As you may or may not have noticed, I haven’t had a podcast up in three weeks or so. I was expecting a hiatus during training at my new job. However, because of IT lockdown, I can’t do the research for the show at work. What this adds up to is that I don’t have the time to work, commute, take care of my home, and research and produce a podcast. As with most things in a grownup life, the needs come before the wants. If I didn’t need to eat and have a roof over my head, I could continue to do the podcast I want. I have enjoyed my short time on this, but I’m going to have to stop producing Gadgets, Gizmos, and Geekery. I will probably start a new podcast some time in the future, but I can’t give a start date or even a format. The future will bring what it brings.
Gadgets, Gizmos, and Geekery
The week’s tech news in the modern attention span.
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Final AnnouncementPosted by kevin
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15May 08 (0) Comments
Gadgets, Gizmos, and Geekery #12Posted by kevin
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18Apr 08 Liverpool Observatory Design firm Duggan Morris Architects has submitted a proposed building for a Liverpudlian observatory. The design features two structures: a “bowl” and a “lamp”. The “bowl” will be an event site for concerts and the like. The “lamp” will be an observatory. Rather than using a lot of power to light the observatory, the structure will be made with photo-luminescent materials and a great deal of glass, letting the building glow. There’s talk of using water to run the lifts and wind or tidal power to reduce the need for carbon emissions. Hydro Plane Boeing have launched a proof-of-concept aircraft that uses no petroleum for thrust. The plane is a samll, two-seat affair in keeping with Beoing’s statements that a larger craft is impractical. The Dimona motor glider made its initial climb on hydrogen fuel cell and battery power before flying for twenty minutes on hydrogen only. This is the first manned flight to be powered by fuel cells. Boeing does note that fuel cells might be used for secondary systems on larger craft. Little DNA DNA is not very big to begin with, so it’s news tests are using less of it. The “forensic science regulator” in the UK has backed the use of low-template DNA testing in criminal cases. The method utilises the DNA from as few as four or five cells to develop a profile. Some UK justices feel that the technique is flawed, but the Crown Prosecution Service believe that “low-copy number DNA analysis provided by the Forensic Science Service should remain as potentially admissible evidence”. Road Spoons I’ve seen signs that warn of actual freezing, but France is looking at roads that warn of freezing. Using technology that has shown up in cereal box spoons, Autovia is developing patches for the road that indicate freezing temperatures. The biggest problems they’re running into are durability and change temperature since they want to get salt trucks out before roads get too bad. Bike There Bikers, that would be bicyclists, have started a petition to present too Google. Their request: give us a bike there option on those beautiful maps. The reasoning seems to be that there are roads that should be avoided while bicycling. The authors of the petition point out that there a community based initiatives to produce the same result, but these appear to be volunteer run, so they don’t have the funding to buy all the necessary equipment, and get out to map everything. Liverpool Observatory Gadgets, Gizmos, and Geekery #11Posted by kevin
Japanese Ants Most of the time, I think Japan gets all the cool toys, now, I think they get the worst ones, too. Bandai has created Ants Life Studio, a virtual ant farm. Think Tamagotchi crossed with the geek pet of the ages, an ant farm. The device gives you the opportunity to sit and watch fake ants dig a fake colony, and fight off fake enemies - all in monochrome. Japan can keep this one. Free Cars A new company, called Project Better Place, has devised a scheme wherein drivers would receive free electric cars. There are currently two big hitches: first, you have to sign up for six years of charging and battery service, second, you have to live in Israel or Denmark. The folks over at Dvice think there’s a flaw with the concept when applied to large areas, but I think the U.S. could use this as franchises; set up a small place and share the costs and profits over a network. There’s some bashing of the concept going on about proprietary equipment, but ultimately you have to weigh the costs yourself. Portable Power Portable is a relative word with the PowerCube 6000. Cube is also relative. The ratios of this thing’s dimensions are about the same as a family ice chest. However, the short side looks to be about four feet (a little over a metre). This forklift-able block would make for a good backup system, or primary power for a little cabin in the middle of nowhere. Temporary Tattoo Paper Crafty Computer Paper is selling sheets that you can use to make your own temporary tattoos. The really cool part of this is that you can now do cut and paste modifications of your favourite characters and wear them for everyone to see. This should also work well for theatrical use (add tattoos to a character without needles or continually reapplying makeup). Self Made Beds We’ve all heard of self-made men. Now, there may be self-made beds. A gentleman named Enrico Berruti has designed ‘Selfy, the Easy Bed’. The bed comes with a pair of rails on the sides which can be rasied and lowered. When they’re up, a small device runs from the foot to the head of the bed pulling the sheet flat, then the rails fold down. I hope the thing lets go of the sheet when it’s done, or you’ll have a time trying to get in bed. Japanese Ants One of these days, I’ll get the import set up properly so I don’t forget to update GGandG.net manually. Gadgets, Gizmos, and Geekery #10Posted by kevin
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3Apr 08 Water and Power Dean Kamen, the man behind the rather dorky Segway, has unveiled production models of a water purifier and electricity generator intended for third-world countries. The units are listed at US$1500 and US$3700 respectively. The water purifier vaporises any water source and pumps the waste sludge out the back, and 1,000 liters of clean water out the tap. The generator will run on anything that burns. The field test for the generator ran the units on cow dung, but Kamen is hoping that they can be fed the waste from the purifier, which should be capable of running from the waste heat of the generator. I’m not certain how the purifier runs from the heat, but if it works like that, this is a beautifully sustainable concept. ET Organics Armoured Clothing If you’ve ever read the rulebooks for CyberPunk 2020 or ShadowRun, you know that in the future it will be perfectly normal to have clothes that stop a bullet yet remain fashionable. Nihon Uni is working on making our world a cyberpunk dream: they’re releasing t-shirts (both long- and short-sleeved) that can resist the cutting edge of a blade. They still can’t stop the point of the knife or an arrow, and they may resist being holed by a bullet, so your shirt will remain intact over the bullet hole in your side (bullet resistant armour uses heavy plates to stop the bullet, the kevlar just keeps the fabric in one piece). The shirts start at US$191 (¥19,000). Solar Efficiency Mitsubishi Electric has set a record for the efiiciency of a solar panel. The article contains some technical explanations that sound really impressive, but don’t mean a thing to those of us without a double E degree (Electircal Engineering). The panel that set this record has an 18.6% efficiency rate. Homemade Egg Muffin Sandwich One of Amazon’s partner stores (the ones that sell through Amazon’s interface, but are their own stores), is carrying a single and double unit toaster that will toast your English muffin and poach an egg for your egg and muffin breakfast sandwich. The only thing they forgot was the sausage patty/bacon cooker. Water and Power Gadgets, Gizmos, and Geekery #9Posted by kevin
Apology First off, my apologies to anyone who ran into the formatting error I missed for two weeks… The bamboo Asus story did it. It’s all the computers’ faults. Clickety-click-click I’m very much in favour of the three button mouse. However, eleven is taking it just too far. The mouse has most of the buttons you would expect to find on a “multi-media” keyboard: internet, play, skip forward and back, volume control, even page up and down buttons. The one thing missing from keyboards that this mouse has is the mouse resolution button. This mouse would be pointless enough, but it’s not that far from the norm; at the bottom of the product page, the shop was showing two mice with nine buttons. iMiEV Mitsubishi brought a toy over to the States for journalists to play with - alas, I was not one so fortunate. DVICE had a chance to test drive the iMiEV, an all electric version of the i-minicar. The body of the vehicle is a bit small for most Americans’ tastes, but I’ve seen tiny cars in the moderately rural area in which I live, so that’s acceptable. A Mitsubishi spokesman indicated that if there is ever an American release, it’ll probably be wider. Denki Nissan have unveiled a concept car called the Denki Cube. The small, electric vehicle has a body style that makes the older Scion xB’s look sporty. The head and tail lamps shine through punchouts in the grill and bumper, making for a slightly odd look there as well. Tech Recycling You know all those old electronics your significant other is always telling you to get rid of? Now Americans have an easy way to dispose of them in an ecologically sound fashion: the United States Postal Service has envelopes for you to stuff with printer cartridges, PDAs, old mobiles, digital cameras, and MP3 players. The postage is paid by Clover Technologies Group, a company with a “zero waste to landfill” policy. Tesla The Tesla Roadster has officially gone into production. The car claims to do 130 miles per hour with a range of 250 miles. I kinda want one just to play with the morons flying down the highway at 80 or 90. That just tells you why I shouldn’t have one. Fiskar Karma Electric and hybrid cars all have a social problem. Specifically, they’re too soft spoken. Fiskar are looking to correct this with the Karma, an $80,000 gas-electric hybrid sports car. The Karma will be outfitted with external speakers. Fiskar intend for these speakers to play engine noise. That’s all fine and dandy until someone decides to add a couple subwoofers and an amp and turn the thing into a rolling boombox. Kudos to Whole Foods Whole Foods, Glastonbury, Connecticut, has a new power system in place. The store is providing about half of the electricity for the 46,000 square foot grocery from a fuel cell. The article doesn’t specify, but I gather that the cell is on-site, just like the one at Middletown High School and Vocational Agricultural Center, again in Connecticut. The technology, which is almost two centuries old, also produces water as the emissions, reducing Whole Foods’ pollution by an amount comparable to planting twenty-one acres of forest. Flatwire Lifehacker.com has a brief writeup about a technology called Flatwire. The basic idea is that rather than dragging round cables and wires all over the place, you just unroll the Flatwire, attach it to the wall and paint or paper over it. I saw this on a TV show several years ago, and they mentioned the same problem I see today: once it’s painted or papered over, you have to be real careful where you hang your pictures, or you’re going to put a hole styraight through your dollar-and-a-half-per-foot speaker wire. The manufacturer also sells low-voltage lighting fixtures which use the cables. I think the ultimate result is once you have your very pretty installation done, don’t change anything. IdleAire I’ve known that long-haul trucks are supposed to be comfortable, but there’s a new (to me) system to make them even nicer during the half of the day when the driver is sitting idle. Appropriately enough, the system is called IdleAire and looks like a sweet idea. The truck owner buys a ten-dollar window adapter, which allows the hose from the system to connect to the truck. The end of each hose provides 120-volt power, high speed internet through an ethernet jack or the integrated touchscreen and your keyboard, basic satellite TV, phone service and heating and air conditioning. All of this adds up to saved money for the owners of the trucks, and more money for the truck stop or parking lot owners. It also means the trucks aren’t idleing for ten hour stretches to keep the drivers cool (or warm) while they take their mandated rests. Gadgets, Gizmos, and Geekery #7Posted by kevin
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11Mar 08 Bamboo Asi Asus has expanded their bamboo offerings to include two identified and one concept laptop and a mini PC and monitor. The articles I read are taking stabs at Asus because the majority of a computer’s components can’t be replaced with bamboo. Prices are predicted to be high, but some of us think all computer prices are high. I’d love a bamboo cased computer, but replace the plastic keys with bamboo as well. For those who don’t know why bamboo is eco-friendly, it grows up to four feet in a twenty-four hour period. High Speed Network Using one million euro in funding, a British group has developed a new high speed network adapter. The claims include the ability to download fifteen full-length movies in one minute, and an operating cost of just twenty-five percent of current systems. The device will utilise current fibre networks, removing the need to rip it all out. Hybrid Electric Mower Husgvarna has unveiled a new automatic lawnmower. The big difference between this mower and other automatic units is the solar cell covering the upper surface. The four-thousand dollar device will run about forty minutes on a full battery, plus whatever time it can get from the sun. If the sun isn’t out, the mower will go back to its charging station automatically when the batteries get too low. When it is no longer serviceable, ninety percent of the parts can be recycled. Padded Posts I thought the US had cornered the market on really stupid behaviours, but I was wrong. Brits apparently can’t text and walk at the same time. Brick Lane in London has received the first trial installation of padded lamp posts. Apparently a large percentage of Londoners have bruised, stubbed, or otherwise injured themselves on the innocent objects. So, the poor, defenseless posts are getting padded to protect them from the careless walkers. This does kind of show how clueless people get when they’re texting. Let’s take safety laws a step further and not only ban texting while driving, but also require that texters not walk while texting. Positive Energy A couple weeks ago, I wrote a bit about Masdar (which never got recorded). Apparently, the headquarters of the carbon neutral design will provide more energy than it will use. It will start providing power very soon after construction is started; the first piece to go up will be the solar cell roof. Powerful Excretions If you really want to make the most of everything, slap a Benkatina Turbine in the drain line from your toilet. The contraption takes the rushing water and turn it into electricity. The biggest problem here is that any potential energy in the water was put there by running motors to fill the towers which uses more energy than the little box will generate, Bamboo Asi Gadgets, Gizmos, and Geekery #6Posted by kevin
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4Mar 08 Hologram Chip A Japanese printing company is teaming up with Hitachi to produce the next generation of inventory tracking tags. The tags will have an RFID chip embedded in a hologram. The backing of the tag is a sticker that falls apart when you try to remove it, making it impossible to transfer the tag. Homeless Voice Mail Google has released its phone service, GrandCentral to a new audience. The web search giant is getting together with the city of San Francisco to provide free voice mail to the homeless and the shelters of San Francisco so they can give out a number for job hunting, clinic visits, and other situations where you need a phone number. ReadyBot Once again, something really cool turns out to be not so cool. The ReadyBot, a kitchen assistance device, looked like a great idea. That was until I saw the video where it moves like a snail. If they speed it up and make it smaller (it’s currently about the size of a dishwasher), I might consider one. Better yet, a dedicated device to take the dishes out of the sink, rinse them, and put them into the dishwasher; I’m great at cleaning counters, but can never seem to get the dishes in the dishwasher. FCC on the Side of Net Neutrality The FCC have announced that they are willing to take steps to repserve net neutrality. At a hearing regarding Comcast’s “traffic shaping” policies, FCC Chairman, Kevin Martin effectively told the network providers that they can take reasonable steps to prevent data congestion, but they have to tell everyone about them. Also speaking the meeting, Representative Edward Markey of Massachussets said, “The beauty of the Internet is that it’s got a wonderfully chaotic, evolving nature.” Markey has also sponsored legislation to require net neutrality. Windshields Without Wipers The original article is a little complicated to read, but Fioravanti have deeveloped a protoype installation of a nanotech automotive windshield. The purpose of the windshield is to do away with windshield wipers. The design uses a hydrophobic surface with a multilayer substrate that is supposed to push dirt and water to the side. Part of the effectiveness of the system comes from the shape of the installation which allows the wind of the vehicle’s passage to blow the wind over the surface. Hologram Chip - http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2008/02/toppan_ic_hologram_tag.html Hello to Cathy and crew over at The Game Vault, my local gaming store. LED Street Lamps Japan will be getting new street lamps of the LED variety. These, unlike all the others that are popping up, have a price tag: about $1200 to $1300, US of course. Each model has several lenses to spread the light. Space Invaders Another geeky bit: this year is the thirtieth anniversary of Space Invaders, and you can get commemorative towels to dry your alien body. Maui Power An Australian company is planning to provide up to 27 megawatts to Maui. The project will include two or three wave platforms built offshore and feeding power to Maui Electric Company. Air Cars, Again Tata Motors, the inexpensive Indian car company is planning a compressed air vehicle for the US. With stats like a range of a thousand miles, and a top speed of ninety-six miles an hour, you can colour me shocked if we ever see anything this good in the States, especially at the projected $17,800 price tag. Green Freedom A new project, called Green Freedom, has a concept in development which would not only reduce emissions, but could possibly reduce the CO2 already present in the atmosphere. The process utilises electrochemical separation to pull carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into car- and plane-friendly fuel. Green Freedom like the previously mentioned banana fuel process will utilise existing systems to reduce the initial costs and resistance. LED Street Lamps - http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2008/02/led_street_lamps_in_japan.html Space Invaders - http://www.geekalerts.com/space-invaders-bath-towels/ Maui Power - http://www.technologynewsdaily.com/node/9214 Air Cars, Again - http://dvice.com/archives/2008/02/zero_pollution.php Green Freedom - http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/23/green-freedom-turns-the-airs-co2-into-auto-powering-fuel/ Gadgets, Gizmos, and Geekery #3Posted by kevin
2008-02-13 Talking Cars Cheap Hydrogen Modu Cooking Japan Yay Verizon! Revolving Door Power Talking Cars - http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2008/02/vehicletovehicle_communications.html |
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