Clipmarks | rmowery's Future-Technology collection

Buffett Pessimistic About Newspapers

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 03:42:11 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Buffett Pessimistic About Newspapers

By Frank Ahrens
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 3, 2007; D05

In his annual letter to his company's shareholders, Warren E. Buffett-- the world's second-richest person and the largest shareholder of The Washington Post Co. -- wrote that "fundamentals are definitely eroding in the newspaper industry" and warned that "the skid will almost certainly continue."

Written in its typical folksy style, the letter is Buffett's 2006 overview of his company, Berkshire Hathaway, and its many holdings, which include Geico insurance, manufacturing units and utilities.

The company reported a $17 billion gain in net worth -- 18 percent growth -- in 2006, largely because "Mother Nature, bless her heart, went on vacation," Buffett wrote. His insurance companies made huge payouts after the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005.

Tags: buffet, newspapers, pessimisim, business, information

Ocean real estate: The next boom?

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 14:58:55 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: money.cnn.com

Ocean real estate: The next boom?

With land getting so crowded, the age-old fantasy of sea-based living is becoming reality. Business 2.0 dives in.

We remember those pledges, ruefully. But with all of our attention on the skies above, we tend to forget about the seas below and another once-popular 21st century prediction: that one day we'll be living on and under the oceans.

(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- We've been promised many things in the world of Tomorrowland: jet packs, flying cars, picnics on the moon.

The idea isn't so far-fetched. As Earth gets increasingly crowded and polluted, some 225 million square miles or prime real estate representing 71 percent of the planet's surface is largely unused. It's remarkable considering the oceans promise plenty of living space, fresh seafood, entertainment, and desalinized water. Surely, technology can make this happen.

In 1964, at the New York World's Fair, General Motors (Charts) sponsored an exhibit of the "near future." The model featured a city 10,000 feet under the sea, with atomic submarines cruising in and out of the Hotel Atlantis and nearby "Aquacopters" mining for minerals and drilling for oil.

Turns out, it can and it soon will - if not quite the way we first imagined. But before diving into what the near future holds, let's resurface what the distant past once promised.

Famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, meanwhile, was busy chasing his own underwater dreams. His experimental habitat, called Conshelf, was built 85 feet below the ocean's surface and was intended to be the future home of a new human species, dubbed Homo Aquaticus, with gills for lungs.

Tags: ocean, housing, real estate, ocean floor, water world

A printer without ink from Zink

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:27:06 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: crave.cnet.com

A printer without ink from Zink

Zink wants to take the printer off of your desk and put it in your pocket. The question now is whether you'll want it.

The Waltham, Mass.-based start-up has created--with help from Polaroid--a way to print photographs or documents without ink or an ink cartridge. Without an ink cartridge, the printer can be reduced to the size of an iPod or smaller, CEO Wendy Caswell says. The controlling factor when it comes to printer size is whether you want 2 x 3 pictures or 4 x 6 prints.

A camera-printer combo the size of an iPod

(Credit: Zink)

The first two products will likely be a standalone printer and a camera with a built-in printer. The company is showing off the technology this week at the technology conference Demo '07 taking place this week in Palm Desert, California. (Sonny Bono and Gerald Ford territory.)

The trick is the paper. In conventional machines, print heads squirt ink in a meticulous pattern onto a sheet of paper, which gets affixed through heat or other means.

In Zink's system, images are created when a heated printer head comes into contact with a sheet of specialized paper. The paper--which is actually a polymer but feels like ordinary photo paper--contains three crystalline layers. The three layers are clear until heated. When heated, the material turns amorphous and changes colors: one of the crystalline layers turns yellow, the middle one goes magenta while the final one turns blue. The layers are activated at different temperatures and require different cooking times.

The first printer will cost about $199. Sheets of 100 pieces of paper will go for $19.95.

Tags: hardware, technology, printer, pocket printer

Optimus OLED Keyboard

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 03:26:08 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: hardware.slashdot.org

Optimus OLED Keyboard Pre-Orders Start Dec. 12

"After almost a year and a half of public development, the Optimus OLED keyboard is nearing completion. According to the project blog, pre-orders for the Optimus-103 will start on December 12. The price is unspecified at this time, but Art Lebedev has said the keyboard will cost 'less than a good mobile phone' (probably about $400). Don't expect to see those 10 programmable function keys on the left on this first version, though, as they will not make their debut until the Optimus-113, released later."

Tags: optimus oled keyboard, digital keyboard

Hitachi: Commercial Mind-Machine Interface by 2011

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 03:22:37 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

Friday, 17 November 2006

Hitachi: Commercial Mind-Machine Interface by 2011
Topic: Innovations

Hitachi's new neuroimaging technique allows its operator to switch a train set on and off by thought alone, and the Japanese company aims to commercialize it within five years.

Mind-machine interfacing isn't unheard of: just weeks ago, a young patient was given a chance to play Space Invaders through the power of thought. And this all comes hot on the heels of a revolution in microsurgery, allowing artificial limbs to be wired to the brain by reusing existing nerves.

The difference this time is that Hitachi's system doesn't invasively co-opt the nervous sytem, instead using a topographic modelling system to measure blood flow in the brain, translating the images into signals that are sent to the controller. So far, this new technique only allows for simple switching decisions, but Hitachi aims to commercialize it within five years for use by paralyzed patients and those undergoing "cognitive rehabilitation."

Model train controlled via brain-machine interface [Pink Tentacle]

Posted by Rob Beschizza 8:29 AM | Post Comment | View Comments (14) | Permalink

Tags: min-machine interface, brain, neurology, psychology, computer integration

Physics promises wireless power

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 09:47:58 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Physics promises wireless power

By Jonathan Fildes

Science and technology reporter, BBC News

US researchers have outlined a relatively simple system that could deliver power to devices such as laptop computers or MP3 players wirelessly.

Plugs and wires could soon become a thing of the past

The tangle of cables and plugs needed to recharge today's electronic gadgets could soon be a thing of the past.

The concept exploits century-old physics and could work over distances of many metres, the researchers said.

Although the team has not built and tested a system, computer models and mathematics suggest it will work.

"There are so many autonomous devices such as cell phones and laptops that have emerged in the last few years," said Assistant Professor Marin Soljacic from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and one of the researchers behind the work.

Tags: physics, wireless power, mit

Disney Movies on a Tiny Disney Screen

Sun, 29 Oct 2006 02:29:03 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Disney Movies on a Tiny Disney Screen

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By WARREN BUCKLEITNER

Published: October 26, 2006

With the recent flurry of devices that play both digital music and movies, it only makes sense that content companies like Walt Disney get into the act, wrapping their branding, or in this case mouse ears, around the gadgets themselves.

The Disney Mix Max Personal Media Player is slightly larger than an iPod Nano and can play MP3 or WMA music files. But the hallmark of this player is the 2.2-inch screen, created especially to display TV-quality Disney videos and movies. The movies, including “High School Musical” and “Ella Enchanted,” are available on specially formatted memory chips that sell for $15 and slip into a side port that also accepts standard SD memory cards.

The device, which will be available next month for $100 at www.disneyshopping.com, is made for Disney by Memorex, and has 512 megabytes of internal memory and a battery that charges through your computer’s U.S.B. port. The navigation buttons form a familiar mousey outline. There is just one audio plug, which makes it hard to share a movie with a friend.

While the ability to play movies on little screens is not new, it has not been as frustration-free as popping in a tiny cartridge. What’s next, miniature popcorn? WARREN BUCKLEITNER

DARPA Exoskelton for GI's by 2008

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 19:12:33 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Exoskeleton update

Five years ago, New Scientist covered plans by the Pentagon’s research arm, DARPA, to build a robotic exoskeleton that would let GIs run faster, leap further and carry more. It was an interesting and ambitious idea - the plan was to have a miniature internal combustion engine moving each powered joint. But we heard no more about it and I just assumed the notion had been quietly dropped.

Far from it. I recently spoke to John Main, chief of DARPA’s exoskeleton program. He says the project is very much alive and that exoskeletons will be delivered for Army testing in 2008. After 14 companies and universities initially (circa 2001) came up with different designs, they have selected the firm that will build the beast: Sarcos of Salt Lake City in Utah, US.

Sarcos has come up with a system that uses just one engine instead of lots of them. The engine, and a tank containing a 24-hour supply of fuel, will be slung “beneath your rear end”, says Main. The engine (a turbine, two-stroke or four stroke - they haven’t decided yet) will then drive hydraulic fluid via high pressure lines to servo valves on each joint, amplifying the force used to move each limb when the wearer’s motion is sensed.

Tags: robotics, human performance, exoskeleton, stregth

Internet user admits 'web-rage'

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 21:26:35 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Internet user admits 'web-rage'

Paul Gibbons, 47, tracked down John Jones using details obtained online after the pair exchanged insults in an internet chatroom, a court heard.

An internet user has been found guilty of what police said was Britain's first "web-rage" attack.

He travelled 70 miles to Mr Jones' home in Clacton, Essex, and beat him up with a pickaxe handle in December 2005.

Gibbons, of Southwark, south London, admitted unlawful wounding and will be sentenced on 7 November.

Threatening exchanges

The pair met in an internet chatroom called Yahoo, Islam 10 as both had an interest in the Muslim faith, the Old Bailey was told.

Their exchanges soured after Gibbons accused Mr Jones of spreading rumours about him.

"There was an exchange of views between the victim and the defendant which were threatening on both sides," said prosecutor Ibitayo Adebayo.

Tags: web rage, attacks, internet, real-life, sociology, psychology

Averatec's $849 dual-core ultraportable

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 21:55:14 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: reviews.cnet.com

October 17, 2006, 11:03 AM PDT

Averatec's $849 dual-core ultraportable

Posted by: Michelle Thatcher

Averatec hopes you, too, will be this happy with the 2300
[+] Enlarge photo

No, that's not a typo. In a world where ultraportables regularly hit the $2,000 mark, Averatec has created a niche with its small, inexpensive systems that are loaded with some pretty compelling components for the price. Thus it is with the just-announced Averatec 2300, a 4-pound system with a 1.6GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50 processor, a 12.1-inch WXGA display, a 100GB hard drive, and a built-in double-layer DVD burner, all for the low, low starting price of $849.

We're eager to see whether the new laptop improves upon its predecessor, the Averatec 2260, which suffered in our battery-drain tests. Stay tuned for results from CNET Labs.

Read also: notebooks, laptops, computers
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Tags: portable computer, ultra portable, low-cost

'DNA computer' is unbeatable at tic-tac-toe

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 21:23:18 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.newscientisttech.com

'DNA computer' is unbeatable at tic-tac-toe

Tom Simonite

NewScientist.com news service

10:35 17 October 2006

A computer that uses strands of DNA to perform calculations has mastered the game tic-tac-toe.

MAYA-II, developed by researchers at Columbia University and the University of New Mexico in the US, uses a system of DNA logic gates to calculate its moves.

A DNA logic gate consists of a strand of DNA that binds to another specific input sequence. This binding causes a region of the strand to work as an enzyme, modifying yet another short DNA sequence into an output string.

Scientists have already developed DNA computers capable of various similar simple calculations. But the researchers behind MAYA-II say their design should prove particularly useful for exploring ways to identify the genetic markers associated with certain diseases.

Another level

A human plays MAYA-II by adding a DNA sequence that represents their chosen move at a particular point in the game. This is added to all 8 wells that correspond to the outer squares on a tic-tac-toe grid. One limitation of the system is that the human player must always go second, after the centre square has been filled by the machine.

The previous version of MAYA, unveiled in 2003, was even more limited. The human opponent’s first move was restricted to one of two squares (see First game-playing DNA computer revealed).

Tags: dna, dna computing, bio-computing, bitech, dna computation, tic-tac-toe

Digital age may bring total recall in future

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 20:18:39 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Digital age may bring total recall in future

POSTED: 2:25 p.m. EDT, October 16, 2006

By Taylor Gandossy
CNN

(CNN) -- Have you ever wished for a backup brain -- a device that could remember everything in your life from the smallest of details to your most memorable moments?

Computer engineer Gordon Bell, a researcher for Microsoft Corp., is working on just such a mechanism. He's trying to devise what amounts to a digital diary, a searchable database that contains digitized versions of nearly everything in his life.

"As a research project, the idea is being obsessed with recording everything I can," said Bell, the head researcher in a project called MyLifeBits for nearly five years at Microsoft.

There are two parts to the project. The first is Bell's experiment with life storage -- capturing his papers, faxes, phone calls, photographs and home movies in digitalized form. The second part focuses on developing software that would support this type of lifetime library on anyone's computer.

Q-Tech Inc. co-founder Sunil Vemuri is developing memory aids that use communication devices such as cell phones.

Tags: total recall, memory, recording, events, organization, future tools

Locked Your Keys In The Car? Get Out Your Cell Phone

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 15:40:30 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.wsdmag.com

Locked Your Keys In The Car? Get Out Your Cell Phone

There has been a rumor going around in one of those dreadful e-mails that your friends and co-workers feel compelled to forward to you all the time. If you lock your keys in your car and you have a remote keyless entry system, you can get outside help to open the car if you have your cell phone with you. Just call someone that has a duplicate key fob that will open your car. Then, hold you cell phone near the door lock and have the person with the key fob call you back. The person with the key fob should then put the key near their phone and push the unlock button. The door should open.

I was skeptical, to say the least, about this rumor, and was about to dismiss it as one more Internet hoax. But I thought I better try it out first. Well, low and behold, it works. I tried it with both GSM and cdma cell phones, and it reliably opens (and relocks) the car.

I have been racking my brain for days about how this works. Two or more different wireless technologies are involved. I even used a 2.4 GHz cordless phone to make the call. The remote keyless entry usually uses on-off-keying (OOK), a form of ASK, to modulate a 315 MHz carrier with the correct serial digital code. Somehow the calling phone picks up this information and transmits it to the receiving cell phone, which then magically retransmits it to the door lock receiver in the car? Yeah, right.

All I can think of is that the digital code from the key fob modulates the sending phone and the receiving phone subsequently picks it up. But how does it transmit the code to the lock receiver in the car? Does the 315 MHz signal ride on the cell phone carrier some how? I thought I was a pretty good wireless guy, but this one baffles me.

Tags: locked keys, cell phone, hacking technology, cell phone keyless fob

Intel Does 3-D touch Holograms

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 03:12:08 GMT

clipped by: rmowery
clipper's remarks: "
In a hospital in Houston, two surgeons appear to be performing a difficult procedure on a cardiac patient. In fact, only one of the doctors in the room is real. The other is a replica-a lifelike physical model whose shape, appearance and movements precisely mimic those of a specialist in Tokyo who is performing the actual work."

Clip Source: www.intel.com

Dynamic Physical Rendering Research at Intel

This scenario may seem like science fiction, but research required to realize it has already begun, in a collaborative research project between Carnegie Mellon University and Intel. The goal of the project, which Intel has labeled Dynamic Physical Rendering (DPR), is to create a new form of media the researchers call pario-Greek for "to bring forth" or "to make."

What the researchers propose to make are moving, physical, three-dimensional replicas of people or objects, so lifelike that human senses would accept them as real. This would eliminate the need for cumbersome virtual reality gear and overcome the viewing angle limitations of modern 3D approaches. The replicas would mimic the shape and appearance of a person or object being imaged in real time, and as the originals moved, so would their replicas. These 3D models would be physical entities, not holograms. You could touch them and interact with them, just as if the originals were in the room with you.

Tags: dynamic physical rendering, intel, holograms, visualization

19 Year Old Diebold Technician Wins U.S. Presidency

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 18:01:44 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.avantnews.com

19 Year Old Diebold Technician Wins U.S. Presidency

By Ion Zwitter, Avant News Editor
Washington, D.C., November 5, 2008

In a dramatic development that has come as a surprise to pundits and the public alike, a youthful technician with Diebold, Inc. has emerged as the unlikely winner of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. The president-elect, 19 year old Billy Pustule of Green, Ohio, reached via SMS at the garage apartment by his mother's house in which he currently resides, said he was "real psyched about being the president" and "had big plans for the inauguration party".

Veteran political observers including Seymour Shackleton of the Miami-Dade Political Coroner have expressed what amounts to sheer disbelief at the unanticipated outcome.

Tags: voting machines, voting, us voting, hacked voting machines