As a gamer for many years, I’ve had to kill monsters, demons, mutants, Sith and other virtual targets. But until now, I’ve never had to kill baby seals.

Blame the new video game, “Overlord II,” which lets you become an evil ruler who is bent on taking over the world from the Empire (think Romans). When I started, I was a minor overlord with limited abilities and minions. To increase my strengths and horde of followers, I had to gather Life Force, which is released by baby seals as they die.

So I ordered my minions – small, goblin-like creatures that obey your every command — to club the cute, wide-eyed seal pups.

My initial thought was, ‘Oh my God, I’m killing baby seals.’ But after the initial shock, the attacks on the baby seals almost become amusing. The slaughter is not bloody or gory and is obviously conceived with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

I have to say, the minions are quite good at this task. They believe they are getting revenge for the fish the seals eat, which adds to the humor factor.

You might expect PETA or other animal-rights groups to be all riled up about this feature, which was not present in the first “Overlord” game. (Triumph Studios developed “Overlord II,” which is rated T — meaning acceptable for teens.) Yet there’s been hardly a peep online about the “mistreatment” of the seals.

I’m still early in the game, and I’m very curious to see if “Overlord II’s” designers ramp up the “killing cute creatures” factor as I progress. Is that a litter of kittens I see on the horizon?

-- Larry Frum

For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, Best Buy will sell you a 1.60GHz Atom-powered netbook from Compaq. The catch, and it’s a big one, is that you must sign a two-year EV-DO data service agreement with Sprint.

The practice of subsidizing mobile phones with service contracts is quite popular, but this is the first time I have seen a netbook sold in this fashion.

According to Sprint’s Web site, 3G mobile data plans start at $59.99/month. So over two years, that $1 netbook would actually set you back nearly $1,440.

Tom’s Hardware notes the Compaq 110c-1040DX netbook retails for $389.99 without any additional features, and admits the “$1,440 bill may sound a bit hefty,” but contends “consumers looking for new hardware and mobile Internet service may find a great value here.”

How do you feel about the hardware-and-wireless-service bundles that dominate the cell phone market coming to portable computers?

Personally, signing a two-year contract for a netbook sounds about as appealing as mayonnaise left in the sun…but maybe that’s just my fear of commitment.

The world of Web browsers — those programs that determine how you experience the Internet — is expanding to include tools for certain subsets of people.

Now there are browsers designed for specific demographics like children, autistic people and online social media users.

The kids’ browsers help youngsters stay away from the darker corner of the Internet. They also can be set to limit a child’s time online — a tool that might help some adults, too.

Here are a few to check out: Buddy Browser, Kid Rocket and KidZui.

Also check out this parents’ guide to Internet safety, from NPR.

ZAC Browser is designed to help austistic people surf the Web more intuitively. It’s visual instead of text based and tries to eliminate computer functions and visuals that an autistic person might find distracting.

And Flock, a browser built on Mozilla Firefox technology, is designed to help social media users get more out of the Internet. A new version beefs up the browser’s compatability with Twitter and Facebook, VentureBeat says. Both of those social-networking sites live in a sidebar on the browser.

What do you think of these new ideas for browsers? Know any targeted browsers I’ve missed?

Well this is it: The last day of this week’s Tech Torture with Topher.

I spent a hellish week without my smartphone, but I’m about to get it back in my hands again. Not a moment too soon.

Here’s what I’ve learned this week: I am fully addicted to being connected at all times. I like the fact that between computers and my iPhone I can get online at almost any time of day and get information or have a conversation.

Thanks to everyone who commented and Twittered me about this. Part of the reason I do this monthly video blog series to get feedback and start conversations with you, our audience. But, to answer one disappointed commenter — no, I am not Topher Grace.

I’m looking for ideas for the next Tech Torture with Topher in August, so if you have any suggestions, drop them in the comments or head over to Twitter and message me there.

Thanks again! From me and Darth — see you next time.

Other post in this series:

Tech Torture with Topher: Bye-bye smartphone
Tech Torture with Topher: I want my smartphone back!!
Tech Torture with Topher: I want my Phone Back

Have you owned every version of the iPhone? Can you rattle off specs for the Palm Pre and the Kindle?

Well, gadgetheads, this post is for you.

A number of new gadget-related Web sites are popping up. Here are some I find interesting. But I’m not the biggest gear junkie, so please let me know what I’ve missed. I’ll check the comments and repost the best of the best.

GDGT: This new site, from the makers of Gizmodo and Engadget, takes a social approach to gadget reporting. It launched Wednesday, according to The New York Times, and lets users create profiles and share their thoughts on new computers, phones, etc. Seems like a good idea to me. The best techies are happy to share their expertise.

Hunch: The decision-making site from a Flickr founder is surprisingly good at helping users choose gadgets that will work for them. Perhaps not as up-to-date as the gadget blogs, but it beats them hands down in its simplicity. Users answer questions and Hunch’s computers — and user input — spit out logical answers. Check out the computers/Internet and electronics sections. (Hunch just told me with 80 percent confidence that I need a new iPhone … we’ll see.)

These aren’t necessarily new, but here are a few other gadgety sites worth your time:

BoingBoing: A slightly artsy and off-beat take on gadgetry

GeekSugar: Offers a light take on tech news and aims to appeal to women

ArsTechnica: This respected tech blog has a good gadget section that’s readable (even if you don’t speak PHP) but still techie

CNET’s Crave: The trusted geeks of CNET post gadget updates here (full disclosure: CNET is a CNN.com partner site)

Wired’s GadgetLab: From phones to bicycles, a fresh look at gadgets with a wide lens (Wired.com also is a CNN.com partner)

GadgetWise: The NYT’s answer to Gizmodo and Engadget; good for general audiences

Consumer Reports: The Web’s bread and butter for reviews has an electronics section

Hello all,

It’s Day 3 with no smartphone and, wow, this sucks.

I feel disconnected, and not part of the collective online world. I know — lame, right?

I keep having the feeling I am one or two steps behind in my work because of my lack of connectivity. I know this is crazy, because I added it up and between my home and office computers I’m very close to being as connected as I was when I had my iPhone. But it still feels like I am missing things.

I took my laptop to my meeting yesterday and found myself more distracted than if I had my smartphone. Because I had a full screen in front of me, I was peeking and reading in ways that I would have never done with just my iPhone in my pocket.

I got some great comments on yesterday’s post, including one from Josh that I talked about in this video that I think you all will like once you watch.

Thanks for watching and keep the comments coming! It’s the only way to keep this conversation going, and it always raises new and exciting discussions I never would have thought of.

Here’s a question I asked in the video: What is the one piece of technology you own that you could not live without?

Please take a minute and drop a response. And jump on over to Twitter to join in that conversation.

Other post in this series:

Tech Torture with Topher: Bye-bye smartphone
Tech Torture with Topher: I want my smartphone back!!
Tech Torture with Topher: My Phone’s Back and all’s Right With the World

Mozilla released its latest version of Firefox, the world’s second-most-popular Web browser, on Tuesday. Available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux in more than 70 languages, Firefox 3.5 is the browser’s first major upgrade since the launch of Firefox 3 in June 2008.

Firefox 3.5 claims to be more than twice as fast as Firefox 3 and has a host of new features,
including a private browsing mode, customized downloadable fonts, the ability to show video built into Web pages without plug-ins, and geolocation technology that lets Web sites know where you are.

Early reviews have been positive. Slate’s Farhad Manjoo tested a pre-release version and found it “hard to beat.” An excerpt:

Though I can’t call it the world’s fastest browser—Chrome and Safari are just as fast—the new Firefox is no longer a lumbering beast. It launches quickly, fires up complex sites like Gmail and Google Maps without any hiccups, and runs tons of open tabs without crashing (an ever-present possibility in earlier versions).

And ComputerWorld’s Preston Gralla says:

The just-released version 3.5 of Firefox is a winner, offering significantly faster Web browsing, better tab handling, a host of interface tweaks and, like just about every other browser on the planet, a “porn mode.” If you already use Firefox you’ll want to upgrade right away. If you’re not a Firefox user, this version represents a very good opportunity to give the browser a test run.

In his review, CNET’s Seth Rosenblatt is a little more cautious in his praise:

It is by no means the leap ahead that its predecessor Firefox 3 was, and it’s clear that the competition isn’t going away anytime soon.

How about you new Firefox 3.5 users out there? Anyone want to weigh in?

Tiny contributions from many people can amount to something cool in the aggregate.

That’s the idea behind many Internet success stories — Flickr, Wikipedia, etc. — and also seems to be the philosophy driving a new UK science project to monitor air pollution.

Scientists have given out small pollution sensors to 100 commuters, cyclists and pedestrians, the BBC reports. Those sensors will help scientists get a real-time picture of air quality.

Here’s what Neil Hoose, coordinator of the project, told the BBC:

Each sensor has a satellite positioning system, so we could have a bus create a map of the air pollution as it drives along its route. This data could be used to provide people with local information – perhaps advice for those with respiratory problems about their journey to work.

In a wider sense, it could also be used by traffic managers, helping them decide how to phase traffic lights in a way that might reduce traffic pollution.

It’s a new twist on the idea of “citizen science,” which I wrote about for CNN.com. As funding for scientific research gets tight, scientists are turning to everyday people for help in collecting basic data. The Internet has given the idea momentum, as it makes it easy for people with common hobbies and research interests to link up.

Also see this previous SciTech blog post with a list of citizen science projects — some of them submitted by readers.

CNN’s Doug Hyde has the lowdown on the latest video game releases, including “Harry Potter” and “Call of Juarez” in this week’s Gameplay:

Hey everyone!

So here we are in Day 2 of this week’s Tech Torture with Topher. This week, I’m giving up my iPhone to see how hard it is to live without constant Web and e-mail connectivity. After one day, I have one thing to say:

I WANT MY PHONE BACK!

OK, I feel better now.

Already this morning I had a real problem because I didn’t have my smartphone.

When I got to work I went straight to my first scheduled meeting instead of going to my desk. I sat in the conference room, alone, for about 10 minutes until a very nice person walked in and told me the meeting location had been moved. They had sent an e-mail while I was on my way to work in my car. Without my iPhone, I had no way of getting it. Oops.

My first post on this topic Monday has already attracted a lot of great comments. I want to quickly touch on some audience questions.

Yes, believe it or not, part of my job involves the use of Facebook, Twitter and AIM. I know, tough work if you can get it.

I’m also getting a lot of people saying that they refuse to get a smartphone for their job and how freeing that is to them. My response: If you have a job where your boss doesn’t make you have a smartphone so that you can be reachable at all times, I say, ROCK ON!! But I do not. I work in a 24/7 news industry, and my bosses need to communicate with me via e-mail all the time. Lucky me.

Keep the comments going and hop on over to Twitter if you want to join the conversation there.

Other post in this series:

Tech Torture with Topher: Bye-bye smartphone
Tech Torture with Topher: I want my smartphone back!!
Tech Torture with Topher: I want my Phone Back
Tech Torture with Topher: My Phone’s Back and all’s Right With the World