Eco Factor: Solar-powered gadget charger.
We’ve seen some innovative chargers that let you recharge your electronic gear on the move using the abundant energy of the sun. However, the Keystone Eco Tag is different. The unique device features a writing area to be penciled in for use as a luggage tag.
Erik Gates/ Mythbusters
Gates was walking on the roof of a building when he accidentally fell through a skylight. He was conscious and talking just after the accident, but died later at the hospital of blunt chest injuries. Gates owned the company, Gateco Electric, and was working on-site when the accident happened. The building he was working on was owned by his brother, Dirk Gates, president and CEO of Xirrus, Inc. Erik and Dirk ran the web site, Gates Brothers Rocketry. Sadly, it seems the site has since been taken down.
Xirrus Inc,’s Chief Financial Officer, Steve DeGennaro commented on Gates’ untimely death saying, “He was a good guy. He survived cancer, he jumps with parachutes, he base jumps. He’s an active guy who was used to taking precautions. This was a freak accident that shouldn’t have happened.”
Erik Gates leaves behind a wife and three children.
Most of us have special requests when we travel, but don’t really expect our lodging providers to be interested in these much less take them into account. Nevertheless, celebrities, heads of state and royalty can depend on their lodging providers to cater to their every whim. If Alexander Torrenegra, serial web entrepreneur and founder of new venture LetMeGo.com, has his way, you may soon get the same kind of service.
With LetMeGo.com, travelers upload their travel arrangements along with dates, places and any special requirements (see screen shot at bottom). Want chocolates in your room? Fluffy slippers? Just ask. Then all types of lodging providers (vacation homes, Bed & Breakfasts, hotels, etc.) can bid on their itinerary. Users can see the pricing and other data sent by each bidder, and every bidder can see other bids. But none of this information is made public; it’s between the user and the lodging providers.
Torrenegra (pictured) recognized there were inefficiencies in the lodging industry while working as a consultant for lodging web site Rentalo.com back in 2000. The problem he saw was that much of the digital infrastructure was riding atop early work in travel reservation systems such as Sabre. He decided to circumvent these systems and their associated fees by establishing a direct connection between travelers and all types of lodging providers (e.g., Bed & Breakfasts, hotels, vacation rentals, etc.).
After spending the last two years refining the technology that handles bids, signing up lodgings and making sure the infrastructure (e.g., customer service agents) is in place to attend to customer needs, Torrenegra’s number one focus continues to be that of creating a differentiated customer experience. If he’s able to execute on this, he’s confident that lodging establishments (especially, niche or smaller lodgings looking to differentiate themselves) will continue to bid on customer itineraries and pass along a small commission to the company.
When I was a Venture Capitalist in Latin America, I was struck by the lack of ambition of a lot of startups as well as questions about their ability to execute. With LetMeGo.com, I see a highly ambitious objective (the vacation rental market alone is estimated to be a $24B opportunity in the US) as well as a team with the chops to execute. My biggest concern for the company is that fact they may be biting off more than they can chew, but that qualm quickly goes away as I chat with Torrenegra.
Torrenegra moved to the US several years ago from Bogota, Colombia. A number of years ago, after observing how difficult it was for his wife to promote her voiceover services, he created Voice123.com and has since positioned it as the leading site for promoting voiceover talent.
He still has strong ties to Bogota, where principal development for Voice123.com took place and where LetMeGo.com was gestated during the past two years.
The LetMeGo.com team has already has a good number of hotel and lodgings signed up. In my mind, the biggest hurdle is getting enough users to actually insert their itineraries and, in general, changing customer and supplier behavior (talk about ambitious). But the young company already has an aggressive affiliate program ready to launch as well as plans to translate the site to Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin or Cantonese.
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“Government 2.0” has been a big buzzword of 2009, with thought-leaders like Tim O’Reilly and The Sunlight Foundation showing the way. It’s a movement that pushes public institutions to use technologies that have thrived in the last five years (like social networking and blogging) to foster closer relationships with citizens. This entails being more open with data and encouraging people to build apps around that data and transform it through mashups for use by others.
A few city governments have made good on their pledges to be more transparent. San Francisco unveiled DataSF, a central clearinghouse for data collected by the city, and showcases some apps here. New York City went a step further, launching a full-on apps contest through Betaworks-backed startup ChallengePost.
It’s been almost three months since the contest launched, and several interesting applications have turned up. You can check them out here. (To be clear, some of the data for these apps is collected through government institutions and some of it is bootstrapped.). But here are a few of the highlights:
Primospot: Hands down, the biggest pain of owning a car in a major metropolitan city is finding a place to park. Primospot is building a database of all parking regulations in Boston and New York, so you can figure out where you’re legally allowed to park now or in the near future. Primospot generates maps like the one above, showing what’s in the red zone and what’s not. Primospot can also send you text messages for when your parking space is about to expire, and you can search for parking that’ll be available in the near future.
And, in case you don’t think it gets any better, you can also compare parking garage prices in real-time. The company just launched an iPhone app called iPark, so you can record where you’ve parked in case you forget.
All in all, it seems like a very helpful app and one that’s sorely needed in a city like San Francisco that has poor public transportation. The user interface could be a smidgen better. I’d rather see markers showing how much of the curb is available for parking rather than noting a single point along several blocks. It’s a helpful start, though, and the team has been very aggressive in adding features every month.
Bookzee: This app helps you find available library books nearby. You can search for books either on the web site or through the iPhone app and it will show you which nearby libraries have a particular book available. Again, it’s only available in New York. San Francisco’s library system has its own online search, although it could benefit from a facelift and some mobile availability.
Taxihack: Rude taxi drivers better watch out. This app lets people leave Twitter-style mini-reviews of drivers using their medallion number. The interface is barebones for now, but it’s a big step up from the old way of reporting poor taxi drivers (call 311 and testify before the Taxi & Limousine Commission). Now if only there was a way to take photos of medallions and pull up reviews, Google Goggles-style. I guess that’s for another day …
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A plant thought to be extinct for 60 years was discovered in San Francisco’s Presidio. It’s hard to imagine that in such an urban environment, a rare native plant would be found, but the Franciscan manzanita was found by a biologist as he drove by the Presidio. SF Gate reports:
It’s like the unicorn of San Francisco,” said Daniel Gluesenkamp, who was returning home from a climate change conference in Sonoma on Oct. 16 when he spotted the plant after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge…
The ground-hugging shrub, uniquely adapted to San Francisco’s natural sand dunes, wind and fog, has not been seen growing in the wild since 1947. That’s when the last known patch was bulldozed at the old Laurel Hill Cemetery, which was paved over for homes and businesses.
Just before the bulldozers rumbled through, local botanist James Roof saved two specimens, which have been kept alive at Berkeley’s Tilden Botanical Garden.
This rare manzanita is not even protected under the Endangered Species Act because it was thought to be extinct.
Hope everyone is enjoying the last days and hours of 2009! I have to say, 2009 turned out pretty well in most regards for me.
-The year actually started with my father’s death, which sounds awfully sad and tragic and by all means is, however, he was not in my life much, so it was more of a shock than anything.
-I also was let down in January when I found out I would not be able to apply for February’s Critical care program and would have to wait another 6 months! argh.
-During January and February, I got a lot of doctor’s appointments out of the way. I hadn’t seen one in …forever… since I had no health insurance prior to my job as an RN. I love to get my teeth cleaned and have it all paid for. I totally appreciate insurance.
-And on January 20th, Obama became president, which rocked.
-I turned 24.
-I celebrated 6 years with my love, Mirza.
-I bought my first car! ok, not my first car, but my first really new(er) car all from my hard-earned money. I got a 2005 Toyota Corolla LE with only 3,500 miles. Yes, 3,500, not 35,000! so to me, that is brand new! I actually spent the 2 years prior to this driving around with no air conditioning…I live in Florida, people!!! aaaaaggh. I actually drove off the lot with my new car in March and I remember the temperature was 56 outside and I had my A.C. on full blast. I wanted to cry and I won’t say if maybe some tears were shed since a car is just a thing, but….
-Got my ACLS
-My sister ran the Boston Marathon~ ok so that isn’t my goal of accomplishment, but my sister rocks. ’nuff said.
-Had a ton of fun during the summer utilizing my apartment’s pool
-Finally got to meet my youngest nephew, Matthew, and Mirza did, too!
2009 isn’t over yet, though!
Check back in a few days for goals for 2010!!
Holiday vacation stretches ahead of you. What plans do you have for your youngsters until they go back to school?
Image: sxc.hu
Why not visit your local library with your youngsters? My grandchildren enjoy going there, even though they’re teenagers. Many libraries nowadays offer programs and opportunities other than the traditional reading and checking out of books. Most of these programs are free of charge, too.
You’ll discover this a great congregating place for youngsters to find enjoyable pursuits there and to continue at home. Most libraries nowadays have a web site where these opportunities are posted. Also, you usually can subscribe to an e-mail newsletter that keeps you updated.
What have you found at your library lately?
Post from: Blisstree
For 15 years, Netzsch Analyzing & Testing and Bruker Optics have been providing their customers an optimal combination of two analysis techniques. According to the motto „TG plus FTIR – More than just the sum of its parts!” – the coupling of thermogravimetry (TG) and Fourier-Transform infrared spectroscopy provides its users a significant additional benefit and a comprehensive gain in information. While thermogravimetry yields information regarding characteristics and thermal stability of materials, FT-IR spectroscopy is an established method for indentifying substances and quantifying sample components. So the combination of both techniques opens up new possibilities for analyzing macroscopic material characteristics on molecular level.
The Netzsch/Bruker-TG-FTIR-coupling has been developed by engineers of both companies. The main goal of this close cooperation has been to find an optimal combination of the two analysis systems with regard to capacity and ease-of-use of the complete system.
With the TG-FTIR coupling, both companies provide their customers a unique system for analyzing important material properties. In the field of polymer manufacturing and processing, for example, additives can be identified and even quantified. Moreover, the coupling technique gives a valuable insight into the aging and decomposition processes, even in interaction with different atmospheres. The identification and quantification of solvent residues as well as the determination of the storage stability of formulations are by now routine methods in the pharmaceutical industry, but only the TG-FTIR coupling is capable of yielding these measurement results with only one single experiment. The number of possible fields of application is immense because the combination of thermal and molecular- spectroscopic analyses is capable of revealing fundamental chemical and physical properties of a huge number of materials.
Over the years, both companies have been constantly improving this TG-FTIR coupling technique to offer the best possible solution for the individual analytical questions of their customers. Besides the optimal combination of both analysis techniques, companies also focus on a competent customer service.
For this reason, supporting customers on application matters, offering training courses and organizing information events will be an integral part of this successful cooperation also in the future.
Four-digit roller counter DD51 is now being replaced with new DD51-LB fitted with a locking device. A technopolymer lever allows for spindle locking so as to avoid any accidental setting changes in case of vibrations.
All DD position indicators exhibit mounting holes bored at H7 tolerance which ensures a perfectly guided spindle movement and are available with four different counter positions, in Orange, Grey and Anthracite black finish.
All technical specifications concerning ELESA indicators, including CAD 2D and 3D drawings, are available for download on www.elesa.com
From now on it is possible to download, free of charge, 2D and 3D data concerning the desired drive. The CAD models can be included direct in the work files because the download service is available in all standard CAD formats.
Engineers and designers can check the space needed for installing the planned motor and place the order direct in the Online-Shop. The gearmotor will be delivered within 48 hours. The drive solution is documented at the click of a button.
Just a few clicks required to achieve the purpose – the path from product idea to energy-efficient drive solution just couldn’t be more efficient, more economical and more energy saving.
In short, the improved ZEITLAUF® antriebstechnik website stands for best possible convenience and user-friendliness combined with clear, structured content. But judge for yourself! Spare a little time to check out our new internet site. We would be happy for any ideas or improvements you might suggest.
With the economic EDGE technology, SIGMATEK introduces a new generation of high performance controls with low power loss to the market. The new processor technology is used in the compact controls CCP 501 and CCP 511 as well as in the ETV control panels with a TFT touch display from 5″ to 12″. In the 15″ to 19″ models, Intel Atomâ processors are used. The user is therefore provided with an integrated, scalable hardware platform that is fully compatible with the application software.
The extremely low power consumption of EDGE technology allows a compact, fanless construction of the controls. There are no components in use that are subject to mechanical wear. Because the control does not need a battery, the user acquires a truly maintenance-free machine. Naturally, the energy consumption is also reduced and the temperature problems in the control cabinet are minimized.
All machines in the new control family are equipped with a 128-MB Flash and 64-MB DDR2 RAM; the memory for residual data is 512 kB.
The control has a VARAN interface and an Ethernet interface for connection to primary control systems or the Office world respectively. In addition, USB, CAN and RS 232/485 are provided. The application software, the operating system as well as user-specific data are stored on an SD memory card.
The new generation of controls also follows the integration idea of the SIGMATEK automation system. PLC, HMI, Motion Control and Safety are unified in an integrated platform. With the all-in-one engineering tool LASAL, the automation of a machine or system can be realized efficiently.
A new compact servomotor from Control Techniques has been designed to provide market-leading dynamic performance, with outstanding acceleration thanks to high torque to inertia characteristics in a remarkably compact package.
The Unimotor hd is aimed primarily at applications requiring high peak torque overload for short durations during acceleration or deceleration, but can also be used in general servo applications where the space envelope is at a premium due to its compact design. Unimotor hd has low inertia, thanks to its segmented stator (cut core), giving a highly dynamic performance. Compared with an equivalent rated distributed wound servomotor, this design is around half the length.
The Unimotor hd complements the general purpose Unimotor fm to complete the servomotor offering from Control Techniques. Initially it is launched with frame sizes 055, 067, 089 and 115, covering the range 0.85Nm to 16Nm, with larger frame sizes extending the rating to 70Nm to be available later.
“Unimotor hd has been designed to give optimum performance with our Digitax ST servo drive range,” says Product Manager, Jan Witkowski, “and meets the needs of the market in very demanding, highly dynamic, point-to-point applications requiring a high torque to inertia ratio, the new motor delivers this in abundance.”
Typically the motor will be ideal for flying shear, cut-to-length and pick and place applications, for example, in the packaging, wire bending and the food and beverage industries; any application that requires repetitive dynamic short cycle times.
Unimotor hd has been developed by a dedicated team using a design process that prioritises product innovation, performance and reliability. The process uses advanced modeling tools that allow new ideas to be rapidly evaluated, prototyped and tested. The result is an advanced design, with several patents pending, that raises the performance standard in this market.
Unimotor hd servomotors have a wide range of feedback options including incremental encoders, SinCos encoders, single and multi-turn (supporting Hiperface protocol), Absolute encoders, single and multi-turn (supporting EnDat protocol) and resolver.
Polymer based single and system components are the focus of Jenoptik’s Optoelectronic Systems business unit. At Photonics West the business unit will present polymer optical components manufactured for the innovative Closing Velocity (CV) sensor system known as “City Safety”. In March 2008 the system had its world premiere in a European car. This laser-based optical sensor was developed to mitigate or to stop accidents at lower speed. The transmitter and receiver unit of the system calculates the distance to objects and its approach speed from signals in the range of up to 10 meters. The necessary transmitter and receiver lenses are manufactured on production lines with high quality. The technological challenges for the injection molding of these lenses lie in the tooling technology and process stability according to the required tolerances. Their complex process and production design aimed at shaping the light of the laser diode, also especially in regard to eye safety.
The tool inserts for the complex lens consist of a variety of different sized facets. These facets are tilted in two axes and integrated into the tool.
In addition, the business unit shows optoelectronic and optomechanical components and systems used in the areas of automotive & mobility, lighting & energy, health care & life science and sensors technology. For their production, the business unit provides all necessary steps of the value chain starting with optics and product design. The fabrication in various replication technologies is based on expertises in tooling, surface technology as well as assembly and packaging technologies, and system integration.
Procter and Gamble Looks to Strongarm for Operator Interface Solutions
Procter and Gamble, the world’s leading maker and distributor of household consumer products and the 8th largest corporation in the world by market capitalization, has looked to Strongarm to provide solutions for the ergonomic challenges that their plant operators encounter. These include making operator stations comfortable for a variety of different users, and mounting them in various locations while maintaining user-friendliness.
To solve these challenges, Strongarm Designs has provided Procter and Gamble with the ergonomically friendly Mightymount. The fully articulating MightyMount is the first ever machine-grade display and keyboard mounting, built from sturdy cast aluminum. Vertical positioning is quick and secure with smooth, counter-balanced adjustability. The display and keyboard stay perfectly level as they travel vertically, and they can be repositioned effortlessly with one hand.
Luke Jackson, Team Leader at the P&G North Carolina Facility, says “We selected the MightyMount because of the small space it requires. We have many of these systems in place and have been very pleased with their flexibility and durability. We can mount the system and not have to make any modifications to the stands. The MightyMount gives us many positioning options to accommodate the different preferences of all the machine operators. Short or tall technicians can adjust the computer screen and keyboard to a comfortable position, and the ability to save on floor space is also a plus.”
You can see the MightyMount at Pack Expo, the Emerson Global Users Exchange, and the Worldwide Food Expo, where STRONGARM will be demonstrating the MightyMount along with other products from their line of operator interface systems
A day before the world witnesses the beginning on the one month FIFA soccer world cup that will be held on African soil for the first time ,a 3 hour concert that could feature performances from Beyonce,Jay Z among other artists will be held in South Africa.
According to a recent press release,the event will take place on June 10 2010 at the newly rebuilt Orlando stadium and will celebrate the “ music, sport and visual pageantry of South Africa”.The soccer world governing body FIFA have employed Kevin Hall,the producer behind the emmy winning Live 8 concerts to stage the event which is predicted to draw in about 5 billion viewers globally.
When asked about challenges that may be faced by staging a concert of such prestige ,Wall was quoted as saying ,
“Going into Africa during the World Cup will present a huge amount of logistics, like figuring out local transport, flights, hotels, all the stuff that a year ago people already reserved.Still, how often do you get to work on an Olympics or a World Cup?”
He further went on to say ,
“We’re really trying to highlight football and the cultures and colour and music of Africa so you will see a lot of great international artists. I think this will be one of the greatest shows ever produced for Africa“.
Other celebrities that may headline the concert include the Black Eyed Peas ,Yolanda Soares , football legends and a host of african musicians that have yet to be named,although there is speculation that senegalese artist Akon may make an apperance as he is performing at the opening game between South Africa and Mexixo .Somalian lyricist K’naan whose song “Waving Flag is the official 2010 Soccer World cup theme song may also be in attendance.
Tickets for the concert will go on sale in January 2010 and all net proceeds will go towards the “20 Centers for 2010″ which aims to build 20 centers around Africa that will offer basic education and healthcare services as well as provide football training for disadvantaged communities.
Remember that Need For Speed video from last month? There was a lot of consternation about whether or not it was legit, and the different App Catalog screenshots that PreCentral forum member Casperstar provided only threw fuel on the fire. It was different, from the layout to the background. But after the landing of webOS 1.3.5 we fired up the App Catalog and suddenly Casperstar was vindicated. The new App Catalog is an exact duplicate of the App Catalog that Casperstar showed us.
Combined with the base files for adding in GPU support that the WebOS Internals Twitter feed pointed us towards, we’re going to jump off the fence and say we’re almost entirely certain that the Need For Speed video is legit. So now we really want to see what Rubinstein is going to trot out on the stage at CES…
In other words: serious OpenGL graphics, games, and apps are a real possibility. In case you missed it the first time around, the contentious video is after the break
Thanks to krische for the heads up!
If you thought the automakers would be leaving CES to the TV and PMP makers, Ford would like to have a word with you. A few words, actually. Aside from announcing that in-car WiFi will be available next year, the iconic blue oval is today calling itself the first car manufacturer to offer factory-installed HD Radio with iTunes tagging capabilities. Slated to become available on select 2011 Ford models sometime next year, the implementation will enable listeners of HD Radio to “tag” songs they like via a single button press; from there, the song information will be logged within the radio’s memory, and up to 100 tags on Sync can be stored until an iPod is connected to suck them down. Once that data hits the iPod, users can then preview or purchase them conveniently through iTunes. There’s no word yet on pricing (we’re being forced to wait until CES), but we’re guessing it’ll demand quite the premium.
Continue reading Ford becomes first automaker to offer HD Radio with iTunes tagging
Ford becomes first automaker to offer HD Radio with iTunes tagging originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It’s one thing to have resolutions for the new year. I, for example, plan to lose weight, learn Python and design the perfect handbag. But since nothing satisfies like the quick achievement of a short-term goal, here are eight things every good nerd needs to to before the ball drops later this week.
These tasks comprise a quick to-do list that will leave you feeling competent and prepared for the decade that approaches. Also, you can play the condescension chip and start chiding friends who haven’t checked off these items yet.
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Facebook’s maelstrom-causing privacy changes have given quite a few of us a head-scratching good time trying to figure out just how much of our private lives are to be made public. Before the new year begins, take a look at your settings on sites such as Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, LiveJournal and any other places you might be sharing personal content to make sure what you display is consistent with the public image you want to project. As more recruiters and employers hit the web in search of info on individuals, it’s becoming ever more important to monitor and control our own identities. If you look back to the origin dates of some of your accounts, you might be surprised at what you thought was appropriate to share online in 2005.
Also, while considering what’s private and public, take time to evaluate what a “friend,” “contact” or “follower” means to you and what types of information you share with different groups.
Safety first, friends. Social web security threats in 2009 were sweeping and surprised more than a few users with spam DMs, hacked accounts and malware of all kinds. Check out the password management tools recommended by a recently high-profile hacker (scroll to the last few paragraphs); for free or cheap, they’ll help you generate strong, random passwords and manage them from your computer.
I’ve conducted many a web search on many a professional geek this year, and I’ve been disappointed by how few of us have staked a meaningful claim to our online identities. If you haven’t already, buy a URL – preferably one that relates to the name you use professionally – and make friends with Google. If you don’t show up in the first results when you search for your name, get a crash course in SEO and ask friends to link to you. It’s good for your social life and your career if you seize the opportunity to tell the searching world about yourself rather than relegating that responsibility to LinkedIn, Facebook or some weirdo with the same name as you.
When going through your RSS feeds, do you find yourself impatiently scrolling more than you’re intently skimming? Is your list of unread items becoming unmanagable? The end of the year is a perfect time to get rid of the content you’re not reading and group the stuff you are. Take some time this week to organize, delete and add feeds, thereby optimizing your feed-reading experience. Try tools such as NetNewsWire’s “dinosaurs” and “least attenion” features that weed out unread or dormant feeds, and consider implementing tools such as Lazyfeed or Guzzle.it that can bring relevant results from fresh sources. And make sure the feeds you own are easy for others to find, too.
If you don’t have a smartphone already, chances are you’ll desperately need one next year. And if you already have one, think long and hard about whether you’re happy with your service, network and interface.
While you might not be able to run out and buy your dream device before 2010 rolls around, visit a few retailers, read some reviews and have your eye on a good mobile to purchase next year. Mobile tech keeps on booming, and you’ll want to ensure a frustration-free year as new apps and OSes roll out.
Here’s a simple, obvious and necessary reminder. Does your website currently claim a copyright year of 2007? While it doesn’t put you on the foul side of the law, it does look a bit silly as we head into a new decade. The Next Web has a good bit of dynamic code for site owners.
That poor, neglected old beast might be long overdue for a design facelift, a blogroll refresh or even just a few new posts. While you’re at it, why not set automatic reminders to periodically bug you about posting in the new year? On a more mission-critical note, you’ll also want to make sure you’re using the most updated version of your CMS; not doing so can can lead to problems from broken plugins to getting hacked. And while you’re at it, the year’s end might also be a good time to consider switching up your CMS service altogether.
Hacks and hardware failures happen. Before 2010, make sure as much of your data as possible is protected. From calendars and contacts to blog posts and work projects, more and more of us are relying on networks of servers and startups to keep us running. So, now might be a good time to download and back up files of LinkedIn contacts and WordPress posts – anything that’s valuable to you and portable. Think of it this way: You – or at least parts of you – live in the Internet. If the Internet caught on fire, what would you grab to carry with you out of the blaze?
We hope this list helps you all get a few housekeeping items squared away in time for a great New Year’s Eve filled with peace of mind and a smug sense of superiority over your fellow nerds. If you can think of any must-do year-end tasks, please let us know in the comments!
Chad Waite wrote:
Let me start out the great moments/innovations/developments of the past decade with one that was very important to me individually.
1. As a strapping, 6-year-old boy, I had the privilege of seeing Ted Williams’s last game. I don’t know about you, but growing up in Boston in the 1960s there were two heroes: Ted Williams and Bobby Orr. Going to that game was like a dream. Why do I bring this up? Because even though I have lived in Seattle for 21 years and am a devoted Mariners and Seahawks fan, I still have a place deep in my heart for the Red Sox. I was a Red Sox fan before the existence of something now called the Red Sox Nation! What utter BS. Anyway, the single most important event of the 2000s was a night that I was in NYC (home of the ENEMY) in October 2004 when the Red Sox FINALLY won the World Series! I was in tears! And to have it happen while I was in NYC….SWEET!
Now, on to other things that pale in comparison:
2. The iPod. Who would have thought 20 years ago that one could carry around his or her ENTIRE music collection in a pocket and listen to it for hours in a car, on a train, on a plane….anywhere?
Well it became a reality, and the phenomena that changed musical entertainment forever was born. I bought Apple stock the day they sold the 1,000,000th song through iTunes at $12/share. I sold it at $36 a few months later, when I had made a 300 percent return. WAY too early!
3. Facebook. A totally new communications channel. Who, of any age, doesn’t have a Facebook account? People live in that interface these days. What started out as a genre for college aged folks, is now the most pervasive communications medium for people of most ages.
4. Death of the land-line. I have 3 adult children (28, 26, 21). None of them, I repeat, none of them, have a landline. All live outside of their parental home; one in Salt Lake City, one in Seattle and the last is a senior in college. But their only number is their mobile. 10 years ago very few people would have predicted that. I guess the fact that AT&T went bankrupt should say it all!
5) You think Moore’s law was something, just wait. I’m sure that all readers here are familiar with Moore’s Law. I don’t want to explain so go to Wikipedia! (another great innovation!). But the unbelievably fast decline in the cost of gene sequencing is way outstripping Moore’s Law. The working draft of the first full human genome was released in 2000 and then again in 2003. This first complete sequence is estimated to have cost $100,000,000 to complete. In 2010, complete human sequences will routinely be produced for a cost approaching $1,000.
It has been a miraculous 10 years and I, for one, look forward to the next 10!
Happy Holidays to all.
[Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of posts from Xconomists and other technology leaders from around the country who are weighing in with the top innovations they’ve seen in their respective fields the past 10 years, or the top disruptive technologies that will impact the next decade.]
All signs indicate that the e-reader is to CES 2010 what the razor-thin LED-backlit TV was to CES 2009—a technology whose time in the commercial spotlight is now at hand, and which will make a huge, multi-vendor push into the market in the coming year. A whole raft of e-reader devices and technologies will be on display at next week’s CES—were I to cover all of them, this article would run for many pages. This being the case, in this short preview I’ll offer a quick look at three of the most promising e-reader efforts that we’ll be watching closely for this year’s CES coverage.
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