NBC’s Today Show did a segment on smarthomes today — and guess who was their tech expert? Yours truly, that’s who! We chatted about the various solutions out there, approximate costs and who they’re for. OK, so I’m only on for a few seconds, but who’s counting? Do you have a “smart home” of some kind? Any high-tech automation or remote monitoring going on? Think it’s a trend or the way of the future? Do tell.

Passport? Check. Suntan lotion? Yep. Camera? Of course. Taking a camera on a vacation is a must in order to immortalize those memories in the sun and sharing them with family and friends. But you don’t get a second chance to capture that moment, so our friends at Nikon Canada have shared their Top 10 tips to taking great vacation pictures.

Microsoft demos real-time voice translation.

Need to leave before you can read that article or report? Document-sharing website Scribd has recently launched a new feature that enables users to send documents to read on their mobile phones.

What will the future bring? Tech enthusiasts can expect some wild innovations over the next 20 years — such as teleportation (at the particle level), as well as brain implants, quantum computers and blazingly fast computers and networks. Cisco’s chief futurist Dave Evans offers up his 25 tech predictions.

A new Retrevo study entitled “Are Consumers Warming Up to Shopping On Their Mobile Phones?” found only 8 percent of those surveyed said they’d never shop on their cell phone.

We’ve all been there before. You’re calling your TV provider, bank, airline retail giant or government and you’re stuck in “voicemail hell.” You know, that never-ending phone system menu with touchtone or voice-activated prompts that could drive you crazy. Toronto-based start-up Fonolo has a free “deep dialling” solution, and now an iPhone app, too.

The Clip Mobile application receives deals, specials and coupons from local merchants in your immediate vicinity by using your smartphone’s GPS to determine your location.

Check out Pandigital’s line of LCD greeting cards — a world’s first, says the company — that places a 1.4-inch liquid crystal display (with photos you cn replace with your own) inside of a traditional greeting card. Is this something you’d buy?

If you’re in the market for one of those “Flip”-style pocket-sized camcorders, new models from Sony and Kodak look quite promising, and each catering to different needs and budgets.

A few manufacturers debuted new “Flip”-style Flash-based camcorders