Perhaps you are skeptical about the notion that computers will, one day, actually control us.
Perhaps you might imagine yourself to be a little dependent on your digital friend but not to the degree that it tells you what to do.
Perhaps, however, you have never stayed at the Hotel Monte Mulini on Croatia's Adriatic Coast. Please allow me to explain.
I am currently in Rovinj, Croatia, home of the Weekend Media Festival. The festival has speakers from companies such as Google, MTV, and Nokia and, well, there was this one speech Saturday titled, "Why advertise when you can Twitter?" given by a bald chap you might know.
Rovinj is one of the most beautiful secrets in all the world, a place of such breathtaking charm and beauty that you simple do not want to leave. And the organizers put the speakers up at the aforementioned hotel, which seems to have dedicated itself to computerized logic.
You don't have to put your key card into a slot to enter your room. No, you wave it at a control panel and your door opens like that of the haunted castle in a horror movie.
In your room, there is another control panel that switches lights on and off and generally monitors the look and feel of your environment, including what temperature you are allowed to enjoy.
It seems as if the computer has decided that you will only enjoy temperatures of 21 degrees centigrade (70 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher.
I don't know about you, but I like things to be a little cold indoors when it's hot outside, so I asked the nice man at reception whether I had misunderstood something about the control panel. What, indeed, did I have to do to make the room colder?
Ah, he told me, the computer system would like me to agree that 21 degrees is the optimum temperature. But he promised to reprogram it specially so that my room could be colder.
I skipped back to my room and pressed the "down" button on the aircon control. Nothing. Computers take some time to reprogram, don't they? I sat in hope. And, well, a little sweat.
I went to bed, believing I would be waking to a cooler environment. Still nothing. So the following morning, it was back to reception.
"Oh, the computer is still not allowing you?" said the man at the desk. "I will speak to maintenance."
Did I detect the sort of raised eyebrow on his head that said: "You, sir, don't realize who's calling the shots here"? Perhaps.
But as I write this Sunday, it's been three days. My computerized control panel still drifts between 21.4 degrees centigrade and 21.7 degrees centigrade and there is a little crustiness around my mouth after three days of hot, dry, conditioned air.
As I walk to the bathroom, I find myself bowing to the control panel, hoping that, somehow, it will agree to make things cooler. I also find myself thinking whether the man on reception is human and whether there is such a person as the maintenance man at all.
Is this the beginning of the end? Or the end of the beginning?
BERLIN--Shelled out several thousands for a Philips Cinema 21:9 television? You'll be pleased to hear it's obsolete.
Philips has bumped the firmware and added a micro polarizing lens to the screen, to create a prototype 3D TV.
The TV gets its tri-dimensional input from a prototype 3D Blu-ray player. Philips said Thursday at IFA 2009 that it's "actively participating in the 3D specification work of the Blu-ray Disc Association."
Philips' Cinema 21:9
(Credit: Philips)But hold it right there. Amid the 3D arms race--which has all the major manufacturers at IFA insisting that 3D is the next big thing--Philips is sounding a note of caution.
The company said it has "no immediate plans to launch any commercial 3D TV products in the short term" and that any plans "will depend on 3D TV standards." In Thursday's press conference, Philips conceded that 3D isn't stable yet and that the technology "isn't quite there."
In other words, Philips has punted the prototype 3D television to keep up with the Joneses--i.e. Sony.
(Source: Crave UK)
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It always happens when you try to do some good, doesn't it?
You try to help an old lady cross the road, and she looks at you harshly and says, "So I look old to you?" You tell that special someone that you love her, and she tells you that she's actually enjoying the company of your best friend.
Such is the painful, ironic circumstance at the United Kingdom's Met Office. ("Met" is short for "meteorological.")
You see, according to the Daily Mail, the agency's large weather brains decided to invest in an even larger IBM brain in order to accurately predict gaseous happenings of climate change.
I have no reason to believe these miserable wet people are from the Department of Communities and Local Government.
(Credit: CC Stevie-B/Flickr)This metal mastermind can make a quadrillion calculations in the time in takes you to utter a consonant. In the technical world, this is "petaflop" performance. But it might as well have been a Fosbury Flop to some buzz killers.
For along came some bureaucrats from the Department of Communities and Local Government, declaring that the incredibly intelligent hulk is one of the worst polluters in the United Kingdom. For some reason, they were looking at the emissions in all of the nation's public edifices.
All right, so the climate-calculating colossus produces about 75 percent of its own carbon footprint. I fancy that there are several members of Parliament who may do the same. And the supercomputer really can see into the future, whereas some members may not be able to see much beyond lunch.
The beautifully named Barry Grommett from the Met Office told the Mail: "We would be throwing ourselves back into the Dark Ages of weather forecasting, if we withdrew our reliance on supercomputing. It's as simple as that."
Quite. The U.K. bureaucrats have done so much in their attempt to return to the Dark Ages (before climate change?) that the weather men must make a stand.
Electronic paper is stacking up to be a high-growth market, according to a new report.
Sales of e-paper displays are projected to soar from $431 million this year to $9.6 billion in 2018, market researcher DisplaySearch said Wednesday.
The number of units sold is forecast to grow 22 million this year to 1.8 billion in 2018.
E-books are currently the main use and sales driver for e-paper. Most e-book readers, such as the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader, use the electrophoretic display technology from E Ink. A few e-readers, such as Fujitsu's Flepia, use a different technology called cholesteric LCD. Fujitsu's device offers a color display but is more expensive than the Kindle or Sony Reader.
"E-paper displays are taking off with consumers due to their low power consumption and ease of reading, especially in sunlight," said Jennifer Colegrove, director of display technologies at DisplaySearch. "In addition, e-paper displays are 'green' because they reduce paper consumption."
The number of e-book readers on the market has risen steadily, starting with one model in 2003, three in 2006, five in 2007, and around 20 this year, notes the report.
Despite the visual appeal of Fujitu's color Flepia e-book reader, DisplaySearch asserts that the high price and technical challenges of color e-books will limit their sales volume until 2011. The more popular electrophoretic display technology is likely to continue to lead the market and generate sales of $5.8 billion in 2018.
But other display technologies are poised for growth, the report said. Electrochromic displays, most commonly used in windows and other glass products, will target the market for smart labels and card displays. By 2013, electrochromic displays will be the leading technology for e-paper displays, DisplaySearch is forecasting.
Another competing technology called MEMS (micro-electro mechanical system) is expected to shift its market from cell phone displays to color and medium-sized e-books over the next few years.
Nobody, least of all Sony, ever said it would be easy to start cranking out OLED TVs. It doesn't help matters to be in a financial crunch.
So it should come as little surprise that according to a report in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal (subscriber access only), losses in Sony's TV division are driving the electronics giant to put a hold on future OLEDs TVs.
Sony shows off its OLED TVs at CES 2007. That's a 27-inch model in the middle; all the others are 11-inch models.
(Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET)Citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal says that new OLED (organic light-emitting diode) production would compound the poor performance at Sony's TV division--which looks likely to lose money again for the sixth straight year, meaning a return to profitability is paramount.
Sony's TV division lost 127 billion yen ($1.34 billion) in fiscal 2008, noted the Journal, accounting for more than half of the company's operating losses for the year.
More than two years ago, Sony showed off its OLED TVs, in 11-inch and 27-inch formats, to great excitement, and the company was hopeful to start getting them out the door sometime in 2008. But the 11-inch model sported a $2,500 price tag, versus 50-inch LCD TVs that cost the same or less.
Compared with today's LCDs, OLED displays are ultrathin, suck up less power, and offer better contrast and colors. The technology is already used by cell phones, MP3 players, and other mobile gadgets.
But creating large OLED displays has been a difficult and expensive challenge. Research firm DisplaySearch says that four of every 10 panels that Sony makes for its 11-inch OLED fail to make the grade and can't be sold, noted the Journal.
While Sony is delaying its OLED production, its rivals aren't standing still, though other units have yet to hit the market. LG revealed a prototype of a 15-inch model at this year's CES, but has said it won't make anything larger for another two or three years.
Samsung has also been busy demoing its OLED prototypes, showing off a 31-inch model at CES 2009. But this unit, too, won't likely hit the shelves for a number of years.
The main competition to OLED may still be the old reliable LCD. Prices keep plummeting while the quality of LCD gets better. Newer LCDs are also thinner, chew up less electricity, and can provide brighter and better colors, noted the Journal.
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Fiber to the home (FTTH) installations are expected to shoot up 30 percent annually over the next five years, according to a report released Thursday by Heavy Reading.
Growing from 36 million households with fiber hookups last year, a record 130 million are likely to have fiber by 2013, according to a summary (PDF) of the report from Heavy Reading, the market research arm of Light Reading, an event company serving the worldwide communications market.
FTTH installations employ fiber-optic cables to replace the traditional copper wiring used in the last mile from the central office to the home. Fiber can deliver significantly higher speeds and greater bandwidth than copper, making it ideal for sending voice, video, and data.
Over the next five years, Asia will account for a large portion of FTTH deployments, with almost 85 million Asian households connected through fiber by 2013, the report says. Around 23 million connections are expected in the Americas, with most in the U.S., while 24 million households will have fiber throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
"FTTH deployments continued to make strong progress in 2008 and early 2009, despite the economic downturn, and prospects for continued growth through 2010 look good," says Graham Finnie, chief analyst with Heavy Reading and author of the report. "Last year, more than 9 million homes were added to the FTTH total, and in 2009 we expect that total to increase by almost 9 million again, to reach 47 million homes worldwide at the end of the year."
The economic downturn has stalled the progress of some companies deploying FTTH. Major firms like Verizon, which has been very successful with its FIOS rollouts, have been relatively unaffected, Heavy Reading says. But other supplies say FTTH business has dropped as much as 40 percent year over year.
The continuing demand for high bandwidth by consumers will pressure companies to roll out FTTH. However, price will still be a factor, says the report. The cost per household of FTTH (estimated to be between $500 and $2,500 depending on circumstances) will limit mass rollout in certain countries.
Still, over the longer haul, Heavy Reading predicts that FTTH will eventually reach 80 percent or more households in developed nations sometime over the next 15 to 20 years.
New sensors from Synaptics will let devices recognize the touch of up to 10 fingers at a time.
(Credit: Synaptics)Touch screens that track two fingers will soon seem basic. At least if you compare them with the multitouch-sensor ClearPad 3000 Series, recently announced by Santa Clara, Calif.-based Synaptics.
The transparent sensor tracks up to 10 simultaneous finger touches--we assume that should cover most uses--making possible complex multifinger gestures such as closing an application by "crumpling" it with several fingers, or playing polyphonic sounds on a virtual piano keyboard.
(Credit:
Synaptics)
Apple made multitouch popular with its iPhone, which debuted about four months after Synaptics introduced its currently shipping two-finger sensor, ClearPad 2000, in August 2006. Though widely speculated that Apple is using Synaptics' technology, that has not been confirmed.
One phone that does use the sensor is the T-mobile G1 by HTC, and manufacturers such as Samsung and LG are also confirmed customers.
The new sensor features an accuracy of plus/minus 1 mm, is 0.3 mm thick, and is available in sizes up to 8 inches diagonally.
That supported screen size, and the speculated relationship between Synaptics and Apple, makes us wonder if this sensor is what Apple's been waiting for to launch its much-rumored tablet.
... Read moreIt's 10 p.m. Do you know where your trash is? A new project from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hopes to find out.
A team of MIT researchers announced on Wednesday a project called Trash Track, designed to monitor trash from start to finish. The team will electronically tag different pieces of waste to trace their voyage through the disposal systems of New York City and Seattle.
By examining the patterns and costs of waste disposal, MIT hopes to educate people about the impact of garbage on the environment and make them aware of what they throw out.
"Trash is one of today's most pressing issues--both directly and as a reflection of our attitudes and behaviors," says professor Carlo Ratti, head of the MIT Senseable City Lab. "Our project aims to reveal the disposal process of our everyday objects, as well as to highlight potential inefficiencies in today's recycling and sanitation systems. The project could be considered the urban equivalent of nuclear medicine--when a tracer is injected and followed through the human body."
Volunteers in New York and Seattle will allow individual pieces of their trash to be tagged with wireless location markers, known as "trash tags." The tags will calculate the ongoing location of each piece of trash and report back to a central server, where the data can be analyzed and viewed in real time.
"Trash Track aims to make the removal chain more transparent," says the lab's associate director, Assaf Biderman. "We hope that the project will promote behavioral change and encourage people to make more sustainable decisions about what they consume and how it affects the world around them."
Starting in September, the public will be able to see the results of the study online and at special exhibits at the Architectural League in New York City and the Seattle Public Library.
No, look even happier!
(Credit: Keihin Electric Express Railway)Remember the gender recognition system we saw at the Singapore-based CommunicAsia trade show last month? Well, those zany Japanese have a more creative way of implementing a somewhat similar face recognition software.
Putting a new spin on the phrase "service with a smile," employees of Keihin Electric Express Railway will need to check their smiles in every morning. The software will determine the quality of their smile, and display visual alerts if they don't look happy enough.
According to an article in the Mainichi Daily News, the software assigns smile values to various parts of the face. It then adds those values up and determines a score.
The device recognizes eye movements, lip curves, and wrinkles. If an employee gets a low score, messages such as "You still look too serious" or "Lift up your mouth corners" will be displayed on the screen.
Maybe it seems cruel, but to us it's still a lot more humane than not having chairs at work. Or maybe Keihin Electric Express Railway was inspired by the ancient Chinese proverb "Hide your dagger behind a smile"? We wouldn't want to provoke them to find out.
(Source: Crave Asia via Geekologie)
Venture capitalists are the latest group showing more confidence in an economic recovery that will revive business, according to a quarterly survey released Thursday.
For the second quarter, the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index showed an uptick, hitting 3.37 on a 5-point scale, up from the previous quarter's mark of 3.03. This is the second consecutive rise since the index dropped to a five-year low in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Based on an ongoing survey of San Francisco Bay Area venture capitalists, the index measures their confidence level in the market for initial public offerings and entrepreneurs over the next 6 to 18 months.
A report of the latest results from the June survey of 42 venture capitalists was released by its author Mark Cannice, associate professor with the University of San Francisco School of Business and Professional Studies.
"Venture capitalists expect that the worst of the financial crisis is behind us," said Cannice in his report. "While the effects of the financial market disruption on the venture industry will linger for some time, most VCs observed an increasingly determined and talented pool of entrepreneurs and a continuing march of innovation."
Although IPO funding has been scarce, the second quarter was boosted by the reopening of the market for venture-backed firms after two down quarters, noted Cannice. VCs believe their underlying business model is recovering.
Among the VCs questioned for the survey, Sandy Miller of Institutional Venture Partners said: "There has been a stabilization in the environment generally in the last two months...While we are by no means out of the woods, the tone for both entrepreneurs and investors has improved."
Kurt Keilhacker of TechFund Capital added: "There are definite signs of stabilization and hints of increased activity, especially in clean-energy sectors. Innovation is not dependent on a certain unemployment rate or stock index. Rather, innovation is often catalyzed by times of uncertainty."
Cannice noted that the lack of money has forced venture capitalists to identify and work with only the "most resilient and creative entrepreneurs." But this has instilled a sense of efficiency in these new firms, which should help them sustain over the longer haul.
VC Bill Byun of Samsung Ventures said: "In today's environment, when I meet a team of start-ups with compelling business ideas, I witness more than passion. I hear hunger to succeed and solve real problems versus testing out a business concept with an investor." Echoing that sentiment, Jim Marshall of Selby Ventures added, "Times like these truly separate the real entrepreneurs from the 'get rich quick' folks."
In summing up his findings, Cannice said in his report: "When the public capital markets right themselves fully, there will exist a healthy supply of innovative and efficient venture-backed enterprises ready to refresh their ranks."
The full report of the June survey is available at the USF Entrepreneurship Program Web site.
