No More Cords. ... Ever.

Source:
CNN

What I mean to say by the title of this post isn't that we are 100% free of cords. What I mean to say is that we're heading towards a cordless future. A reality in which we don't need any cords at all. Ever.

Impossible you say? WiTricity disagrees with all sense of their being. How can I tell? Who else has wireless electricity? Soon you won't need a cord to charge your laptop or cell phone. You won't have to plug in your TV or computer to an outlet. Even electricity can be made wireless. The technology is not yet commercially available but the CEO of WiTricity believes it will be soon. This kind of revolution could change the way we use electronics in general. Electric cars for example. The article makes a point of just driving into a garage fitted with a charge pad and it would charge then and there.

We already have smaller versions of these devices. There are pads you can set your cell phone and game system on that will charge them without wires but what they're looking towards goes beyond that. It's one thing to imagine your house attached to an electric wire with electric pads within to send the power throughout your house... it's another to imagine no more electrical wiring strung up around the city. Sending the power large distances wirelessly is the overall goal... but is it safe? There are indeed health concerns and I don't know about you, but constantly being exposed to the magnetic equivalent of electricity doesn't spark me as a good thing.

As I said before, this could be revolutionary. This could change EVERYTHING. Freedom from restraint of the cords that "bind us". I'm very... what's the term... techy? I have a lot of electronics and they're stuck in certain places due to cords. Elimination of cords would allow me to better set up my entertainment center. To better set up my computer. To overall do everything better than I did before. Eliminate the safety concerns and I'd be all for this idea. It would lead us to a future with no more cords. ... ever.

A New Form Of Wheelchair?

Source:
Breitbart

Medical and Robotics experts in Japan have recently revealed a new style of wheelchair... one you sit in like a motorcycle rather than a chair. The design was worked on so it would require less assistance for those physically disabled to enter and exit the "chair" and to offer better manueverability. It isn't for sale now, except to private companies, but is this the wheelchair of the future?

A better wheelchair can mean a lot for those disabled. Anyone you know who has trouble walking my benefit from this new design. Let's hope it passes all the safety tests and is released if it really is better than what we have now.

East Africa Finally Obtains Faster Internet

Source:
GlobalPost
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Fiber-Optic lines are arriving in Tanzania in a $650 million dollar project by Seacom to bring East Africa access to broadband. Giving another opportunity than satellite internet in the area may boost education and health care. It also may open up job opportunities that did not exist with the painfully slow internet that plagues Tanzania. It may become like Singapore and India as another outsourcing hub. However, all computer parts are imported and often too expensive. They need locally made computers to take this new opportunity to its fullest potential.

Outsourcing has lost Americans jobs in some tech industries. Companies that outsource do it because of the cheaper cost. Potentially this could effect some people in the IT industry, but hopefully not too many. As someone going into the IT industry, I would not like to lose a job because it's cheaper to outsource. Even so, I wish them nothing but luck in setting up this faster line.

Windows 7 is better than Vista

For all of those who have struggled with Windows Vista, set your mind on Windows 7. Even in its test form, Windows 7 has defeated Windows Vista in many benchmarks and in daily tasks. Although the look and feel maybe similar to Vista, the mechanics, stability, and ability to correctly use drivers will be far superior.

Many people have tested the beta version and were startled when they believed they saw a mere clone of Windows Vista. They were surprised when they discovered that Windows 7 wasn't just great with Benchmarks, it excelled in everyday tasks and situations.

According to an article from ZD Net, Install time was decreased dramatically as well as startup, shutdown, restart and updating using Windows Update. The taskbar has been improved and they added a feature that allows you to snap windows which makes viewing content in separate windows much easier. One of the better enhancements was the way Windows 7 utilizes resources. It is much more resource friendly! I am a Windows Vista user and I can tell you, my machine has 4 gigs of RAM and Vista manages to use almost half of that when it's just idling.

I believe Windows 7 will be a huge advancement to the technological industry, and I am definitely going to be purchasing it when it releases on October 22, 2009. Windows 7 brings many enhancements and upgrades which most are left unveiled. Keep in mind this new version is still under development. Many enhancements or changes can still be made at this point.

Click the link below to take the Microsoft Windows 7 tour.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/features/tour.aspx

Performance review: http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=3236

Sources:
http://gizmodo.com/5233098/windows-7-release-candidate-1-vs-vista-first-benchmarks
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10080417-56.html
http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/review.asp
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/23/cnet.microsoft.windows/index.html?iref=newssearch