A lot of media has been hyping over the Wii and Suburbia being the newest role model for shedding weight. First there was the Subway guy, then there was the disgusting McDonald's movie, and now we've got ourselves a gamer leading the way. I must say all of the above have motivated me, including the newest fad. Suberbia has played the Wii Sports game every day for six weeks and was able to shed nine pounds. The graph shows the progress he had made throughout his experiment.

For the last week I have made sure to at least turn on the Wii for a boxing match every night. I can't tell you that I've dropped weight from this, but I can tell you that I am having a blast playing. The game keeps track of your ability and will pair you with boxers that may just give you a run for your money. For the record, I haven't been knocked down yet. That's not to say that I won't lose. Every night I've had to take on a tougher opponent. I have also improved every night as well and am becoming a lot better at punch combinations rather than the old flailing arms strategy.

With all of the hype surrounding this new craze for Wii weight loss, I would love to get my hands on an actual game that pushes your fitness and can keep track of your goals and progress. Maybe even a dance pad with the Wii would be great fitness idea; a dance pad with a built in scale. My favorite (and I would buy it in an instant) would be a Tae Bo workout on the Wii with our favorite, Billy Blanks. So if you have yet to get a Wii and find yourself gaming from your tush, you may just find the incentive now.

There are some great pictures of the new Lifebook being unboxed on Gear Diary. This is a great post that brings back many memories of my experience unboxing my slightly older Fujitsu tablet (T4010d). The post is done well with thorough pictures and initial impressions of the attractive machine. I must also say that I've regained interest in getting a second pen for my tablet... Cross, here I come.

With all of the recent Blockbuster Video commercial ads and promotions, it was beginning to look like Netflix had a valid competition to the concept we've grown to love. However, it is still apparent that Netflix is one step ahead of the competition by releasing a "Watch Now" feature. No longer will we have to wait for our movies in the mail and we won't even have to drive to the video rental store. This feature will allow us to watch full movies online. Every dollar we spend on Netflix (through the mailing system) will give us an hour of video we may watch. This feature will be rolled out to all Netflix users through the year. Now I just need to go get a large screen computer monitor, media center pc, a few extenders and I won't bore you with the rest.

This may be old news to some, but I finally downloaded the new edition of Microsoft Expression Design and am liking the new look and feel of the program. A program that is used to implement fresh designs should look fresh itself. This is a CTP that will expire in 180 days. I'm not too concerned though because it is expected that this software will become a selling product in the second quarter of 2007. Although I am not expecting a low price for this, I am expecting to purchase it. This product has been my resource for all of the graphic design I'm involved in. If you have not given this software a chance and you enjoy graphic design, then you are missing out. Download the CTP now while the program is free and enjoy the nice look and feel of the UI.

Amidst all of the hype last week regarding the CES news of the coming iPhone, another Apple goodie lingers in the shadow just waiting for its time to shine. We won't let it linger any longer. This slate tablet runs Mac OS x 10.4 and uses the WACOM Penabled Digitizer. If you really splurge and get either the Better or Best models, then you will treat yourself to built-in WAAS enabled GPS. If you pre-reserve a Good model though, OWC will throw in a free GPS upgrade (not sure how long this will last).

Ok, enough of the promotion and onto my impression of this machine. From the pictures I've seen, the slate form factor looks stylish and appealing. I would say the most important factor that will go into this machine is the ability of handwriting recognition. I understand that if you buy a slate tablet you probably are not planning on doing a lot of writing, however, you will be writing with it and you will expect it to recognize the writing. I feel Microsoft's tablet is so useful simply because of the TIP (Tablet Input Panel). Without quality handwriting recognition, that is available easily in all applications, this ModBook may find little use. Maybe I could be so lucky as to receive a trial ModBook from OWC, so that I may offer a comprehensive review.

Google Trends offers a great utility for analysis on popularity of search phrases over a span of time. The utility offers great charts and includes milestone information along the timeline that pertain to each search phrase. Below is an image of a comparison I had run on the terms, wii, xbox 360 and ps3. As you can see, the data provided is a representation of the search volume and the news reference volume. It's a great representation on trends and really shows information about the market for these products over time and region.

As predicted, Japan leads the way with searches on PS3 and Wii, whereas United States leads the way with the XBox 360. It will be interesting to watch as the trends progress while new games are developed and released for these consoles.

Here are some Google Trend comparisons you may find of interest:

Wii, XBox 360, PS3

George Bush, John Kerry

Donald Trump, Rosie Odonnell

Pro Life, Pro Choice

Engadget has put out some great photos of what looks to be the iPhone that Apple hopes to release in June 2007. As you can see in the picture, the device should go for $599. I must say that I am a big fan of this form factor. The more screen the better as long as it comes with an intuitive and smart user interface. It is being advertised as being smart in that it will know the difference between fingers purposefully controlling the device and a cheek pressed against the screen during a call. With bluetooth, wifi and 8 GB of flash memory, this device is looking more and more tempting. I'm sure we'll be seeing a ton about this device in the coming months.

Microsoft is taking charge again of a product that will help student interaction within the classroom. Microsoft is developing software that will allow multiple mouses (or is it mice) interact with a single computer. It will soon be possible for every student to have their own mouse and interact with the computer with other students. I can foresee so many possibilities with this concept and the software that could take advantage of this interaction.

What happened to children walking from their desk to write on the black board? At first thought, it may seem this new technology is just another way to make people lazy (and fat). With further absorption, it is clear how much it will help students and teachers in return. Classes may become more productive, students will feel more involved, and more can be taught quicker with this method. This just may leave extra time for students to run around and get all of their exercise during recess. Isn't that really the goal anyways?

Read more information regarding this technology.