Forumchem - Forum with AI(ALICE BOT & HAL9000) and TTS

Technology has replaced conscious memory in so many aspects of our lives, reminding us of our appointments or alerting us when our oil needs changing. But reminding us to blink? One Japanese company has developed a pair of glasses that does exactly that.

Developed by Japan"s Masunaga Optical Manufacturing, Wink Glasses remind computer users to blink every so often to avoid eye strain. A sensor detects how long you go without blinking; after five seconds of staring blankly into the screen, the right lens fogs, obscuring your vision until you blink again. The glasses hold an eight hour charge, and even plug into a USB outlet for extra juice during those marathon WoW session.

Of course, at $150, Wink Glasses qualify as an investment. But until someone invents a device to remind you to quit playing computer games and go get a girlfriend, what else are you going to spend your money on?

[via Gizmodo, DVICE]

Sony can now add a feather to their cap; their new e-reader, the Touch Edition (PRS-600), does something Amazon’s Kindle can’t. The Touch’s 6-inch screen can capture handwritten notes, which are exportable and saveable.

Like last year’s PRS-700, the $300 Touch uses a combination of e-ink and resistive touch technology to allow swiping page turns, text highlights, and tap menu navigation--in addition to notes support. When you write on the Touch with a stylus, its resistive touch panel registers the movements, calculates the coordinates of the contact, and then translates it into “ink” which is drawn on the book page—a real pen-on-paper experience.

Sony’s also announced the $200 Pocket Edition, which has a 5-inch screen, enough memory for up to 350 books, and two weeks of battery life.

Both readers will be available at the end of August.

We’ve come a long way from ye olde slide carousel. Though the idea of click-slide-clicking our way through BBQs and beach vacations is so deliciously Mad Men, it’s not exactly what you’d call “portable.” Nikon’s new Coolpix S1000pj camera, however, is a theater in your pocket. In playback mode, you can open a second lens on the front of the camera that casts images and movie clips as large as 40 inches onto any surface up to 6.5 feet away.

Like a pico projector (‘cause that’s basically what it is), the S1000pj uses an LED light source to bounce the image off an LCD and through the lens. You get one hour of showtime on a fully charged battery. Aside from that, this is more or less your standard point-and-shoot: 12.1 megapixels, 5X zoom, image stabilization, 2.7-inch LCD, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

The S1000pj will be available in September for $430.

For blind people who can"t perfect the system of clicks and whistles designed in Spain for human echolocation, researchers at the University of Bristol in England have created a new solution: a helmet that automatically transforms a map of the surrounding area into sound.

The system takes real-time imagery of local obstacles, be they stairs, walls, or trees, as well as moving objects like cars and other people, and alerts the wearer using the sounds perfected in the Spanish echolocation system mentioned above.

The helmet uses stereo headphones to denote where the objects are relative to the wearer, and the volume of the sound indicates the distance. The device has a 60-degree range of vision, and can identify objects as far away as 15 feet. The researchers are also currently looking to integrate GPS data into the rig, so that users can use it to plot specific courses.

Unfortunately, the speed and distance limitations of the system mean it can"t pick up oncoming traffic, to prevent the helmet from leading the wearer into a busy intersection or other dangerous situation. As a result, the researchers need to do a bit more work before the system can hit the market. Also, looking at the picture, they might want to spend some more time on the looks of the helmet. May I suggest something sleek and white?

[via The Future of Things]

Though whispers of an Apple tablet device practically predate Australopithecus, this week they’ve reached a fever pitch. It’s been reported by several news outlets that the supposed iTablet will feature a 10-inch touchscreen, both Wi-Fi and 3G data, and a custom ARM processor. It’s already been priced at $800 and even greenlit by none other than His Majesty Steve Jobs for a September release. Not one iota of this has been officially confirmed, but the prospect of a Mac Tablet seems more within reach than ever before.

This is not a good thing. If an Apple tablet is ever actually released, we should all be very concerned for the future of what most of us take for granted today: our digital freedom.

The Apple tablet will likely sit somewhere in between the iPhone and a Mac laptop. But it won’t just blur the line between them—-it will attempt to erase it. This should scare you because it will be the biggest leap yet towards the notion of a completely closed “desktop” operating system.

Much of the iPhone’s success is due to the fact that it’s the first smartphone in history that feels like using a real computer. But, think for a minute how different it still is from a desktop or notebook. On a Mac computer, you’ve got a filesystem you can access and monkey around with. You can download any program you wish (from wherever you wish) and install it. You can open up the box and customize the hardware. You can run Windows or Linux on it if you were so inclined. The iPhone, on the other hand, is by design like living under Dad’s roof--convenient, but restrictive. Without some serious rule breaking, you’re only allowed to do the things Dad says are OK to do. Want to download a cool program? Ask Dad. Want access to the files in that 32GB of storage? Sorry, but Dad says no. Want to do the whole ‘Manually Managed Music’ thing on more than one computer (like every iPod ever made)? Dad took away that privilege, and as he is wont to do, he won’t tell you why: “They are different devices that behave differently,” is Apple’s response. Thanks.

Now, imagine what life would be like if your laptop or desktop was subject to the same draconian rule. If Apple decided it didn’t want you using Flash anymore, it would take it away and there’d be no way short of potentially breaking the law for you to ever get it back. If you wanted to download a useful new program (Google Voice, perhaps?) you’d have no choice but to go through the App Store to get it, hoping with fingers crossed that Apple had allowed it to exist—though, experience would tell you otherwise. If you wanted to move files from your computer to another device or just to another folder, you’d need a paid MobileMe account. And, any freedoms you do have today could just as easily be gone with tomorrow’s software update.

Like with most of the iPhone’s failings, we can probably thank ATamp;T for its Orwellian lockdown. So far we’ve been somewhat forgiving of the restrictions put on the iPhone because, well, that’s how cell phones and cell phone providers have always done it. ATamp;T spends millions maintaining its 3G data network, and to protect it, any devices that access it have to play by ATamp;T’s rules.

There’s a very strong indication that the Apple tablet will be sold with a mobile data connection at a subsidized cost, like many netbooks are today. This is where rumors of the device get especially worrisome. Hobbling a phone is one thing, but imagine our closed PC scenario now with ATamp;T (or Verizon, as many of the rumors indicate) telling you what you can and cannot do with it—-like an overbearing Mom to Apple’s despotic Dad. The thought alone makes me shudder.

As oppressive as Apple has been thus far with the iPhone, its crimes pale in comparison to what ATamp;T has disallowed. Yes, tethering and MMS are the obvious ones that come to mind, but ATamp;T has also blocked things like 3G video streaming via the Sling Media app and 3G voice calls via the Skype app. What would ATamp;T square up in its crosshairs if it held sway over your desktop experience? Video chat? Hulu? Fonts it doesn’t particularly care for? Yikes.

Apple defends the iPhone’s many restrictions by calling the platform a “walled garden.” It keeps the OS on lockdown to protect and make things easier for us. It"s one of Apple"s core design philosophies--simplicity equals usability. And yet, out of the other side of its mouth, it expounds the virus- and problem-repellent virtues of the far-less-restrictive desktop flavor of OS X.

And let"s not forget--keeping the iPhone closed and under control protects two of Apple"s major money-makers--the iTunes Music and App stores--in a warm blanket of exclusivity. It takes a generous cut for itself while simultaneously locking out any hint of competition.

Will the FCC investigation into Apple’s denial of the Google Voice app change any of this? You’d better hope so. Because if Apple had its way, it could gleefully exercise the same level of control over OS X as it wields over the iPhone. The company has already moved the iPhone’s frustratingly non-swappable battery up to the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines, so why not its crippled OS as well? The tablet is the missing link. Get people comfortable with using the iPhone OS on something that more resembles a netbook than a cell phone, and it’ll be an easy sell to convince them that it’s just as well-suited for full-fledged notebooks, too, and eventually even desktops if they still exist by then. We happily accept our iPhones, Xbox 360s, PS3s and Wiis as closed platforms, so is this really that far-fetched to imagine? And once Apple beats us into submission, you can bet Microsoft would follow suit.

But who knows, maybe Apple will surprise everyone and release an Apple Tablet with a fully open OS X variant. At this point, it"s all just speculation, so despite evidence of the contrary, it"s still a possibility. We"ll just have to wait and see.

But regardless, do yourself a favor and take a spin through your OS today. Open your file browser, copy a document and throw something else in the trash. Download a random program off of the Internet and install it. Because, friends, the days of such freedom within an operating system may be numbered (Linux notwithstanding). It could all be coming to a flaming end, and a Mac tablet would be just the beginning.

ATMs have done their part to keep us off long teller lines since the first one was installed in the U.K. circa 1967. Now we stand on ATM lines instead. An upcoming upgrade to USAA bank’s iPhone app could cut those off, too; the app will allow bankers to deposit checks from their iPhone by sending two images of the check (one front and one back).

The app, as you can see in USAA"s demo here, walks you through how to frame the shots so that all the pertinent information is clear and visible.

The service will only be open to about 60 percent of USAA customers, an executive told the New York Times. To qualify, a customer must be eligible for credit and have insurance through USAA-–both measures taken to reduce the risk of fraud.

If you"re still a little unsettled, it may also help to know mobile depositing can use the same character scanning processes as an in-bank teller to check routing and account information.

It’s also good to know that there are several tell-tale signs of fake checks that are very easily spotted. For example, the back of every check has a small padlock box with some sort of bank-specific graphic or repeated word. These, apparently, will be just as detectable in the iPhone"s photos as they are in scans of actual checks.

USAA"s mobile deposit app will roll out sometime this week.

[via The New York Times]

Football players at the University of North Carolina are changing up their diet regimens to include vitamin-sized pills containing batteries, thermometers, and radio transmitters. The CorTemp capsule that 18 Tarheel players took this week are a key element of a study that hopes to determine the long-suspected link between body temperature and concussions. But the pill is also a boon to coaches and trainers, who can keep an eye on players’ body temperatures when they are drilling in heat that often reaches the high 90s.

Symptoms of concussions often overlap with symptoms of heat exhaustion or heat stroke, so when a player comes to a trainer complaining of dizziness, nauseau, blurred vision, or headaches, it’s difficult to diagnose the problem. To compound the issue, a theory has long posited that dehydration—a leading cause of heat exhaustion and heat stroke—increases the likelihood of concussion. Put all that together, and diagnosing a sweating, beat-up lineman complaining of dizziness is enough to give a trainer headaches.

The CorTemp capsule could change that. The silicone-coated pill is swallowed about five hours before physical activity begins. It takes residency in the intestines, where it keeps constant tabs on its host’s core temp for one to two days, before passing naturally. In conjunction with an ongoing UNC study in which helmet-mounted sensors measure the G-forces created by hits on the field, researchers hope to crack the heat-concussion conundrum. By cross referencing body temperature data with where, and how hard, a player is hit, researchers should be able to either establish a link between heat and concussion or put the theory to rest for good.

In the meantime, medical personnel have instant access to core body temp, so symptoms like dizziness and nausea are easier to diagnose as either heat exhaustion or a more serious head injury. For the coaches, the data can be gathered in real time—a wand waved within six inches of a player instantly captures core temperature—and can be used to adjust the duration and intensity of drills, helping them push their players to the limit without crossing into physically dangerous territory. Further, they can tailor regimens for individual players. A heavy-set defensive lineman will respond to tough drills on a hot day differently than a lithe wide receiver. CorTemp makes those differences apparent in real time.

At $40 a pop, the pills are still too pricey for everyday use in monitoring players’ core temperatures, but the data CorTemp provides creates an important educational tool for coaches and trainers. In the past two seasons, 10 players have died from brain-related injuries, all in high school and all perhaps preventable. If researchers can establish a threshold above which the likelihood of concussion becomes greater, coaches can better gauge when to pull a player from a game, or how to keep practice drills safe. To that end, the UNC players will pop pills once more during training camp and during two games this season.

[via PhysOrg]

Back when pitching meant Mordecai Three Finger Brown gingerly tossing baseballs so worn down that they resembled leather hacky sacks, players didn"t need to worry about lifelong injury after getting hit by a pitch. But now that "roided up monsters can hurl the ball fast enough to cause serious damage, players need something substantial to protect their dome.

Enter the S100. Designed to withstand the impact from a baseball thrown at 100 MPH from only 24 inches away, the helmet offers significantly more protection than the current helmets used by professional baseball players. And yet, many players don"t want to wear the new helmet because they find it too heavy or think it simply looks stupid.

The secret to the helmets resistance is a layer of polypropylene surrounded by a composite strip. Upon impact, the composite strip maintains the helmet"s integrity, while the polypropylene, the material used to make bicycle helmets, absorbs the energy and breaks internally.

The current helmets can only withstand a 60 MPH ball fired from 24 inches away, and will fail when hit with a ball going 70 MPH. Considering even the off speed pitches in baseball go faster than that, the helmet doesn"t offer that much protection.

But while David Wright seems keen to try on the safer helmet, players like Jeff Francoeur and Nomar Garciaparra think the helmet looks too bad to wear in public.

Frankly, someone needs to tell Jeff and Nomar that not only does safety come first, but that the helmet doesn"t look any worse than batting .263.

[via The New York Times]

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Green Dream: Putting the Earth to Work With a Geothermal Heating System

Drilling a geothermal well to help cool and heat the dream home. By John B. Carnett

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While the idea of a space elevator has been around for about 100 years, the idea became more feasible by the 1991 discovery of "carbon nanotubes," tiny atoms that can come together and make a cylinder. The elevator is built around the idea of a ribbon and tether that could lift people thousands of miles into near space to a destination such as the International space station

Meanwhile, in
final proof that sports channels don"t know what the hell they"re
doing, for the last five years NASA and The Spaceward Foundation have
been running "The Space Elevator Games" - a competition to build a
robot and cable to literally CLIMB INTO SPACE - and TV still shows
skateboarding instead.  The future is happening, and nobody"s watching.