High-Tech Gadgets

From devastation in Haiti to jubilation in New Orleans, 2010 was a pictorially poignant year. We won't soon forget the massive not-a-sinkhole in Guatemala or Lady Gaga's meat dress. Take a tour of the year's most unforgettable events in images.

By Candace Keener

Tech pundits said Apple couldn't make a consumer tablet that would succeed. But then the iPad sold more than a million units within 28 days. How did Apple prove the naysayers wrong, and how has their tablet evolved?

By Josh Briggs & Wesley Fenlon

Do you have a smartphone? How about a digital camera? A portable music player? We bet you'll be surprised by how many of these 'essential' gadgets you actually own. Take a look and see whether yours made the list, or if we omitted any of your favorites.

By Chris Pollette

Once only found in the movies, high-tech spy gadgets are part of our everyday lives. Is someone listening in on your conversation right now? Are you being followed?

By John Fuller

Technology has changed our lives, mostly for the better. But what happens when our inventions get the better of us? The results can be devastating.

By Chris Pollette & Dave Roos

Depending on whom you ask, machines are running our lives. But what happens if they start to build more efficient models of themselves and get rid of us?

By Jonathan Strickland & Mack Hayden

You're out shopping when suddenly a voice tells you to buy the product right in front of you. Brilliant gimmick or creepy invasion of personal privacy?

By John Fuller

The Avatar Machine lets users see themselves from a third-person perspective as if they were in a virtual environment. Could this gadget inspire human behavior studies?

By Jonathan Strickland

Fabric displays are revolutionizing the marketing and fashion industries. From furry TV to wearable computer systems, these displays are worth watching.

By Jonathan Strickland

Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are part of a tracking system that uses intelligent bar codes to track items in a store. First used to monitor livestock, these devices now appear in countless stores across the country.

By Kevin Bonsor & Wesley Fenlon

Speech recognition technology allows people to compose documents and control their computers using their voice. It can be used in homes or businesses, for a variety of uses.

By Ed Grabianowski

How unique is your face? Learn how facial recognition systems can pick a face out of a crowd, extract it from the rest of the scene and compare it to a database of stored images.

By Kevin Bonsor , Ryan Johnson & Zach Taras

Most of us instinctively think of darkness as a cloak, a way to hide. So, how can you see someone standing more than 200 yards away on a pitch-black night?

By Jeff Tyson

Holographic environments make the virtual world truly tangible. Find out about the development of real-life, interactive "holodecks"!

By Kevin Bonsor

Electronic ink promises to be an amazing, breakthrough technology that we will all be using in five years -- it will completely change books and newspapers. Learn all about it.

By Kevin Bonsor

Nearly every item that you purchase from a grocery store, department store, or mass merchandiser has a UPC code on it somewhere. Ever wondered why? Let's find out how the average UPC code works!

By Cherise Threewitt