Hi, my name is Tom Samiljan, and I’ve been covering technology since 1994, when I became the first video games editor for the original CD-ROM version of Blender (remember when CD-ROMs were going to take over the world?). In the last twelve years I have written, developed or edited at a slew of magazines and publications. These run the gamut from lifestyle mags like Men's Journal, US Weekly, and Rolling Stone, to consumer and tech publications such as Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, and Cargo.

I’ve been a gadget hound ever since I begged my Dad to buy me a 2XL robot back in 1978. Though my techno-lust was briefly sated, my disillusionment with hyped consumer electronics set in immediately after plugging 2XL in, when I discovered that it was nothing more than a glorified 8-track player. Disappointment aside, the crappy 2XL didn’t stop me from lusting after hot new gadgets and gizmos, which I why I got into this business in the first place.

As a tech journalist, I’ve had the good fortune to check out almost every new gadget that’s come around the bend, from winners like the Bose Wave Music System and the iPod to flops like the Nintendo Virtual Boy (which I still own!) and Modo. Literally thousands of gadgets (and several years) later, I’ve developed a sense for what works and what doesn’t, what’s marked way up and what’s worth waiting for price drops, when you should be a patient consumer, and when it’s okay to take the plunge and be an early adopter.

At last freed from the shackles of glossy print magazines where there’s often only room to cover the good stuff, I am thrilled to have a daily forum to write about all the tech that’s getting hyped, the good and the bad, as well as what just plain excites me and what plain pisses me off. To call ’em as I seem ’em, and, I hope, to help you decide whether or not to splurge on a new technology or wait for the glitches to be worked out.

If you’re looking for the latest news on cool stuff coming in the next few months, analysis of big tech announcements, or hands-on reviews of the latest products, check my blog every day. From trade-show floors to the gadget-laden floor of my living room, I’ll be getting the hands-on skinny on new gadgets from dusk till dawn–so you can spend your money wisely, or, failing that, at least get all the attention for being the first person on the block with the coolest new gizmo.