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.

HDMI, the digital cable interface that has become the standard on new TVs and AV equipment, has undergone a serious upgrade.

Microsoft demos real-time voice translation.

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.

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?

Every year we look to CES to show us the future of technology. For the last two years, OLED was going to be the next big thing. This year, it’s barely an afterthought. What happened?