July 18, 2006, 9:15 PM CT

World's First Handheld Electronic Reader

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) today unveils a groundbreaking new device, the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader. The portable Reader, developed by the National Federation of the Blind and renowned inventor Ray Kurzweil, enables users to take pictures of and read most printed materials at the click of a button. Users merely hold "the camera that talks" over print-a letter, bills, a restaurant menu, an airline ticket, a business card, or an office memo-and in seconds they hear the contents of the printed document played back in clear synthetic speech. Combining a state-of-the-art digital camera with a powerful personal data assistant, the Reader puts the best available character-recognition software together with text-to-speech conversion technology-all in a single handheld device.

Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "The world of the printed word is about to be opened to the blind in a way it has never been before. No other device in the history of technology for the blind and visually impaired has provided quicker access to more information. The NFB promotes a positive attitude towards blindness, and this Reader will make blind and visually impaired people dramatically more independent. The result will be better performance at work, at school, at home, and everywhere else we go. This Reader substantially improves the quality of life for the growing number of blind and visually impaired people".........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

July 18, 2006, 4:29 PM CT

Sylvania Light Master

Introducing the Sylvania Light Master Home Automation System: a two-way Digital RF technology for quick plug and play wireless lighting and appliance control. It's easy to create your own "smart home" of remotely controlled lamps and appliances without wires or costly professional installation. With just one hand-held remote, you can control up to 64 modules at once, singly or in groups; and create up to 32 lighting scenes.

It also acts as a burglar deterrent by turning your lights on and off randomly when you're not home. If you hear a noise late at night, you'll also be able to turn all your lights on at once, no matter where you are in the house.

Features eight built-in timers, the ability to dim lights and a user-friendly LCD screen. Two-way command verification lets you know if the appliance is on or off. Within 100 feet, all modules and remotes communicate with each other using Zensys technology-the internationally accepted protocol for home automation. Remote uses two "AA" batteries (not included).........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

July 18, 2006, 6:18 AM CT

Latest iSoft Information

Here's the latest scoop on Microsoft's upcoming "iPod-killer" (codenamed "Zune"): it will come in a 30GB model and have the "same pricing, look and feel as the 60GB iPod." Other rumored specs include a 400-MHz processor, Wi-Fi, and a built-in satellite radio tuner (Siruis, XM, etc.).

Pricing and availability have still not been announced. We'll keep you posted as more information becomes available.........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

July 18, 2006, 5:42 AM CT

DVD Hologram Projector

Watch your favorite films in full 3-D glory, the way they were meant to be experienced, with the Holomex DVD Hologram Projector. Accepting both standard DVD discs as well as specially designed Holodiscs, the Holomex can create 3-D holograms from standard 2-D films or project holographic images straight from a disc. Adjustable projection size allows for holograms to be created from as large as 7 feet high to as small as 4 inches. Special thermodynamic projecting keeps images clear even in bright rooms, eventhough it's recommended to set up the projector in front of a light-colored wall for best effect. Optional Holodisc subscription service keeps you up to date with the latest 3-D adapted films every month.

If you are ready to buy this product, please be aware that this product exists only in imagination. May be this would become a reality in future.........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

July 17, 2006, 7:26 PM CT

SeisMac

SeisMac is a Mac OS X Cocoa application that makes your MacBook or MacBook Pro into a seismograph. It access your laptop's Sudden Motion Sensor in order to display real-time, three-axis acceleration graphs.

The resizable, real-time scrolling display shows an enormous amount of acceleration information. Place your laptop on a table and see the seismic waves from tapping your toe on the floor. Lay your laptop on your chest and see your heartbeat. And of course, if there is a real earthquake, SeisMac will be displaying full seismic information while you drop, cover and hold-on.

When running on the MacBook or MacBook Pro, SeisMac has a range of plus or minus two gravities of acceleration, displaying 256 values per gravity, sampled two hundred times per second for each axis. SeisMac is also compatible with older Sudden Motion Sensor-equipped iBooks and PowerBooks.........

Posted by: Ethan      Permalink         Source

July 17, 2006, 5:10 AM CT

Mercury atomic clock

An experimental atomic clock based on a single mercury atom is now at least five times more precise than the national standard clock based on a "fountain" of cesium atoms, according to a paper by physicists at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the July 14 issue of Physical Review Letters.

The experimental clock, which measures the oscillations of a mercury ion (an electrically charged atom) held in an ultra-cold electromagnetic trap, produces "ticks" at optical frequencies. Optical frequencies are much higher than the microwave frequencies measured in cesium atoms in NIST-F1, the national standard and one of the world's most accurate clocks. Higher frequencies allow time to be divided into smaller units, which increases precision.

A prototype mercury optical clock was originally demonstrated at NIST in 2000. Over the last five years its absolute frequency has been measured repeatedly with respect to NIST-F1. The improved version of the mercury clock is the most accurate to date of any atomic clock, including a variety of experimental optical clocks using different atoms and designs.

The current version of NIST-F1--if it were operated continuously--would neither gain nor lose a second in about 70 million years. The latest version of the mercury clock would neither gain nor lose a second in about 400 million years.........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

July 16, 2006, 10:05 PM CT

The Zoop Car

Russian company JSC Ancort has teamed with celebrity jeweller Peter Aloisson to create a very upmarket version of Swiss Crypto Telecommunication Security's Crypto Smart telephone which will sell for US$1.3 million and in so doing, become the world's most expensive mobile telephone.

Designed to attract attention to the issues of mobile phone privacy, the solid platinum Brilliant Crypto Smartphone uses a symmetric 256 bit cryptographic algorithm and Windows CE operating system. In addition to the platinum body, the Ancort logo and the navigation key are made of 18 carat rose gold, as is the navigation key which also carries 28 round cut diamonds. Aloissen is well known for his personalisation and bejewelling of popular mobile phones such as the Nokia 8210 and Sony Ericsson T68, increasing their sale price to more than EU32,000. The phone can also be ordered with the platinum treated with a black rhodium process to give it a black, shiny look.........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

July 16, 2006, 9:58 PM CT

Cityscapes Hanger

For those with money to burn, we have discovered the perfect UIBFA (useless-indulgent but-fabulous-anyway) product. The cityscape coat hanger!

For 250 UK pounds (set of 5) you can own a coat hanger cut into shape of one of the five major fashion/design capitals of the world. The Laser-cut hangers are made of light weight Birch ply, hand finished and varnished. Also, check out the other coat hangers here and here. by Lisa Evans........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

July 13, 2006, 6:44 AM CT

Floating LCD Clock and Shuttle

Here at ThinkGeek you know we love gadgets. We also love stuff that floats magically in a magnetic field. So when we found a gadget that floats, we were simply beside ourselves with the kind of mirth typically reserved for halflings devouring a beery stew. This is the most stable levitating product out there we could find and even features an auto-rotate mechanism to spin objects clockwise, or counter- clockwise. A great desktop toy that will fulfill all your dreams of levitation AND space flight!

How does it work? It's simple. Just plug the base in, then grab the LCD clock and hold it between the top and bottom of the base at approximately the height and orientation shown in our images. You'll have to find the 'sweet spot', but it's easy to do with a little practice and the unit will beep and blink at you to guide you along the way. Once you are in the right range, the micro-processor controlled magnets will take over and you can let go. The shuttle works the same way, but can be a bit trickier to get to float. Make sure you look at our additional images to see the proper orientation. ........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

July 13, 2006, 6:35 AM CT

hTc Z Pocket PC Mobile Phone

NTT DoCoMo (DoCoMo) and High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC) announced recently that they have developed a handset, "hTc Z," equipped with the Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 Japanese-edition operating system. DoCoMo will start sales in late July.

The hTc Z will enable a variety of useful mobile business solutions using Windows Server and Exchange Server, in addition to Bluetooth and a number of add-in applications. DoCoMo plans to sell the handsets to corporate customers as part of its comprehensive business solutions. The dual-mode W-CDMA and GSM/GPRS handset will offer voice, video and packet communications compatible with Wireless LAN and will feature a QWERTY keyboard.........

Posted by: Ashley      Permalink         Source