Wireless electical supply

If researchers at MIT have it their way we may, some day soon, be free of the wires that tie our electronic devices to their power supplies. Imagine your cellphone charging on it's own without being required to 'plug in', or your laptop working without a battery or an AC adapter. Scientists have known for centuries of several methods of moving energy around without wires, but these methods are either inefficient or potentially dangerous to human life. The MIT researchers have been able to exploit the fact that two resonant objects of the same resonant frequency tend to exchange energy efficiently (the link above has a great explanation). Apparently the science is based on well-known laws of physics and could have been explored long ago had there been a demand for such requirements. While I am in awe of the thought of such developments, I think I'd like this to stay in the lab until we find out that it is really safe to be walking around in. Maybe these guys can get back together for a picture in a couple of years time... no horns or extra appendages and they'll get the thumbs up!

Safari for Windows users

Yesterday I attempted to post via our new psp, today I'm using the beta release of Apple's Safari 3 browser on my Windows PC! I abandoned the notion of using Internet Explorer a long while ago and have been a very satisfied Firefox user ever since, but when I read of the release of Safari on Windows my curiosity got the better of me. My experience with Safari has been limited to only a few moments so far and this is by no means an extensive review of the software but I do have a couple of observations. Firstly, the download (8MB) was quick and the install painless. The interface strikes me as sleek but simple, it's humble greys highlight the web page being viewed rather than screaming for attention, nice! Apple claims that Safari is quicker to launch, renders html more quickly and executes javascript faster, and while I have not performed any bench marks, it feels at least as snappy as Firefox. Alas my first bug, the "Save Now" button in blogger does not appear to be activated upon clicking on it! I'll give Safari another try but I guess it's back to Firefox to finish this post.

Robot dogs have their own problems fitting in

According to research conducted at the Eötvös University (Hungary), dogs have the same issues with robot dogs that people have with robots that look like humans... see my last post. The questions being asked by researchers are "what is the influence on the dog's reactions of movement, smell, presence or absence of eyes, sounds, etc.". Looks like the eyes are an issue for the dogs too! Could also be that the AIBO is trying to steal his lunch!

Human like robot - CB2

By now you may have already seen the news articles about CB2 the Japanese robot that was developed to mimic a child's movements between ages 1 and 3. The machine has 56 actuators that replace muscles and allow it to move in an immature yet human like fashion. While I have never worked in robotics, I've studied artificial intelligence and have developed Internet based chat robots which are often represented by avatars. One thing that I have noticed in my work, is that the more human looking the avatar the creepier it looks, and it's usually because of the eyes! Animated, cartoon like characters always seem to be more accepted than the photo-realistic ones. While CB2 was developed for the purpose of studying the movements of a child, I'm not sure why the researchers felt the need to give it such human like appearance. I love robotics and am considering a Roomba, though I think I'll wait until the new year when iRobot is said to be launching 3 new devices, I just hope they don't make the things look too human like! It's just unnatural looking no matter how hard they try, besides I want to know who is man and who is machine...

gbg on psp

I was hoping to create this post using our latest gadget acquisition, but it turns out that I don't have much patience for typing on the Playstation Portable. I am impressed by the little device none the less! The picture is very sharp, the sound better than anticipated, and set up was relatively painless. I was connected to our wireless network within minutes and surfing the web soon after, though figuring out the browser controls was a little bit of a challenge. I recommend you save yourself the frustration and read the manual no matter how much of a geek you are... though what's the fun in that? Web surfing is better than you'll get on your cell phone but the experience is much the same, only with a larger, crisper screen. I expect the PSP will get plenty of use, especially the gaming, and while the Internet experience is not ideal the PSP weighs much less than a laptop! A great little device that will be easily slung in a backpack and invaluable on trips.

Thermal blanket concerns for shuttle

Nasa engineers will be paying close attention to images of the space shuttle Atlantis to determine whether or not repairs are required to a torn thermal blanket. The affected area of the shuttle does not heat as much as other critical areas upon re-entry, but the shuttle crew is equiped to make the necessary repairs if required. Read more at CNN...

NHL makes deal with Slingbox maker

The National Hockey League and Slingbox maker Sling Media Inc. are teaming up to promote Sling's new video-clip sharing service called "Clip+Sling". The Slingbox ($188.99 - $305.99 CA) devices allow you to relay video programming from your television or DVR to Internet connected computers or web enabled cellphones anywhere. Clip + Sling will allow users to grab short clips of live programming and share them with other users. The NHL will offer both long and short form programming which will be searchable by your favourite team. It's progressive thing on the NHL's part and may help to boost the leagues appeal particularly in the US where it struggles against the more popular MLB, the NBA, and NFL. The complete story can be found on the Globe and Mail.

Ironically while I was researching this post I noticed an interesting AdSense ad on the NHL's site...

SpaceTime beta .9 - 3D web browser

SpaceTime is a new 3D web browser with some interesting visual appeal. The browser displays web pages in "3D visual stacks" that look like pages floating above one another in space, it's very pretty but my attempt to give the beta a try was less than impressive. Despite having slightly better than the recommended minimum hardware profile on the machine that I installed TimeSpace on, the program brought the PC to a crawl. I can see merits in features like the 3D e-bay search reported on the SpaceTime website but you'd better have plenty of horses under the hood to take advantage of this browser. I think I'll stick with Firefox for now.

Bob Marley making music history

As I type this, Bob Marley is Jammin' in my speakers! The 30th anniversary of the release of Bob's Exodus album, written and recorded in 1977 while in exile after an assassination attempt, is being celebrated with the re-release of the album. Here is the music history part... you can purchase the re-release as a DVD/CD set, Vinyl, or CD, a book is also available, but the first 4000 fans to join the "Bob Marley Passport Fan Club" at bobmarley.com will receive the re-released album (plus a few extras) on a USB thumb drive! The cost of the fan club membership is $44.99 (US) per year but it also entitles you to a number of fan club extras. At that cost, even if you only joined to get one of the thumb drives it would definitely be worth it in my opinion.

YouTube player updated

YouTube has quietly released a new upgraded player that has been popping up around the blogesphere. The player includes a Mac OS X or Vista like ribbon bar that appears after the video is complete, this bar offers up similar videos that YouTube suggests you might want to check out. If you view YouTube videos on sites other than YouTube, you will enjoy this feature. It's slick and performs well.