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New Spying Technology Will Help Military Detect Chemicals; Popular PC Game Goes Online; Christmas Tree Buyers Help Environment

Aired December 14, 2002 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANNOUNCER: Today on NEXT@CNN -- new spying technologies will soon let military planners see through obstacles and detect chemicals from miles away.
Also, one of the world's most popular PC games goes online and gamers dive into a new virtual world.

And an invention that you might call a rolling teeter tooter or a rickshaw on steroids. Find out what it does.

All that and more on NEXT.

JAMES HATTORI, HOST: Hi, everybody, I'm James Hattori and welcome to NEXT@CNN this week from the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

With the debate continuing over military action in Iraq intelligence gathering is more critical than ever. A little known agency created just six years ago is helping to meet those intelligence needs.

CNN's David Ensor takes us inside the National Imagery and Mapping Agency for a look at some futuristic spy technology that may remind you of science fiction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the 1998 film "Enemy of the State" private citizen Will Smith finds himself targeted by an all-knowing big brother rogue spy agency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're transmitting. If you live another day, I'll be very impressed.

ENSOR: The imaginary agency uses satellite and other high tech gear to chase people down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All units targeted heading north on rooftop.

LT. GEN. JAMES CLAPPER (RET.): Well, I thought it was a very entertaining movie which was -- but far removed from the actual reality.

ENSOR: The film is far removed from reality because U.S. intelligence agencies are strictly forbidden to spy inside the United States and also because Hollywood's fantasy goes well beyond existing technology.

ROBERT ZITZ: We're nowhere near what's laid out in "Enemy of the State" but we are moving in that direction.

ENSOR: In what's called the after next department of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency Rob Zitz and his team are trying to turn some of that fantasy into reality. Take the Geosar Plane (ph) packed with what is call P-Van (ph) radar equipment, photo type aircraft can see what is hidden to the spy satellite or to the naked eye.

ZITZ: It gives us the ability to peer through clouds, through nightfall and to look through trees and, in fact, through tree trunks down to the bare earth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it gives us a stereo effect, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Yes, it does.

ENSOR: Wearing special goggles we can see three dimensional images of terrain made by combing Geosar's (ph) intrusive radar and other technology.

In the next three years the U.S. is planning to put P-Van (ph) radar onto unmanned drone aircraft like the Global Hawk for use tracking the enemy in war zones even at night under clouds and in tree cover.

And just as in the movie, Neeman's (ph) after next team is working with partners at the National Security Agency, the nation's eavesdroppers, on better, faster ways for U.S. intelligence to see and hear a location at the same time.

ZITZ: If you walked into a building and you were looking to find a person or find an object, you wouldn't walk into that building with your eyes closed and just listen, you would want to go in and use your eyes and your ears together. And so we know that's the same with the intelligence capability.

We do today bring this power of signals intelligence where we're listening together with imagery where we're seeing but it's on a smaller scale than we would desire.

ENSOR: One of the most promising areas is a new kind of spy satellite that can take pictures not just in color but showing minute difference in color caused by something as subtle as a little vapor -- a trace of a chemical in the air. It is called hyper-spectral imagery.

JOHN PIKE. GLOBAL SECURITY ORG.: A regular satellite is going to be looking at a warehouse district, see a lot of buildings. The hope is that with hyper-spectral imagery you're going to be able to see that one of those buildings has some very peculiar chemicals leaking out of it and that that's the hidden chemical factory that you're looking for. ENSOR: Such a system would allow the U.S. to hunt the globe for illegal facilities producing chemical or other weapons of mass destruction. It's the kind of capability the U.S. may need in an ever more dangerous world of terrorists and well-armed dictators.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: The FAA is working to make aircraft less vulnerable to fuel tank explosions and this week unveiled some new technology designed to do just that. Here's CNN's Patty Davis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): TWA 800 exploded in mid air in July 1996 killing all 230 people onboard.

Federal crash investigators blame a spark for igniting heated vapors in the center wing fuel tank. The FAA believes it may soon be able to prevent such accidents with this piece of equipment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This module right here is actually a smaller version of what's contained in these three modules here.

DAVIS: The light weight unit located in the belly of this Boeing 747 takes in air from the engine and separates out the nitrogen. It pumps it into the center fuel tank making vapors not flammable.

JOHN HICKEY, FAA: This is a major breakthrough. We believe that this combined with preventing ignition sources is going to be the complete solution to fuel tank safety in the future.

DAVIS: Up until now the FAA has focused on ignition sources like air conditioning units and even very hot runways, which can heat up the vapors in the fuel tank. And recently the FAA ordered airlines using certain Boeing jets to carry enough fuel so fuel pumps are always submerged and that prevents them from overheating and possibly causing an explosion.

Industry groups have predicted that such accidents could happen four times a decade if nothing is done and other government agencies have been pushing for changes.

CAROL CARMODY, NTSB: Well, it did happen again in Thailand two years ago when a 737 blew up at the gate.

Again, it was a center wing tank that -- but the ignition source is unknown but it blew up. So potentially it could. It's very rare, it's unusual but it's a concern.

DAVIS: Early attempts to make the fuel tanks not flammable were opposed by some manufacturers and airlines saying it was costly and hazardous.

But with this FAA breakthrough Boeing is now onboard and is awaiting approval to test the technology on its 737s and 747s.

FAA officials say some commercial airplanes could have this safety fix by 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: A second failure for the European Space Agency's newest rocket this week.

The Ariane 5-EFCA (ph) rocket took off on Wednesday carry two satellites but a few minutes later plunged into the ocean.

A launch attempt last month was scrubbed when the rocket's engine didn't fire up.

The huge Ariane 5 rocket is intended to make the European Space Agency competitive with the U.S. in the satellite launch market.

The last time humans set foot on the moon was 30 years ago this week. The Apollo 17 lunar module spent three days on the lunar surface and astronauts took three moon walks to collect samples and perform experiments.

On December 14, 1972 the lunar module lifted off.

At a reunion last week Astronaut Gene Cernan was asked how it felt to be the last person who walked on the moon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENE CERNAN, FORMER ASTRONAUT: Being the last man on the moon some 30 years later is certainly a unique but dubious honor and somewhat disappointing because I would have thought long before now some young boy or girl would have -- if given an opportunity would have taken us back by now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HATTORI: To honor the anniversary a group at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center put together a visualization using images from various NASA missions. The movie starts from the launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center where the Apollo mission started. It ends with earth seen from the moon -- a reminder of some of the famous earth rise pictures taken by the Apollo missions.

ANNOUNCER: Just ahead on NEXT@CNN -- what's in the air at this university town? It could be the next big thing in Internet access.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HATTORI: Well, this summer we told you how students were working to create a cloud of free wireless Internet access in the college town of Athens, Georgia. Well, now it's up and running and Ann Kellan tells us what they are planning to do with it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Wag Zone is live. ANN KELLAN, CNN SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a cable cutting to officially announce a 12-block wireless area in Athens, Georgia nicknamed The WAG Zone. After all, it is the home of the University of Georgia and Sugar Bowl bound Bulldogs -- lots of tail wagging going on these days.

But it really means Wireless Athens Georgia Zone. In the Wag Zone with a $70 Wi-fi (ph) card inserted in a laptop, you can surf the Internet, no wired hook-up needed.

Nine relay boxes on utility poles do the trick.

GREG RICKMAN, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA STUDENT: They pick up signals from laptops or PDAs or whatnot and they relay the information back up to this building where it then gets onto a wired network and out to the Internet.

KELLAN: Students like Greg Rickman built the infrastructure. Now other students are figuring ways students and businesses can benefit.

From streaming live concerts of local groups like "The Fairbird Royals" (ph) over the Internet to helping a local gift shop sell its honey pots. And where in Athens can you get a good burrito?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I get a skinny with black beans?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And here's the skinny -- you can click on "burrito."

KELLAN: Brandy Baysmore (ph) is creating a Web site for Barberitos -- a laptop and PDA version to alert those wandering in the WAG Zone what's on the menu.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's going to change the world.

RYAN MANCHEE, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA STUDENT: We're at Barberitos right now and we want to let our friends know where we are.

KELLAN: Ryan Manchee designs software that lets you post your location on a buddy list so other people can track you down.

MANCHEE: What time are we going to stay? Real late -- 3:00?

KELLAN: True. So now they know this, right? If they log on they can find out where I am and hopefully they will show up here. We'll see how this works.

One burrito later ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you all doing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You found us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It worked.

ABIGAIL SMITH, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA STUDENT: We were going to go out around downtown and we just went to check our buddies, saw that you were eating and then I can say that I wanted to join you. So now I'm logged in to say that I'm here, too.

KELLAN: Amber Ray (ph) says Frontier Gift Shop wants to do more than sell its honey pots online. Its site under development may one day give customers a place to donate to charities or even offer instant coupons.

CREIGHTON CUTTS, OWNER, FRONTIER GIFT SHOP: If you get within 100 yards of Frontier a coupon will pop up. It will be a time based coupon.

KELLAN: You know them by their music but do you know REM was born after a chance meeting by two of its members at Athens's Wuxtrey Three Record Shop?

How do you convince a store owner who still sells old fashioned vinyl to hop onboard a wireless network?

DAN WALL, OWNER, WUXTREY: It's all magic to me.

KELLAN: So you don't know how this is going to work out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I'm a bit hazy about what's going to -- what's actually going to happen but it's -- the new stuff is the wave of the future.

I think CNN said that, didn't they?

KRISTIN WEST, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA STUDENT: We just told him that it was something that he was doing that nobody else was doing and he would be one of the first record stores to be wirelessly online in downtown Athens.

KELLAN: These students are designing a Web site to highlight the store's history and will eventually let people order music online. There is also a version to accommodate the slower and smaller PDA.

These Web sites and others will be included in a portal site students are creating for their special zone in Athens complete with detailed maps. Islandathens.com developed the basic maps that students adapted.

MARY RICCARDI, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA STUDENT: If you're saying, "I'm at the corner of Washington and College and I want to get to Barberitos or The Winery," then you just type that in and it will bring up a map. And it will show you where you are and it will give you directions on how to get there.

KELLAN: And once you get to "The Winery" a Web site under development makes it easier to order a bottle of wine by describing the wines on the menu and providing lessons for the novice wine drinker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put in a few tips on opening the bottle, how wine is made, things to look for when tasting the wine so that people will actually learn about it while they're in the shop.

SCOTT SHAMP, NEW MEDIA INSTITUTE: It's a way for us to experiment and find out what will work and what won't work. So what we expect more than anything else are creative ideas to come out of it.

KELLAN: Ideas like a Web site that helps you find that empty parking space.

MOLLY STOFKO, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA STUDENT: We envision in theory meters with sensors on them to let you know when a spot is available.

KELLAN: To logging on and listening -- even singing along with a local band. Someday people will probably have to pay for this service but for now it's an experiment that's free to anyone with the right equipment who walks in these 12 blocks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: For more about The WAG Zone or other stories in this week's program check out our Web site -- cnn.com/next.

ANNOUNCER: Coming up -- how scientists are developing future Christmas tress that won't drop their needles and how some tree buyers are helping the environment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HATTORI: Welcome back to NEXT. Still looking for just the right holiday gift? Well, museum stores are always fun. Take a look. Here's a tee-shirt with Native American art. Here we have a book and believe it or not trading cards on skulls, a little astronomer's pointer and key chain. Look at that it blinks.

And take a look at this guy -- T. rex. Sounds like Frankenstein. I think I saw his movie.

Well, what about gadgets? Our techno whiz kid at heart, Daniel Sieberg, has some ideas about that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Today children often understand more about technology than their parents do and toymakers know it. Tech goodies and gadgets aimed at preteens are becoming more popular every holiday season.

With digital cameras and camcorders becoming must have items for parents, Digital Blue has released the digital movie creator for the kids. This movie making gizmo is for ages seven and up and it allows young Spielbergs to download film clips and pictures. They can then edit, add narration, special effects and music to their creation.

The quality won't match dad's machine but it's a great start for any aspiring director to be.

Remember Sony's Ibo? Well, it seems that the robot dog with an attitude has inspired mini me versions of himself. Sony has a new line of voice recognition command creatures called micro pets. These lovable miniature animals beep, cheep and scoot to your every command.

Marshy (ph) and his friends even got upset when we ignored them -- something Sony hopes children of all ages won't do.

The remote controlled car has long been a favorite gadget for the whole family. And this year Kio (ph) has released old reliable with a new twist.

The Egg Runner (ph) is fast, durable and can even run upside down.

The oversized wheels allow it to fly over just about everything and its nine way steering system makes for a wild ride.

In the same RC line it's a very James Bond Edge Hovercraft. It runs on a pocket of air and moves surprisingly fast over ice and land. And -- yes -- it can go over water as well.

Kio (ph) recommends children eight and up use these vehicles with adult supervision.

No matter what hot holiday item parents may be looking for this Christmas season one thing is certain -- there will be no shortage of techno gizmo options for the kids.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: A holiday tradition is on hold because of concerns about a disease that's killing deer in the Midwest.

An Oregon ranch that provides reindeer for holiday displays had no trouble delivering Donner and Blitzen here to a mall outside Portland but the ranchers say dozens of states have banned the reindeer shows because of fears of Chronic Wasting Disease.

The disease related to Mad Cow Disease has infected dozens of deer in Wisconsin so reindeer business is down 90 percent from last year.

Until there's a test that can spot CWD in living animals it appears most of Donner and Blitzen's friends won't be playing in any reindeer games. Some trees have what it takes to make a good Christmas tree and some don't. Plant scientists in Washington state are using cloning to develop trees that will keep their needles on their branches and off your living room floor.

Environmental reporter Scott Miller from our affiliate KING-TV has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MILLER, KING-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On this one test plot in Washington state, Christmas trees grow from all over the world.

GARY CHASTAGNER, WSHINGTON STATE UNIV.: These are all Norman fir. Native to parts of the Republic of Georgia and Turkey.

MILLER: Gary Chastagner knows them all. Knows that some of these trees will make great holiday specimens, and some will lose their needles in a matter of days. To find out which is which, Chastagner takes clippings from each tree and hangs them in a heated warehouse.

CHASTAGNER: By using these detached branches, we can actually predict what this tree would do if it had been cut and used as a Christmas tree.

MILLER: The reason? Chastagner has discovered that needle loss is a genetic trait. Some trees are predetermined to be needle shedders.

CHASTAGNER: So this is seven days. After harvest.

MILLER: And some just have what it takes to make it through the new year.

CHASTAGNER: This branch is off of a different tree. Same species.

MILLER: Growers want only trees like this one, and they can have them, by grafting desirable branches onto seedlings, creating clones, shed-proof fir after shed-proof fir.

CHASTAGNER: So we're duplicating this exact same tree by a more traditional aspect of cloning.

MILLER (on camera): Seedlings from clones like these are currently being grown in Pacific Northwest nurseries. But the trees won't be ready for market for another seven years or so. In the meantime, you can still prevent needle loss the old fashioned way -- by giving your Christmas tree plenty of water.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: Chopping down your own Christmas tree can be a family excursion straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. But as Kimberly Osias reports, it can also be a chance to do a little good for the environment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They drive in empty handed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We try to pick ones that are pretty small and that are pretty tall, too.

JIM THINNES, U.S. FORESTRY SERVICE: This is obviously a great opportunity for people to have a great time cutting trees and having a family affair.

OSIAS: For $10 a Colorado permit will enable about 7,000 folks to search high ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Angie, there's one over here that looks nice.

OSIAS: ... and low ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy, wait up.

OSIAS: ... for that perfect piece of holiday magic with a bonus.

There's an environmental benefit to the program as well. Most forests are dense with young trees like this one that have branches that are low and close to the ground. They can catch fire easily and spread quickly.

THINNES: By reducing the -- what we call the ladder fuels which are the small trees that can contribute to ground fires -- thinning out the forests a little bit will help these bigger trees have a little less competition and also reduce the likelihood of these ground fires a little bit.

OSIAS: Fire is still fresh on the minds of many across the country. Just last summer fires ripped through hundreds of thousands of acres charring land not easily restored.

THINNES: When the fire burns through the recovery is a lot slower because the trees are all being killed.

OSIAS: So the yuletide ritual of taking home a tree ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just bend them under.

OSIAS: ... takes on a different tone as families saw it down, tie it up and drive off with a load that makes a difference to Mother Nature.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: In Tacoma, Washington a different kind of environmentally friendly Christmas tree -- well, the owner calls it a tree but obviously it's really a solar array. Richard Thompson says the 600 light-emitting diodes on his so- called tree use seven watts of electricity, a tiny fraction of what it takes to power the lights on a traditional tree like the one across the street.

And even if it ran 24/7 it would cost a fraction of a cent per day. Kind of hard to hang ornaments on solar panels though.

ANNOUNCER: Coming up in our next half hour a new report details the illegal and horrifying trade in bear products. Also, low cost ways to get more out of your aging computer.

First, we'll take a break and get an update from the CNN newsroom. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

HATTORI: Welcome back to NEXT@CNN. I'm James Hattori, this week from The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Activists have launched a new campaign to stop the practice of bear bile farming. That's where bears are kept in small cages and slowly drained of bile fluid. They've issued a report that says the international trade in this and other bear products could threaten the survival of wild bears worldwide.

Gary Strieker has more in a report that some viewers may find disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY STRIEKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The international market for bear products is fueled by the expansion of bear farming in China -- confining wild bears in small cages draining their bile fluids through open wounds this according to a recent global investigation by the London-based World Society for the Protection of Animals.

VICTOR WATKINS, WORLD SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF ANIMALS: This report shows that China is illegally exporting vast amounts of bear bile products around the world.

STRIEKER: In a three year study in Asia and North America investigators discovered bear products are still sold openly in most shops and pharmacies dealing in traditional Chinese medicine even in the United States and Canada.

According to the report international trade in bear products exceeds $100 million a year even though the trade violates not only the laws of most countries but also an international treaty on trade in endangered species.

The major product in the trade is bear bile from the animal's gal bladder. Bile is a traditional remedy for stomach ailments and other disorders much of it now coming from some 200 bear farms in China.

Investigators say more than 9,000 bears are kept on the farms in conditions like this.

WATKINS: Generally the bears are very agitated. They'll be banging their heads on the bars. They can be shuffling around. They can be moaning. They can be in pain. It's really a hell for these wild animals.

STRIEKER: Most bear bile from the farms is consumed inside China but much of it is exported and heavily marketed, critics say, creating more demand for bear products and more incentives for hunters everywhere to kill wild bears for their gal bladders.

WATKINS: Just a few days ago we heard that the customs authorities in Canada had seized 250 gal bladders from native bears that were about to be exported to Asian consumers.

STRIEKER: China's government says it is improving animal welfare on bear farms and claims it does not allow any exports of bear products. But investigators say there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary and that a growing market for bear products including new ones like bear shampoo and bear wine will cause even more suffering for thousands of captive bears and a doubtful future for those in the wild.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Coming up -- ways to teach an old computer new tricks -- that and more as NEXT@CNN continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HATTORI: Being somebody else -- that's exactly what you do when you play the Sims Online -- the Web version of the wildly popular computer game that let's you create and control simulated people. The game goes live next week.

Daniel Sieberg and Ann Kellan give us a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLAN: Did you know that Sims is the number one and most popular PC game of all time? Now it's going online and it adds a whole new dimension to the game, right, Daniel?

SIEBERG: That's right. And it's going to add the idea of communicating or community with all of these virtual characters.

Sims has been around for a couple of years but on December 17 you can actually go live and interact with all of these characters.

Now this is how you get started. You create your own virtual character. There's a screen here that allows you to choose from different faces, different body types, skin types and different outfits and try and individualize it as much as you can. And you're launched into this world -- this virtual world, massive world. You choose your property where you want to try and build your house and acquire as many possessions as you can. You're trying to be as successful in the game and you're trying to recreate life in this game as best you can.

KELLAN: So you have to do mundane kinds of things?

SIEBERG: Yeah. There are a lot of mundane tasks that you have to do to try and recreate everything that you're doing in life.

And, speaking of which, we've got our own Scott Thomas, who's actually in the game right now. And it looks like you're hanging out at a pool party, Scott. Is that right?

SCOTT THOMAS: That's right -- that's right. We're socializing by the pool. There's a few people in the pool right now catching some rays while I'm over here chatting with e-mail on the side of the pool.

KELLAN: Oh, you are, are you?

THOMAS: Correct.

KELLAN: And that would be a real female?

THOMAS: I'm hoping so. But you can portray yourself however you want to in the game and you just take their word for it.

KELLAN: So every one of those people are different people in real life?

THOMAS: That's correct -- that's correct. They're exactly looking at the same screen as me and they can do anything sociably to me as I can do to them such as giving a high five or a hug to somebody else.

KELLAN: Or dancing a little?

SIEBERG: Or flirting a little, too. And that's definitely part of this game is the romance and the chat rooms where you can go in and interact with all of the people, right?

THOMAS: Correct. This game caters towards online chatting and being social and that's what all of these expressions are about and the individuality.

KELLAN: Do you choose a career and live a life?

THOMAS: Yeah. You can study different skills that would help you do your career, such as mechanical that would help you repair someone's refrigerator even. So you can further yourself very far in the game.

SIEBERG: And it's important to work together. The idea of community is important no only because you can chat with everybody but because it allows you to be more successful. You can share resources, share your skills and therefore acquire more Simolians, which is the currency in the Sims game.

KELLAN: So that's the idea -- is to get to know each other?

SIEBERG: Right. As you pointed out, there are some mundane tasks that you have to do. Aside from getting to know everybody you can live out your life but you do have to keep track of your character, take care of them. They've got their hygiene that you have to worry about, going to the bathroom, making sure they maybe get a job, trying to keep them happy on a number of different levels socially as well as physically making sure that they're OK.

It's -- your character could potentially die if you don't look after them so it's important to make sure you do that.

KELLAN: You don't want to yourself off from the game.

SIEBERG: That's right because you could potentially

KELLAN: I wouldn't think that would be a good idea.

SIEBERG: That's right.

KELLAN: That's interesting.

THOMAS: Yeah.

KELLAN: So how do you join in? What does it take?

THOMAS: When you join in you pay the $50 to actually buy the game for your PC then it's $10 a month as a subscription fee.

Online games and multi-player and massive games like this like EverQuest have been around for awhile but this one you're actually seeing what looks like a person and trying to recreate this life online.

KELLAN: So, Scott, are you sitting there flirting with that woman?

THOMAS: Yes, I am.

KELLAN: OK. Well, we'll leave you to that. Have a good time.

THOMAS: Thank you.

KELLAN: Maybe we'll see you online.

THOMAS: Hopefully.

KELLAN: OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: Turning now from an upgrade for your computer game to an upgrade for your computer itself.

Ann Kellan is back now. This time with Personal Technology Expert Mark Saltzman to find out how to spruce up your system without buying a whole new unit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLAN: Accessorize or just replace the old computer altogether? Mark is here to help us answer that question.

MARK SALTZMAN, PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY EXPERT: It's a tough one.

KELLAN: It is a tough one especially when I'm looking at this beautiful computer.

SALTZMAN: It is, isn't it? Yeah.

KELLAN: Yes.

SALTZMAN: Well, if you do have deep pockets -- about two grand to be exact not including the monitor -- there's a new computer by HP called the Media Center edition.

As the name suggests, it allows you to combine the best elements of TV, music, movies and pictures all in one device. And, of course, it's a computer, too.

And, as you can see, it looks like a TV menu that you can scroll up and down. You cannot only watch TV -- and you can also download updated "TV Guides" off of the Net -- but you can also record it.

So it acts like -- it will be called PVR -- personal video recorder.

KELLAN: For TiVo, right?

SALTZMAN: For TiVo -- right. You can pause live TV. You can skip forward through commercials -- things like that.

KELLAN: So if I can't afford that, let's talk about accessorizing the old computer, OK?

SALTZMAN: Good point. Yeah -- breathing some new life into your aging desktop environment.

KELLAN: Yeah.

SALTZMAN: Absolutely. Let's start with mice and keyboards. Of course, that's the cornerstone of every PC.

We've got two new trends -- one is that manufacturers like Logitech and Microsoft and bundling mice and keyboards together. So it's value priced and wireless.

This is actually a sleek little keyboard from Logitech. Their prices range from $60 to $100. This is 80. And what I like here are these hot buttons that go right to your favorite programs or Web sites like your favorite home page, for example, or instant messaging all at one touch.

KELLAN: And this is Bluetooth?

SALTZMAN: That's right. This is Microsoft's first Bluetooth solution. This is even faster, more secure and broader high speed transfer. This is a trend that they predict will be popular.

Again, it means to eliminate all of the cables and cords in the home. It retails for 160 but it's future compatible. You can add other devices to the back of the PC as well. So a good solution.

KELLAN: Wireless is in.

SALTZMAN: Yeah -- wireless is in.

KELLAN: What is this?

SALTZMAN: This is a great space saver. This is the Lexmark X75 printer, scanner and fax machine all in one. And for 150 bucks it's very reasonable.

And often with technology when a product tries to do too much it doesn't do any of them very well. That's not the case. The color printer works great. Fax machine and scanner does 8 1/2 by 11 pictures -- pages.

KELLAN: What are all of these speakers?

SALTZMAN: OK -- if you're a hard core gamer or if you're a movie fan and you like to watch DVDs on your PC. You have to have the right speaker set-up.

This is Creative Labs new Inspire 6.1 solution. We've all heard of 5.1 surround sound where five different things are coming out of each speaker -- point one being the sub woofer. This is 6.1.

But, of course, you need a sound card that can split that signal into 6.1 channels. And you've got to buy DVD movies that have 6.1.

KELLAN: That's one other problem, right?

KELLAN: Yeah -- exactly.

Now this is the sound card -- this is an example of the sound card that can split it into 6.1. It's actually the only one on the market right now. Also from Creative Labs -- it's called the Audigy 2. It retails for 130 to 160. The speakers are 130 as well, by the way.

KELLAN: What is this?

SALTZMAN: Last but not least, Web cams are very popular -- the ability to chat online with other people and see them and hear them with video, not just still pictures or with text.

But what's neat about his particular model -- this is the new Creative Labs Web cam -- is that it's actually a digital camera as well. It is a 2.1 mega pixel camera so you can use it as a Webcam or you can it off its bay and take it with you to go.

It's got internally 16 megs of information about 200 medium quality pictures or a dozen or so high quality pictures. And then when you put it back on the bay it transfers the images back to the computer.

So very good for 130 -- very reasonably priced.

KELLAN: Well, we have a lot of accessories to choose from.

SALTZMAN: Yeah -- absolutely.

KELLAN: Thank you very much.

SALTZMAN: Thanks, Ann.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Coming up -- some very intimate jewelry. If you thought wearing someone's class ring was intimate wait until you find out what's inside this file.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HATTORI: DNA has been used to convict criminals and to free people who were wrongly convicted.

Now it has a new use in an invention that's proving it can be a commercial success. Kristie Lu Stout reports from Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Time for that mad dash for the holiday season's presents and if you're looking for something different consider a vile of genuine reindeer DNA.

Created by Hong Kong's DNA Technologies, the necklace retails for around $60 -- the price to wear a blob of crystallized genetic code.

ELAINE YOUNG, PRODUCT DIRECTOR, DNA TECH: It's a little piece of magic really. DNA -- you combine the real, tangible world with the fictional sense of Christmas and sense of giving and magic.

STOUT: Young designed the pendant -- a tiny tube of DNA extracted from the blood of an adult Finish deer. Not an item on everyone's wish list but the interest is out there.

YOUNG: People are excited. They don't really know what to think about it. But everyone is looking at it with a sly eye and wondering what's going on. STOUT: And for that truly one-off gift, why not give your own DNA? In fact, your genetic code can be turned into one very personalized pendant.

ALBERT YU, CEO, DNA TECH: This is your treasure -- your secret code of life. If you give your own DNA in a pendant to your loved one I think it means so much. It's even better than a diamond, don't you think so?

STOUT: Use of the venture is just a sideline to the company's main business -- testing for chicken flu strains. But does dabbling in jewelry belittle the hard science of biotech? Perhaps not if you can inspire little scientists.

YU: So if some child -- they get a DNA pendant I'm pretty sure he will start to look at what is DNA, what is science and why it is so interesting.

STOUT: To order your own coded jewelry, simply take a saliva swab from your mouth and post it to the company lab. Custom jewelry for around $100.

DNA Technologies says it has sold a few thousand viles already and it is ready to take on a wider range of trinkets.

YOUNG: We're hoping to get into rings, get into necklaces, bracelets -- a whole line of DNA- inspired jewelry. So there is more on the way.

STOUT: Like the upcoming Valentine's Day line up -- a chance to swab a bit of yourself for your sweetheart.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Just ahead -- what the heck is that thing? A fascinating invention or a flakey traffic hazard or both? You can decide when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HATTORI: Make no bones about it -- we're always bringing you stories about the latest electronic gadgets but sometimes we like to focus on a different kind of creativity.

The inventor in our next story used the laws of physics to come up with a vehicle that you may consider brilliant or bizarre. Of course, our Jeanne Moos tracked him down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A strange contraption has been stopping at Woodstock. Dogs bark, drivers do double takes. This thing puts a rickshaw to shame and it doesn't settle for a mere two syllable name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a skedaddle.. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Skedaddlehopper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Skedaddle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I skedaddle I get a hop and when I hop I skedaddle.

MOOS: Instead of just trudging Darin Selby goes airborne using the counterweight of passengers or rocks in the middle wheels to create a rolling lever. He can easily take off for four or five seconds -- a step he describes as moon walking.

And like an astronaut on the moon sometimes it feels like Darin's from another planet.

DARIN SELBY, SKEDADDLEHOPPER INVENTOR: Next stop -- hyper space.

MOOS: A slower, gentler planet.

Darin has been building skedaddle hoppers and giving tourists rides in them.

SELBY: Did you want the mild or the wild ride?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The wild ride.

MOOS: Actually it's like riding in a rocking sleigh.

But it doesn't make you tired.

SELBY: No.

MOOS: But it sure made me tired.

Do I look as funny as I feel?

SELBY: It's amazing -- a lady her size -- once she gets ...

MOOS: What size is that?

SELBY: Well, you're what -- about 120 pounds ...

MOOS: Yeah.

SELBY: ... or thereabouts.

MOOS: In my dreams.

SELBY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) hundreds of pounds.

MOOS: Darin says he's inspired by Dr. Seuss and his contraptions.

DR. SEUSS: No more rainbows for us to chase.

MOOS: The rainbow Darin is chasing is to bring back human power. SELBY: Do you live in this town?

MOOS: Yeah -- the skedaddle hopper is home. At night Darin pulls a tarp over it and beds down.

SELBY: This is how I always sleep.

MOOS: The folks at Midas Muffler helped him bend the aluminum pipes.

SELBY: They gave it the Midas touch.

MOOS: Darin added motorcycle brakes but for a long time he depended on what he called his Flintstone stoppers as in Fred's feet.

MUSICAL RECORDING: Let's ride with the family down the street ...

Darin was making a couple of hundred bucks a weekend giving rides to tourists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's exotic -- that's for sure.

MOOS: A little too exotic for Woodstock Police. The town may be associated with love and peace but police see the skedaddle hopper as an obstruction to traffic and a safety hazard.

SELBY: Not having insurance and no license. I haven't lost a person yet.

MOOS: That's good news.

Darin has sketches for a new and improved skedaddle hopper.

SELBY: This is the Hemp Mobile.

MOOS: And we have a Hemp canopy and use Hemp oil.

You really are a hippy.

SELBY: Well, you know what hippy stands for, don't you? A highly intelligent person pursuing interesting endeavors.

MOOS: But this endeavor may be too interesting. Police have told Darin to ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Skedaddle.

MOOS: ... stay off of the main roads or he may have to leave Woodstock.

SELBY: I'll be back -- I'll be back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: And we'll be back I think next week -- here's a look at what's coming up. A rival for the Wright brothers. This airship, inspired by a Bible passage, supposedly flew an entire year before Orville and Wilbur went airborne 99 years ago. We'll take you to the scene of this pre-Wright flight.

And a story we tried to bring you before. We'll show you how Red Wolves are making an amazing comeback and it's why it has our Sharon Collins hollowing. That and a lot more coming up on NEXT.

Until then we want to know what you are thinking. Drop us an e- mail. Our address is next@cnn.com.

Thanks so much for joining us this week and thanks to our friends here at The California Academy of Sciences. For all of us on the sci- tech beat, I'm James Hattori. We'll see you next time.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Popular PC Game Goes Online; Christmas Tree Buyers Help Environment>


Aired December 14, 2002 - 13:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: Today on NEXT@CNN -- new spying technologies will soon let military planners see through obstacles and detect chemicals from miles away.
Also, one of the world's most popular PC games goes online and gamers dive into a new virtual world.

And an invention that you might call a rolling teeter tooter or a rickshaw on steroids. Find out what it does.

All that and more on NEXT.

JAMES HATTORI, HOST: Hi, everybody, I'm James Hattori and welcome to NEXT@CNN this week from the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

With the debate continuing over military action in Iraq intelligence gathering is more critical than ever. A little known agency created just six years ago is helping to meet those intelligence needs.

CNN's David Ensor takes us inside the National Imagery and Mapping Agency for a look at some futuristic spy technology that may remind you of science fiction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the 1998 film "Enemy of the State" private citizen Will Smith finds himself targeted by an all-knowing big brother rogue spy agency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're transmitting. If you live another day, I'll be very impressed.

ENSOR: The imaginary agency uses satellite and other high tech gear to chase people down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All units targeted heading north on rooftop.

LT. GEN. JAMES CLAPPER (RET.): Well, I thought it was a very entertaining movie which was -- but far removed from the actual reality.

ENSOR: The film is far removed from reality because U.S. intelligence agencies are strictly forbidden to spy inside the United States and also because Hollywood's fantasy goes well beyond existing technology.

ROBERT ZITZ: We're nowhere near what's laid out in "Enemy of the State" but we are moving in that direction.

ENSOR: In what's called the after next department of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency Rob Zitz and his team are trying to turn some of that fantasy into reality. Take the Geosar Plane (ph) packed with what is call P-Van (ph) radar equipment, photo type aircraft can see what is hidden to the spy satellite or to the naked eye.

ZITZ: It gives us the ability to peer through clouds, through nightfall and to look through trees and, in fact, through tree trunks down to the bare earth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it gives us a stereo effect, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Yes, it does.

ENSOR: Wearing special goggles we can see three dimensional images of terrain made by combing Geosar's (ph) intrusive radar and other technology.

In the next three years the U.S. is planning to put P-Van (ph) radar onto unmanned drone aircraft like the Global Hawk for use tracking the enemy in war zones even at night under clouds and in tree cover.

And just as in the movie, Neeman's (ph) after next team is working with partners at the National Security Agency, the nation's eavesdroppers, on better, faster ways for U.S. intelligence to see and hear a location at the same time.

ZITZ: If you walked into a building and you were looking to find a person or find an object, you wouldn't walk into that building with your eyes closed and just listen, you would want to go in and use your eyes and your ears together. And so we know that's the same with the intelligence capability.

We do today bring this power of signals intelligence where we're listening together with imagery where we're seeing but it's on a smaller scale than we would desire.

ENSOR: One of the most promising areas is a new kind of spy satellite that can take pictures not just in color but showing minute difference in color caused by something as subtle as a little vapor -- a trace of a chemical in the air. It is called hyper-spectral imagery.

JOHN PIKE. GLOBAL SECURITY ORG.: A regular satellite is going to be looking at a warehouse district, see a lot of buildings. The hope is that with hyper-spectral imagery you're going to be able to see that one of those buildings has some very peculiar chemicals leaking out of it and that that's the hidden chemical factory that you're looking for. ENSOR: Such a system would allow the U.S. to hunt the globe for illegal facilities producing chemical or other weapons of mass destruction. It's the kind of capability the U.S. may need in an ever more dangerous world of terrorists and well-armed dictators.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: The FAA is working to make aircraft less vulnerable to fuel tank explosions and this week unveiled some new technology designed to do just that. Here's CNN's Patty Davis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): TWA 800 exploded in mid air in July 1996 killing all 230 people onboard.

Federal crash investigators blame a spark for igniting heated vapors in the center wing fuel tank. The FAA believes it may soon be able to prevent such accidents with this piece of equipment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This module right here is actually a smaller version of what's contained in these three modules here.

DAVIS: The light weight unit located in the belly of this Boeing 747 takes in air from the engine and separates out the nitrogen. It pumps it into the center fuel tank making vapors not flammable.

JOHN HICKEY, FAA: This is a major breakthrough. We believe that this combined with preventing ignition sources is going to be the complete solution to fuel tank safety in the future.

DAVIS: Up until now the FAA has focused on ignition sources like air conditioning units and even very hot runways, which can heat up the vapors in the fuel tank. And recently the FAA ordered airlines using certain Boeing jets to carry enough fuel so fuel pumps are always submerged and that prevents them from overheating and possibly causing an explosion.

Industry groups have predicted that such accidents could happen four times a decade if nothing is done and other government agencies have been pushing for changes.

CAROL CARMODY, NTSB: Well, it did happen again in Thailand two years ago when a 737 blew up at the gate.

Again, it was a center wing tank that -- but the ignition source is unknown but it blew up. So potentially it could. It's very rare, it's unusual but it's a concern.

DAVIS: Early attempts to make the fuel tanks not flammable were opposed by some manufacturers and airlines saying it was costly and hazardous.

But with this FAA breakthrough Boeing is now onboard and is awaiting approval to test the technology on its 737s and 747s.

FAA officials say some commercial airplanes could have this safety fix by 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: A second failure for the European Space Agency's newest rocket this week.

The Ariane 5-EFCA (ph) rocket took off on Wednesday carry two satellites but a few minutes later plunged into the ocean.

A launch attempt last month was scrubbed when the rocket's engine didn't fire up.

The huge Ariane 5 rocket is intended to make the European Space Agency competitive with the U.S. in the satellite launch market.

The last time humans set foot on the moon was 30 years ago this week. The Apollo 17 lunar module spent three days on the lunar surface and astronauts took three moon walks to collect samples and perform experiments.

On December 14, 1972 the lunar module lifted off.

At a reunion last week Astronaut Gene Cernan was asked how it felt to be the last person who walked on the moon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENE CERNAN, FORMER ASTRONAUT: Being the last man on the moon some 30 years later is certainly a unique but dubious honor and somewhat disappointing because I would have thought long before now some young boy or girl would have -- if given an opportunity would have taken us back by now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HATTORI: To honor the anniversary a group at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center put together a visualization using images from various NASA missions. The movie starts from the launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center where the Apollo mission started. It ends with earth seen from the moon -- a reminder of some of the famous earth rise pictures taken by the Apollo missions.

ANNOUNCER: Just ahead on NEXT@CNN -- what's in the air at this university town? It could be the next big thing in Internet access.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HATTORI: Well, this summer we told you how students were working to create a cloud of free wireless Internet access in the college town of Athens, Georgia. Well, now it's up and running and Ann Kellan tells us what they are planning to do with it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Wag Zone is live. ANN KELLAN, CNN SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a cable cutting to officially announce a 12-block wireless area in Athens, Georgia nicknamed The WAG Zone. After all, it is the home of the University of Georgia and Sugar Bowl bound Bulldogs -- lots of tail wagging going on these days.

But it really means Wireless Athens Georgia Zone. In the Wag Zone with a $70 Wi-fi (ph) card inserted in a laptop, you can surf the Internet, no wired hook-up needed.

Nine relay boxes on utility poles do the trick.

GREG RICKMAN, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA STUDENT: They pick up signals from laptops or PDAs or whatnot and they relay the information back up to this building where it then gets onto a wired network and out to the Internet.

KELLAN: Students like Greg Rickman built the infrastructure. Now other students are figuring ways students and businesses can benefit.

From streaming live concerts of local groups like "The Fairbird Royals" (ph) over the Internet to helping a local gift shop sell its honey pots. And where in Athens can you get a good burrito?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I get a skinny with black beans?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And here's the skinny -- you can click on "burrito."

KELLAN: Brandy Baysmore (ph) is creating a Web site for Barberitos -- a laptop and PDA version to alert those wandering in the WAG Zone what's on the menu.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's going to change the world.

RYAN MANCHEE, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA STUDENT: We're at Barberitos right now and we want to let our friends know where we are.

KELLAN: Ryan Manchee designs software that lets you post your location on a buddy list so other people can track you down.

MANCHEE: What time are we going to stay? Real late -- 3:00?

KELLAN: True. So now they know this, right? If they log on they can find out where I am and hopefully they will show up here. We'll see how this works.

One burrito later ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you all doing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You found us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It worked.

ABIGAIL SMITH, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA STUDENT: We were going to go out around downtown and we just went to check our buddies, saw that you were eating and then I can say that I wanted to join you. So now I'm logged in to say that I'm here, too.

KELLAN: Amber Ray (ph) says Frontier Gift Shop wants to do more than sell its honey pots online. Its site under development may one day give customers a place to donate to charities or even offer instant coupons.

CREIGHTON CUTTS, OWNER, FRONTIER GIFT SHOP: If you get within 100 yards of Frontier a coupon will pop up. It will be a time based coupon.

KELLAN: You know them by their music but do you know REM was born after a chance meeting by two of its members at Athens's Wuxtrey Three Record Shop?

How do you convince a store owner who still sells old fashioned vinyl to hop onboard a wireless network?

DAN WALL, OWNER, WUXTREY: It's all magic to me.

KELLAN: So you don't know how this is going to work out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I'm a bit hazy about what's going to -- what's actually going to happen but it's -- the new stuff is the wave of the future.

I think CNN said that, didn't they?

KRISTIN WEST, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA STUDENT: We just told him that it was something that he was doing that nobody else was doing and he would be one of the first record stores to be wirelessly online in downtown Athens.

KELLAN: These students are designing a Web site to highlight the store's history and will eventually let people order music online. There is also a version to accommodate the slower and smaller PDA.

These Web sites and others will be included in a portal site students are creating for their special zone in Athens complete with detailed maps. Islandathens.com developed the basic maps that students adapted.

MARY RICCARDI, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA STUDENT: If you're saying, "I'm at the corner of Washington and College and I want to get to Barberitos or The Winery," then you just type that in and it will bring up a map. And it will show you where you are and it will give you directions on how to get there.

KELLAN: And once you get to "The Winery" a Web site under development makes it easier to order a bottle of wine by describing the wines on the menu and providing lessons for the novice wine drinker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put in a few tips on opening the bottle, how wine is made, things to look for when tasting the wine so that people will actually learn about it while they're in the shop.

SCOTT SHAMP, NEW MEDIA INSTITUTE: It's a way for us to experiment and find out what will work and what won't work. So what we expect more than anything else are creative ideas to come out of it.

KELLAN: Ideas like a Web site that helps you find that empty parking space.

MOLLY STOFKO, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA STUDENT: We envision in theory meters with sensors on them to let you know when a spot is available.

KELLAN: To logging on and listening -- even singing along with a local band. Someday people will probably have to pay for this service but for now it's an experiment that's free to anyone with the right equipment who walks in these 12 blocks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: For more about The WAG Zone or other stories in this week's program check out our Web site -- cnn.com/next.

ANNOUNCER: Coming up -- how scientists are developing future Christmas tress that won't drop their needles and how some tree buyers are helping the environment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HATTORI: Welcome back to NEXT. Still looking for just the right holiday gift? Well, museum stores are always fun. Take a look. Here's a tee-shirt with Native American art. Here we have a book and believe it or not trading cards on skulls, a little astronomer's pointer and key chain. Look at that it blinks.

And take a look at this guy -- T. rex. Sounds like Frankenstein. I think I saw his movie.

Well, what about gadgets? Our techno whiz kid at heart, Daniel Sieberg, has some ideas about that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Today children often understand more about technology than their parents do and toymakers know it. Tech goodies and gadgets aimed at preteens are becoming more popular every holiday season.

With digital cameras and camcorders becoming must have items for parents, Digital Blue has released the digital movie creator for the kids. This movie making gizmo is for ages seven and up and it allows young Spielbergs to download film clips and pictures. They can then edit, add narration, special effects and music to their creation.

The quality won't match dad's machine but it's a great start for any aspiring director to be.

Remember Sony's Ibo? Well, it seems that the robot dog with an attitude has inspired mini me versions of himself. Sony has a new line of voice recognition command creatures called micro pets. These lovable miniature animals beep, cheep and scoot to your every command.

Marshy (ph) and his friends even got upset when we ignored them -- something Sony hopes children of all ages won't do.

The remote controlled car has long been a favorite gadget for the whole family. And this year Kio (ph) has released old reliable with a new twist.

The Egg Runner (ph) is fast, durable and can even run upside down.

The oversized wheels allow it to fly over just about everything and its nine way steering system makes for a wild ride.

In the same RC line it's a very James Bond Edge Hovercraft. It runs on a pocket of air and moves surprisingly fast over ice and land. And -- yes -- it can go over water as well.

Kio (ph) recommends children eight and up use these vehicles with adult supervision.

No matter what hot holiday item parents may be looking for this Christmas season one thing is certain -- there will be no shortage of techno gizmo options for the kids.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: A holiday tradition is on hold because of concerns about a disease that's killing deer in the Midwest.

An Oregon ranch that provides reindeer for holiday displays had no trouble delivering Donner and Blitzen here to a mall outside Portland but the ranchers say dozens of states have banned the reindeer shows because of fears of Chronic Wasting Disease.

The disease related to Mad Cow Disease has infected dozens of deer in Wisconsin so reindeer business is down 90 percent from last year.

Until there's a test that can spot CWD in living animals it appears most of Donner and Blitzen's friends won't be playing in any reindeer games. Some trees have what it takes to make a good Christmas tree and some don't. Plant scientists in Washington state are using cloning to develop trees that will keep their needles on their branches and off your living room floor.

Environmental reporter Scott Miller from our affiliate KING-TV has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MILLER, KING-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On this one test plot in Washington state, Christmas trees grow from all over the world.

GARY CHASTAGNER, WSHINGTON STATE UNIV.: These are all Norman fir. Native to parts of the Republic of Georgia and Turkey.

MILLER: Gary Chastagner knows them all. Knows that some of these trees will make great holiday specimens, and some will lose their needles in a matter of days. To find out which is which, Chastagner takes clippings from each tree and hangs them in a heated warehouse.

CHASTAGNER: By using these detached branches, we can actually predict what this tree would do if it had been cut and used as a Christmas tree.

MILLER: The reason? Chastagner has discovered that needle loss is a genetic trait. Some trees are predetermined to be needle shedders.

CHASTAGNER: So this is seven days. After harvest.

MILLER: And some just have what it takes to make it through the new year.

CHASTAGNER: This branch is off of a different tree. Same species.

MILLER: Growers want only trees like this one, and they can have them, by grafting desirable branches onto seedlings, creating clones, shed-proof fir after shed-proof fir.

CHASTAGNER: So we're duplicating this exact same tree by a more traditional aspect of cloning.

MILLER (on camera): Seedlings from clones like these are currently being grown in Pacific Northwest nurseries. But the trees won't be ready for market for another seven years or so. In the meantime, you can still prevent needle loss the old fashioned way -- by giving your Christmas tree plenty of water.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: Chopping down your own Christmas tree can be a family excursion straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. But as Kimberly Osias reports, it can also be a chance to do a little good for the environment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They drive in empty handed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We try to pick ones that are pretty small and that are pretty tall, too.

JIM THINNES, U.S. FORESTRY SERVICE: This is obviously a great opportunity for people to have a great time cutting trees and having a family affair.

OSIAS: For $10 a Colorado permit will enable about 7,000 folks to search high ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Angie, there's one over here that looks nice.

OSIAS: ... and low ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy, wait up.

OSIAS: ... for that perfect piece of holiday magic with a bonus.

There's an environmental benefit to the program as well. Most forests are dense with young trees like this one that have branches that are low and close to the ground. They can catch fire easily and spread quickly.

THINNES: By reducing the -- what we call the ladder fuels which are the small trees that can contribute to ground fires -- thinning out the forests a little bit will help these bigger trees have a little less competition and also reduce the likelihood of these ground fires a little bit.

OSIAS: Fire is still fresh on the minds of many across the country. Just last summer fires ripped through hundreds of thousands of acres charring land not easily restored.

THINNES: When the fire burns through the recovery is a lot slower because the trees are all being killed.

OSIAS: So the yuletide ritual of taking home a tree ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just bend them under.

OSIAS: ... takes on a different tone as families saw it down, tie it up and drive off with a load that makes a difference to Mother Nature.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: In Tacoma, Washington a different kind of environmentally friendly Christmas tree -- well, the owner calls it a tree but obviously it's really a solar array. Richard Thompson says the 600 light-emitting diodes on his so- called tree use seven watts of electricity, a tiny fraction of what it takes to power the lights on a traditional tree like the one across the street.

And even if it ran 24/7 it would cost a fraction of a cent per day. Kind of hard to hang ornaments on solar panels though.

ANNOUNCER: Coming up in our next half hour a new report details the illegal and horrifying trade in bear products. Also, low cost ways to get more out of your aging computer.

First, we'll take a break and get an update from the CNN newsroom. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

HATTORI: Welcome back to NEXT@CNN. I'm James Hattori, this week from The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Activists have launched a new campaign to stop the practice of bear bile farming. That's where bears are kept in small cages and slowly drained of bile fluid. They've issued a report that says the international trade in this and other bear products could threaten the survival of wild bears worldwide.

Gary Strieker has more in a report that some viewers may find disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY STRIEKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The international market for bear products is fueled by the expansion of bear farming in China -- confining wild bears in small cages draining their bile fluids through open wounds this according to a recent global investigation by the London-based World Society for the Protection of Animals.

VICTOR WATKINS, WORLD SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF ANIMALS: This report shows that China is illegally exporting vast amounts of bear bile products around the world.

STRIEKER: In a three year study in Asia and North America investigators discovered bear products are still sold openly in most shops and pharmacies dealing in traditional Chinese medicine even in the United States and Canada.

According to the report international trade in bear products exceeds $100 million a year even though the trade violates not only the laws of most countries but also an international treaty on trade in endangered species.

The major product in the trade is bear bile from the animal's gal bladder. Bile is a traditional remedy for stomach ailments and other disorders much of it now coming from some 200 bear farms in China.

Investigators say more than 9,000 bears are kept on the farms in conditions like this.

WATKINS: Generally the bears are very agitated. They'll be banging their heads on the bars. They can be shuffling around. They can be moaning. They can be in pain. It's really a hell for these wild animals.

STRIEKER: Most bear bile from the farms is consumed inside China but much of it is exported and heavily marketed, critics say, creating more demand for bear products and more incentives for hunters everywhere to kill wild bears for their gal bladders.

WATKINS: Just a few days ago we heard that the customs authorities in Canada had seized 250 gal bladders from native bears that were about to be exported to Asian consumers.

STRIEKER: China's government says it is improving animal welfare on bear farms and claims it does not allow any exports of bear products. But investigators say there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary and that a growing market for bear products including new ones like bear shampoo and bear wine will cause even more suffering for thousands of captive bears and a doubtful future for those in the wild.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Coming up -- ways to teach an old computer new tricks -- that and more as NEXT@CNN continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HATTORI: Being somebody else -- that's exactly what you do when you play the Sims Online -- the Web version of the wildly popular computer game that let's you create and control simulated people. The game goes live next week.

Daniel Sieberg and Ann Kellan give us a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLAN: Did you know that Sims is the number one and most popular PC game of all time? Now it's going online and it adds a whole new dimension to the game, right, Daniel?

SIEBERG: That's right. And it's going to add the idea of communicating or community with all of these virtual characters.

Sims has been around for a couple of years but on December 17 you can actually go live and interact with all of these characters.

Now this is how you get started. You create your own virtual character. There's a screen here that allows you to choose from different faces, different body types, skin types and different outfits and try and individualize it as much as you can. And you're launched into this world -- this virtual world, massive world. You choose your property where you want to try and build your house and acquire as many possessions as you can. You're trying to be as successful in the game and you're trying to recreate life in this game as best you can.

KELLAN: So you have to do mundane kinds of things?

SIEBERG: Yeah. There are a lot of mundane tasks that you have to do to try and recreate everything that you're doing in life.

And, speaking of which, we've got our own Scott Thomas, who's actually in the game right now. And it looks like you're hanging out at a pool party, Scott. Is that right?

SCOTT THOMAS: That's right -- that's right. We're socializing by the pool. There's a few people in the pool right now catching some rays while I'm over here chatting with e-mail on the side of the pool.

KELLAN: Oh, you are, are you?

THOMAS: Correct.

KELLAN: And that would be a real female?

THOMAS: I'm hoping so. But you can portray yourself however you want to in the game and you just take their word for it.

KELLAN: So every one of those people are different people in real life?

THOMAS: That's correct -- that's correct. They're exactly looking at the same screen as me and they can do anything sociably to me as I can do to them such as giving a high five or a hug to somebody else.

KELLAN: Or dancing a little?

SIEBERG: Or flirting a little, too. And that's definitely part of this game is the romance and the chat rooms where you can go in and interact with all of the people, right?

THOMAS: Correct. This game caters towards online chatting and being social and that's what all of these expressions are about and the individuality.

KELLAN: Do you choose a career and live a life?

THOMAS: Yeah. You can study different skills that would help you do your career, such as mechanical that would help you repair someone's refrigerator even. So you can further yourself very far in the game.

SIEBERG: And it's important to work together. The idea of community is important no only because you can chat with everybody but because it allows you to be more successful. You can share resources, share your skills and therefore acquire more Simolians, which is the currency in the Sims game.

KELLAN: So that's the idea -- is to get to know each other?

SIEBERG: Right. As you pointed out, there are some mundane tasks that you have to do. Aside from getting to know everybody you can live out your life but you do have to keep track of your character, take care of them. They've got their hygiene that you have to worry about, going to the bathroom, making sure they maybe get a job, trying to keep them happy on a number of different levels socially as well as physically making sure that they're OK.

It's -- your character could potentially die if you don't look after them so it's important to make sure you do that.

KELLAN: You don't want to yourself off from the game.

SIEBERG: That's right because you could potentially

KELLAN: I wouldn't think that would be a good idea.

SIEBERG: That's right.

KELLAN: That's interesting.

THOMAS: Yeah.

KELLAN: So how do you join in? What does it take?

THOMAS: When you join in you pay the $50 to actually buy the game for your PC then it's $10 a month as a subscription fee.

Online games and multi-player and massive games like this like EverQuest have been around for awhile but this one you're actually seeing what looks like a person and trying to recreate this life online.

KELLAN: So, Scott, are you sitting there flirting with that woman?

THOMAS: Yes, I am.

KELLAN: OK. Well, we'll leave you to that. Have a good time.

THOMAS: Thank you.

KELLAN: Maybe we'll see you online.

THOMAS: Hopefully.

KELLAN: OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: Turning now from an upgrade for your computer game to an upgrade for your computer itself.

Ann Kellan is back now. This time with Personal Technology Expert Mark Saltzman to find out how to spruce up your system without buying a whole new unit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLAN: Accessorize or just replace the old computer altogether? Mark is here to help us answer that question.

MARK SALTZMAN, PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY EXPERT: It's a tough one.

KELLAN: It is a tough one especially when I'm looking at this beautiful computer.

SALTZMAN: It is, isn't it? Yeah.

KELLAN: Yes.

SALTZMAN: Well, if you do have deep pockets -- about two grand to be exact not including the monitor -- there's a new computer by HP called the Media Center edition.

As the name suggests, it allows you to combine the best elements of TV, music, movies and pictures all in one device. And, of course, it's a computer, too.

And, as you can see, it looks like a TV menu that you can scroll up and down. You cannot only watch TV -- and you can also download updated "TV Guides" off of the Net -- but you can also record it.

So it acts like -- it will be called PVR -- personal video recorder.

KELLAN: For TiVo, right?

SALTZMAN: For TiVo -- right. You can pause live TV. You can skip forward through commercials -- things like that.

KELLAN: So if I can't afford that, let's talk about accessorizing the old computer, OK?

SALTZMAN: Good point. Yeah -- breathing some new life into your aging desktop environment.

KELLAN: Yeah.

SALTZMAN: Absolutely. Let's start with mice and keyboards. Of course, that's the cornerstone of every PC.

We've got two new trends -- one is that manufacturers like Logitech and Microsoft and bundling mice and keyboards together. So it's value priced and wireless.

This is actually a sleek little keyboard from Logitech. Their prices range from $60 to $100. This is 80. And what I like here are these hot buttons that go right to your favorite programs or Web sites like your favorite home page, for example, or instant messaging all at one touch.

KELLAN: And this is Bluetooth?

SALTZMAN: That's right. This is Microsoft's first Bluetooth solution. This is even faster, more secure and broader high speed transfer. This is a trend that they predict will be popular.

Again, it means to eliminate all of the cables and cords in the home. It retails for 160 but it's future compatible. You can add other devices to the back of the PC as well. So a good solution.

KELLAN: Wireless is in.

SALTZMAN: Yeah -- wireless is in.

KELLAN: What is this?

SALTZMAN: This is a great space saver. This is the Lexmark X75 printer, scanner and fax machine all in one. And for 150 bucks it's very reasonable.

And often with technology when a product tries to do too much it doesn't do any of them very well. That's not the case. The color printer works great. Fax machine and scanner does 8 1/2 by 11 pictures -- pages.

KELLAN: What are all of these speakers?

SALTZMAN: OK -- if you're a hard core gamer or if you're a movie fan and you like to watch DVDs on your PC. You have to have the right speaker set-up.

This is Creative Labs new Inspire 6.1 solution. We've all heard of 5.1 surround sound where five different things are coming out of each speaker -- point one being the sub woofer. This is 6.1.

But, of course, you need a sound card that can split that signal into 6.1 channels. And you've got to buy DVD movies that have 6.1.

KELLAN: That's one other problem, right?

KELLAN: Yeah -- exactly.

Now this is the sound card -- this is an example of the sound card that can split it into 6.1. It's actually the only one on the market right now. Also from Creative Labs -- it's called the Audigy 2. It retails for 130 to 160. The speakers are 130 as well, by the way.

KELLAN: What is this?

SALTZMAN: Last but not least, Web cams are very popular -- the ability to chat online with other people and see them and hear them with video, not just still pictures or with text.

But what's neat about his particular model -- this is the new Creative Labs Web cam -- is that it's actually a digital camera as well. It is a 2.1 mega pixel camera so you can use it as a Webcam or you can it off its bay and take it with you to go.

It's got internally 16 megs of information about 200 medium quality pictures or a dozen or so high quality pictures. And then when you put it back on the bay it transfers the images back to the computer.

So very good for 130 -- very reasonably priced.

KELLAN: Well, we have a lot of accessories to choose from.

SALTZMAN: Yeah -- absolutely.

KELLAN: Thank you very much.

SALTZMAN: Thanks, Ann.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Coming up -- some very intimate jewelry. If you thought wearing someone's class ring was intimate wait until you find out what's inside this file.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HATTORI: DNA has been used to convict criminals and to free people who were wrongly convicted.

Now it has a new use in an invention that's proving it can be a commercial success. Kristie Lu Stout reports from Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Time for that mad dash for the holiday season's presents and if you're looking for something different consider a vile of genuine reindeer DNA.

Created by Hong Kong's DNA Technologies, the necklace retails for around $60 -- the price to wear a blob of crystallized genetic code.

ELAINE YOUNG, PRODUCT DIRECTOR, DNA TECH: It's a little piece of magic really. DNA -- you combine the real, tangible world with the fictional sense of Christmas and sense of giving and magic.

STOUT: Young designed the pendant -- a tiny tube of DNA extracted from the blood of an adult Finish deer. Not an item on everyone's wish list but the interest is out there.

YOUNG: People are excited. They don't really know what to think about it. But everyone is looking at it with a sly eye and wondering what's going on. STOUT: And for that truly one-off gift, why not give your own DNA? In fact, your genetic code can be turned into one very personalized pendant.

ALBERT YU, CEO, DNA TECH: This is your treasure -- your secret code of life. If you give your own DNA in a pendant to your loved one I think it means so much. It's even better than a diamond, don't you think so?

STOUT: Use of the venture is just a sideline to the company's main business -- testing for chicken flu strains. But does dabbling in jewelry belittle the hard science of biotech? Perhaps not if you can inspire little scientists.

YU: So if some child -- they get a DNA pendant I'm pretty sure he will start to look at what is DNA, what is science and why it is so interesting.

STOUT: To order your own coded jewelry, simply take a saliva swab from your mouth and post it to the company lab. Custom jewelry for around $100.

DNA Technologies says it has sold a few thousand viles already and it is ready to take on a wider range of trinkets.

YOUNG: We're hoping to get into rings, get into necklaces, bracelets -- a whole line of DNA- inspired jewelry. So there is more on the way.

STOUT: Like the upcoming Valentine's Day line up -- a chance to swab a bit of yourself for your sweetheart.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Just ahead -- what the heck is that thing? A fascinating invention or a flakey traffic hazard or both? You can decide when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HATTORI: Make no bones about it -- we're always bringing you stories about the latest electronic gadgets but sometimes we like to focus on a different kind of creativity.

The inventor in our next story used the laws of physics to come up with a vehicle that you may consider brilliant or bizarre. Of course, our Jeanne Moos tracked him down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A strange contraption has been stopping at Woodstock. Dogs bark, drivers do double takes. This thing puts a rickshaw to shame and it doesn't settle for a mere two syllable name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a skedaddle.. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Skedaddlehopper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Skedaddle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I skedaddle I get a hop and when I hop I skedaddle.

MOOS: Instead of just trudging Darin Selby goes airborne using the counterweight of passengers or rocks in the middle wheels to create a rolling lever. He can easily take off for four or five seconds -- a step he describes as moon walking.

And like an astronaut on the moon sometimes it feels like Darin's from another planet.

DARIN SELBY, SKEDADDLEHOPPER INVENTOR: Next stop -- hyper space.

MOOS: A slower, gentler planet.

Darin has been building skedaddle hoppers and giving tourists rides in them.

SELBY: Did you want the mild or the wild ride?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The wild ride.

MOOS: Actually it's like riding in a rocking sleigh.

But it doesn't make you tired.

SELBY: No.

MOOS: But it sure made me tired.

Do I look as funny as I feel?

SELBY: It's amazing -- a lady her size -- once she gets ...

MOOS: What size is that?

SELBY: Well, you're what -- about 120 pounds ...

MOOS: Yeah.

SELBY: ... or thereabouts.

MOOS: In my dreams.

SELBY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) hundreds of pounds.

MOOS: Darin says he's inspired by Dr. Seuss and his contraptions.

DR. SEUSS: No more rainbows for us to chase.

MOOS: The rainbow Darin is chasing is to bring back human power. SELBY: Do you live in this town?

MOOS: Yeah -- the skedaddle hopper is home. At night Darin pulls a tarp over it and beds down.

SELBY: This is how I always sleep.

MOOS: The folks at Midas Muffler helped him bend the aluminum pipes.

SELBY: They gave it the Midas touch.

MOOS: Darin added motorcycle brakes but for a long time he depended on what he called his Flintstone stoppers as in Fred's feet.

MUSICAL RECORDING: Let's ride with the family down the street ...

Darin was making a couple of hundred bucks a weekend giving rides to tourists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's exotic -- that's for sure.

MOOS: A little too exotic for Woodstock Police. The town may be associated with love and peace but police see the skedaddle hopper as an obstruction to traffic and a safety hazard.

SELBY: Not having insurance and no license. I haven't lost a person yet.

MOOS: That's good news.

Darin has sketches for a new and improved skedaddle hopper.

SELBY: This is the Hemp Mobile.

MOOS: And we have a Hemp canopy and use Hemp oil.

You really are a hippy.

SELBY: Well, you know what hippy stands for, don't you? A highly intelligent person pursuing interesting endeavors.

MOOS: But this endeavor may be too interesting. Police have told Darin to ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Skedaddle.

MOOS: ... stay off of the main roads or he may have to leave Woodstock.

SELBY: I'll be back -- I'll be back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: And we'll be back I think next week -- here's a look at what's coming up. A rival for the Wright brothers. This airship, inspired by a Bible passage, supposedly flew an entire year before Orville and Wilbur went airborne 99 years ago. We'll take you to the scene of this pre-Wright flight.

And a story we tried to bring you before. We'll show you how Red Wolves are making an amazing comeback and it's why it has our Sharon Collins hollowing. That and a lot more coming up on NEXT.

Until then we want to know what you are thinking. Drop us an e- mail. Our address is next@cnn.com.

Thanks so much for joining us this week and thanks to our friends here at The California Academy of Sciences. For all of us on the sci- tech beat, I'm James Hattori. We'll see you next time.

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Popular PC Game Goes Online; Christmas Tree Buyers Help Environment>