Under the Sea

Swiss energy giant, BKW-FMB, has recently announced its plans to create the world's first solar powered submarine. Asking investors to contribute almost $9 million to start work on Projekt Goldfisch, the company hopes to begin construction on the floating "power islands" of photovoltaic panels that will channel electricity for the subs as soon as possible.

According to BKW, the solar subs will draw power from "a solar array of five generators, each with 430-square feet of panels. A GPS tracking system would tell the sub where to surface when it needs to recharge." Fully charged, the company claims the sub could dive to depths approaching 1,000 feet and reach a top speed of about 5 knots (roughly 6 mpg).

So what does one do with a solar submarine? Well, the company hopes to put its first Goldfisch models in Dubai as an attraction featured at the already popular Burji Al Arab Hotel. Already featuring solar boats and a submarine restaurant, BKW says their sub will allow guests to come '"into contact with the attractive idea of emission free mobility."'

Underwater solar tourism may well become a booming new industry but, for now, I think I'll stay above water and away from anything that could potentially turn belly-up should it the sky turn a particular shade of gray.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/12/we-all-live-in.html#more

-Samantha Perez

The phone that feels the flu before you do

Everyone worries about getting sick, but a new application, the Zicam Cold & Flu Companion, takes hypochondria to a new level.

All you have to do is enter your zip code and you will receive information on what percentage of people have the flu, a respiratory illness, or even the EVK plague. "Matrixx Initiatives Inc., the Arizona company that makes products under the Zicam brand, gets the information on disease levels from Surveillance Data Inc. — which gets its data from polling health care providers and pharmacies." They can also ask the application what nearby zip codes also have high risk levels so that they can avoid those areas.

I think that this application is interesting, but more useless than useful. Older, or more fragile people can benefit from this application, but I think others will use it as an excuse not to make a business trip or visit family, and hypochondriacs will just freak themselves out!

This application is available for the T-Mobile G1 and is free! It should be available for the iPhone by the end of the month.

By: Alexandra Guzmán
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28038134/

Ear Docs' Warning Rings Loud and Clear: Turn Down the iPod!

MP3 players and iPods line the pockets of millions of people across the world. People listen to their music while walking, waiting, and for enjoyment. Although people do not listen to music loud, the time they spend with the player has increased over the years. A new study from the European Union cautions people who listen to personal music players for too long, at too high a volume settings, may do serious damage to hearing. “The music coming form those small, white ear buds is part of a larger problem,” experts claim. Hearing loss is permanent, cumulative, and—because it’s painless—hard to detect, according to the researchers. Signs that you are listening to music at too high a volume include stuffy ears and ringing. However, there are steps that the users of MP3 players can take to limit potential hearing problems. If you are listening to the music on your headphones, make sure you can hear someone else talking to you at a normal volume level. Researchers at Northwestern University advocate the "60/60 rule," which means MP3 players should be used at no more than 60 percent of the maximum volume and for no longer than about 60 minutes per day. Although those headphones may not seem to be too loud for you, remember that you cannot feel your sensory cells dying in the tiny hairs in the inner ear, but they are.
By Stephen T. Watson
The Buffalo News
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Ear-Docs-Warning-Rings-Loud-and-Clear-Turn-Down-the-iPod-65042.html
Michael Saleeb

Livescribe's Pulse Smartpen for the Mac

Just in time for the holidays, Livescribe is about to release their Smartpen for the Mac on November 24. The pen is about the size and weight of a large MontBlanc pen, with a microphone, a speaker, a small OLED display, and an internal computer chip that captures handwritten notes and drawings. Earlier in the year Livescribe came out with the Pulse Smartpen for the PC. The pen has the ability to record sound and synchronize the audio with written notes. Basically what the Smartpen does is record and link the audio to what you are writing, and making it possible to listen to what you recorded while you write. You are even able to search for keywords in your notes. This seems ideal for college students who like to take notes because if you forgot what your note was supposed to mean, you can click on the text and the audio will jump back to the exact moment in recording when you wrote that word. This would be useful to anyone who uses pen and paper frequently. However, to use the text and audio features, you have to use the pen with Livescribe’s dot paper that has points of reference for the audio. The paper has pre-printed controls on them that allow users to fast-forward and rewind the audio. For Mac users, the paper must be purchased from Livescribe but PC users will be able to print their own paper with Livescribe software for Windows 1.4, which will be available later this month. The pen has a variety of applications, including a built-in language translator that can translate English words into a many languages like Spanish and Mandarin.
The Smartpen has a 1GB model that sells for $149 and a 2GB model for $199.

http://www.macworld.com/article/136877/2008/11/pulsesmartpen.html?lsrc=top_3

- Annie Huang, Thursday 8am

The iphone that Listens

It is no longer necessary to type an inquiry, you can just verbally ask your phone. Now, with the new speech recognition service that has been recently released by Google for the iPhone, you can actually talk to the search engine. Just as you enter questions into a search box on the traditional Google application, is how this new program best understands verbal questions. For example all that needs to be said is, “best Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles.”

Voice recognition technologies such as this new application and Bluetooth devices for vehicles demonstrate how this industry has progressed. One of the first successful demonstrations of a voice command technology were the voice controlled battleships created by researchers at SRI International, originally the Stanford Research Institute, in 1983. The industry’s leaders have always stated that one day we will be able to talk to machines, and that they will understand us. And over the past twenty-five years Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo have all claimed that voice recognition is necessary for the mobile computing era. Other companies such as I.B.M, Nuance and Vlingo are also in the race, and the stakes are high. Whoever develops and refines the first major technology in voice will easily take control over handheld devices.  

Source

Dina Rosenberg, Thursday 8am 

Telemetria Telephony Introduces First In-Car Computer

Telemetria Telephony Technology Inc, founded by Alen Nejeh, has developed the first in-car PC with broadband connectivity. The company is aiming for a 2009 release date. The system includes features such as Smart Navigation, Real Time Traffic Monitoring--which predicts the best driving routes based on real time traffic patterns, and Web Services--including online maps, search engines, and much more through the built in LAN/WAN connectivity. The computer itself is an easily removable seven inch screen that conveniently plugs into the dashboard of the car. Partnered with Intel, Telemetria hopes to establish a new and successful piece of technology, which hopes to serve as the "platform for vehicular applications." Other features of the device include control over all in-car systems such as the DVD player, alarm system, or radio/CD player from both the front and back seats. Video steaming on YouTube and other sites is manageable on the system's bandwidth of 3G, but developers are hoping to establish a bandwidth of at least 4G to allow for high quality streaming. The in-car PC works with any car, but can only be used with models newer than 1996. The cost to purchase this device is currently unknown, but developers estimate a price of under $1000.

Source

Desiree Dozier
Thursday 9 am

Disneyland Jumps on The Mobile Application Bandwagon

It seems like new mobile applications are created all the time; some useful like VCAST Song ID (which I use all the time), and some not so useful like the one for the iPhone that did nothing for a lot of money. Well, this time Disney and Verizon have come up with a tool that will help you navigate both the California and Florida parks. This application - although still in development - will aid in finding shows, restaurants, rides and their wait times. It will also help you locate the Disney characters in the park and you could even receive messages (and possibly phone calls, but I can't tell if that part is a joke or not) from them. I just thought it was interesting how Disney is adapting to the times by developing this interactive application that will be available outside of the parks thus being yet another advertising tool for Disney - even though they say they won't take advantage of it's advertising aspect.

Orig. article

Devin Wilson
Thurs 9am