£200 space balloon's amazing earth pictures

WITH its crystal clear images of the Earth's surface, these spectacular pictures could be from a Nasa satellite.

But they were taken with an ordinary digital camera – strapped underneath a helium balloon. Tony Rafaat spent just £200 making a weather balloon, which reached an altitude of 35,843m (117,595ft).

As the balloon rose higher, the camera – fixed inside a small Styrofoam block – took pictures of its journey.

Mr Rafaat, 41, from Alberta in Canada, then used an onboard transmitter to track and retrieve it.

The amateur scientist and two friends spent two years perfecting their device – which they called the Southern Alberta Balloon Launch Experiment or SABLE.

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Top 10 Tech Toys You Can Actually Afford

Gadgets are cheaper than ever, but to stay with the times, you need more of them than ever, too.

10. Nintendo DS Lite Portable Gaming System
Sure, full-size gaming consoles like the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 get all the headlines, but they're not much use on the school bus or in your dentist's waiting room. We've become accustomed to continually tumbling prices, so with the latest PSP bucking that trend, I think the much cheaper Nintendo's DS Lite is worth a second look. Boasting extra-bright dual screens, one of which is also a touchscreen, Wi-Fi connectivity for multiplayer action, and hundreds of games including hot titles like Madden NFL '08, the $129 DS Lite makes a great portable rig for someone who doesn't really need the PSP's video player features. Nintendo DS Lite





9. Nikon Coolpix L10 Digital Camera
Now that we've figured out there's more to a great digital camera than who's leading in the megapixel wars, it's time to find a model at a great price with just the features we really need. Nikon has always made great cutting-edge cameras, but most of the company's higher-end models are loaded with doodads few of us will ever explore. The Coolpix L10 can take wonderful pictures, but by sticking to the basics, including a 5-megapixel imager, 2-inch screen, and a 3x zoom — along with a nifty movie mode that turns it into a simple camcorder — Nikon's managed to get the street price way down to $119, or about one Ben Franklin on the street. Nikon Coolpix L10



8. Compaq C500T Laptop
People thought it was a big deal when laptop computers started to bust through the $500 price level, but we've found a deal for a bunch less than that. This Compaq does cut a few corners with a pretty basic 80-GB hard drive, 512 MB of RAM, and no FireWire port, but there's still a decent 15.4-inch screen, a DVD burner, and built-in 802.11g Wi-Fi to keep you connected on the road. All for $449 — less than the price of that wild weekend in Amsterdam you somehow can't remember. Compaq C500T notebook





7. Cobra GPSM 2100 Mobile GPS Navigation System
Few gadgets have seen their prices tumble quite as fast as in-car navigation rigs, and currently the bargain-basement value leader must be the Cobra GPSM 2100 at $385 list. This is a good example of where the retail price doesn't tell the whole story, because if you shop around you'll discover that you can score a 2100 for about $155 less than the "official" price. Even so, with its 3.5-inch color touchscreen, turn-by-turn voice directions, and preloaded maps of all 50 States and Canada, this is a big step up from those old-skool stripped-down black-and-white models from a few years back

6. Vizio VP42 HDTV Plasma TV
Plasma TVs have long been the drool-worthy object of desire for many of us, but with the exception of a few sketchy 480p EDTV models, they've remained just a bit beyond most people's budget. While 1080p may be latest buzzword, the experts will tell you that below 50 inches, you'd be hard-pressed to see a difference between that and 720p, which is great news because the prices of 720p sets have been dropping faster than Britney Spears' dignity. At $999 ($899 at Circuit City), Vizio's VP42 is one of the first 720p sets to break the $1,000 level, but this is no bare-bones model; it has built-in speakers, two HDMI inputs, and dual tuners with PIP this should help you to keep you up with the Joneses for at least a while




5. Harman Kardon AVR146 A/V Receiver
No home theater is complete without a kick-ass sound system, and the hub of most audio rigs is an A/V receiver. Not only does this do all of the signal switching and audio decoding, it also provides the horsepower to run the speakers. The trouble is that most people want to run their signals using HDMI connections, while most of the receiver people include that feature on only their top models. Harmon Kardon's got it figured out though, giving us HDMI even at the entry level — the $349 AVR146. The big money saver here is the modest 30 watts per channel output rating, which might sound kind of wimpy on paper, but remember, most systems use a separately powered subwoofer to do almost all of the heavy lifting (i.e. the bass).

4. Philips DVP 3960 Upscaling DVD Player
Now that you have that fancy new flat screen, you'll need something to play on it. Blu-ray and HD DVD are great, but they're going to cost you about half again as much as the screen, and that's before you buy any discs to feed them. A more cost-effective solution would be to get a player that can upsample your current DVDs, and even though the resulting signal isn't true high-def, it comes pretty darned close for the same price as about three of those fancy HD discs. Unlike some more-expensive upsampling players, the $70 DVP 3960 from Philips only manages to muster a 1080i output at best, but still, that's a big upgrade over standard 480p


3. RCA EZ201 Small Wonder Camcorder
While your videographer friends won't exactly turn green with envy, it's hard to deny that RCA's ultra basic Small Wonder camcorders are just perfect for those of us who simply want to make a quick movie of the new baby or Timmy's grand slam to send to the grandparents. Downloading the videos using the flip-out USB connector couldn't be easier, or you can connect the Small Wonder directly to your TV. Any budding Fellini's without access to a computer can also get their footage burned to a DVD at some drug stores and photo shops. While the cheapest EZ101 model can be found for around 80 clams, we would "splurge" an extra $26 for the EZ201 ($149, $106 street), which has double the recording time, a higher resolution setting, and an SD card slot



2. 7LQ 2-GB MP3 Player
It seems like everyone has an iPod these days, and even though Apple does make a model for us cheapskates, we feel that navigating the display-less shuffle is a bit like pointing blindly at the menu in a restaurant, and hoping you like what they serve up. The 7LQ brand may not have quite the same cachet as Apple, but its 2-GB MP3 player does things that the shuffle can only dream of for less than half its price. In addition to having double the capacity, there's a two-line display, an FM tuner and an equalizer. Because it runs off a single AAA battery you won't be without tunes if your battery runs out away from home. But best of all, the 7LQ costs only $29.55, about as much as a couple of CDs.

1. T-Mobile Sidekick iD Smartphone
With all the hoopla surrounding the iPhone launch a couple of months back, you'd think Apple had actually invented something new. While it can't quite match the sleekness or features of an iPhone, the Sidekick iD is a whole lot more than a basic phone. The clever flip-out display reveals a QWERTY keyboard that lets you type IMs, send e-mail, and browse the Internet more easily than with a thumb-bending Blackberry. Okay, so it doesn't have a camera or MP3 player, but at a paltry $50 (after rebates, $250 list), you should still have enough left in your budget to add one of each of those from the other entries in this list.

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List of Internet slang phrases

I guess this is the complete list.... LOL

0-9

· 10q — Thank you

· 10x — Thanks

· 1337 — From the word Leet, derived from the word elite

· 2 — Too, or to

· 2L8 — Too late

· 2U2 — To you too

· <3>

· 4 — For

· 404 — I haven't a clue; from the code for the common "Not Found" HTTP error message

· 4GM — Forgive me

· ?4U — Question for you

A

· AAMOF — As a matter of fact

· ADN — Any day now

· AFAICR/S/T — As far as I can recall / remember / see / tell

· AFAIK — As far as I know

· AFK — Away from keyboard

· AKA — Also known as

· AITR — Adult in the room

· AIUI — As I understand it

· ANFSCD — And Now For Something Completely Different. Used to change the subject of conversation

· ASAP — As soon as possible

· ASL or A/S/L — Age / sex / location

· ATEOTD — At The End of the Day

· ATM — At the moment

· ATYS — Anything you say

· AWA — As well as

· AWOL — Absent Without (Official) Leave

· AYBABTU (also abbreviated as AYB) — All your base are belong to us (from the video game Zero Wing)

B

· borked - Thoroughly broken

· Bai — Bye

· B2B — Business to Business

· BB - Bye bye

· BBIAB — Be back in a bit

· BBIAF - Be back in a few / flash

· BBL/S — Be back later / shortly / soon

· BCNU — Be seein' you

· BF - Boy friend

· BFF - Best friends forever

· BFFL - Best friends for life

· BFN — Bye for now

· BFFN - Best Friend For Now

· Blog — Also known as web log or an online journal

· BOF — Beginning of file

· BOFH — Bastard operator from hell

· BOHICA - Bend Over Here It Comes Again

· Bot — Any type of automated software in chatrooms and web-cataloging software

· Br/BR — Best regards

· BRB — Be right back

· BRT — Be right there

· BS — Backstab / Bullshit

· BSOD — Blue Screen of Death

· BTDT — Been there done that

· BTDTGTTSAWIO - Been there, done that, got the T-shirt and wore it out

· BTW — By the way

· Bump — Increment (For example, C++'s operator.) or a backronym for "Bring Up My Post"

· BW or B/W — Between or black-and-white.

C

· CD9 - Code 9 - Parents nearby

· CBA — Can't Be Arsed. A term to indicate or dictate laziness.

· CBF — Can't Be Fucked. A term used frequently out of laziness.

· chown — Change owner. (used in Unix systems)

· CMIIW — Correct me if I'm wrong

· Crawl — To retrieve a web page along with the hyperlinks that reference it

· Crapplet — A poorly written computer application

· CTN — Can't Talk Now

· CU — See you (later)

· CYA — See ya OR Cover Your Ass

· Cyber (prefix) — A term used to connect the subsequent word loosely to the world of computers or the Internet or sex over a computer

· Cyberspace — Virtual reality, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and other kinds of computer systems. Science fiction author William Gibson popularized the term in his novel Neuromancer. Gibson used the word to describe a virtual world of computer networks that his cyberpunk heroes 'jacked into'

D

· DDG — Drop Dead Gorgeous

· DFTT — Don't feed the trolls

· DGAF — Don't Give A Fuck

· DIAF — Die in a fire

· DILLIGAF/D/S — Does it look like I give a flip / fuck / damn / shit

· DL — Download

· DND — Do not disturb

· DOA — Dead on arrival. Refers to hardware that has never worked.

· DW — Don't Worry.

E

· EOF — End Of File

· EOM — End of Message

· EOL — End of Life. Device or hardware that is at the end of its product life cycle

· EQ — EverQuest

· ETA — Estimated time of arrival, later (especially on blogs), Edited To Add-

F

· FAQ — Frequently Asked Question(s)

· FFS — For fuck's sake

· Flamer — Someone who makes inflammatory, abusive or directly offensive comments. Similar to, but not quite the same as an Internet troll

· FMCDH — From My Cold Dead Hands

· FOAD/FOND — Fuck off 'n'/and die

· FOAF — Friend of a friend

· FP — First Post

· FTL — For the lose / loss

· FTW — For the win / fuck the world

· FU — Fuck you

· FUBAR — Fucked up beyond all recognition / repair

· FUD — Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (the purposeful spread of misinformation)

· FWIW — For what it's worth

· FYI — For your information

G

· GBCW — Goodbye Cruel World - a dramatic leave taking of a forum or site

· GBTW — Get back to work

· GF — Great/good fight; or girlfriend

· GFETE — Grinning from ear to ear

· GFY — Good for you

· GG — Good game, used at or near the conclusion of a gaming match, also used to describe a game that is very one sided and therefore considered already over

· GGF — Go Get Fucked

· GIYF — Google is your friend

· GL — Good luck, often used at beginning of a contest

· GLHF — Good luck and have fun

· GJ — Good job

· GMTA — Great minds think alike

· Godwin's Law — Dictates that the longer a thread, the more likely someone will post a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler

· Gratz — Congratulations

· GTH — Go to hell

· GTFO — Get the fuck out OR Get the fuck off

· GTG or G2G — 'Got to go' or 'Good to go'

· GR — Gateway Router

· GR8 — Great

H

· HAND — Have A Nice Day

· Handle — Name used in online chat, (AKA nick(name), alias, screen/user name)

· HF — Have fun/High-five

· Haxor or H4x0r (1337) — Hacker

· Hit — A request made to the web server, (noun) the results of an internet search, (verb) loading a Web page. Hits are not equivalent to visitors of a webpage.

· Home page — The website's introduction page, starting point, and guide. The technical term is "index"

· Hot list — A collection of publicly available URLs (World Wide Web site addresses), sometimes available as text files.

· HTH — Hope this / that helps, or happy to help

· H8 — Hate

I

· IANAL — I am not a lawyer

· IAWTC — I agree with that/this comment

· IBTL — In before the lock

· IDC — I don't care

· IDGAF - I don't give a fuck

· IDK — I don't know

· IHY — I hate you

· IINM — If I'm not mistaken

· IIRC — If I recall / remember correctly

· IIUC — If I understand correctly

· ILY — I love you

· IMO/IMHO/IMNSHO/IMAO — In my (humble / honest / not so humble / arrogant) opinion

· Information superhighway — The Internet (AKA: I-way, infobahn)

· IONO — I don't know

· IOW — In other words

· IRC — Internet Relay Chat

· IRL — In real life

· ISTR - I Seem To Recall

· ITYM — I Think You Mean

· IWSN — I want sex now

· IYKWIM — If you know what I mean

· IKWYM — I know what you mean

J

· Jaggy — Aliased computer graphics

· JAS — Just a second

· JIC' — Just in case

· JFGI — Just Fucking/Freaking Google It

· JK or j/k — Just kidding, or joke

· JSYK - Just so you know

· JFTR — Just for the records

· JOOC — Just out of curiosity

· JW — Just wondering

· JFK — Just Fucking Kidding

K

· k or kk — OK

· KIR — Keeping it real.

· KISS — Keep it simple stupid.

· KIT — Keep in touch.

· KMA — Kiss my ass

· KOS — Kill on sight

· KOTC/L — Kiss on the cheek/lips.

· KS(ing) — Kill-Steal(ing)

· KTHX — OK, thanks

· KTHXBAI or KTHXBYE — OK, thanks, goodbye, used either to cut short a conversation or to express displeasure with being cut short

· KWIM — Know what I mean?

L

· L2P — Learn to play; an admonishment to new or incompetent video game players.

· L8R — Later (sometimes abbreviated to L8ER); is commonly used in chat rooms and other text based communications as a way of saying good bye.

· Lag — Slang term for slow Internet speeds or high Internet latency; Lag is sometimes due to a server problem, but more frequently due to the connection between client and server. A slow or intermittent connection may often be referred to as laggy

· Lamer — A know-nothing, one who is lame.

· Leet — Often spelled as l33t or 1337 in ASCII form. It originally meant elite

· LFG — Looking for group

· LFM — Looking for more

· LMAO, LMFAO, LMMFAO — Laughing my ass off, laughing my fucking ass off, laughing my mother fucking ass off

· LMIRL — Let's meet in real life.

· LMK — Let me know

· LOL — Laughing out loud, laugh out loud. Occasionally: lots of love, lots of luck

· LOTI — Laughing on the inside

· LTNS — Long time no see

· Lulz — A corruption of LOL, which stands for laugh out loud.

· Lurker — Someone who frequents a Usenet group without participating in discussions

· Luser — Loser + user; an annoying user from the perspective of tech support or a system administrator; also spelled luzer or luzzer.

· LYLAB — Love you like a brother

· LYLAS — Love you like a sister

M

· MMORPG, MMO — Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Game

· MMOFPS — Massive Multi-player Online First Person Shooter

· MOO — MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) Object Orientated

· MOTD — Message of the day

· MS — Microsoft

· MTFBWY — May The Force be with you

· MUD — Multi-User Dungeon

· MUSH — Multi-User Shared Hallucination

· MYOB — Mind your own business

· M8 — Mate

N

· N2M — Not(hing) too much

· N2B — Not too bad

· NE1 — "Anyone"

· Newbie, noob, or n00b — An inexperienced user of a system or game, or an annoying person.

· NFW — No fucking way

· NM — (Sometimes written N/M) Not much, Never mind or no message, used on message boards or in e-mails to indicate that everything is already said in the subject line.

· NN — Night night. Used as an alternative for "good night"

· NP — No problem

· NSFW — Not safe for work. Warning about content that may get the viewer in trouble with his employer or co-workers.

· NTY — No, Thank You

· NVM, NVMD, or nm — Nevermind, not much

O

· O RLY — Oh really?

· OH OK — A sarcastic okay

· OIC — Oh, I see

· OFN — Old fucking news

· OMG — Oh, my God

· OMFG — Oh, my fucking God

· OMGWTFBBQ- Oh my God, What the Fuck, Barbecue

· OMW — On my way or Oh my word

· OOC — Out Of Character / Out Of Combat

· OP — Original poster / Operator / Outpost

· OS — Operating system

· OT — Off topic

· OTOH — On the other hand

· OTP — On the phone or One true pairing

P

· P2P — Peer to peer, or pay to play

· P911 — Parent emergency (watch what you type)

· PAW — Parents are watching

· PEBKAC — Problem exists between keyboard and chair

· Ping — From the popular network monitoring tool, used as a greeting similar to "Are you there?".

· PITA — Pain in the arse / ass

· PLMK — Please let me know

· plz or pls — Please

· PM — Personal message or private message

· PMJI — Pardon my jumping in

· PMSL — Pissing My Self Laughing

· ::POOF:: — Goodbye (leaving the room)

· POS — Piece of shit, parent over shoulder, packet over SONet, or Point of Sale.

· POTS — Plain old telephone service

· POV — Point of view

· PPL — People

· PST — Please send tell

· PTKFGS — Punch the Keys For God's Sake

· pr0n — Intentional misspelling of porn

· PW — Persistent World (gaming)

· pwned or pwnd — Owned

Q

· QFA — Quoted for accuracy. Similar to QFT

· QFT — Quoted for truth, Quit fucking talking

· QT — Cutie

R

· Rehi (or merely re) — Hello again

· RL — Real Life

· Rly — Really (See also: O rly) />

· RO(T)FL — Rolling on (the) floor laughing

· RO(T)FLMAO — Rolling on (the) floor laughing my ass off

· RO(T)FLOL — Rolling on (the) floor laughing out loud

· RSN — Real soon now (often used sarcastically)

· RTA - Read The Article

· RTFB — Read the fucking binary (or book)

· RTFQ — Read the fucking/fabulous (polite)/freaking (polite) question

· RTFS — Read the fucking source

· RTFM/RTM — Read the (fucking) manual

· RYC — Regarding your comment

S

· SCNR — Sorry, could not resist

· sk8/sk8r — skate/skater

· Smiley — Another name for emoticons

· SMH — Shaking my head

· SNAFU — Situation normal: all (fucked/fouled) up

· Snail mail — Normal paper mail service

· Spider — The program behind a search engine

· Sry - Sorry

· STFU — Shut the fuck up

· STFW — Search the fucking web

· Soz — Sorry

· SWIM — Someone Who Isn't Me

T

· T4P - Tell for people

· TANSTAAFL — There ain't no such thing as a free lunch, from Robert A. Heinlein's novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

· TBF — Time between failures

· TBH, TBQH — To be (quite) honest

· TFTC — Thanks for the Cache, a Geocaching term

· TG — That's great

· TGIF — Thank God it's Friday

· TH(N)X, TNX or TX — Thanks

· TIA — Thanks in advance

· TINC — There Is No Cabal, a term discouraging conspiracy theories

· TISNF - This is so not fair

· TL;DR - Too Long; Didn't Read, an admonishment that a post is too lengthy or lacks worthwhile content

· TMI — Too much information

· TOS — Terms of service

· TTBOMK — To the best of my knowledge

· TTFN — Ta ta for now

· TTT — To the top, used in forums to bump a thread

· TTTH — Talk to the hand

· TTYL — Talk to you later (also spelled TTUL, T2UL or T2YL)

· TTYS — Talk to you soon

· TTYTT — To Tell You The Truth

· Tweedler — One who has deep love for all computer related technology and gadgets

· TWIAVBP - The World Is A Very Big Place, used to flag regionally-specific usages. Example: "We ate roasted corn (TWIAVBP: maize) at the picnic."

· TWIMC — To Whom It May Concern

· TY or Thx — Thank you

· TYT — Take your time

· TYVM — Thank you very much

· TPW — Top Post Whore

U

· U, Ur — You, your, you're

· UTFSE — Use the fucking search engine

V

· VB(SE)G — Very big (shit-eating) grin.

· VEG/S — Very evil grin/smile.

· Vlog — Video blog

· VWG/S — Very wicked grin/smile.

W

· w00t, w00T or WOOT — First two express exuberance, and the last is a backronym for the term "We Own the Other Team".

· W/ or W/O — With or without

· WB — Welcome back

· WBU — What 'Bout (about) You

· WD — Well Done

· W/E — Whatever

· WP — Well Played

· WRT — With respect / regard to

· WRUD — What are you doing?

· WTB — Want to buy

· WTF — What the fuck

· WTG — Way to go

· WTH — What the hell, What the heck

· WTS — Want to sell

· WTSHTF — When The Shit Hits The Fan

· WTT — Want to trade

· WUG — What you got?

· WUBU2 — What (have) you been up to?

· WUU2 — What (are) you up to?

· WUW — What you want?

· WWJD — What would Jesus do?

· WYSIWYG — What you see is what you get

· W8 — Wait

Y

· Y — Why

· YA RLY — Yeah Really (invariably preceded by "O RLY")

· YHBT — You have been trolled.

· YHL — You have lost

· YKW — You know what?

· YMMV — Your mileage may vary.

· YT — You there?

· YTMND — You're The Man Now, Dog

· YW — You're welcome.

· YOYO — You're On Your Own.

· YOYOW - You own your own words.

Z

· ZOMG (sometimes OMGZ) — A variation of OMG (Oh my Gosh/God) used to indicate extreme excitement

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