Send a hug

Wish you could reach out and hug someone? With the Hug Shirt, you can. It uses Bluetooth technology to send and receive embraces. Wearing a Hug Shirt, the sender hugs herself. Sensors in the shirt send the data (hug pressure, skin temperature, heart rate, length of hug) via Bluetooth to her mobile phone which in turn sends it to the receiver's phone, which relays it to his shirt, replicating the sensation.

Co-creator Francesca Rosella says the Hug Shirt, made of snug-fitting Lycra and cotton, feels as close to the real deal as it can get. They are available in a number of colors and styles for men and women and are washable! » Continue reading

Read more on Cell Phones, Gadgets, Mobile Phones, Technology

Programmed to Care

Robots on wheels may one day help elderly people. Developed by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, Nursebots are being designed to carry dishes and other household items, remind patients to take medications, monitor movement to prevent falls, and provide a video link to outside professionals.

As baby boomers age, a shortage of caregivers is expected, says Sebastian Thrun of Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute. Some of the slack can be taken up by personal assistants like this prototype (left), whose "face" includes eyes with lids that open and close, and eyebrows that tilt up and down It can respond to simple questions ("What's on TV?"), and nod or shake its head. Circular "ears" twirl slowly when it's thinking." The robot -- commercially viable perhaps within a decade -- is already scoring high on a test run with some senior citizens near Pittsburgh.

Also read
Robots have already proven to be killer machines » Continue reading

Read more on Artificial Intelligence, Technology

What's that drum doing under your table?

Don't be surprised when you find a drum like thing on or under your friend's desk. It could very much be Spotswood Custom Computers' custom built PC cabinet specially and individually handcrafted from high quality raw maple veneer plywood shell/cylinder, to replicate a bass drum.

Spotswood's Computer Cabinets are built from the scratch and are not modified versions of pre-made drums. Its available in seven stained colors - Natural, Light Oak, Dark Oak, Candy Apple Red, Golden Yellow, Blue and Purple.

The L-20 and C-20 Models are large enough to house two of the extremely long (10.5") graphics cards that are currently on the market. Equivalent to a conventional, full-tower size rectangular case, it has enough room to house an ATX form factor motherboard, power supply, four to five internal 3.5" drives and either one external slimline/notebook CD/DVD drive or two 5.25" external CD/DVD drives. A 3.5" I/O panel on the front of the case contains four USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire port, one headphone and one microphone connection.

L-18 and C-18 on the other hand can accomodate only three internal 3.5" drives and one external slimline/notebook CD/DVD drive. The L-18 has even received a '100% KICKASS' review rating from 3dGameMan.com.

The heat generated within the case is expelled by a rear 120mm exhaust fan, a 120mm blowhole fan, and a side 140mm intake LED fan.

Optional features include choice of the number of external drive bays, side panel colors, fans, hard drive activity and power LED colors, lugs, motherboard trays and wood stain colors.

You might worry the "Drum" like custom PC cabinets may emit sounds as loud as the drum. But Spotswood claims that their PC cases are "actually quieter than a metal case".

A perfect product for a Home Theater PC case, the L-Series and C-Series is, as the Computer Source Magazine puts it, "...a truly unique piece of work and is a fantastic gift for the music lover and computer geek alike."

If you have used this cabinet or gifted it to someone, do hash out your review about the Spotswood Custom Drum PC Case/Cabinet. » Continue reading

Read more on Computers, Gifts, Lifestyle, Technology

You light up my brain

When you're in love, your eyes light up, your face lights up -- and apparently, so do four tiny bits of your brain. "It is the common denominator of romantic love," says Andreas Bartels, a research fellow at University College London.

Bartels used functional MRI scanning to examine eleven women and six men who said they were truly in love -- statements backed up by psychological tests. When the subjects were shown photographs of their sweethearts, different areas of the brain scan lit up -- indicating higher blood flow -- than when they were shown pictures of friends. Theses "love spots" were near, but not the same as, sections that become active when someone is feeling simple lust. Looking at pictures of their dearest also reduced activity in three larger areas of the brain known to be active when people are upset or depressed. » Continue reading

Read more on Technology

Technology blues

What happens when technology gets ahead of infrastructure? Residents of villages surrounding Belur in the state of Karnataka in India, have mobile phone and mobile connections. What they didn't have was power supply. For more than a week, no electricity-based device was working in Alehalli Hoblli.

But what stung them most was that mobile phones could not be charged. So they came all the way to Belur town to charge their mobiles. Shopkeepers in Belur were cashing in: they were demanding Rs.10 for charging a phone. » Continue reading

Read more on Cell Phones, Technology, Tid Bits

Sun StarOffice on Singapore Airlines' KrisWorld inflight entertainment system

Sun Microsystems Inc. and Singapore Airlines have rolled out StarOffice software in its new Boeing 777-3000ER aircraft.

It has introduced StarOffice software as part of its next generation KrisWorld inflight entertainment system to meet the increasing needs of travelers today. Passengers from Singapore Airlines will be able to use StarOffice's word processing, spreadsheets and presentation tools which runs on the aircraft's Linux server and is accessed via a seat-back terminal at each passenger's seat.

With heightened security, access to laptops during flights can sometimes be restricted. The availability of StarOffice software, offers Singapore Airlines' customers the opportunity to work on and access their information in an open, secure and freely available fashion independent of any vendor or file formats during their flights.

With StarOffice software supporting an increasing number of productivity file formats like Open Document Format and Microsoft Office, travelers can access such files through a single application with a USB storage device that can be plugged into the USB port embedded in the armrest of each chair (near the headphone jack) and even export documents in PDF format.

StarOffice software is an office productivity product that includes word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, database, graphics, drawing, photo editing and web publishing applications. It is compatible with Microsoft Office. » Continue reading

Read more on Technology, Travel and Holiday

Aten HDMI Switch VS-481 for home theater integration

Aten International's VS481 4-port HDMI switch for home theaters allows users to share their HDMI display device with up to four high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) input sources such as HD DVD players, satellite systems, digital camcorders or video game consoles.

HDMI combines audio and video signals in one cable and provides content protection. Previously, users had to alternately unplug and plug in the differnet devices, whereas VS481 connects up to four different HDMI devices to one HDMI display device.

The VS481 allows users to conveniently switch between the connected digital devices by selecting the desired input source via the IR remote control unit or the front panel pushbuttons. VS481 features a user-friendly design with one of the four HDMI input ports located on the front panel. Thus, users can easily access devices, such as digital camcorders, without always having to move around the HDMI switch for connection. In addtiion, the HDMI switch provides LEDs to indicate the video source channels. Thanks to the plug and play function, the setup of VS481 is very fast and easy -- no software installation required.

Furthermore, it supports HDTV resolution of 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p and computer resolutions of VGA, SVGA, SXGA (1280 x 1024) and UXGA (1600 x1200). » Continue reading

Read more on Gadgets, Multimedia, Technology

Welcome to the New Age

Life as we know will change dramatically over the next five years. This is what 'IBM's research' results say especially in the areas of communication, with predictive mobiles that will, read the user's mind.

Unveiled to shape the future, the 'IBM Next Five in Five' may sound a distant future, yet they are real-life innovators -- a list of innovations that have the potential to change the way people will work, live and play over the next five years. The list is based on market and societal trends expected to transform our lives, as well as emerging technologies from IBM's Labs around the world that could make these innovations possible.

"Our researchers are focused on the application of technologies in ways that matter to people, business and society," said Dr. Daniel Dias, Director -- India Research Laboratory IBM. "Open collaborative research and real-world innovations are going to shape the future. In the next five years, our lives will change through technology innovations in the following ways," said Dr. Dias.


Access healthcare remotely

Millions of people with chronic health problems such as diabetes, heart kidney or circulatory problems will be able to have their conditions automatically monitors as they go about their daily lives. Device makers and health care professionals will take a proactive approach to ongoing, remote monitoring of patients, delivered through sensors in the home, worn on the person or in devices and packaging. These advances will also allow patients to better monitor their own health and help clinicians provide the on-going preventive acre, regardless of a person's location. Hardware and software advances in the field of remote-control healthcare will be a major source of consumer and enterprise innovation by 2012.

Mobile phones to read minds

Advanced 'presence' technology will give mobile phones and PDAs the ability to automatically learn about their users' whereabouts and preferences as they commute, work and travel. Presence technology - used in instant messaging - already makes it possible to locate and identify a user as soon as the user connects to the network.

In five years, all sorts of mobile devices will have the ability to continually learn about, and adapt to your preferences and needs. Your phone will know when you're in class or in a meeting and divert automatically to voice mail. Your favorite pizza joint will know when you're on your way home after a late night and ping you with a special-price, take-home meal just for you.

Real-time speech translation

The movement toward globalization needs to take into account basic human elements such as differences in language, For example, IBM speech innovations are already allowing media companies to monitor Chinese and Arabic news broadcasts over the Web in English, travelers using PDAs to translate menu in Japanese, and doctors to communicate with patients in Spanish. Real-time translation technologies and services will be embedded into mobile phones, handheld devices and cars. These services will pervade every part of business and society, eliminating the language barrier in the global economy and social interaction.

3D Internet

The popular online immersive destinations, such as Second Life and the World of Warcraft, will evolve into the 3D Internet, much like the early workb y the like of Darpa, AOL and Prodigy evolved into the World Wide Web. In this immersive online world, you will walk the aisles of supermarkets, bookstores and DVD shops, where you'll encounter experts you'd rarely find in your local store. The 3D Internet will enable new kinds of education, remote medicine and consumer experiences, transforming how we interact with our friends, family, doctors, teachers, favorite stores and more.

New technologies to address environmental importance

Government and companies are increasingly looking to improve environmental stewardship and working to secure reliable and cost-effective resources like water, energy, etc. Information technology, material science, and physics will help meet environmental needs. Nanotechnology - the ability to manipulate individual atoms and molecules to form tiny new structures - has already had a major impact on microprocessors, making electronic products like PCs and mobile phones small, better and cheaper, In coming years, nanotechnology will likely be used for water filtration. This could advance ecology and conservation, helping to address the growing worldwide shortage of potable water supplies. Other areas where IT, physics, and material science will have a big impact are advanced water modeling and improved solar power systems. » Continue reading

Read more on Artificial Intelligence, Gadgets, Technology

Walk your way to health at work

A sedentary lifestyle coupled with erratic eating habits has resulted in an increasing amount of obese professionals. This is why two researchers in the Mayo Clinic in the US have devised a 'vertical workstation'. This is a desk fitted over a standard treadmill. And you can work out while you work.

The researchers -- James Levine and Jennifer Miller -- persuaded 15 obese people to work at the treadmill-desk and measured how many calories they burned. If an overweight office worker used this vertical workstation all day, every day for a year, he or she could lose up to 66 pounds, the researchers reported in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. On average, the overweight volunteers burned 100 calories more every hour while walkinig slowly, at 1 mile per hour, than while sitting in a chair.

The researchers said their desk costs approximately $1,600. Fancy buying one for your office? » Continue reading

Read more on Gadgets, Health, Technology

How are old black and white films converted into colour?

The film is transferred to digital tape. Then, the first time each shade of grey appears, it is coloured manually on a graphics computer and given an identification code. Every time the grey reappears the computer colours it automatically. The process was first used in 1985 on the James Cagney classic Yankee Doodle Dandy. Though the technique was successful for video, the results were not good enough for big-screen projection. Today's advanced film scanners and recorders mean this is now possible, but colorization has largely died out following film industry complaints that the process distorts the original intentions of filmmakers. » Continue reading

Read more on Computers, Entertainment, Technology, Tid Bits

Perfect Pitch

It won't change the world, but it will change your voice. Canda-based IVL Technologies' On-Key Karaoke Hand Held Player looks like a simple microphone, but as you warble into it, a microprocessor "corrects" your pitch.

The idea came to IVL's president Phil Scott in 1983 when he took up the flute. Frustrated by his own tin ear, he conceived an instrument-pitch detector that transformed musical notes into digital format. It didn't sell well, but it spurred Scott to search for other applications, including pitch detectors and harmonizers for commercial karaoke systems.

"Karaoke's the modern equivalent of the family singing around the piano," says Scott. » Continue reading

Read more on Gadgets, Technology, Tid Bits

Have a Mostly Sunny Day!

A radio alarm clock may be fine for many of us, but not for Douglas Le Comte, a meteorologist and Weatherwise magazine contributor. He uses the Wireless Forecast Station. It can wake you up, display a 24-hour forecast, show barometric pressure and its trend, and give you a wireless temperature reading from another location, like the garage. » Continue reading

Read more on Gadgets, Lifestyle, Technology

Women swoon for hi-tech woo

Men looking to further their romance with flowers may want to think tech instead. A small Amazon.co.uk study at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, measured women's reactions to gifts: They showed most arousal when imagining getting electronic gadgets. In addition, a study of 1000 people found six in ten women said their love lives suffered if they had no mobile phone or hand-held computer with them. » Continue reading

Read more on Cell Phones, Computers, Gadgets, Lifestyle, Technology, Tips and Tricks

Speeding up a sluggish computer

Steps to take before spending money on costly upgrades.

Empty the trash. Files dragged to the trash icon may be out of sight, but they continue to eat up valuable space. Only when the trash is emptied is space freed up.

Restart your computer. Even when you quit a program, large ones may continue to siphon off memory. Restarting (or "rebooting") adjusts this problem.

Fix fragmented files. Over time, files on your hard drive may become fragmented, i.e. a file may be broken up into pieces and written on different far away locations on the hard disk drive, requiring more time to read the file from the hard disk drive. Most PCs come with a defragment program. In Windows you can find it under Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter.

Purge old e-mail files. Many e-mail programs save copies of every message you send. Empty or reduce this backup file to free up hard-drive space. If necessary, ask your e-mail service to help locate the files.

Switch off start-ups. Programs that support instant messaging and calendars begin running as soon as you start your computer and use up its resources. You're better off turning them on as needed. » Continue reading

Read more on Computers, Technology, Tips and Tricks

Cat walk on the keyboard

Cats and computers don't mix. Any cat owner will tell you kitties like to walk, jump or sprawl on keyboards in just such a way as to uninstall software or even crash your computer. "For some cats, keyboards are like New Age sandals with rubber nubs pointing upwards onto their soles. Shiatsu for cats, maybe," says computer programmer Chris Niswander, inventor of PawSense, a program that can sense when a cat depresses multiple keys. One or two paw steps are enough for the software to block access to computer and emit anticat sounds -- a variety of annoying noises performed by Niswander. You can also record your own message such as "Bad kitty!"

You might also be interested to read:

• Interpreting the dog tail wag.
  
• Can dogs watch TV?
  
• Social networking for cats and dogs!

» Continue reading

Read more on Computers, Pets, Technology

Remedy for falling asleep while at the driving wheel

Vehicles of the future may keep an eye on their drivers, rousing you if you start to nod off, thanks to new technology that can scan your face for signs of drowsiness.

FaceLab uses two cameras built into the dashboard to identify key points on your face (it's unfazed by sunglasses or a head turned to one side), creating a 3D picture which it compares to a computer model. By analyzing the movements of your head, the rate you blink and the angle of your gaze it monitors progressive drowsiness. If you're in a danger of falling asleep, the system could trigger alarms or a flashing red light-which could refuse to stop until the card did. If the system works and is adopted by the industry it could help save the innumerable lives lost each year from falling asleep at the wheel. » Continue reading

Read more on Automobiles, Gadgets, Lifestyle, Technology

Getting the most from AA batteries

It turns out that batteries aren't as "perishable" as we thought. "You can buy batteries in value packs and store them up to five years witout fear that their energy wll drain," says Mark Connelly, Consumer Reports director of appliance testing. Just don't toss loose batteries into a shoebox with metal objects. They can touch and lose power. As for putting batteries in the fridge, the chill does not preserve or extend their life by much, Connelly says. Here's a battery-buyer's guide:

Alkaline: Single-use battery best for low-drain electronics such as remotes and many toys.

Premium alkaline: Lasts longer than regular alkalines. Good for high-drain devices such as digital cameras.

Rechargeable nickel-cadmium: Less powerful than alkalines but can be recharged. Most suited for remotes, toys and small radios.

Rechargeable nickel-metal hydride: Ideal for high-drain items thanks to its extended life. » Continue reading

Read more on Gadgets, Technology, Tips and Tricks

Coping with too many high-tech choices

Remember when shopping for a camera was easy? Fiddle with a few models, pick one and go home happy. Today you practically need a degree in computer science and three months just to research the right one.

The same clutter exists in virtually every category of consumer electronics and technology. Faced with too many choices, people cannot compare all the options competently, says Barry Schwartz, an American professor of social theory and author of The Paradox of Choice. For example, one university study found that a supermakret customer offered 24 varieties of jam was less likely to by any jam, than a customer offered just six varieties.

So how can time-pressed electronics shoppers make a decision without feeling regret? Experts urge self-restraint:

Stick to a budget: It's easy to get snowed into adding features that inch up the price, says Brian Clark, founder of The Tech Enthusiast's Network, a consumer technology consulting service. Begin with an absolute price ceiling, he says, and you will automatically limit yourself to the best product you can afford.

Know your needs: Ask a friend or relative who is up on electronics to explain the options and then figure out which ones matter most to you.

Talk the talk: Before coming face to face with sales people who favour jargon, bone up on the lingo. Clark says knowing what key terms mean in advance can inoculate you against buying more that you need.

Ease the pressure: If you feel overwhelmed, leave the store, Clark says. Impulse purchases rarely wind up satisfying in the long run.

Train you brain: No product is perfect. And with electronics, there's always a new, more technically sophisticated version just around the corner. "We tend to focus on what's satisfying about your purchase," Barry Schwartz says. » Continue reading

Read more on Gadgets, Shopping, Technology

Printing 3D

I just dropped my mobile phone and the outer casing has broken. What do I do?

Probably go to the suppliers and check if they can encase my phone in a new body - not a cheap or easy task. The new casing costs almost a fourth of the price of the phone.

Exact replacement

Your spectacle frame has cracked. It is difficult to find the exact replacement, which will take the place of the same costly and well-worn pair of glasses. You are forced to compromise and order the nearest fit. Theses are the scenarios of yesterday and today. Now take a peak at tommorow -- not sometime in the distant future, but later this year:

You 'capture' the shape of an object - like a mobile phone case or a spectacle frame -- using special softare; then you turn on your 3-D printer, which looks exactly like your normal laser printer, only slightly larger.

You ensure that its 'printing' medium -- not ink in a cartridge but one filled with finely powdered plastic -- is adequate; you press 'print' on your PC -- and a new phone case or whatever, is created slowly, layer by layer, in front of your eyes. It dries in seconds and is ready to use -- may be after some sand papering to smooth the edges.

Congratulations, you have entered the era of three-dimensional (3D) printing.

Desktop Factory, a spin-off from the US based IdeaLab, promises that by end 2007, it will offer a consumer model of its 3D printer for under $5,000. IdeaLab's technology makes use of a halogen lamp to heat powdered plastic that adheres to a roller and a focused laser beam to fuse it, to form a one dimensional image of the object required.

Thus far the process is very similar to the way an image is fused in a laser printer. The 'image' is rolled on to a plate and prints as a layer, much as it would on paper in a normal printer.

Now is where 2D becomes 3D. The process is repeated again and again, depositing more layers, stacking one on top of another, in the 3rd dimension, to form the solid object. Heat is applied again to fuse all the layers into a single object.

Remember how one made paper mash items in school, by pasting layers of soaked and gummed paper on a mould to create bowls and vases? » Continue reading

Read more on Cell Phones, Computers, Gadgets, Technology

Genius G-Shot D5123 5.0 megapixel CMOS digital camera

Genius' G-Shot D5123 is a new feature rich 5 megapixel four-in-one CMOS digital camera. Its slide cover and light body make it extremely portable. The G-Shot D5123, four-in-one includes functionalities like digital camera, digital video camera, web camera and storage drive. Although the camera comes with a 32MB memory card, it can be upgraded upto a 1 GB SD memory card.


G-Shot D5123 enables high quality images up to 12 megapixel by interpolation to be taken sharply in large size pictures of 12-inch x 18-inch. The built-in microphone provides voice for video in 640x480 (VGA) and 320x240 (QVGA). A 2.0-inch color TFT LCD screen make it easy to frame th subject when capturing images and also displays the image comfortably in playback mode. The 4x digital zoom can help focus on far subjects easily.

Choosing slideshow function in playback mode, one can share photos with family and friends immediately like a digital photo frame DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) function. One can specify the image and the number of prints while chiecking the image n the display screen. With 1GB external memory card one can store over 50,000 images.

It's priced at INR 6,900 (USD 172 approx.) » Continue reading

Read more on Digital Cameras, Gadgets, Photography, Technology