I thought this was so interesting and would love to visit this bank. The Santander's Group City in Madrid is a huge complex city/company; nine buildings sheltering 5,500 employees of one of the largest banks in the world. This place seems so big that you wonder how you are going to find your way around and not get lost. So the company of course thought well how about a Robot to assist in this area. So they hired YDream to come up with a robot that could be like no other in the world. YDream then built the fleet of little red guys called "Interactive Guest Assistants" that use swarm interactions to guide high rolling bankers to their next conference or to the lunch room which ever they prefer. There's also a giant virtual wall full of financial gibberish presented in fancy ways, even an augmented reality map of the complex, all shown in a video below.
If your like me and your a geek. You more than likely have a lot of devices that need to be charged or powered by USB. The only problem is that you only have so many available USB slots. Oh no! What do you do now? I know you get the USB Super 16 Port Hub ($160). This puppy is sporting its own internal power supply, 16 USB 2.0-compliant ports, and the ability to connect two computers to the hub at the same time. This is a must have for any one looking for more USB ports to connect all of there peripheral devices so not to have a tangled mess of wires to sort through just to hook up one device.
This
or This
Product Specs
* USB 2.0 hub with a whopping 16 ports * Connect up your printer, digicam, card reader, mp3 player, Snowbot, Missile Launcher, etc. * Up to 2 PCs can connect to the hub and share the sources (but not at the same time) * Built-in 22.5W power supply; an extra AC adapter is not needed * Voltage: 100V-240V * Dimension: 116 x 67 x 63mm (approx.) * Weight: 0.8 lbs (approx.) * Package Contents: o USB Super 16-Port Hub o USB Cable o Power Cord
I found this video the other day where Motherboard host Jordan Redaelli hangs out with Moby while he shows him all of his vintage drum machines. In this video Moby talks geek about a lot of his analog drum machines that he has collected over the years. Then he shows you his studio in which he talks about the sizes of the studio and his view on large and small studios. He then goes on to talk more about the history of the drum machines and the time in which you could purchase them at lower cost compared to now where the price is about doubled in cost. The most interesting part is near the end where he states that there is no such thing as a cool electronic musician. You will have to watch the video to find out his view on that.
We all remember the days before the CD and the mp3 player. If you do then you can remember making mix tapes. You probably made many compilations of all your favorite music, to share with your friends and loved ones, on good old fashioned blank cassette tapes (I know I did). I have memories of trying to dub a tape or trying to record a song from the radio with my dual cassette recorder. Just saying that make me sound old school. If you miss making mixed tapes this product will inspire you again! I give you the Mix Tape USB Stick($16.00). It comes with a 128mb USB memory stick and can store up to 2hrs of music and comes in 6 different designs.
Just had lunch with a friend and we were talking about comics. That's right comics cause well let's face it there awesome. He started talking to me about a program that would allow you to read comics on your iphone. So I thought why not let others know about this sweet app.
Panelfly which is a free app (App Store Link) let’s you purchase, read, and download your comics right from your iPhone or iPod touch. It has some of the biggest names in comics including Marvel and they have hundreds of titles to pick from. Panelfy’s has a well-designed interface which makes reading each issue as easy as possible. Now if you’re thinking that the iPhone or iPod touch is just to small then no worries. Panelfly will be available on the iPad in March of 2010 to give you a bigger experience.
Side note: Tycho Song "The Daydream" playing in the background.
The iGo Green power smart tower is a well thought out power strip not only for the user but also for the conservation of energy usage. This smart surge bar has eight outlets and four of them stay in a fixed position while the other four feature iGo Green technology and it rotates 360 degrees to accommodate all the different shaped plugs.
The iGo Green technology automatically powers down outlets that aren't currently in use and powers them back up when devices need power, reducing standby power usage by up to 85%. Other features include a tower-style design with integrated cable management, dual front-mounted USB ports for charging portable devices, and a 6-foot power cable with a right-angle rotating plug. The price on the iGo Green power Smart tower is a little pricey at ($80) however, it is sure to save you money in the end.
Apple has unveiled it's new Tablet called the iPad. Apple will sell the newly unveiled tablet-style iPad starting at $499 which is a lot cheaper than most would have expected from Apple. The new iPad looks to be just a overly large version of the iPhone which I think most will agree in that department.
The iPad has a 9.7-inch touch screen, is a half-inch thick, weighs 1.5 pounds and comes with 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes of flash memory storage.Carrying a custom 1 GHz "Apple A4" chip, the iPad weighs in at 1.5 pounds and is .5-inch thin. All iPad models have an accelerometer, compass, speakers, a microphone, and a 30-pin dock connector. It will also have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity built in. The iPad screen is an OLED back lit which is a plus. Just a note on the iPad it does not allow you to run more than one app at a time. Jobs said the device has a battery that lasts 10 hours and can sit for a month on standby without needing a charge. The basic iPad models will cost $499, $599 and $699, depending on the storage size. The iPad will start shipping in 60 days. And, then later, they will have 3G models. The Non-3G models will be available in March.
Now if your looking for an iPad that has 3G services you will have to wait longer and pay more in price and also have a subscription with AT&T for the data plan. AT&T will have two tiers of data plan will be available without contracts: $14.99 per month for 250 megabytes of data, or $29.99 for unlimited data usage. The 3G models will cost you $629, $729 and $829, depending on the amount of memory. These models will be available in April.
Jobs said the iPad will also be better for playing games and watching video than either a laptop or a smart phone. The iPad comes with software including a calendar, maps, a video player and iPod software for playing music. All seem to have been slightly redesigned to take advantage of the iPad's bigger screen. Applications designed for the iPhone can run on the iPad. Apple is also releasing updated tools for software developers to help them build iPhone and iPad programs.
Now here comes the task of convincing the consumer that they need this product. So many of use out there already have laptops and smartphones. Is this something that you think you would use or want. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
The people at the University of California, San Diego are looking to find out how babies develop and it's importants of understanding how the human brain works. So to do that they built a creepy robotic baby. In cooperation with Japanese robotics firm Kokoro Co., Ltd., the team constructed this rather complicated machine that is meant to mimic the actions of a one-year-old human child. I still can't figure out why they gave it a baby face but they forgot to give it body skin.
The robot, named Diego-san, has over 60 moving parts in its body. Its five-fingered hands are able to grasp objects, and the robot can even stand up from a sitting (in a chair) position. The head contains more than 20 moving parts that allow Diego-san to create facial expressions. The head also contains high-res cameras in the eyes, a speaker in the mouth, and accelerometers in the ears that detect the robot’s movement and position.
Diego-san is also learning while he is being taught which I think is pretty cool for a robot to do but on the other hand if he got mad. That would not be good. It could turn into a really disturbing Chucky movie.
2010 will be the year for new and upcoming tablet alternatives in smaller formats. Dell just introduced there Mini 5 this year at the CES conference.
Dell's 5-inch Internet tablet is to be called the Dell Mini 5 according to the company, suggesting that it will fit in its portable products range as the second handset to follow the Dell Mini 3 and slot in under the "Mini" range of Netbooks. The Dell Mini 5 ($TBA) looks to be a solid option amongst the sea of upcoming slates.
The Dell Mini 5 will come with a 5 inch multitouch screen and a five-megapixel rear and webcam-quality front facing cameras, a built-in SIM card option, Wi-Fi, an included headset, and Android OS, it will be blurring the lines between phone and computer later this year. The device will be available in several colors including Red, Black, and Pink.
Touch screens have made the world of technology faster and smoother with its ease of use when it comes to accessing our information on our devices. Then we have had projectors since I don't know how long. So why has no one come up with a device that integrates both? Well I'm glad you asked. Light Touch ($TBA) is only a reference product for now, but it features up-and-coming tech like holographic laser projection technology that allows it to create a bright, high-quality, always in focus WVGA resolution image — up to 10 inches — on nearly any surface, and pairs it with an infra-red touch sensing system to turn the projected image into a touch screen. By using red, blue and green lasers to project large triangles onto a 10-inch area, Light Blue Optics has created Light Touch, resulting in a fascinating laser touch screen that's surprisingly interactive.
Watch the company's video simulating a few of the astonishing possibilities manufacturers have suggested for Light Touch. (in a few minutes, you can see our hands-on video). Light Blue Optics plans to license the tech to a variety of hardware and software creators such as Samsung, Microsoft, Adobe, Toshiba, and many more.
Belkin is back with their new Bluetooth Music Receiver which enables one to enjoy wireless music straight off your devices . Stream your iPhone and iPod touch jams to your home stereo, but in realty, this thing will work with any BT 2.0-enabled music streaming device. Phones, PMPs, genetically modified children you name it. Connect the receiver to your home stereo system with the included cables, and then easily pair your device to the Receiver wirelessly to listen to, share, and control your music from up to 33 feet away. The Bluetooth Music Receiver uses Bluetooth v2.0 to give you reliable, high-quality sound. The cost of one of these bad boys is ($49.99)
LED Tattoo's could be the next big thing in the world of body art. I for one have many tattoo's and I could see myself with one of these tattoo's in the future.
This new technology was made possible from the people of the University of Pennsylvania. Researchers there are developing silicon-and-silk implantable devices which sit under the skin like a tattoo. Already implanted into mice, these tattoos could carry LEDs, turning your skin into a screen.
The silk substrate onto which the chips are mounted eventually dissolves away inside the body, leaving just the electronics behind. The silicon chips are around the length of a small grain of rice — about 1 millimeter, and just 250 nanometers thick. The sheet of silk will keep them in place, molding to the shape of the skin when saline solution is added.
There are many different uses for this chip that can be very beneficals in their use. Their could be some great medical uses for this chip like using it for neurodevices that tie into the body’s nervous system. Currently chips are already being used today in your pets to identify them and their owners. But the flexible nature of these “tattooed” circuits means they can move elastically with the body, sitting in places that a rigid circuit board couldn’t. I am sure that they will find many uses for these chips in the future. In the article that I reference they talk about how Phillips is looking to use it for more sexual uses (Use your imagination for this one).
Check out this video that shows what it could look like. Leave a comment on what you think this technology could be used for other than tattoo's.
My friend Doug brought this to my attention this morning. Microsoft's new project Natal. Project Natal is a full-body motion control that doesn't require a controller of any kind. In watching the promotion video for the Natal I was very intrigued and excited in this new innovation.
Project Natal is a bar that sits above or below your TV, much like the Wii's sensor bar. But instead of sensing controllers, this thing has a camera, sensors and a microphone inside that lets it get an accurate sense of your space and you in it. This lets you control games just by moving around; kicking, jumping, whatever. But that's really just the start.
You can also move through menus by swiping your hands back and forth. The camera allows for fun features like facial and voice recognition. When you have it running, your Xbox will recognize your face and sign you in automatically.
This innovation is going to be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things that developers will be able to build to interact with the users. It will bring the living room experience to a higher level from past generations of living room gadgets. Check out the video below of promotion of Project Natal.
Boxee is a new way to enjoy your entertainment needs via your computer and T.V. Boxee provides online TV, movies, music, and photos for the couch potato in all of us. This application that Boxee provides has been the go too application for viewing pleasure. One of the main reasons that it has yet to become a household name outside of the tech community is the need to have a full fledged PC to run it. So if you don't have a media center computer hooked up to your TV then more than likely you can only view it from your computer. However, this all about to change. Boxee announced that it has located its first-ever partner, which basically means that some sort of Boxee set-top box is on the way. Boxee has informed us that more details will be provided on December 7th when it reveals its first Beta software. However, obviously there are any number of small form-factor platforms available on the market today to get this done for the folks at Boxee - perhaps an NVIDIA Ion-based system might do the trick? In fact, the mock below looks a lot like an Acer Aspire Revo or maybe it's based on something a bit more powerful?(hothardware.com). If your still unsure about what Boxee has to offer watch the video on there main page. Click Here
The inPulse smartwatch is not a BlackBerry Smartphone on your wrist, nor is it manufactured by Research in Motion (nor is RIM developing an accessory like this on their own - this is the "BB watch"). Rather, the inPulse smartwatch is manufactured by Allerta, a new Waterloo-based start-up focused on intelligent smartphone accessories, and works as a companion to your BlackBerry Smartphone to notify you of incoming BlackBerry messages/events.
inPulse smartwatch for BlackBerry Tech Specs & Key Features
1.3" full colour organic light-emitting-diode (OLED) display
Bluetooth® v2.0+EDR
150 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery
Glass lens and full metal body
22mm interchangeable wrist band
Vibrating motor
Micro-USB port (for charging)
Over-the-air firmware updates
Dimensions: 51mm height x 38mm width x 12mm depth
Here is some more information on the inpules Smartwatch. The battery life is 4 days depending on use and can be recharged in about 30 minutes via standard microUSB cable. To use the inPulse wristwatch you must also install an app onto your BlackBerry that runs in the background. The Cost for this device is $149.00 which is not a bad price at all. It's available for pre-order now (not taking payment yet but you can get on the waiting list), with the first consumer shipments scheduled for February 2010.
HP has introduced its Dream Screen 130. It is a beefed up picture frame. Dream Screen is a multimedia home tablet with Pandora Internet radio, music, photos, video, weather forecasts and Facebook. Who doesn't want a picture frame with access to there Facebook. This product also connects to the internet through wireless or wired connections. This product price is running around for 299.99 through HP. Here are some more features of the Dream Scream HP.
Intuitive interface
Easily access content on your PCs and the Web via a simple menu
Enjoy music, photos, and videos with HP MediaSmart software
Control entertainment via an intuitive handheld remote control
Turn it to landscape or portrait orientation with the included stand
Quick access to Facebook and more
View and stay current on Facebook
View slide shows of photos uploaded to Snapfish
Stream music and photos from your PC
Listen to Internet radio from Pandora or HP SmartRadio
Stay organized with the calendar; be on time with the built-in alarm clock
Sony's new "bendable" and transparent organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology is being shown in prototypes featuring an OLED a mere 0.2 mm thick. The prototype devices are a Vaio notebook, a flexible e-book, and a Walkman bracelet. The OLED screen is transparent and flexible, and the viewing angle range is almost unlimited. OLED technology has a number of advantages over LEDs, including higher efficiency, faster response times, and no requirement for backlighting. The devices also have very low energy needs.
Sony demonstrated an OLED television in 2008 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, and a flexible 0.2 mm thick OLED audio player at this year's show. Several other companies, such as Samsung and LG, are also working on flexible OLED displays.
The devices on show at CEATEC JAPAN are all at the concept stage and there is no indication of when, or even if, they will ever be marketed.
The Sony Reader and Walkman redone with flexible OLED technology. (Credit: Scott Ard/CNET )
Vaio with flexible OLED screen. (Credit: Scott Ard/CNET)
Honda unveiled the U3-X, a stool with a unique directional wheel system that allows it to travel diagonally, as well as right, left, forward, and backward.
Honda's machine has a one-wheeled, "8"-shaped body on which the rider sits and changes direction by leaning forward, backward or sideways. It is something that would be used more for inside than outside like the segway.The U3-X moves at a maximum speed of 6km/h, about the pace of brisk walk.
The self-balancing U3-X, weighing in at less than 10kg, is powered by a lithium-ion battery and runs for an hour per charge. The U3-X device is able to readjust itself so that instead of riders having to constantly balance themselves, the robotic unicycle does the compensating for you. Honda's U3-X also includes balance control technology that allows the device to respond to how its load shifts and readjust balance accordingly while on the go.
What do you think of think of Honda's new U3-X unicycle?
While Sony's OLED TV is little more than a beautiful, 11-inch novelty, LG is swaggering dangerously close to a respectable kitchen TV with this 15-inch AMOLED TV prototype.
OLED displays (organic light emitting diode) are the wave of the future. Even with this economic downturn that we are facing, manufacturers are working hard at providing these elusive screens to consumers. Recently, Samsung announced that they aren't planning on creating large OLED displays yet while Sony jumped on the 3D bandwagon.
LG Electronics plans to make its OLED television available for commercial sale in Korea in November and elsewhere early next year. According to Reuters, LG is also planning to launch a 40-inch OLED television "in the not too distant future." By 2013 production of OLED TVs is predicted to reach 2.33 million units, according to the research company DisplaySearch.
OLED is an emerging flat-panel display technology that uses an organic material in the pixels that emits its own light, so a backlight isn't needed. That helps make the displays thinner and much less power-hungry. OLED screens also handle fast-moving images better and offer richer color reproduction than current LCDs (liquid crystal displays) and PDPs (plasma display panels).
Electric automobiles have been around since the beginning of cars and only made periodic comeback attempts until recently. Here, Tracy Myers, president of Seaway Engineering Supply of Oak Park, shows of the Comuta-Car, which cost $4,995 in 1981 and could go 40 miles on a single charge.
Walkman generation
(Tribune photo by Michael Fryer)
When music first became portable and cool. Here, two Sony vice presidents show off different models of the Walkman, the original on the left and the other Tiffany silver-plated.
What will they think of next?
(Tribune archive photo)
If you were trying to find a Father's Day present in 1987 for the dad who has everything, you may have been tempted by the pocket ticker. The $435 beeper, plus a $60 monthly service, provided up-to-the-minute sports scores plus results from the local race tracks.
Home computer
(Tribune archive photo)
The cost of setting up a home computer in 1983 was, from left: printer $499, cassette recorder $59, central processing unit $1,000, modem $149 and graphics printer $995.
Cell phones getting smaller
(Tribune photo by Gerald West)
In just four short years, the cell phone went from fitting into a brief case to fitting into a a chassis the size of a brick. Here, Chicago businessman Ed Lang conducts business out and about in August 1989.
Mobile phone
(Tribune photo by John Dziekan)
To celebrate the two-year anniversary of the nation's first commercial cellular system, right here in Chicago, Ameritech Mobile Communications showed off the latest technology in September 1985, a brief case telephone with a built-in transceiver.
