A new prototype "Wellness Phone" has been developed. It can take your pulse, check your body fat, time your jogs and tell you if you have bad breath. It even assesses stress levels and inspires you with a pep talk. Meet your new personal trainer: your cell phone. "The companies are reportedly still testing some of the phone's more advanced technology, including a function to keep track of meals and calculate calorific intake, as well as a network capacity to let users share data. The companies haven't said when nor how much they will sell the phones. Plus it doesn't look like they be sold in the US anytime soon either."
Artificially created 3D images all share a basic design: sending two slightly different views to each eye. With the images, your brain can reconstruct depth, just as it does in real-world sight, from the two slightly different vantage points. The Dolby 3D system relies on a spinning filter wheel to alternate rapidly between two slightly different sets of primary colors. Corresponding filters on 3D glasses only let the appropriate light into the left or right eyes after the light reflects off the screen. The filter wheel is synchronized with the digital projector, which switches back and forth between the images for the left and right eyes six times per frame, or 144 times per second.
Credit: Dolby Laboratories
Wired
TOKYO -- Your eyes probably hurt just thinking about it: Tens of thousands of Japanese cell-phone owners are poring over full-length novels on their tiny screens.
In this technology-enamored nation, the mobile phone has become so widespread as an entertainment and communication device that reading e-mail, news headlines and weather forecasts -- rather advanced mobile features by global standards -- is routine.
Now, Japan's cell-phone users are turning pages. :MORE::
Mobile phone novelists are hitting the bestseller lists as a new generation of writers are tapping out entire novels on the keys of a telephone handset.
In Japan, where new technology trends often come early, so-called keitai shosetsu are a publishing phenomenon.
Out of the top 10 bestselling fiction works in the first half of 2007, five started as keitai novels and boast average sales of 400,000.
Consumer ReportFor the developing world, a cellular network can make a much bigger difference to everyday life, and it's cheaper, too. The UN knows this, and is busy enabling half a million more people to use cellphones in Africa. The networks will cover 79 villages in 10 countries.
InfoWorld
New York City cabbies don't like the idea of being tracked by satellite. But what alternative do any of us really have?
Where exactly do we draw the line between technology and expediency? Or more specifically: Where do we draw the line between our rights as individuals versus the ability of technology to strip away almost all of our freedom to behave like humans?
Hidden inside Google Earth is a secret Flight Simulator that takes full advantage of Google’s extensive satellite imagery. To access the hidden feature, open Google Earth and hit Command+Option+A (note it must be capital A) or Ctrl+Alt+A if you’re using a Windows Machine.
The Google Earth Flight Simulator comes with two aircraft options, a F16 Viper and the more manageable SR22 4 seater. Players have the option of commencing the game from their current location in Google Earth or can pick from a list of pre-determined runways. Control instructions can be found here
Overall the game play is fairly simple in terms of control, but the striking difference is flying over real pictures of locations. I took a quick flight from San Francisco International, headed North to the Golden Gate then turn back over the city before heading towards the Valley. It wasn’t perfect, but it was as good visually as the paid Microsoft Flight Simulator, and in terms of actually presenting real objects it was better.
Thanks to Marco
Computer World
The Rocky Road to Public Wi-FiMore than 150 cities have started building municipal Wi-Fi networks, and another 200 are planning public-private partnerships of their own, making citywide wireless work is throwing some cities for a loop.
Knight Foundation's wireless initiative
We are convening key stakeholders in our communities and bringing them together. We are also using our resources as a national foundation to bring resources with extensive expertise in the field. These include Intel and One Economy. Intel will offer its technological expertise for free at the webinars; it has no financial stake in which provider(s) is chosen. One Economy, a nonprofit group that works to bring Internet access to low-income families and neighborhoods, can help communities develop ways to make wi-fi systems accessible and vital for everyone.
We will also bring in to the webinars experts who can discuss the legal challenges being faced by communities and offer strategies for dealing with them. And we will attempt to leverage the fact that we have 26 communities to try to negotiate better deals for our those that wish to engage Intel, One Economy or any of the technology providers in their communities after the webinars.
A new Publix program to give free antibiotics has a catch.
