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There have been days recently when I would have liked to have been taken out of the present.

Anywhere would have done. Greece 2012. The moon 2034. The entrails of a whale, to chat with Jonah, the eighth century B.C.

Science seems to have been very slow to take us out of our place and time, despite the best efforts of Michael J. Fox.

I can reveal, however, that progress has finally been made. For an Iranian scientist has invented The Aryayek Time-Traveling Machine. Or, at least, he says he has.… Read more

Users working between multiple workstations may need to access the same file from different computers and back up data between them. ChronoSync for Mac is a welcome program for those users and syncs data quickly and securely.

The program offers a free trial version available with a 500-file transfer limit while the full version requires $40 to unlock. The setup of ChronoSync for Mac went smoothly despite requiring acceptance of a lengthy user agreement. Upon first starting the program up, the user can choose to open a complete user manual, which is a welcome addition to this type of program, … Read more

Update 4:57 a.m. PT: We were fooled by April Fools' Day. We have corrected and recast the story accordingly.

Wouldn't it be nice if Apple planned a "bounce back" campaign to win back customers who defected to Windows machines? It would dovetail with the expected reawakening of the company's dormant high-end Mac Pro line -- but the idea is just a joke.

Video producer Lou Borella, the creator of the "We want a new Macpro" Facebook group, had said yesterday -- April Fools' Day -- that Apple itself contacted him about the … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn Google internship trailer debuts

- N.Y. restaurant offers fake "homemade" meal to go for amateur chefs, pre-dirtied cookwear included.

- In high-tech Japan, the fax machines roll on.

- Most definitely the scariest Valentines Day app around.

- Guns in movies: Find your favorites in the Internet Movie Firearms Database.

Bathroom break video: Jackie Chan - "Love Me"… Read more

Griff Tannen was a prototypical bully, he just happened to be in the future so he had advanced bullying tools at his disposal. Those implements included bionic implants and a "Pit Bull" hoverboard, which you can now buy on eBay.

In "Back to the Future Part II," Marty McFly rocked a good-guy hoverboard done up in friendly pink, green, and yellow colors. Griff's hoverboard, though, was the Darth Vader to McFly's Luke Skywalker. It was black and red and spiky all over with what looked like two little booster rockets below.… Read more

2012 was hellish in a lot of ways, but it was a good year for saving money.

Indeed, as any regular reader of The Cheapskate or CNET's Marketplace knows, you could count on finding a good deal -- often a great deal -- pretty much every single day.

Of course, some of the best money-saving advice applies all year round, not just on a particular day. With that in mind, I've rounded up some of my favorite thrifty tips from 2012. (It probably goes without saying that most of them will work just as well in 2013.)

1. Always buy refurbished Apple gear.… Read more

This is heavy: plastic-brick magnate Lego has given the official nod to a fan-built "Back to the Future" DeLorean set, confirming that the nerd-pleasing time machine set will go on sale next year.

The small but perfectly formed toy was chosen to enter the official Lego pantheon after it received more than 10,000 votes on Lego Cuusoo, a Kickstarter-style site where brick-assembling enthusiasts can submit their dream kits to the bigwigs in Denmark.

The final design of the set isn't confirmed yet, as Lego says it's still in talks with Universal over the upcoming product. … Read more

PETALUMA, Calif.--Driving along the back roads of this idyllic, easy-going Northern California town, you'd never know that behind the walls of one of the most unassuming buildings around is perhaps the best collection of geek memorabilia in the world.

Welcome to Rancho Obi-Wan, Steve Sansweet's homage to his life's passion -- "Star Wars," a non-profit museum dedicated to serving "the public through the collection, conservation, exhibition and interpretation of [the films'] memorabilia and artifacts." Formerly Lucasfilm's head of fan relations and a Los Angeles-based reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Sansweet … Read more

In addition to being tucked into a very user-friendly package, this full software suite comes without a price tag. Though many of Ashampoo Burning Studio's features are related, it's still absurd to think about doing this much in one program. Just about anything you could want to do with or to a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray is possible.

Ashampoo Burning Studio welcomed us with a nice interface. Burning, ripping and every other feature this program has to offer are well organized in a helpful menu. Simply choose the feature you want and Ashampoo Burning Studio walks you right … Read more