My fellow Trekkie geeks would know that this will have something to do with Star Trek and hospitals. There is some interesting news in the way of hospital communications. Have you ever thought about how much more efficiently doctors could work if they had communicators with them. Though it doesn't have the Starfleet icon on it, I'll be glad when these devices are in more hospitals. Engage!
'Star Trek' communicators free up doctors' time

As some of you may know, the war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray officially came to a dramatic conclusion on February 19, 2008 when Toshiba, the world's largest manufacturer of HD-DVD players at the time, called it quits. This came after several studios that once either backed both Blu-ray and HD-DVD or HD-DVD exclusively, decided to switch to Blu-ray exclusively. Incidentally, 20 years earlier, another format war effectively ended. That one did not end in Sony's favor, as they were the main proponent of the superior quality BetaMax format that eventually lost out to VHS. This time though, Sony, Blu-ray's brainfather, came out victorious.

The question now for the masses is no longer what format to get, but what Blu-ray Player. Since many factors, including steadily decreasing prices and more offerings of HD channels, have cause people to get high definiton televisions, the logical next step is to get a Blu-ray player with which to watch high definition movies. Yet, with the average cost of a new Blu-ray player still being around $550, some are deciding to wait it out and watch the prices falls. Others have decided to bite the bullet and get the most out of their movie watching experience right now. What do you plan to do?

But, hold on and drop that chalupa! Just when you thought it was all over and settled for another decade or so, Pioneer, which plans to starts selling Blu-ray players this year, decides to up the ante with a new HD format that may hold up to 16 times as much data.

Here we go again?

Employees at a growing number of businesses are starting and ending their days by pressing a hand or finger to a scanner that logs the precise time of their arrival and departure — information that is automatically reflected in payroll records.

Technology News: Workforce Management: No More Punching In, Yet Workers Unhappy

Looks like Google is hard at work on offline access to Google Docs. Google Blogoscoped has screenshots of what looks like the beginnings of such a service.

Google Docs going offline soon? | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

An automobile driver recently was held responsible for crashing a rental car into a train after following global positioning system instructions that put his rental car onto the train tracks.

Is GPS liability next? | Perspectives | CNET News.com

External hard drives are convenient for many reasons. But should they be left on all the time? The answer's never as simple as you think.

Should I turn off my external hard drive when not in use? - Ask Leo!

It's easy, though, to get rid of old electronics. No matter where you live, you can sell it, donate it or recycle it.

Out with the old: What to do with your unwanted tech gear

Way down at the bottom of the electronics section on Target.com is something you'd miss if you weren't looking for it: a tab called "Pre-owned Electronics."

Target tests electronics 'recycling' program | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Onboard computers in modern cars can save time and provide instant access to navigation, entertainment, driving assistance and even ergonomic comfort. But that instant gratification of having "automatic everything" may require an initial level of patience previously reserved for setting up personal computers and pesky VCRs.

Help! I can't program my car | CNET News.com

Under Teen Safe Driver, a camera records audio and video images of both the road and the driver when motion sensors detect swerving, hard braking, sudden acceleration or a collision. The footage goes to an analysis center where it is graded for riskiness and sent on to parents with comments and coaching tips. Teen drivers have mixed feelings about the technology.

Technology News: Technology: Keeping Tabs on Teen Drivers With Tracking Tech