I'm beginning to worry that I spend too much time concerned with the technological trappings of the world around us. I think Lord Vader put it best when he admonished Imperial Admiral Motti not to be too proud of the technological terror he'd constructed—after all, the ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force. Or, for that matter, the power of the Internet to slowly suck your life away, gurgling down a series of tubes. But seriously, when you close your eyes at night and just see an endless parade of dancing cell phones, multifunction printers, and digital music players, you can be sure of one thing: your dreams are going to be seriously messed up, man.

So, you may ask, what do video camera glasses, a gaming projector, and a compact bag have in common? Other than all being featured in this week's edition of Gadgetbox, I have absolutely no idea.

Nokia launches N96, N78 media phones

Nokia this morning made an aggressive start to its launch at Mobile World Congress through two key Nseries smartphones. The N96 (pictured) is Nokia's long-anticipated sequel to the N95 8GB and doubles its built-in storage to 16GB; with a microSDHC slot and an 8GB card (including a new card of Nokia's own), the device can hold up to 24GB data by itself. Several design changes also improve its handling of media playback: in addition to a built-in kickstand for long video playback, the N96 adds a native 3.5mm headphone jack, simulated 3D sound speakers, and a DVB-H tuner for receiving over-the-air digital TV in Europe. An electronic programming guide allows the handset to record up to 40 hours of video.

Like the N95, the updated phone sports a 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, and GPS with a data assist mode; however, a new button layout and a new look (borrowed from the N81) prep the device for eventual support for the N-Gage gaming service.

Point, shoot, store and organize

In a digital world, shooting, organizing and sharing high-quality photos and videos keeps getting easier and more affordable. Whatever your budget, a slew of cool bells and whistles makes the newest cameras, camcorders, multifunction photo printers, photo-editing software, and portable photo-storage devices worth getting to capture and preserve your special travel moments. While pocket-size, point-and-shoot digital cameras are popular for their handy size and competitive pricing, bulkier, more sophisticated digital SLR cameras, which have higher resolution and accept interchangeable lenses, are gaining customers, thanks to big price drops. A well-performing digital SLR can be had for less than $500, half of what it cost a few years ago. Brag-factor fanatics, take heart. Top-of-the-line models with 20-plus- megapixel resolution can go for $7,000 or more - if you must.

aVinci Premieres myMovieProducer at PMA Convention

"myMovieProducer is a revolutionary solution designed for today's digital photo consumer," stated Chett Paulsen, president and CEO at Sequoia. "The needs of the digital camera user are changing. Users want the spontaneity and immediacy that myMovieProducer provides. Our affordable, easy to use product generates results that rival professional productions that typically cost hundreds of dollars to produce. A typical myMovieProducer DVD can be completed in mere minutes."

During 2008, myMovieProducer plans to offer a wide variety of specialized themes, including "Travel Destinations," "Wedding," "Baby Boy," "Baby Girl," "Sports Highlights," "Achievement," "The Polar Express Christmas," and two special music video themes set to licensed popular music: "On Stage" featuring "We're All In This Together" from the "High School Musical" soundtrack and "In Concert" featuring "Best of Both Worlds" from the "Hannah Montana" soundtrack.

Tom Savini, Legendary Special Effects Make-Up Artist, Actor and ...

MONESSEN, Pa., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Douglas Education Center (DEC), a creative career school located just 30 minutes south of Pittsburgh, is already home to Tom Savini's monstrously successful Special Make-Up Effects Program, which began in 2000 and has graduated hundreds of students from all over the country. DEC offers many other programs besides make-up effects, including graphic design, illustration, cosmetology, and starting in February, Tom Savini's Digital Film Production Program. "Our film students are going to have the opportunity to collaborate with all of these other programs on their productions," said Savini. "They will be surrounded by talented individuals, just like in a professional studio, from the very first day they step on campus."

Each student entering the 16-month program receives a video camera and a laptop computer fully equipped with software for all their filmmaking needs.

Small, wearable cameras could help keep an eye on cops

As leaders in Seattle and elsewhere call for stronger police accountability, three former Seattle officers hope to cash in on that movement with an action cam for police.

If someone accuses an officer of wrongdoing, the camera should reveal the truth.

Bosch Divar MR DVR combines high quality recording with flexible ...

With its new Bosch Divar MR digital versatile recorder (DVR), Bosch makes professional-level DVR performance more accessible to everyone. Ease-of-use and powerful functionality go together to create a convenient video management solution. It combines high quality recording with flexible system management including alarm handling, camera control and device checking capability.

The Divar MR delivers real-time recording and playback in CIF resolution, as well as high resolution live viewing. 4CIF can also be used for applications where even greater detail is needed. Excellent image quality is complemented by highly efficient MPEG-4 compression, reducing storage space and cost when saving video. Video can be archived to memory devices such as USB sticks or an optional DVD writer.