Remember all of the old newsreels people used to see at the theater, before movies? Okay, so you don’t… but if you saw any old movies, you might have seen it there… Well, Google is working with the National Archives to put all of those old videos on Google Video. They already have about 120 of them up. Here they are. This is cool! They’re bringing back a part of our history that was simply not accessible to the majority of the population until now. It’s a wonderful thing. Here’s the article where I found out about it.
Minuscule headset powered by novel battery
I was in my car, driving back from lunch, when I got a call on my cellphone. I’m holding out on buying a Bluetooth headset, because they look ridiculous. So I still have to answer the phone the “old fashioned” way, by flipping it open and pressing Speakerphone. I know, what tough luck… But I realized that these wireless/Bluetooth headsets could be made really tiny, and could fit in the ear, if the battery could be made really small. Sure, it’d be a hassle to change the battery, but what if you didn’t have to? What if the battery charged itself? How could that happen? Well, let’s look at three existing technologies on the market today:
- “Perpetual motion” watches: you know, the kind that charge themselves from the movement/agitation of your hand. They’ve been around for a while.
- Microphones: both dynamic and condenser types… They use a vibrating wand or membrane to generate an electrical signal. They’ve also been around for a while.
- The balance pebbles inside your inner ear: okay, this is more like biological technology, but I do find it interesting that they can move and touch nerve sensors, generating electrical impulses that tell your body how to balance itself.
Given these three very interesting methods of generating energy or electrical impulses, why can’t we make a really tiny battery that can charge itself from the movement of our body, our body heat, or the vibrations caused by our voice? We could be charging the battery as we speak, as we move, etc.
This sort of battery could be used in a tiny headset that could be placed in the ear, or in some other fashion, but the point is, it would be really small, almost unnoticeable. I wouldn’t look like a geek, with a big Bluetooth headset strapped to my ear, a menacing blue light flashing on it, as if I were an android. I’m sure many of you share my feelings here. Instead, I would use a small device, no bigger than the tip of my small finger, or even smaller, that could go inside the ear, or hook right outside the ear canal with a thin wire that goes behind my ear. It would let ambient noise pass through unchanged, but would block it when I’d be using my cellphone.
Wouldn’t this be cool?
Are you interested in using this idea? Then please see my rules about using it.
A short review of the .Mac service
I’ve been using .Mac since September of last year. I really like it, but it tends to be slow and I get errors when syncing files at times. I use it to sync my Calendar, Contacts, Bookmarks and Keychain across my two computers (my PowerBook at work and iMac at home.) It works great for that.
I also use to share photos with my family and friends, and to hold important files. I like it, but Apple should really work on making it faster and more stable. Until only recently, Apple made the bandwidth unlimited. Just last week, they stuck a blurb on the site notifying users that the bandwidth is now limited to something like 25 GB/month. More is available for an extra price…
The Mohammed caricatures
I was listening to NPR as I drove home today, and heard yet more news about embassies being torched in response to the Mohammed caricatures. That’s in addition to the feverish demonstrations that have been going on for days. I’m not even going to discuss whether publishing the caricatures was right or wrong, or whether the Arab response is correct or not. What I want to say is this: where do these people find the time?
Every time something bothers them, they demonstrate. Don’t they have jobs? How can they get time off? Have they nothing better to do with their time than to tie up the streets in violent protest, chanting till their throats go numb? Have they nothing better to do than to burn flags and shoot bullets in the air?
Honestly, what kinds of people are these? Anybody with that much free time on their hands obviously isn’t working enough. No wonder most Middle East economies aren’t in good shape. Oil is the only thing propping them up (if they have it), and their countries, technologically and socially, are caught somewhere between the Middle Ages and the present. If they spent more time working and less time demonstrating, they might get somewhere.
ComeAcross Podcast 7
➡ Download ComeAcross Podcast 7
Summary: A 330 MPG uber hybrid, viruses cause obesity, some of the worst things you can do to your body, the invasion of the bed bugs, ultra-efficient air conditioner, new standard keyboard, do not worship false idols.
- Links of interest for this podcast:
- 330 MPG uber hybrid? by Sterling D. Allan
- Virus causes obesity by Jennifer Viegas
- The worst things you can do to your body by Susan Yara
- Don’t let the bed bugs bite? Try stopping them!
- OASIS Air Conditioner – Better than 40 SEER through evaporative cooling
- The New Standard Keyboard by John Chow
- Worship not these false idols by Tony Long
Raoul Pop 