Posts about “Technology”
My recent article on Battery Recycling is now available in the November issue of alive. I wasn’t aware of this before researching this topic, but you can recycle both single-use and rechargeable batteries in British Columbia.
Personally, I’m a big fan of eneloop batteries. I believe the batteries Apple uses in their wireless mouse and keyboard are re-branded eneloops.
I’ve been thinking about the future and what it might bring. In my last post I talked about a 1988 school project that accurately predicted the dawn of the tablet age. Well, here are three emerging technologies that are quite simply gob smacking. You have to see these videos to believe.
Quantum Levitation
You know that magnetic forces repel and attract, but did you know these laws can be bended so an object stays fixed in empty space?
In 1988 students from the University of Illinois were tasked with imagining the computer of the year 2000. What they came up with was a tablet computer that bears a striking resemblance to the iPad. From the report:
Our machine will have the same dimensions as a standard notebook. It will look like an 8”x11” monolith from the movie 2001, and be reminiscent of the Dynabook. This rectangular slab will weigh but a few pounds, and have no buttons or knobs to play with.
This is a hilarious take on the apathy surrounding the new iPhone 4S release:
LOL! Come on people.
There were many naysayers when this “magical device” first came out. It’s nothing but a glorified iPod Touch they cried. No front-facing camera. No multitasking (until the Fall that is, when iPhone OS 4 comes out). No USB ports, and so on.
Well I’m not one of those nitpicking technocrats. I think that the iPad is like a shiny piece of the future, straight out of Star Trek. It’s amazing. But here’s the thing: I don’t even own a laptop.
To be working on a project that is. At least it feels that way considering most writing projects I’ve been involved in are over after a hair-pulling night of throwing words onto a page or two. Project timelines are a bit more distended in the technical writing world. But, anyway, enough kerfuffle. What I’d like to present to you is the best business phone ever.
Yes, it’s the phone system I’ve been writing those 400-page Internal Product Specifications for.
The first entry of 2009! Granted, this isn’t the most updated blog in the world, but I’ve managed to keep wordbit going for around two years now, which is not bad. I recently tried to find the oldest blog in the world, and this site claims to have been blogging since 1987. But that’s just their opinion - blogs in their modern incarnation haven’t been around for more than about 10 years.
Not all of Apple’s offerings are shiny and perfect. And when it comes to iTunes, most sane people will agree that this music player is just plain ugly. I applaud Scott Gilberson for calling it like it is in his blog post, “The Top Ten Reasons iTunes Sucks”. Here are his main beefs:
It’s a store stupid
The library manager is prehistoric
No web browser/Wikipedia/anything
No plug-in architecture
The auto industry may have killed the electric car a few years ago, but it’s back - and dude, this is one sweet ride. Yes, going green has never been so self-indulgent…or pricey for that matter. The Tesla Roadster is a 100% electric and is available in the US and Europe, but you have to reserve it. All 2008 models are sold and in production, but you can snag a 2009 model for a mere $109,000.
Is it worth switching carriers for? It certainly is tempting. Sweet 3G, the 2.0 software update and a price tag of (only) $199 on a three-year contract. Both Fido and Rogers will be launching the device on July 11 - but I happen to be with Telus. If I had a lame plan I’d drop Telus in a nanosecond. The problem is, I’m getting a pretty good deal right now - a carry-over from the time when you got unlimited evenings and weekends by default.
If you’re Homo Sapien then you’ve probably heard that song by Yael Naïm. Name not ringing any bells? You know, it’s the one that goes something like this: “La-la-la-la la-la-la-la-la…” Still not getting it? Okay, it’s the song from the MacBook Air commercial. Yes, you know the one (and if you still have no clue, check out this YouTube video).
The song is called “New Soul” and was handpicked by Steve Jobs for the MacBook campaign.
Have you ever had a job that bored you into zombie mode faster than Seabiscuit on steroids? According to this BBC article, scientists have developed a headset that measures when our brains are about to switch into autopilot mode. This state of cognitive rest is the brain’s way of saving cogitations for something more mentally taxing like what to make for dinner tonight.
Going brain dead is all very well if you’re gluing hula skirts onto tiki dolls on an assembly line, but what about if you’re, say, an air traffic controller?
It doesn’t matter how many firewalls, P2P filters, script blockers, or spyware removers you use, the one giveaway to your identity on the Internet is your IP address. Those numbers will trumpet your location to whoever’s interested, which is why you’ll often see annoying ads like “Find friends in (insert your city here) now!” This lack of privacy is a huge problem for political dissidents in China, or for anyone in that country who wants to surf an uncensored version of the net.
Apple’s new MacBook Air is purportedly the world’s thinnest (and sexiest) laptop, but is a bit shallow when it comes to hardware. The lack of CD-Rom drive or landline internet access for example, may discourage first-time laptop buyers. But if you need some compelling reasons to shell out for a laptop you can fit into a manilla envelope, perhaps these philanthropic possibilities will persuade you:
Source: Joyoftech.com
If you’re a wannabe iPod disciple and the rumour of an iPod levy had you on your knees praying for an intervention, your prayers have been answered. Canada’s federal court told the Canadian Copyright Board they had “no authority” to impose the levy, according to this CBC News article.
Well, this is good news indeed. I already find it cheaper to buy blank CDs in the States and would hate to cross the border to buy electronic goods as well.
Over at Wired’s video gallery you can watch some amusing tech vintage commercials. While I find the ones for the old Mac, the Vic-20, and the Commodore chuckle worthy, my vote for the funniest - and the most creative - goes to the 1980s ad for the Atari 5200’s Pole Position. Back in those days, the marketing strategy was basically to show as little of the game’s graphics as possible while hyping up the game in various ridiculous ways.
This story is a few months old, but it just came to my attention and I thought it was really neat. Scientists at MIT have successfully transmitted electricity through the air. In an experiment, they were able to successfully power a 60 watt light bulb from a power source two metres away. The team are calling this new concept “witricity”.
The potential for this new technology is pretty exciting. Imagine a world where laptops and cellphones could power themselves up when the batteries get low.
PC World has boldly declared that Vista is not all that Microsoft promised it would be. Alex and Kevin from Diggnation were talking about this on their show and how they just want the latest OS despite the sacrifices in frame rates for some games. I’ve seen Vista in action and it looks slick, but it seems to be all flash at this point. I’m extremely satisfied with the robustness of Windows Server 2003, which is so rock solid because it was designed to administer networks.
You may be aware of Canada’s Private Copyright Collective, the organization responsible for the ridiculous levy on blank audio cassettes and CDs. Now this collective is lobbying hard for a levy on recording devices such as MP3 players, cellphones, computers, and anything you can record with basically. Their argument is that just because you can pirate music on these devices, you should pay for it. These extortionist royalties are distributed to eligible songwriters, musicians, and record production companies (although the collective is unclear on who exactly is eligible - they don’t even have to be Canadian).
Amazon took a stab at revolutionizing the reading world today with the launch of its new wireless reading device called the Kindle. It’s about the size of a paperback, has a built in keyboard and a display that’s easy on the eyes and visible in sunlight. To buy a book you hook into their network through a wireless connection, but it’s more like making a call on your cell because you don’t have to find a hotspot.
CNET just released its readers top choices for sparkly new toys they want under the tree this year. Not surprisingly the Apple iphone is only in the number five spot, despite the price slash. As for the number one spot, well, I’m not sure if I agree with that one.
Watch it here.
Microsoft is working on a revolutionary new technology that will blow your mind. Watch this video on Seadragon and Photosynth to learn about a new social network that merges Flickr images from thousands of users into one representational image.
Thanks to Maureen for this.
Can governments read people’s minds with radio waves? Many people believe so. In fact, in order to combat this unseen menace, a paranoid subculture has arisen around the wearing of tin foil hats. This seemingly bizarre practice has garnered such credibility that an MIT student conducted empirical research in order to debunk it. Curiously, his findings indicated that tin foil in fact amplifies certain radio frequencies. Ironically, or perhaps tellingly, the frequencies amplified are the very same governmental and corporate frequencies that paranoids are trying to avoid.
After my nasty lesson with Google Accelerator you think I would have given up on my obsession with speeding up my Internet connection. Unfortunately, there’s nothing like the tantalizing lure of speed and power to blind even the most cautious of web surfers, especially if your Internet connection is agonizingly sluggish.
It’s not surprising then, that this tubetorial on speeding up the Internet with Firefox caught my attention. I did briefly try it out before turning it off in horror.
As promised in my last post, here is a little segment I’m going to call…(insert drum-roll here)…THE WRITER’S CHALLENGE! Will you muster your courage and face the cunning challenge I’ve set before you?
Here it is:
I am holding an object in my hand. Guess what the object is by reading it’s patent description.
Let me warn you, this is some of the most convoluted, ridiculously bloated writing I have ever seen being used to describe something that is deceptively simple.
Wordbit has been down for the count for a few days due to an experimental Google app I unwisely installed. So, just in case you were thinking of trying out one of the apps in Google Labs, think again.
Google Accelerator ostensibly speeds up your Internet browsing by diverting web pages through their servers. The problem is that the program pre-fetches all websites on any given page. This is fine for public browsing at, say, a library.
There is no denying that the iPod has become part of our popular culture. What started as a neat toy for Mac users blossomed into a fashion craze for young urban hipsters. These cool urbanites identified each other not with secret handshakes but by the white ear-buds that had become the icon for “coolness”. The rise of the iPod sub-culture has a grassroots foundation in the heart of the thriving metropolis - on gritty city streets, on crowded subway trains and in public places.
Business cards are so ubiquitous these days, but not many people consider how much of an impression their card really makes. Well, with the exception of some Asian cultures (In Asia the exchange of business cards is ritualistic - The reciever takes the card respectfully with two hands and studies it carefully before placing it carefully into a pocket for safekeeping).
Your business card is a little piece of you that somebody carries around in their wallet.