Digital World-5: "The Chip is 50 Years Old!"

A grateful world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Integrated Chip or simply IC as it is known to everybody.

To quote Dan Nystedt of IDG News Service, “chips are the brains and nervous system of every electronics device around, from computers to iPhones and are finding their way into more devices all the time, including cars and refrigerators, to make them more energy efficient”.

The inventor of the IC, Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments, went on to win the Nobel Prize for 2000. Unfortunately the co-inventor, Robert Noyce, passed ten years before that.

The annual revenue of the IC industry today is $ 300 billion.

Based on “Celebrating the IC’s 50th Anniversary” by Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service, September 12, 2008, which appeared on Network World.(http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/091208-celebrating-the-ics-50th.html)

Wikipedia article on “Integrated Circuit”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_circuit

Grateful thanks to Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service, Network World and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Digital World-4: "Pulse", the Smart Pen

Picture this scene: a student attends a classroom lecture, switches on a high tech pen, starts jotting away the points he considers necessary, while his pen records both his handwriting as well as the lecturer’s voice or any other audio available then. Minutes later, the student does a playback of the lecture by simply tapping away on any word on his special ‘paper notebook’ and presto, the entire lecture is recreated down to each and every word.

Technology experts are bracing themselves for what they call the ‘next big thing’ in writing technology. The smart pen named as ‘PULSE’ has been launched by a company called Livescribe aims at bridging the gap between the traditional world of paper and the new age of voice recognition.

 

The specialty of the device is its ability co-relate everything that you have written to the corresponding audio available at that given point of time. Later on, you can simply tap on the handwritten notes and hear the audio playback from the exact moment it was written, so that you never miss out on any word spoken by anyone.

It can greatly help people with or without learning disabilities easily recall and review information for better understanding.

 

The brainchild of Jim Marggraff, an entrepreneur and the inventor of paper-based computing, including the LeapPad and Fly Pentop computer and who founded Livescribe in 2007, the Pulse pen has become a hit among college goers, journalists and other professionals for whom taking notes on the go is part and parcel of their jobs. Priced at $149, the 1GB version can capture over 100 hours of audio, while the 2GB version (priced at $199) can capture over 200 hours of audio. Although it is currently unavailable in India, the pen can be purchased through the Internet.

 

Excerpt from “A ‘smart’ pen mightier than the sword’ by Bijoy Bharathan in the “Chennai Chronicle”, Supplement to Deccan Chronicle, Chennai, Sep.15, 2008.

Wikipedia article on “LIVESCRIBE”:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livescribe

Grateful thanks to Bijoy Bharathan, Deccan Chronicle and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Digital World-2: "Eye Movement Controls Digital Music Player"

A researcher for Japanese mobile communication giant NTT docomo, wearing electro-oculogram (EOG) sensors, showed by moving his eyes he could control a digital music player.

Source: The Hindu, Madurai, July 24, 2008 (“Snapshots”).

Grateful thanks to The Hindu.

Digital World-1: "Samsung Launches Digital Projectors"

New Delhi: Samsung on Wednesday (July 16, 2008) launched digital projectors and photo frames. While the Samsung digital photo frame is priced at Rs.9,900, the digital projector, in the professional segment, is priced between Rs.2.50 lakh and Rs.5 lakh.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, July 17, 2008 (“Snapshots”)
Article on “Video Projectors” from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_projectors
Grateful thanks to The Hindu and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Digital Solutions to serve the elderly

Smart devices to improve security and interfaces for those with impaired vision or hearing.

European Union (E.U.) member-States have agreed to develop innovative digital products and services to improve the lives of older people at home, in the workplace and in society in general.

The plan foresees smart devices for improving security at home, mobile solutions for vital-signs monitoring and user-friendly interfaces for those with impaired vision or hearing.

The plan, proposed by the European Commission in June 2007, had already been approved by European Parliament in March 2008 in a first reading. Twenty EU member states, as well as Israel, Norway and Switzerland would participate in this 600 million Euro joint research project called, “Ambient Assisted Living” program.

Between now and 2013, another 400 million Euro are allocated to research and innovation for the elderly people under the EU’s seventh Framework Program for Research and Technology Development. “There is no reason for older people in Europe to miss out on the benefits of new technologies. The solutions and services resulting from this program will help them to remain active in society as well as staying socially connected and independent for a longer time,” said Viviane Reding, E.U.Commissioner for the information society and media.

The E.U. is a fast aging society. By 2020, a quarter of its population will be over 65 years of age. Spending on pensions, health and long-term care is expected to increase by 4% to 8% GDP in the coming decades. EU research and innovation in “aging well technologies” has already had a successful track record in creating innovative digital solutions for the elderly. Two examples are MobilAlarm, a tracking service allowing older persons to initiate an alarm call and get support whenever and wherever they need or want to do so, and 12HOME, the world’s first standardized remote control for domestic appliances, making televisions, heating systems, microwaves and washing machines more accessible for people with physical or cognitive impairments. – Xinhua.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, June 26, 2008

For article on Xinhua News Agency from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinhua

For article on European Union from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union

For article on European Parliament from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament

For more info on “Ambient Assisted Living”:
http://proposals.aal-europe.eu/

“€1bn in digital technologies for Europeans to age well” –
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/einclusion/policy/ageing/launch/index_en.htm

Grateful thanks to Xinhua, The Hindu and Wikipedia.