In December 2008, 40% of respondents said they got most of their news about national and international issues from the Internet, up from just 24% in September 2007.

Pew said it was the first time since it started surveying that consumers relied more on the Internet for news than on newspapers.

Television was still the main source for national and international news, at 70%.

For young people, however, the Internet now rivals TV as a news source. Nearly six out of 10 Americans younger than 30 said they got most of their national and international news online; the exact same percentage said TV was the main way they got their news.

ATI Radeon HD 4870-X2 DDR5 2GB PCI-Express x16

This video card is smoking fast. Right now it’s the fastest card on the market. Pick up one of these, or two in crossfire mode and play Call of Duty 4 and feel like you’re right there in the action! I have one on my new rig and oh man does it make CoD4 look great!

Left 4 Dead

For starters it’s Valve. Not enough? Well you get to kill Zombies! That’s always fun. Lots and lots of zombies. And you can play in co-op mode with 3 of your buddies. Setting out to do for co-op gaming what Counter-Strike did for team combat, Left 4 Dead is an ambitious survival horror game. Running on the Source engine, Left 4 Dead leaves four armed survivors of a world overrun with zombies, and they must fight their way out to escape the outbreak. It’s a blast. It’s like I’m Will Smith in I am Legend.

Captain Kirk’s Replica Chair

“Kirk to bridge, someone………has…….stolen my……..chair.” And for the right price, that person can be you. Trekkies across the globe practically drowned in their own geekdom when it was first reported that Diamond Select, a popular sci-fi and comic toy store, was planning on releasing a life-sized Original Series captain’s chair for purchase.

Sony Photo Frame

Now you can display your digital photo collection in breathtakingly vivid color–on a Sony Digital Photo Frame. Choose from a variety of slide show options, and watch your photo memories come to life on this stylish frame. And when not displaying images, you can set it to one of its clock or calendar modes–making it a great addition to any home or office.

Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard

Good intel and proper gear are the keys to victory. With the Logitech G15 keyboard, you get both. Now you can easily discover on which server your friends are playing Battlefield 2142, be notified when your World of Warcraft battleground becomes available and know exactly who’s talking in Ventrilo with the Logitech G15 keyboard’s exclusive GamePanel LCD. You can also create useful macros on the fly that play back with a single press of one of the six G keys. As every key features illuminated characters, with three levels of brightness, you can keep playing late into the night.

Iron Man (Ultimate Two-Disc Edition Blu-ray)

While I don’t have a blu-ray player yet. If I did this would be the first movie that I pick up. This movie was so fun to watch and the effects were just perfect. I would love to watch this on a nice 1080p screen. Hint hint Santa…

Any word of The Avengers movie?

Band of Brothers (Blu-ray)

This is a movie series that everyone should own. It should be required viewing material for all. It leaves you humbled and grateful for the men and women who have sacrificed so that we may enjoy the freedoms that we have.

Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition Quad-Core Processor

Conquer the world of extreme gaming with the fastest performing processor on the planet: the Intel® Core™ i7 processor Extreme Edition: 3.20 GHz core speed, 8 processing threads with Intel HT technology, 8 MB of Cache and 3 Channels of DDR3 1066 MHz memory. This is the fastest processor that money can buy. It’s not cheap, but with great power comes… a really big price tag.

iBUYPOWER Gamer Supreme 962i Intel Core i7 920(2.66GHz) 6GB DDR3 500GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260

I just purchased a new computer from ibuypower and am loving it. They don’t have the best customer service, but they do build great computers and for great prices. The computer I got is smoking and for about half the price you would pay on Dell. If you’re in the market for a new gaming rig and you don’t feel like building it yourself, the take a look at ibuypower and see what you think.

If you’re like me you’ve been staying up way too late the last week watching the Olympics. Specifically Michael Phelps, or Aquaman as I like to call him, break just about every swimming record known to man. Phelps has so far acquired seven eight gold medals, that ties surpasses Mark Spitz who won seven gold medals in 1972.

It’s very rare that you get the opportunity to watch the best person in the world do their craft and so I am in awe of him. So in Phelp’s honor goes this post and I have included for your listening pleasure the Marvin Gaye version of The Star Spangled Banner. You likely have heard it recently in the Nike Basketball commercial.

I figured I would share a dozen of my favorite ones with you. So without further adieu, get yourself some popcorn, sit back and enjoy:

Peyton Manning United Way

Peyton has put out some great commercials through the years, but this SNL sketch is hands down the best. “Do you want to lose? I throw, you catch, it’s not that hard; now get the #@$ out of here…”

Michael Vick – Really?

This should have served as foreshadowing for what would become of Michael Vick’s career. “Come on Michael, even my dumbest high school friends know to throw away their weed at the airport and they have no money and love weed.”

Practice?!

What are we talking about here? Practice?

Star Wars Kid

You all know it… Wonder what the kid is doing now?

Sith Lord with an Attitude

Another good one for Star Wars nerds fans.

Stephen Wiltshire: The Human Camera

This is just unbelievable! I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast yesterday.

Photoshop Makeover!

Some mad Photoshop skills…

Colbert Roasts President Bush – 2006

This was my introduction to Stephen Colbert. Afterwards I was hooked. The guy just kills me.

Thriller – Performed by Philippine Inmates

Lotta time on their hands.

Miss Teen USA 2007 – South Carolina Answers a Question

This was just painful to watch.

Steve Jobs’s Commencement Speech at Stanford

Steve Jobs almost got me to buy a Mac after this speech. Almost…

Leroy Jenkins!

Listen for the “least I got chicken” at the end…

Now it’s your turn – what are some of your favorites?

This crossword puzzle’s questions cover such topics as: search engines, CSS, C#, JavaScript, Browsers, Programming and just about anything else Web-related, just like Search-This does.

So get yourself a cup of coffee and download the PDF file or view the image and print it out. Good luck geeks!

There are 25 questions. The answers will be posted next week.

Download Web Developer Crossword Puzzle

You can also click here to view an image of the crossword puzzle and print it should you want to.

Bob Greenber’s R/GA is Madison Avenue’s most creative interactive advertising agency, working with clients such as Nike, Nokia, and Verizon. Here’s a video tour of some of the firm’s best work.

These are some of my favorite things of 2007. Keep in mind I have an 18 month old so I don’t get out much. And yes I live a simple life (some may say pathetic) but good coffee and a burger are things I really do enjoy…

So, without further adieu:

Best Video Games of 2007

• Crysis
• BioShock

Best Flash (online) Games of 2007

• Desktop Tower Defense
• Portal

Best Movies of 2007

• The Bourne Ultimatum
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Best Television Shows of 2007

• House
• Top Chef

Best Music of 2007

• Mat Kearney – Nothing Left To Lose
• Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals – Lifeline

Best iTune Downloads of 2007

• Ziggy Marley – Love Is My Religion
• Green Day – Working Class Hero

Best Burgers of 2007

• Ted’s Montana Grill
• Smash Burger

Best Coffee of 2007

• Dazbog Coffee
• McDonald’s Premium Coffee

Most Read Blog (other than Search-This) of 2007

• Chris G
• Copyblogger

Best Geek Books of 2007

• Object-Oriented ActionScript 3.0
• The ASP.NET 2.0 Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks

Best Non-Geek Books of 2007

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
• The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

Well there you have it, some of my favorite things of 2007. What are some of yours?

Happy Holidays to All!

So we’ve put together a list of toys that any geek would be sure to enjoy. Have a look and feel free to make suggestions to things that you think would be great geek toys or what you would like for Christmas.

…It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

Ultimate Gaming Mouse

Micorsoft’s new Sidewinder mouse is a gamers dream mouse. Elevate your skills with a revolutionary mouse designed to provide you with unprecedented performance, handling, and adaptability. Customize your mouse with every game you play using advanced software and adjustable accessories. Use the first ever LCD display on a gaming mouse for macro recording and DPI settings to reduce on-screen interference during game play.

WD Passport – External Storage

Western Digital’s Passport portable hard drive. High-performance portable storage for your Mac or PC. Light and rugged, it’s easy to carry (little bigger than an iPod) and no external power adapter is needed. Powered by the USB 2.0 bus and sexy as hell. At 120 GB this is the drive to get your geek. Oh, there’s also a 250GB version too, should you need even more space – you pig!

Nintendo DS Lite

Nintendo DS Lite. It’s less than two-thirds the size of the original Nintendo DS and more than 20 percent lighter. Its two bright screens can be adjusted to four levels to adapt to different lighting conditions and to extend battery power. This is portable fun! Be sure to get the games: Mario Kart, Bomberman Land Touch! and Worms 2 Open Warfare. All these games are a blast at multiplayer!

Crysis

Crysis. Halo who? This IS the game to have – no doubt about it! PC Gamer was falling all over itself about this game. They simply could not say enough positive things about it. They gave it a 98% – the highest rating I have ever seen! It will be the game to have, period. Just make sure your geeks rig can handle it. Check out the video here. Trust me, your geek will love this!

Samsung SyncMaster 305T

Samsung SyncMaster 305T. First there was the Apple Cinema HD display. Then the Dell 3007WFPM came along. Now Samsung has entered the 30-inch desktop LCD arena with the SyncMaster 305T ($1,999.99 list), a stunning, high-resolution widescreen display that imaging professionals and gamers with deep pockets are sure to love. It may not be cheap, but she’s the best on the market. If you got the funds, pick a couple of these bad boys up!

Canon PowerShot SD1000

Canon PowerShot SD1000. What kind of point-and-shoot camera has what it takes to stand out from the pack? Generally, it’s one that exhibits both excellent quality and nimble performance. But that’s not the whole story. Other features, such as a useful and beautiful design plus functions that are enjoyable to use, can really make the difference. In the case of Canon’s new 7.1-megapixel PowerShot SD1000, you get most, if not all, of these essentials. Best point-and-shoot camera on the market!

Panasonic’s TH-50PZ700U Plasma HD TV

Panasonic’s TH-50PZ700U Plasma HD TV. Consumer Reports calls it “the best flat screen ever tested.” Panasonic’s 50-inch TH-50PZ700U plasma was actually the recipient of such sensational praise, and such luxuries as the 1080p resolution and its ability to “reproduce the finest details, rich vibrant colors and deep blacks” apparently set it way ahead of the pack. Additionally, the screen was so impressive that reviewers actually stated that it “lent an almost three-dimensional look to images.” Ho ho ho…

EZfetch Wireless HD Digital Media Player

The EZfetch Wireless HD Digital Media Player lets you access all your digital pictures, music, movies and podcasts and play them right where you want them—on the bigger screen of your HDTV and the better sound of your audio system.

The EZfetch Media Player will fetch pictures, music, movies and podcasts that are stored on PCs, network attached storage (NAS) devices, most USB Flash Drives and Wi-Fi enabled Nokia Nseries devices. Then with a click of the remote, EZfetch will play your selection on your TV and audio system. And best of all, EZfetch can play more picture, music and movie formats than any other digital media player in the world.

1 Year of Web Hosting

Dreamhost. Every geek needs good hosting. Why not buy your geek a years worth of hosting? At Dreamhost you can get a full year of hosting for $119.40 USD. It may seem like an odd gift, but trust me, your geek will love it.

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium software is a complete solution for creating interactive websites, applications, user interfaces, presentations, mobile device content, and other digital experiences. Get everything you need to prototype your project, design assets, build web experiences, and efficiently maintain and update content. But damn, at $1,599 USD who the hell can afford that! Damn you Adobe!!

U.S.S Enterprise NCC-1701 Putter

U.S.S Enterprise NCC-1701 Putter from Golfsmith. This amazing new putter will be the talk of the links, and it will make for one of the most unique collectibles in your collection of Star Trek memorabilia. It will also cause you to get your ass kicked all over the links…

As a software developer, I sit at my desk for 7 to 9 hours a day and when I get home it’s not unusual for me to spend another couple hours blogging or gaming before bed. So it’s not hard to see how that can affect you; if you let it.

This post is intended to motivate all you desk jockeys, like myself, to start today to live a more active lifestyle; a better lifestyle!

It’s not about dieting. Dieting is not a lifestyle change — it’s a temporary fix. Dieting is fine if you want to drop a few pounds quickly to fit into your swimsuit before you take that cruise to Tahiti, but it’s no way to live. What works best is a lifestyle change; I’m sorry, but there’s no such thing as a quick fix. Aristotle said, “You are what you perpetually do” meaning that what you make as a habit will be just that – a habit. Are you creating good habits or bad habits?

Make “activity” just as important as blogging or watching your favorite TV show!

Notice that I used the word “activity” and not exercise! This is because some people associate a negative connotation to the word exercise. They think exercise means “no fun”. Folks, anything in life that is “no fun” is going to be hard to form a habit around. So you need to find things that you enjoy. There’s plenty of things to choose from: walking, hiking, biking, running, swimming, soccer, basketball, tennis, Kung Fu, pilates, yoga, dancing and much much more.

If you’re going to stand a chance at being able to sustain any activity for a long period of time, like the rest of your life, then you need to make it fun, or at least somewhat fun.

For example, I lift weights 3 times a week. Lifting weights is not what I would call fun. But, I’m able to pull if off because I do it over my lunch hour with friends. By including friends in your activity it now makes it a social event. This is key! Doing just about anything with friends involved can be fun and it also helps to keep you accountable. If you struggle with staying motivated then try and get a friend or two involved.

Eat Right

I’m not a health nutritionist, so I will just tell you what works for me. It’s not hard — no Atkins diet or South Beach or anything else like that.

The first thing you need to do is figure out how many calories per day you need to maintain your current weight; for me it’s right around 2,000. You can find yours here. Now it’s real simple, eat less calories than that number and you will lose weight. For me, I try to have 3 good days, 3 neutral days and 1 bad day. A good day is when I eat less than 2,000 calories. A neutral day is when I eat right around 2,000 calories and a bad day is when I just go hog wild and eat more than 2,000 calories. You need to allow yourself one bad day, typically a Friday or Saturday night out with friends.

Well that’s it. I allow myself to eat anything, but I watch the calories. Again, I’m no nutritionist, just a geek that tries to stay in shape. It’s all pretty simple; some healthy activity and some sensible eating is what it takes.

Since caffeine and coding go together like peanut-butter and jelly I thought I would talk about this drug of choice.

We truly are a nation of drug addicts. With alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine, most people are more amped than Steve Balmer talking to a bunch of developers.

Bennet Weinberg has written two books on coffee. His latest is called “The Caffeine Advantage.” Weinberg says caffeine is the world’s most popular drug. More than 50 percent of Americans drink coffee everyday — three to four cups each, more than 330 million cups a day and counting… When you add tea and soft-drinks, more than 80 percent of Americans are getting their fix.

It’s no coincidence that all the most popular drinks on earth, which taste quite different from each other, all contain caffeine.

A report by CBS says that caffeine is one of the fastest acting drugs known to man. When we drink it, almost every cell in the body, including the brain, absorbs it within minutes. There, caffeine works it’s magic by blocking something called adenosine, a chemical the body releases to tell the brain it’s tired. Caffeine intercepts the adenosine, turning the “I’m tired,” message into “I’m wide awake.” The result is an invigorating buzz coffee drinkers crave.

Some studies indicate that caffeine can help alleviate headaches. Caffeine is present in both over-the-counter medications (Excedrin) and prescription medications. Caffeine acts to constrict blood vessels and therefore helps some headaches.

Weinberg says, “We really want something that’ll help us work harder, sharpen our minds, increase our sense of well-being, improve our performance; caffeine is just that substance.” Is that guy pimpin’ caffeine or what?

What’s your thoughts — do you drink caffeine?

Do you think it helps with coding?

What’s your beverage of choice while coding?

So let’s hear it – what’s your all time favorite vids to play?

Here’s mine:

1. Ultima IV – The quintessential RPG.
2. Half Life 2 – Upped the ante on the excellent HL1.
3. Unreal Tournament – The best multiplayer game ever.
4. Monkey Island – So funny and so well written.
5. Duke Nukem 3D – The first online FPS that started me down a long dark road.
6. Mortal Combat II – On the Sega, in the dorms, FATALITY!
7. Call of Duty – Totally absorbing.
8. Lode Runner – A classic from 1983. Commodore 64’s best.
9. Dragons Lair – 1983 was a good year. Laser disk first. Most my allowance ate by that machine at the Mall.
10. Mario Kart (DS) – Great multiplayer fun.

• Paul has a new CSS article coming this Wednesday! I read it – it’s great!
• I have an article coming out next week that will look at some of the biggest blogging mistakes. So you’ll want to make sure you’re not guilty of any of them.
• Sara has several Random Bits podcast lined up with some huge names in the industry. I can’t wait! You should see who she’s talking with!
• Question and answer sessions with Roger Johansson and Seth Godin! Is that not enough to get you excited! (What questions would you like us to ask these two gurus?)
• More guest authors will be dropping in!
• And hopefully June will see my first eBook! If you build websites for a living then I think you will like this eBook…

I’m excited – there’s a lot cool things on the horizon! If you haven’t already subscribed to Search-This, now would be a good time to do so!

Also, take a moment and tell us what you would like to see in the future from Search-This. What articles would you like to read? Who would you like to have interviewed in a Random Bits podcast? Tell us how you really feel!

First, a little background on memes. The term meme originated by well known and outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins in his book ‘The Selfish Gene’. A meme, as defined by Google is, “a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperms or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation.”

Well… that was nice, what does it mean in blogging?

For bloggers memes have become synonymous with internet quizzes, surveys, and novelties that people link to and pass around on their blogs.

Many of these memes are trivial and not worth participating in, let alone asking your precious blog viewers to participate in. But, not this one! This one has a cause — this one is — the Charity Link Meme!

Simply put, you are giving link love to charities. Take the original list and add your 5 charities of choice to the list!

Here is the original list …

• Service International – Disaster Relief
• Pujols Family Foundation – Children with Down Syndrome
• National Alliance to End Homelessness – Homelessness
• The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research – Parkinson’s Research
• Ronald McDonald Care Mobile Program – Child Healthcare
• Aids Research Alliance – Aids Research
• Wildlife Conservation Society – Wildlife Protection
• Cancer Research Institute – Cancer Research
• Second Harvest – End Hunger
• AARP Foundation – Helping Senior Citizens

… My five charities of choice…

• The National Arbor Day Foundation
• Compassion International
• World Wildlife Fund
• The Humane Society
• Global Refuge International

… And the people I am going to tag…

• Tomas
• Sara
• John
• Brendon
• Jelena

Go to it people! Give some love today

Kevin Rose’s (Founder Digg)
favorite free programs

• AVG Anti-Virus (Antivirus app)
• Eraser (Data removal tool)
• Firefox (Web browser)
• GIMPShop (Image editor)
• Picasa (Photo management)
• SmartFTP (FTP app)
• Thunderbird (E-mail client)

Since it appears that I was the last man on Earth to learn about Firebug, I thought I would ask – what are your favorite free programs?

The concept really gained popularity with the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game: the goal is to link any actor to Kevin Bacon through no more than six connections, where two actors are connected if they have appeared in a movie together. It’s almost scary how difficult it is to find an actor who is not connected to Kevin Bacon in 6 steps or less. In fact, I just tried Audry Hepburn and she scored a 2!

Audrey Hepburn was in How to Steal a Million (1966) with Eli Wallach

Eli Wallach was in Mystic River (2003) with Kevin Bacon

I surf the web a lot. And many of the websites I come across link to Jeffrey Zeldman; it’s an astonishing number. It got me thinking, I wonder if we couldn’t create a “Six Degrees of Jeffrey Zeldman” game?

So I had to give it a shot. I figured why not start here at Search-This and see if I could get to Zeldman in 6 steps or less. It took me slightly over an hour (with American Idol playing in the background) to find a path.

From Search-This I went to BrainFuel, a blog I visit daily. That’s one. Next we find a link to our friend Tomas’s site The Closet Entrepreneur. That’s two. Now it gets tricky because I have to go to sites I have never been before. At the bottom of Tomas’s site is a link to Design Verb blog. That’s three. On the right you will find a link to Design Observer. That’s four. Next you find a link to Kottke.org and from there we find Zeldman!