Archive for the ‘Interesting Stuff,’ Category

I found this wheelchair and had to show it to you.  Someone has lot of time on their hands,eh.

Last Updated: 9:11AM GMT 09 Feb 2009

Channels could be changed by voice, making remote controls a thing of the past

The sets would be powered by the viewer’s body heat, according to Ian Pearson, a so-called “futurologist” who has advised leading companies including BT on new technologies.
Acer Aspire One AOA150-1447 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Sapphire Blue

Mr Pearson told the Daily Mail he believed that channels could be changed by voice command or via a wave of the hand.

Meanwhile "emotional viewing" could be another development in television technology, according to a report commissioned by the technology retailer Comet.

A "digital tattoo" fitted to the viewer would pick up on the feelings of characters on screen and create impulses causing them to feel the same way.

The development could see James Bond fans become able feel the thrill of a high-speed car chase or sports fans allowed to share the joy of elated players, it said.

"We could even get to the point where we'll be able to immerse ourselves in a football game, making it feel like you're running alongside your favourite player or berating the ref," the report added.

Miriam Rayman, of the Future Laboratory consultancy, which compiled the report, said the basic technology needed for the developments already existed.

She said: "The technology is getting smaller and smaller and people are trying to work out how to make it more immersible. They are trying to bring it closer and closer to the eye."

Eyes turn to dawn of ‘visual computing’
Aug 28 06:03 PM US/Eastern..Breitbart.com

World’s Largest Visual Computing Show Gives Peek Into Future Of Digital Graphics

Lifelike graphics are breaking free of elite computer games and spreading throughout society in what industry insiders proclaim is the dawning of a “visual computing era.”

Astronauts, film makers and celebrities joined software savants, engineers and gamers in the heart of Silicon Valley this week for a first-ever NVision conference devoted to computer imagery advances changing the way people and machines interact.

“Visual computing is transforming the videogame industry; transforming the film industry, and has all kinds of potential for how we view real-time television,” NVIDIA co-founder Jen-Hsun Huang told those gathered at the event.

Israel-based Optitex demonstrated software that replicates fabrics so realistically that clothing designers can see what fashions will look and act like on people before garments are made.

Lifelike graphics are breaking free of elite computer games and spreading throughout society in what industry insiders proclaim is the dawning of a “visual computing era.”

Astronauts, film makers and celebrities joined software savants, engineers and gamers in the heart of Silicon Valley this week for a first-ever NVision conference devoted to computer imagery advances changing the way people and machines interact.

“Visual computing is transforming the videogame industry; transforming the film industry, and has all kinds of potential for how we view real-time television,” NVIDIA co-founder Jen-Hsun Huang told those gathered at the event.

“We solve some of the most challenging problems for more and more companies around the world. Let the era of visual computing begin.”

Gamers dueled for three days in a cavernous room in the San Jose Convention Center while entrepreneurs showed how graphics breakthroughs are shining in other fields.

Car makers are exploring letting potential buyers not only customize automobiles with graphics software but go on virtual test drives.

Graphics processing underpins financial modeling and weather forecasting.

Israel-based Optitex demonstrated software that replicates fabrics so realistically that clothing designers can see what fashions will look and act like on people before garments are made.

Optitex’s animation software is being eyed by Hollywood film makers.

Dassault Systemes puts 3D computer-assisted design to work virtually constructing passenger jets, buildings and more.

“Three-D should be a new way for us to dream and design the future of our world,” The French company’s chief executive Bernard Charles said at NVision.

“It will impact everything we do: education, science, talking to each other … of course games.”

He predicts that lifelike graphics combined with feedback from online communities will let people influence how products are designed, sold and even how “green” they are.

Charles maintains computer simulations will be so realistic that virtual activities will mirror physical experiences.

Simulators already play an important part in training for space shuttle missions, according to former US astronaut Eileen Colleens, the first woman shuttle commander.

“When you fly the actual mission you feel like you are in a simulator,” Collins said. “We really can’t do our job without the good visual graphics that we get.”

The world of visual computing is “inescapable,” said Chris Malachowsky, a co-founder of NVIDIA, a California firm renowned for high-end graphics processing cards for computers.

“We are being presented with displays everywhere,” Malachowsky told AFP. “It used to be about the computing part, but the emphasis is shifting. It is not so much about the computation but how it is presented and seen by people.”

The rising tide of digital videos, photos, films and television shows on the Internet is lifting the status of graphics chips, cards, and software and strengthening a trend to “unflatten” displays with 3D imagery.

Malachowsky spoke of using visual computing power to develop new medicines or provide doctors with real-time 3D images of patients’ organs.

“They will be able to recreate scan data so fast you could see your own heart beating,” Malachowsky said.

Acupuncture DOES work – but it’s benefits are all in the mind, says study

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:27 PM on 21st January 2009

Acupuncture has been found to prevent headaches and migraines but the benefits of the technique are mostly in the mind, according to researchers.

They found faked treatments when needles were inserted away from traditional pressure points appeared to work nearly as well as the proper procedure.

Those who had needles incorrectly inserted benefited nearly as much as those who had proper acupuncture

Study author Klaus Linde, who led the analysis said: ‘Much of the clinical benefit of acupuncture might be due to non-specific needling effects and powerful placebo effects, meaning selection of specific needle points may be less important than many practitioners have traditionally argued.’

Acupressure and acupuncture are based on the theory of lines of energy running through the body. With acupressure, a fingertip or a bead is used to press a specific pressure point, while needles are used in acupuncture.

Several studies have shown both treatments may stimulate the release of hormones known as endorphins, which can relieve stress, pain and nausea.

Mr Linde, a complementary medicine researcher at the Technical University in Munich led two reviews of the technique. They included 33 studies of nearly 7,000 men and women to see whether the technique was effective at preventing headaches and migraines.

Overall, they found that over eight weeks people treated with acupuncture suffered fewer headaches compared to men and women given only pain killers.

When it came to migraines, the needles beat drugs but faked treatments worked too, the researchers said. For less severe headaches, acupuncture worked just slightly better than sticking the needles randomly, the researchers said.

‘Doctors need to know how long improvements associated with acupuncture will last and whether better trained acupuncturists really achieve better results than those with basic training only,’ Mr Linde said.

The findings have been published in the Cochrane Review journal.