Getting more out of your iPod
CNET has a nice collection of reviews of software that helps make the iPod more than just a media player. Read MapQuest directions, or read your email or even use it like your PDA – one app I’d love is the ability to connect a GPS receiver to it and receive turn by turn instructions.. guess that’s not out yet.
A True Underdog Story?
Dodgeball claims to be an underdog story and The Terminal turns out to be one too. Two underdog stories which are both utterly delightful. Dodgeball is a goofy movie where you might do well to switch off your brain and sensibilities for a while and simply laugh along. Salon has done great reviews of these movies – their take on The Terminal is a great read. Over there, folks.
Terraforming Mars
Another discussion on the possibility of terraforming Mars to make it habitable for humans. In Asimov’s world, terraforming is the basis of human colonization of the galaxy, but the spread of humanity across the universe brings its own set of problems – it’s almost a one-way trip to the colonies, and with their own culture and superhuman abilities (living in an inhospitable environment needs some modifications to the human body, right?) comes a sense of superiority and clash of cultures across the galaxy. Of course, something like that may or may not happen, and 500 years hence, we’ll probably still be talking about colonizing our neighboring planets, but it’s interesting to think of how human life and culture will change if we spread out to other planets. (Interplanetory Survivor on telly?) Will we, for once stop thinking of ourselves as citizens of our countries, and instead consider ourselves to be citizens of earth as a whole? (Even if we do not spread across the universe, it’s interesting to think of how we shape our identities as the globe shrinks with the use of all this technology!)
Closer home is Biosphere 2 near Tucson, Arizona (about an hour and a half from Phoenix) which has a fully functioning artificial biosphere complete with rainforest, savannah, desert and an underwater ocean! (The Phoenix-Tucson landscape probably does feel like Mars, eh?). Built to test human and biological endurance, Biosphere 2 has had 2 human survival missions. I haven’t seen this place, but it’s definitely on my itenerary this fall!
Things to do when you are dead..
I first heard about this years ago but couldn’t find the site since. The idea popped into my head again last night and after a painful search, I managed to find the site. It doesn’t look like the site I remember, so I’m assuming that this is a different website with the same idea. MyLastEmail lets you write emails to your friends and relatives which will be emailed to them when you die. While it might be spooky to receive emails from a dead person, the idea is certainly interesting!
How would you like to view it?
If you still haven’t switched to a flat panel LCD monitor, you are still in the paleolithic age in display technology. Sony is preparing an e-book reader, the Librie which will be as light (or heavy?) as a paperback and will feel just the same. At our very own Arizona State University, the Army has invested $43.7 million to create the Army Flexibile Display Center which will create a new generation of flexible displays that you may even roll up or fold. (or maybe even create the new style in punk – t-shirts with flexible displays! ok, let me not get carried away).
What about the good ol’ OLEDs that we have been promised for quite some time? Creating large displays has been a problem, but pretty soon, we’ll have our giant OLED telly screens that will consume a tiny amount of power. Motorola has been creating carbon nanotube displays that will work like CRTs without the bulky electron gun. Instead of shooting electrons from the gun, the carbon nanotubes will carry the electrons to the emissive display.
The most interesting project is by Prof. Susumu Tachi at the University of Tokyo. His optical camouflage project aims to create the ultimate fantasy – an invisibility cloak! He has been able to create the illusion of translucency, but pretty soon, he might actually achieve full transparency!.Imagine the possibilities!
When geeks want to get lucky..
I got my Orkut account today thanks to Thushara! Looks like a day of social networking. I also did my own good deed of the day by giving out a Gmail account. That’s got nothing to do with geeks getting ‘lucky’ though – Wired has this story about four geeks who have used their geek skills to get the girls. From sniffing AIM connections over Wi-fi networks, to using Google to ferret out potential matches and building p2p dating networks or scripts to run background checks on people using wireless connections, these geeks have done it all!
It’s been days since I wrote something here. I started out on an internship this week, so there goes the little sleep I used to sneak in until now. I’ll be back as usual in a day or two, but right now, it’s sleepy time…zzzzzz……<br />
After a great trip to Slide Rocks, Sedona and the ghost town of Jerome, what do I have to show for it? That’s right, a couple of pics!!! I haven’t had much time to put more of them online, but I’ll do it soon.