Business, Marketing, and New Technology
Posts tagged technology
Get Online Help From Forums
Mar 30th
The internet moves fast. Really fast, and moving faster exponentially. Too fast for me most of the time. Seems like just as soon as I figure out what’s what, it’s changed, moved on, done something new and different. All the electronic devices around me are the same. The telephone is no longer a telephone, but a small computer. It takes messages, it takes text, it takes pictures, it tells you where you are, and where the nearest burger joint is. It lets you know when your meatloaf is done. I got a new phone recently, and when I went to work today, I had to leave it in the car, because More >
And The (Robot) Winner Is…
Mar 4th
Robovie-PC! The world’s first full-length marathon for robots, at least two legged robots was run recently in Osaka, Japan, on Saturday, February 26, 2011. The marathon was run on a 100-meter indoor track, and the robots began by doing knee bends or greeting visitors by raising their hands. Robovie-PC is humanoid, and looks like a toy, being toy-sized. The race was a full length marathon, and the robots ran round and round the track for a full two days, non stop, for a total of 26.2 miles.
Only one of the competitors was unable to finish the race, and retired after only completing the first lap. But the others ran day and night, all the way. They managed to get up by themselves if they fell, or ran into another robot on the way. For most of the race, Robovie-PC Lite had a comfortable lead, and it looked like he was going to claim the victory, but he suddenly locked up. This gave Robovie-PC, the chance to move ahead and claim first place. Although Robovie-PC Lite managed to return to the race, and ran really fast, he lost the race by a single second. And, that, after having run for a total of 54 hours, 57 minutes and 50 seconds. Then both first and second place winners bowed and waved to the crowd.
OK, My Camera Dates Back to the Jurassic Age, So What?
Mar 4th
I love taking pictures. At holiday gatherings or parties, I consider myself the unofficial keeper of the history. This means that I periodically circle about, capturing images of whatever people are doing at any given time. So, instead of having a scrapbook of endless posed pictures of head shots, you can look through my books and remember what the day actually was like. This was much harder before the advent of digital cameras. And now my task is much easier because there are usually half a dozen people there with cameras and we share photos, so the event is well covered.
What I didn’t know until recently is that my kids cringe when I get my camera out. No, not because they don’t like getting their picture made, and no, not because I ask for poses or patience, but because it’s so old and ancient. While my daughter has a sweet little pink Nikon Coolpix, and my sons’ cameras all look like tiny cigarette lighters, mine is clunky and fat, and all beat up. I had never given a thought to how old it was because I was still in the wow! stage, being amazed at the wonder of being able to take 200 pictures at one event (instead of the usual 36)
Anyway, once they alerted me to the fact that I was embarrassing them, I decided to think about getting a new one. I found a great site online that has just about every camera listed in one spot, called ShopWiki, so I think I’ll cruise on over there and see what kind of camera suits my fancy. By now, I’m sure I’ll be able to find one that slices, and dices, and cooks dinner for me! What a treat! Check back later to see what I got, ok?
Rolling Dustball Actually Collects the Dust
Feb 9th
A distant relative to the Roomba, perhaps, there’s a new kid on the dust-cleaning block. Invented by Dutch designer Dave Hakkens, the Dustball is a round sphere that resembles a cross between a golf ball, a tumbleweed, and a honeycomb. The designer sees it as an automated way to clean public spaces. It simply rolls itself around the area, picking up dust and debris, and even knows how to find it’s way back to a dock plugged into a wall whenever it needs to be emptied. The two sides of the sphere are honeycombed with latticework, and are attached to each other magnetically. It does require some manual attention, though, to empty the debris. It’s not hard, just pull the two sides apart.
Now, I’ve had some experience with rolling things underfoot, so I’m wondering if having little golf balls rolling randomly around a public place is such a good idea. Stepping on one is a definite hazard, and if the area is large, there would have to be multiple little Dustballs rolling around, increasing the possibility of accidents. Maybe if you made it the size of a beach ball- but then, it could not get under chairs, or tables, or radiators, etc.
I’ve watched the video, and gone to the designers site, but can’t really tell just how big the thing is. I thought it was golf ball size, but this video implies that it is beach ball size.
Hmmm… automatic cleaners are a real good i
idea, but this one might need a little tweaking before enjoying widespread use.
Cement You Can See Through? Not Exactly
Feb 4th
Cement is considered hard, dense and solid, and being inside a cement building is characterized by darkness, or artificial light. That is, until now. At the World Expo last year in Shanghai, transparent cement was seen for the first time at the Italian Pavilion. It’s quite remarkable. While the complete creation process is still a secret, the manufacturer, Italcementi, says that the technology uses a matrix of cement that has resins embedded within it that allow light to pass through, without compromising the overall integrity of the material. The resins fill holes that look like rectangular slats. These holes are about 2-3 millimeters . The end result is that the building is about 20% transparent.
The resins let light pass through, so from the inside of the building, the walls have a soft glow from sunlight, thus reducing the need for artificial lighting. During the day, from the outside, the building looks like any ordinary cement structure, but at night, if the lights are on inside, the outside of the building has a soft ethereal glow. Architect Giampaolo Imbrighi calls the new transparent cement i.light. The i.light material is also cheaper to use than other options, like using optical wires embedded in the cement. It also lets more light come through, and is easier to mesh/integrate with the surrounding cement mixture.
Use Less Ink by Changing the Font – Ecofont
Jan 27th
Ink and ink cartridges are taking a toll on the environment. So hats off to Spranq, a company in the Netherlands, that has developed a new font, that uses up to 20% less ink. Just by choosing to print out your documents in a different font, you’ll end up saving a lot of ink! The font is called Ecofont, and incorporates tiny little holes in each letter. When printed out, the words look the same, but there is less ink used because of the holes in each letter. The eye does not pick up on the difference, unless the font size is over 10.
The font can be downloaded for either Mac or PC. It is free to use, being based on and Open Source font. It is a TrueType font. The download site includes instructions on how to install the font into your own local fonts folder. Instructions are available for Windows XP, and Vista, Mac OS X and Linux.
This new font is so impressive that it won the European Environmental Design Award 2010. Congratulations Spranq, and thank you for helping to reduce our carbon footprint, and helping the whole planet become more Green.