Back when I was in grade school, we had to look up words in the dictionary as punishment. I hated it. Today people don’t really use dictionaries; most of us just look up words online. The online use of one of the oldest dictionaries around called the Oxford English Dictionary has grown so much, the next version may not even be offered in print.

The third edition of the Oxford dictionary will be ready to publish in about ten years; it is only about a quarter complete right now. While the second edition printed in 1989 has sold 30,000 volumes, the online version is much more popular.

If you want music outside and worry about your hardware getting wet from splashes, spills, or rain Grace Digital Audio has some new wireless speakers for you. The company has three new wireless speaker models that are waterproof and have 150-foot wireless range.

The new speakers include the Rock Speaker that has a 1×1″ tweeter and a 1×4″ full range speaker. It also has an internal rechargeable battery good for 7-hours and comes with a 15V AC adapter. The speaker is IPX 7 rated and available now for $149.99. The Schooner II is available now as well for $129.99. That much money gets you a pair of wireless speakers.

Intel has been busy spending serious money over the last few months to expand its reach. The chipmaker bought security firm McAfee not long ago. Intel has now made an offer for Infineon’s Wireless Solutions Business.

The deal is reportedly worth about $1.4 billion and has been approved by the boards of both Intel and Infineon. The business Intel covets is called WLS and the deal is expected to close in Q1 2011. Before the purchase can be final, it has to be approved by regulators.

Canon has unveiled its latest DSLR camera called the EOS 60D. The new camera will replace the 50D in the Canon line and offers new features. The only change that isn’t so good is that the 60D uses a plastic body rather than the magnesium body of the 50D.

The EOS 60D has a 3-inch Live View LCD that articulates into several different angles for easy shooting. The camera also has integrated RAW processing and creative filters. The image sensor for the camera has 18MP resolution and uses a DIGIC 4 image processor.

Microsoft has pulled the covers off a new wireless mouse that can be had in six different colors and patterns called the Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000. As the name suggest the mouse is aimed at the notebook user looking for a mouse to use on the go.

The 4000 uses Microsoft’s BlueTrack technology and has a plug-and-go-nano transceiver, 2.4GHz wireless technology, and a 10-month battery life. The mouse comes in two models that are the same and only differ in the patterns offered. The D5D-00068 will be offered in many locations and comes in a bright pink Pirouette design, a white and gray design called Downtown, and a skull design called Crania.

With each new line of TVs that debut, we get more and more features. It’s common today for TVs to have full HD resolution, 3D, and internet connectivity all built-in. The internet connectivity opens up a whole new world of content for the viewer right from their TV.

A company called Hillcrest Labs has announced that it has licensed its Freespace technology to both Sony and LG for use in remote controls for web-connected TVs. The technology allows the remotes to be used like a mouse for HTPCs that needs no desk.

If you needed anymore proof that the sale of apps for smartphones was a huge and booming business than the success of the App Store here it is. A company called Research2guidance has offered up the results of its app research.

According to the company, the market for apps was worth $2.2 billion in the first half of the year. To compare for all of 2009 the app market was worth only $1.7 billion. The number of apps downloaded in the first half of 2010 was 3.9 billion with only 3.1 billion downloaded in all of 2009.

There are tons of docks on the market for the iPhone and iPod touch. The docks are typically only used for charging and playing music and other content through external speakers and screens. A new dock has been revealed by the FCC from Griffin.

The new dock is called the PartyDock and it is design to enable multiplayer gaming in the iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone. The dock has four wireless controllers that will function with the three included PartyDock games. Those games include Midway Motors, Fishing Frenzy and Flippin’ Frogs.

One of the keys to driving with an eye towards being green and improving economy is to watch how you accelerate and keep an eye on mileage figures. Some cars have onboard computers for this, but others lack such systems.

PLX Kiwi has unveiled several cool products that plug into the OBDII port on modern cars, can monitor all sorts of things on the vehicle. The Kiwi Drive Green Save Gas module monitors green savings, and offers 20 green driving lessons.

There are video cards that are ok and aimed at the mainstream user looking for a budget offering. There are also video cards that are massively powerful and unabashedly expensive like the new XFX Radeon HD 5970 Black Edition Limited that is on Newegg now.

The video card is the most powerful Radeon card you will find and has dual GPUs that are cooled by a dual-slot heat sink and fan. The card has 4GB of RAM with each GPU getting 2GB. It also has six mini-DisplayPorts.

There are so many uses for projectors in different settings that it is staggering. Many churches use projectors, businesses use them, schools use them, and folks use them at home too. Canon has unveiled a new projector that is big in brightness and price.

The projector is the LV-7590 and it is designed to be installed in a setting where a bright projector is needed. The 7590 has 7000 lumens of light and can project images in 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio. The projector also has a number of optional lenses to customize it to the setting.

Sometimes I see design concepts that are so simple I wonder why they aren’t on the market already. This concept wall outlet with a couple USB ports built-in is one of those things.

Just about all the gadgets around my house can charge from USB. Things like the iPhone, iPad, digital cameras, and all manner of other devices get juice from the ubiquitous USB port. The problem is that USB ports on our computers get filled fast just as AC outlets in many homes do.

If you spend lots of time at a computer using a mouse and keyboard you know that it can cause pain and stress on your wrist. The wrist gets sore and you can get injuries like carpal tunnel in part for holding the same position for extended periods.

A new mouse from SmartFish called the ErgoMotion mouse has been unveiled that promises to reduce RSI injuries. The mouse has a design that looks like a regular mouse on a stand. The mouse moves around like normal mouse and is able to pivot side-to-side and front to back as it moves so the wrist isn’t stuck in a single position.

I have used several eReaders over the years and they are nice as long as you have light to read by. Once it gets dark you can’t read from the screen of most eReaders, unless the reader uses a LCD like the iPad. EInk displays lack a backlight.

For the eReader like the Nook or Kindle 2 if you want to read in the dark you, need a light. Periscope has announced that its Lighted Folio is now available to fit the Kindle 2 and the Barnes & Noble Nook. It has the same hideaway dual LED light to read by.

Ultimate Ears was around for a long time before Logitech gobbled it up. The company makes a wide range of earphones for everyone from the professional musician to the audiophile looking for the best sound. Today Logitech has added several new and reasonably priced offerings to the lineup.

The new earphones include the Ultimate Ears 500, 500vi, 350, 200, and 200vi. The VI versions are just like the non-VI offerings except for the inclusion of inline controls for music and a mic for music phones. The 500 series has a low profile design that sits flush with the ear and is optimized for accurate sound and depth.