Teknologica

Reinventing household temperature control

Javier — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 03:46:50 +0000

One of the projects leads of the Apple iPod has come up with a novel design for a household thermostat. Tony Fadell’s Nest thermostat has the brains of a smartphone and the looks of a product made by Apple. Instead of complex programming steps, the device learns from every day use. It can be controlled from an iPhone or iPad and through a computer. It will be interesting to see if this product really catches on. Optimal adjustments to the temperature in a home can potentially save a lot of energy. There also seems to be ample R&D and funds behind the product. Just purchasing the domain nest.com was probably quite an investment. The Nest thermostat should be available for sale late this year for $249.

Could Steve Jobs legacy really be preserved?

Javier — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:04:25 +0000

Yesterday a lot of the people in the world learned almost instantly of Steve Jobs passing via devices that he helped create. Steve will truly be missed by many and specially by Apple itself. His passing is also a testament that all the money in the world cannot buy health in this age. Steve was able to survive several more years than other people with a similar condition and this was probably due to the fact that he had access to numerous treatments. Many have heard the rumors that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen to preserve the body until a time when there was a cure for his sickness. Disney died of complications of lung cancer in 1967. Like Disney, Jobs could potentially also be frozen to preserve his great mind and intellect. Assuming that he is thawed within this century, it will be interesting to see if his innovations can still be applied to the more advanced technology available at that future time. R.I.P. Steve.

A next generation alarm clock

Javier — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 03:26:37 +0000

By now many people are using their smart phones to wake up every morning instead of a traditional alarm clock. In the case of the iPhone, there are numerous applications that enhance this with images, weather updates, and other features. The Lark alarm goes much further by including a wrist band that can softly wake you by slightly vibrating. This is particularly useful because it will typically only wake up the wearer of the wrist band and not the sleeping partner. It also includes a sensor and application that monitors sleeping patterns and other interesting information while asleep. Who knows, you might be surprised to find out that you sleep walk when going through the captured information the next morning. The Lark alarm comes in two versions, a standard and a pro version. The pro version includes a personal sleep coach and other features. The Axbo Sleepphase is another similar device with great potential. If you are looking for a more basic alternative, try the Areaware wooden dock.

A real docking solution for MacBooks

Javier — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 01:00:40 +0000

Some of us remember the Apple PowerBook Duo with a native docking station. Since then, there has not been a nicely designed dock solution. Henge Docks now offers a great option for MacBooks and MacBook Pros. The dock accepts a system vertically and it attaches to connectors on the bottom of the enclosure. The dock can be configured to offer only the desired connectors while hiding others. It can be used in combination with an external display or a media system setup. The system also reuses a user supplied MagSafe power adapter as well as a Mini-DisplayPort cable. It is compatible with the full line of MacBook and newer MacBook Pros (13″, 15″, and 17″ models). You can buy one for about $60.

Social product development

Javier — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 04:37:30 +0000

Developing a new product is a costly and time consuming enterprise. It requires countless hours of research, prototype creation, and plenty of funds for materials and legal fees if attempting to patent the idea. Quirky has come up with a different approach. They have a network of over 30,000 volunteers that can help influence to improve and eventually launch a product. The process starts by someone submitting an idea. The concept is then presented to the community for feedback. The best ideas are selected to move on to actual product development, design, and branding. Finally, the product enters the manufacturing and ultimately the sales phase. The profits of the sales of the products are shared between the person who originally came up with the idea, the influencers, and Quirky of course. Several dozen products are already for sale at several major retail outlets which virtually proves that the novel concept works.

Opt out of your phone book

Javier — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 03:48:27 +0000

Almost as long as there has been phones, there have been phone books. In today’s technology age, the thick yellow and white books were replaced by Google searches. It is just more efficient and convenient to search online or visit a website for information about a place or business than searching an old fashioned paper phone book. According to statistics, the demand for phone book has declined by almost 30% in during the last five years. The National Yellow Pages Association has created a website where you can opt out from receiving the books. It requires registration to validate your address and other contact information. Businesses can also opt out from receiving the book. Although phone directory paper now rarely comes from freshly cut trees, opting out of receiving a book you do not use can save other material resources.

The start of a new way of learning?

Javier — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:54:42 +0000

The current mainstream method of learning in a classroom is centuries old. In the last few decades technology has been changing these long standing methods. Salman Khan seems to have sped up the change with his Khan Academy. Salman started producing videos for his cousin in 2004. Some years later in 2009 he quit his job in the finance industry to dedicate himself fully to the Khan Academy. He has authored over 2,000 videos that have been watched over 35 million times. The lessons topics cover math, finance, biology, history, law, economics, physics, statistics, and several others. Bill Gates actually endorsed Khan and supports him through his foundation. The lessons are brief and to the point. They illustrate the topic in an easy to understand manner. It is a great tool for educators and anyone trying to better understand one of the covered topics.

A virtual keyboard and remote control

Javier — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 04:42:06 +0000

Computers are more and more forming part of a home entertainment system. An Apple Mac mini for example now comes with an HDMI connector and supports native HDTV resolutions. It is often cumbersome to have to deal with a traditional keyboard and mouse in the family room. A great alternative is the Mobile Mouse Pro application. It allows for wireless remote control of a Windows or Mac computer using an iPhone. The application works in tandem with a program that runs on the computer being controlled. It is a great buy for $1.99 at the iTunes store.

The Logitech diNovo mini is also a great alternative if a more traditional medium is preferred. The very compact keyboard and touchpad combination allows for wireless control via Bluetooth of a computer. It folds into a very small clamshell for easy storage. The diNovo mini sells for about $149.

A novel tool to remember things

Javier — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 17:37:37 +0000

It seems that more and more we have to deal with an ever growing amount of digital information. It is increasingly difficult to manage things like pictures, bookmarks, notes, and other digital tidbits. Evernote provides a clever way to organize it all. The system is composed of a main application that runs on a computer and supporting plugins and apps that run on mobile devices. For example, lets say that you come to a website on your computer that you want to remember. Yes, it can be bookmarked, but often it is difficult to search through the default bookmark systems in most browsers. With Evernote, you can simply click on the Evernote elephant icon and a snapshot of the website is taken in conjunction with the URL. You can then add comments, tags, and any other relevant information to help find it later. The information can also be organized in different folders or notebooks which makes it easy to split things between work and play.

One of the best features of Evernote is that the information is always available. The client in your computer synchronizes with your Evernote account in the cloud. The information can then be accessed natively in Android, BlackBerry OS, iOS (Apple), Mac OS X, WebOS, Microsoft Windows,Windows Mobile devices. Two service plans are available. The free one provides most of the features, but with a limited amount of storage. The premium plan costs $5 per month and provides other enhanced features over the free plan.

A multifaceted iPad case

Javier — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:48:12 +0000

There have been a hundreds of options for iPad cases in the market. Most do a good job protecting the iPad, but fail in increasing usability. Brenthaven 5-in1 case does a great job. The case has three pieces: a top, bottom, and overall cover. The pieces are then customized to achieve five functions: (1) full, hardshell protection of the iPad when not in use, (2) a horizontal viewing stand, (3) a strap system to hang the iPad for viewing videos, (4) a stand to make typing on a flat surface easier, and (5) a fixed strap to easily grasp the device when in use. Overall, the case seems very handy and does most of the tasks it was designed for very well. It will add about 1 lb. to the iPad and sells for about $60. Brenthaven also makes many great bags and accessories for laptops and Apple gear.

Plugin enables useful social features in Outlook

Javier — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:41:29 +0000

Spell “inbox” backwards and you get “xobni”. It is a creative name for a company that develops an increasingly useful Microsoft Outlook plugin. Xobni indexes all the e-mail stored locally within Outlook and remotely in Exchange servers. It then makes connections between recipients and social portals like Facebook and Linkedin.

Lets say John Doe is one of your contacts. You will be able to view John’s Facebook profile picture and additional public information by simply highlighting an e-mail received from him. You will also get a listing of past conversations. Even more useful are the statistics generated by Xobni. Useful information like when is John more likely to be at his computer and respond to you e-mail is also available. Other features include improvements in finding attachments and enhanced searching capabilities. A free version is available of Xobni and another with additional features for $29.95. It is compatible with most versions of Outlook. Unfortunately, it is not currently available for the new version of Outlook 2011 for MacOS.

True access to your personal data from anywhere

Javier — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:27:39 +0000

A recent MacRumors article mentions Apple’s interest in Near Field Communication and the possibility of it being a feature on a future Apple mobile device. NFC is presently utilized in “tap and go” credit card payments. The feature enables users with NFC enabled cards to pay “wirelessly”. Users can simply wave their card at the merchant’s payment sensor and this will transmit the information necessary to process payment. This also opens the possibility of having an electronic wallet instead of the traditional credit card. You would just wave your mobile device and use it for payment.

In the case of Apple, a user may be able to carry all the settings form their computer with them on an NFC equipped iPhone. For example, a user might be abroad and visits an Internet café. Simply being in close proximity to a compatible system will wirelessly transfer the user’s settings, data, preferences, and other relevant information to the computer. Additional data could also be accessed from the cloud. The user would then have secure access to all their data from a familiar environment. The computer will return to its previous state once the user leaves and the iPhone is out of range.