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      Status Report: The Gadgets of Science Fiction

      August 15, 2012 /

      Either sci-fi film directors in the past were strangely prophetic, or the entire field of science is really just made up of geeks trying to recreate “Star Trek,” but for some reason there is quite a selection of gadgets available ripped straight from science fiction. From smartphones, to bluetooth headsets, to good old fashioned space ships, the amount of technology available that was once reserved for fictional far off worlds is quite impressive.

      Yet for all of the progress made in the field of science fiction to science fact, there are a few notable items that are still not quite widely available as of yet. Tired of waiting (I blame this insta-result technology fueled world we live in) I’ve decided to check back in with some of the greatest sci-fi inventions of all time, and see where real life is in producing their equivalent.

      Virtual Chess Board

      In The Movies – The virtual chess board has made appearances here and there, but its spotlight moment has to be in “Star Wars” when R2-D2 played Chewbacca in a game. The game may not have exactly been chess, but it did show us two things. That chess would be much cooler if the pieces were homicidal holograms, and that you always let the wookie win.

      In Real Life – While video games have been giving us virtual chess matches for years, we’re surprisingly behind as a society on recreating the physical experience. In fact, I had a tough time finding anything that comes close to the “Star Wars version” we are all familiar with, as that picture up there is just an LED set of chess pieces designed to give off the illusion (fooled ya). While several companies are investigating the potential for hologram technology (not to mention that Tupac thing), this is one seemingly simple (in comparison to some of the other items on this list) sci-fi invention that is lagging behind.

      Laser Guns

      In The Movies – There are too many incidents of laser guns in the movies to keep up with. From “Star Trek” to “Star Wars,” almost every science fiction work that feature shoot outs features lasers. Why? Well not only are they flashy, cool, and look better for the camera, but they’re really flashy, pretty damn cool, and look great on the camera.

      In Real Life – Not surprisingly, while we are lagging on the recreation of  a holographic chess board experience, we’re well ahead of schedule on deadly laser projectiles. The army has several deadly prototypes available, but I’m more impressed by what’s being done on the civilian level. Particularly by the team down at laser-gadgets.com.

      And to think respected scientists have been wasting their laser research time on medicine.

      Continue reading »

      Uncategorized

      With New Search Parameters, Google May Actually be Taking Action to Cut Down on Pirated Material

      August 11, 2012 /

      What happened to you Google? You used to be cool.

      As part of their collaboration with the film and music industry, Google is working on modifying its search engine parameters to filter out pirated material. Google’s current search method works off of hundreds of variables to determine which webpages are the most relevant to your search. The largest factor is possibly your page rank, which is determined, in part, by how many sites link from you.

      A new variable will soon be added, however, that takes into account the number of valid copyright removal notices a site receives. Basically, the more that a site receives, the lower they fall on the overall search rankings. Since Google is processing more copyright claims than ever before, they feel that they are primed to recognize sites with pirated material, and divert searchers to legal sites like Hulu, and Spotify instead for their content needs.

      So far the Recording Industry Association of America, and the Motion Picture Association of America are both highly supportive of this move as they feel it represents the largest step ever taken by Google to protect copyrights and combat piracy, and are happy to be getting support from one of the biggest companies in opposition against the recent Stop Online Piracy Act bill.

      I’m not as convinced. This surely sounds like a proper move by Google, but really how much is it going to help? For one thing, can even Google process enough copyright claims in time to shut down that many websites from appearing in top hits, and even if they can couldn’t you just go to page 2, or *gasp* 3 on your search to find the site? Also, wouldn’t smaller sites with the same material just pop up instead in specific search results as the bigger ones go down, creating an endless loop of fresh pirated material? Speaking of search hits, will this still filter out specific searches? In the interest of not outing anyone, if I search say, Swashbuckler’s Cove for a torrent of “Game of Thrones,” wouldn’t Google still take me directly there regardless of the copyright claims?

      What’s even better is that no mention of the Google owned YouTube is found in any of the statements on this matter. You know, one of the world’s most popular and prolific websites where just about any copyrighted material can be found free of charge (except for porn of course, in which case you need to go to PornTube, YouPorn, or PornPorn).

      So wait a minute. Is it possible that Google just pulled a fast one on the continually technologically ignorant music and film industries by doing something to please them, while effectively doing nothing to aid them?

      Pretty sneaky Google.

      News

      Intel Wants To Make Wireless Charging Standard By 2013

      August 9, 2012 /

      If you look hard enough, it’s pretty easy to cut wires out of your life.

      Yet for all of the advancements in wired freedom we’ve enjoyed over the years, we still find ourselves needlessly tethered to an outlet, or USB port when it comes time to charge our phones. Not that there haven’t been innovations in the field of wireless charging, but they’ve been few and far between and, to be perfectly honest, not that exciting. This is due to the fact they usually still require a reliance on some sort of physical device, whether that be a pad or a case.

      The trouble, as you our astute reader has no doubt considerd, is that charging requires electricity, and electricity sufficient enough to perform a charge has to come from somewhere. Plus the cost of using the little technology that is available for wireless charging, and the technical trouble that is still associated with the process, just isn’t worth it for most companies.

      But according to Wired, Intel might have an answer to the wireless dilemma at hand.

      Well soon anyway (hey, we are called Gadget Teaser). By 2013 Intel is looking to have wireless charging available for their lines of smartphones via certain models of Ultrabooks. There is no evidence to suggest that the technology is applicable yet, but the idea is that the Ultrabook will be able to act as a conduit of sorts to charge your phone. According to Intel, as long as the phone is within a reasonable range of the Ultrabook, it will charge.

      Now Intel has been working on some pretty impressive wireless charging technology for a while now, but if this tech really does exist in the way that they claim it does this would be the most significant advancement in the field yet announced. If it is possible to use a single device as a wireless hot point to produce a charge, then the potential for a truly wireless future may be more imminent than anybody could have anticipated.

      News

      3D Printing Produces a Miracle

      August 4, 2012 /

      You know, until today I thought the best use for one of those 3D printers like the MakerBot was fashioning a Beethoven bust.

      Fortunately for the rest of the world, people better than myself are always looking to use revolutionary technology for revolutionary purposes beyond garnering Youtube hits. In fact 3D printing has recently been used to help a 2 year old girl named Emma. Emma, was born with a rare defect known as arthrogryposis multiplex congenital. Its main effect is weakening and shortening an infant’s muscles and joints to the point they are nearly unusable. After a long and burdensome series of treatments, doctor were able to fix Emma’s legs and get them back to functioning again. However, modern medicine had no answer for Emma’s arms, which they felt she would never be able to use via her own free will again.

      That’s where a research team in Deleware came in. Since Emma was so small, and underdeveloped, she would need a device to help her use her arms that was as lightweight as it was durable. Thanks to 3D printing technology, the team was able to build an exoskeleton that augmented Emma’s arm use, and allowed her to use them for the first time with few limitations.

      Obviously this is a story of technology overcoming a horror that no one (much less an infant child) should have to deal with. However, watching that video, it’s also obvious that science isn’t the only victor here, as the triumph of human spirit makes a noteworthy appearance as well. The smile on Emma’s face even before being able to use her arms, was nearly identical to the one after, as her unwavering spirit refused to be burdened by mere physical limitations. Only the look in her eyes as she discovered she could do new things like play with blocks, or lift a cup, or a million other little actions changed to reflect a sense of unparalleled wonderment.

      It’s that look though that makes it clear that any more research that can be done in this field should push forward with all support and full steam, so that we can continue to see news like this, and similar looks in the eyes of many children for years to come.

      News

      Zynga reports disappointing earnings

      July 28, 2012 /

      Facebook has changed our lives, and few companies have benefited from this development more than Zynga, the company that brought you FarmVille. There are tons of people on Facebook playing annoying (to most of us) but addictive (to some of us) games that clog up our timelines, unless you block them of course.

      The problem for Zynga is that it’s getting harder and also much more expensive to develop the new addictive games, and that led to disappointing earnings, which then led to its stock getting crushed. That then led to the further decline of Facebook’s stock as well, making this a very tough week for social media companies.

      As gadgets keep evolving and as new social media platforms evolve, companies like Zynga can rocket to success, but then it’s hard to keep up that pace. Consumers are incredibly fickle these days. Just ask phone makers like Blackberry and Nokia. You’re on top of the world, and then Steve Jobs puts out the iPhone and soon your high-flying company is staring into the abyss.

      Zynga is trying to avoid that fate. One of their latest games might help them, as Zynga Poker was launched for Facebook and has taken off as the #1 poker app on iOS. The key here, however, is that Zynga is looking past casual gaming. As the feds try to sort out online poker regulations, Zynga is one of many companies that want to take on the most popular poker sites. They want a piece of what could be a very large pie when we finally get uniform poker regulations. They’ll have to battle the big casino companies of course, but this could be a much-needed boost for a bruised social media star.

      Gaming

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