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Hi-Tech Shoes For Ladies Have Heel Height Extenders
Thankfully just a concept for now, the Goodie 2 Shoe is an idea in function, and definitely not in form. They're ugly, sure, but they have a neat trick: the heel is adjustable with magnets and hidden hinges... Thankfully just a concept for now, the Goodie 2 Shoe is an idea in function, and definitely not in form. They're ugly, sure, but they ... more
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Guru of Low-Tech Fixes World on $2 a Day
From impoverished Peruvian villages to MIT's D-Lab, professor Amy Smith and her spirited team of engineers are on a mission: Fight global poverty and improve living standards for developing countries—one low-cost, accessible invention at a time. From impoverished Peruvian villages to MIT's D-Lab, professor Amy Smith and her spirited team of engineers are on a mission: Fight glo... more
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Ten communication inventions that changed the world forever
Once these mass communication tools were invented this planet was never the same again.
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Fully immersive virtual reality
The next generation of virtual reality is being perfected right now at the University of Washington. Talk about getting into the game, literally. The next generation of virtual reality is being perfected right now at the University of Washington. Talk about getting into the game,... more
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Samsung Launches 128GB Solid-State Drive For Notebooks
While solid-state storage has its advantages, the components are also considerable more expensive than hard disk drives.
Samsung on Wednesday said it has started mass production of a 128-gigabyte solid-state drive, which is offered as an alternative to more power-hungry hard disk drives.
The SSD is being produced in two sizes, 1.8 inches and 2.5 inches. In addition, Samsung started producing this month a 64GB model of the new SSD.
High-capacity SSDs are meant to satisfy the storage requirements of most business users and PC enthusiasts, the company said in a statement. While hard-disk drives are available in much larger storage capacities, SSDs are more rugged, deliver faster boot and application startup times, and consume less power that HDDs. The Samsung devices use 0.2 watts in standby mode and 0.5 watts in active mode.
While SSDs have their advantages, the components are also considerable more expensive than HDDs. Depending on the storage capacity, they can add several hundred dollars to the price of a notebook.
The new Samsung SSDs have a write speed of 70 megabytes per second and a read speed of 90MB per second. The 128GB SSD lasts about 20 times longer than the typical four- to five-year lifespan of a notebook hard drive, Samsung said.
In addition, the 128GB model features a 3 gigabit-per-second interface and consists of 64 NAND flash memory chips of 16 gigabits each. The chips are enclosed in a brushed metallic casing that is less than 4/10s of an inch thick.
While solid-state storage has its advantages, the components are also considerable more expensive than hard disk drives. ... more -
Hitatchi Make 2nd Gen Terabyte Hard Drive
San Jose (CA) – Hitachi renovated its 3.5” hard drive family and now offers the second-generation 1 TB drive, which does not offer more capacity or speed, but comes with effective power saving features that may allow storage farms to run these 3.5” drives at 2.5” power consumption rates.
On the surface, there is not much new about Hitachi’s new 3.5” 7K1000.B drive. In fact, the main difference to spot right away is the fact that the storage density has been increased substantially and Hitachi GST has joined the leading 3.5” vendors: Instead of five 200 GB disks, the new drive has three 333 GB disks. Hitachi representatives told TG Daily that the 5-disk model will continue to be available through 2009, but the 3-disk version will ramp quickly and replace the old drives.
What makes the new 7200 rpm drive interesting is not its performance or capacity (which theoretically could hit 1.6 TB in 5-disk models), but its power consumption.
Compared to the 8.4 watts the first-gen drive consumed in idle-mode, the B-model checks in at only 5.2 watts. And if power consumption is the primary concern of the user (such as data storage facilities), the drive supports a “reduced power idle state”: The disk rotation speed can be dropped via HDD commands to less than 5000 rpm, which will take the idle power consumption down to 2.4 watts That is close to 2.5” territory (about 2 – 2.2 watts) and could make these drives an interesting option for any environment that does not depend on maximum data transfer rates.
The price of the terabyte drive is substantially lower than what we paid last year. Hitachi said that the 7K1000.B is offered at $239.99 MSRP, which means that you should expect street prices not too far away from the $200 mark. The price is about in line with the competition: Samsung’s 1 TB drive, for example, is currently sold in a price range of $159 to $265, according to Pricegrabber.com.
Hitachi also offers an enterprise version of the 7K1000.B. For an extra $40, the E7K1000 comes with a larger (32 MB) buffer a higher reliability rating 1.2 million hour MTBF (there is no MTBF rating on the 7K1000.B) as well as a 5-year warranty instead of the 3-year warranty on the 7K1000.B.
San Jose (CA) – Hitachi renovated its 3.5” hard drive family and now offers the second-generation 1 TB drive, which does not offer mor... more -
Now You Can Burn Blu-Ray Discs
TOKYO, July 8 (Reuters) - Pioneer Corp (6773.T: Quote, Profile, Research) hopes to start bringing out Blu-ray DVD recorders within the year, the Nikkei business daily said on Tuesday, as the company takes aim at a rapidly growing market after the end of a bitter format war.
Pioneer's product, which it hopes to launch by the year-end shopping season, will be developed with Sharp Corp (6753.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and make it the seventh Japanese manufacturer to enter the market for the high-definition DVD recorders, the Nikkei said.
Japan was at the heart of the format war, which pitted the Blu-ray discs championed by Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) against Toshiba Corp's (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research) HD-DVD discs until movie studios lined up behind Blu-ray and its rival format bit the dust in February. TOKYO, July 8 (Reuters) - Pioneer Corp (6773.T: Quote, Profile, Research) hopes to start bringing out Blu-ray DVD recorders within the... more -
World of Synth
How would you go about building a synthesizer? Nick Collier shows us his passion for creating his own sound machines made of slinkies.
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Scented Clothes, For People Who Stink
Researchers in Portugal have developed a way to insert microcapsules into fabrics. While scent microcapsules are usually made from formaldehyde, which isn’t exactly safe to have next to your skin, these scientists have developed a new, more environmentally friendly plastic out of limonene (found in the rinds of lemons), and the lemon-y scent even lasted through dry cleaning.
To read more click on our post Researchers in Portugal have developed a way to insert microcapsules into fabrics. While scent microcapsules are usually made from for... more -
Spray on Condoms
Conventional condoms had problems fitting upon the men’s most treasured asset, as the sizes varied across various ethnicities! To cope with the problem, scientists from Condom Consultancy in Germany have invented revolutionary spray on condom that pumps liquid latex on the penis from a chamber and then dries to a regular condom within 20-25 seconds. Condom needs to be pulled off like conventional condom after use. Their further aim is to cut the drying time to 10 seconds. Conventional condoms had problems fitting upon the men’s most treasured asset, as the sizes varied across various ethnicities! To cope... more
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Helmet Controls Toy Cars Via Brain Waves
German scientists in Braunschweig have developed a helmet that can control model cars using only brain waves, opening exciting new possibilities for people with physical disabilities.
The so-called Brain-Computer Interface is based on the classic electroencephalogram (EEG) already widely used in medicine to measure electrical brain activity. Minute changes in voltage on the surface of the head are converted in signals by a computer that can then control the movement of an object such as a model car.
"The dream of a simple interface between brain and machine has come true," said Professor Meinhard Schilling, who believes the helmet will be used both for medical diagnostic work and for controlling wheelchairs and prostheses. German scientists in Braunschweig have developed a helmet that can control model cars using only brain waves, opening exciting new pos... more -
The Web That Time Forgot
MONS, Belgium: On a fog-drizzled Monday afternoon, this fading medieval city feels like a forgotten place. Apart from the obligatory Gothic cathedral, there is not much to see here except for a tiny storefront museum called the Mundaneum, tucked down a narrow street in the northeast corner of town. It feels like a fittingly secluded home for the legacy of one of technology's lost pioneers: Paul Otlet.
In 1934, Otlet sketched out plans for a global network of computers (or "electric telescopes," as he called them) that would allow people to search and browse through millions of interlinked documents, images, audio and video files. He described how people would use the devices to send messages to one another, share files and even congregate in online social networks. He called the whole thing a "réseau," which might be translated as "network" — or arguably, "web."
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Since there was no such thing as electronic data storage in the 1920s, Otlet had to invent it. He started writing at length about the possibility of electronic media storage, culminating in a 1934 book, "Monde," where he laid out his vision of a "mechanical, collective brain" that would house all the world's information, made readily accessible over a global telecommunications network.
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Otlet also saw the possibilities of social networks, of letting users "participate, applaud, give ovations, sing in the chorus." While he very likely would have been flummoxed by the anything-goes environment of Facebook or MySpace, Otlet saw some of the more productive aspects of social networking — the ability to trade messages, participate in discussions and work together to collect and organize documents.
MONS, Belgium: On a fog-drizzled Monday afternoon, this fading medieval city feels like a forgotten place. Apart from the obligatory G... more -
It's not eBay but it's nonprofit and might be better for the Earth
Carolyn Gillis, a Falmouth, Maine mother who attracted national notice in 2004 for founding ClassroomClassifieds.org — a Web site with a yard-sale motif, where families can sell off their unwanted items and donate some of the profit to benefit the town’s public schools — is broadening her reach. Gillis, who has since set up a similar site for school groups has just expanded the model to ClassifiedCircles.org, which channels money to charities in Maine and around the world.
This project is 100% ready to start up in a day but needs a modest amount of funding to help get it to the next level. This unique auction model is a tool that helps people and charities to help themselves.
Need to set up Nonprofit Board, funding under a 501 (c)(3) and creative Public Relations geniuses. You may visit it but some of the links are down, sorry to say, due to lack of financing to pay the few hundred dollars web fees.
Newslinks:
http://classifiedcircles.org/newslinks.htm
eSchool News:
http://www.eschoolnews.org/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=35...
FAQ
http://classifiedcircles.org/descriptionandfaq.htm Carolyn Gillis, a Falmouth, Maine mother who attracted national notice in 2004 for founding ClassroomClassifieds.org — a Web site with... more -
Future Man
Jacque Fresco is a genius, architect, engineer, designer of cities and transportation modes, inventor, economist, philosopher and futurist. Did I mention that he has comprehensive plans to redesign the world? Jacque Fresco is a genius, architect, engineer, designer of cities and transportation modes, inventor, economist, philosopher and futu... more
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Tijuana Woman Invents Recycling Machine to Improve Scavengers' Lives
Think recycling is a good idea? Think of it how good Europe, the US and other countries/continents have had it, when within miles of the US border, most people have never been exposed to a recycling system or culture ever in their lives, and it all goes to one place: the landfill. Until now.
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One step at a time.
TIJUANA, BC MEX. In Tijuana, a new machine is poised to help clean up some of the city’s social and environmental problems. A Tijuana teenager dreamed up the contraption ten years ago. She’s since dedicated her life to making the project a reality. KPBS Border Reporter Amy Isackson has the story.
As a teenager, growing up in Tijuana, Miroslava Enciso Limon always wanted to be a firefighter. But her dream changed when her high school teacher assigned her to visit Tijuana’s dump.City officials eventually hope to recycle 60-percent of Tijuana’s trash.
City dump trucks back up to Enciso’s recycling machine. It’s up and running at a facility on Tijuana’s east side. The machine is not especially high tech.
Blades rip open the garbage bags and spill the contents onto a conveyor belt. At times, the stench makes your eyes water.
About thirty workers dressed in navy coveralls, face masks and latex gloves sort the trash. All of them used to be scavengers at the dump. New employee, Luisa Marquez says it was much harder when she was a scavenger.
Marquez (translated): Before, I left at 4 a.m, before the sun came up because it’d get too hot….We’d have to open the bags. We’d get dirty. We’d get covered in food. We didn’t have uniforms. We didn’t have protection or a roof.
The machine’s inventor, Enciso, says she could have automated the process more. But the idea is to employ as many scavengers from the dump as possible -- about 200 when the machine is fully operational.
City officials eventually hope to recycle 60-percent of Tijuana’s trash. Think recycling is a good idea? Think of it how good Europe, the US and other countries/continents have had it, when within miles of t... more -
Blanket with sleeves equals the Slanket
Stay warm and still change the channel. One more step towards ultimate laziness. Love it!
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Brazilian Invents Luminescent Water-Bottle Lightbulbs
A man invented a lightbulb that uses no electricity or batteries which is made from empty plastic bottles filled with water and clorox. The Sun charges the particles creating a chemical reaction, making the bottle illuminate as strongly as a 60-watt electrical lightbulb. The light is bright white. A man invented a lightbulb that uses no electricity or batteries which is made from empty plastic bottles filled with water and clorox... more
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Worlds Fastest Margarita Machine
This contraption looks like something that the Beverly Hillbillies would hitch to the back of their car, but trust me, it's way cooler - It claims to be the world's fastest margarita drink mixer! This contraption looks like something that the Beverly Hillbillies would hitch to the back of their car, but trust me, it's way cooler... more
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The zero-emissions one-wheeled motorcycle
The Uno accelerates with a simple lean and turns like a street bike on side-by-side wheels.
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Do we really need an exoskeleton?
The only thing I wanna know ... is ... HOW DOES IT WORK?! ... This is why I wanted to be an engineer ... (key word, wanted).
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Inventions
