November 13, 2006, 8:43 AM CT

Diskette Handbag from Fractalspin

This whimsical little handbag, made by Zelle and available at Fractalspin, is a bit of a surprise. From a distance, what you see is a black bag with interesting metallic shapes forming an eye-catching pattern. Up close, you notice that it's made of recycled computer diskettes (12 genuine 1.44 MB diskettes, to be exact). A magnetic latch holds the two sides together at top (though it doesn't close the opening all the way). For a different look, you can remove the latch and take out the bottom liner to convert it into a slim bag you can hold close to your body.

The label on the bag suggests that you "allocate interior pockets to manage internal fragmentation." There are five interior pockets -- 2 with snaps, two elasticized, and one zippered) -- for your cell phone, iPod, credit cards and cash, lipstick, etc. The main compartment is big enough to hold a book, a pack of tissues, a hairbrush, candy. "Available memory: 17.28 MB." Gimmicky, yes, but super cute. It's $65 on the Fractalspin website.........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

November 10, 2006, 4:25 AM CT

Making Robotic Movement More Acceptable

Robots running amok and destroying property may be a staple in science fiction films, but they aren't welcome in factories, warehouses and other places where automatic guided vehicle (AGV) forklifts are used. Under a cooperative research and development agreement with Transbotics, a Charlotte, N.C., AGV manufacturer, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is developing advanced sensor processing and modeling algorithms to help robot forklifts verify the location and orientation of pallets laden with goods.

The experimental system utilizes two onboard, single scan-line LADAR devices to negotiate obstacles and hone in on warehouse pallets. (LADAR--Laser Detection and Ranging--is an optical technology which measures properties of scattered laser light to find range and other information about a distant target.) One LADAR device, located at the base of the AGV, is used as a safety sensor to detect obstacles such as humans in the forklift's path. It also can be used to scan inside a truck's cargo area to detect the presence of a pallet or define distances from the forklift to the truck's inside walls.

The other sensor, called the Panner, is a panning laser ranger mounted on a rotating motor at the top front of the AGV. The Panner acquires many scan lines of range data that allows the scene in front of the device to be reconstructed in various visual formats such as a pseudo-colored coded image (where colors indicate relative proximity to an object) or a 3-dimensional data point "cloud." A computer model is then derived from the data with the output sent immediately to the AGV's control center. This allows the robot forklift to maneuver, load and unload pallets, verify the remaining space within the truck being loaded, and track the number of pallets still needing handling.........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

November 6, 2006, 8:15 PM CT

Productive fun with Wacom's Cintiq

Kevin Kelley recently picked up a 21 inch Cintiq drawing display, and he's in love with it. The Wacom Cintiq is an LCD monitor with a touch screen sensor embedded over the image. Essentially it's a cross between a graphic artist's drawing tablet and an LCD monitor. Differing from standard touch screen monitors is the 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity that the input area is able to discern, and the unique "pen on paper" texture of dragging a pen across the surface. Kelly bought his $2,500 Cintiq on the recommendation of artist Scott McCloud who has said that the input method made him more productive, and completely eliminated the symptoms of his hand strain malady.

Wacom released the first Cintiq tablet seven years ago. It was a 15 inch flat panel touch screen display, and a lot of geeks discounted it as a one shot gimmick. Personally, I thought that it was a glorious evolution in computer hardware, and I remember dreaming of when the technology would be the standard for all computers. Sadly, prices of desktop tablet monitors have remained high enough that only professional interests, such as design houses and graphic artists, can justify the expense. I'd love to install one at home, but it's a hard sell when I didn't even spend $2,500 on my tricked out desktop!

We're just now sorting through the interface issues of tablet computing, but progress is being made. slowly. Some industries will have an easier time making a move to an alternative input scheme: video game controls are well suited to this type of human interface. The Nintendo DS has been an overwhelming success in part because of the novelty and utility of the touch screen, and the hands-on Starcraft video floating around is nothing short of sexy. Ben Kuchera disagrees with me, but I believe that this is the direction that all computer interfaces will move towards if the public can ever afford to adopt the hardware en mass.........

Posted by: Ethan      Permalink         Source

November 2, 2006, 9:15 PM CT

Computer with Brain Connections

Fundamental theories regarding consciousness, emotion and quality of life in sufferers of paralysis from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, also known as 'Lou Gerhig's disease') are being challenged based on new research on brain-computer interaction. ALS is a progressive disease that destroys neurons affecting movement. The study appears in the latest issue of Psychophysiology. The article reviews the usefulness of currently available brain-computer -interfaces (BCI), which use brain activity to communicate through external devices, such as computers.

The research focuses on a condition called the completely locked-in state (CLIS, a total lack of muscle control). In a CLIS situation, intentional thoughts and imagery can rarely be acted upon physically and, therefore, are rarely followed by a stimulus. The research suggests that as the disease progresses and the probability for an external event to function as a link between response and consequence becomes progressively smaller, it may eventually vanish altogether.

Scientists have observed that by implementing a BCI before the CLIS state occurs, a patient can be taught to communicate through an electronic device with great regularity. The continued interaction between thought, response and consequence is believed to slow the destruction of the nervous system.........

Posted by: Ethan      Permalink         Source

November 2, 2006, 9:07 PM CT

Which Is More Annoying, Spam Or Direct Mail?

You open up your e-mail inbox and are inundated with spam that offers everything from inkjet cartridges to "investment opportunities" that are obviously too good to be true. You open up your mailbox at home to find more unsolicited ads, everything from pizza coupons to credit card offers.

Ever wonder which is more annoying?

As per a new study by a researcher in the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, most people find spam more intrusive and irritating than direct mail. The study, reported in the fall issue of the Journal of Interactive Advertising, also explores why people find spam so annoying.

"Overall, spam definitely is regarded as more annoying, irritating and intrusive than postal direct mail," said Mariko Morimoto, assistant professor of advertising. "That was pretty much our hypothesis. And while it's easy to figure out that spam is more annoying, I also wanted to know why".

Morimoto and co-author of study Susan Chang, assistant professor of advertising and public relations at the University of Miami, randomly assigned 119 college students to a survey that asked about either spam or direct mail. On a scale of one to seven, where one is most intrusive and seven is least intrusive, students gave spam an average intrusiveness score of 1.93 in comparison to 4.24 for direct mail. For irritation, the average score was 2.46 for spam in comparison to 3.87 for direct mail.........

Posted by: Ethan      Permalink         Source

October 31, 2006, 9:02 PM CT

Productive fun with Wacom's Cintiq

Kevin Kelley recently picked up a 21 inch Cintiq drawing display, and he's in love with it. The Wacom Cintiq is an LCD monitor with a touch screen sensor embedded over the image. Essentially it's a cross between a graphic artist's drawing tablet and an LCD monitor. Differing from standard touch screen monitors is the 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity that the input area is able to discern, and the unique "pen on paper" texture of dragging a pen across the surface. Kelly bought his $2,500 Cintiq on the recommendation of artist Scott McCloud who has said that the input method made him more productive, and completely eliminated the symptoms of his hand strain malady.

Wacom released the first Cintiq tablet seven years ago. It was a 15 inch flat panel touch screen display, and a lot of geeks discounted it as a one shot gimmick. Personally, I thought that it was a glorious evolution in computer hardware, and I remember dreaming of when the technology would be the standard for all computers. Sadly, prices of desktop tablet monitors have remained high enough that only professional interests, such as design houses and graphic artists, can justify the expense. I'd love to install one at home, but it's a hard sell when I didn't even spend $2,500 on my tricked out desktop!

We're just now sorting through the interface issues of tablet computing, but progress is being made. slowly. Some industries will have an easier time making a move to an alternative input scheme: video game controls are well suited to this type of human interface. The Nintendo DS has been an overwhelming success in part because of the novelty and utility of the touch screen, and the hands-on Starcraft video floating around is nothing short of sexy. Ben Kuchera disagrees with me, but I believe that this is the direction that all computer interfaces will move towards if the public can ever afford to adopt the hardware en mass.........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

October 31, 2006, 7:45 PM CT

The Buddy System for Safe Social Networking Online

The Federal Trade Commission today announced a new game that quizzes players on their online social networking practices and offers tips to help keep kids and teens safe online. The game, "Buddy Builder," is available in English and Spanish.

In the game, players move through different rounds by correctly reacting to common requests found on social networking sites. For example:.

Accept or Deny: It's me, your Uncle John! Thanks for the link - Aunt Mary and I love your page. can you add us to your buddy list?

When players accept, they are advised: Yes, this is a fairly safe bet (assuming you actually had an Uncle John and Aunt Mary, and you invited them to visit your page!) If you're at all unsure, why not call or e-mail him to check?

Accept or Deny: Wazzup? I think I know U - send me your pic (in swimsuit, pls!)?

When players deny, they are advised: Good thinking. Consider not posting your photo online - not only could it be altered in embarrassing ways, but do you really want strangers to know what you look like?

The quiz is one of several offered by OnGuardOnline, a multimedia, interactive consumer education campaign launched by the FTC and a partnership of other federal agencies and the technology industry. The comprehensive Web site, OnGuardOnline.gov has tips, articles, videos, and interactive activities. There is no copyright on the quizzes or other information on OnGuardOnline.gov; the information can be downloaded by companies and other organizations to use in their own computer security programs. The content is available in Spanish through AlertaenLinea.gov.........

Posted by: Ethan      Permalink         Source

October 31, 2006, 7:23 PM CT

Download Soundflavor DJ

Windows only: Freeware application Soundflavor DJ is an iTunes companion designed primarily as a playlist generator.

We've been seeing a lot of playlist generators for iTunes lately, but so far Soundflavor has impressed me the most. Like the rest, Soundflavor fingerprints your music and builds playlists based on similarity of fingerprints (with the option to populate playlists with more or less similar music); by now this whole things become fairly old hat, but Soundflavor has still managed to impress me with innovative extras, like concert notifications when artists in your library are playing in your area (free registration with Soundflavor required) and the ability to integrate songs from other shared iTunes libraries on your network (!).

My only complaint with Soundflavor is that its interface is a bit stutter-y on my computer (it's also got around a 40MB memory footprint, which ain't terribly small). Then again, these are the kind of complaints I make when I'm especially interested in a software, so I certainly think it's worth a try. Soundflavor DJ is a free download, currently Windows only with the promise of a Mac version in the works. - Adam Pash.

Site........

Posted by: Ethan      Permalink         Source

October 31, 2006, 4:34 AM CT

Laptops Will Link Global Learners

The real star at an Oct. 19 lecture by Nicholas Negroponte was not the Media Lab co-founder and computer-aided design pioneer himself but what he brought to the Department of Architecture classroom at MIT--a model from his One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project.

After Negroponte finished outlining plans for creating and distributing the inexpensive computer to children in developing nations, the audience crowded the podium to examine the cheerful green-and-white 2B1 model. While Negroponte apologized for bringing a model, not a prototype, his audience still wanted a closer look. They turned and twisted the screen and the wi-fi antennas. They pressed fingers to the kid-size keypad. They weighed it in their hands.

"It's adorable," exclaimed Diane Sloan, a 1980 graduate of MIT's Sloan School. "It doesn't feel cheap," said Francois Proulx, a student visiting from Montreal. "It has something about it," agreed Yasmine Abbas, a 2001 graduate of MIT's architecture program. She added, thoughtfully, "If it touches the children, it's going to change a lot of things as well".

That is Negroponte's goal. Negroponte, who began his association with MIT as an architecture student in the 1960s, sees computers and technology as a way to help children educate themselves. OLPC, launched as a non-profit organization in 2005, aims to sell the laptops inexpensively to governments, which will then distribute them for free to children.........

Posted by: Ethan      Permalink         Source

October 24, 2006, 6:09 PM CT

Electronic Chip Interacting With The Brain

Researchers at the University of Washington (UW) are working on an implantable electronic chip that may help establish new nerve connections in the part of the brain that controls movement. Their most recent study, would be published in the Nov. 2, 2006, edition of Nature, showed such a device can induce brain changes in monkeys lasting more than a week. Strengthening of weak connections through this mechanism may have potential in the rehabilitation of patients with brain injuries, stroke, or paralysis.

The authors of study, titled "Long-Term Motor Cortex Plasticity Induced by an Electronic Neural Implant," were Dr. Andrew Jackson, senior research fellow in physiology and biophysics, Dr. Jaideep Mavoori, who recently earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the UW, and Dr. Eberhard Fetz, professor of physiology and biophysics. For many years Fetz and his colleagues have studied how the brains of monkeys control their limb muscles.

When awake, the brain continuously governs the body's voluntary movements. This is largely done through the activity of nerve cells in the part of the brain called the motor cortex. These nerve cells, or neurons, send signals down to the spinal cord to control the contraction of certain muscles, like those in the arms and legs.........

Posted by: Ethan      Permalink         Source