Sunday, February 28, 2010

SuperNews!: The Memes of Memetasia

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Green Power

Since the 70's we have been looking for green power, and I think I can safely say the "future is now". In the last few years I have seen some amazing innovation in this field, more then I have ever seen in the last few decades For example there have been huge leaps in bio-fuels, and power generation (i.e.: solar, wind, nuclear, etc.).

I have to admit one of the area I find most interesting is waste products to fuel/energy conversion. There is some very interesting innovation in this field, from methane capture to converting solid waste material into fuel. So personally I believe if these technologies play out, waste will be the future of energy.

SAMSUNG Flexible AM OLED (Unbreakable Display)



LCDs screens are lighted from the back. An AM OLEDs is created by 3 layers of high-tech films (red, green, and blue), and every pixel is made of light that is emitted from the three layers. Because there is no need to light the pixels on OLEDs from the back you can make the screens thinner and flexible.

Believe it or not: Avatar takes 1 petabyte of storage space, equivalent to a 32 YEAR long MP3.

The The Next Web.com reports: "The entire rendering of Avatar reportedly requires over 1 Petabyte of storage space according to BBC’s Clickbits, which is the equivalent of 500 harddrives of 2TB each. That’s equal to a 32 year long MP3 file(!)."

That is a pretty amazing amount of storage.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Turning Carbon Dioxide into Stone



From ScienceFriday.com: "What if you could take CO2, pump it down a deep hole in the sea floor and turn it into something harmless? New research suggests the idea is not so far-fetched. David Goldberg, Taro Takahashi and Angela Slagle of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory published a study on the subject in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week."

I am not a big fan of this type of technology, but it's interesting.

A Recipe for Slime (DIY)



From: ScienceFriday.com: "Want to make slime? Two chemistry students from Hofstra University in Long Island, New York share their recipe. Also, find out how to make the gooey stuff glow. The presentation took place at the New York Hall of Science in honor of National Chemistry Week. It was sponsored by the New York section of the American Chemical Society."

A note from the site: "In the video, Alex says "1/16th - so 1/8th tsp ZnS" -- that is, 1/16th of the total mass should be ZnS (not 1/16th tsp, as the graphic shows)."

Sunday, February 21, 2010

G-Speak - Gesture Computing (Next Generation User Interface?)



It seems like every month, we are getting closer and closer to the gesture computing type concept that were used in the movie Minority Report. Here is a condensed demonstration of Oblong's G-Speak spatial operating environment.

A Brief History of Pretty Much Everything (Animated)



This animated movie took 2100 pages, about 50 jotter books, and roughly 3 weeks work.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Thought of the day: Cliques and Social media web sites

As Americans we tend to isolate ourselves into our little cliques (friends/family). For example, do you know your neighbors (I know a few will say they do)? Also personal technologies (like music player) cause us to isolate even more. Although, social media web sites like Facebook are very fascinating because they enforce/break cliques apart.

I have a fascination with Facebook. Not because any of the technologies of the web site. Its real power comes from its users/community. It has allowed me to connect with long lost friends that I have not seen in a long time, it has also allowed me to connect into social communities that I am interested in.

I was a late comer to this technology mostly because I didn't see it's real power. Although there is part of me wonders if this is nothing but another fad, and/or how long it might last?

Sunday, February 14, 2010

An Interactive Video Haiti Earthquake (360 Degree View)



This is an amazing interactive video; you can change the point of view of the camera using the mouse (or zoom using the scroll button) while the video is playing. Footage is of the damage done after the earthquake in Haiti. You can also, pause, forward or rewind the video as it plays.

Note: A fast CPU and broadband internet connection are required to play this video.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Computer Science rap at Stanford (NSFW)



Warning: Contains inappropriate language. So its not safe for work.
Nerdcore rapper Monzy busts rhymes with an accuracy rate of 98.2%.

Filmed on the Campus of Stanford University for the documentary NERDCORE FOR LIFE. Dir: Dan Lamoureux

NOTE: Raw footage of this performance has been on youtube for a while but this is the new, edited version that's free of all the zooms and goofy shaky cam action.

FedEx Super Bowl Commercial



Here is one of my favorite commercial from the 2010 Super Bowl. It is not one of my all-time favorites but its up there.

Sunday, February 07, 2010

Anthony Atala: Growing New Organs



Anthony Atala's state-of-the-art lab grows human organs -- from muscles to blood vessels to bladders, and more. At TEDMED, he shows footage of his bio-engineers working with some of its sci-fi gizmos, including an oven-like bioreactor (preheat to 98.6 F) and a machine that "prints" human tissue.

Cars Without Drivers?

LiveScience.com reports "Meet Boss - the car that can drive itself! It has 18 sensors, including a three dimensional laser and onboard computers that connect to GPS and mapping software. When it comes to knowing the rules of the road, Boss rarely makes a mistake."

I have been watching the self-driving cars technology progress for years. The early ones I saw could barely stay on the road, and used enough computers to fill-up a large van. They're only getting better, and the technology used to run them getting smaller, which is expected.

Office 2010: The Movie



Official Trailer to Office 2010 The Movie (www.office2010themovie.com). This trailer is loosely based on 24 and Enemy of the State. Clippy will finally be avenged.

Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology



Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data -- including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper "laptop." In an onstage Q&A, Mistry says he'll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all.

Light Blue Optics (Touch Surface Projector)



Here is a device that creates a touch screen that will work on just about any surface? Light Blue Optics' CTO, Dr. Adrian Cable, and co-founder talks about this projector and touch surface computer can do. For more go to http://lightblueoptics.com/

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Google Shows Off Chrome OS Tablet Mockup - Mobile and Wireless from eWeek

eWeek reports: "Apple's iPad captured the hearts and minds of Apple fans and critics alike Jan. 27. Google, whose Android and Chrome Operating System platforms are intended to run in a variety of form factors, isn't letting Apple and its newfangled machine have all the fun. Pictures of what a tablet computer running Chrome OS looks like have surfaced on Google's Chromium open-source Website."

It will be interesting to play with one, when it ships.