http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/08/08/air.car/index.html
European researchers are currently working on designing a car that can get 106 miles per gallon. The concept backing this car’s inception is similar to how steam locomotives are powered. The difference: the car would run on compressed air rather than steam.
The plan for the car includes six seats and is able to reach over 90 miles per hour. The car would also have a range of over 800 miles per tank because of the dual energy motor. Anything under 35 miles per hour, the car would run on compressed air only. Fuel would be needed to power the car to its fullest potential and for anything above 35 miles per hour. The first car in the United States is said to be available in 2010. The price tag is less than $18,000.
The design of the car would also be made as lightly as possible. The body would be built with fiberglass and foam. The chassis would be constructed of aluminum and glued together than traditionally welded.
Skeptics have their criticisms though. The main one being its fuel efficiency claims. Critics believe the mileage is ‘at the edge of possibility’ and it is a great leap to claim that a car will get double the mileage as the Toyota Prius.
I am all for anything that will save us from the current or worsening fuel crises. Maybe this is the one design that makes that possible. Back in 2006 there were some ‘breakthrough’ discoveries that old vegetable cooking oil would be our saving grace to gas. The only problem here is the inconvenience of converting your diesel vehicle or even using it. That has not gone very far since its inception.
One thing I worry about with the ‘lightest possible body’ of the car is its safety. How can something glued together be safer than/as safe as the car’s that are made of metal and welded together? Will they even pass crash tests?
I am rooting for the people that will make this possible. It seems to be a nice concept, so I hope it becomes a reality. If not this exact design, maybe someone will be inspired and work from there.
Reference: http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/21/news/economy/vegetable_cars/index.htm
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Reporters Cause Controversy at Hacking Conference -- Journal 14 - August 10, 2008
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/08/08/reporters.hacking.ap/index.html
Thousands of hackers met last week in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Black Hat convention. Of those thousands, three were caught hacking the hackers’ convention. Dominique Jouniot, Marc Brami, Mauro Israel were all kicked out of the convention and will even lose their partnerships with Black Hat.
The organizers of the Black Hat convention warned attendees that the conference’s public wireless access was being monitored by hackers. But that did not stop the three. The three were only caught when they tried to get others to post the stolen information on the Wall of Sheep, a forum designed to embarrass security professionals who don't follow proper security procedures themselves. The workers declined and reported him, but the three said they did it “educate the press about the importance of sending data securely”.
Forbes Magazine is reporting that the hackers used a form known as ‘sniffing’. Packet sniffers detect information sent across networks and can gather either all information sent or only certain queues that match what they are looking for. Detecting packet sniffers is not an easy task either.
I find it so interesting that the ‘hackers’ convention was hacked itself. It is also a little misleading to call it such. Black Hat features an annual technical information security conference in which helps to define the coming year’s security headlines and concerns.
I understand that the three hackers broke the law (possibly criminal law as well) but why would Black Hat not want to learn where they went wrong? If their own network was easily hacked, it seems to me they should be working with the three hackers to see how they did it. From public opinion, I do not know if I would look at Black Hat the same. They could not even secure their networks enough to keep three reporters from hacking it.
References:
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/08/08/black-hat-conference-tech-security-cz_tb_0808blackhat.html
http://netsecurity.about.com/cs/hackertools/a/aa121403.htm
Thousands of hackers met last week in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Black Hat convention. Of those thousands, three were caught hacking the hackers’ convention. Dominique Jouniot, Marc Brami, Mauro Israel were all kicked out of the convention and will even lose their partnerships with Black Hat.
The organizers of the Black Hat convention warned attendees that the conference’s public wireless access was being monitored by hackers. But that did not stop the three. The three were only caught when they tried to get others to post the stolen information on the Wall of Sheep, a forum designed to embarrass security professionals who don't follow proper security procedures themselves. The workers declined and reported him, but the three said they did it “educate the press about the importance of sending data securely”.
Forbes Magazine is reporting that the hackers used a form known as ‘sniffing’. Packet sniffers detect information sent across networks and can gather either all information sent or only certain queues that match what they are looking for. Detecting packet sniffers is not an easy task either.
I find it so interesting that the ‘hackers’ convention was hacked itself. It is also a little misleading to call it such. Black Hat features an annual technical information security conference in which helps to define the coming year’s security headlines and concerns.
I understand that the three hackers broke the law (possibly criminal law as well) but why would Black Hat not want to learn where they went wrong? If their own network was easily hacked, it seems to me they should be working with the three hackers to see how they did it. From public opinion, I do not know if I would look at Black Hat the same. They could not even secure their networks enough to keep three reporters from hacking it.
References:
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/08/08/black-hat-conference-tech-security-cz_tb_0808blackhat.html
http://netsecurity.about.com/cs/hackertools/a/aa121403.htm
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Futuristic Fashions Will Fight Our Health Scares -- Journal 13 - August 10, 2008
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/08/04/intelligent.clothing/index.html
Can you imagine clothes that could prevent the flu or any other illnesses? Now imagine never having to wash them. Researchers in England are experimenting with technology that would make it possible for our clothes to detect so much more about our body before we could. Everything is being considered: workout gear that detects the amount a person sweats; underwear that detects cancer cells. Nothing is too far-fetched. Researchers even believe that one day humans will wear clothes that have built-in cooling, deodorant, moisturizers, and vitamins.
One breakthrough study has revealed technology placed in a bra that can detect breast cancer at the earliest possible time. It tracks an increase in blood flow rates, a common sign when tumors grow, and alerts the bra wearer. The only drawback: some say that an increase in blood flow can happen for a lot of different reasons. It can be caused by benign tumors or cysts, so it may cause some false alarms.
A little over a year ago, Forbes Magazine produced an article about ‘smart clothes’. Their definition was a little less intriguing. ‘Smart’ clothes only one year ago were defined as jeans that had an iPod docking station built in or clothing that could protect the wearer from ultraviolet rays. It is amazing to see how far we have come in only one year.
The new technological advances in clothing are things I could have never imagined in the past. It is so interesting to think where we may be with all technological advances by the year 2020. Clothes, an item everyone wears, seems to be one of the most practical places to begin researching. As one researcher said, they are the mediator between our bodies and the environment. It only makes sense that we design them to tell us much as much about our bodies as possible.
Reference: http://www.forbes.com/2007/03/19/hightech-function-clothing-forbeslife-cx_hp_0320smartclothes.html
Can you imagine clothes that could prevent the flu or any other illnesses? Now imagine never having to wash them. Researchers in England are experimenting with technology that would make it possible for our clothes to detect so much more about our body before we could. Everything is being considered: workout gear that detects the amount a person sweats; underwear that detects cancer cells. Nothing is too far-fetched. Researchers even believe that one day humans will wear clothes that have built-in cooling, deodorant, moisturizers, and vitamins.
One breakthrough study has revealed technology placed in a bra that can detect breast cancer at the earliest possible time. It tracks an increase in blood flow rates, a common sign when tumors grow, and alerts the bra wearer. The only drawback: some say that an increase in blood flow can happen for a lot of different reasons. It can be caused by benign tumors or cysts, so it may cause some false alarms.
A little over a year ago, Forbes Magazine produced an article about ‘smart clothes’. Their definition was a little less intriguing. ‘Smart’ clothes only one year ago were defined as jeans that had an iPod docking station built in or clothing that could protect the wearer from ultraviolet rays. It is amazing to see how far we have come in only one year.
The new technological advances in clothing are things I could have never imagined in the past. It is so interesting to think where we may be with all technological advances by the year 2020. Clothes, an item everyone wears, seems to be one of the most practical places to begin researching. As one researcher said, they are the mediator between our bodies and the environment. It only makes sense that we design them to tell us much as much about our bodies as possible.
Reference: http://www.forbes.com/2007/03/19/hightech-function-clothing-forbeslife-cx_hp_0320smartclothes.html
Friday, August 1, 2008
A Means for Publishers to Put a Newspaper in Your Pocket -- Journal 12 - August 3, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/technology/28verve.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin
As everything shifts to web media and electronic resources, the newspaper industry has really begun to suffer. Verve Wireless believes it has the solution. It offers newspaper publishers the chance to deliver newspapers to users’ cell phones, a technology that most companies are beginning to use.
Verve Wireless currently offers 4,000 mobile versions of the newspaper from 140 different publishers. The Associate Press is one of Verve’s largest customers right now with $3 million invested in the company. They believe this could be the answer to the newspaper’s struggling business.
These mobile companies are also trying to persuade advertisers to jump in on the action. According to Verve, their software can tailor ads to each individual subscriber rather than bombarding them with all types of ads. They can better segment the market by offering targeted ads. For example, Verve says it could deliver an ad about the bar scene to people ages 21-30 who live downtown.
I believe that newspapers delivered to cell phones are a great idea for several reasons. For subscribers, the news is made ready at the tips of their fingers with ads targeted at their interests. It may also help to revive the newspaper industry. For example, in 2006, a report from the Census Bureau said that Americans would spend more time with their TV than with their newspaper. In fact, the newspaper ranked only above magazines, books, and video games. Everything before it consisted of electronic media.
Cell phone newspapers also cut down on wasted paper that Americans may or may not recycle. I am a huge fan of recycling and unfortunately most people find it more convenient to just throw it out. Some subscribers do not even open the paper once they receive it; they merely have a subscription just to have one.
Think about if we could reduce the amount of trees we cut down and waste for in-print newspapers. Most of the information contained in the newspaper is already hosted on the newspapers’ website for free. Why not put more time and resources into enhancing our electronic media for newspapers?
Reference: http://www.lostremote.com/2006/12/15/web-now-exceeds-newspaper-use-in-us/
As everything shifts to web media and electronic resources, the newspaper industry has really begun to suffer. Verve Wireless believes it has the solution. It offers newspaper publishers the chance to deliver newspapers to users’ cell phones, a technology that most companies are beginning to use.
Verve Wireless currently offers 4,000 mobile versions of the newspaper from 140 different publishers. The Associate Press is one of Verve’s largest customers right now with $3 million invested in the company. They believe this could be the answer to the newspaper’s struggling business.
These mobile companies are also trying to persuade advertisers to jump in on the action. According to Verve, their software can tailor ads to each individual subscriber rather than bombarding them with all types of ads. They can better segment the market by offering targeted ads. For example, Verve says it could deliver an ad about the bar scene to people ages 21-30 who live downtown.
I believe that newspapers delivered to cell phones are a great idea for several reasons. For subscribers, the news is made ready at the tips of their fingers with ads targeted at their interests. It may also help to revive the newspaper industry. For example, in 2006, a report from the Census Bureau said that Americans would spend more time with their TV than with their newspaper. In fact, the newspaper ranked only above magazines, books, and video games. Everything before it consisted of electronic media.
Cell phone newspapers also cut down on wasted paper that Americans may or may not recycle. I am a huge fan of recycling and unfortunately most people find it more convenient to just throw it out. Some subscribers do not even open the paper once they receive it; they merely have a subscription just to have one.
Think about if we could reduce the amount of trees we cut down and waste for in-print newspapers. Most of the information contained in the newspaper is already hosted on the newspapers’ website for free. Why not put more time and resources into enhancing our electronic media for newspapers?
Reference: http://www.lostremote.com/2006/12/15/web-now-exceeds-newspaper-use-in-us/
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