There was a perfectly awful story on the news last week about a woman who had a stalker hide under her bed for two days after concealing a video camera in her apartment. It was the perfect evening news piece; sick, scary and complete with a built-in video clip that the networks could air over and over. In this case, the stalker diving under his victims bed.
The story made me take a second look at this SpyFinder device that Oliver over at the TechFilter found. According to the manufacturer, it can detect the LEDs used by just about any model of digital or video camcorder. At $99 it seems like overkill to me, but then again I sleep with my matress on the floor.
It works by holding the Reader's camera over printed documents--whether it's pages of a novel, restaurant menus, directions, address labels, etc.--and snapping a picture. Then the Reader plays back the contents of the printed document through synthetic speech. It can store thousands of recorded pages or its contents can be transferred as files to a computer. It also features a headphone jack for privacy.
Why was it invented? "Every year 75,000 more people will become blind or visually impaired in this country. As America's aging population soars over the next few decades, so too will the incidence of visual impairment and blindness. The Reader will help not only blind individuals, but older Americans who wish to stay independent and age with dignity."
Expect the Blind Reader to go on sale beginning July 1, 2006 for $3,495. You can purchase it via the National Federation of the Blind's toll-free number, or by visiting www.nfb.org.
It's things like this that show just how much technology can do for us.
We usually post about slightly more, for lack of a better word, urban technology solutions. So in the interest of fairness, here's a story for our rural readers: A company called Optibrand makes the OptiReader, a biometrics device, part handheld computer and part videocam, that "scans a farm animal's retina, which is as unique as a human fingerprint" to help you keep track of livestock. Using LEDs, the camera lights up the ocular fundus and sends video of the animal's retina at 19fps to the computer. Now thanks to a partnership with Iogear, the OptiReader can send the ID video information wirelessly, via Bluetooth, to a server up to 330 feet away from the cow.
The story gets a little grimmer, because the device is being touted as a good way to prevent "agro-terrorism" and bovine disease. "Traceback of animals to farms of origin, tracking the movement of animals from farms to markets and abattoirs and within and between countries, are all critical to animal disease control." Veggie burgers, anyone?
All engines get you where you're going, but some do it with better fuel efficiency, more power per liter, or better NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) characteristics. Each year the editors of Ward's Auto World pick the best 10 engines.
For 2006, four of the ten have forced induction, meaning supercharging or turbocharging, and three have direct injection gasoline (DIG), in which the fuel is injected directly into the cylinder rather than into the intake manifold (ducting) leading to the engine. The result of DIG is quicker response getting off at stoplights.
A generation ago, turbocharged or supercharged engines were only found on exotic cars. Now, technology has brought the price down, and just as important, made them reliable for everyday driving.
Audi and General Motors have two engines each on the list. Others are from BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Mazda, Nissan, and Toyota. While hybrid engines won in past years, rising expectations kept Honda and Toyota engines off this year's list. Mixed real-world fuel economy, reduced economy in cold weather, and non-premium sounds from premium-price hybrid engines were all factors, says Ward's.
Click through our slideshow to see the 10 best engines, alongside the cars you'll find them in.
Sure, it'd be nice to show off to your friends those da Vinci or Monet art pieces you have hanging up in your living room, but who has the money to spend for such works of beauty? I know I don't. But for a more reasonable price, you can display the world's finest art and photography in high-def on your HDTV for as low as 99 cents.
Through Panasonic's web service called HD Image Gallery, you can view a library of HD image collections that are seen in Life Magazine, National Geographic Magazine, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Next, purchase the images to then be displayed on your HDTV. All you need is a computer that runs WinXP and an HDTV Display with a VGA or DVI input.
5. Connect your PC to your HDTV to display the images.
Then voila! You can showcase your favorite artwork on a whim! I think this is a really cool idea, because sometimes I get bored with the paintings I have hanging up on the walls. With this kind of technology, you can change artwork according to your mood.
*Pictured here (thanks to our Intern Errol Pierre-Louis for being such a Photoshop pro) is the 1888 artwork of Yoshitoshi, entitled "Noisy" displayed on a Panasonic TH-42PX50U HDTV.
The XR3 hybrid looks like a space pod, with its sleek clamshell canopy and three-wheel platform. But it's a terrestrial vehicle, and it could set the stylistic standard for future fuel-efficient vehicles. Powered by a turbocharged diesel/electric engine, this lightweight personal mobility vehicle reaches maximum speeds of 85 mph with the acceleration of most conventional cars while achieving a fuel economy of 125 mpg.
The XR3 may be the first in the next generation of plug-in-hybrids. Today's hybrids use their electrical systems only to help with acceleration; a combustion engine recharges the battery during driving. The XR3 would allow you to drive on the battery alone for 40 to 50 miles without turning on the diesel engine. When you use the diesel and the battery-electric systems together and drive conservatively, the XR3 could reach a fuel economy of 200 mpg.
We have already seen the power of design with SUVs, an example of personality trumping functionality. The typical SUV owner doesn't go trailblazing or trekking through jungle terrain. People buy SUVs because of the image associated with them, not their practicality. And as a result, SUVs accounted for about half of all new car sales—and a plunge in average new-car fuel economy.
The XR3's designer, Robert Q. Riley, hopes to work this dynamic in reverse. By making cars styled to ignite consumer appeal while offering all the benefits that come with a highly fuel efficient vehicle: hybrids like the XR3 could significantly could help turn the tide against escalating energy demand and open new markets in the process.
Though the XR3 was originally meant to be a plans-built vehicle, Riley's team expects to have a finished prototype ready for production by the end of 2006, and will offer body kits and chassis kits. Enthusiasts and experimenters can get the plans and the book, "Alternative Cars in the 21st Century: A New Personal Transportation Paradigm" which explores the design ideas the XR3 is based on at Riley's Web site.
Jeez, how cheap can you get? A man who hung out every day in the parking lot of the Vancouver, Washington coffee shop Brewed Awakenings was apparently using the coffee shop's Wi-Fi access without ever stepping foot into the store. The shop's manager, Emily Pranger said, "It's not right for him to come and use it...[it's] borderline creepy." So, she dialed 911 and the police arrested Alexander Eric Smith for theft of services.
Even creepier, according to this KGW.com report, Smith was found using the site craigslist.com's erotic services section. Not to mention deputies found that he is also registered in Clark County as a Level 1 sex offender.
PC Magazine's Audio analyst Mike Kobrin wasn't the least bit impressed when the Klegg Mini entered the MP3 player market. He felt that its interface was very low budget and quirky, its construction cheap-feeling, and its high price appalling (back in March it was $159 for the 512MB version). Not to mention, he gave it a rating of just 2 out of 5 stars (ouch!).
Even still, Klegg Electronics is trying desperately to keep its Mini player alive in the market by releasing a 1GB version today. But no new features?!?
The 1GB Klegg Mini measures 1.8 inches by 1.6 inches, dons a 1-inch color display for song titles and pictures, offers voice recording, song shuffle, and USB 2.0 support, and claims a 26-hour battery life.
It's available in three colors: metallic blue, metallic pink and pearl white for $99.99. It also comes with lanyard earphones.
Note: There's no link to purchase the 1GB version yet on the Klegg Electronics site. I'll update this post with a buying link as soon as one is up.
TechnoRide's Bill Howard went to a posh Panasonic event last week, at the company's headquarters in Secaucus, NJ. It was actually a coming-out party for the company's $20,000 high-definition Blu-ray home theater system that we'll be seeing some time in September, but Panasonic's U.S. chairman and CEO, Yoshi Yamada, said the company hopes to extend Blu-ray's reach beyond home theater to "video cameras … and mobile entertainment," including cars.
Which begs the question: Do you need high-definition content in cars? Well, probably not, but as Bill points out, a Blu-ray car player would also let you record dozens of hours of standard-definition TV on a home Blu-ray recorder, thus ensuring plenty of entertainment for the back-seat demons kids. Check out his full report.
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