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Tech toys tops for Christmas
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Contact:
Terry Lavender, 604.268.7408, terry_lavender@sfu.ca
Terry Lavender, 604.268.7408, terry_lavender@sfu.ca
December 3, 2003
If your children are nestled all snug in their beds, with visions of robots dancing in their heads, the tech-savvy Santa’s helpers at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus can help you choose the appropriate gift.
SFU Surrey is home to the School of Interactive Arts and Technology and the eLearning Innovation Centre (eLINC), which have attracted faculty and researchers well versed in the latest gadgets and computer programs. And they have several suggestions for the stressed-out gift buyer.
For example, there’s the Lego Mindstorm Robotics Invention System. SFU Surrey professors use Mindstorm to introduce undergraduate and high school students to programming fundamentals. Suitable for older children (or adults), Mindstorm can be used to build creatures capable of roaming around, interacting with other robots or spooking the cat.
Joseph Matthew, a lecturer in the school, wants a NEC LT 240K DLP projector. Matthew says this small projector is "hands down the best projector you can buy under $3000." You can use it to watch television (with an image equivalent to a 200" television) or play games. And the best part, he says, is that "you can justify it as a business necessity. I told my significant other that I needed it for business presentations and how could she argue with that?"
Gordon Pritchard manages the high-tech research labs at the campus. His dream gift this year would be a StereoGraphics SynthaGram stereo 3d display that doesn’t need glasses. The display ranges in price from $4000 to $18,000 U.S. depending on the size.
The Game Boy Advance SP is on Stephanie Chu’s wish list. Chu is a learning design coordinator with eLINC. She says this latest version of Nintendo’s Game Boy is "a sturdy little system for playing a variety of richly detailed games." It can also link with the GameCube and other Game Boy Advances for multi-player games.
Colleague Baljeet Dhaliwal’s suggests the Palm In-Car GPS Solution, a global positioning system that works with most of the newer Palm handheld models. It includes mapping software that will highlight your current position and give you turn-by-turn directions. With one of these in his sleigh, Santa wouldn’t need Rudolph’s red nose to guide him anymore.
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SFU Surrey is home to the School of Interactive Arts and Technology and the eLearning Innovation Centre (eLINC), which have attracted faculty and researchers well versed in the latest gadgets and computer programs. And they have several suggestions for the stressed-out gift buyer.
For example, there’s the Lego Mindstorm Robotics Invention System. SFU Surrey professors use Mindstorm to introduce undergraduate and high school students to programming fundamentals. Suitable for older children (or adults), Mindstorm can be used to build creatures capable of roaming around, interacting with other robots or spooking the cat.
Joseph Matthew, a lecturer in the school, wants a NEC LT 240K DLP projector. Matthew says this small projector is "hands down the best projector you can buy under $3000." You can use it to watch television (with an image equivalent to a 200" television) or play games. And the best part, he says, is that "you can justify it as a business necessity. I told my significant other that I needed it for business presentations and how could she argue with that?"
Gordon Pritchard manages the high-tech research labs at the campus. His dream gift this year would be a StereoGraphics SynthaGram stereo 3d display that doesn’t need glasses. The display ranges in price from $4000 to $18,000 U.S. depending on the size.
The Game Boy Advance SP is on Stephanie Chu’s wish list. Chu is a learning design coordinator with eLINC. She says this latest version of Nintendo’s Game Boy is "a sturdy little system for playing a variety of richly detailed games." It can also link with the GameCube and other Game Boy Advances for multi-player games.
Colleague Baljeet Dhaliwal’s suggests the Palm In-Car GPS Solution, a global positioning system that works with most of the newer Palm handheld models. It includes mapping software that will highlight your current position and give you turn-by-turn directions. With one of these in his sleigh, Santa wouldn’t need Rudolph’s red nose to guide him anymore.
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