http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-shallows-what-the-internet-is-doing-to-our-brains
I'd be interested in reading this book. I think the internet is certainly changing the way we function and think. The article mentions that books were intended to focus our attention and promote deeper thinking and concentration on one topic. This stands in stark contrast to the way the internet works for us. The internet enables us to take in small bits of a large variety of information. We are getting more and more accustomed to skimming and probing and and less practiced in really delving into a subject. With all the talk about what form books will take on in the future, at this point we often assume that books will take on a digital presence. But if the book and the internet have such opposite functions is it even realistic to think that the book can be transformed into a digital version without its function and purpose also being altered?
Monday, October 11, 2010
Sustainability in Design Education
http://www.core77.com/blog/featured_items/the_challenges_of_teaching_sustainability_the_rcas_approach_by_clare_brass_and_octavia_reeve__17566.asp
This is an interesting article about how some design schools are including sustainability in their education plan and the challenges of teaching sustainability. I think its good that the idea is to try to incorporate sustainability as a general constant criteria in designing, rather than an additional thought that is considered once whatever it is has already been thought up and designed.
This is an interesting article about how some design schools are including sustainability in their education plan and the challenges of teaching sustainability. I think its good that the idea is to try to incorporate sustainability as a general constant criteria in designing, rather than an additional thought that is considered once whatever it is has already been thought up and designed.
Heat-charged cell phone
http://www.core77.com/blog/technology/this_just_inbox_patrick_hylands_copper_phone_uses_heat_for_power__17599.asp
This is an idea for a phone that would charge itself by using heat using heat-transmitting copper. Even just keeping it in your pocket would be good enough to keep it charged. I would love to have a phone that didn't need to be charged. It would be great not to have to worry about the battery dieing anymore. Not to mention that it would also be good for the environment.
This is an idea for a phone that would charge itself by using heat using heat-transmitting copper. Even just keeping it in your pocket would be good enough to keep it charged. I would love to have a phone that didn't need to be charged. It would be great not to have to worry about the battery dieing anymore. Not to mention that it would also be good for the environment.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Rescue Robot
http://www.kurzweilai.net/robots-on-tv-rescue-bot-knows-um-what-you-mean
The idea is to use a robot in rescue missions to find injured people in need of help. The robot can understand commands and go search for bodies, recognize them, and then report back. It's a great idea and could potentially be very useful once the robot is further developed. At this point though, it doesn't seem to be very effective though, since the robot doesn't have much flexibility in its movements and thus would probably not be able to really function very efficiently in a real life situation.
The idea is to use a robot in rescue missions to find injured people in need of help. The robot can understand commands and go search for bodies, recognize them, and then report back. It's a great idea and could potentially be very useful once the robot is further developed. At this point though, it doesn't seem to be very effective though, since the robot doesn't have much flexibility in its movements and thus would probably not be able to really function very efficiently in a real life situation.
3D Printing
http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-rise-of-the-3-d-printers
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/the-rise-of-the-3-d-printers/?ref=technology
These 3D printers are really exciting. I would love to get a chance to try one out. It seems like it offers so many new interesting creative opportunities and there are so many unexplored options of what one could do with these printers. In the NYT article it is also mentioned that there are open-source versions that go for as little as 650 dollars. While that is still very expensive of course, it is much more reasonable than what they can also go for, which can be as expensive as 20,000, so it is nice to see that the prices are going in the direction of being more reasonable and therefore making these printers accessible to more people. I am very curious to see the further development of what people do with this.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/the-rise-of-the-3-d-printers/?ref=technology
These 3D printers are really exciting. I would love to get a chance to try one out. It seems like it offers so many new interesting creative opportunities and there are so many unexplored options of what one could do with these printers. In the NYT article it is also mentioned that there are open-source versions that go for as little as 650 dollars. While that is still very expensive of course, it is much more reasonable than what they can also go for, which can be as expensive as 20,000, so it is nice to see that the prices are going in the direction of being more reasonable and therefore making these printers accessible to more people. I am very curious to see the further development of what people do with this.
Texting with no hands
http://www.kurzweilai.net/look-ma-i%E2%80%99m-texting-with-no-hands
http://gigaom.com/2010/09/29/look-ma-i%E2%80%99m-texting-with-no%C2%A0hands/
This seems like a very useful app that could go a long way in helping people be safer drivers. I know there are already apps out there that do this (turning speech into text messages and also reading text messages out loud so that you don't need to look at the screen while driving), however there are still a lot of issues with this software. The reviewer seems to be of the opinion that this software works better than the previously available options. I think there should be a function that the program can read out loud what the text says before you send it so that you can be sure that the program accurately recorded what you said.
http://gigaom.com/2010/09/29/look-ma-i%E2%80%99m-texting-with-no%C2%A0hands/
This seems like a very useful app that could go a long way in helping people be safer drivers. I know there are already apps out there that do this (turning speech into text messages and also reading text messages out loud so that you don't need to look at the screen while driving), however there are still a lot of issues with this software. The reviewer seems to be of the opinion that this software works better than the previously available options. I think there should be a function that the program can read out loud what the text says before you send it so that you can be sure that the program accurately recorded what you said.
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