When you're driving your car, you might be distracted by something or even feeling sleepy, moving out from your lane or forced to brake suddenly to avoid an imminent collision. Radar technology exists to help you, but it's too expensive to be installed in ordinary cars. So what about some assistance from a single camera on a chip?
This is what has developed Prof. Amnon Shashua of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "The chip operates in conjunction with a video camera that is mounted on the dashboard of a vehicle and that sends information on what it sees to an on-board computer containing the EyeQ chip."
Shashua is currently working with major car manufacturers to integrate the technology into production, for example to send warning signals to drivers shifting from their lanes or to lock their seat belts and add extra pressure on the brake pedal in the event of an imminent crash. And one day, such cameras might become standard safety gear for cars, like air bags or seat belts.
You'll find more details and references in this overview, including a picture of a car equipped with such a system.
This is what has developed Prof. Amnon Shashua of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "The chip operates in conjunction with a video camera that is mounted on the dashboard of a vehicle and that sends information on what it sees to an on-board computer containing the EyeQ chip."
Shashua is currently working with major car manufacturers to integrate the technology into production, for example to send warning signals to drivers shifting from their lanes or to lock their seat belts and add extra pressure on the brake pedal in the event of an imminent crash. And one day, such cameras might become standard safety gear for cars, like air bags or seat belts.
You'll find more details and references in this overview, including a picture of a car equipped with such a system.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:33 PM | Comments (0)
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Using Internet to Control Electricity Bills
Even if new buildings are connected to Internet, they usually don't communicate between themselves. And when it comes to electricity, these buildings are selfish and consume what they want without any coordination. Now, a system developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is using Web services to collectively adjust power usage to variations in price.
In "Internet ups power grid IQ," Technology Research News reports that the system was successfully tested for two weeks on five commercial buildings. "Beyond price, systems could be programmed to respond to changes in air quality or to tap into sustainable energy sources."
You'll find more details, pictures and references in this overview.
In "Internet ups power grid IQ," Technology Research News reports that the system was successfully tested for two weeks on five commercial buildings. "Beyond price, systems could be programmed to respond to changes in air quality or to tap into sustainable energy sources."
You'll find more details, pictures and references in this overview.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:29 PM | Comments (0)
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Monday, June 28, 2004
Forget Space Tourism, Go Underwater
If you want to discover future travel trends, SPACE.com is the place to check. In "The Future of Travel: Aquatic to Cosmic Destinations," you'll see that space-based hotels, if technologically feasible, will probably not be affordable for a mass market.
Other future concepts include helium-filled airship hotels, or Hydropolis, a $500-million underwater hotel on the coast of Dubai and scheduled for opening in December 2006, where you'll be able to sleep with the fishes. The article also describes future hotel 'pods' that can be moved around the globe according to specific demand for a destination.
And if none of these residences tempts you, you're welcome to book eco-friendly holidays, which will jump from 1 percent today to 5 percent of all trips by 2024. More details, pictures and references are available in this overview.
Other future concepts include helium-filled airship hotels, or Hydropolis, a $500-million underwater hotel on the coast of Dubai and scheduled for opening in December 2006, where you'll be able to sleep with the fishes. The article also describes future hotel 'pods' that can be moved around the globe according to specific demand for a destination.
And if none of these residences tempts you, you're welcome to book eco-friendly holidays, which will jump from 1 percent today to 5 percent of all trips by 2024. More details, pictures and references are available in this overview.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 8:28 AM | Comments (0)
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A Spongy Mouse
There's light at the end of the carpal tunnel, thanks to two professors of Iowa State University (ISU) who use computer-aided design (CAD) software extensively and suffer from some discomforts. They invented a gadget which is part mouse and part videogame joystick, made of a flexible material similar to the one used in stress-relief squeeze balls.
In "Sponge Mouse May Revolutionize Point-Click," NewsFactor Network reports that the device fits in the palm of the hand. You use your thumb to use a button on the top to control the position and the speed of the cursor. Two push buttons on the side are the right- and left-click buttons.
But if you suffer from back, hand or wrist pain induced by your current mouse, don't rush to your computer store to buy a 'sponge' mouse. ISU has filed a patent and is looking at licensing opportunities for future manufacturing. More details and a picture of the 'sponge mouse' are available in this overview.
In "Sponge Mouse May Revolutionize Point-Click," NewsFactor Network reports that the device fits in the palm of the hand. You use your thumb to use a button on the top to control the position and the speed of the cursor. Two push buttons on the side are the right- and left-click buttons.
But if you suffer from back, hand or wrist pain induced by your current mouse, don't rush to your computer store to buy a 'sponge' mouse. ISU has filed a patent and is looking at licensing opportunities for future manufacturing. More details and a picture of the 'sponge mouse' are available in this overview.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 8:24 AM | Comments (0)
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Sunday, June 27, 2004
Security and Open Source on US Presidential Candidate Sites
According to a post on Dave Farber's Interesting People List, the US presidential candidates differ on more than just foreign policy. George Bush uses IIS, John Kerry uses Apache. Both sites have poor security against cross site scripting errors and (of course) track every move you make both on their sites and wherever you place supporting banners. Since Mr. Kerry plan's to "create millions of high-tech jobs," perhaps he should start with a good security auditor for both he and Mr. Bush.
| :: posted by Doug, 10:26 PM | Comments (0)
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Saturday, June 26, 2004
Stopping VOIP Spam Before It Starts
Qovia is a company that has proactively developed software to stop an anticipated VOIP spam problem. Using a technology that "has algorithms to recognize certain patterns in calls that tend to be associated with recorded sales pitches" it sounds positively Bayesian.
| :: posted by Doug, 7:02 PM | Comments (0)
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'Smart' Satellites That Think For Themselves
Currently, satellites take pictures of whatever is in front of their cameras. But hydrologists from the University of Arizona (UA), working with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are creating spacecrafts that think for themselves.
Their smart software, which is tested on NASA's EO-1 satellite, can be used on all kinds of spacecrafts. This software has three components: an image formation module, a science algorithm module, and a continuous planning module. This onboard planner reschedules what to film in conjunction with what the scientific algorithms have detected. This software has already detected floods in Australia and will be adapted to also detect volcano eruptions and changes in ice fields.
In a next stage, it will be used in space, for instance to watch Jupiter's moons. More details and references are available in this overview, including images of the flood detected by this smart software.
Their smart software, which is tested on NASA's EO-1 satellite, can be used on all kinds of spacecrafts. This software has three components: an image formation module, a science algorithm module, and a continuous planning module. This onboard planner reschedules what to film in conjunction with what the scientific algorithms have detected. This software has already detected floods in Australia and will be adapted to also detect volcano eruptions and changes in ice fields.
In a next stage, it will be used in space, for instance to watch Jupiter's moons. More details and references are available in this overview, including images of the flood detected by this smart software.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:04 PM | Comments (0)
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Capturing Our Thoughts As They Happen
If you're like me, you probably think that using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or more traditional electroencephalograms (EEG) for imaging our brain gives accurate results. Wrong! Our brain is always changing his mind, switching from an activity to another every millisecond or so.
But current imaging techniques are averaging these activities over seconds, creating blurry images of active areas in the brain. Now, after eight years of work, neurobiologists of the University of California at San Diego have developed a new technique to capture thinking as it happens.
The researchers are currently using this new technique to study patients with epilepsy and autism. More details and references are available in this overview.
But current imaging techniques are averaging these activities over seconds, creating blurry images of active areas in the brain. Now, after eight years of work, neurobiologists of the University of California at San Diego have developed a new technique to capture thinking as it happens.
The researchers are currently using this new technique to study patients with epilepsy and autism. More details and references are available in this overview.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:01 PM | Comments (0)
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Fractals Show What Your Robot 'Think'
You easily know when a friend or a colleague is happy or not. Why? Because of our human senses. But what about guessing if an autonomous machine, such as a robot, is pouting because it expects new instructions, or is happily crunching data? In "Fractals show machine intentions," Technology Research News tells us that "researchers from Switzerland and South Africa have designed a visual interface that would give autonomous machines the equivalent of body language."
This interface consists of a clustered algorithm which regroups the myriads of internal states of a machine into a small number, and a fractal generator. By looking at these changing fractal images, you start to 'feel' the machine's 'thoughts.'
The first practical applications should appear within five years, while self-evolving or self-repairing robots will not come before a long time, according to the researchers. More details and references are available in this overview, including a picture showing a machine's 'thinking' evolution.
This interface consists of a clustered algorithm which regroups the myriads of internal states of a machine into a small number, and a fractal generator. By looking at these changing fractal images, you start to 'feel' the machine's 'thoughts.'
The first practical applications should appear within five years, while self-evolving or self-repairing robots will not come before a long time, according to the researchers. More details and references are available in this overview, including a picture showing a machine's 'thinking' evolution.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 12:59 PM | Comments (0)
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Friday, June 25, 2004
Supernova 2004
Now in Mindjack: JD Lasica reports on Supernova 2004.
Blogging, collaborative work tools and the drawbacks of social software took center stage at this year's Supernova.
The third annual tech-in-the-workspace conference — "Where the decentralized future comes together!" — drew more than 150 technology thought leaders, software startup CEOs and other heavy hitters (alas, fewer than 20 of them women) to the Westin Hotel in Santa Clara, Calif., on June 24-25.
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 2:16 PM | Comments (0)
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Thursday, June 24, 2004
Kerry's Science and Technology Plan
US Presidential candidate John Kerry has announced his plan for science and technology.
The full plan is available as a PDF here.
“This nation is destined to think big and dream big, and it’s time America had a president who once again will look toward a future of discovery with hope and confidence,” Kerry said. “Today, I’ve offered an economic agenda focused on high-tech, high-wage job growth. It is an optimistic agenda for prosperity. It recognizes that the promise of the Information Age was not a bubble; it is a breakthrough that will continue to lift our economy and our lives.”
The full plan is available as a PDF here.
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 6:54 PM | Comments (0)
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Tuesday, June 22, 2004
A Bouquet of Nanoflowers
Today, you're going to see the most beautiful scientific pictures of the year.
The winner of a photographic contest recently organized by the Department of Engineering of the University of Cambridge is Ghim Wei Ho, a PhD student in nanotechnology, for absolutely fabulous pictures of what she calls 'nanoflowers' or 'nanotrees.' In "Physicists reveal first 'nanoflowers'," the Institute of Physics says these nanostructures of silicon carbide are grown from droplets of gallium on a silicon surface.
Not only these images are stunning, they also show cutting-edge nanotechnology research. And these nanoflowers will be used in new exciting applications, such as water repellant coatings or new types of solar cells.
Several fantastic pictures are available in this photo gallery, which also contains other references to the research project which led to these stunning images.
The winner of a photographic contest recently organized by the Department of Engineering of the University of Cambridge is Ghim Wei Ho, a PhD student in nanotechnology, for absolutely fabulous pictures of what she calls 'nanoflowers' or 'nanotrees.' In "Physicists reveal first 'nanoflowers'," the Institute of Physics says these nanostructures of silicon carbide are grown from droplets of gallium on a silicon surface.
Not only these images are stunning, they also show cutting-edge nanotechnology research. And these nanoflowers will be used in new exciting applications, such as water repellant coatings or new types of solar cells.
Several fantastic pictures are available in this photo gallery, which also contains other references to the research project which led to these stunning images.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:16 PM | Comments (0)
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The World's Biggest Truck
Several months ago, I told you about a monster truck able to carry a payload of 190 tons. Compared with the new T 282 B from Liebherr, this was a baby. This new mining truck can carry about 360 tonnes (400 tons) at 64 km/h.
New Scientist interviewed its designer, Francis Bartley, who says that such a truck costs US$3 million and that the worldwide market for these trucks doesn't exceed 75 units per year. He adds that this is an unconventional truck. It has a 2723-kilowatt diesel engine which powers two electric motors, making the T 282 B the biggest AC drive truck.
If you like big toys, you'll enjoy this interview. More details are available in this overview, which includes a stunning photograph of a man standing next to a T 282 B mining truck.
New Scientist interviewed its designer, Francis Bartley, who says that such a truck costs US$3 million and that the worldwide market for these trucks doesn't exceed 75 units per year. He adds that this is an unconventional truck. It has a 2723-kilowatt diesel engine which powers two electric motors, making the T 282 B the biggest AC drive truck.
If you like big toys, you'll enjoy this interview. More details are available in this overview, which includes a stunning photograph of a man standing next to a T 282 B mining truck.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:10 PM | Comments (0)
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Security Comes in a Flowered Print
Although there is no ETA on when it will hit the commercial market, a UK defense contractor has developed wallpaper that can block WiFi signal while allowing other signals such as cell phone or radio to pass. The Frequency Selective Surface is the same technology as used on stealth fighters and could be used for glass surfaces as well.
| :: posted by Doug, 10:09 AM | Comments (0)
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Monday, June 21, 2004
Shell Come to the Dollhouse
If the new Chairman of the UK Shell oil company is so concerned about global warming, does that mean that he will participate in the Green Dollhouse project? Maybe create a doll-sized eco-friendly oil refinery? A hybrid Barbie Jeep?
| :: posted by Doug, 10:29 AM | Comments (0)
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Saturday, June 19, 2004
The Queen Mary 2, a 21st Century Floating IT City
In this long article, CIO Magazine looks at how IT supports the Queen Mary 2, the most technologically advanced vessel on the ocean. The magazine describes the challenges and the technical aspects of the design and the implementation of IT onboard. But it also makes a good weekend reading. Imagine a day on this floating city.
This overview highlights the essential details, but read the original article if you have more time to spare.
A guest embarking on the Queen Mary 2 -- the world's newest, biggest and most expensive ocean liner -- pulls out her smart card and hands it to a smiling security officer in a crisp, white uniform, who scans her through. After settling into her cabin, she flicks on the digital interactive TV and fires off a couple of e-mails. A few clicks away she browses the evening's dinner menu, then orders a bottle of pinot noir, which will be on her table when she arrives at the restaurant. Following some after-dinner entertainment in the theater, she heads back to her cabin, pipes in some Mozart from the TV system's vast music library, orders room service for breakfast and falls asleep.
This overview highlights the essential details, but read the original article if you have more time to spare.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:22 PM | Comments (0)
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'Nanodumbbells' to Assembly Nanostructures
A group of chemists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has developed 'nanodumbbells' -- gold-tipped nanocrystals which can be used as building blocks for future electronic devices.
These 'nanodumbbells', which are shaped like mini-weightlifting bars, will apparently solve two nanotechnological problems: assembling billions of nanocrystals into a single integrated electrical circuit; and provide good electrical contact. And they will be used to create self-assembling chain structures of nanocrystals. This overview provides other details, pictures and references about this project.
[Additional note, totally unrelated to the content: there was not a single reference to 'nanodumbbells' by Google when I was typing this yesterday. Today, Google is finding six links.]
These 'nanodumbbells', which are shaped like mini-weightlifting bars, will apparently solve two nanotechnological problems: assembling billions of nanocrystals into a single integrated electrical circuit; and provide good electrical contact. And they will be used to create self-assembling chain structures of nanocrystals. This overview provides other details, pictures and references about this project.
[Additional note, totally unrelated to the content: there was not a single reference to 'nanodumbbells' by Google when I was typing this yesterday. Today, Google is finding six links.]
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:14 PM | Comments (0)
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Anti-Spyware Legislation in the Works
News.com reports that a House panel has approved a bill - one of many - that targets the use of spyware. The bill is designed to restore "safety, confidence and control to consumers when using their own computers" by barring ads that can't be closed, keystroke logging and the unknowing transfer of personally identifiable information through spyware. Here's hoping that whichever law eventually gets passed will have more teeth and fewer loopholes than the Can Spam law, but Congress doesn't have a sterling history when it comes to tech laws.
| :: posted by Doug, 10:08 AM | Comments (0)
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Friday, June 18, 2004
Simulating Hallucinations in Virtual Reality
When psychiatrists are facing mentally disturbed people, they often find difficult to understand their patients' hallucinations. This is why a multidisciplinary team of the University of Queensland in Australia has written a special software to help them and their patients. In "VR tool re-creates hallucinations," Technology Research News says that the hallucination simulation software is a three-dimensional environment, something like the game Quake.
This prototype system runs on a "large virtual reality system that includes three projectors and a 9-meters-wide by and 2.5-meters-high screen curved to provide a 150-degree field of view." The researchers are now porting this software on PC platforms in order to be used in individual clinicians' offices. Commercial applications should be ready within five years.
This overview provides other details and links to this project, including several computing images.
This prototype system runs on a "large virtual reality system that includes three projectors and a 9-meters-wide by and 2.5-meters-high screen curved to provide a 150-degree field of view." The researchers are now porting this software on PC platforms in order to be used in individual clinicians' offices. Commercial applications should be ready within five years.
This overview provides other details and links to this project, including several computing images.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:56 PM | Comments (0)
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An Hologram Generator on a Chip
In "Chip Miniaturizes Holography," Technology Review says that Japanese researchers have developed a hologram generator on a single circuit board. The electroholographic system consists of a special-purpose computational chip and a high-resolution, reflective mode, liquid-crystal display panel as a spatial light modulator.
With this system, they were able to generate an hologram at a resolution of 800x600 in half a second for an object of 1,000 points. Their solution is scalable in two ways: the computation is done in parallel streams, and several chips can work on a single hologram.
The researchers think that there will be real-time 3D applications for television or medical imaging within five to ten years. This overview includes other details and references, including a diagram and a photograph of the hologram generator.
With this system, they were able to generate an hologram at a resolution of 800x600 in half a second for an object of 1,000 points. Their solution is scalable in two ways: the computation is done in parallel streams, and several chips can work on a single hologram.
The researchers think that there will be real-time 3D applications for television or medical imaging within five to ten years. This overview includes other details and references, including a diagram and a photograph of the hologram generator.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 7:44 AM | Comments (0)
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Wednesday, June 16, 2004
UN Warn Us: Global Flood Threat is Rising
Mindjack readers are living everywhere in our world. So I guess this UN warning will concern many of you.
In a new study, researchers at the United Nations University (UNU) reveal that the number of people threatened by catastrophic floods is going to increase from one billion today to more than two billion by 2050. And guess who is responsible? Climate change, deforestation, rising sea levels and population growth in flood-prone lands. In other words, ourselves.
The study states that 25,000 people are killed each year by floods and other weather-related disasters. The UN experts also say that the yearly costs of these disasters are in the $50 to $60 billion range, mostly in developing countries. This "is roughly equal to the global development aid provided by all donor countries combined." What can we do to reduce the number of deaths? We need to build a greater global capacity to monitor and forecast extreme events in order to devise new warning systems and new planning strategies.
This overview includes other details and references. It also contains a map of our world with icons showing the locations of floods observed by NASA satellites between April and June 2004.
In a new study, researchers at the United Nations University (UNU) reveal that the number of people threatened by catastrophic floods is going to increase from one billion today to more than two billion by 2050. And guess who is responsible? Climate change, deforestation, rising sea levels and population growth in flood-prone lands. In other words, ourselves.
The study states that 25,000 people are killed each year by floods and other weather-related disasters. The UN experts also say that the yearly costs of these disasters are in the $50 to $60 billion range, mostly in developing countries. This "is roughly equal to the global development aid provided by all donor countries combined." What can we do to reduce the number of deaths? We need to build a greater global capacity to monitor and forecast extreme events in order to devise new warning systems and new planning strategies.
This overview includes other details and references. It also contains a map of our world with icons showing the locations of floods observed by NASA satellites between April and June 2004.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:33 PM | Comments (0)
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Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Charles Walton, the Father of RFID
Today, I will not tell you about the benefits of RFID tags to Wal-Mart supply-chain or the potential dangers to our privacies brought about by these tags. No, we'll look at the origins of the RFID technology, which is surprisingly more than thirty years old.
In a very interesting article, the San Jose Mercury News tells us about Charles Walton, the man behind the radio frequency identification technology (RFID). Since his first patent about it in 1973, Walton, now 83 years old, collected about $3 million from royalties coming from his patents. Unfortunately for him, his latest patent about RFID expired in the mid-1990s. So he will not make any money from the billions of RFID tags that will appear in the years to come. But he continues to invent and his latest patent about a proximity card with incorporated PIN code protection was granted in June 2004. Maybe he'll be luckier with this one.
This overview contains some excerpts of the original article. It also contains tips to search for Walton's patents and an image of the front page of his first patent.
In a very interesting article, the San Jose Mercury News tells us about Charles Walton, the man behind the radio frequency identification technology (RFID). Since his first patent about it in 1973, Walton, now 83 years old, collected about $3 million from royalties coming from his patents. Unfortunately for him, his latest patent about RFID expired in the mid-1990s. So he will not make any money from the billions of RFID tags that will appear in the years to come. But he continues to invent and his latest patent about a proximity card with incorporated PIN code protection was granted in June 2004. Maybe he'll be luckier with this one.
This overview contains some excerpts of the original article. It also contains tips to search for Walton's patents and an image of the front page of his first patent.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 12:59 PM | Comments (0)
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Monday, June 14, 2004
In the new issue of Mindjack
For those reading the RSS feed, we have a review of The Prisoner and Thunderbirds DVD sets in the new issue of Mindjack.
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 11:45 PM | Comments (0)
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Sunday, June 13, 2004
The Heracles Super Maps for the 21st Century
After five years of trials, Craig Knoblock and his team at the Information Sciences Institute of the University (ISI) of Southern California, have developed Heracles Maps, an easy-to-use laptop package to optimize routes in the whole world for both military and business travelers. This news release, "A SuperMap for Soldiers -- Or Business Travelers," says that the application integrates various sources of geospatial information, such as satellite imagery of mapping data.
From this data, soldiers can easily find a safe route between two locations without being seen or shot by an enemy in another location. This package can easily be adapted to civilian applications, such as a powerful travel planner. You'll find more details and references in this overview.
From this data, soldiers can easily find a safe route between two locations without being seen or shot by an enemy in another location. This package can easily be adapted to civilian applications, such as a powerful travel planner. You'll find more details and references in this overview.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:15 PM | Comments (0)
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Rent a GPS-guided Talking Car to Tour San Francisco
If you want to visit San Francisco in an innovative way, you can now take a GPS interactive guided tour of the city. A company named GoCar Rentals has deployed a fleet of yellow buggies in the streets. The three-wheeled, two-seat cars are equipped with a computer system that guides the drivers throughout the city while telling them local stories about the landmarks.
In "For Wandering Tourists, Help From on High" (Free registration, permanent link), the New York Times tells you more about this neat application of technology to tourism.
And you will not have to break the bank to take a tour. It will cost you $40 for the first hour and $20 per additional hour. You'll find more details and photographs in this overview. And if you're one of the 600 first lucky people who already take this tour in the last two months, please post your comments.
In "For Wandering Tourists, Help From on High" (Free registration, permanent link), the New York Times tells you more about this neat application of technology to tourism.
And you will not have to break the bank to take a tour. It will cost you $40 for the first hour and $20 per additional hour. You'll find more details and photographs in this overview. And if you're one of the 600 first lucky people who already take this tour in the last two months, please post your comments.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:12 PM | Comments (0)
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Saturday, June 12, 2004
Will 'Pick and Drop' Replace 'Cut and Paste'?
How do you exchange a file with a colleague or a photograph with a family member? Chances are that you cut the desired element and paste it into your e-mail program to send it. Now, imagine yourself in a meeting, picking a file on your PDA with a digital pen and using the same pen to drop it on your friend's laptop screen. This is exactly what Jun Rekimoto and his team at Sony Interaction Laboratory have developed with their 'pick and drop' technique.
BBC News looks at this project in "Digital pen takes on mouse." Because it's based on cheap and existing components, such a system might be released in a near future, even Sony hasn't announced any plans to do it. You'll find more details and pictures in this overview.
BBC News looks at this project in "Digital pen takes on mouse." Because it's based on cheap and existing components, such a system might be released in a near future, even Sony hasn't announced any plans to do it. You'll find more details and pictures in this overview.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 8:31 AM | Comments (0)
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Wi-Fi Cheaters, Beware! DOMINO Will Get You
According to Imad Aad, a computer scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, it's pretty easy to abuse Wi-Fi networks and to get a higher bandwidth than honest users. All you need is a recent and programmable Wi-Fi card and a Linux machine. You just have to change one line in the code of the Multiple Access Control (MAC) protocol to set the transfer rate at a high fixed value, and you're done. New Scientist has more details in "Greedy hackers can hog Wi-Fi bandwidth."
But beware, if the carriers catch you, they'll throw you out of the network and maybe even fine you. And their detective work to identify the cheaters can be easily done with Aad's tool, DOMINO, which claims to detect hackers in fractions of a second. My advice: don't cheat. More details and references are available in this overview.
But beware, if the carriers catch you, they'll throw you out of the network and maybe even fine you. And their detective work to identify the cheaters can be easily done with Aad's tool, DOMINO, which claims to detect hackers in fractions of a second. My advice: don't cheat. More details and references are available in this overview.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 8:28 AM | Comments (0)
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Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Micro Review: Once Upon a Time in the West DVD
Whenever someone tells me they don't like musicals, I tell them to watch Singin' in the Rain. If someone says they don't like westerns, I tell them to watch this. Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West is as grand as a John Ford film and as cool as a Quentin Tarantino movie.
And the DVD is simply incredible for the price (less than 12 bucks at Amazon). The transfer is wonderful and the extras as as good as those on discs costing three times as much. On two discs, you get three documentaries (really one split in three parts), a short featurette on railroads and the west, and a commentary featuring John Carpenter, Alex Cox, Leone biographer Christopher Frayling, and others. There's lots of Criterion discs that aren't nearly as good as this.
Whenever someone tells me they don't like musicals, I tell them to watch Singin' in the Rain. If someone says they don't like westerns, I tell them to watch this. Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West is as grand as a John Ford film and as cool as a Quentin Tarantino movie.And the DVD is simply incredible for the price (less than 12 bucks at Amazon). The transfer is wonderful and the extras as as good as those on discs costing three times as much. On two discs, you get three documentaries (really one split in three parts), a short featurette on railroads and the west, and a commentary featuring John Carpenter, Alex Cox, Leone biographer Christopher Frayling, and others. There's lots of Criterion discs that aren't nearly as good as this.
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 3:53 PM | Comments (1)
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Will You Ever Wear a Scentsory Chameleon Bodysuit?
A team of the Applied NanoBioscience Center at Arizona State University has built prototypes of biometric bodysuits. They can detect chemical attacks, deliver drugs to their wearers, or even perfume scents if your body temperature rises too much. The military version of the Scentsory Chameleon Bodysuit incorporates fuel cells to provide a lightweight source of power for the soldier's equipment. The civilian one can monitor your heart or blood pressure, deliver interactive games or simply work as a wearable computer.
You will even be able to download new colors and patterns from the Web to change your appearance according to this article from East Valley Tribune in Arizona.
Both versions should reach the market within a few years. More details and references are available in in this overview, including a photograph of the military version of the outfit.
You will even be able to download new colors and patterns from the Web to change your appearance according to this article from East Valley Tribune in Arizona.
Both versions should reach the market within a few years. More details and references are available in in this overview, including a photograph of the military version of the outfit.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 3:33 PM | Comments (0)
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Wi-Fi For Networked Cows
Imagine a farmer controlling his herds of cattle from the comfort of his home, using a laptop and special software letting him think he's playing a video game. What a dream! In fact, it's possible today, according to the New Scientist, in "Virtual fences to herd Wi-Fi cattle."
In a near future, networked cows will wear 'smart' head-collars equipped with a Wi-Fi networking card, a PDA, a GPS unit, and a loudspeaker to tell them they're going too far from their fields. When the networked cows reach a virtual barrier erected by the farmer, they'll be warned by various sounds, such as barking dogs or hissing snakes.
Kudos to Zack Butler for this truly innovative idea! You'll find more details and pictures in this overview.
In a near future, networked cows will wear 'smart' head-collars equipped with a Wi-Fi networking card, a PDA, a GPS unit, and a loudspeaker to tell them they're going too far from their fields. When the networked cows reach a virtual barrier erected by the farmer, they'll be warned by various sounds, such as barking dogs or hissing snakes.
Kudos to Zack Butler for this truly innovative idea! You'll find more details and pictures in this overview.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:01 PM | Comments (0)
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Monday, June 07, 2004
Zuse's Z3 Was Crunching Numbers Before Colossus and ENIAC
Several years before the Colossus in the U.K. and the ENIAC in the U.S., the Z3, built by Konrad Zuse in 1941, was crunching numbers in Germany. In a short article, the Register says the Z3 was the first programmable computer.
Based on a binary floating-point number and switching system, it had all the attributes of today's computers, such as a control block, a memory, and a calculator. But it didn't have the ability to store the program in the memory together with the data because the memory was too small. It had a 64-word memory of 22 bits each and was able to handle four additions per second and to do a multiplication in about five seconds. And it was pretty big: five meters long, two meters high, and 80 centimeters wide.
It was destroyed during WWII, and later rebuilt in 1960/1961. You'll find more details, pictures and references in this analysis of this ancestor of modern computing.
Based on a binary floating-point number and switching system, it had all the attributes of today's computers, such as a control block, a memory, and a calculator. But it didn't have the ability to store the program in the memory together with the data because the memory was too small. It had a 64-word memory of 22 bits each and was able to handle four additions per second and to do a multiplication in about five seconds. And it was pretty big: five meters long, two meters high, and 80 centimeters wide.
It was destroyed during WWII, and later rebuilt in 1960/1961. You'll find more details, pictures and references in this analysis of this ancestor of modern computing.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 2:39 PM | Comments (0)
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Earn Your PhD For Playing Computer Games
Yes, it is possible to get a PhD while playing games, at least if you're studying at the University of Southern California. In "A PhD in Mortal Kombat" (free registration needed), the Los Angeles Times reports that a "pioneering USC group tries to get into the heads of players to learn if the pastime harms or can help."
The Annenberg Studies on Computer Games is a 20-person multidisciplinary group which studies "the impact of computer game-playing on individuals, groups, and society at large." The group wants to understand how some players become "addicted" to gaming. The students will also investigate why some gamers develop "anti-social" behavior while others see an improvement of their interpersonal skills.
This overview contains more details and references, but if you have time, read the original and well-documented article.
The Annenberg Studies on Computer Games is a 20-person multidisciplinary group which studies "the impact of computer game-playing on individuals, groups, and society at large." The group wants to understand how some players become "addicted" to gaming. The students will also investigate why some gamers develop "anti-social" behavior while others see an improvement of their interpersonal skills.
This overview contains more details and references, but if you have time, read the original and well-documented article.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 2:33 PM | Comments (0)
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Saturday, June 05, 2004
ConeXpress Spacecraft Will Extend Satellite Lives
Among the hundreds of existing satellites used for telecommunications, more than 80 will stop working by 2011. This pushed a U.K.-based company, Orbital Recovery Corporation to develop a ion-propelled spacecraft which could extend the operational lifetime of these satellites by up to a decade. In this article, SPACE.com says that the first trials of the ConeXpress Orbital Life Extension Vehicle are expected by 2007.
But the company faces a serious challenge. Will it be cheaper to extend a current satellite life than to launch a brand new satellite with state-of-the-art design? More details and illustrations are available in this overview.
But the company faces a serious challenge. Will it be cheaper to extend a current satellite life than to launch a brand new satellite with state-of-the-art design? More details and illustrations are available in this overview.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:45 PM | Comments (0)
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'Swarm' Mission Will Look Inside the Earth
Among six Earth Explorer candidate missions, the European Space Agency (ESA) has chosen a 'Swarm' of satellites to look inside the Earth and to do the best survey ever of the Earth's geomagnetic field. The mission, scheduled for launch in 2009, will consist of three satellites released by a single rocket. Two will fly side-by-side 450 km above us while the third one will cruise at an altitude of 530 km.
In "ESA to probe Earth's magnetic field," the Register also looks at this future mission which will lead to a better analysis of the Sun's influence in our solar system. More details and illustrations are available in this overview.
In "ESA to probe Earth's magnetic field," the Register also looks at this future mission which will lead to a better analysis of the Sun's influence in our solar system. More details and illustrations are available in this overview.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:41 PM | Comments (0)
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Thursday, June 03, 2004
See With Your Tongue
Yes, this is possible. An international team of neuropsychologists has improved a device named "Tongue Display Unit" (TDU) pioneered at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The device consists of a grid of 144 gold-plated electrodes set in the mouth and able to activate the cerebral cortex, the area of brain normally used for vision, of blind people. In their experiments, blind people were able to "see letters with their tongue."
This system has the potential to replace the Braille alphabet and to vastly improve the quality of life of blind persons. More details, pictures and references are available in this overview.
This system has the potential to replace the Braille alphabet and to vastly improve the quality of life of blind persons. More details, pictures and references are available in this overview.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 2:49 PM | Comments (0)
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A 'Lab-on-a-chip' to Detect Life on Mars
Researchers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) are using 'lab-on-a-chip' technology for medical testing and are customizing them to use in space to detect bacteria and life forms on other planets. These chips will also be used to protect astronauts aboard a spacecraft by detecting microbes and contaminants.
These microarray diagnostic chips are very small. They also are inexpensive because they share the fabrication technology used to print circuits on computer chips. Therefore, a Martian expedition will be able to embark a very large number of these chips to secure the mission. More details and references are available in this overview, which includes a photograph of a NASA biochip.
These microarray diagnostic chips are very small. They also are inexpensive because they share the fabrication technology used to print circuits on computer chips. Therefore, a Martian expedition will be able to embark a very large number of these chips to secure the mission. More details and references are available in this overview, which includes a photograph of a NASA biochip.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 2:28 PM | Comments (0)
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Tuesday, June 01, 2004
A Wirelessly Monitored Glacier
In a world's premiere, an interdisciplinary team of the University of Southampton, GlacsWeb, has deployed a network of wireless sensors inside a Norwegian glacier to record its behavior.
This news release, "Sensor Technology Comes in from the Cold" says that the sensor probes, housed in 'electronic pebbles,' are buried 60 meters under the surface of the glacier.
And they transmit wirelessly their observations about temperature, pressure or ice movement to a base station located on the surface, which relays the readings to a server in the UK by mobile phone.
The researchers think that similar sensor webs will soon be deployed around the world to watch what is changing in our environment. You'll find more details and pictures in this overview.
This news release, "Sensor Technology Comes in from the Cold" says that the sensor probes, housed in 'electronic pebbles,' are buried 60 meters under the surface of the glacier.
And they transmit wirelessly their observations about temperature, pressure or ice movement to a base station located on the surface, which relays the readings to a server in the UK by mobile phone.
The researchers think that similar sensor webs will soon be deployed around the world to watch what is changing in our environment. You'll find more details and pictures in this overview.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 7:35 AM | Comments (0)
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