Here's my dream road-trip ritual: Pull up an address in Google Maps, beam it to the car by some wireless technology and load it to the nav system as a destination. If there's a relevant phone number, sync it with my Bluetooth phone. Then locate all the In-N-Out Burger locations in the area and cross-reference them with local gastroenterologists, just to be safe.

The world hasn't quite turned my way just yet, but BMW just introduced a fairly close approximation for US customers on its new 2008 X6 Sports Activity Coupe

The days of lugging around and pulling out hefty guide books could be nearing an end: The eyePhone, a program currently being developed in Europe, uses a combination of satellite information, object-recognition software and Internet data to provide information on landmarks in a scene captured through a mobile phone's lens.

Imagine being able to track anyone, anywhere in the world almost instantly. Scary, eh? Well, not if you’re looking for a low-cost turnkey system for managing your small fleet of trucks, planes, trains, boats, kids—you get the picture. The $450 UberTracker from SparkFun Electronics is a complete cellular/GPS/e-mail hardware package that can continuously email its GPS coordinates from anywhere in the world via a cellular data connection, and it's a snap to set up.

Even snail mail is getting a tech upgrade. This month TrackingtheWorld, a California-based GPS developer, expects to begin mass-producing Letter Loggers—small GPS-equipped envelope inserts that could help the U.S. Postal Service spot bottlenecks in the system. The insert is durable enough to shoot through sorting machines without crushing the circuits. A high-gain antenna pulls info from a satellite every few minutes and records the letter’s location to a memory card (to prevent interference with other devices, it won’t transmit data in real time).

Remember that roadside barbecue joint in Texas where you had the ribs that changed your life? Can you remember the address? Did it even have one?

Track Anyone With a Cell

Cost: $100
Time: 4 Hours
Easy | | | | | Hard

Great ski gear is beneficial in two ways: It gives you a technological edge and makes spending a day freezing your tail off a heck of a lot more enjoyable. The latest ski accessories employ sensors, satellites and cutting-edge materials to keep you safe, warm, entertained and more informed about your performance. If you're looking for new skis, consider the Atomic Izor. Otherwise, surround your current pair with these four accessories.

The Accessories

Silva Tech4O ski speedometer

Pro skiers exceed 80 mph in World Cup downhills. Wonder how you stack up?

Dept.: Maxed Out
Tech: Pet Gadgets
Cost: $1,840 plus dog
Steal | | | | | Splurge

Today’s Global Positioning System is great for tracking tanks in the desert, but turn on your Garmin in New York City or inside virtually any building, and you’ll be staring at satellite static—GPS doesn’t perform well indoors or in urban canyons. Now a new technology is poised to pick up where GPS satellite signals cut out.

Developed by Rosum Corporation in Redwood City, California, TV-GPS, as the system is known, triangulates positions using television signals that are 2,000 times as strong as GPS satellite transmissions.