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New Tech

December 20 to 31, 2005

Combine Flickr with maps, and you get Mappr! See on a U.S. map where recent photos were taken...

A nice list of free Windows software that doesn't come with spyware, adware, virii, or other nasty things...

The Google library project is named as one of the "ten most important emerging technologies". I agree...

A "laptop battery breakthrough" enables more precise readings of battery life, implications for all gadget types...

The EFF releases Tor, an anonymous Internet communications system. Note it's still in progress...

April 25 to May 1, 2005

A new waterproof, heavy-duty hand-cranked radio...

Biodegradable packaging tape...

Super-strong flip flops, developed by surfers...

Very flat, flexible speaker technology...

Gateway's new $200 LCD monitors...

I just want to make a phone call - the new Nokia N91 has a 4GB hard drive, camera, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, mp3 player, headphone jack, USB connector, FM radio, Web browser, and records video...

Scientists make bacteria behave like computers...

April 18 to 24, 2005

Holographic storage technology is slowly making progress...

Suspended animation gets one step closer to reality...

The miniMate adds extra storage and ports to your Mac mini. I wish the logo printed on it didn't suck though...

Use two microphones with your Mac with this cheap $16 gadget...

The Firebox is the most compact, fully-featured FireWire recording interface I've ever seen. Looks like it should be excellent for recording on the road with a laptop!

Verizon and Movielink announced a movie download service for broadband users...

April 11 to 17, 2005

Could new photographic techniques shed light on ancient Greek texts and bring about the "second Renaissance"?

The "stratellite" can replace satellites at 1/10 the cost. Hopefully, it will make cellphone towers obsolete...

SVG will radically change how the Web looks and feels. It will be making its debut in Web browsers very soon...

New physics chips are taking reality simulation to the next level...

There's something about the TV/DVD player/beer fridge that is strangely compelling...

The iPod DJ mixer...

It now seems possible to start and maintain a scalable company using nothing but hosted Web applications. Who needs machine rooms any more? As the net gets faster, physical location becomes more irrelevant...

April 4 to 10, 2005

A immediate flurry of inventive activity was sparked by the release of the Google Maps satellite imagery feature last week. People started making "memory maps" at Flickr...

The bionic eye lets the blind see again...

More on the future of liquid lenses via Wired...

A better overview of perpendicular storage technology, which leads to a 10X increase in hard drive capacity. There's also an odd Flash movie that may end up being a digital collector's item...

Instant reusable whiteboard sheets are so cool. Useful for traveling workers, artists, and people without magnetic refrigerators...

Camping in the snow? Build a big, warm igloo with this light, packable mathematically-correct device...

This new wireless USB prototype dongle will make any USB device wireless...

March 28 to April 3, 2005

Wow, wow. Go to Google Maps, go anywhere and then select the "Satellite" link to the upper right...

Need to sleep? Listen to the sleepbot environmental broadcast. They should license this service to hotels...

If you have an iPod, this well-designed guide to all things poddish - software, accessories, reviews - is a must-read...

Perpendicular recording likely marks civilization's mass transition from 2D to 3D storage technologies...

Use your cell phone to pay for parking. These systems greatly reduce cost, maintenance, and long lines...

Toshiba's popular "minute-charge" battery...

For Web developers - this new simple PHP Bayesian filter allows one to develop spam filters, categorization tools, and technology that learns by example...

Here's a slightly new way to visualize large graphs - topological fisheye views...

March 21 to 27, 2005

Don't waste paper or plastic when shopping - carry around a key chain tote bag...

Two hand-cranked blenders are tough enough to chop ice...

Contact lenses are being used for all sort of things these days. Here's some fashion glitter contacts that look pretty sexy...

March 14 to 20, 2005

The first modern robotic shoe changes shape to match the terrain you're running on...

James Dyson's new vacuum cleaner's called "The Ball" - instead of pushing it back and forth, you roll it around...

A tiny HDTV tuner on a USB stick...

The 4GB hard-drive camcorder...

The first RFID reader/writer in SD card format...

New technology allows the paralyzed to move and communicate by thinking...

Samsung launches monitors for the color blind. Why doesn't every LCD monitor have these features?

Another hydrogen fuel-cell bike prototype...

For Web developers: a new interactive way of making forms that submit automatically (this example doesn't work in Safari though)...

March 7 to 13, 2005

New input devices are challenging the status quo! Here's the rollermouse for stressless mousing...

Philips says we're getting paper-like displays in 2007...

The automatic home composter...

The S.F. Chronicle finally gets RSS feeds...

BitTorrent version 4.0 is released...

Yet another Google thing - Google weather...

Too busy to go to Kinko's? Try PrintFu...

February 28 to March 6, 2005

Yeah, an FM transmitter for the iPod shuffle!

Fujitsu's 120GB notebook drive. Side note - a friend asked a major hard drive recovery specialist which drives they thought were the most reliable. The answer - Seagate for desktops, and Hitachi for laptops...

The Vectrix electric scooter gets up to 62mph...

Add this little gadget to your toilet to make it dual flush - save lots of water and money...

Send any application's audio to remote speakers connected to the Airport Express with this software...

More TV shows should do this - you can watch "Battlestar Galactica" while listening to this podcast with show commentary at the same time...

Make interactive Web apps with the SAJAX PHP toolkit...

Adobe open sources software that can be used to build systems with complex dependency graphs...

February 21 to 27, 2005

A startup creates molecular storage technology that could store 1 terabit per square inch, or 25 DVDs of data in a postage stamp-sized area...

Samsung introduces cellphone videoconferencing...

The 1GB Secure Digital USB card...

The Vapo-Blaster is the new high-tech bubble-making weapon of choice...

The Korg video mixing device for VJs...

Forget ringtones. The smart money is in toothbrushing music! "Several recording artists" are in talks...

New RSS feeds from the Associated Press...

February 14 to 20, 2005

New groovy stuff from the DEMO 2005 conference! Here's Bubbler, an app that allows you to make your own multimedia blogs, from Five Across...

Scientists create the first deafness "cure" using gene therapy...

U.S. scientists have created a robot arm that can be manipulated by thought alone...

The mating scent of the German cockroach has been found - here's the clever methods scientists used...

This was deservedly popular this week - a great list of the top 100 gadgets of all time...

The first sub-$100 five-megapixel digital camera...

The 21-inch Wacom touch-screen flat-planel display...

The transparent TV, projected on holographic film...

The DJammer, HP Labs' digital music scratching tool...

GoDaddy is offering free one-year SSL certificates to open source projects...

February 7 to 13, 2005

The recently launched Google Maps has changed the face of mapping services on the Internet overnight thanks to its excellent design. Note that it doesn't work (well) in Safari quite yet...

Want to make something that can help others? Consult 43 Things first to see what people want to do...

The battery-free wind-up remote control...

USB flash drives are now as big as 8GB...

Can't afford Dreamweaver? Nvu is actually a pretty good open-source cross-platform WYSIWYG Web designing tool...

Big news for software developers - an open source enterprise-class message queuing technology is being made. Implications for trading networks, P2P frameworks, and instant messaging technologies...

Today's Web designers should learn how to use the XMLHttpRequest object to build highly dynamic interfaces like Google Maps, Google Suggest, and Gmail...

January 31 to February 6, 2005

A nanoscale "crossbar latch" from HP's Quantum Science Research labs may one day replace the transistor...

A new industry group has been formed for holographic discs, which may store up to 1TB - that's one terabyte, or about 1,000GB!

The first artificial neon sky show. Unfortunately, implications for advertising...

This was popular - the sushi chef that prints his food from an inkjet...

The U.S. now has over 830,000 net phone subscribers...

January 24 to 30, 2005

Introducing the spray-on plastic solar cell...

Scientists have succeeded in turning stem cells into nerve cells. This may allow cures for those with nervous system injuries and diseases...

Currently under development, the PALV flying car is the best flying car design I've seen yet...

Amazon adds 20 million pictures of storefronts to its Yellow Pages search...

Finally, an MP3 player with a swappable 2.5-inch hard drive...

Bio-nanofibers and bio-luminescent transistors are allowing the development of transparent, flexible displays...

Scientists find a way to create petrified wood in days. Implications for new types of filters...

Fujitsu announced the development of plant-based plastic in PCs...

All about the new spacesuit of the future, now under development at MIT. It looks nothing like those suits in "2001"...

Tag graphing allows people to see relationships between topically-sorted content on the Web...

The Search Engine Relationship Chart...

January 17 to 23, 2005

eXeem, the new distributed P2P BitTorrent client, is now in public beta and it works quite well. Sorry, it's only available for Windows right now...

A new cheap DVD recorder (sold at Wal-Mart for $140) may make the VCR obsolete...

UK scientists find the natural human-produced chemicals that repel mosquitos...

Cornell researchers figure out how to make plastic from citrus fruits and CO2, eliminating the need to use petroleum to make plastics...

UCLA researchers have made microscopic robots powered by living heart cells...

The Big Red Button (of Doom)...

January 10 to 16, 2005

The makers of the popular Stuffit compression application have found a way to compress JPEG image files by up to 30%!

Scientist have created synthetic "vesicles" that resemble crude living cells - the line between life and not-life is starting to get pretty blurry. "This is rather philosophical," says Dr Libchaber of Rockefeller University...

The new 555-seat Airbus A380 is the world's biggest airliner ever built. And it's more fuel efficient than your car...

Google link network visualizations...

January 1 to 9, 2005

Organic printable electronics give rise to printable RFID tags that cost less than five cents each...

The genome of a pollution-eating bacterium has been decoded, leading to more efficient garbage-eating biotools...

The Mantis, a portable electric bike with an 18-mile range...

Fluid flow simulation software is now open source. Implications for cheaper environmental studies and wind/water energy generation prototypes...

December 13 to 19, 2004

New airship satellites can provide cheaper wireless coverage...

Researchers find a new efficient way to convert water into hydrogen by using high temperature...

Lexar's new super-mini USB flash drive. I hope cameras incorporate this...

Flexible Technology

A detailed technical analysis of the BitTorrent file sharing protocol, which consumes 35% of ALL internet traffic...

Yahoo! Maps now overlays live traffic conditions on its maps. How about antialiasing those map lines first before doing any new, folks?

December 6 to 12, 2004

Google suggest - check it out...

Handy Mac-based tools for those recording audio interviews that need transcription...

The sparkline PHP graphing library allows Web designers to convey large sets of information in a compact, useful way...

Aligned nanotubes improve artificial joints...

New old tech - Apple's selling refurbished Macs now, at discounts up to 1/3 off...

November 29 to December 5, 2004

The debut of Wikinews, a free content news source that people around the world can contribute to...

New clear, flexible transistors may lead to clear, flexible gadgets...

Big-time convergence - this new home entertainment PC looks like a Tivo on steroids...

A new MP3-based music format supports surround sound (5.1 channels)...

Rumors of Exeem, the true P2P evolution of BitTorrent. This will be the ultimate in file sharing...

November 22 to 28, 2004

Introducing SolarLite, the $100 "environmentally-friendly"

Brilliant! Blog Torrent, written in PHP, enables one to serve large files from their servers using BitTorrent...

Connect your iPod photo to a projector and show PowerPoint presentations with it, thanks to this new software...

Lost your key in the car? Knock a code on your window to open it...

New algorithms purport to tell real artwork from fakes...

New technology helps people from having their pictures taken by unwanted photographers...

November 15 to 21, 2004

A new device makes shop windows and other flat surfaces interactive...

An overview of current work on Natural Language Programming...

The Internet Security Key safeguards your kids from online porn...

New businesses are sprouting up to meet demand for the new Firefox browser, now used by 19% of users according to some...

The silent PC power supply. Stop PC noise pollution!

New yarns made of carbon nanotubes leads to smart clothing...

Timekeeping has just become more accurate, and the second is redefined for the first time in 37 years...

November 8 to 14, 2004

In 2005 Hawaiian Electric will start a large-scale test of Internet over power lines in Pearl City. It will also offer the ability to read electricity meters remotely...

Ultraviolet laser technology will lead to 500GB optical disks...

Scientists have created the "photocapacitor", a more efficient solar cell/battery combination...

HP's prototype biodegradable printer...

The first 15-minute charger that will recharge any NiMH battery...

The world's smallest PC/keyboard/mouse net connection combo...

Transmit your own TV station via low-power TV broadcasting...

All about the new anti-piracy technology coming to theaters...

November 1 to 7, 2004

A new super-tough coating that resists wire-wool scrubbing has been developed, leading to anti-scratch CDs, DVDs, LCDs, PDAs, and other devices...

Note that modern Macs are compatible with Verizon's wireless BroadbandAccess plan ($80 a month for unlimited access)...

Boeing's high-tech 7E7 jetliner slated for a 2008 launch will finally allow cabin humidity to approach humane levels...

A picture of the corn-based biodegradeable 25GB DVD...

iPodder allows you to browse audio feeds via RSS and download them to your iPod. For Mac and Windows...

October 25 to 31, 2004

The world's first single atom-thick fabric...

The first spring water to be packaged in a compostable bottle. We need more biodegradable packaging!

New gold CD-Rs are said to last 300 years...

New 4GB flash SD cards...

An update on virtual retina displays...

Watch your local TV stations from anywhere in the world...

October 18 to 24, 2004

San Francisco sets the goal of providing everyone in the city free wireless access...

New printable RFID labels meet Wal-Mart requirements...

USB flash drives with a thumbprint reader...

An HDTV PCMCIA card, with folding antenna...

Ever needed a private room for adults? Yamaha's got one...

October 11 to 17, 2004

Segway's four-wheel Centaur concept...

The first waterless dishwater uses supercritical carbon dioxide...

It's been a while since a Hawaii-based tech company made big news - CherryOS (based on Maui) touts a MacOSX emulator for PCs, and their Web site is getting slammed...

"Tutorial D" looks like a great replacement for the aging, flawed SQL database language. I hope it takes off!

The first hotel with iris identification. One day you'll just walk into your room, no check-in needed!

Adam Rifkin's great summary of the recent Web 2.0 conference...

Is this the beginning of "jacking into cyberspace"?

Advertising is coming to RSS feeds near you. If you're putting ads in RSS, don't overdo it!

October 4 to 10, 2004

New nanoswitches could revolutionize data storage...

With this application and a GPS-enabled phone, you can walk around town and see which places are contributing money to which political parties. Get a rough idea of the political leanings and wealth of your neighborhood...

Finally, a startup uses BitTorrent-like tech for online movies...

Electricity-conducting plastic means lighter, smaller gadgets...

Podcasting puts audio content you want to hear on your iPod. One day you can podcast Howard Stern from XM Radio!

September 27 to October 3, 2004

Future four-layer DVDs could hold 1,000 gigabytes...

Inside the recently upgraded world's third-most-powerful supercomputer at Virginia Tech (it's also powered by Mac OSX)...

Telcos' latest shot in the broadband war - TV over phone lines...

Cancel your phone and cable TV - start a wireless neighborhood network!

September 20 to 26, 2004

PC Magazine and Time give the new G5 iMac top ratings and reviews, named "Gadget of the Week"...

Autopsies of the future may require less surgical probing, thanks to CT/MRI scanning...

IBM scientists figure out how to make single-atom magnetic measurements, possibly leading to super-dense storage media...

How the iPod's scrollwheel was made (not by Apple)...

A new permanent coating prevents glass from fogging up and can make solar cells more efficient...

The first dental chair to use bone-conducting speakers, preventing patients from drill noises...

New pressure-sensor arrays can give robots "skin"...

September 13 to 19, 2004

Ditch buggy Internet Explorer! Spread Firefox!

Has this startup developed the universal computer emulator?

A new radio modem is the size of a credit card and allows encrypted communications with a 40 mile range...

A great tool for moving - the shoulder dolly...

A visual history of spam and virus email...

September 5 to 12, 2004

New breakthrough methods for creating (self-assembling) 3D nanostructures...

The CyberLite LED is one of the products made with the above methods...

The newest revolution in aeronautical design-the fanwing, a quiet "sky barge"...

Working personal jet-powered wings are now for real...

Drool... new DVD recorders with 400GB drives. Burn a one-hour DVD-R in 56 seconds...

New applications of P2P technology are helping people to register to vote and search...

U.S. broadband triples in three years. 75% use cable, only 15% use DSL...

August 30 to September 5, 2004

Skype, the most popular Voice Over IP (VOIP) app, is now available for Mac OSX! Talk to friends around the world for free using your Internet connection...

Scientists are learning how to harness photosynthetic bacteria in solar cells...

The first room temperature plastic magnets are created...

Revolutionary lens implants for the severely nearsighted are expected to receive FDA approval soon...

The world's smallest atomic clock will lead to devices with super-accurate time everywhere (1 second is lost every 300 years), affecting cryptography, global communications, etc....

The basis for a new breed of software: "Exploring Social Networks with Pattern Discovery Algorithms"...

The world's first detailed view (and reconstruction) of an Egyptian mummy's face, without disturbing the wrappings, thanks to multidetector computed tomography...

August 22 to 29, 2004

"RSS Attracts Really Serious Money"

A new p2p network allows hospitals to share patient information...

The world's first movie recording on a preformatted holographic disc...

The world's smallest optical zoom digital camera, using the new ceramic lens technology...

Finally, Coke vending machine offers cashless purchases via cell phones...

Five photons have been linked in an milestone experiment that will lead to full-scale quantum computing...

Yet another "revolutionary spam firewall"...

New efforts in developing flying cars...

August 15 to 22, 2004

Movie Studios Lose In Case Against File-Sharing Apps

The first invisible barcode system, using spray-on DNA-encapsulated inorganic nanomaterial (whew)...

Coming soon - wireless cable TV anywhere...

Coming Soon: Trillion-Color TV

New technologies ease the pain of (hospital) needles...

Nanotech funding grows to $8.6 billion. Hype, or not?

FedEx Kinko's debuts Web-based job uploads. I didn't test it too much, but it seems to work with Safari...

A new wave of digital disposable cameras...

August 8 to 14, 2004

Spray-on microdots reduce car theft...

A new material - "Metal Rubber"...

The first(?) chip to use ultrawideband technology...

The LED balloon lamp...

"MIT study may hold key to boosting brainpower"...

Dopamine blockers turn slackers into workaholics...

New algorithms allow projectors to project clearly on any surface, such as wallpaper and curtains...

Why dynamic languages (still) represent the future of computing (warning: tech-heavy)...

A great business model for online publishing - "fast turnaround e-books"...

August 2 to 8, 2004

Casio develops the world's first transparent ceramic lens, enabling smaller, thinner cameras...

New foot pontoons actually allow you to walk on water. Great for fishing, water testing, workouts, and tourism...

The new, groovy world of open-source business models...

Portable tooth wipes...

All manner of new stamps have been appearing! The first stamps to use lenticular printing (which gives an interlaced 3D effect)...

A new building system is making polystyrene homes for the rebuilding effort in Afghanistan...

July 26 to August 1, 2004

The first debut of an entire TV show episode over the Internet...

The first magazine for technology projects, "Make"...

The first true city-wide wireless network...

Woohoo! The first digital accordion!

Water molecules can now be moved with light, allowing the rapid testing of blood and other liquids...

IBM introduces "chip morphing" technology, which enables self-repairing, evolvable computer chips...

A $230 million acquisition of an RFID reader company. This technology is hot, hot, hot, people...

How to turn your iPod into a universal remote...

How to fully remove Internet Explorer from your PC...

July 19 to 25, 2004

Quantum computing breakthrough - a single electron's spin is controlled using ordinary transistors...

An LED research breakthrough may lead to LEDs replacing lightbulbs in five years...

A fuel cell breakthrough leads to cooler, smaller cells - one the size of two soda cans could power your entire household...

New algorithms detect digitally faked photos...

New technologies in the running for the next replacement for hard drives, including molecular storage and cow protein...

Verizon debuts Fios, its broadband-over fiber service, 30 times faster than DSL...

A very cool design concept - the circular printer. It's efficient, fast, and small...

The latest thinking in dualmode transports - a truck that runs on wheels and rails. Why not use one to transport people from Honolulu to Kapolei instead of building a second level?

Seed Magazine debuts - think "Maxim" crossed with "Scientist"...

Apple has released software for Verizon's $80 a month nationwide roaming wireless network - get online anywhere in the U.S.!

July 12 to 18, 2004

Tired of Hotmail and other free mail services that bombard you with junk mail and don't let you send large attachments? Try Spymac's new "Spymac mail", with a 3GB inbox, a 20MB attachment limit, junk mail filtering, and 24-hour phone support for $20 a year...

Samsung's new 3 million pixel camera phone...

New chips designed in 3D stacks hit the market...

Recent progress in 3D visualization technology allows "virtual excavation", in this case, the ability to completely examine the contents of a 3,000 year-old mummy without touching it...

eMachineShop - design and machine custom mechanical parts online...

July 5 to 11, 2004

After two years of noodling, Ford announces the first hybrid SUV...

Sharp's new prototype color eBook reader...

Genetic algorithms can help evolve a faster, more efficient Internet...

Clive Sinclair rolls out the world's smallest folding bike...

Not a product yet, but a concept: this Bluetooth wireless device attaches to your luggage and blinks when you are near it at the baggage carousel. Other neat ideas here...

More about transparent videoconferencing, which has received a lot of press lately...

June 28 to July 4, 2004

Holographic technology is leading to pocket- sized video projectors...

The first(?) application for turning your cellphone into a universal remote control...

A new hypersensitive sensor has been developed in Israel, allowing heart readings from "several feet away" without physical contact...

"Facetop", a method of videoconferencing that's actually about 35 years old but may one day be popular...

The best-designed appliance plug I've seen...

June 21 to 27, 2004

Apple's preview of Tiger, Mac OS X 10.4. Now with high-quality four-way videoconferencing. I and my friends have videoconferenced with PowerBooks from Honolulu to California, Boston, and Israel, and the quality is amazing...

Spyware is evolving - new strains have been detected that are self-updating, persistent, and really malicious. And users are paying up the nose (and suffering) for Microsoft's security lapses. Dump Internet Explorer!

The first HDTV tuner PC card is here - get HDTV signals for free and watch 'em on your computer...

Following AT&T and BT, giant telco SBC Communications is moving to an all-IP network...

More about Bob Vincent, the guy who recently designed a revolutionary new type of antenna. Implications for networks, cell phones, radios, more...

June 14 to 20, 2004

Could this be the first commercial Zeppelin of the 21st century?

A review of the coolest palmtop computer. Sorry, available in Japan only...

A breakthrough way to compress 3D models has been invented, meaning better video games, movies, CAD applications, and more...

Mentioned the other week as the key ingredient to self-cleaning windows, titanium dioxide is now being incorporated into clothing to make them self-cleaning...

June 7 to 13, 2004

Crystalens is a new laser-based technique for treating cataracts. The implanted lens moves using the power of existing eye muscles...

New, smaller antennas can reach 100% efficiency...

Following in the footsteps of AT&T, telephone giant BT is transforming its entire phone network to using IP (Internet) protocol...

A tutorial on how to make your Windows PC look just like a modern Mac...

Although this is not new, SubEthaEdit is likely the best application for collaborative text editing. Imagine multiple people collaborating on meeting notes, screenplays, and class lectures! Sorry, Mac only...

May 31 to June 6, 2004

This week: unconscious passwords, isolation epidemics, and video grid time-shifting! "Future of Visual Gadgets Rolled Out" A nice summary of the Society for Information Display's international symposium, with pictures of 3D displays and prototype rollable displays...

"BBN Tech Unveils World's First Quantum Cryptography Network"

New methods and companies are forming to prevent camcorders from making pirated videotapes in movie theatres...

"Unconscious passwords"

May 24 to 30, 2004

Also on the same page - condoms can leak carcinogens! I guess from now on I'm chugging coffee and beer, playing video games, and avoiding condoms for my health's sake! "Investment in environmental technology gaining momentum" CA's pension funds will pump $1.5 billion into green tech over the next 24 months...

Now available - ultrathin lightweight flexible touch panels from Fujitsu...

The (first?) roll-up electronic keyboard...

May 17 to 23, 2004

Need a good, free antivirus app for Windows? Here's the 46 best freeware utilities for PCs...

The first 40-inch organic LED display...

Artificial muscle technology is coming along...

Here's how Apple's nifty spam filter makes use of latent semantic analysis to successfully mark 98% of spam mail...

May 10 to 16, 2004

Better than the Pringles can! Use $3 Chinese cooking vat scoops to create wireless connections spanning about 7 miles!

More on acoustic cryptanalysis - studying keystroke sounds. From a cellular phone, it's possible to tell what you're typing...

May 3 to 9, 2004

Current chip design is overkill, often applying more precision to tasks when needed. By making chips that guess results when needed, one may be able to reduce power usage by a factor of 1,000...

This new high-speed industrial hand dryer dries your hands in 5 to 6 seconds...

The new $284 million "Geek Palace" at MIT, designed by cutting-edge architect Frank Gehry...

A high-level report from the 2004 Flexible Displays & Electronics Conference...

Don't forget about the new 400GB hard drives!

April 26 to May 2, 2004

More news about the amazing Toyota Volta (the first hybrid sports car) which looks great, goes from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds, and gets 40 mpg...

The Bose L1 is a revolutionary new PA system that points the way to new amplification technology - it eliminates poles, monitors, and bulky equipment, and is causing a stir in the music industry...

The portable Q barbecue is the best- designed small hibachi/grill I've ever seen...

Laser-based retinal imaging technology is finally maturing, with over 100 such displays now in use by the Army's Stryker Brigade...

A new open-source software kit turns batches of old, obsolete PCs into wireless community networks...

A very technical overview of the next generation of video game consoles - Soon these devices will feature supercomputer-class levels of performance, enabling games with cinematic quality...

Lots of statistics about lots of cities...

A mix of simple chemicals produces a fungus-like structure...

"Green tea provides a more effective and environmentally-friendly method of preparing computer hard disks, say US scientists." In certain applications it's better than diamond for polishing...

Related to the recent uncovering of the secrets of gecko adhesion, here's how spiders manage to stay sticky...

April 19 to 25, 2004

Taking another cue from nature, airplane wings that morph in flight like a bird's with fish-like scales are being developed...

A review of the first electronic paper- based reading device and its implications for libraries, books, and traditional reading habits...

A new technology using nanowires promises storage capacities of 40GB per square centimeter...

With five million installed systems, the open-source database MySQL is the most popular database in the world. Its corporate site receives more traffic than IBM's, and large companies are migrating to it from Oracle. How did it get so popular? This article explains the phenomenon...

April 12 to 18, 2004

A9, Amazon's search service, launched. Search Google and books at the same time...

April 5 to 11, 2004

Wooden-cone speakers will be hitting the market - they have a wider and smoother frequency response than conventional speaker technology. Here's the story of how this breakthrough was achieved after 20 years of work, thanks to sake!

"NEC Develops Fastest Rechargeable Battery"

March 29 to April 5, 2004

Although expensive, mechanized parking is perfect for high-density areas low on space. Someone in Honolulu urban planning should at least take a look at the data...

A-POC ("A Piece of Cloth"): Seamless clothing A new manufacturing method is changing how clothes are made by making ready-to-wear seamless clothes out of a single piece of cloth. This process can affect how shoes, furniture, building components, circuitry, shelters, boats, and other structures are made...

"How E-Voting Threatens Democracy"

Scubadoo, the first underwater motorcycle! Will it revolutionize scuba diving?

A nice summary of four up-and-coming wireless technologies - WiMax, 802.16e, 802.11n, and Ultrawideband...

The first key ring gadget that's also a camcorder, USB storage device, and 2-megapixel digital camera...

United Airlines announced that more than 2 million customers used their self-serving kiosks in a single month. No modern airline can survive without them. Actually, that could be a great business - selling ticketing kiosk software to smaller, independent airlines to help them compete...

March 22 to 28, 2004

The first device ever with an electronic paper display, a reading device, hits the shelves next month, with a 170dpi screen...

A new system for powered saws detects skin contact in 5 milliseconds and stops the blade...

A portable, cordless soldering tool that runs on 4 AA batteries, heats in one second, and cools in two...

All about the Minato Motor, which leverages magnetic effects to produce more electricity than it consumes. Sound wacky? They've just sold 40,000 motors to a major convenience store chain...

A bicycle tire that never needs inflating...

March 15 to 21, 2004

Google Local Search

There is NO excuse not to buy a PC (non-laptop) larger than a shoebox any more. Anything larger is wasteful, ugly, energy and noise polluting. Here's the Nanode, the first Nano-ITX-based PC...

One quarter of cell phones in 2004 will include a camera...

Samsung introduces the first 2-megapixel camera phone...

Somebody market this, quick! A professor creates a small cheap noise cancellation unit that decreases computer fan noise. Although this technology is available in many headphones, nobody to date has made a portable, small noise cancellation unit for PC fans or other localized noise sources.

Anti-vandal technology has been installed that detects spray can sounds. Of course, once the above device is marketed, you can circumvent this with silent spray cans...

The swoosh of wind turbines makes locals report ghosts. Again, noise cancellation technology may alleviate that...

March 8 to 14, 2004

The Belkin iPod Media Reader

A new DVD recorder from HP burns silkscreen-like labels on the entire side of the disc...

March 1 to 7, 2004

Cinergy becomes the first electric utility in the U.S. to offer high-speed Internet service via its power lines. The benefits of using such as service in Hawaii are obvious (reach rural areas, less cables to the house) - who else besides HECO is looking into doing this locally? The service is 1mb/sec for $30 a month...

To save money, school systems and other organizations are building their own DIY fiber networks and selling off the excess bandwidth instead of paying up the nose to regional operators (such as Verizon)...

Philips developed a "fluid lens" - a variable-focus lens system with no mechanical moving parts that mimics the human eye's focusing mechanism...

The first car designed by women for women was launched at the Geneva Auto Show, with emphasis on comfort, storage, and low maintenance...

Also (to be) shown at the show, the first hybrid sports car from a major automaker (Toyota). It looks groovy, gets 31 mpg, and goes from 0 to 60 in four seconds...

Someone's collecting all the election-related wire service stories on Yahoo that use the phrase "The American People". See how politicians are using your name in vain!

Wireless technology is helping native Americans in California go online and learn computing skills...

The first music video ever to be entirely shot using a cell phone. Reminds me of the first movies made for the Web ten years ago - in another ten directors may be viewing dailies on their phones...

Movieoke is taking over! Lip-sync to your favorite scenes from movies...

February 23 to 29, 2004

Face recognition technology will be incorporated into the MPEG-7 standard, allowing one to retrieve a scene with a specific person in a 24-hour video in one second. Of course, this has far-reaching ramifications for moviemakers, privacy groups, crime fighters, historians, genealogists, and Google Image Search...

Mind Over Machine

February 16 to 22, 2004

I didn't know Hoku Scientific was based in Kalihi! If they do well, can this be the start of turning Kalihi into a high-tech area (as HCC Provost Ramsey Pedersen would like to see)? The area's got a lot of great factors going for it. "Hoku chose its site on North King Street as one of the few locations on O'ahu that met its needs for ventilation, water and security..."

"Hilo grads impress Amazon recruiters"

The Pentagon researches ways for GIs to fight for up to five days without a break. Have they not heard of crack? "The question is: 'Are there temporary biochemical approaches we can use to squeeze the last ounce of performance out of soldiers when they're already worked to exhaustion?'" said a DARPA life sciences consultant, who asked not to be named...

Brain Fingerprinting

Going through the Frankfurt airport? You may have to look through their new retinal scanning system...

Hallucinogen May Cure Drug Addiction

A new cheap printer prints out prescription eyeglass lenses for $5 each, a boon for those in third-world areas...

I can't wait to upgrade my memory! Cells-on-silicon breakthrough "Researchers... have found that nerve cells grown on a microchip can learn and memorize information which can be communicated to the brain"...

NTT Develops Stamp-Size 1GB Hologram Memory

Mathematical formula 'predicts marriage breakdown' "The mathematics we came up with is trivial, but the model is astonishingly accurate"...

February 2 to 8, 2004

A California bill has been signed to invest $3.7 billion in the next four years in nanotech research...

Nanotech thinkers fear the "gray goo" syndrome, where a nanotech product may go haywire and begin disassembling all nearby matter into goo, the nanotech equivalent of a nuclear meltdown. One smart guy thinks that the notion of disassembly should be built into every nanotech product...

The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) has a nice article on this year's dream engineering jobs. They interview the guy who made Sony's jumping robots, but the real story is about HECO's Karl Stahlkopf, who's working on the business plan for rolling out commercial Internet access over power line services in Honolulu.

A town-wide high-speed net-over-power-line system is being pioneered in Canada...

December 29 to January 4, 2004

Will a new high-tech fund in Hawaii work? Local VC Barry Weinman may not like it, but I think the state needs to provide a starter foundation for business before VCs can step in. Local VCs have never been that effective anyway...

The amazing precision of the recent Mars landing - they had to take in account things such as how plate tectonics affected the wobble of the Earth to hit a target 90 million miles away...

December 22 to 28, 2003

Does anyone in Oahu need a free business-class RICOH FT7870 copy machine? I'm not sure if it's been sold yet...

Spamming and phishing The PayPal email scam - and other fake corporate email scams - are getting more insidious lately. Beware! The term for this is "phishing", and attacks increased by 400% in the last two weeks...

Yet another victim of the Nigerian Email Scam. It's become or 4th or 5th largest industry there! This article has interesting details on how it's done these days, involving dozens of actors, props, and chemicals...

63 percent of Americans are now online...

While browsing the Be Good Tanyas site, I noticed that their latest album was released with "Copy Control Technology" against their wishes...

Power adapters one-fourth of their current size will be mass-produced next year, thanks to new piezoelectric technology...

A new electric "in-wheel" engine can make vehicles up to 50 percent more efficient and is being tested on a city bus in the Netherlands...

"Fax - the technology that refuses to die"

"Satellite Radio Is On The Rise"

December 15 to 21, 2003

The first federal law regulating spam was passed, but it may do more harm than good...

Spammers can do what terrorists can't - military hardware turned into spamming machine: Thanks to the US Navy choosing Microsoft as their official operating system for vessels, a hacked Microsoft Exchange server aboard a 25,000-ton military support ship has turned it into source of spam from China...

Nanoscale fibers smaller than the wavelengths of light have been developed - see the picture of one winding around a human hair!

Sony has developed the first autonomous running robot...

December 8 to 14, 2003

When Apple opened its first non-U.S. store in Tokyo, it created the longest line ever seen in the Ginza district, with 2,400 people spanning 10 long city blocks...

Business Week on "The Rise of The Indian" There are more IT engineers in Bangalore than Silicon Valley now. Startups seeking funds are now asked what their "India strategy" is...

A new way to filter out toxins from the blood has been invented. It uses magnetized nanoaparticles, and may revolutionize current dialysis techniques as well as eliminate certain classes of diseases...

The first 5 nanometer transistor has been developed.

"Light brought to a halt in scientific first"

Cerritos, CA becomes the first entire city to go completely wireless...

"Motorist gets vehicle registered online during traffic stop"

Holographic lollypops...

December 1 to 7, 2003

Why frivolous software patents suck - here's all the patents you're violating now by setting up an online store...

"Public Libraries Use Internet to Sell Old Books, Help Budgets"

Old "lost" Hawaiian literature is getting resurrected via e-books...

This digital sundial requires no electricity or moving parts...