This. Exactly. Thank you.

To answer your technical question minus the classic /. judgement I second @klek in suggesting Flic.io.
It sounds like it will do exactly what you're looking for.
Unfortunately they're still in development but it sounds like exactly what you're looking for.

I realize that the iPad is pretty much out but I have to throw my experience with Note Taker HD in the ring. Coupled with a Wacom Bamboo stylus it has met all of my needs as a consultant and could see it performing well in an academic setting with the addition of a keyboard.

If you're liking the idea of some code and some controls, you can get a good foundation in both with a Computer Engineering degree. That would give you the flexibility to focus on different aspects of computing/controls systems (or one, if you find you really like a particular area) and is a perfect companion to ME. If you go all software (Computer Science), you miss out on the understanding of how the electrics/electronics work and if you go all hardware (Electrical Engineering), you miss out on the higher level integration aspects of what modern software environments can really do. Also, just being able to speak the language of MEs, EEs, and CSCs is invaluable when working in multi/inter-disciplinary scenarios.

Full disclosure: I am a Computer Engineer specializing in (semi)autonomous robotics systems (and /love/ it).

The best idea I've heard so far for programming is to use the first click to turn the LED on to ~100 lumens then to use the button as a momentary switch to crank it all the way to 500. Let off and it returns to 100. Makes sense in a lot of situations where you might need a lot of light quickly and don't want to be flipping through brightness modes to get there - with the plus that it would also help runtime.

Don't forget:
Kari Byron - Mythbusters, Head Rush (new science show for kids)
Grant Imahara - Mysthbusters, BattleBots (what kid doesn't like killer robots?)
Tori Belleci - Mythbusters and special effects work on popular movies (Star Wars, Matrix, etc.)

"The more bandwidth that you make available, the faster it will be consumed."

Making more bandwidth available does nothing for demand.
The only case where that statement holds is if their network is currently in saturation.
Telling.

Finally! Garak has been traced to a /. UID.