Technology
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »Even TED’s A-Twitter About The Twemendous Possibili-Tweets
[ Comments Off ]Posted on March 2, 2009 by admin in Technology
Monday, March 2nd, 2009And You Can Twote Me on That
In spite of Twitter’s ten-fold growth in 2008, a lot of perfectly well-adjusted and otherwise hip people (including myself) have yet to integrate the service into their life in a significant way. If you’re not familiar with what Twitter actually is, the TED presentation by Twitter co-founder Evan Williams featured here here will give you a good overview. Even if you are familiar with Twitter, you may not be aware of Twitter’s effect on ancient history, or more recently, Hitler. And even more recently (and more seriously) you might not be aware of some of the the amazing tools at your disposal, like Twitterfall, where you can mindlessly watch tweets scroll by, or better yet, intelligently customize what you see. Or Tweetoclock, which lets you type in a Twitter username to find out when it’s best to tweet them. And if you’re using Twitter aggressively for marketing purposes, you’ll need Tweetsum, which uses sophisticated algorithms to generate a DBI (Douche Bag Index) to help you manage followers. My personal prediction (but I never saw Reality TV lasting this long, so ignore me!) is that Twitter, as it’s currently used, will become quite popular, but have a short life cycle. Or, as Evan Williams suggests, do something completely unexpected because users find a new use for it. And you can Twote me on that, to use some twerminology I just Twopyrighted. And regarding the buzz going around that Twitter has no viable business model? One of their key venture capitalists is just laughing.
Kilocycles to Killer Cycles – Latest In Electric Bikes
[ 2 Comments ]Posted on February 28, 2009 by admin in Clean & Green, Technology
Saturday, February 28th, 2009Sticker Shock With evMotorcycles? Charge It!
My only friends who are into motorcycles are obsessed with Harleys and Ducatis, and laugh me out of the room every time I say I want a hydrogen-powered Suzuki Crosscage. Well they’d laugh even harder at my fascination with ELECTRIC motorcycles. Especially the solar-powered SunRed concept bike pictured here, which resembles a snail in appearance, but not likely in performance, if it’s anything like other electric bikes. The evDaytona for instance, does an amazing 0-60 mph in 2.7 seconds. The caveat, of course, is that it only has a fifteen-mile range, and costs 77 grand. For the more practical shopper, Best Buy – of all places – will be selling the Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle at several locations on the west coast beginning May, 2009. And at a much more affordable US$11,995. Feeling a little sticker shock? Why? You can always charge it!
High Tech Arctic Transportation 1924-2008
[ Comments Off ]Posted on February 24, 2009 by admin in Technology
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009Screw-driven snow machines? How about “Screw Winter”…
One of the things that occasionally drives me nuts about living in Michigan (I know, I know, I should just get out) is the perpetual weather conversations. Every season – and don’t let anyone kid you, there are two: 3 months of Summer, 9 months of Winter – there’s a constant checking of weather web sites by MEN, who use it as a secret weapon to dictate the day’s activities, and an ongoing banter of “think it’s gonna rain?” or “I seen on the TEEvee we gonna get SIX INCHES.” So here I am, in what feels like the longest Winter on record (although so far last year will go down as the snowiest winter on record in Michigan, with 89 inches for the season) and what am I doing? TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER! But I will now claim that it is not gratuitous weather chit chat, bacause I thought you should see the crazy Buck-Rogers-meets-farm-tractor snow vehicle from 1924 in the video at left. The clip looks almost fake at points, but I’m convinced the SPCA would have shut these guys down for the way they treat the horse in the film if it were filmed today. I find it amazing how much clever technology never finds its way into production. My pick for high-tech arctic travel would have to be the 2008 Lotus Model.
The High Cost Of Cheap Electronics
[ Comments Off ]Posted on February 17, 2009 by admin in Technology
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009High Tech Misery in China
 Chicken feet. It’s what’s for lunch |
Having a bad day at work? Next time you sit at your computer keyboard, typing e-mails to friends about how much your job sucks, pause for a moment and ask yourself if that very keyboard was assembled by people who get payed 40 cents an hour, and get 15 minute lunches to slurp down milky-colored rice gruel (Friday bonus: chicken feet!). High Tech Misery in China is a project created by the National Labor Committee to investigate the abusive labor conditions at a Chinese factory where keyboards are manfactured for American computer retailers like Dell, HP, and Lenovo. I’ll let you take a swig of your Coke while you ponder that, and then read about Colombia’s other Coke. That really puts a new twist on the phrase “dying of thirst”, doesn’t it? At least those keyboard factory workers appear to be getting paid, unlike the Chinese slave labor that builds the bricks that build the factories. Okay, quietly back to your cubicle now.
Chips ‘n’ Dips: White Hat Hacker Remotely Reads RFID Passports
[ Comments Off ]Posted on February 4, 2009 by admin in Technology
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009The latest in drive-by RFID
Feeling safer after eight years of the Bush administration’s paranoid and insane attempts at making life in America safer? Well don’t. Perhaps you’ve seen the 2006 “Prank the Virginia DMV” clips on YouTube, in which two wild and crazy guys dress up in absurd outfits (like the cartoonish Asian pictured here) and proceed to secure legitimate Virginia driver’s licenses. Don’t forget, it was the Virginia DMV that issued ID’s to several of the 9/11 hijackers. Well now, to add to all the TSA woes we’re familiar with (which I’ve touched on here), a San Francisco white hat hacker has demonstrated just how easy it is to extract identity info from those RFID passports that were supposed to enhance our security. In spite of acknowledged flaws with RFID, the US State Dept. has moved ahead with the technology. For a humorous twist on RFID, see this article about tracking dementia with RFID technology that uses a photo of John McCain with absolutely no explanation.