Wearable Computing

www.21stcentury.co.uk/technology/index2.asp

Wearable computing facilitates a new form of human-computer interaction comprising a small body-worn computer (e.g. user-programmable device) that is always on and always ready and accessible. In this regard, the new computational framework differs from that of hand held devices, laptop computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs). The 'always ready' capability leads to a new form of synergy between human and computer, characterized by long-term adaptation through constancy of user-interface.

What is a wearable computer?

A wearable computer is a computer that is subsumed into the personal space of the user, controlled by the user, and has both operational and interactional constancy, i.e. is always on and always accessible. Most notably, it is a device that is always with the user, and into which the user can always enter commands and execute a set of such entered commands, and in which the user can do so while walking around or doing other activities. The most salient aspect of computers, in general, (whether wearable or not) is their reconfigurability and their generality, e.g. that their function can be made to vary widely, depending on the instructions provided for program execution. With the wearable computer (WearComp), this is no exception, e.g. the wearable computer is more than just a wristwatch or regular eyeglasses: it has the full functionality of a computer system but in addition to being a fully featured computer, it is also inextricably intertwined with the wearer. This is what sets the wearable computer apart from other wearable devices such as wristwatches, regular eyeglasses, wearable radios, etc.. Unlike these other wearable devices that are not programmable (reconfigurable), the wearable computer is as reconfigurable as the familiar desktop or mainframe computer. Wearable computing will now be formally defined in terms of its three basic modes of operation and its six fundamental attributes.............

Mirror, mirror...what's on TV?

http://www.philips.com/newscenter/usa

Royal Philips Electronics have introduced the Mirror TV, a versatile 17-, 23- or 30-inch LCD display integrated into a mirror. The Mirror TV uses a unique polarized mirror technology, which transfers close to 100 percent of the light through the reflective surface. It is the first product created at the Philips HomeLab, the company's research incubator for future electronic products and technologies, to reach the commercial market. The Mirror TV, which was demonstrated for the media in New York and Europe today, is ideal for non-traditional viewing spaces when it is installed flush to the wall.

Philips decided to commercialize the product after testing a more sophisticated prototype with more than 200 consumers in its HomeLab research facility, a fully functioning two-bedroom home that doubles as a scientific laboratory. Philips HomeLab enables researchers to observe (with 34 hidden cameras and an observation area) how people interact with new devices. Consumers who used the Mirror TV prototype appreciated the ability to watch the news and traffic while also shaving or brushing their teeth.

Philips, the world's largest supplier of television display solutions for the hotel industry, initially plans to market the Mirror TV to hotels, but also sees a market for the product in customized home environments within the next few years.

"The Mirror TV is an important step forward for consumer technologies, and for Philips," said Dr. Gottfried Dutiné, CEO of Philips Consumer Electronics, "From a technology perspective, the Mirror TV craftily combines two important everyday functionalities; it's also an early example of the Philips vision of Ambient Intelligence in that the 'technology' is embedded and easy to use. Having been tested with 'real' people in the HomeLab, the Mirror TV also signifies Philips' ongoing commitment to understanding consumers-and providing products and devices that meet their needs."

Mirror TV Enhances Aesthetics and Utilizes Space Philips Mirror TV provides the solution to the ever-shrinking spaces in hotels and retail environments. The design hides the electronics, giving spaces an architecturally refined display and enhancing the upscale ambiance that hotels and retail environments strive to provide guests. At up to 30 inches, the Mirror TV could be placed on the wall as a centerpiece.

The Mirror TV introduced today can provide a range of functions beyond TV programming. In a hotel, for example, it can be used for bill payment or pay-per-view movies. It can also be used as a desktop/workstation application. Individuals can link their laptop or home PC to the Mirror TV with a special connector that enables the mirror to become an LCD monitor, providing a large display for presentations or surfing the web.

For home use, Philips is currently testing more advanced versions that could connect the user wirelessly to the mirror, providing everything from news to traffic reports and health data, such as blood pressure or weight. Or, the mirror could display a cartoon that encourages children to brush their teeth longer and more effectively. Company officials estimate that the home version may be available before 2005.

Philips has not yet announced pricing guidelines for the Mirror TV because at this early stage, each unit will be custom-built to meet the design specifications of the given space. Deliveries are expected to begin in the fourth quarter this year.

About Philips HomeLab

Philips HomeLab, in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is an integral part of Philips' R&D process. Created one year ago to test its new technology prototypes in the most realistic possible way, HomeLab looks and feels like a regular home with modern furniture in every room, Van Gogh prints on the walls, and even a fully stocked kitchen. Temporary "residents" can stay at the facility for anywhere from four hours to two weeks, depending on the type of research being conducted. During their residence, individuals or families go about life as usual, while interacting with the new technologies Philips has installed in the facility.

The facility is essential in speeding up the time-to-market for technological innovation. HomeLab puts the consumer at the center of the product development cycle by evaluating how individuals interact with new technologies. Depending on their behavior, the researchers may decide to re-tool the prototype, scrap the concept or move ahead in the product's development.

Innovations from HomeLab are steps toward an Ambient Intelligence culture, which is how Philips envisions the future. Ambient Intelligence is defined as world in which electronics are sensitive to people's needs, personalized to their requirements, can anticipate their behavior and respond to their presence - signifying a real improvement in people's everyday lives.

NASA portal on it's way...

http://www.nasa.gov

eTouch Systems Corp., and Speedera Networks, the emerging leader in global content delivery services, have announced that they have partnered to provide a comprehensive SpeedSuite edge delivery solution for NASA as part of a program to consolidate all 3,000 of the space agency's Web sites and make them accessible through a single portal. After the recent deployment of Speedera's services, the NASA portal experienced a three-fold improvement in performance. Web page download times are now between 0.8 and 1.0 seconds and NASA has broken into the top ten U.S. Government Web sites with the fastest average performance, as ranked by the Keynote Government Internet Performance Index (KG40).

The NASA Portal Project contract was awarded to eTouch, the prime contractor, which is also providing the content management system. eTouch partnered with Speedera to provide a broad suite of content delivery network (CDN) services. Other eTouch partners included in the project are Sprint Corp., which is providing Web site hosting services, and Critical Mass, Inc., which is responsible for providing the interface architecture and the NASA audience-tested user interface.

As part of this project, eTouch is using Speedera's SpeedSuite solution to provide NASA a comprehensive suite of CDN services that includes whole site delivery, streaming media, load balancing and advanced site monitoring. Key to this solution is the SpeedSuite Traffic Balancer service, which provides global load balancing between two origin sites housed in two Sprint datacenters. It intelligently routes client requests to the fastest available customer site, shifting traffic from an overloaded or failed site to overcome network congestion and site outages, thus maximizing performance and availability.

Planned since last summer, the NASA portal project originated with a mandate from NASA top officials to make the portal a key element in inspiring the next generation of explorers.

The NASA portal project is one of many in the growing initiative towards making government and its agencies more accessible to the public. In NASA's case, the public benefits through simpler, faster and more reliable access to the vast breadth of information available through NASA's sites, which can amount to millions of documents. To ensure that the public will always be able to access this content, the contract requires 99.995% availability.

"Consolidating Web site delivery is more efficient using Speedera's global content delivery network, and provides an optimal architecture to meet high traffic demands from planned and unplanned events," said Aniruddha Gadre, President of eTouch. "NASA needed a complete and elegant solution that streamlines both content management and content delivery."

"Agencies like NASA have realized this comprehensive solution for an integrated portal is needed for bringing order to the chaos of too many Web sites," said Ajit Gupta, CEO and president of Speedera Networks. "Also, by housing frequently requested content on multiple servers distributed worldwide, Speedera shortens the distance between Internet users and the data they seek in order to improve performance and reliability. By outsourcing the management of the site, the Federal Government can stretch budget dollars in this lean economy rather than spend money on building and maintaining an expensive Web site infrastructure."

"NASA is in the business of space exploration," Gupta continued. "Speedera is in the business of helping Internet explorers get to their destination fast and reliably."

ETX-LS telescope

While the new ETX-LS telescope from Meade looks suited for a rooftop observatory and experienced astronomers probing the depths of the cosmos, it’s actually very easy to use, even for amateurs trying to find the Big Dipper. It features a new technology that the company calls ‘LightSwitch’ which is a self-alignment system that works at the touch of a button. At startup, the telescope’s integrated sensor module and ECLIPS CCD (Electronically Controlled Locate Identify Position System) basically looks at the sky and uses the available celestial objects to not only determine where you’re located, but how to find other constellations you might be interested in. All with no input from the user at all.

www.ohgizmo.com/.../

Latest Technologies in Engineering Design

Validus Engineering uses the latest technologies in engineering design on a daily basis and the vast experience within the company of numerical analysis and CAE is utilized during the whole design phase of the PTS.

Numerical analysis methods such as FEM and rigid body dynamics are used to ensure the performance of the PTS in terms of shock and vibration isolation and structural integrity.

www.valeng.com/default.asp?pid=153&MenyID=44

Technology in the Classroom.

Campus classrooms are equipped with the latest technologies to assist with the teaching and learning process. Our latest installations include podiums with integrated touchscreens and streaming lecture software. For an introduction to using the equipment please contact us at extension 307.

it.lsue.edu/index-3.html

Headphone

Last weekend I was up in the Hunter Valley at the Media Connect Influence forum with other leading technology journalists, networking and checking out some of the latest technologies. And, through my ability to ride a virtual horse better than anyone else on Sunday night, I won a pair of Sennheiser PXC 450 noise-cancelling headphones.

While the headphones aren’t exactly new, they’re still impressive enough for me to want to share the experience with you guys. While I haven’t had much of a chance to really test them out properly, I have had enough of a hands on to tell you that these headphones are like a rugby union prop - they’re big, but they get around and they perform well. Really well.Despite the fact that these cans are massive, they’re still comfortable to wear. My last pair of noise-cancellers were Bose’s QuietComfort 2s, and the transition from on-the-ear to over-the-ear has been an interesting experience.

The PXC 450s run off a single AAA battery, rather than rechargeables, though I haven’t used them enough to see how long the battery lasts. On the upside, they still play when the battery is dead, although obviously without the noise cancelling tech.

On the right headphone, there’s a button that stops the music and allows you to hear when somebody is speaking to you, which would be an awesome advantage for fliers. There are also volume controls on the headphones themselves, saving you from having to pull out your iPod to turn up your tunes.

Audio quality, on the limited use I’ve had, is fantastic. I always found the QC2s struggled with the lower end, but these seem to handle a full range really well. Obviously my opinion will develop the longer I listen to them, but so far the PXC 450s are one of the best sets of headphones I’ve ever had the joy of listening to. Of course, for $800 you’d expect great audio quality, so that last statement really shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.

www.gizmodo.com.au/.../

Dual Music Player

Posted in Latest Technologies by smashingtechnology on the March 1, 2008

Compared to traditional music players, this Dual Music Player is different.

It is a portable solution that supports both CDs and Flash-memory.

You can listen to MP3s stored on your Flash-drive and copy music via USB while once you need to play your old CDs you can simply open both sides and let the player do the rest.

smashingtechnology.wordpress.com/

Latest MP3 Player

The Sony Rolly MP3 player. Sold only in Japan.

hawaii.metblogs.com/.../

The annual Sony Hawaii Expo was held this week at the Ala Moana Hotel Hibiscus Ballroom. Highlight of this year’s Sony Expo was the desktop Sony OLED flatscreen TV (shown above). The hallmark of this high tech wonder is its small size and crystal clear high definition picture. The screen itself is thinner than a compact disc jewel case.

Another hyped product at the Sony Hawaii Expo is the new Sony Rolly MP3 player. It is a new portable device that is shaped like a little barrel and moves to the beat of the music. The speakers on this device are positioned at both ends and open up with winglike flaps on each end. The device will not be marketed in the U.S. and is aimed only at consumers in Japan. If it were sold in the U.S. the price would be at around $400.

Face recognition “smile” technology for Sony Cybershot cameras were also a new this year. The new Cybershots can sense when a person smiles and fires only at that time. People were happily smiling for the demo at the Sony Cybershot booth. There were many other Cybershot digital still and video cameras that were also on display for consumers to play with.

I was most interested in the small super zoom, SLR-like cameras that I may want to get in an effort to find a capable SLR-like digital camera without all of the weight and bulk.

Last year’s hot product, the Sony Playstation 3 was almost like a has-been this year. Yes, there were displays of the venerable Playstation 3 for people to use, but the crowds around those stations were not very big. Sony is still marketing the Playstation 2 which is still the most popular game console of all time, despite Nintendo running away with the market lead on their new generation Wii product.

I am still interested in perhaps getting a Sony PSP, mainly for the fact that it can surf the web with its wireless internet feature. Another wifi device that was touted last year, the Sony Mylo, was nowhere to be seen this year. Sony still sells the device.

HDTV are the big products Sony is pushing this year as the Expo was dominated by flatscreen high definition sets all over the place. Going hand in hand with that were several Sony Blu-Ray HDTV DVD players. the pictures on the sets and from the players are incredibly clear.

Don’t know if I am ready to sink money in either of these technologies, especially Blu-Ray since it is locked in a format war with the rival HD-DVD. Beta vs. VHS all over again. I’ll wait for the dust to settle on this one.

Overall the Sony Expo was a great little venue to check the latest technology from one of the most popular electronic companies on the face of the earth.

Latest Ring

Rumours that our latest pink sapphire ring design featured at the Burghley Horse Trials will be named the "Katie Price Pink Sapphire Ring" are wholly untrue. Although many commented it was the ideal accessory for Jordan's range of pink equestrian fashion gear, Katie wasn't able to try it on during her busy schedule at Burghley and it is also untrue that Peter André offered to buy it for her!

www.paulwrightjewellery.com/blog/2008/09/kati...

Latest heavy machinery

www.superbike.co.uk/products/superbike_hm_pla...

You can now order HM Plant merchandise direct from the groundwork specialist's website. There are stocking-fillers aplenty, including HM Plant Honda Racing shirts, fleeces, ladies tops and baseball caps (from £8.50 to £51.06). Even more excitingly, you can get your hands on mini replicas of the latest heavy machinery used by HM Plant, including the Hitachi ZW220 loader, Hitachi EH1700 dump-truck, and our personal favourite, the Hitachi ZX160W excavator – awesome! Check it out now at
www.hmplant.ltd.uk.

Latest Forex

Tour several forex traders are scientific traders and institute their trades based on technical indicators from a price composition, ace are some traders who are sequentially pure forex news traders.

What is perfectly forex news trading?

The forex news trader is somewhere a forex trader who makes his decisions to trade based on news and reports that are released daily. He does not depend on quantum specialized indicators at all.

wwwlatestforexnews.wordpress.com/.../

Why is news trading possible?

The forex market is a 24 hours mart, and there are 8 considerable currency pairs available for trading go underground trim over 17 derivatives, for allowing the economic news releases nearly daily from chip one or bounteous of these currency pairs to collision on their movements.

What are these 8 large currencies that forex traders generally timer for economic news releases that impression on their amount?

The eight superior tradeable currencies are
1. U. S. dollar ( USD )

2. British pound ( GBP )

3. Euro ( EUR )

4. Japanese hunger ( JPY )

5. Australian dollar ( AUD )

6. Swiss franc ( CHF )

7. Canadian dollar ( CAD )

8. Modern Zealand dollar ( NZD )

The availability of these currency pairs and their derivatives corresponding over the USD / JPN, Euro / USD, AUD / USD and several others means that you can trade some currency or its derivative duo at bite day thanks to these currencies span the globe!

And so for the forex trader who trades on the news, he will obtain his perceiving and ears set on the release of economic news and data that modify currency values.

Generally, we will chronometer out for news once-over the lookout rates or direction of pastime degree equaling in that the FOMC proportion decisions, release of retail sales figures, indications of surge which trust factor gauged from consumer price guide or the causation price inventory, unemployment figures, news on industrial production, news that indicate a boost ascendancy occupation homologous in that specialty sentiment surveys and consumer confidence surveys, manufacturing sector surveys and news on the country ‘ s trade report ( equivalent in that foreign purchases of US Treasuries ).

Antithetic now releases influence upon currencies, besides usually model to breakouts leadership volatility.
The key to trading on news is to take hike of these movements mastery volatility which authority push on a few reminiscence or hours, again straight days notice the subsequent.

Trading in truth on news release is harder than present seems, but the chore is imaginary easier and higher profitable secrete the appliance of indicators, identical over a breakout needle now a bollinger band or a breakout of a candlestick or a price bar. Statistics own shown news release encumbrance trigger movements that radius repercussion size from 33 to 124 pips, leading to trading opportunities.

By studying into large contingency trade setups that has occurred consistently ensconce the release of historical economic data, the forex news trader importance devise strategies that trust own him to extract rapidly profits from ephemeral movements arising from news releases. The conceivable gains onus equal massive direction the forex news trader contract cope quickly.

Latest Bike

Biking for Beginners
Biking is a sport which has a lot of benefits for the physical fitness as well as the mental fitness of the body. Those who are starting to perform the sport of biking first need to get themselves a bike. They can either find an old one from somewhere, or they could also buy one. In case they get themselves an old bike, they will first have to take it to the bike mechanic so that he can take a look at it. The brakes have to be checked, as well as the steering.
bikesguide.org/latest-bikes.html

Latest Operating System

Software giant Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled Windows 7, saying its latest operating system won't be as annoying. (Xinhua Photo)

Photo Gallery>>>

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Software giant Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled Windows 7, saying its latest operating system won't be as annoying.

At the company' Professional Developers Conference here, Microsoft said the new version will not have the rampant notifications that have irked many users of Windows Vista.

People can choose to see fewer alerts and warnings from their computers in the new Windows 7, said the company, adding that people will be able to test out the next version of Windows early next year.

The design of Windows 7 will make it easier for people to switch between open windows, files and applications. It also is supposed to give PC users faster access to recently used files, making home networking more automatic, according to the company.

And overall, the version is faster and can run on less-powerful computers, said the company.

Windows 7, the successor to Windows Vista, is scheduled to premiere in early 2010.

Microsoft expects that the new product would eliminate some of the problems that hampered Vista's premiere two years ago and continue to define the operating system's reputation.

Users have complained that the Vista system requires much more memory than its predecessor Windows XP and fails to run some applications. Many corporate users even reportedly asked to have their computers downgraded to XP.

news.xinhuanet.com/.../29/content_10269790.htm

Latest Radio

With XM’s latest launch XpressRC redefine your listening experience. The latest radio equipped with advanced browsing technology offers 60-minute replay and song storage to the subscribers. Users can store up to 10 favorite songs to listen to later. Indulge in an immersive experience with this compact and lightweight XpressRC anywhere whether it’s a car or home or even at the office. Now view the name of channel, artist name and song title on the stunning customizable display. The split screen option lets the users view the current channel information on the left side while browsing to discover what XM content is playing on multiple favorite channels without having to change the dial on the right side. To locate FM frequencies for listening to XM through your FM radio, XpressRC is incorporated with FrequencyFinder feature. The new XpressRC radio will be available beginning fall 2007 at a suggested retail price of $169.99. For more information on XpressRC or to pre-order visit XMRADIO

www.cybertheater.com

World Latest Aeroplanes

Worlds Latest Aeroplanes, 1926, although they are all British

Keywords: Transport; Aviation; Flying; Flight; Illustration; Poster; 1934; 1930s; 1920-1939; UK; Beardmore-Rohrbach; De Havilland; Siddeley Siskin; Blackburn Blackbird; Cierva Auto-Giro; Handley Page Hampstead; Gloucetser Gamecock; Andover Avro; Boulton & paul; Vickers Victoria; Fairey Fox; Hawker Cygnet; Print; Old

All pictures are supplied framed and ready to hang. After choosing the size (which is the outside frame measurement) you need to choose a frame from the options on the right. The mount colour will be 'ivory' unless you choose otherwise; visit the mount options page here to view the alternative mount colours.

When you have chosen your picture size, frame and quantity you may place your order; click on the 'Add to Basket' button. When you wish to complete your purchase, proceed to View Basket or Checkout to do so.

Latest building

James Law Cybertecture International brings high-tech solutions to large scale structures through innovative ideas for intelligent living. The latest future forward design from this firm is the Cybertecture Egg, commissioned by Vijay Associate (Wadhwa Developers) for Mumbai, India. The 32,000 sq m egg-shaped building will combine “iconic architecture, environmental design, intelligent systems, and new engineering to create an awe-inspiring landmark in the city.”

Cybertecture integrates technology, multimedia, intelligent systems and user interactivity to create customizable living and working spaces that focus on experience. The Cybertecture Egg takes this principle working theme a step further with ‘cybertecture health’ - interactive features that monitor occupant’s vital health statistics, like blood pressure and weight. In keeping with the focus on health and wellness, users can customize their views with real time virtual scenery.

The oblong office building incorporates passive solar design to decrease heat gain and lower energy loads. An elevated garden also moderates temperate by using natural vegetation to assist with cooling the building envelope. The Cybertecture Egg will use solar photovoltaic panels and rooftop wind turbines to generate onsite electricity. Water conservation will be managed with a greywater recycling system that will harvest water for irrigation and landscaping.

The building is due for completion by the end of 2010.

www.inhabitat.com/.../

Latest car

2009 Lincoln MKS is one of the first cars to include Sirius Travel Link, a set of data services over the Sirius satellite network. The movie times and sports scores of seem a little far-fetched, but gas prices make this service a killer application. To test the system, we went to a random location on the peninsula south of San Francisco, and compared the accuracy of reported prices travel links with the actual price shown on gas stations. Sirius is actually leading this information is updated monitoring credit card transactions, and each station is not going to send its daily price of Sirius data.
www.interweb.in/car-accessories/28820-2009-la...

Latest Furniture

The Estylefurniture on line shopping site brings you a unique collection of quality furniture that can be purchased safely.
To purchase, simply browse our online catalogue and click on "add to card" to any items you wish to buy, these items can be removed later if you wish. When you have finished shopping click on the "checkout" button which takes you to PayPal website. Enter your details and credit card information and send them to us via PayPal. It's the fastest, safest and most convenient way to buy online.Your personal and financial information is safe.

www.estylefurniture.co.uk/htdocs/

Latest washing machine

1 The latest washing machines can hold up to 10kg – but bear in mind that most tumble dryers hold a maximum of 6kg.

2 The highest spin speed is 2,000rpm but 1,600rpm is more than sufficient. The drier the machine gets your clothes, the less time you'll have the tumble dryer on.

3 Some machines have wider doors than others and some have tilted drums, making it easier to load, unload and see what's inside.

4 Generally, the bigger its capacity, the more water a machine will use on standard programmes. Choose a model with sensor washing, as this enables it to use exactly the amount of water needed to wash your clothes.

5 Check the dimensions BEFORE YOU BUY. Not all family-sized machines are designed to fit under the worktop.
www.idealhomemagazine.co.uk/expert/kitchenbat...

Latest watch

The latest Limited Edition Superman Blue Fossil watch (model number LL1007) is now available for pre-order from Fossil.com and will be shipping before the 2006 holidays.

This Limited Edition Superman Fossil watch features a stainless steel bracelet with blue ion plating on the center links and a top ring accent. The dial contains a textured blue background with a polished blue Superman logo.

The analog quartz movement features hour, minute and second hands. As always, the watch is packaged in a specially designed collectible Fossil case. Production is limited to 3,000 pieces. The list price is $120 and includes free shipping.

If you are a collector of Fossil Superman watches, you won't want to wait. The last watch that was issued earlier this year sold out in a few weeks and is currently selling on eBay for twice the original list price. Order the new Superman Blue watch at Fossil.com