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LEIA TUBE?
Not many of us thought of sending 3-D holograms before Princess Leia’s plea for help in “Star Wars.” At a Tokyo University laboratory, researchers are putting subjects into a booth where a 360-degree digital camera records images that are then sent to a cylindrical tube. “We can see the 3-D image as if it’s inside the cylinder,” said Susumu Tachi, a Tokyo University professor of computer science and physics. Tachi and Tomohiro Endo developed the cylinder — dubbed SeeLinder — by combining fiber optics, electronics and a white light-emitting diode, or LED. Limitations? The hologram is fuzzier than modern TV screens. One cylinder costs $97,100.

HOT SPOT LOOKOUT
The new Digital Hotspotter ($50) from Canary Wireless does more than locate nearby Wi-Fi networks: it tells you all about them. When the compact device’s single button is pressed, it scans for 802.11b and 802.11g Wi-Fi networks and displays their details, including network name, security status (open or secure) and signal strength, on a liquid-crystal display screen. The Hotspotter also shows the Wi-Fi channel number used by each network. In neighborhoods or buildings with a heavy concentration of Wi-Fi networks, knowing the channels in use could enable you to tune a Wi-Fi gateway to an unused (or less busy) set of frequencies. (There are 11 overlapping channels available in the United States.)
www.canarywireless.com

TINY MOUSE
Those who find an ordinary computer mouse cumbersome in these days of ultraslim, palm-size, lightweight electronics may be pleased with the new Bluetooth Mini Mouse ($70) from Iogear. Ideal for laptop users who travel, the Mini Mouse is half the size of a standard mouse. Despite its size, it can communicate with a Bluetooth-enabled computer up to 66 feet away (useful for making presentations to a group). A USB cable allows you to charge its two AAA batteries through your computer. An on/off switch conserves power when the mouse is tucked away. The Mini Mouse doesn’t seem to make any concessions for size. It features a scroll wheel and an optical sensor with 800-dots-per-inch resolution, which is a lot even for a full-size mouse.
www.iogear.com

SEEING ALL
Equipped with a tiny camera, a high-tech device that recognizes the white stripes of a pedestrian crosswalk and reads traffic lights might help the blind get around without a walking stick or seeing-eye dog. Researchers at Kyoto Institute of Technology are developing such a technology, the latest aimed at helping blind and visually impaired people lead more independent lives. Though a working prototype isn’t yet ready, the electronic eye has shown promise at signal lights that don’t emit songs or sound effects to aid blind pedestrians. Using a handheld digital video camera, researcher Mohammad Shorif Uddin filmed 196 traffic intersections in Japan. Back in the lab, a computer program examined the footage and correctly detected the crosswalks in all but two instances, when it signaled the presence of intersections that didn’t exist. Researchers aim to make a device small enough to perch on a pair of glasses. It will be run by a miniature computer that can bark verbal instructions. Ultimately, canes and other travel aids with sonar or lasers can alert the user of approaching objects. Global Positioning Systems can tell what streets, restaurants, parks and other landmarks the user is passing.

STEP SUPPORT
Very real relatives of all sorts come together for the holidays, and not always easily — particularly in so-called blended families. Dawn Miller knows this from experience. She married a man with three children. She decided to give voice to those feelings by creating a Web site called the Stepfamily Life: A Column From Life in the Blender (www.thestepfamilylife.com). Miller’s Web site has links to articles and other resources designed to help people from blended families. “It helps me personally to make sense of it all,” she said of her online efforts. “It can be very easy to be overwhelmed when you are a stepparent. There are times when my joy and even my anger shine through obviously on my Web site. People relate to honesty.”

Santa’s list
The most popular toys and related searches most requested by Lycos users for the week ending November 27:
1. Poker
2. Neopets (virtual pets)
3. PlayStation 2
4. Harry Potter
5. Xbox
If you’re still looking for gift ideas (and what to do with that Christmas cash from grandma and grandpa), check out Jake Jones’ Holiday Video Game guide on next week’s technology page.

TOLEDOBLADE.COM
Check out our updated University of Toledo and Bowling Green State men’s and women’s basketball schedules in the Arts/Events Calendar.
www.toledoblade.com/calendar

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