As many of you already know, quality content + search engine optimization (SEO) = rankings for your targeted keywords (more website traffic). Since proper SEO can be quite expensive and there is no way a small-time blogger like me can afford professional SEO services, I use something that is just as effective [if not more :] called LotusJump – a web based software that shows me exactly how and where I can do my own SEO. It tells me if I am missing keywords in the key areas of my website, such as the title tags, meta tags, H1/H2 tags, etc, and also generates tasks where I can go to build links that are related to my website – pretty neat stuff.

When I first began futuRich, I was hoping that one day I would rank on the first page of Google  for the keyword “future gadgets”. After using this neat little tool for about a year now, I was able to reach that hope of mine and I currently sit @ the #2 position in Google :]  Traffic has increasted substantially for my site and now I am working on some other search terms, so hopefully things will continue to go well for me in this aspect of search marketing.

The reason I am posting about this is because I recently stumbled across some discount pricing for LotusJump, and I thought I would pass along the savings to my faithful readers. So if you have a blog or website and are looking to increase your keyword websites and generate more traffic, this next-generation link building tool might be right for you, so long as you are willing to put in the time and effort that is required. Let me know if you have any questions about how LotusJump works or anything that is SEO related!

Since technology is continually improving on both sides of the spectrum, it has been easier for criminals to generate counterfeit bills to use at their leisure. For this reason, the US Government has decided to improve the latest $100 bill yet again and make it nearly impossible to duplicate (at least for the time being). Take a look at some of the state-of-the-art features this future currency will integrate are the following:

• 3-D security ribbon (in blue)
• Bell in the inkwell (appears when the bill is tilted)
• Portrait watermark (of Benjamin Franklin)
• Security thread
• Color-shifting ink (copper to green)
• Design modification (added a declaration of independence design)

The most unique part about the future currency is that when the bill is moved from side to side, the new images on the bill will appear to move up and down. When the bill is moved up and down, the image will appear to move from side to side. The expected release date for this new $100 bill will be sometime during the year of 2011*.

* It appears this bill may take even longer before it comes into circulation  due to a huge printing fiasco, which has halted production.

One of the Air Force’s latest futuristic inventions, the Pain Ray (also known as the Active Denial System), has been designed for effective crowd control measures, acting similar to tear gas. The “Pain Ray” emits a powerful radiation beam that causes victims to feel a burning sensation and will send people running for cover. The potent beam is strong enough to penetrate clothes and lighter defenses, but it is not quite strong enough to pierce through walls.

Not surprisingly, the “Pain Ray” has stirred up some controversy about whether or not such a weapon is humane enough to use in combat. There have been no long-term studies to determine potential consequences of being zapped by such a device, so it may be awhile before the US military actually begins using it for warfare. Currently, the Air Force has plans to put this future technology to use by testing it on birds and possibly using it in air technology such as planes, to reduce costly damage caused by crashing birds, such as was the case with the Hudson River accident (when the seagull flew into one of the engines and caused the plane to perform a crash landing).

With all the trending smart phones and smart cars, the military decided that they wanted in on the smart technology and began designing this future weapon with state-of-the-art capabilities. The XM25 rifle, equipped with smart bullets, can do a wide array of tasks without the assistance of other high-tech weapons. Check out the list of different bullets that come equipped with this advanced rifle:

• High explosive burst round
• Armor-piercing round
• Door breaching round
• Anti-personnel round
• Non-lethal (blunt) round
• Non-lethal (burst) round

So now (or at least in the near future) soldiers will be able to better handle tactical situations with a wider array of options. For example, if snipers or marines need to take some prisoners alive, they can easily switch to a non-lethal round to neutralize targets. Or if troops need to take out an enemy sniper that is well protected in a building or behind a hillside, a smart bullet can be fired near the location of the enemy sniper and have it set to explode, removing any nearby threats.

Such future weaponry does not come cheap as initial estimates for the XM25 rifle are set at $25,000. The bullets are quite expensive as well, costing on average $25 each (depending on the type of bullet), which is over 25 times the normal price of typical rifle rounds. As long as this future rifle proves to be effective, I don’ think the military will have too big of a problem with such prices.

Most people wouldn’t expect a car that can go from 0-60 in under 3.2 seconds to be eco-friendly in the least, but the Porsche automakers beg to differ. This future car concept, the 918 Spyder, is supposed to be one of the fastest (if not the fastest) hybrid electric car on the market. This one-of-a-kind ride can teach tops speeds of 200 mph and gets a whopping 78 miles per gallon – double the amount most compact cars achieve on a good day.

This speed demon is charged by a 3.4 liter V8 engine which comes equipped with a lithium ion battery pack that can be charged from almost anywhere, not to mention whenever you hit the brakes as well.  No word yet on the pricing but you can safely assume it will be in the 6 digit field (estimates have been set near the $500,000 mark), and is not expected to be listed for sale on the market for at least another year, probably closer to 2012 or 2013. The bad news is that you probably never will own one of these babies, or anything close to it, but the good news is that future cars will benefit from these technological break-throughs and the overall quality of regular day-to-day cars will be enhanced. Way to go Porsche!

Microsoft has recently announced an impressive addition to their popular X-Box video game system which will replace the standard controllers. Project Natal, as they call it, is the future gaming technology we have been waiting for and has built in motion sensors that allows users to act out their moves  instead of having to press buttons. So if you are playing a fighting game (such as Street Fighter) you will actually have to do some physical kicks and punches in order to defeat your opponent. Project Natal is like a Nintendo Wii 2.0 – instead of having to swing around your controller you can just use your body, and no more worrying about cracking your new plasma TV. This new technology is also supposed to be equipped with voice and facial recognition software, which I’m assuming is used to distinguish between two players and keep track of player profiles.

Nintendo had better be prepared to answer back when Microsoft releases this future technology, or any hope for more Wii sales will be obliterated (assuming Project Natal turns out to be accurate and practical). The new gaming device is projected to be released near the end of 2010, just in time for the holidays, and has been speculated to cost somewhere around $100. There have also been some rumors going around as to whether 1 or 2 people will be able to use the gaming sensors simultaneously, but most signs point to 2 players. Exciting times for us video gamers!