Andy Baio of Waxy.org has begun posting digitized versions of a 1992 documentary about personal computers entitled The Machine That Changed the World. Narrated by Frontline veteran Will Lyman, the WGBH Boston documentary is "the longest, most comprehensive documentary about the history of computing ever produced," according to Baio. The documentary is great fun -- featuring extensive interviews with major computer pioneers, it covers a broad spectrum of computer history and trivia. From Baio's... READ ON

Last night's LOST season finale made mention of a "Dead Man's Trigger," which is another term for a Dead Man's Switch. Although these devices are well known to some geeks, I thought I'd write a little explainer to introduce the notion more broadly. (Warning: very minor LOST spoilers follow.) While the LOST switch was in fact a "fail-deadly" (the opposite of a fail-safe), the concept is similar. In fact, this isn't the first time we've seen a Dead Man's Switch on LOST: Season 2 was all about Desmond's... READ ON

Portland, Oregon has long had a Weather Ball -- a series of lights that tell you, in rough terms, a weather forecast. It's located downtown, on top of a building. From many locations in Portland you can spot the ball and get a general sense of upcoming weather. In Portland, the lights are coded like so (thanks to Lyza Gardner for the explanation): It can tell you one of six things, that is: 1. It's going to get hotter (steady red) 2. It's going to get colder (steady white) 3. It's going to... READ ON

It was about four years ago when I first saw a 20Q ball. The tiny handheld device scrolled text across its meager one-line screen, inviting me to challenge it in a game of 20 Questions. I immediately thought of an object I figured it wouldn't guess ("iPod") and began to play the game. After a series of slightly odd questions -- including "Does it bring joy to people?" -- the little ball gave its guess: "MP3 player." Wow. It was right. So how does this 20Q device work? The short answer is... READ ON