AU Blogspot

 
                Thanks to Jason for permission to use this Photo.

Communications provider KDDI is now displaying one of its latest achievements called Intra-Body Communication which can use the human body to transmit high-volume data such as video and music! This is done at a frequency less than or equal to 40MHz (which has less transmission loss). The video on the monitor in the picture below is going right through the woman from her hand to the glasses and out to the monitor!

We checked out the Intra-Body Communication setup today, and were surprised at the ease of use and quality of data. The video glasses are equipped with a copper coil that touches the skin on the user’s temple. When the metal heart on the table is touched, video transmits through the body and in through the glasses as well as to an external monitor. (more…)

I downloaded and installed the beta version of Firefox 3.0 a few days ago and have been using it since on my OS X Leopard laptop. I also installed the Proto theme for Mac Firefox which significantly enhances the look of Firefox 3 on the Mac.

My initial impressions of Firefox 3.0b1 are very positive. It is fast, stable, looks really sweet and many of the memory issues which have dogged Firefox appear to have been fixed.To expand on the memory comment, in Firefox the memory used to leak so the longer it remained open, the more memory it consumed. I have had Firefox running on this Mac now for several days with up to six windows open some of which have up to twenty five tabs running. Currently this is using 1.38gb of virtual memory.  At the same time, Safari which has one window open with two tabs running is consuming 1.41gb of virtual memory! (more…)

If you are a person like me, who prefers to stay online and who wants to ensure that the power of web is utilized in full, but still want the feel of using a local desktop software, then Mozilla’s Prism is the solution for you.  It’s currently under active development and was taken up from a different project called WebRunner, but has now turned into Prism.  Adobe is doing the same thing by making AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime).

Prism is a simple XULRunner based browser that hosts web applications without the normal web browser user interface.  Anyway, it seemed to me that Mozilla was not really serious about the Prism project because the installer was corrupted–and even after alerting them for 3-4 times, they were not able to provide the proper working installer. However, now the working installer is available to download.  Well, the software helps you in creating the shortcuts for your favorite web service and lets it open in its’ dedicated window. (more…)

 
               Thanks to Duncan Hull for permission to use this Photo.

What gets me about these is not how neat and forward-thinking they are but rather how ordinary they are. That’s not to say they are ordinary (I know, I know, bear with me…). What I mean is, all this semantic goodness is now so common-place, it’s impossible to see any distinguishing features.

Freebase, for example, wants to “open up the silos of data and the connections between them.” Well who doesn’t? I can name a dozen applications off the top of my head trying the same thing. (more…)

The original Blackberry Curve was released in early 2007, and it was a largely successful smart phone. So, the recent introduction of the RIM Blackberry Curve 8310 has gotten people excited about this updated version of the original Curve. The 8310 offers many of the same features of the original Curve but also adds GPS capabilities. 

Design of the Blackberry Curve 8310 

The Curve 8310 is a very attractive smart phone that comes in either red or titanium. The phone is relatively small at 4.2 x 2.4 x 0.6 inches, and it weighs only 3.9 ounces. The display features 320 x 240 pixel resolution, and a light-sensor which automatically adjusts the brightness levels according to the lighting conditions. The keyboard is setup very well and makes the Curve 8310 an ideal phone for messaging.

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                Thanks to Nathan Sutherland  for permission to use this Photo.

Many of you no doubt are familiar with USB devices such as an MP3 player that charges its internal battery by connecting to your computer via a USB cable which carries the electrical charge. Today there is a new technology called Power over Ethernet (PoE) in which select devices such as wireless access points, IP telephones, network cameras and even computer workstations receive their power through the ethernet cable that connects them to the network. PoE is often used for instances in which it would be inconvenient or expensive to use traditional wiring to power the device. A common example of this technology is wireless access points. (more…)