Do any of the ATM machines you use have a touch screen? I know that CitiBank has one, and I was always afraid that I'd hit the $200 button instead of $20 to withdraw money. I now bank with Bank of America, and thankfully they don't use touch screen technology. But maybe they should consider it soon, now that Immersion Corp, a San Jose, CA-based Haptics tech company, has a new solution. What if you could actually feel the virtual button with your finger?
Immersion's new TouchSense Technology for Touch Screens combines "vibro feedback with finger-position recognition and interpolation to deliver tactile feedback on standard touch screens. This feedback can register as bumps, low vibrations, ticks, clicks, slides, you name it." Then this technology is combined with audible feedback to enhance the experience.
How it works. The company affixes the touch screen to a thin metal frame that is connected to four actuators, each containing two steel pieces and a coil. The actuators and touch screen are then connected to a motherboard where vibrations are sent to the touch screen. You can feel the virtual buttons through this vibration.
Later this year, you may find yourself at the nearest casino, because TouchSense will be included in video slots and poker machines.
Immersion hopes to deliver the technology to other devices, such as GPS, PDAs, and phones through its several partnerships.
Most ATMs offer a little LCD screen with just enough buttons to let you get your money without getting too confused. Of course, there's often that moment where you hit the display repeatedly, trying to hit the right button and get it to respond. You lean down, squint, push again, and usually mange to select the button almost by accident.
Adding audible clicks could help this situation, but what if you could feel your finger hitting the virtual button? San Jose, CA-based Haptics technology company Immersion Corp., an innovator in vibrotactile feedback medical training equipment, cars, gaming and mobile phones has a new solution that may hold the answer.
Immersion's new TouchSense Technology for Touch Screens combines vibro feedback with finger-position recognition and interpolation to deliver tactile feedback on standard touch screens. This feedback can register as bumps, low vibrations, ticks, clicks, slides, you name it. All of it is coupled with audible feedback to enhance the experience.
The technology is actual fairly simple. Immersion separates the existing touch screen from the display and affixes it to a thin metal frame that is, itself, connected to four actuators. Each actuator contains two steel pieces and a coil. The steel moves apart when the coil is charged and back together when the charge is removed. The actuators and screen connect to a small motherboard that controls the amount and type (also know as profile) of vibration delivered to the touch screen.
Immersion actuators come in two sizes. One for small screens, roughly 12-to-15 inches, similar to what you'd find at an ATM, and a larger one for 19-inch-or-so touch screens. Company representatives say the TouchSense technology adds roughly the same cost to a device as adding the touch sensitivity itself.
TouchSense will make its debut later this year in the casino gaming market, likely in some of the video slots and poker machines. Immersion has already inked a deal with 3M Touch Systems, which, reportedly, makes a majority of the touch-sensitive screens for video-gambling displays. Immersion is also working with Volkswagen and SMK for car integration (think GPS screens) and expects TouchSense PDAs and phones to hit the market sometime next year.
PC Magazine's Lance Ulanoff would like to set the record straight about yesterday's Blu-ray fiasco. Here is what he had to say:
Did Sony have a commercial Blu-ray content disk there or not? That's the big question regarding Sony's now infamous 10-year anniversary party. Many people, including Sony, say I got the story—all five relevant sentences of it—wrong.
Yes, there were two AR laptops with Blu-ray drives on that table, each one with a crowd of people waiting to see it. Between the laptops was a placard noting that these were both the current models of the AR, the first laptop with a Blu-ray drive. There was no indication in words or print that this was some sort of visual comparison, as Sony has suggested. I scooted as close as I could to the laptop on the left side, took a bunch of photos and then pressed eject on the Blu-ray drive and out popped the drive and DVD+R. I took a photo because I was surprised, amused and a tad disappointed.
As you may know, this story has created quite a fury of activity across the web on Slashdot, Engadget, and Digg. While it's true that I did not check the drive of the second AR laptop, I thought both laptops were showing the same thing and saw no need to investigate the second seemingly duplicate setup.
Earlier today, I spoke with a Sony PR rep about what, the company says, I should have seen. According to Sony, there was a demonstration going on there and the laptop on the right-hand side had inside it a Blu-ray disc that was "not final master." I'm not sure what that would have looked like. I wish I had seen it.
The rep did not know why the left-hand laptop had a DVD+R instead of a commercial DVD. He said, "We're still trying to find out. Obviously, internally we own the rights to [that movie]." However, he thinks it may have had something to do with wanting to get the right kind of content playing on the standard DVD laptop so Sony could show off an "apples to apples comparison."
The Sony rep believes I should have come straight to him when I saw the DVD+R. Had I thought this was a momentous discovery, I would have. But the fact that I found no Blu-ray disc was, to me, humorous and not some indication of bait and switch.
Have you ever browsed through an Apple MacBook Pro User's guide? Many of you MBP owners probably never did because the excitement of turning on your system is too overwhelming and somehow, later on, the manual ends up getting misplaced.
There are several pages in the manual worth looking at before using your MacBook Pro. Specifically, there is a warning about using your MagSafe Power adapter. On page 30, and I quote "The MacBook Pro power adapter port contains a magnet that can erase data on a credit card, iPod, or other device. To preserve your data, keep these and other magnetic media away from the power adapter port."
If you scroll to page 106, under "Using Your MacBook Pro", Apple recommends, and I quote "Do not leave the bottom of your MacBook Pro in contact with your lap or any surface of your body for extended periods. Prolonged contact with your body could cause discomfort and potentially a burn"
Some helpful advice to abide by for new MacBook pro owners.
We consider the AlcoScan AL6000 from AK Solutions the most ergonomic breathalyzer of them all, considering its fabulous contour design. It's a great addition to your collection of ergonomic keyboards, desk chairs, and computer mice. Not to mention, it's a great trend-setter because it not only comes in standard black/silver, but in a shiny black/red, too! We like.
The AL6000 uses a semiconductive oxide sensor that can detect a BAC reading of .00% to .10%. It is US DOT-approved, weighs 4.1 ounces, and comes with 2 AA-batteries, a carrying pouch with belt strap (that PJ is modeling for us on the right), and 8 mouthpieces.
Breathalyzer with USB connection. As early as next month, AK Solutions will be debuting the world's first breathalyzer with USB connectivity to manage your BAC results in a log file or in an Excel spreadsheet. That's right! It's called the AL6000 MAX, and we'll report on it as soon as it launches.
Now for the real-world test. The AlcoScan AL6000 is the luckiest of all the breathalyzers we tested, because it traveled all the way to California! PC Magazine's Jen Trolio hopped on a plane for Cinco de Mayo with the AL6000 in hand to attend a party of her boyfriend's friends. Basically, it was a group of physics grad students from Stanford. Trolio didn't know many of the people there, but all of that changed once she whipped out the breathalyzer.
She wanted to see just how much these Stanford students were drinking, so she let everyone give the AL6000 a try. The results were between a .05% and .08% BAC. And judging by the looks of their faces, they were disappointed for not having a higher reading, so they started drinking more! One guy had a .07% the first time he tested his BAC, then tried again about an hour later after not having anything and had a .08! (He was smoking an unidentified object so this could have affected the reading.)
Trolio downed one beer at the start of the night and blew a .04%. This reading may seem a bit high, but she didn't eat dinner, so this could have affected the reading. After about a half hour, she didn't have anything else and went down to a .03%.
Partying did not end there (this is Cali after all). On Saturday night, Trolio and her boyfriend each had a martini before dinner at the InterContinental Hotel. He blew a .04% and she a .06% on an empty stomach. After dinner and several hours later, they each had a beer and blew a .02%.
How it works. When you first turn on the AL6000, Trolio reports that it counts down from a number it seems to choose on its own. The first time, it usually starts at around 250 and counts down until the 30s really fast, then counts a little slower to 0. If you use it again within a minute, it'll start counting down at a lower number, like 45 or 50. Then it beeps to alert you it's ready to go. Blow into the device for about 5 to 10 seconds, and then your reading is displayed after about 5 seconds. Trolio says that it takes anywhere from 20 seconds to a minute and fifteen seconds or so before it's ready to use.
Overall Impressions. Simple to use. Fairly accurate. Great party toy. A bit bulky for your purse or pocket. Comes with an awkard-shaped case and the device fits too snugly in the case. She wouldn't buy it for herself since she's a mass transit user, but she might buy one for a friend who drives.
I've heard of solar power technologies in architecture, heating systems and lighting, but never a solar-powered airplane!
The SolarImpulse is a conceptual idea from a team of experts at ALTRAN for an aircraft with solar captors in the propellers. The SolarImpulse will have a wingspan of just 80 meters to offer more surface area for the solar cells. The aircraft will weigh only 2 tons, and lithium batteries in the wings will need to produce enough energy for flight.
Due to weight constrictions, the cockpit will hold 1 pilot. The energy gathered through the day (about 8 hours of usable light) will not only serve to power the wings, but also to recharge the batteries for flying at night. And here's a cool tidbit from the Web site: "The average power the motors receive from the sun over a 24-hour period (12 CV) is practically equal to the amount available to the Wright brothers in 1903, when they made the first ever flight known to man!"
This concept was first developed in 2004, but only yesterday did ALTRAN announce its partnership with Omega, the Swiss Watch manufacturer, to aid in the finance of the project. The design and manufacturing of the SolarImpulse is taking place as we speak, and a test flight with the prototype is aimed for 2008-2009.
If all goes well, expect the construction of the final solar-powered aircraft in 2009-2010, in which it will cross the Atlantic and tour the world in May 2011.
Verizon Wireless e-mailed me their plans and pricing for the new Treo 700p last night. The new Palm smartphone will arrive in stores "within the next few weeks," which puts Verizon's delivery around the same time as Sprint's version. (Sorry, Cingular and T-Mobile folks - you're out of luck.)
Like Sprint, Verizon will sell the Treo 700p for $399.99 with a two-year contract.
Verizon will sell the handheld with three special voice/data plans. For $79.99/month, you get 450 minutes and unlimited data. $109.99/month gets you 1350 minutes with unlimited data, and $169.99/month gets you 4000 minutes with unlimited data. All three plans come with unlimited calling to other Verizon subscribers and unlimited nights and weekends. If you want to tether your Treo to your laptop via Bluetooth or a USB cable (to use the Treo as a modem on Verizon's fast EV-DO network), add $15/month.
Unfortunately, the Verizon Treo 700p won't be able to access Verizon's V CAST video service. I'm mentioning this because Sprint's model is the first handheld to run Sprint's Sprint TV service. But there's no implementation of Verizon's BREW application platform for the Palm OS (or for Windows Mobile, for that matter), so it's tough to get certain Verizon services onto handhelds.
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