Strange New World: Picks of the Week

Oct. 11, 2007— -- Toys and toying around took center stage this week in the Strange New World: High-tech wonder gadgets are getting packaged as kids' toys. And childhood will never be the same. Plus the latest in high-technology gear -- a phone that tells your doctor what you're eating, for example-- is taking on a decidedly toyish flair. And finally, Microsoft is still toying around in the media player market dominated by the Apple iPod. We have to wonder when Bill Gates will learn that this is a game he can never win.

Here, then, are our tech picks for the week:

1) Santa's got a master's in computer science. Toy Wishes Magazine just released its annual list of hot toys for the holidays and, surprise, tops and rocking horses are out and gadgets are in. These toys, while ostensibly for children, are really not all that much different than what grownups are playing with.

Gone are the days when your little sister grabbed a hair brush and wailed Mariah Carey songs in the mirror; now kids are taking the American Idol Talent Challenge. This gadget is pretty much a full-blown karaoke machine that connects to your TV and your DVD player to get the reactions to Paula and Simon. Pretty much the only difference between the kids and the grownups are about three scotch and sodas.

There's also Guitar Hero III. This is a toy!? Guitar lessons at the Flushing YMCA were never this intense. And then there is Rubik's Revolution, a super-complex, mind-bendingly tough electronic riff on the original cube. Yes, these so-called toys are cool, but we can't help but feel a bit wistful for the simple analog world filled with blocks and wooden railroad tracks.

Is the goal here to raise kids ... or mini-adults?

2) Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really hope so.The big Japanese tech show CEATEC happened over in the land of the rising sun this week, and while there were no Mothra or Godzilla sightings, there was some really cool stuff on display. Pioneer showed an image recognition car navigation system. The prototype combines traditional GPS navigation with a camera and advanced image-recognition software to analyze the road ahead. So basically it can see things today's GPS can't --