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While we were all on the field at ISE 2012, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) was creating a shortlist of acceptable systems designed to help referees make better goal decisions.

No, they did not chose video…but we can say one of the final two systems in the IFAB final draw is GoalRef from the Fraunhofer IIS. It was on display at CeBIT 2012.

The GoalRef system creates a weak magnetic field around the goal. The ball contains compact electronics that indicate whether it has in fact crossed the goal line. If the ball has hit its mark, the system uses radio signals to send an immediate alert to the referee's watch.

You could say it is “timely” technology. But we think the public will not be happy with anything that’s less corruptible than video. Too many charges against refs and other officials these days.

Especially if you listen to Real Madrid…

Go Frauenhfer Ref System

Old rockers never go away quietly. Neil Young applied for six trademarks in USA: Ivanhoe, 21st Century Record Player, Earth Storage, Storage Shed, Thanks for Listening and SQS (Studio Quality Sound).

The filing came with a description of the trademarks: "Online and retail store services featuring music and artistic performances; high resolution music downloadable from the internet; high resolutions discs featuring music and video; audio and video recording storage and playback."

Neil Young wants a hi-res alternative to MP3 music.

You see, Neil Young hates compressed song files available at MP3 stores like iTunes and Amazon. According to Young, a typical download contains only 5% of the data that an original analog recording master offers, and the average studio-quality audio file requires roughly 30 minutes to download because of its uncompressed size.

Commodore International founder Jack Tramiel passed away Sunday April 8 at age 83, Forbes reports.

Tramiel was born in Poland to a a Jewish family in 1928. During WWII his family was imprisoned in Auschwitz, after which he and his father were sent to a German labour camp.

He emigrated to the US in 1947 where he started a typewriter repair business, Commodore Portable Typewriter. The company evolved throughout the years, replacing typewriters with digital calculators and home computers.

In 1982 Commodore International launched the iconic Commodore 64, dominating the 1980s PC market with aggressive business pracises and price cuts-- making computing affordable for the masses.

After being forced to leave Commodore in 1984, Tramiel bought the Atari Consumer Division-- forming the Atari Corporation and overseeing the development of the Atari 2600jr, Atari 7800, Atari Lynx and the Jaguar.

Surviving Tramiel are his wife Helen and their 3 sons, Gary, Sam and Leonard.

Go Computer Legend and Gaming Pioneer Jack Tramiel Dies at Age 83 (Forbes)

Toshiba expands the Excite tablet family with 3 models in different sizes-- including the Excite 13, probably the biggest tablet in the world.

The Excite 13 has a massive 13.3" display, nearly twice the size of the smallest new Excite model, the Excite 7.7 (7.7"). Completing the tablet trio is the Excite 10, with a 10.1" display.

All 3 tablets have similar specifications-- Nvidia Tegra 3 processors, Gorilla Glass displays, 5MP back-facing cameras, stereo speakers with Toshiba and SRS Labs sound enchancement and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) as OS of choice.

Connectivity comes through wifi and Bluetooth.

The tablets handle different resolutions-- the Excite 13 has a 1600x900 "AutoBrite LED backlit" display and the Excite 10 display handles resolutions of up to 1280x800.

Meanwhile the Excite 7.7 is the first Toshiba tablet with an AMOLED display.

According to Toshiba, "one size does not fit all." Will customers prove such a philosophy right? We will know once the 3 tablets launch on Q2 2012.

Go Toshiba Set to Excite Tablet Market With New Tablets