Geek stuff Archive

The mission of the newly re-opened Computer History Museum (CHM) in Mountain View, California, is to preserve and present for posterity the artifacts and stories of the information age. As such, we wouldn't miss the opportunity to visit the museum last weekend, trying to be part and have a "feel" of how computers where like before the desktop home computers took off only two decades ago. Before that time, computers were much different, and I am sure that every geek on this planet would like to witness how they looked and felt like. Read more for the report and plenty of pictures from our visit.

Researchers are trying to get a grip on one of the problems with computers:the human on the other end.

ZDNet's David Coursey talks with Microsoft Research about a new technology that uses simple hand gestures to control a personal computer. The video requires Real or Windows Media.

"Webcams, tracking devices, and interlinked databases are leading to the elimination of unmonitored public space. Are we prepared for the consequences of the intelligence-gathering network we’re unintentionally building?" Read the interesting article at MIT Technology Review.

They say the best things in life are free, and for UNIX computers, open source software certainly goes a long way towards proving that statement. KStars, a planetarium program written for UNIX machines running the K Desktop Environment, has been ported to OS X via Fink and X11, and offers Mac users a sophisticated but free planetarium program. Neale Monks takes a closer look at KStars and sees how it stacks against the shareware and commercial Mac OS planetarium programs. Not directly an OS news item, but definately of general interest especially for our geek readers. At the end of the article, you will find links to five more reviews of astronomy applications for the Mac.

From the cool department or from the scare-your-little-brother one: "A University of Tokyo professor claims he and his research team have developed a system that can make you 'invisible.' Engineering Professor Susumu Tachi is in the early stages of technology that he says will eventually enable camouflaged objects to be virtually transparent by wearing an optical device."

The doctrine that computing power doubles every 18 to 24 months has been considered gospel for the past three decades. Now it may be time for a new look.

Honda unveiled on Wednesday an improved version of its two-year-old robot, which can now do much more than ring the famed opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange as it did in February this year. The new model, which Honda plans to begin leasing next month, can greet and recognize people, as well as perform advanced commands such as moving in the direction indicated by reading hand gestures. A small step closer to more functional AI and Robotics.

"Researchers at Microsoft's Media Presence Lab are developing a "virtual brain," a PC-based database that holds a record of an individual's complete life experience. Called MyLifeBits, the project aims to make this database of human memories searchable in the manner of a conventional search engine." Read the report at NewsFactor.

"Miniscule mobile telephones, tiny electronic organizers and portable DVD players are nice. But they'd be so much less cumbersome if they were surgically implanted under your skin. The chip, called the VeriChip, is about the size of a grain of rice, carries a number that identifies you and, the company says, may eventually provide a way to make sure that only the right people gain access to secure sites, corporate offices or even personal computers. The chip could also carry access to personal data, like medical information." Read the (enthusiastic!) article at NYTimes. Our Take: Implantable chips? Over my dead body. I have hard time liking the tooth implants already.

"For over twenty years scientists have been dreaming about creating a real P.A.D.D., the slate device that the inhabitants of Star Trek used to record and access data as they moved around the starship Enterprise. There have been attempts to duplicate it over the years, but the Tablet PC may be the first successful incarnation. Some of this is timing - consumers are demanding more from their computers, and they want what the Tablet offers. The other reason is research - years of hard work and data gathering have made the Tablet PC possible." Read the article at Microsoft Research.

Gartner analysts took out their crystal balls and came up with a list of ten predictions that will impact enterprise businesses. The predictions cross over technology, economics, and social boundaries over that will morph during the next eight years. Read the article at ZDNet.

In the run up to the launch of PlayStation 2, Sony set out its ultimate vision for gaming technology. In a series of commercials run in the United States, the PlayStation 2 was hailed as a step in the evolution of the surgically implanted PlayStation 9 controller, tipped to hook up to the a transparent glassy globe which is the console through the retina.

People linking their brains together to form a global collective intelligence. Humans living well beyond 100 years. Computers uploading aspects of our personalities to a network. These could all happen this century with the proper investments in technology, according to a recent report from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Commerce.