Apr 25, 2009
Apr 17, 2009
Speaking of Internet and TV
The BBC has launched a new service that allows viewers to watch live TV programs from suitable Wi-Fi connected mobile phones.
BBC Live TV is available in a beta test form, offering a limited number of the broadcaster’s channels, plus its radio stations.
BBC Live TV is available in a beta test form, offering a limited number of the broadcaster’s channels, plus its radio stations.
More Nano Stuff
As of August, 2008, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies estimates that over 800 manufacturer-identified nanotech products are publicly available, with new ones hitting the market at a pace of 3-4 per week.
Current nano applications include:
Titanium dioxide - in sunscreen, cosmetics and some food products;
Carbon allotropes - used to produce gecko tape;
silver in food packaging, clothing, disinfectants, and household appliances;
zinc oxide - in sunscreens and cosmetics, surface coatings, paints, and outdoor furniture varnishes;
andcerium oxide - as a fuel catalyst.
PPG Industries produces SunClean self-cleaning glass, which harnesses the sun’s energy to break down dirt and spreads water smoothly over the surface to rinse the dirt away without beading or streaking.
Various sunscreens (Wild Child, Wet Dreams, and Bare Zone) incorporate ZinClear, a transparent suspension of nanoscopic zinc oxide particles that are too small to scatter visible light. Probably five years from now we will hear about some regulations being needed to make sure this stuff is really safe to use.
Current nano applications include:
Titanium dioxide - in sunscreen, cosmetics and some food products;
Carbon allotropes - used to produce gecko tape;
silver in food packaging, clothing, disinfectants, and household appliances;
zinc oxide - in sunscreens and cosmetics, surface coatings, paints, and outdoor furniture varnishes;
andcerium oxide - as a fuel catalyst.
PPG Industries produces SunClean self-cleaning glass, which harnesses the sun’s energy to break down dirt and spreads water smoothly over the surface to rinse the dirt away without beading or streaking.
Various sunscreens (Wild Child, Wet Dreams, and Bare Zone) incorporate ZinClear, a transparent suspension of nanoscopic zinc oxide particles that are too small to scatter visible light. Probably five years from now we will hear about some regulations being needed to make sure this stuff is really safe to use.
welcomed its 200 millionth user on April 8. Mark Zuckerberg, 24-year-old CEO, who created Facebook with two Harvard University roommates five years ago, announced the milestone in a post on the official Facebook blog.
He said, "We are working hard to build a service that everyone, everywhere can use, whether they are a person, a company, a president, or an organization working for change."
He said, "We are working hard to build a service that everyone, everywhere can use, whether they are a person, a company, a president, or an organization working for change."
Phones as Computers
As testament to the changing use of phones, consider the following. At North America's largest cell phone trade show in Las Vegas this month, there were only a few new phones for the US market that had a numeric keypad instead of an alphabetic keyboard. Touch screens also were out in force.
These changes are a recognition of the popularity of text messaging and wireless Internet use. Industry organization CTIA Wireless said US subscribers sent 1 trillion text messages in 2008 (three times the 2007 volume). Meanwhile, the same people used 2.2 trillion minutes of voice calls, an increase of less than 5 percent.
This shift in how people use their mobile devices has changed cell phone design to the point that 31 percent of phones sold in US in the fourth quarter of 2008 had full-alphabet keyboards, vs. 5 percent two years earlier. u me lunch, k?
These changes are a recognition of the popularity of text messaging and wireless Internet use. Industry organization CTIA Wireless said US subscribers sent 1 trillion text messages in 2008 (three times the 2007 volume). Meanwhile, the same people used 2.2 trillion minutes of voice calls, an increase of less than 5 percent.
This shift in how people use their mobile devices has changed cell phone design to the point that 31 percent of phones sold in US in the fourth quarter of 2008 had full-alphabet keyboards, vs. 5 percent two years earlier. u me lunch, k?
Flat Speakers
Wow, these are cool. New loudspeakers, less than 0.25mm thick, have been developed. They are flat, flexible, can be hung on a wall like a picture.
A real bonus is that its method of sound generation could make public announcements in public places clearer, crisper, and easier to hear because it delivers planar directional sound waves, which project further than sound from conventional speakers. I think they will fit nicely on the wall beside my flat screen TV, if I ever get one.
Apr 15, 2009
Women Smell Better
Scientists collected microdroplets of perspiration, and had men and women sniff the vials. According to both, the odors were equally rich. Subjects were then asked to rate odor strength when sniffing the sweat mixed one by one with 32 different fragrances. Only two of the fragrances stopped women from smelling the sweat. But 19 fragrances successfully blocked it from male noses.The researchers also concluded that men’s body odor is harder to mask than women’s, regardless of who sniffs. Only a fifth of the fragrances could cover up male odor. But half of the scents masked female odor. The researchers suggest that for women there may be important biological information contained in male sweat. I have long known that women smell good, now I know they also smell better.
Patently Obvious
Did you know Michael Jackson has a patent? Remember how he leaned in defiance of gravity in the video for “Smooth Criminal”?
He wore a pair of specially designed shoes that could hitch into a device hidden beneath the stage. Jackson and two co-inventors patented this method for creating anti-gravity illusion in 1993.
Apr 10, 2009
Internet Passes TV in Europe
(From the UK) Europeans will spend more time on the internet than watching television by June 2010, according to research by Microsoft.
The report, "Europe logs on: Internet trends of today and tomorrow", analyzes online behavior across Europe, and for 2010 predicts web consumption will average 14.2 hours per week, while TV program watching will average 11.5 hours per week.
Driving the rise of online media consumption is always-on broadband, with 48.5 per cent of Europeans now having an internet connection. The report says that for watching television programs, "three screens will dominate" - the traditional TV, desktop and laptop PCs, and mobile devices.
The report, "Europe logs on: Internet trends of today and tomorrow", analyzes online behavior across Europe, and for 2010 predicts web consumption will average 14.2 hours per week, while TV program watching will average 11.5 hours per week.
Driving the rise of online media consumption is always-on broadband, with 48.5 per cent of Europeans now having an internet connection. The report says that for watching television programs, "three screens will dominate" - the traditional TV, desktop and laptop PCs, and mobile devices.
Apr 9, 2009
Stink Free Underwear
The first Japanese astronaut to live aboard the International Space Station had a research project to test newly invented odor-free briefs named J-ware.According to the Japanese researchers they are also comfortable and "stylish". The first use is in space stations and commercial release will follow. One official said that they can be worn for a week. There are so many things I could say here, but I'll resist.
Internet Browsers
It is finally official, Mozilla Firefox has more users than Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Firefox climbed to 46.4% in February, while the various versions of IE dropped by 1.2% to 43.6%. As of March 23, IE8's market share stood at 2%, an increase of 0.7 of a percentage point since the final code was released. IE7, meanwhile, accounted for 36.9%. Apple's Safari came in at 3.2%.
Wow, in just a few short years, the free Firefox has outdone Microsoft, which used to claim 97% of the market. I have been using Firefox for a few years, since it was beta and love the simplicity, and that it can be spiffed up with as many add-ons as you want (all free). I also use Mozilla Thunderbird as my email. It handles my eight email addresses all in one place.
Firefox climbed to 46.4% in February, while the various versions of IE dropped by 1.2% to 43.6%. As of March 23, IE8's market share stood at 2%, an increase of 0.7 of a percentage point since the final code was released. IE7, meanwhile, accounted for 36.9%. Apple's Safari came in at 3.2%.
Wow, in just a few short years, the free Firefox has outdone Microsoft, which used to claim 97% of the market. I have been using Firefox for a few years, since it was beta and love the simplicity, and that it can be spiffed up with as many add-ons as you want (all free). I also use Mozilla Thunderbird as my email. It handles my eight email addresses all in one place.
Library of Congress
The U.S. Library of Congress has begun uploading its audio archives to iTunes, and it will soon begin to post videos on YouTube, in an effort to make its materials easier for the public to access.
The decision to post audio and video on iTunes and YouTube follows a successful launch early last year of a library photo archive on Flickr. Since January 2008, the library's photos on Flickr have been viewed about 15.7 million times, and more than 20,000 Flickr users have added the Library of Congress as a contact.
Some items - 100-year-old films from Thomas Edison's studio, book talks with contemporary authors, early industrial films from Westinghouse factories, first-person audio accounts, a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and the contents of President Abraham Lincoln's pockets on the night of his assassination.
The decision to post audio and video on iTunes and YouTube follows a successful launch early last year of a library photo archive on Flickr. Since January 2008, the library's photos on Flickr have been viewed about 15.7 million times, and more than 20,000 Flickr users have added the Library of Congress as a contact.
Some items - 100-year-old films from Thomas Edison's studio, book talks with contemporary authors, early industrial films from Westinghouse factories, first-person audio accounts, a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and the contents of President Abraham Lincoln's pockets on the night of his assassination.
Brain control
March 31, 2009 - The research wing of Honda Motor Co. has co-developed a brain-machine interface system that allows a person to control a robot through thought alone. The system, builds on previous work announced three years ago toward a future in which devices might be controlled by thought.
In 2006, Honda and ATR researchers managed to get a robotic hand to move by analyzing brain activity using a large MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner like that found in hospitals.
The latest work is a step more advanced and measures the electrical activity in a person's brain using EEG and blood flow within the brain using near-infrared spectroscopy to produce data that is then interpreted into control information. It requires no physical movement.
Both the EEG and NIRS techniques are established, but the analyzing process for the data is new. Honda said the system uses statistical processing of the complex information to distinguish brain activities with high precision without any physical motion. A person visualizes moving a hand yet physically remains completely still, then Honda's Asimo robot, to which the system is hooked-up, raises its right hand. Honda claims a 90% success rate using this method.
Hey, Asimo, get me a beer!
Asimo
Here is Asimo conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
For those who have not seen this thing, it really is a robot. Although, this time not using brain waves for input. Honda is besting Detroit in Detroit, and with the 'Impossible Dream'. How's that for a sharp stick in the eye. Wonder how many caught the irony?
For those who have not seen this thing, it really is a robot. Although, this time not using brain waves for input. Honda is besting Detroit in Detroit, and with the 'Impossible Dream'. How's that for a sharp stick in the eye. Wonder how many caught the irony?
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