Friday, December 28, 2007
Adventures in Convergence XIV: Predorktions for 2008
Home for the holidays where the pace is slow and the internet is slower.And speaking of slow internet, tech dorks are forecasting a gridlock in internet traffic in 2008. As Web 2.0 evolves more internet dependent gadgets and applications are popping up. While casual web surfing may slow down, P2P will also grow and networks will become more packed than Beijing on Chinese New Year.
Of course, forecasters have been predicting every year that progress would be killed by infrastructure limitations, and the truth is that the limitations are merely inhibiting. If the cable companies or Congress don't do something, Google inevitably will. And is.
Anyway, the Dear Sirs at Economist are much more eloquent on this matter than I. Personally, I need to predict that I can make this website finally look pretty in 2008.
Surprise Prediction of the Year from Accenture: Innovation will drive growth! Could be the panacea we're looking for. Way to go geniuses.
Labels: convergence, predictions, technology
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Where is Carmen Sandiego?
I made it to level 8, but they wouldn't let me past. Hey, I give myself credit for even knowing that the Maldives are in the Caribbean. Oh wait, they're near India? My bad.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Adventures in Convergence XIII: All Your Votes Are Belong To Us
Mark Penn may have identified "soccer moms," "nascar dads," "caffeine crazies," and over 70 other groups of potential voters, but I guarantee robots were not even for consideration on his list.
NBC has this footage of a robot-like something or other protesting an appearance by former President Bill Clinton for comments he made in 1992 about rapper Sister Souljah. Could robots be the next big vote?
Labels: convergence, robot, technology
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Adventures in Convergence XII: Sonic the...Mind Reader?
It's rare that I have two Convergence reports in one day. Wired reports that Sega is teaming up with a company called Neurosky to create and market a line of toys relying on "wearable bio-sensor and signal processing systems" to create a brain interfaced gamer experience.Yes, the makers of that sad Mario knock off "Sonic the Hedgehog" are not dead. They've just been patiently lying dormant until the right technology came along that would allow them to harness the brain power of children to blow up tanks and make avatars dance on screen. Great, just as DDR and the Wii started getting gamers to begin moving Sega rises from the grave to take out all external movement altogether. Well, you can't have it all.
Labels: convergence, technology
Adventures in Convergence XI: How We Power Ourselves
Toshiba's new battery has a lifespan of ten years or 5000+ charges. But more importantly, it charges up to 90% capacity in under 5 minutes. Which is great for car batteries, laptops, and cell phones. But it will ultimately prove useful when our metabolism and appetites are replaced by an androidic energy management system.More info on that soon..
Labels: convergence, energy, technology
Friday, December 7, 2007
Adventures in Convergence X: New Report Reveals Human Brain Has a "Jennifer Aniston" Neuron
Brain researchers at the University of Leicester (pronounced "Lester" 'cause they're British) have uncovered a way to identify almost exactly what a person is looking at or thinking about based on how their neurons fire.Dr. Quian Quiroga used photos to prompt brain activity in test subjects implanted with intracranial electrodes. “In these experiments we presented a large database of pictures, and discovered that we can predict what picture the subject is seeing far above chance. For example, if the 'Jennifer Aniston neuron' increases its firing then we can predict that the subject is seeing Jennifer Aniston."
"So, in simple words, we can read the human thought from the neuronal activity."
Dr Quiroga and his team of altruistic researchers envision a world where this discovery could be used to help paralyzed patients - for instance, thinking about a cup of tea could prompt a bionic limb to reach for the item for you. Literal Dr. X-style brain power.
Alternately, it could help marketers know every time you are thinking about Jennifer Aniston.
Labels: brain, computer, convergence, technology
