X

Alien hunting, Windows through the ages and Christmas gifts

Photos of the month - December 2008
By Jo Best, Contributor
40152332-1-9-custom.jpg
1 of 9 Jo Best/ZDNET

Photos of the month - December 2008

With Christmas just around the corner, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the hordes of people watching the horizon for signs of an otherworldly being are in fact watching for the arrival of Santa.

Not so – it's aliens. The Hat Creek Radio Observatory, in Northern California, is home to the Allen Telescope Array. The ATA, as it's called, is a collection of radio antennas, that together make up the world's first telescope dedicated to the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence project.

See the array in action in the full photo story here.

Photo credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News

40152332-2-snapdragon-laptop4r.jpg
2 of 9 Jo Best/ZDNET
With the netbook trend showing no signs of slowing down, all eyes are on what comes next in the world of mini laptops.

silicon.com's Natasha Lomas caught up with chipmaker Qualcomm for a sneak preview of its prototype touchscreen laptop-to-tablet. Take a look at the shape-shifting PC in action here.

Photo credit: Natasha Lomas/silicon.com

40152332-3-windows-7-taskbar-jumplist.jpg
3 of 9 Jo Best/ZDNET

In another glimpse of the future of technology, Microsoft unveiled a new look for the Windows taskbar coming in the next iteration of the operating system.

To take a look at the "beachfront property of Windows 7", take a look at the full story here.

Photo credit: Microsoft

40152332-4-windows-1-0-box.jpg
4 of 9 Jo Best/ZDNET

As well as looking to the future of Windows, silicon.com trawled through its past, with a selection of photos from Windows 1.0 to Windows 7.

To get nostalgic with the full selection of Windows blasts from the past, click here.

Photo credit: Microsoft

40152332-5-predictive-mkts-5.jpg
5 of 9 Jo Best/ZDNET

What's the most effective way to tell the future? Tea leaves? Crystal balls? Apparently, it's betting, with online betting exchange Betfair showing silicon.com how closely bets can reflect future outcomes from politics to football.

This chart shows how Betfair's punters trying to guess who will be made manager of a football club.

See the full story here.

Photo credit: Betfair

40152332-6-sony-reader-ebook.jpg
6 of 9 Jo Best/ZDNET

December naturally saw silicon.com's thoughts turn to Christmas, with a selection of presents CIOs, including a Wii Fit for the more sedentary IT boss and a laptop bag that can actually charge the laptop inside via clever use of solar panels.

To see the full range of presents, including this Sony e-book reader, click here

Photo credit: Sony

40152332-7-knight-rider.jpg
7 of 9 Jo Best/ZDNET

If the IT team are on your Christmas present list, then silicon.com has put together a top 10 presents list for them too, albeit a slightly more irreverent one.

Suggestions include a light sabre, USB pop up pirates game and this radio controlled version of Knight Rider's Kitt. Check out the full list here.

Picture credit: Firebox.com

40152332-8-usbsushi08.jpg
8 of 9 Jo Best/ZDNET

If the festive season inspires your thoughts to turn to what sort of presents to buy yourself, then check out our top ten presents for the techie that has everything, including a few handy suggestions for what to stick in your USB port from this sushi to a dinky R2-D2 memory stick.

To explore the full list, click here.

Photo credit: Dynamism.com

40152332-9-nokian97whitehe1.jpg
9 of 9 Jo Best/ZDNET

One of the more extravagant suggestions for the techie who has everything was the highly desirable Nokia N97.

To get up close and personal with the Swiss Army knife smartphone, click here.

Photo credit: Nokia

Related Galleries

Holiday wallpaper for your phone: Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and winter scenes
Holiday lights in Central Park background

Related Galleries

Holiday wallpaper for your phone: Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and winter scenes

21 Photos
Winter backgrounds for your next virtual meeting
Wooden lodge in pine forest with heavy snow reflection on Lake O'hara at Yoho national park

Related Galleries

Winter backgrounds for your next virtual meeting

21 Photos
Holiday backgrounds for Zoom: Christmas cheer, New Year's Eve, Hanukkah and winter scenes
3D Rendering Christmas interior

Related Galleries

Holiday backgrounds for Zoom: Christmas cheer, New Year's Eve, Hanukkah and winter scenes

21 Photos
Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6: Electric vehicle extravaganza
img-8825

Related Galleries

Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6: Electric vehicle extravaganza

26 Photos
A weekend with Google's Chrome OS Flex
img-9792-2

Related Galleries

A weekend with Google's Chrome OS Flex

22 Photos
Cybersecurity flaws, customer experiences, smartphone losses, and more: ZDNet's research roundup
shutterstock-1024665187.jpg

Related Galleries

Cybersecurity flaws, customer experiences, smartphone losses, and more: ZDNet's research roundup

8 Photos
Inside a fake $20 '16TB external M.2 SSD'
Full of promises!

Related Galleries

Inside a fake $20 '16TB external M.2 SSD'

8 Photos