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Editor's Note: Author Rusel DeMaria recently turned to Kickstarter to fund the third edition of his book, High Score: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games. Here, we turn to him as co-author of The Crowdfunding Bible for tips on how geeks without funding from Silicon Valley can make their dreams come true through crowdfunding.

"Simply put, crowdfunding is the process of asking the general public for donations that
provide startup capital for new ventures." — The Crowdfunding Bible

Speaking as a grateful recipient of crowdfunding and contributing author of "The Crowdfunding Bible," I want to speak to you directly. My name is Rusel DeMaria. I had an idea. I needed money. I turned to Kickstarter and I got the money I needed and more. How did I do it?

I'll offer some hints on how I did it, but first, let's talk about you. What's your idea? Do you have a product, invention, event or vision you want to realize, and all you need is money to make it so?

If your answer is no, read on anyway. You might get inspired to change your answer.

It's no secret that science fiction stories have sparked imaginations throughout history. In fact, many of the technologies we currently possess originally started as concepts in sci-fi. From such common things that we take for granted — like cellphones —  to more complex technologies such as computer viruses and geostationary satellites, sci-fi still continues to provide us a map for future tech.

Here is a list of 10 current technologies that were originally inspired by science fiction. Have a favorited sci-fi-derived gadget or gizmo you don't see on this list? Tell us about it in the comments!

The Pebble smart watch epitomizes the crowd-funding success story. After the creators raised $375,000 from angel investors, the flow of money came to a halt, with venture capitalists wary of financing a hardware startup.

That's when the team — the same guys behind the Blackberry-compatible InPulse smart watch — decided to turn to Kickstarter for funding. Their goal was ambitious: $100,000 to produce a slick smart watch compatible with iPhone and Android devices.

An elegant watch face, integration with email and social networks, fitness tracking features and an open SDK inviting new apps appealed to the crowd. A little after the first day, the project reached its goal and then some, raising $1 million. Thus far at over $7.5 million (and counting), it is the highest-grossing Kickstarter project ever.

Users have put their faith backing numerous useful, innovative and quirky projects since Kickstarter's founding three years ago. That's saying a lot because there's no such thing as a guarantee on the crowd-funding website. We've rounded up 10 well-designed Kickstarter blockbusters that far exceeded their funding goals. Got a favorite Kickstarter success story of your own and don't see it here? Let us know in the comments below.

Matt Novak, who chronicles the bright future that never was over at his blog Paleofuture, has picked apart an article published in 1952 that carried the title "Cheer Up! World Will Be Wonderful Fifty Years From Now!"

Written by Henry C. Nicholas for Greenville, Mississippi's Delta Democrat-Times, the article polls intellectuals of every stripe, including Wernher von Braun, the Nazi rocket scientist who went on to become one the most important researchers in American rocketry.

As one would expect, time has rendered some of the predictions here absolutely crazy (and I say that with love), but there are quite a few surprisingly accurate educated guesses, too. Take a look at the gallery below to find what 1950s futurists got right and wrong in their predictions for the year 2000.

As it turns out, crime does pay — with lots and lots of stats!

Civilization has a vested interest in keeping tabs on uncivilized activity. Crime statistics have been collected all around the globe for centuries to various degrees of precision. These stats paint a clear, data-guided picture of a universal (if unseemly) aspect of humanity. Crime is one our species' most thoroughly documented activities, and therefore one which we can most accurately attempt to grasp.

The truth is made of numbers.

We've picked through the vast reservoirs of facts and figures from around the world in an attempt to make some order of the number jumbo. Some of these findings may challenge your conceptions, while others will reinforce them. But in the end, they are the only authority that matters because detached steely statistics never lie.

Here we present a big ol' serving of hot steamy number porn. Enjoy.

So, pulling back the curtain a little bit here: for the press, CES is segmented into three distinct parts. There's the "first day" (Sunday), which is when a big press event called CES Unveiled kicks off the festivities. It's really just a meet and greet, but some times you see some cool stuff — a waterproof tablet or a surprisingly alluring thermostat, for instance.

After that, even though Monday is really the second day, it's known as Day Zero. All the big press events go down, and it's mostly spent standing in long lines and hoping whatever you're waiting for doesn't fill up (and, as a result, you're turned away).

Even though the Las Vegas Convention Center show floor didn't open until today — Day Zero is, as you have no doubt seen, packed full of goodies. These are some things we saw, liked and wanted to tell you about while we're off running around looking for more awesome concepts and prototypes (like this guy).

Raymond Wong and Evan Ackerman contributed to this post.

Wow, that was some year. A scintillating presidential election, a exciting London Summer Olympics, literally shocking developments in the electric car business, the bloody problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, an astounding end to the Dark Knight trilogy and beginning of The Hobbit.

It was a weird year in tech, too, especially compared to the yawn-worthy 2011, which will be remembered more for the death of Steve Jobs than any particular technology or gadget.

With the improved economy, consumers were obviously willing to invest in new gear this year, and clearly unwilling to buy anything with even a hint of age. And that dissatisfaction with the old and unimaginative extended into several prominent high-tech boardrooms.

So here's a review of what happened in the coming year (and good luck untangling that twisted tense syntax).

Can Halloween fans bring a big budget feel to their haunted house on a shoestring? Well, thanks to technologies new and old it can be done not only for cheap, but without a ton of effort.

To find out how to make it happen, we spoke to Steve Eaton, a special effects man who works in Hollywood and who every year puts on his own haunted house in Santa Clarita, California. And he's able to do it with some simple tricks thanks to digital projectors and a handful of fog machines.

Here's a few things he uses to create that eerie haunted vibe.

As it turns out, the universe is totally out of its mind. Not that we don't love the universe with all its bizarre eccentricities and flagrant violations of its own physical laws — we do! There's lots of cool stuff out there. However, we simply can't ignore that the science describing the gritty true nature of the cosmos all inevitably leads to one conclusion: the universe is completely crazy pants.

To help sort through the giant logic purée that is our universe, we have picked out five of the most counter-intuitive, hair-melting scientific ideas for closer inspection. Come join us as we try our best to machete through the dense jungle of formulas and brain-sizzling conclusions and clear the path to comprehension. Or something approaching it.

Wish your brain "good luck and safe travels." It's going to need it.

Think you're a Star Trek fan? In 1996, Barbara "The Commander" Adams shocked a lot of people by showing up for jury duty in a full Next Generation uniform, complete with Tricorder and possibly a phaser (she would have to check the sidearm at the door). She was very boldly trying to live in Gene Roddenberry's vision of the 23rd and 24th centuries.

The world of 2011 may not seem much closer to the world of Trek than 1996, but it's actually possible for the average person to enjoy some of the technology and indeed even the environment of Star Trek in every day life.

While some of the future technology, like transporters, tractor beams and cloaking devices are still in the laboratory, below is a list of items available to the consumer to either buy or build.

The early months of 2011 saw masses take to the streets to topple longstanding autocratic rulers. These upheavals differed from others in history in that there was no one charismatic leader or ideologically-driven group leading the charge. It's as if millions came together to act as one gigantic entity. And with the help of technology, they kind of were.

While some observers have likened this flashmob ether to some insect-like "hive mind," television has a far more apt example at the ready: the Borg. Yes, it appears as if we are steadily transforming into Star Trek: The Next Generation's collective of bionic albinos who have united with technology in an unyielding mission to enslave the universe in cyberpunk servitude.

In the short term, we probably won't be cruising in a giant space cube in search of civilizations to assimilate. However, the next decade will see a spate of advances that will foster a collective linked-in consciousness. Here's a look at the tech that will literally, figuratively, and irrevocably break down the walls between our machines and our selves.

Resistance is futile. Or some such.

NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) is a two-year graduate course for programmers, artists and inventors. Yesterday, we visited ITP's Spring Show, an energetic mixture of around 100 projects that ranged from regenerative bike brakes, to a Steampunk-style desk whose many drawers revealed sections of a projected novel in verse, to a taxidermied raccoon with robotic legs (above).

After the jump, some of our favorites, including a new toy for the iPad, and a tree as jumpy on a cat on his first day home from the pound.

It's pretty amazing what kinds of things can get airborne with enough engines, wings, effort, determination or just sheer creativity. The last hundred years or so have provided a treasure trove of absolutely wild designs, and we've dug deep into the archives to come up with 26 of our favorites.

Arthur C. Clark said that 2010 would be the year we made contact. While we didn't find the Monolith, and Zephram Cochrane didn't shake hands with a Vulcan, 2010 had some headlines that were truly the stuff of science fiction.

Are we already living in the future? Take a moment and decide for yourself with these eight advancements that are helping make science fiction into science reality.

It's wasn't so long ago that giving someone a robot as a gift would have been a nutty idea, but thanks to the Roomba, it's now almost normal. iRobot isn't the only company on the block anymore when it comes to giftable robots, though. As consumer electronics get faster and better and cheaper, more possibilities open up for affordable robots that can help make our lives easier and more fun.

We've got 11 'bots for you that you that would be perfect present for the geek in your life who's either lazy, wants to take over the world, or both.

Whether it's an incredibly powerful bomb or a gigantic super-laser, nothing adds spice to a science-fiction story like the ultimate of ultimate threats: the planet killer. What else would we expect from our favorite heroes other than saving the entire world? Cliché or not, we all have our favorites, and here's our top twelve world-destroying devices along with some science behind the fiction.

Apple's "Back to the Mac" event is happening tomorrow. Like everyone, we're sitting at the edge of our seats in anticipation for what the guys in Cupertino are planning to unveil. We've rounded up all the rumors and "leaks" of what could potentially go down tomorrow so you don't have to.

For every wonderful trick and treat Microsoft presents in Windows Phone 7, there were plenty of functions absent that iOS and Android have made names for themselves doing. Once compared, it's obvious WP7 is not finished, Considering how advanced Windows Phone 7's competition is, the following seven deficiencies make a mockery of Microsoft chairman Steve Ballmer's claim of Windows Phone 7 being "thoroughly modern."

If Windows Phone 7 flops, it certainly won't be for lack of trying. We've identified seven aspects of the new phones and operating system that should make Microsoft proud and has us intrigued.