How it works is pretty amazing. You enter a name, address, and size of the virtual “fence” you want to create in the command center. Any time your pet leaves this virtual fence, you will be notified.

Traveling? No problem. You can redefine the virtual fence at any time.

At $349, it’s not cheap, but this is one smart gadget!

By producing miniature electric and computer systems, via nanotechnology, smaller electronic gadgets become economically viable.  Gadgets become smaller and lighter, may need to use less battery power, and can have increased functionality for less money.

Using nanocrystals, batteries could be fully charged in only six minutes.  Socks utilizing nanoparticles eliminate bacteria and foot order.  The list of possibilties for using this technology to create new or better gadgets is almost endless.

Nanotechnology can also be used in medical fields as well.  For example, drugs using nanotechnology, can speed the delivery time throughout the body from three hours to 20 minutes.  Or perhaps microscopic implants will travel through arteries to detect illnesses and fight disease.

There are many who oppose nanotechnology, fearing nanobots will self-replicate and take over the world, or may be used as the newest form of global weaponry.  Obviously, as with all new technology and medical advancements, care must be taken to use the technology responsibly.  Nanotechnology, however, holds huge potential for changing our lives and our products in ways that are still hard to even imagine.

You can buy a backyard telescope loaded with global position satellite (GPS) technology so it can point out which stars you’re viewing. At one university, each parking meter has a chip and antenna so you can call it with your cellphone and buy more time.

And then there are the touch-screen sewing machines that can download images to embroider, gas station pumps that run Microsoft Windows, and shipping crates that can call their owners for help if they’re lost.

Another appliance maker, Salton, has introduced the Beyond Microwave. When you need to heat packaged food, swipe the bar code past the microwave’s reader. Stored inside are 4,000 settings for different products. A wireless Internet connection allows the microwave to download new ones all the time. Salton’s microwave reads the bar code, sets the right time and power level, and all you do is push start.

Maya Design is bringing out a layer of technology it calls Home Heartbeat. It connects sensors on washing machines, microwaves, doors and other fixtures in a house. The system, in turn, can generate text messages that can be sent to a cellphone. So a homeowner can program the system to tell her every time the front door opens and the TV turns on ‘ a good sign the kids arrived home from school.

These are just a few of the many ways that our lives are going to be changed dramatically by smart devices and interconnected technology. SmarterGadgets.com aims to keep you in the loop so that you don’t miss out on any of the smart gadgets that become available.