SRI International, a non-profit research and development firm, has created a robot named the Taurus that can defuse bombs with precision when attached to a larger robot. The remote-controlled Taurus has had so much success that scientists now believe it could have a whole other use as an elderly caregiver.

While the robot certainly wouldn’t compensate for a real-life caregiver, scientists are confident that the extra sets of eyes, hands and ears could increase a senior’s autonomy by as much as a few years. The robot could hypothetically maneuver around the house, watch over an elderly person and even perform menial tasks.

It could do this, scientists explain, because the Taurus’ exact motions can easily be controlled by a loved one or even a surveillance company. If a stove was left on, an individual could command the robot to approach the stove and turn the dial to the “Off” position. These same sets of principals would also allow the Taurus to program a microwave or set a coffee pot.

SRI believes the Taurus could be available in this capacity soon, and will cost between $30,000 and $40,000 a unit.

The Nook Color has figured out who its top fans are: women who read women’s magazines. According to sales figures for both the Nook Color and e-magazines, it appears that consumers who enjoy reading magazines like Cosmopolitan, US Weekly, Women’s Health and Every Day with Rachael Ray, are the top Nook purchasers.

This news is only somewhat predictable. As many people assumed, relatively reasonably priced, easy-to-operate e-readers like the Nook are very popular with females. Whereas high-tech, multi-functional “cool” gadgets like the iPad 2 are more popular with men. These predictions are backed by data from Forrester Research, which shows that 55 percent of e-reader owners are women, while 56 percent of tablet owners are men.

The New York Times points out that Barnes & Noble is specifically marketing the Nook Color to females, as many of the company’s ads feature women lounging around and reading. Even the device’s guided tour, which can be found on the Barnes & Noble website, is led by a woman.

Seniors, what do you think? Are women more likely to buy e-readers while men seek out tablets? Or is this all a bunch of malarkey?

Senior Friendly Features: Easy to Use: 5 out of 5 stars, Easy to Set Up: 5 out of 5 stars Ink Use: 5 out of 5 stars  Size 5 out of 5 stars Print Quality 4.5 out of 5 stars Price 5 out of 5 stars

HP’s Deskjet 1000 printer may be one of the best values on the market.

I recently had a good photo-quality deskjet printer print its last page and go off to its quiet resting place. It was a good printer. Those full-size printers can be pricey, and before I spent time researching and buying my next big printer, I wanted a printer pro tem that would just handle paperwork. Nothing too fancy, just something to hold me over. Even as a photographer, most of the printing I do is paperwork, like letters, invoices, envelopes, etc.

I saw this printer for less than 30 bucks, including ink cartridges, and a few good reviews and thought I’d have nothing to lose in trying it. That turned out to be a really good thing.

Brought it home, opened the box, and followed the simple instructions to insert the two ink cartridges, plug in the power and USB cable (the other end hooked into my MacBook Pro), and inserted the CD with drivers and info. A couple of clicks later, I was ready to print. Running a test print from an email, it worked like a charm. Web pages print well, too.

I printed a photo, not at the photo setting but just at the “Plain Paper – Best” setting, on plain paper and it looks really good. If you get photos of your kids or grandkids and love printing them out, this is going to give you a lot of good prints.

The inks that come with most printers aren’t completely full, but in several weeks of use mine are still going strong. A check via the computer shows that I haven’t really dented them, even the black that I use most for paperwork. Replacement cartridges are $13-18 each for the regular size, and around $28-29 each for the XL versions with double the ink for heavy print needs. The former cost as much as the printer, but they may last longer. No complaints on the amount of ink used.

Overall, a solid printer with good quality printing, low ink use/costs. It’s not an all-in-one, so if you need scanning and faxing capabilities, you will want to look for one of those. This prints a maximum sheet size of 8.5×11. It’s small, light, and even comes with a handy carrying bag if you ever need to take it with you. It’s now down to less than $25 on Amazon.

For more information or to purchase an HP Deskjet 1000 printer, visit Amazon.com.

It seems Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook are locked in a hot competition. Just a day after Barnes & Noble introduced its “simplified” e-reader with new touchscreen technology, Amazon has announced that it will now offer the Kindle 3G with special offers for only $164.

The new Nook with Wifi and 3G is going for $170. This has allowed Amazon to declare that it now offers the lowest-priced 3G e-reader. Amazon’s original Kindle with special offers premiered last month for $114 and quickly became the company’s best-selling model.

And the e-reader war continues…

Senior Friendly Features: Easy to Use: 4.5 out of 5 stars, Features: 5 out of 5 stars Picture Quality 3.5 out of 5 stars  Size 5 out of 5 stars Battery Life 4 out of 5 stars Price 3.5 out of 5 stars

Are you tough on cameras? Or do you like snorkeling with your camera? If you answered yes to either of those questions, the new Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TS3 is worth a serious look.

It’s a rugged camera, withstanding drops of up to 2 meters (military spec), freezing temperatures down to -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), and can be used underwater up to 40 feet deep. The lens itself has its own internal shock-resistance to further protect it in drops. And you want to protect a precision lens designed by Leica. It’s a 28mm wide angle, with a 4.6x optical zoom. That wide end of the lens is great for photographing large groups or dealing with refraction underwater.

A 12.1 megapixel CCD sensor means you can make big prints of your photos. It shoots full 1080p HD video as well. The camera plays well with Panasonic VIERA TVs, either reading the SD/SDHC/SDXC card directly or connecting via HDMI micro cable to the camera itself. The VIERA remote will help you do the rest.

Built-in GPS will geotag your images so you know exactly where they were shot, and the GPS feature will also automatically set the clock to local time, so if you travel you won’t have to worry about the time being right. It has intelligent auto settings, optical image stabilization, and a built-in 3D mode to create 3D images anywhere, any time. The caveat here is that you’re limited to 2 megapixel images.

The back of the camera has a 2.3 inch LCD on the back. That sounds like a small LCD, but it takes up enough of the back to give you a good idea of how small the camera actually is.

The Lumix TS3 is available in silver, orange, red or blue.

For more information or to purchase a Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TS3 digital camera, visit Amazon.com.

Senior Friendly Features: Large LCD Screen: 4 out of 5 stars Battery life: 5 out of 5 stars Light Weight: 5 out of 5 stars Easy to Read Text: [5] Easy to See Controls: 5 out of 5 stars Easy to Use: 4.5 out of 5 stars Easy to Set Up: 5 out of 5 stars Simplicity: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Barnes & Noble has completely redesigned the Nook. The new version is ultra light, at under 8 ounces, and claims a battery life of up to two months. It has the same e-Ink pearl technology that makes it very easy to read, with a 6-inch touch screen display that is very crisp and very easy to read, even in the brightest of sunlight. Page turn times have been minimized and scrolling through pages can be done very quickly.

The new form factor looks easier to hold, with a recessed area on the back side.

There are over 2 million books available for the Nook, many classics are free and there are also newspapers and magazines available. As with the previous Nook, you can make the text easy to read for almost anyone, with a huge range of sizes. There’s a sample of the customizable font sizes here.

The new Nook is $139 for the Wi-Fi version, no news if there will be a 3G version yet. We’re hoping to get our hands on one for a full review. Pre-orders are being accepted now, and the new Nook will ship on June 10, 2011.