Technology posts

(Image Credit: “Evolution of Storage” by Curtiss Spontelli | CC) We consume an amazing amount of data, but we also store an equally impressive amount of data as well, and if you think back to not too long ago, we were having to deal with floppy disks and zip drives and who knows what else. Oh how the times have changed. We should appreciate how far we have come with regards to data storage, and this article is dedicated to displaying a bit of a graphical homage to storage mediums of the past, present, and future: Punchcard Magnetic Tape Floppy Disk Hard Drive Laser Disc CD/DVD Blu-ray Solid State Drive…

All of us tech geeks recall Minority Report, right? Well, for those of you who do, you’ll love what the geniuses over at MIT have come up with: it’s a pointing device. But this one is different, and, unlike a traditional mouse, this pointer is controlled by your hands. MIT students Tony Hyun Kim and Nevada Sanchez decided to work on this project in 2009, and, impressively, they managed to acquire all the necessary parts for under $100. Similar to the iPhone/iPod Touch, the gloves allow interactions like pinching, grabbing, zooming, and other familiar interactions you have with touchscreen devices….

I’m not big on the whole 3D scene. Trying to fit awkward glasses over my regular ones isn’t exactly comfortable. Likewise, virtual reality is something I’m not too keen on (two words: Virtual Boy). But this, I like. The pCubee (yes, that’s “PEE-kyoo-bee”) is a new spin on an…uh…’old classic’. By utilizing five LCD screens strapped to a plastic cube and sensors worn on the head (think of your Wii, but backwards), the pCubee displays an interactive 3D diorama ‘inside’ the cube. The University of British Columbia, whose team designed this thing, are calling it FTVR, for…

An Israeli company has developed a remote control, robotic exoskeleton to allow paraplegics to walk again. Advances in technology have made this sci-fi dream a reality, and moves the medical community one step closer to being able to replace limbs and create completely bionic humans. Dr. Amit Goffer is responsible for developing the system, which attaches to the user’s legs and torso and essentially replaces all body support for the legs. Unlike other similar systems, it does not rely on picking up signals from nerve endings or muscle movement. Instead it is triggered by the user leaning forward…

We are at war! At war with simplexity — this is where modern day devices are experiencing an identity crisis over their function and form. Gadgets these days are all over the spectrum as far as complexity and simplicity are concerned, and we can’t figure it out, the people that make them can’t figure it, and even the gadgets themselves can’t figure it out. It’s a confusing situation. But let’s start at the beginning. Tools, as we all know, started off as simple machines. Imagine a hammer or a wheel — they served, in majority of cases, a single use: to bash things in or to roll things on. These tools…

Last year, when YouTube decided to Rickroll all its users – i.e. send all video links to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna’ Give You Up” – there was a sense that April Fool’s pranks in the tech world had reached their peak. How could anyone top the ultimate self-referential prank that took a universal web joke and ‘made it official’? But if this morning is any indication, that’s far from the case. In fact, it seems that the blogosphere is positively lit-up with hundreds and thousands of stories claiming to be true, but are most definitely not. Google changing their name to Topeka? YouTube introducing ‘TEXTp’?…

With new technology, there’s always that awkward stage just before widespread acceptance and genuine innovation kicks in. OLED screens are, apparently, in that stage right now. UK OLED company LOMOX has patented OLED wallpaper, intended to create ambient light rather than direct light like it’s bulb-based counterparts. Aside from being more energy efficient, always a plus in these eco-friendly times, the wallpaper offers the advantage of working with the design of the room, and the option of switching colours at the flick of a switch. While Mother Earth might breathe a sigh of relief, DIY…

Have you ever been suckered into buying a high-end digital cable? Don’t be ashamed – we’re geeks, right? We want only the best. But, you now have no reason – like no reason at all – to ever consider spending more than $10 on a cable to connect your Blu-Ray player, cable box or PS3 or Xbox 360 to your TV. The helpful folks over at Wallstats.com have created a handy little graphic flowchart that lets you know not only why never to buy the fancy HDMI cables certain companies sell (*cough* Monster *cough*) but also why doing so robs starving children of food. Sorta’. The basic gist of the argument is that digital…

While it’s true that there are legitimate uses for Bittorrent, let’s be honest: most of us use it solely for downloading movies or the latest episode of Grey’s Anato– erm, I mean, Mad Men.  And it seems that point hasn’t been lost on a U.S. judge,  who has ordered that popular Bittorrent search site Isohunt remove any access to content that might infringe on copyright. The site, which tells your Bittorrent software where to find all those files, gets about 30 million site views a month. But with all infringing content banished, this move means that Isohunt has effectively been shut down, joining…

Golf carts are interesting and fun. They get you from point A to point B without having to walk. And while you can’t take them for a stroll down the highway, they are useful for short-distance transportation. Some people — no matter how short the distance — must travel in style, and the golf cart rarely screams style. That is, until now. The Garia Soleil de Minuit is Porsche’s answer, and it will surely turn heads at the golf course or your backyard. It will cost around $52,000 for the pimped out version — including a built-in refrigerator, aluminum wheels, custom exterior color, heated…