New Technology

Last week the IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin or International radio exhibition Berlin), Europe's largest technology show opened. It ran Aug 31 to September 5, 2018. Some of the new stuff included the usual tech items, including ear buds, speakers, smart watches, smart phones and smart phone watches, laptops, new computer chips, etc.

Lenovo introduced a laptop convertible that has a speaker built in to its hinge, so the sound comes out directly at you vs. on the bottom or back as current PCs have them placed.

There were some smart appliances, including a fridge with a built-in vacuum sealer and another with built in lazy Susan. Also shown were smart dishwashers, cook tops, and smart vacuums. Difficult to go through the entire list as there were a few thousand exhibitors showing their wares to a few hundred thousand attendees.

If you have yet to buy a 4K TV, you may pass a whole generation in technology as 8K TVs were everywhere at the show and here are a few - LG 88 inch, Samsung 4 - 65 inch smallest, one is 88 inch, Sharp 60, 70, and 80 inch, TCL from 65, 70 and 75 inch, Toshiba 65 inch. Many are already or will be available as soon as this month.

Many experts say the smallest TV for 4K should be 65 inches to get the best appreciation for being able to notice the picture quality. Interesting to note that Japan starts 8K broadcasts in December 2018. No word from Netflix or Amazon about when 8K movies or shows will be produced.

Best of show winner was the LG 8K OLED TV (price about $25,000 US). Best smartphone: Sony Xperia XZ3 smartphone, best TV: Samsung 8K TV, best in home theater: Harman Kardon Citation speakers, best smart speaker: Huawei AI Cube, best headphones: Sony WH-1000XM3, best wearable tech: Garmin Vivosmart 4.

Top Ten Tech Changes

1. Farming is quickly becoming a high-tech job. Farmers are using big-data analytics to better monitor, manage, and understand their outputs.
2. Energy utility companies are slow to adopt new technologies, and they have a set business model used for decades. Renewable energy, however, needs advanced battery technology and new storage and transmission systems, so this has to change. It is starting to with the development of microgrids and other smart grid technologies, which are a major part of the future for utilities. The market for smart grid IT will grow to more than $23 billion by 2023.
3. Electric vehicles are powered by high-tech batteries, but the technology for them is not yet fully developed. Data analysis is big with EVs too, as most cars are equipped with sensors that track the behavior of the driver so that companies can better understand and develop EV technologies.
4. As solar panel prices decrease and more individuals and companies adopt them, the renewable energy industry is finally heading toward the mainstream.
5. There is no industry transforming the future faster than 3D printing, but the technology is also infiltrating many other ones, like healthcare, manufacturing, and aerospace. It means new tech jobs that revolve around understanding, developing, and monitoring the printers and software development and management.
6. The healthcare industry is notorious for developing slowly, but all that is changing with the advent of bioprinting, telemedicine, and big data analytics. There will be IT jobs in hospitals and clinics, software companies, hardware companies, data science companies, and even big tech companies.
7. Technology is changing the way government processes work. Cities like Boston and New York are adding social media directors and Chief Digital Officers to promote campaigns, run social media, and get people to interact more with their government. Organizations revamping government websites to make them more efficient.
8. Technology and computer science education will be increasingly important as the world works to get more children prepare for the future. Nine out of ten schools in the US do not yet  offer computer programming classes.
9. Toys are getting smarter. People are building toys that serve a purpose and incorporate robotics, sensors, and computers.
10. Companies are using sensors and data analytics to identify and monitor leaks and water waste in the home so that people can better conserve the resource and their money.

Advanced Technology

Thought for the day. Does technology make us anti-social?

Before technology

After Technology

Awesome Technology

From last week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) here is an awesome speaker. ClearView Audio CLIO is a clear acrylic speaker which pushes sound through the side of the device instead of the rear, like traditional cone speakers.

Edge Motion-driven speakers actuate a thin membrane along the side in a manner that creates an extremely efficient, piston-like motion in front. The resultant speaker system is thin and lightweight with the ability to produce a rich, full sound across the audio range.

The Scale of Things

Received this link from Bud. It is a fascinating look at the scale of everything from things so small that they cannot yet be seen with modern technology to things so large that they are yet to be seen with technology. Slide the scale slowly or you will miss many details. LINK

Buying Technology

As we approach the buying season, here are a few tips to remember when buying technology. Memory (RAM) is more important than speed. Most do not use the full capacity of their computer, so getting more memory actually translates to more speed than chip speed.

Texting is more expensive than voice time, so watch your contract for cost of messages.

Buy the best components, and the cheapest cables, because all those claims about gold cables, ultra cables are almost meaningless.

When looking at cable plans, buy speed, not channels, because hundreds of those channels have nothing worth watching. Plus if cable internet is fast enough, you can watch more TV and videos on your PC for free. You can do like my brother and hook up your laptop to TV for Netflix movies. Wouldn't you like a 50 inch monitor to surf the net?

When it comes to TVs, remember that size really does matter. A larger screen is more enjoyable to watch than paying for faster refresh rate. Technology has come a long way and refresh rate is way less important than it used to be. Also, LED LCD is much better than LCD alone.

3D TV is an immature technology waiting for an audience, which will not likely happen until at least the next one or two generations. Save your money and wait.

Camera lenses are more important than the camera and most lenses can be re-used on next year's wizbang camera model.

Winch Tourbillon Vertical

The WTV from Cabestan is built in a unique vertical manner in what is perhaps the most mechanical of mechanical wristwatches. The movement is wound with a large key that turns a set of visible cogs.

A set of wheels, pinions, and drums turn in synchronization to power the timepiece. There is no face to this watch either, but instead two rotating drums set atop a ball bearing. The vertical tourbillon, which is run by what looks like a small bicycle chain, is the first of its kind. The crystal consists of 6 hand blown pieces of Pyrex. OK, its a bit geeky, but interesting and Christmas is coming. hint hint

New Book Reader

Asus just announced a new ebook reader with two, color, touch screens that will fold up like a real book.

The device will probably be shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2010 and it will likely be cheaper than Kindle and Sony e-book readers. The consumer launch is planned for late 2009 or early 2010.

More readers from other manufacturers are also scheduled to come out this year or early next year, but they are all black and white.

One version might have a webcam, microphone, speaker, and the ability to make calls via Skype.

Touchable Holograms

Researchers from the University of Tokyo have developed 3D holograms that can be touched with bare hands. It is called the Airborne Ultrasound Tactile Display and uses acoustic radiation pressure to create a pressure sensation on a user's hands.

A retroreflective marker is attached on the tip of user's middle finger, IR LEDs illuminate the marker, and two Wiimotes sense the 3D position of the finger. This lets the users handle the floating virtual image with their hands.

In the video link below, researchers demonstrate how a user can dribble a virtual bouncing ball, feel virtual raindrops bouncing off their hand, and feel a small virtual creature crawling on their palm. First practical uses will likely be games, but real applications should follow. This is at the top of my whizzbang technology list. Now we really can reach out and touch someone, almost.

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Steampunk

Many probably have not heard of steampunk. These gadgets are modern equivalents of old-looking objects, many with practical uses. It is a sub-genre of fantasy and speculative fiction that denotes works set in an era or world where steam power was still widely used, usually the 19th century, but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, like Jules Verne. Here is a modern working steampunk USB drive.

It is amazing to see how much time some folks dedicate to create these odd contraptions. To see more steampunk pictures, try this site.

National ID Cards

You have probably read that the new healthcare bill includes a provision for a national ID in the US. Here is a disturbing fact about that kind of technology from the UK. Its National ID Card was hacked In 12 Minutes. I personally don't think anyone can make an unhackable ID card.

UK National ID cards are currently being used by foreign nationals who are working in the UK. The card features a built in microchip which, according to the Government, makes the ID cards ‘unforgeable’, the problem is that a hacker was able to hack the chip in under twelve minutes using just an ordinary laptop and a mobile phone.

He was able to create a cloned card, change the information on the cloned card, and add a message to the card which could be read by police officers when they scan the card, the message read, ‘I am a te**orist – shoot on site’. (my asterisks) I seem to remember that national ID cards started in Germany in the 1930s to identify all good German citizens. I don't remember if cards created a furor, or they were created by a fuhrer or both. . .

Speaking of Quiet

The Japanese have a problem. Japan's near-silent hybrid cars have been called dangerous by the vision-impaired and some users, prompting a government review on whether to add a noise-making device, according to an official.

The gas-electric vehicles, which in recent months have become the country's top-selling autos, hum along almost soundlessly when they are switched from fuel to battery mode.

The ministry has launched a panel of scholars, vision-impaired groups, consumers, police and the automobile industry to discuss the matter. They decided to consider introducing a sound-making function" in petrol-electric hybrids when the 13-member panel held its first meeting Thursday, the official said. They have not decided on what kind of sound should be used.

"On the other hand, we should pay attention to residents along roads as hybrids are excellent in reducing noise," the official added. Reduce sound pollution. OK, we reduced it. Now how much should we add back?

Virtual Humans

A European project called the Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) is designed to foster, harmonize and integrate pan-European research in the field of patient-specific computer models for personalized and predictive healthcare and ICT-based tools for modeling and simulation of human physiology and disease-related processes.

It plans a simulation of human organs and new knowledge extraction, methods. The idea is to end of animal testing and eventually even clinical patient drug trials.

There are 13 institutions involved in the VPH initiative and it will allow a wide range of academic, clinical, and industrial researchers to investigate the human body as a single complex system. They will be able to use the VPH network's expanding database of computer simulation data to develop better diagnosis and treatment methods, including using mathematical modelling to suggest solutions to currently unsolved biomedical problems.

The Virtual Physiological Human is an initiative that's being funded with 72 million Euros ($100 mil) by the EU. It could revolutionize medical science in the 21st century. It's expected that substantial advances in this field will be made during the next ten years in a range of diseases, from cancer to others. Can you imagine what the US could accomplish if we didn't have to spend an additional $1.6 Trillion on political healthcare issues?

Computer on a Keyboard

Coming out in August '09, this is an interesting idea from Asus.

Everything is self contained under the keyboard and the whole thing weighs 2 pounds. The only problem I see is the measly 5 inch touch screen on the right of the keyboard. Of course, it can be hooked up to any monitor or the TV and it comes either wireless or wired and can run Windows. It comes with a microphone and a set of speakers and will probably cost about $400. Might be a good way to marry your PC and TV and do emails during commercials.

Robot Surgery

The da Vinci robot has been around for 5 years and used in tens of thousands of surgeries.

Its safety and efficacy have been documented in hundreds of clinical publications. It makes it possible for a patient to have major surgery with only a few tiny incisions. The surgeon can operate with better visualization, precision, dexterity and control than possible using traditional surgical approaches. It has been used in everything from minimally invasive heart surgery to minimally invasive cancer surgery, to treat conditions as diverse as prostate cancer, endometrial cancer, obesity and mitral valve regurgitation.

In short, the da Vinci Surgical System combines robotics and surgical technology that enables surgeons to provide the least invasive treatment option available for a wide range of complex conditions.

Sugar on a Stick

That's the name for new, free, open source software. It runs from a USB stick plugged into any PC and features forty software programs, including Read, Write, Paint, Games, and Etoys. Children can even create their own books with backgrounds and characters.

Sugar is the core component of a worldwide effort to provide every child with equal opportunity for a quality education. It is available in twenty five languages and used every school day by almost one-million children in more than forty countries.

Children, as young as four, can engage in exploring knowledge, expressing themselves through writing, drawing, video, even programming the computer. It allows them to work collaboratively and use it to create a portfolio of their accomplishments and a diary of daily school activities. With the Sugar Learning Platform, the age-old question “What did you do in school today?” takes on new meaning.

Touch Table Technology

You might remember last year when I wrote about the Microsoft table technology or seen it used during the elections. Here is a video of some practical uses.

If you watch the video, be alert during the middle, when he shows what the Iranians are doing in the desert, very interesting. The price is down to fifty-nine thousand dollars, so it might be cheap enough for my next birthday present. hint, hint.

Virgin Galactic

Sir Richard Branson completed a successful test on May 28, 2009 of its hybrid nitrous oxide motor. The motor is the largest of its kind in the world and offers safety features including a kill switch allowing the spaceship to glide back to Earth and perform a conventional runway touch down.

The Virgin Galactic model dubbed SpaceShipTwo is an extraordinary design for a space tourism spacecraft. It will launch after reaching the upper atmosphere and detaching from the mother ship called Eve. The hybrid motor does not contain harmful toxins as solid rockets used by the space shuttle and the upper atmosphere launch provides cost savings for fuel.

It has a capacity to carry six space tourists and two pilots into suborbital space at speeds up to 2500 mph and soar about 65-miles above the Earth. The expected ticket price is $200,000 per passenger and currently there are 300 space tourists on the waiting list. Testing of the shuttle will begin later this year.

Smart Phones?

A new Apple iPhone application called Email 'n' Walk from Phase 2 Media takes a live feed from the phone's camera, which is mounted on the rear of the device, to show the user what's in front of them as they type.

The text of your email appears as white lettering superimposed on top of the video feed - and is more than clear enough to read without blocking the view of the path or road ahead. Let's not let reality get in the way of email, duh!

Long Term Memory

Scientists report successful tests of a new memory device that could allow terabytes (1,099,511,627,776 bytes) of data to be stored without corruption for a billion years or more. The team claimed that it is possible to build storage devices capable of carrying 1TB of information per square inch, making it more effective than current techniques. The data will also be almost incorruptible.

The device is an iron nano-particle that measures 1/50,000th of the width of a human hair, enclosed in a hollow carbon nano-tube. The iron can be shuttled back and forth within the tube as a way to store data. Conventional Flash memory usually fails after three to five years.