Cool Technology

Plus the handy flashlight app.

BRAZIL: BAR CODES ON SIDEWALKS GIVE TOURIST INFO
Rio de Janeiro is mixing technology with tradition to provide tourists information about the city by embedding bar codes into the black and white mosaic sidewalks that are a symbol of the city.
The first two-dimensional bar codes, or QR codes, as they're known, were installed Friday at Arpoador, a massive boulder that rises at the end of Ipanema beach. The image was built into the sidewalk with the same black and white stones that decorate sidewalks around town with mosaics of waves, fish and abstract images.
The launch attracted onlookers, who downloaded an application to their smartphones or tablets and photographed the icon. The app read the code and they were then taken to a web site that gave them information in Portuguese, Spanish or English, and a map of the area. (Excellent idea!)
They learned, for example, that Arpoador gets big waves, making it a hot spot for surfing and giving the 500-meter beach nearby the name of "Praia do Diabo," or Devil's Beach. They could also find out that the rock is called Arpoador because fishermen once harpooned whales off the shore.


But somewhere there's an alien saying: "They're doing it all wrong!"


SCAN THIS AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS:

Edited by Rogerdodger, 26 January 2013 - 11:41 AM.

Can you hear me now?
How about a $19 per month, no contract cell phone service?
I heard my tightwad mentor Clark Howard mention Republic Wireless late last year and I signed up.
I have one house near a cell tower and have had very limited service there with my previous carrier.
(I guess the signal overshoots my house.)
But Republic Wireless uses my home's WiFi to supplement the Sprint cell network and it seems to work just fine.
While it's only 3-G, it's a blazing fast smart phone when on WiFi.
The only phone available with this service for now is a Motorola Defy XT.
It's not nearly as cool as the iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy S 3 (which is an awesome phone).
It took less than 24 hours to port my old phone number to the new service.
It works anywhere that there is Sprint or WiFi and may actually work well in big buildings with poor cell signals but good WiFi.
Now my total monthly charge including tax is $44 for TWO PHONES!
(Plus I still have a Magic-Jack at $99 for 5 years, so that's 3 different phone lines for only $46 a month total))

PS: I'm now on my 2nd year with the same disposable razor.

Move over Clark Howard.

Republic Wireless and Motorola Defy XT are a solid combo for just $19/month (review)

"A $259 fee includes the service start-up fee ($10) and shipping, but taxes are not included. The Defy XT is actually a pretty decent Android smartphone and the rugged design is a nice touch. Republic Wireless gives you 30 days to try out the device and service and if you are not satisfied then you can return the phone for a full refund. You can also cancel at anytime after 30 days, there are no service contracts, but you won't get the refund on the $259 charge after this trial period.
Republic Wireless initially launched its low-cost MVNO service at the end of 2011 and then had a few growing pains as it ironed out service and hardware issues. In December, they started over with a new piece of hardware and updated service definitions. For just $19 per month you can pick up a $259 Motorola Defy XT and get unlimited calling, texting, and data. While this type of service and limited device support won't appeal to the smartphone enthusiast, it may be just perfect for those wanting to save some serious cash and still enjoy many of the benefits of owning a smartphone without any form of contract."

Edited by Rogerdodger, 26 January 2013 - 12:48 PM.

“This is the largest battery-life increase in the history of Intel, from one generation to another”

Intel accelerates Haswell processor launch
Skaugen said the fourth-generation Intel Core ultrabook platform will be “game-changers.” He said there are 130 ultrabooks coming to the market this year, and 40 of them have touchscreens. Some of those will sell for as little as $599, compared to $999 18 months ago. Intel’s chips were retrofitted for today’s ultrabooks. But notebook computers based on Intel’s code-named Haswell chip coming this June will live up to the Ultrabook name, Skaugen said.
Skaugen showed off a reference design for a 17-millimeter thick laptop which will have 13 hours of battery life.You can remove the keyboard and turn it into an 850-gram tablet that is just 10 millimeters thick and has 10 hours of battery life. Skaugen showed a high-end PC racing game running on the Haswell-based tablet.


Inger Comments:
I think US leadership occurs too; but not that quick or dramatically. There is a lot to be proven and policies to be changed .. I could almost equate it to Intel; they know what they did wrong (missing a tablet and smartphone craze, which is unfathomable but they did focus very wrongly); and they'll be back. But that's more a 2014 story than this year (if you'd like to know, it's not just the low-power Haswell processor; but a new 'system on a chip' that eliminates controllers; ditches Intel motherboards, and allows truly miniature gear that will find lots of homes; including next generation power desktops, which will look nothing like big boxes of yore, and be dramatically powerful for business and enterprise Server use too).

I love the Dyson air blade hand dryer.
A blast of air dries your hands in just 14 seconds with no paper waste.
One airport reported that it cut their landfill waste 70% and annual operating cost per unit went from $1400 for paper towels to under $50!

I found out one of their secrets on the website.
The electronically controlled fan motor is digitally switched at 6,100 times per second, making the high compression fan spin 92,000 times a minute, producing an airspeed of up to 420 miles/hour!


Now James Dyson has built them right into your sink faucet!
http://designtaxi.co...ries-Your-Hands



But please don't tell me that "he didn't build that."

Edited by Rogerdodger, 10 February 2013 - 11:29 AM.

Google Sky Map is an awesome app for star gazers.
Here is a photo of my phone from last night showing an amazing alignment of the planets, new moon, and sun near midnight!
(Sorry that it's a bit blurry. I should have used the steady shot phone feature.)

Edited by Rogerdodger, 11 February 2013 - 10:35 AM.

The potential for IBM's Watson in health research is nothing but AWESOME!

IBM puts supercomputer to work on cancer

"The combination of transformational technologies found in Watson with our cancer analytics and decision-making process has the potential to revolutionize the accessibility of information for the treatment of cancer in communities across the country and around the world."
IBM first announced plans to work with WellPoint in 2011, and last year began receiving data from the New York research hospital which specializes in cancer.
"IBM's work with WellPoint and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center represents a landmark collaboration in how technology and evidence based medicine can transform the way in which health care is practiced," said Manoj Saxena at IBM.
"These breakthrough capabilities bring forward the first in a series of Watson-based technologies, which exemplifies the value of applying big data and analytics and cognitive computing to tackle the industry's most pressing challenges."
The program is being commercialized under the name Interactive Care Insights for Oncology, powered by Watson.
Watson, named after IBM founder Thomas Watson, can ingest tens of million pages of data in just seconds.

I just hope Watson doesn't start talking Urban again.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 11 February 2013 - 08:35 PM.

I love the Dyson air blade hand dryer.
A blast of air dries your hands in just 14 seconds with no paper waste.
One airport reported that it cut their landfill waste 70% and annual operating cost per unit went from $1400 for paper towels to under $50!

I found out one of their secrets on the website.
The electronically controlled fan motor is digitally switched at 6,100 times per second, making the high compression fan spin 92,000 times a minute, producing an airspeed of up to 420 miles/hour!


Now James Dyson has built them right into your sink faucet!
http://designtaxi.co...ries-Your-Hands



But please don't tell me that "he didn't build that."

Roger

I am surprised you are one of those who selectively hear what they want to hear politically.

Obama's reference to "they didn't build that" was a reference to general infrastructure such as roads and bridges etc.

I can understand politicians trying to twist things.

I thought you were better.

THE GOVERNMENT DID NOT BUILD THIS!
Intuitive Surgical Inc. is a corporation that manufactures robotic surgical systems, most notably the the Vinci Surgical System.

Move over Watson, here comes Doctor DaVinci

Robots 'to Perform Surgeries'...

Surgeons at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital recently began using the DaVinci Si Surgical System robot to perform procedures in urogynecology, gynecology, oncology and general surgery. St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital has added the same system to its suite of robotics technology to perform urological and gynecological procedures, and perhaps procedures for ear nose, throat and abdominal specialties in the future.Dr. Nina Dereska, a surgeon at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land, has been using the DaVinci robotic systems for surgeries since 2009. The system allows for more surgical options with certain patients for whom traditional surgery presents a problem.

"With robotic surgery, small mechanical arms are inserted into the patient through tiny incisions," she explained. "Surgeons will be able to control the robotic movements, or the arms, through special hand and foot controls at a console several feet away from the operating table." The robot translates the surgeon's hand, wrist and finger movements at the control console into corresponding micro movements of the instrument's tip.

In other words, the robot can be set to scale down surgeon's movements so that a 1-inch movement on the surgeon's finger becomes a movement of only a fraction of an inch at the tip of the robotic instrument.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 11 March 2013 - 10:10 PM.