It’s one of the most inspired and ridiculous patent designs we’ve ever heard: A machine with over 200 different parts whose sole purpose is to change a light bulb. The joke is too obvious right? So much so that you have to wonder whether the inventor created it with ridicule in mind. According to the United States Patent # 6826983, the light bulb apparatus seen above instantly detects a burned out bulb (with the help of a detecting sensor, and some hardware to build a mechanical trigger). Once its detected, it is automatically replaced when an outer cup-like swivel grabs on to the bulb and rotates it off the light fixture, ending up in a nice cone-shaped sleeve. Detect, remove, replace. (Read the full post about ‘Patent Craziness: Complicated Machine Replaces One Bulb’…)
I’ve been browsing the Web for years on mobile devices. It started way back in 1999 when I used to use the Psion Revo, Psion Series 7 , and others. My favorite thing to do back then was surf the Web on the Revo while connected via IR to my Ericsson i888 world phone on Omnipoint… June 27th - July 3rd Contents 1 Geek Thoughts 2 This Week on Geek 3 Geek.com Web Picks 4 Don’t Forget About This 1 Geek Thoughts — Browsing the Mobile Web I’ve been browsing the Web for years on mobile devices. It started way back in 1999 when I used to use the Psion Revo, Psion Series 7 , and others. (Read the full post about ‘Geek Newsletter July 3, 2008 — Browsing the Mobile Web’…)
by Joshua Topolsky, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 9:23AM Apparently, law enforcement is seriously stepping into the 21st century. According to a report, police dep artments in Boston, Cincinnati and over 100 other communities have begun using a text message tip-line in the hopes that cellphone-savvy youngsters will alert them if they see a crime being committed, or know of one ahead of time. “It’s obvious that the future of communication is texting,” said Boston Police Crime Stoppers commander (and techno-visionary) Michael Charbonnier, adding that the department’s system as yielded, “Some great drug information, specific times, dates, names of suspects, locations, pickup times, [and] license plate numbers.” The only roadblock? (Read the full post about ‘Cops adopt SMS tip lines to help fight crime, find out where the party is’…)
by Donald Melanson, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 11:42AMNanowires being used for memory is hardly a new idea, but a group of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania seem confident that they’ve found a way to leapfrog the competition, and shake up storage devices as we know them. Unlike other nanowire-based memory methods, their system employs a non-binary form of nanowire memory, which makes it possible to store three bit values (0, 1, and 2) instead of the usual two (0 and 1) — crazy talk, we know. That, the researchers say, allows for a “huge increase” in memory density, with fewer nanowires needed to store the same amount of information as a binary nanowire-based memory system, which’d also make the actual devices smaller. (Read the full post about ‘Nanowire-based memory promises leap in storage capacity’…)
Technology is making its mark in almost everything. Previously, email was introduced which completely changed the way people used to send messages. Then came the instant messengers which completely changed the way the people located at different locations used to contact each other.
Now, digital images are gaining popularity among people as it’s easy to store, use and share the digital images. You can use digital picture frames to display the digital images by loading the images.
(Read the full post about ‘Digital Picture Frames – Sony DPF-D70′…)
It is official - the Firefox 3 browser from Mozilla has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest number of software downloads within 24 hours. More than 8 million people downloaded Firefox 3 on that day, and it could have been more if not for some glitches which resulted in downtime. How will the browser battles pan out in the near future? How much more ground do you think Internet Explorer will cede to Safari and Firefox? Tags: toys, pvp, MP3, high definition TV (Read the full post about ‘Firefox 3 Sets New World Record’…)
Google Maps is experimenting with speech recognition technology for its mobile users. The lucky guinea pigs are owners of the blackberry Pearl 8110, 8120, and 8130 in the US. This is the same voice search technology that they use in their free directory service, GOOG-411. This service proves to be very useful for many mobile users who lack the time or patience to type the long names of the places they want to go to. It will hopefully also add a level if safety as it could help to keep peoples hands and eyes off their phones and on the road, because even knowing the danger people still insist on using a mobile phone while driving. (Read the full post about ‘Google Maps testing voice search on Blackberry’…)
The blackberry Pearl has just received support for Google Maps with voice search, and the “afflicted” models are the BlackBerry 8110, 8120 and 8130 (US Only). The search function can be downloaded here when accessed by your BlackBerry, and after installation you can speak your search simply by pressing the left-side key. Once you’re done mentioning the location of your choice, Google Maps for mobile devices will automatically get to its task and throwing out the most relevant locations. Interesting and definitely a novelty - I wonder just how wide its usage will be like. (Read the full post about ‘Google Maps with Voice Search’…)
Hitachi hopes to roll out a 5TB hard drive by the time 2010 rolls around, claiming that its CPP-GMR (Current Perpendicular to the Plane Giant Magnetoresistance) technology is able to surpass the 1TB/inch barrier within 2 years’ time, making way for a 5TB 3.5″ hard drive a possibility then. A device that small (relatively) with such a huge capacity will be a boon, and it will definitely be interesting to see how SSD manufacturers fight this battle out. Will space or efficiency rule the day then? Tags: audio, equipment, consumer technology, hi fi (Read the full post about ‘Hitachi works on 5TB Hard Drive’…)
by Darren Murph, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 6:02AM As with quite a few things unveiled at CEDIA Expos, the Ovei is also aimed squarely at folks with wallets so fat they can hardly contain themselves. This home cinema pod made its most recent debut at the CEDIA UK show, where the creators explained that users could slip into the air-conditioned capsule and control their home theater and / or gaming experience via the built-in touchscreen. We are told that it was designed by Lee McCormack and engineered by McLaren Applied Technologies, but aside from that, pretty much everything else remains a mystery. (Read the full post about ‘Ovei home theater pod: not for claustrophobics, poor people’…)
