Everything Is A Screen: Guitar Hero

iRobot Soldiers Inlist in the US Army

Major contract signals shift from experimental deployment to new use of force. What happens when they become self aware? Deathbots are great when the enemy doesn't have them.

Sarcos ExoSkeleton

Ray Kurzweil: Futurist

"..we will reach the Singularity, a moment when technology is advancing so rapidly that 'strictly biological' humans will be unable to comprehend it."

I hate it when that happens, wait a minute...what?

Brian O'Keefe gives a good write up on Ray Kurzweil. Inventor of the flat bed scanner, author, and visionary futurist.

Swarming DIY Quick Response Emergency Aircraft

The Raw Feed reports that Bill Lishman has invented

a rescue tricycle story here

I like the citizenship behind the low cost solution for emergency aircraft, The invention would be far cheaper, faster and more flexible than current methods of getting helicopters to deliver supplies for disaster relief.

Futuristic Eye In The Sky Scam

My friend Dean sends me this story from the Associated Press. A couple has been convicted of bilking people for cash claiming that they can scan their bodies via satellite imaging and that government agents will repair any maladies found while you are sleeping. This is great Utopian science fiction.

Google to Replace Everyones Massive Storage Hardrives

Wired magazine touched on this last year, and noted that the 'Goog had moved it's headquarters not far from where I am along the Columbia river for it's abundant low cost hydroelectric access (needed to power it's massive server farms).

According to a report today from the WSJ Google will be offering mass storage for free and larger amounts at a fixed cost and could be operating within a few months.

I have investigated it and if I spend $100-$250 per year on upgrading my drives to bigger and bigger storage formats I am losing money and have less security than storing on a semi-dedicated server with one of the big company's who offer scalable solutions. This is hard for many people to wrap their minds around as we are so used to physical memory hardware. The other benefit is you can access your info anywhere in the world. Security? You are far more vulnerable at home then at a clean room with armed guards, video surveillance, redundant backups, and a team of technicians and 24 hours support.

The biggest hold-up? Now that broadband is readily available for most it's good FTP software. Firefox seems to have that licked though with it's latest in-browser plugin.

I am now looking at a terabyte as the minimum size drive I would purchase. 1000 gigs just doesn't seem like that much if you consider a DVD is just under a gig. Mind boggling.

Culled from Smartmobs

The Pondering Primate questions the Goog's commitment to service.

Green Cycle Could Catch On

Cool recumbent manga-style electric motorcycle charges in six hours goes 180K before needing recharge. via StrangeThingsFromJapan

North Korea Needs Segways?

via thedaytheytriedtokillme

banksy

Personal information of 25 million people lost

Guilty of not regularly backing up your files? HMRC doesn't back up it files either apparently.

Living breathing humans known as individual citizens:0 Ministry of Information: -2. Orwellian debacle: Priceless. For everything else there's Socialism.

"They simply can not be trusted with people's personal information,"


In other news I noticed that according to the websitevaluecalculator.com Whuffie blog is worth $71,518,847. How does one cash in on that value?

I am thinking on moving this blog to wordpress.

Super Cool "Inviso Helmet"

The new JSF x-35 helmet is being developed to where the entire plane is invisible, no longer limiting the pilot to a mere cockpit display. The first plane without a Heads Up Display (HUD) in 50 years.

via nu

Book Release: "Darwin’s Paradox"

Fellow blogger and author Nina Munteanu's book "Darwin's Paradox" has just been released a by Canadian publisher Dragon Moon Press. "It's a sci-fi thriller that explores co-evolution, artificial intelligence, nature's 'intelligence' and destiny."

The novel is available online through Amazon and Buy.com.
And at the following retailers: Barnes & Noble , Borders.com , Wal-Mart, and Target.

Nina's literature has been nominated for the Gaylactic Spectrum Award, Ecataromance Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Aurora Prix, and the Foundation of Speculative Literature’s Fountain Awards.

I will have to see if I can get a hold of a copy and give it a review. In a unique turn of events it will likely cost less to purchase in Canada then here in the US. :)

Newspapers Answer

Whuffie Ring

It shows the number of Google hits you get, when you search for the name of the person who wears it. Need I say more? This Berlin college project is looking for investors.

Lampooner of Worlds

You know I thought Bored with Boing Boing was a funny idea. So many people read Boingx2, I thought that a little cerebral satire would do the world good. Okay it made laugh. Maybe at the expense of the hard working folk at that site. But funny just the same. The author known only as "The Advocate" was wacky, zany, and from left field. In a good way. But alas it was a "FIPS". Flash In the Pan Site. So I bid you a dieu, and hope all is well in your freaky little world, and while you are likely on your way to important stuff; don't forget us here ion the interwebs.

Samsung releases 64 gig chips for memory in MP3 players. Hold off on buying the new Ipod?

"Satellites could also heat the cloud tops (of hurricanes) by beaming microwaves from space."

Screens Screens Everywhere in your Glasses and in the Air

Many moons ago I blogged about a Seattle start-up that claimed it's new eye-glass monitor would replace all video monitors. The folks at Futursimic have dug up this from Scaler by way of the Pink Tentacle claiming that "in few years" they will be as ubiquitous as earbuds. Hmnnn. I predict rocket packs, eyeglass screens, and watch phones will converge simultaneously when Steve Jobs wants them to. Boom! Your teenagers flying through the air watching videos and talking to thier wrists.

Seriously though, we get it, in the future everything is a display, a processor, connected via internet. Everyman is an engineer, movie maker, journalist, and broadcaster.

New Online Trust Exposes Rotten Neighbors

I expected to hear the standard "Crack Addict" or "Domestic Violence" lables. What I read on the site seemed a little gossipy, and tell all.

Although the use of Googlemaps with pins that say things like "White Trash With Loud Dogs: Beer bottles in the yard, trash strewn about, 12 year olds smoking on the front porch. These people are ridiculous" seems interesting.

I think if I was going to purchase a home I would check the map for bad whuffie.

via therawfeed

Tron and Logan's Run To be Remade!

Hollywood Reporter sez Joseph Kosinski is slated to do remakes of both Tron circa 1982 and the 1976 film Logan's Run.

Readers of this blog know that I post as often as possible about one of my all time favorite sci-fi flicks and have mentioned previously that Logan's Run is a favorite too.

Now if "they" would only make a movie from Down and Out In the Magic Kingdom, I could die and go to heaven. (BTW- if your are an Orwell fan you will know the book title to be a call out to Orwell's first book Down and Out in Paris and London.) It would need to be dark- maybe David Lynch? Jules should be played by Jack Black okay maybe Edward Norton or Johnny Depp.

Let's see: Matt Damon or Ben Stiller as Tron, Clive Owen or Luke Wilson as Kevin Flinn. Jim Carey as Ram. John Travolta as Sark or maybe William Shatner or Al Gore.

Jo Ko' is a great choice. Preview the videos below (Run Runner- run!) that he produced and decide for yourself.
Saab video

Cell Phone Monitor's Health

MyWay reports Japanese company DoCoMo Inc. is protyping a cell phone that monitors your health. The phone has a "sensor that can tell whether you're walking, running, climbing stairs, or resting, and counts the calories accordingly to tally daily totals".

Quote: Federal Witness Intimidation at Port Authority

"I felt like a character in a Philip K. Dick novel who wakes up and has had his identity completely replaced with a hardened criminal’s and everyone knows but himself."

from post about an encounter while waiting for the subway at I am Not Lying blog

Blog Silence For Liberty In Burma

George Orwell (Eric Blair) was a member of the Indian Imperial Police in Burma 80 years ago. Today the country continues to under dictorian rule. (Below China in between India and Thailand)

Despite our human failures, democracy is still desired amongst those who love freedom.

Do something with your money that matters, I did. Support the the people.

The Burmese Refugee Project.

The Halocaust

Dystopian mocumentary about the future of gaming.

via TooMuchNick

Woophy

Woophy is a Social Networking photo map from the Netherlands.

Sounds like "whuffie" but stands for "World Of Photgraphy".

"The goal of Woophy's founders is to create an accessible, visual, current, democratic and collective work of art comprised of a database picturing our remarkable world."

Kinda fun to look at photos from your area.

Sony to release Ultra flatscreen

The former tech leader is looking to re-open the market with the new OLED technology 3-9MM flatscreens. The one drawback is they do not work at large screen sizes.

"My screen is flatter then yours-" "oh yeah well mine is invisible." (John Anderton.)

Deadheading: Man Wakes Up from 19 Year Coma

Rocket Propelled Swarming Micro Camera's

From Mike
Elgan at The Raw Feed:

"The single-winged device would pack a tiny two-stage rocket thruster along with telemetry, communications, navigation, imaging sensors and a power source." The tiny rocket could be blasted in clusters over war zones." full story at Sci Am

Gee wiz' I just put down Crichton's "Prey" about bio-engineered swarming micro camera's gone amuck. The article says the Lockheed Martin Corp (Or should I say Xymos) project nano air vehicle, or NAV could be used to sense bio hazzrds as well as "organized swarms to fly low over a disaster area, the NAV sensors could detect human body heat and signs of breathing" Can you say Red Dawn?

UN Wants Whuffie to Talk to Bloggers

"The U.N. would like to pretend it doesn't understand blogging. Last night, over drinks and dinner, members of U.N. organizations asked us about blogging and internet publishing, stressing their desire to participate in the conversation, but only if it didn't waste their time. "How do we tell who is legit and who is a looney?" asked Stephane Dujarric, Deputy Communications Director, Office of the Secretary General. Pretty much all the bloggers assembled reminded him that without actually getting to know the writers in question, you really don't—just like with mainstream outlets."

Pasted from BoingBoing's new 'gadget' section by Joel Johnson

World leaders hungry for social reputation. Hmnnn.

New DVD like disc from Isreal holds 1-5 terabytes of data

See the details.

Thus hastening the "See this grain of rice it has everything I ever saw, and I got it from Bestbuy on clearance for ten bucks." syndrome.

stumbled via ken

Danger In The New Space Frontier: China?

It appears that China shot down one of it's own satellites, in an unprecedented display of power. Read the choice quotes below from the full story from Defense Tech.

"...Wynne said the shoot-down of a 1990's-era Chinese weather satellite in polar orbit has forced astronauts aboard the international space station to avoid the debris field scattered in the intercept, and he concluded that China now claims space as a legitimate battlefield...

..The test put at risk the assets of all space faring nations and posed dangers to human space flight due to the creation of an unprecedented amount of debris," the report stated. "The direct ascent ASAT system is one component of a multi-dimensional program to generate the capability to deny others access to outer space."

Huge Japanese Indoor Ocean

Follow this link to view more images to vacation getaway "Ocean Dome" featuring retractable roof and erupting volcano.

Reminds me of Westworld or Futureworld. I wonder if they have robotic sharks?






Speaking of virtual worlds go on and gander at this indoor ski resort in United Arab Emerites' "Dubai".

Spy Drones: Coming to a Neighborhood Near You!

Good Social Networks Amplify Individuality

The power of the social network is in the individual.

Example: a network of vampires benefits the un-dead and threatens the blood supply of the living by creating conformity. But a one of those vampires having mad tap dance skills, now that's something.

Tick Tock it's the Spy Clock

ACLU "surveillance" clock at 11:54pm when it hits midnight we are in the era of Orwellian 1984 a police state where there is no privacy.

the article sites the Bush Administration's post 911 legislation and "mega-corporations that are willing to become extensions of the surveillance state" as major contributors.

What I don't see is what has to be done to protect privacy. What can be done to turn the clock back?

Whuffie Goes Mainstream?

This quote culled from Marco's tumblr:

"This week, Yahoo announced a deal with Bebo that will help it compete with Google. I had to wiki Bebo to find out it’s kind of like Friendster and Woofie. Gosh, I hope they can all band together to save Fuzzelton village from the evil Snords." Bill Maher (see video here)

Okay I will put aside that Bill Maher is not Steven Colbert, and that he is often coarse, insensitve, crude, and demeaning women. But learn to pronounce "Whuffie".

The Day the Whuffie Started

TrustPlus went live today. Just as Cory Doctorow predicted in Down and Out In the Magic Kingdom. While I think there are those who cheer, and those jeer, I think I might be those who fear. Reps on the net right now are built and established independently with little interference. Remember that whuffie in DOIM was not exactly a good thing. In the book the reader is placed in a dystopian reality by the coldness of digital technology combined with sociopathic behavior and biomodification.

I might immediately note that there appears to be no middle ground or ambivalence in their 6 icon rating system. It looks like you are a small, medium, large minus or a large, medium, small plus. Thats a little draconian. I also note the video (below) uses manipulation by subtly suggesting we should be afraid of trusting the wrong folks.

This is like crack for control freaks. You know the type. The ones who insure their insurance.

Those on the good side of it will think it is great. The question I want to know is how does one get on the bad side?

via nu via mashable

Largest Multi-Touch Screen

Signs of a Police State?

Elian Gonzolez, Ruby Ridge, Waco alerted many to power issues with our boys in blue. (more like the guys at the top blamed the boys doing the work. But I digress.) Most officers are civilians just like you and I and attempt to treat people as equals. There is always a few bad apples who interpret the laws in a twisted way.

This blogger is thankful for the thin blue line, who does a dirty unpopular, and sometimes thankless job in creating civil order. I enjoy the peace. Thanks guys for the hard work, you are appreciated by me.

However, this story about a women arrested for oversalting a burger raises a few questions. Maybe the officer felt that he was being targeted?

UPDATE:
BoingX2 posts about Pheonix SWAT team home invasion that burns house down.

Introducing Nina Munteanu

A Canadian author and blogger. She is a fan of the films Doctor Zhivago and Solaris and is a fan of Ray Bradbury. Her published works include "Collision With Paradise", "The Cypol", and the soon to be released "Darwin's Paradox".

Glad your out there! (take that how you want, ay?)

Her Blog thealiennextdoor
and her website

xkcd.com

Cory Doctorow in full blogging regalia. What a hipster.

Annotating the physical world with the digital.

Below cartoon from xkcd

Apple Rocks the World: Boom!

• iPhone drops to $399 for for 8gig model.
• 8 gig iPod Nano with video for $190 unveiled.
• iPod 'Touch' 16 gig $399 unveiled. (Though similar to iPhone, not a phone, and slightly thinner)
• Devices will buy music played in Starbucks via wi-fi. Boom- they are buds, to the bean.
• iPony in every yard.
• iChicken in every pot.
  

Full Story Here

Ahh.. excuse me Mr. Real Steve Jobs, could you slow it down a little? Us late adopters are still catching up with the Shuffle. Ya' like the "BOOM!" don't ya'? Okay I get it. If your products weren't so cool, I might hold it against you.

Oh, yeah, bet NBC is kicking themselves in da' butt about the failure to work with Apple iTunes. Some one asleep at the wheel over there.

Prepare for every phone company to come out with an iPhone knock off.

Transportation Roundup

Despite the ongoing skepticism, I still see a future where streams of Segway riding commuters fill the cities.









These little Aussi foot bikes look promising although it appears they are having distribution issues here in the US.

"Bushpig"
See slew of Youtube videos-here's one.










Hover dogs also look promising.










Swobo has
cool simplified bike for $499
featuring a bottle opener.
(Thanks KevinRose)





Segway Forklift Beta

This vintage image from Marco should not be missed.


Other Whuffie posts about Segway

Forced Tagging of Humans Banned

The compelling of subcutaneous implanting of an identification device won't fly with the 'Gubernator?

California now number 3 state in the union to outlaw forced tagging. Story here

via Xeni at boingx2

But you bible thumpers out there are thinking that voluntary implants are still open. Old related posts:

RFID in Ur Pub
Walmart Product Tracking (by Marcy)






also see:
rfid gaurdian project
(don't worry the tag shown cannot be scanned :)

iPhone outsells all U.S. smartphones in July

"..the speed of the iPhone’s rise to competitive dominance in its segment is unprecedented in the history of the mobile-handset market"

Just as I predicted. (Guess it did not take a genius, but hey I got something right why not woot?)

Maybe ATnT will become a better carrier and try to match the Apple culture more closely. Or maybe Apple will just buy out their contract and sell to other carriers.

Either way, me thinks the exodus has only just begun.

Get You Fresh Genpets!

Fresh Genpets™
created by "Zygote Micro Injection".
I want to know if they are safe to eat?

from the FAQ:

Do Genpets feel pain?
Yes. However the Genpets have limited vocal chords so they will not create a large amount of noise when disturbed.

Avoid Thought Crimes

"Move along, nothing to see here."
Mind control police tape.
via designcrack

Holograms

The last hologram of the man running is the coolest. It is totally all "help me obi wan kanobi your my only hope".

via spinthecat

Drone Control

The issue of control of drones is being hotly debated by the Army and the Airforce. This seems to be part of a bigger on going quest for power and move to a centralized military. While duplication of resources is obviously costly, innovation is clearly fueled by competion.

“If you think it is a young technology, that the Orville and Wilbur Wrights of the 21st century are running around in the UAV marketplace, then as messy as it makes the environment, it is far more strategically important to have lots of players, different patrons behind those players, and to keep stimulating the useful competition of ideas that a useful inter-service rivalry brings.”

— Pierre Chao : Center for Strategic and International Studies on the issue of the Airforce becoming the “executive agent” for drones – unmanned aircraft.

Drones of Iraq will soon be here in the states. Those drones will become AI powered. Air drones will eventually become networked with robots on the ground. Who will control them.

Hasn't anyone watched the Terminator? Once Skynet get's a hold of the contract, it's all over, the rise of the machines will come to pass.

Social Bookmarking

Frozen Smoke To Change the World

More about aerogel from Abul Tahr at Time UK.

Choice quotes:
"..insulated lining in space suits for the first manned mission to Mars, scheduled for 2018"


"one cubic centimetre of aerogel were unravelled it would fill an area the size of a football field."

Product Review: Method "Bloq"

Okay, as a designer using designer products can be intriguing especially when the talent is Karim Rashid. My wife, a big fan of deodorants, turned me onto some body wash that had natural fragrances. I like the outdoors so natural fragrances have always been a hit with me. (We won't go into my mom's foray into Dr.Bronner's) I also started using Method laundry detergent. It was small reasonably priced and I like the fragrance and modern package. (Those giant jugs are so institutional.) Then I found out about cucumber dish and hand soap and was all over that becuase I don't like perfumed oders in my kitchen when I cook. But alas they stopped carrying the olive leaf body wash and released what the call the 'bloq' Yeah it looks like 'blog' so it caught my eye. The fragrance called "beach sage" smells like eucalyptus which I love. So I ponied up- call me a metro sexual corporate consumer- I'm secure as a male and an individual. But that is where the love ends- the freakish little square does not handle well in shower, corners hurt when dropped on toes, and the design of the lid is.. well.. poor. Whilst I am ragging on the design the layout and the lettering seemed to be more about 'look' then legibility. Only read up close. The body wash itself is a thick oily cream much like toothpaste which is hard to smear around your body without most of it going down the drain. But it is quite concentrated and does lather up nicely. I do applaud Rashid and Method for breaking the mold.

"If human nature is to live in the past - to change the world is to change human nature." from Karimanifesto

Happy Birthday To My Wife!

Phillips Ridin Down the Rails of That OLED Train

Just in from Engadget about a new patent using oil and water for OLED screens.

Easy Glider

It appears to be a motorized wheel that drags you along. Which could be pretty fun. But comparisons to Segway? meh. The site has some cool action shots in the Flash worth taking a look at. However, English version not up yet. I can't help thinking it is a Dr. Seuss looking contraption.


via garydarling

The Future of Communication

This video has been around for a while but really helps to understand the future. So many are just catching up.

via techtips

Quote

"recommendation systems can stifle the serendipity of discovery"

Dan Saffer

via neuronwave

71% of Americans favor Vidoe Surveillance

25% oppose it. 4% are so busy paying taxes they don't care. And then ones who cannot spell 'video'.

Hands Free Transporter or Segway?

Uhmm.. I think these folks just retooled some Segways. They seem to be selling them to photographers as a "hands free transporter".

Website says inventor Ulrich Kahlert "Makes people laugh all over the world also because of that he invented the hands free transporter"

DUelarnich KKaamhelnert

Were in ur shuttle swizlin ur scotch

Aviation Week first reported that a special panel studying astronaut health that 'stronauts were allowed to fly even though they were drunk and posed a safety risk. According to the report "Alcohol is freely used in crew quarters."

Jealous girlfriend Nowak arrested for murder plot, space trash, now this? When is Fox going to make a sitcom?

Hacking Your Nervous System

“...Sensory consequence of electromagnetic pulsed emitted by laser induced plasmas,” it described research on activating the nerve cells responsible for sensing unpleasant stimuli: heat, damage, pressure, cold. By selectively stimulating a particular nociceptor, a finely tuned PEP might sensations of say, being burned, frozen or dipped in acid — all without doing the slightest actual harm" from Defensetech

Pain inducing beams of energy. Reminds me of the gom jabbar test in Frank Herbert's "Dune".

via docinthemachine

Endeavour to Polute the Atmo?

So they agonize about it. Then dump it in space, hoping that after a year most of it burns up in the atmosphere. I understand the value of these projects and the fact that our atmo is very very big. But it seems they could take those big budgets and genius Mensa engineers and come up with a way to not pollute. It seems courteous to the other projects.

Read rueters article about the August Endeavour launch.

Serenity takes off into the black...

No! Really. 'Browncoat' Sci-fi movie Serenity fan astronaut Steven R. Swanson takes the DVDs to space on shuttle mission STS-117.

I guess Cory is right about sci-fi being now.

Check out the blog Breaking Atmo.

Ipod Nano Critique

what I like-

small sleek simple user interface, big storage and versatile functions makes this amazing technology out front of most other competition. My Nano interfaced with iTunes is a neat set up. We have come along way from the Sony Walkman.


What I don't like-

• I am tired of constantly upgrading my bulky slow loading iTunes panel. That behemoth needs to be simplified and explained.

• The wheel is sweet but I have often blasted out my ears accidentally when in my shirt pocket my nipple turned it up. Lawsuit.

•1 gig vs. 4 gig and price points are confusing for
those who don't know what that means (as in most of us 1st time Ipod buyers)- in other words I feel ripped off with my 1 gig Nano. (actually 800mb after OS items) By the time I understood the size I couldn't return it or exchange for an upgrade. 240 songs seems like a lot until you start using the device.

• Crazy file management- confusing and unclear DRM- in other words. While it does allow you to authorize up to 5 computers, sharing files between each one is confusing.

• Thank you iPod for making me mental on a daily basis with bouts of untangling chords-and white? Looks cool in the add-but gets really nasty grungy brown and grey quick. I feel really classy when my dirty tangled earphones just drop out of my (oversized?) ears.

• The mini screen is all but worthless at that thumbnail size for images. Using the iPod as a storage device on my PC could be easier as well. (No need for a memory stick though.)

proposals-
Wireless earphones, mini keypad, camera lens. infrared dock. Wood case.


buyers guide:

pony up for the larger 4 gig drive-you will run out of space.

necessary accessories-

•a cover that clips on to belts pants bra etc. and protect the glossy finish ( which scratches way too easily.)

• adapter chords for your home stereo, boom box, and car stereo.

• Use the included chord as a portable way to doc to computers and pony up for one
of the little upright docking units so your $200 investment is laying on the floor by your computer.

Other issues:
• When I booted up my Nano I accidentally hit the wrong button and I was reading Japanese and could not escape hour of tech support research later I reset it.

All in all if you are new to MP3 players don't be fooled to think that other brands are not good. The DRM really hurts the performance of iPods. You almost need two devices. You can pick up a 1 gig MP3 player for 40 bucks with no DRM.

If you are planning on getting an iPhone why bother with an iPod?

China's Weather Modification Program

Our Asian brother's have a dedicated Weather Modification Department that boast of being "the largest artificial weather program in the world" including 30 provinces 32,000 people, 7,100 anti-aircraft guns, 4,991 special rocket launchers and 30-odd aircraft across the country. (And a knife with a very sharp blade.) Isreal and Russia are next inline with their more modestly sized programs. Read more here

Could such a program be used on a barren planet like Mars perhaps? What are the implications of changing the climate of an entire planet?

via drudge

Nokia Aeon

I love the concept of objects becoming the screen. My cheapo cell phone has an internal wallpaper and a small one when I open it. It is so custom and allows me express individualism. Nokia takes this a step further with the Aeon and what they are calling the "full surface screen".

That said I think that is part of the innovation and allure of the iPhone. Instead of a small viewing screen it actually becomes a viewing device. The 360 screen rotation or " accelerometer" really makes it a viewing device. Ipods need to be updated with this feature.

update:
Would a full surface screen work for a laptop? Skeptics downplayed the "Newport" with a 2nd external screen. But I can see the benefits. Envision my children watching a slew of YouTube videos served up through the back of my computer while I work. I for one would like to be able to show what I am looking at on the back of my screen to others. A laptop is a display device as well as a computing device.

European Space Agency is looking for a few good persons

ESA is looking for experimental 'virtuonauts' (terminology mine) to man a virtual mission to mars. Finally a looming solution to migrant worker problems.

Read the full story here.

download application here

Blackminton

Not to be confused with speedminton
This sport played in an all dark court with neon clothing has nuances of Tron. You know how fond of that now banned movie I am.

Berkshares Can't buy Me Whuffie?

This article from Rueters details a whuffie system that co-habitates with US currency. The BerkShare is valued at .90 on the US dollar, and is mostly used by locals of Great Barrington, Massachusettsas a way to give a 10% discount. The Berkshare comes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50. It is illegal for a state to issue it's own currency, however coupons are permitted as long as they do not resemble US currency. A local bank is hoping to convert Berkshares to a debit card.

Steve Jobs and the iPhone

"..everybody is quietly saying, er, what if people want to buy a $500 phone? What if, er, people have been waiting for a device that does all these things? What if this thing works as advertised? I mean, my God, what then?"
CEO of one of the planet’s largest communications companies

quote from long article at New York Mag about Steve Jobs and the iPhone

Keep them the Speed of Zombies please

Also from Gizmodo HUBO is getting around faster with Dean Kamen's Segway from Korea Advanced Institute Of Science and Technology

via RoboticRevolt

YouTube Launches mobile ap

According to Brian at Gizmodo, You Tube the online user content video source has 'soft launched' it's new mobile site. A few years back I blogged here about video becoming the new email. Soon literacy will become even less important (See Idiocracy post below) as we shift to video. My wife uses her camera regularly now to shoot both photos and video. And uses Photobucket to edit her video online. The paradigm that means everyone is a graphic artist, chef, movie producer marches on.

Clocky

This robot is a clock who runs away when you don't wake up. elsewares.com

iBone

via tumbl.us

Social Surfing

In looking through the past archives here at Whuffie, it has been interesting to see how the social currency concept has evolved since this blog was published in '03. Web 2.0 is Whuffie. All major web interfaces that are successful are connected to group expression. Myspace, Facebook, even Google is about 'us'. Connect that with the new black of every user is a designer, photographer, journalist, DJ, audio engineer and we have a new shift in paradigm.

Stumbleupon is a browser based widget/Blog/Comment system that enables surfers to share their treasured findings. Unlike de.lic.ious which shares archives of static bookmarks. SO is in flight. It is the perfect "ordered randomizer". Similar to Digg, it is more robust and "in stream". The shared consciousness of the collective is expressed in the superlatives of broadcast mem. I don't really know what that means other I have been writing too much today.

Movie Review: Idiocracy

Cory D' talkin 'bout the dumn down and out of the US reminded me of the unsung movie "Idiocracy" by Mike Judge of King of The Hill and Office Space fame. The futuristic movie is somewhat profane and lewd so not recommended for kids or the easily offended. But it is so spot on it is almost worth seeing again for this viewer. After my wife and I saw it we we were watching TV and thought wow we really are being dumbed down. (Wah... we just figured that out? Must get Happy Meal toyz and watch Polize Academeyz again...) The premise is the military freezes the most normal person they can find and then scraps the program, 500 years later he awakens to a world of total idiots and becomes their president. The dystopian part I liked was the proliferation of corporate identity on every day life. Like drinking fountains with Gatorade.

"Mirror Video Screen On the Wall..."

Lizzie at designwatcher made mention of her friends concept to project video imagery into your mirror. I thought it was interesting and futuristic. Considering the highly personal nature of mirror use saying "hello" to oneself, beauty and hi-gene, I have negative response to the concept. On second glance However, what a better way to share intimacy? I could envision smaller images (full size would tend to startle and dis-orient) wirelessly connected so as the kids brush the teeth they check in with mom. Or college student checking in with dad, or boyfriend away on a business trip. Downside? Generally what is reflected in bathrooms needs to be private, showering, toilets, and changing and all that jazz even with family. So I am not so certain about proof of concept there. I did see sometime ago video screens that turned into mirrors. I think that is a great use of blank screen space compared to distracting animations and screen savers, especially in the home.

What is important to me is that when I look at my cell phone screen mirror to check my teeth after lunch that when a call comes through and I say "accept" the mirror morphs like a drop of water on a pool of mercury into an LCD video of who ever is calling me.

video screen mirror

minority report touch screens

Manufacturer: Suera : Salon use.

PC world article on Phillips : Hotel use

Spaceship Repair Man

Tom Jones for Pop Mech talks of resident astronauts who are called on to repair the ailing Hubble. (no not that Tom Jones). I begin to wonder when we will demystify the role of "astronaut" which used to be a group of near super human national selections to Space Repairman and Space Janitor. Kind of a mix of engineer/technician and crab fisherman as the industry grows.

Space Diving

Pop Sci is talking a new adrenaline sport called "Space Diving" as proposed by Canadian Arrow. Likened to base jumping from the edge of space, Orbital Outfitters is working on the right space suite. Only thing is at 120,000 feet you have to watch out for burning up on re-entry, spinning wildly out of control and then there is the decompression. (not to mention the cost of getting there.)

quote: about Cory Doctorow

"Cory's tireless work in fighting the Digital Man allows me to sit on my a** knowing that someone, somewhere, is doing the actual work of preventing the technological dystopia so frequently predicted by science fiction." Michael Hainsworth

A phone that really works.

via tumbl.us

UPDATE: Then there is this LOL video from Conan.
And Steve Jobs iWitch from madtv.
And yeah let's see.

Got Robie Robot on my six with nice jewelry

The recent DARPA sponsored robot race (which you can watch via Nova in it's entirety here.) sent me futurcasting about robotic AI use in transport technologies.

The first obvious one is autonomous support caravans in a wartime invasion.

The 2nd is automated diesel trucks. Imagine driverless 18 wheelers deadheading crosscountry to get you your Walmart goods.

It's the 80's: Where is our Rocket Packs

Segway Mod

via gizmodo

Cucumber Ice Pepsi

Pepsi is planning to release Ice Cucumber-flavored drink in Japan this summer. I like cucumber.

Segway Mommy

via puppyboy

What was life like before the Segway?

In The Know: Do You Remember Life Before The Segway?

via The Onion

Cool site if u r from romania

BETTER FASTER LOUDER

Distopian Romanian web site 2020:

choice quotes:

"..Have you learned nothing from Running Man or Total Recall?"

"2020 will make it easier for you to accept cloning, gene-sequencing techniques, food health-scares and space-tourism."

"It offers you the pre-crime departments of tomorrow."

They even claim to have a manifesto although I cannot find it.