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What was going on in the world of technology this week? I’ve put together a quick roundup to get you up to speed.

Easily one of the bigger stories to emerge was the Google Chromebook, a family of netbooks that are to be powered by the new Chrome OS. What makes this operating system so different from Mac, Windows, and Linux is that it lives completely in the cloud. The OS is basically just a web browser.

To make matters even more interesting, particularly in the context of schools and education, is the possibility to rent these Chromebooks. The vendor would then provide timely upgrades on the hardware, while the software would be constantly updating and upgrading itself through the Internet connection. Will Chromebooks completely change the way we look at computers? Only time will tell.

On an utterly unrelated note, Beth shows us a toy that could prove useful for all the busy moms and dads in the audience. It’s a hide and seek plush monkey for the kids. How it works is actually pretty simple.

The adult goes and hides the plush monkey away in some undisclosed location in the house. The little antenna-boasting remote is then handed over to the young one who can then go searching for Curious George. When little Timmy or Tammy gets close to the monkey, the receiver wand will communicate with the stuffed animal and the monkey will start making monkey noises. Find the plush then repeat the process.

Back in the more useful side of technology, James explores the new Seagate GoFlex Satellite line of portable hard drives. They may look like your usual external drives, but they hide a wireless secret.

You see, each one of those little storage devices actually comes with built-in 802.11g/n Wi-Fi connectivity. There’s no need for an external power source, since they can run on batteries. As a result, you can very easily connect your favorite handheld and portables to the GoFlex Satellite. From your iPad to your iPhone, your Galaxy S to your Galaxy Tab, you effectively gain 500GB of storage on the go. That should be plenty for your music, movies, and pictures, right?

That sounds pretty fantastic, especially with our increased reliance on our smartphones and tablets.

And finally, resident film expert Dylan Duarte gives us his geek guide to 2011 summer movies. As with every other summer, this season is filled with tons of blockbusters that appeal to the comic book and superhero minded, as well as those who just like big budgets, big explosions, and big heroes.

Myself, I’m most interested in X-Men: First Class. I don’t mind that they’ve fiddled with the timeline and some characters are being introduced before they should be introduced, but what’s with Havok shooting energy-infused hula hoops. That’s just silly. Use your fists like a man, Alex Summers. (Yes, I know he can emit cosmic energy in all directions from his body, but the hula hoop bit is a bit much for me.)

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