Tech News

The next version of the Flip Mino Pocket Camcorder will have wireless capability ...

When Apple announced video capability in the iPod Nano and a video camcorder in the iPhone 3Gs, Cisco saw a dramatic increase in YouTube video uploads. And as such, they saw the handwriting on the wall. Sure, the Flip has the edge with HD, but to have an all in one solution with the iPhone has forced Cisco, the new owners of Flip Video, to get working on a response. And to that end, they’ve announced that the next model of the phenomenally successful Flip Video Pocket Camcorders will come with built in Wi-Fi. But that’s not all.

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Are you the type who works on your notebook wherever you are, but hate it when there are busybodies around who tend to pry at your screen without looking too obvious when doing so? These privacy screens from Guardian ought to do the trick then.

The Guardian is aimed to satisfy the need of a more privacy aware society, realizing that the use of confidential information on our handhelds and laptops is increasing and must be guarded. The leading Microlouver privacy technology creates an invisible barrier for people wanting to sneak into your conversation, programs, etc. making The Guardian the perfect product for Executives, frequent flyers or any person exposed to high traffic areas.

The company’s long term vision is “to create an extensive network of distributors around the globe, whose aim is to help individuals as well as companies to secure sensitive information.” Good luck to them, we say – after all, identity theft being extremely common these days would surely benefit from something like this.

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Is your 27\

Ubergizmo has a story about 27″ iMacs which are experiencing buggy hardware issues such as “erratic hard drive behavior,” buggy playback of flash video which cause the CPU to reach 105% of it’s capacity, and issues pertaining to bad operating system installation. Now I know that flash is a memory hog, but that’s ridiculous.

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Some of you might remember when we reported on the Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit, a now recently opened roller coaster at Universal Orlando that allows the spectators to choose a soundtrack. Disney’s EPCOT Center has now debuted a new ride called Sum of All Thrills, which allows the spectators to design and ride their own roller coaster.

How is this possible? The spectators use computer tablets to design their “dream track”, and then get into a robotic carriage that uses virtual-reality technology for their pre-programmed ride. Users can even program the ride so it can be a bobsled ride or airplane ride.

This ride is very similar to CyberSpace Mountain, a ride that allows spectators to customize their virtual ride with drops, loops, and other stunts. I’m not certain how loops could work if the user selects the bobsled option on the Sum of All Thrills.

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Study shows that HDTV quality can be subject to a placebo effect.

According to a recent study, most TV viewers can’t really tell when they’re watching hi-def video and when they aren’t. It further goes on to conclude that so long as they’re expecting HD, they think they’re watching HD.

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Hologram technology takes the next responsive step ...

Ask any scientist working today, and they’ll tell you that Star Trek has had an amazing impact on their work. From scientists in Holland who have managed to transport photons of light across the room, to NASA rocket engineers working on the first steps to Warp drive. There’s even an Israeli group who have developed “shields” to protect tanks from incoming missiles. What could be next, you ask? How about Holograms.

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At last, the long suffering 802.11n draft standard has been made official, and is released from its draft prison with the IEEE finally ratified the latest longer range, higher speed version of the wireless standard. This move took a good seven years since the process kicked off, and a couple of years after the final draft was approved with a slew of hardware companies following suit by releasing 802.11n gear to the market. Makes us wonder what took them so long to review and approve this standard to move it up from draft. Well, all said and done, we would like to give the old proverb a handshake as it tells us “better late than never!”

Source: Business Week

As a freelance writer, I receive most of the payments for my services online, but every once in a while, I get a check in the mail and have to go to the bank to deposit it.

It would appear that USAA bank is removing any reason for me to go to the bank with an iPhone app that allows me to deposit my checks virtually. All I need to do is take a picture of the front of my check with the iPhone, then turn the check over and snap the back of it. Once I hit e-send, the money is in the bank.

Of course, I don’t have an iPhone, and that is the case for many others. Another limitation on this new paperless service is it is currently only available for active-duty military personnel. I guess that just makes sense, doesn’t it? How can someone stationed in Iraq make a run to the bank?

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