Hey there! It’s been a while since I’ve had an update. I’ve been totally exhausted from CES 2012 in Las Vegas. I was covering that massive show with the DVICE crew for the second year running (more on that in another post). Today, I want to remind you that Tekunoloji is on YouTube.

This is the first major electronics trade show that I went all in with video and tried to be as pro of a “video editor/producer” as possible. The total video count I had for DVICE and CES 2012 coverage was 13. That’s 13 videos in five days.

All of my videos were shot with an Olympus PEN and edited with iMovie ’11 on a Core i7 1.8GHz MacBook Air (2011 model). Those of you who still think an Air can’t be a video editor – think again, because it can – at least for short videos.

Of course, all videos from CES are viewable also on DVICE or on Xbox Live with the Syfy video app (must have the newest Dashboard and be a Gold subscriber).

Lots of videos from CES 2012 on our YouTube channel, but I’ve still got some stuff leftover from my SD cards and SSD, which I’ll be adding exclusively for Tekunoloji.

Video is a rapidly booming source of eyeballs and I can see every major publication working to improve on their video offerings. The key is to make them with a super low-budget without sacrificing on professional quality. It doesn’t need to be CNN or MTV-quality, but it needs to be good enough it doesn’t look lackluster. And you have to be fast – super fast to shoot, edit and upload.

In terms of what kind of content to provide on YouTube, I’m going to be experimenting a bit and tossing all sorts of stuff up on our channel and seeing what sticks. Our biggest video so far is still when we were the first to break news on the Grand Theft Auto III: 10 Year Anniversary demo video from New York Comic Con.

Here are my favorite videos added recently on Tekunoloji on YouTube:

Razer Blade:

2013 Electric DeLorean:

ePawn Arena:

Sony’s computer/tablet hybrid concepts:

Razer’s Project Fiona:

Liquipel nanotechnology waterproof tech:

Mad Catz’s modular Pro Circuit Controller:

Show us your love by heading over to the Tekunoloji channel and subscribe, favorite, like or whatever to our videos. We’ll love you forever if you do!

We made it! We lived another year and man, what a year it was. Looking back, I’m impressed at all the great people and companies I spoke to and all the traveling I did.

Let’s do a quick recap.

CES 2011 – Insane. My first CES, and I was prepared, but unprepared (more on this in another post). This was my first real huge tradeshow and it taught me so much about reporting, blogging and photography. Most of all it taught me a thing or two about Las Vegas: it’s evil and taxi cab drivers are always trying to rip you off. Had gadget lust, and saw Lady Gaga at the Polaroid booth creating chaos with the throngs of people rushing in from every hall to see her.

I attended the 2011 International Toy Fair at the Jacob Javits Center and got to play with all these cool toys, including some awesome Star Wars Ultimate FX Lightsabers (see video of them here), Nerf guns (see video of the Swarmfire here), Marshmallow Bazooka guns (see video here) and more. It was a blast. Even got to see Jeremy Piven of Entourage fame representing Team Hot Wheels with Mattel.

Went to PAX East up in Boston, which was my first video game convention. What can I say about it? The convention center smelled like nerd sweat. Love all the games and all the sweet booths. The best gadget there? N-Control’s Avenger controller peripheral.

Arrived at the BlackBerry PlayBook launch party and met RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis and saw NBA superstar Dwight Howard kicking at the party.

In June I went on behalf of the Ubergizmo team to E3 in Los Angeles for the biggest video game show ever. It’s always been my dream to attend E3. I grew up reading coverage of the madness from Electronic Monthly Gaming and GamePro and to be able to experience the show in person was truly phenomenal. It changed my life. It also taught me some more things about blogging – like you gotta be prepared and you gotta be fast. Bring spare batteries! Oh, and I also waited in line forever to be one of the first people to play with the Wii U and PS Vita. It was totally worth the dead legs for 20 minutes of play time.

Chevrolet invited me to Detroit to test-drive the Chevy Cruze and Chevy Sonic in August as well as watch a crash-test and race around on GM testing grounds. I saw a wind tunnel up close, walked through it and stayed at a really nice swanky hotel. I actually got lost getting my Chevy Cruze to the design facility and OnStar wasn’t really helpful. I probably should have used the onboard navigation GPS, but I didn’t know how to turn it on. It just goes to show you that I’ve got to learn more about how cars work and hopefully get my own soon.

Olympus had me out on the rooftop of the Arthur Ash Stadium at the 2011 U.S. Open at the end of summer to test their E-PM1 mirrorless cameras. We had the chance to sneak into the dugout pit where all the pro photographers shoot from behind the players on the court and WOW, it was such a great experience. Thanks Olympus!

Met the Engadget team at their meet-up at Guastavino’s. Not the old Engadget team led by Joshua Topolsky, but hung with Richard Lai and Tim Stevens!

^ Engadget China’s Richard Lai showing me the fake iPhone 5 from Shenzen.

In September, Hasbro invited me to an awesome Nerf launch party for the Vortex line and it was crazy! Adults with Nerf guns!

^ Testing out Hasbro’s new Nerf Vortex disc-based blasters.

Managed to see some more celebrities as well. Saw NBA star Amare Stoudemire at a Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure event and T-Mobile spokesgirl Carly Foulkes at a T-Mobile smartphone launch party.

New York Comic Con was in October and it was my first comic con. Like PAX East, it was mostly nerd sweat, but I saw Seth Green try to escape the throngs after people ID’d him, and had a lot of fun collecting junky swag. Saw so many crazy costumes and was the first person on the Internet with YouTube videos of Grand Theft Auto III: 10 Year Anniversary for iPad and Android.

And recently, Waterford Crystal invited me to get up close and personal with the 2012 New Year’s Eve Ball. How could I say no? Not everybody gets the chance to see the ball in person – only from afar and on TV.

Those were the highlights of the year. A lot of stuff happened in between, but those were the best in tech for me. As DVICE‘s Reviews Editor, I’ve learned so much this year, editing, writing, photographing, automating – just a lot – most of it through self-discovery.

I can’t tell you what 2012 will bring, but based on this year, I’d say it can’t get any worse. If it doesn’t get even more crazy, I’ll be upset. I’ll see you all in the new year!

P.S. If you haven’t checked out two great articles, here they are:

• My 7 Favorite Gadgets of 2011
• 2012 New Year’s Eve Ball

Merry Christmas! I recognize that the world of information and technology doesn’t stop turning simply because it’s a holiday – the show must go on – but it’s important to sit down, take a break, and soak in a little relaxation.

Remember what’s important – family, friends and the spirit of giving, because when your gadgets are old and sitting in the recycling lot, the things that matter the most aren’t the material things, they’re your fellow humans (and your pets).

Those who celebrate something else, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, or whatever, Happy Holidays!

The lovely greeting card you see above was hand-designed by my good friend Eri Yamagata. You can contact her and purchase your own set of cards (several designs) at her website Eriyamage. She has another design, as well as several card stock and envelope options, so don’t forget to ask.

Welcome to Tekunoloji (version 2.0). It’s been nearly a year since it launched and we gained a lot of momentum. In over a year’s time, my life’s gone through a transformation – through technology and I can honestly say it will never be the same again.

I’ve learned so much from my colleagues, business associates, and from self-motivated passion, that I can truly say (although there are some crappy days) that I love my job. I don’t know where else or what else I would rather do.

For those who’ve been following me, you’ll know that I’ve been a prolific writer on in the tech space. I currently write for Syfy’s DVICE, Ubergizmo and of course, I try to carve out my share of things worth sharing and saying on my Twitter. My work’s also appeared on G4. But enough about what I’ve been doing, what I want to talk about is what I will be doing with Tekunoloji.

My vision for Tekunoloji’s changed. Over the next several months, you’ll see many things happening on the site that might seem strange at first. Things will get tweaked. Site elements will shuffle from last you saw them. That’s the mentality of the new media; that is, the ability to adapt to changes quickly so as to not be rendered obsolete or left behind.

But first and foremost, Tekunoloji is all about two things: design and quality. Recently, I had a heated debate with a friend (a friendly one) regarding an HDTV. The gist of  it was that I had ordered an HDTV for my parents as a Christmas present on Black Friday and had it return to Amazon’s warehouse after it shipped. The reason? The backside of the HDTV and a tiny sliver of plastic beneath the screen bezel was ugly.

Now, I understand that most people won’t look at the back of their HDTV, and so could care less about how thin it is, how nice it looks front and back – and that’s fine, but I do. Price is important too, but good great design that you appreciate every day (because let’s face it, you have to look at your gear every day) should look good in five or even ten years. Great design is timeless. A Rolex today still looks as great as it did when your grandfather passed it down to your father who passed it down to you. An original Mac still looks as friendly today as it did in the 1984.

As shoppers, we pay for design and for quality. At Tekunoloji, we want to showcase the best – and only the best. Anything else is second-class and we don’t accept anything that doesn’t adhere to the highest bar.

It’s the same reason why a top of the line MacBook Air costs $1,600 versus an Acer Ultrabook that only costs $900. The difference is felt every time you use and look at your gear. Why settle for less, when you can have the best?

To further drive my point home, here’s a line from the late Steve Jobs that summarizes it all:

When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.

So enough of me welcoming you to a new Tekunoloji. We’re not just covering gadgets either. As our interests expand, the site will hit other sectors that collide with technology – but the focus will still remain on design and quality. Get ready for some exciting stuff, because this is going to be a real fun journey. And we want you along for the ride.