OC: If you find yourself sitting on your bum staring at your PC or hunched over on the couch playing Xbox 360 games, get out! There’s a lot happening in the local high-tech world this weekend.

Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3rd and 4th: Fry’s Electronics in Anaheim turns into a playground for the “Technology inMotion Tour,” a 24-city traveling tech circus that includes an 18 wheeler crammed with computers and Xboxes. Symantec, the antivirus company, is head sponsor but also making appearances are Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Linksys, Logitech, Adobe and Vonage.
Why should you go? Free virus/spyware scans for consumers who bring their computers to this “Tech Tank” And for video-game fanatics, Xbox 360 game playing.
When: This Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3 at 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Dec. 4 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Fry’s Electronics at 3370 East La Palma Ave in Anaheim

Saturday, Dec. 3: For young braniacs, LEGOLAND is hosting the F.I.R.S.T. LEGO League Ocean Odyssey Challenge where kids compete in a science and technology tournament. F.I.R.S.T., an acronym for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, brings 48 teams of kids ages 9 to 14 from all over Southern California to build, program and test an autonomous robot that will compete with other teams’ robots in an obstacle course. Sounds tough.

Sunday, December 4: The North Orange County Computer Club is meeting at its usual spot at Chapman University. Guest speaker is Lee Otsubo, “The Digital Photo Guy,” with tips on digital cameras and photos.
When: 1 p.m. at the Hashinger Science Center at Chapman University, 33 N. Glassell Street in Orange. For a map or meeting information, see NOCCC’s site.

Anyone who drives in Orange County knows that trying to get anywhere, especially during rush hour, is frustrating. So reader (or salesman?) Bill Byers, a local dealer for Big Boys Toys, suggests the TrafficGauge.

The device looks like a Palm organizer and displays one traffic map either of Seattle or a combined part of Los Angeles and Orange County. But more than a simple Palm, this gets real-time traffic information about accidents and other slowdowns, then starts blinking like crazy on the affected highway. With one glance at the 5-inch screen, you’ll know whether to avoid the 55.

I first saw this about two years ago. I thought it was pretty cool but it only had half of OC (it cuts off everything south of 405/5 merge) . The other bummer was the price, which apparently hasn’t changed in two years: $80 for the gadget and $6.99 each month for service!

Byers, who tells me he’s not the PR guy for TrafficGauge, still sells the gadget. He has a good reason to be hot on it. He believes it’s worth thet price. His words: “When I speak to the average person on the street … they all say about the same thing … they say the product is worth about $100-$250 and the monthly service fee is probably $10-$25.”

The TrafficGauge looks pretty much the same as the one I tested two years ago and I’d probably rip it in a review. I would, however, offer several suggestions, such as lower the price, add GPS capabilities or, at minimum, show all of Orange County. But, as Byers points out, he’s “just trying to make life a little more relaxed for those people stuck on the LA/OC highways.”

I thought I’d put this one out to the people. What do you think about it? Worth a review or not? Let me know!

Two distracting sites I saw this week:

The ASCII version of The Matrix. Someone (from the University of Washington?) took scenes from the movie and animated them with ASCII. Mesmerizing, at least for a few minutes.

Everyone likes poking fun at the president. I’m just entertained at how you control how much Bush’s face distorts as his nose follows the money. Again, just a few minutes out of your day is all it’s worth.

Upcoming events for next week:

• Electronic House Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center. If you’re into Big Boy Toys, the EH Expo will have everything you’d want for a living room, including home theater products, home automation, flat-panel technology, lighting control, etc. It’s a trade show but it looks like ordinary consumers can get in FREE if they register by Nov. 6.

• If you’re into podcasting or are just curious about it, the must-attend event is the Portable Media Expo at the Ontario Convention Center. A lot of the early podcasters hail from OC, including Tim Bourquin, in Laguna Niguel, who is organizing the whole show. Best part, of course, the expo-part of the show is FREE if you register ahead of time. Sessions on how-to podcast and how to make money off it cost $249.

Wow, another Kitten Cannon player. Blog readers will remember back in April when I couldn’t get enough of a flash-animated game called Kitten Cannon. It’s a pretty gruesome, but strangely addicting game where the goal is to shoot an orange tabby out of a cannon and see how far it will go. So, because I said I would post reader scores who beat my now pathetic 1,649- foot-toss, here is the high score from Jason Blakemore, who works in Irvine. Have you been practicing since April, Jason???

I, myself, have moved on. I recently bought Macromedia’s Flash so I can learn how to create games myself. If I end up creating something unique, fun and possibly addicting, I’ll post it. If you have your own Flash creation that you want to share, send me a link and I’ll post it.

In the meantime, here’s some Flash games I’ve recently stumbled upon:

Nanaca Crash! An even more gruesome take on Kitten Cannon. It involves an anime character who gets slammed by a motorcyclist.

Shoot the smiley faces with a paintball gun at Skinz.com. Definite stress reliever.

One of my favorite bands, The Polyphonic Spree, developed a Flash game to launch its “Together We’re Heavy” album in 2004. Help the wayward band members find the rest of the gang.

A few years ago, I wrote a story about an opportunistic teen who decided he wanted to win the Pokemon PT Cruiser in a Nintendo contest. The grand prize was a car that looked like a Pokemon character. All he had to do was write a theme song. This kid made a music video. He won. Just like that.

I always think of him when I spot a contest that requires some sort of skill. This week, I learned of four. And while I don’t have the skills to enter, maybe you do. Take a look and if you win one, let me know.

Motorola’s MOTOfwrd contest, open to college students.
The gist: People are using cell phones to send text messages, share video, snap photos and play music. What’s next in the world of seamless mobility?
Requirements: Write an essay, produce a short film, draw a cartoon or use any sort of visual to show what’s next. Entries due by Nov. 15.
The grand prize: $10,000 and a Bluetooth-enabled car.
Details: www.motorola.com/motofwrd

Stop the genocide in Sudan contest, open to college students.
The gist: MTV’s college TV channel, MTVu, and Reebok Human Rights Foundation want to raise awareness of genocide in Sudan.
Requirements: Create an online video game or viral campaign to raise awareness.
The grand prize: $50,000
Details: www.mtvu.com/on_mtvu/activism

The Scion F8 Macromedia Flash contest
The gist: Scion, the car, has created its own little hipster world, with a magazine, music and art.
Requirements: Create an ad for the new Scion with Flash. Deadline is Nov. 7.
The grand prize: A 2006 Scion
Details: http://www.scionf8.com/

Daz Productions 3D Digital Art contest
The gist: Daz, a leader in 3D content and software, wants to know your vision of the future.
Requirements: Use a DAZ product prominently in your entry. Deadline is Oct. 31.
The grand prize: BOXX Technology 4400 Series workstation, plus other stuff.
Details: http://www.daz3d.com/contests/index.php?id=12