Did you notice that an amazing moment in time has just passed? And what moment would that be, you ask?
Well, have a look at today's date and time. The day is September, 9 of the year 2009, that is:
Ahhh, a year ago I bumped into this lady in the most famous Ice Cream place in Cascais, Portugal. And as kindly as she is beautiful, she said to me: "Paaaarrrrdon!"
Ahh, beautiful 2008 Summer nights!
Adam Harvey, a student of of Interactive Telecommunication at New York University has created a new gadget that will probably be the next sensation of all those paparazzi-harassed celebrities: a purse with a flash sensor and flash.
So what does it do? It's simple. The purse contains a sensor that is triggered by any flash going off, and it instantaneously fires its own flash, completely ruining paparazzi shots.
Source: core77
Kinetic energy is not a new subject on this blog. I've already shown you how this kind of technology can be used to generate enough energy to power some parts of a nightclub or more simply, your MP3 player.
This time I bring you a great idea developed at a Sainsbury's supermarket in Gloucester, United Kingdom. This supermarket has installed kinetic plates in the parking lot that use the weight of shopper's cars to pump a series of hydraulic pipes, which in turn drive a generator. The figure below is quite self-explanatory:
Apparently, the kinetic system can generate enough energy to power the store's checkouts. While it may not seem as much, it sure is a great step towards a more green attitude.
Here's another picture at location:
Source: Engadget, Guardian
I always wondered why we need to use clean drinkable water to flush the toilet. Isn't there a simple way to save this (more and more) precious resource that is clean water? Apparently, there is:
Caroma, a company that focuses on designing interesting bathroom products, has developed this simple idea for reusing the water used to wash hands and teeth, to flush the toilet. And the good part is that you don't have to redesign your all bathroom to install something like this. The water supply is already there, you just need to re-route it to the sink instead of the toilet tank.
Source: EcoGeek
Using the brain as a computer interface is not a new idea. For a long time, researchers have been trying to use the electric signals coming from the brain as a way to perform basic commands on a computer and even as an anti-RSI technique. And as the technology is advancing, we get to see nice improvements that may be the key to help people with communication disabilities.
CBS' 60 minutes has made a special report on this kind of technology and here you can see a small segment that shows how the life of a man with a disease that has destroyed all his communication abilities, was greatly improved by using a brain-computer interface.
If you're one of those that lost faith in yourself because you can't seem to find the right woman for you, don't despair. A new study shows that there are valid scientific reasons for that:
"At first glance, a datable population of 18 726 may not seem like such a low number, but consider this: assuming I were to go on a blind date with a new girl about my age every week, I would have to date for 3493 weeks before I found one of the 18 726. That's very nearly 67 years. As a North American male born in the late 1970s, my life expectancy is probably little more than 70 years, so we can safely say that I will be quite dead before I find the proverbial girl of my dreams. Come to think of it, she'll probably be dead too."
The GPS is without a doubt one of the greatest technologies ever invented. Let's face it, if we were to rely on something like Google Maps we probably wouldn't even be able to find our way from here to there or from the north of Portugal to New York.
Of course, GPS also has its flaws and limitations. But even with those, the GPS' weakest link still lies on the people who use it.
One clear example of this is the New York guy who trusted his GPS so much that he apparently thought it was perfectly reasonable to follow the directions directly onto a set of train tracks. Even though the man was able to get out of his car in time, he wasn't able to prevent a commuter train from slamming into the car a few minutes later, causing an hour and a half delay on the transportation service.
Don't worry, nobody got hurt...well, except for the guy's pride :-)
Source: Engadget
It seems that everybody is talking about the new trend on the Web: whether they call it Web 3.0 or the Semantic Web, it's clear that techs from around the world recognize the need to advance the current state of affairs and make use of the potential that the Internet brings in terms of information and web service computing.
While some describe what the next Internet will be, others start to adhere to new standards. But what seems novelty technology for some, for others it has been the focus of their work for the last few years.
For the last 3 years, I've been working in an European Union-funded project (along with other 7 partners from 6 countries) with the goal of developing, trialling, testing and advancing the technology for Semantic Web Services using Intelligent Agents and Mobile Technologies.
Now that the project is over, we decided to write a book about the project and the lessons learned throughout the 3-year run.
Intelligent Service Coordination in the Semantic Web presents the design, implementation and validation of a value-added supportive infrastructure for Semantic Web based business application services, which we called CASCOM.
Here's a small description of the system:
For end users, the CASCOM framework provides seamless access to semantic Web services anytime, anywhere, while for service providers, CASCOM offers an innovative development platform for intelligent and mobile business application services in the Semantic Web.
The essential approach of CASCOM is the innovative inter-disciplinary combination of intelligent agent, Semantic Web, peer-to-peer, and mobile computing technology.
Semantic Web services are provided by peer software agents, which exploit the coordination infrastructure to efficiently operate in highly dynamic environments.
For those interested in a more scientific view of the Semantic Web and related technologies, you can check out the project's website or buy the book, which will be available soon for order at Amazon.
The title doesn't actually reveal the proper value of a technology like this. Remember, this video is just an extreme example. Imagine what it would be like to have a suit like this when you're on your way to meet a client and you have to go through intense rain while walking a few blocks on the street.
This is a Nano-Tex Resists Spills suit and the all idea, as it will be clear to you once you see the video, is to offer a way to avoid those kind of episodes that can ruin your work day: like a coffee spill when you bump against a colleague on the corridor or when a truck goes by, sending that puddle of water right into you...
Now that the Magellan Initiative (Magalhães in Portuguese) is set to kick off soon, I used my secret connections to have access to one of these tiny laptops and test the operating system that will probably be included in the new educational gadget.
Don't ask me for details because I cannot divulge anything... for now (as the Portuguese Government hasn't made any final decisions yet). I'll just leave here one of the pictures I took:
Regarding the laptop itself, I was very pleased with it. It's small and made of plastic but then again it's made to be used by small children. It's not as light as it should and, taking in account that kids already have to carry a lot of books to school, they should have looked into that issue. But the top handle is very handy and will allow kids to carry the computer everywhere on their hands instead of their backpack.
There's a lesson to be learned here: the Internet, whatever way you look at it, can be very powerful when people unite...so don't mess with it...
Source: College Pork
When TPTB knew about a new episode of the Mythbusters that was going to reveal the RFID hack that allows you to easily scan credit card information (while it is still on your wallet), they summoned their large army of lawyers who absolutely made it really clear to Discovery that they were not going to air the episode. And because Discovery is an ad-supported channel, obviously, they backed down.
Check out the report from one of the MB's team members:
Wouldn't it be great if, instead of using vast amounts of money to create an army of lawyers to keep consumers in the dark about this "glitch", the large credit card companies use that money to create more secure ways of payment?
Source: Engadget
Geeks can always find interesting ways of manifesting their level of g33kness: through famous paintings, by developing cutting-edge applications, by facing mathematical challenges or wearing funny t-shirts. But the real geek is the one that is able to produce a cool license plate.
There's more here.
