Latest Inventions

posted by admin on Aug 16

Hello Again - and what a great time to be at the fore-front of the latest inventions and technology!

Almost every day, there is an announcement about something great to advance our thinking or challenge our current ways of thinking - the future looks so different - if only we would make the change!

Looking back over time Adam Park takes us through his top 10 Tech Milestones That Changed The World for a glance at the past - and hopefully they can take us places in the future!

Add to this some of the following technological information here from Susan, as she details her best 25 Startups Revolutionizing Biotechnology. Even small things can make a huge difference!

Staying with the prefix ‘bio’ - take a look at the amazing advances and technology involved with Mike’s great article on: Massive Future MRI Machine Promises to Unravel the Secrets of Human Biochemistry! Great stuff!

Moving on to inventions today - read on if you want to know about something new: Coming Soon to a Classroom Near You: 10 Things To Know About Robot Teachersby the converted Erin Lenderts! Now I’m not sure if these will ever really take over in mainstream schools - but the idea for smaller groups or adult learners could really be a good thing!

And, if you ignore all the adverts at the top - scroll down to a very thorough article by Rick Cole as he reviews the difference between to very similar in-car technologies: Garmin vs TomTom. Worth a peak if you are considering a sat nav in the future.

And finally - How to use Twitter in a way I hadn’t really thought off: Sharons719 offers us 50 “Healthy” Ways to Use Twitter. Very interesting!

And on that note - get back outside and enjoy the nice weather before winter sets in!

posted by admin on Aug 10

Why cram your office full of old-fashioned phone technology - when the solution is to get rid of it all!

You don’t need a separate scanner and fax machine anymore (the 2 are combined), a whole room for your computers (laptops are shrinking) or even a computer to update your emails or write documents (a smart phone or iPad will do!).

So why are you still struggling to maintain and house your hired phone system in your office?

If you are thinking of improving your business - and the perception of your business - then VoIP for business could be just what you are looking for - so let’s learn more about what it can offer the small and large business - whatever your business!

VoIP Today:
This Internet-based communication system was first hyped up to get ‘free’ phone calls over the Internet by plugging a headset into your computer - but it has certainly come a long way now.

Your office phone system could be completely off-site - with no hiring, storage and maintenance of hefty or bulky equipment - basically you just have your own phones and your existing phone line - everything else is off-site and so there is nothing to worry about.

Basically, you can have all the services you currently have with your ground-based phone system with the constantly improving Internet-based VoIP.  Whether it’s conference calls, call divert or ansa-phone systems - it will all be exactly the same as before - only better!

Not only will it be better - but it will be quicker, easier and cheaper than your existing system - virtually guaranteed!

Business Benefits:
Well, the most obvious benefit will be the financial savings involved!  Not only are VoIP calls cheaper in the first place - you won’t be having to pay to hire any equipment to get started.

There will be no maintenance costs at all - as all the equipment is off-site, except your own phones and computers.  Any upgrades can be quickly and easily added to your account overnight via your IP rather than having to change software or hardware yourself (no doubt at an extra cost as well!).

There is also no need to sign a long term contract as these services are usually charged for monthly usage only rather than the huge investment you make by taking on a whole hardware system. 

And most businesses can save between 50-85% on existing calls - as you simply pay for each user, not the number of calls they make!  So no more paying extra to call during working hours - or waiting to the weekend to save a few pence a minute.  And think of that ‘free’ time on the phone to spend on talking to your new clients, or calling to update your existing clients and answer any of their questions.

You can be online with your new VoIP system in minutes rather than having to waste days fitting and wiring a contract system throughout your office - and of course there is no need to stay in the same office for the length of your contract to save moving it all and rewiring everything at your new office.  This system is totally phone-line based and is only fixed to a phone number - not a building or postcode!

And you don’t even need to give up your existing business numbers to sign up - they are totally transferable onto your business VoIP account!

I don’t know what you are waiting for!

posted by admin on Jun 12

Your searches may go up into space - but your local services and community can get the benefits.

I have used directory enquiries and service and product listings before on the Internet - but why not start using these to promote and recruit your local workers, friends and businesses - and maybe even yourself!

It’s all ‘eco’ this and ‘emissions’ that these days - so why not take advantage of the online services and websites that are trying to cater for these new lifestyles and get your business promoted closer to home - or find a great builder/plumber/handyman that you can trust!

Imagine if you could find a local builder down the road that everyone loves - or a babysitter around the corner that everyone trusts?  When you are new to an area, you can’t normally get your hands on this kind of information for months or even years.

Just Moved To Edinburgh?
I mean - say you just moved to a new city and needed a good car mechanic - you normally have 2 choices: 1) pick one at random that you live close to and hope for the best, or 2) trust a local you bump into in town to give you good advice!

However these days - you can check a website that has got years and years of recommendations on it - so you aren’t just down to guess work and good luck.  You can actually use a trusted source that has been regularly updated and improved over the years: so type in Edinburgh MOT into a website like TouchLocal.com (a local business online directory) for example, and it will come up with all the recommendations from past customers.

And of course you can have your say too.  Why not let everyone know that you received great service in a out-of-town restaurant?  Or that you got some great advice from a local shop owner in town.  Have your say and make sure other new residents get a fair deal too!

Is It All Listing After Listing?
No.  These days you can get information from all sorts of mobile sources - like the Twitter directory enquiry service that Touch Local also offer - to save you thumbing through giant yellow pages and the like. 

For example, you can just tweet something like Caterer In Chiswick or Edinburgh Accountant to their given Twitter account and instantly receive a contact name and number for what you want that second! No more searching for ages for 1 then finding 3!

Local doesn’t have to mean slow and old-fashioned these days.  Local means community spirit and loyalty.  And these great community supported sites are the way forward in today’s eco climate.

They also offer other services on their site to hold this all together like an ‘expert’ Q & A section where you can ask any questions to local ‘experts’ - or apply to become and expert yourself!  Also there is a messaging service and a sort of social networking area where you can stay in contact with other people in your community for advice or just chatting between friends and colleagues.

These types of sites could be great way to add eco credentials to your business as well as getting your services recommended to a wider audience of supporting and life long clients!

Think Business - Think Local

posted by admin on Jun 6

Imagine holding up a box of LEGO to a screen - and seeing a 3D image of the fully assembled model!

That is exactly what you can do right now, not just with that one ‘toy’ brand but with dozens of others - and the technology doesn’t just stop at games and gadgets - this new world of imaging could be appearing right in front of you in the street!

Soon, we won’t have to just guess what things will look like when made, we won’t have to guess where that repair store is on a busy high street - and you won’t even have to take your chances in a new restaurant without seeing the reviews of it’s past customers!

Augmented Reality (AG) - although first invented in 1968 by Ivan Sutherland - was truely brought to life in 1999 with the use of software that detected and reacted to ‘markers’ for image tracking.  Then it was developed the following year as a great way to bring text books to life with 3-dimensional images being more helpful than flat pictures - and basically - why stop there?

AG has been used for years on the TV - and watching the football teams pop up on screen as the players ‘warm up’ is a classic example; and showing the ’finish line’ over the river in a boat race is another ‘everyday’ use.  But we didn’t want an inanimate object - we wanted to be in charge of the images.

Initially driven by sales of merchandise, these AG software packages allowed consumers to ‘play’ with their gadget before buying it so to speak.  They could see images of their preferred product and even turn it around to see it from all angles before spending any money - even comparing the finished product to a similar one.

This is a huge step forward from the AG systems that need head mounted displays (HMD’s) to work.  Think back to when we thought that seeing computer information on the inside of your glasses was amazing - now it looks like you don’t even need the glasses!

The Future:
Well, think about films where computer screens seem to be on a whole table, the wall or even ‘floating’ in mid air and you can use your hands to move sections of it.  This could be coming very soon.

There are currently people working on whole room set-ups (spatial displays) that will allow you to overlay certain images into the space given - say for example looking at a new bathroom suite in your actual bathroom - try before you buy type of thing!  A new kitchen, lounge, office suite - the list is endless once you think about it.  But obviously it will have scientific uses first, like designing new hospitals, spaceships and whole environments maybe?

It is already being used in manufacturing - where the HMD’s contain step by step instructions that are triggered by the component parts and medical breakthroughs are also allowing layers of the human body to be seen simultaneously by surgeons to complete operations faster and safer.

So rather than a virtual reality - where you step into a computer generated world - this new reality is where the computers move into your world, and hopefully improve it!

However, I can imagine a hacker getting in to one of the programs and then a HMD AG fan could find New York City with wild animals or even aliens around every corner!

Source: BBC Focus Magazine.

posted by admin on Apr 16

You will probably be reading this in the sunshine at last - and maybe a little sunburned like me!

We have plenty of articles from our readers this month regarding latest inventions, new products and technology - so lets get straight to it; the first article this April is from Suhani.

This is for all the ladies out there who want to find their best look without using bag after bag of cotton balls! Take a look at the video in this article for a great new software application: Digital Cosmetic Mirror – the future of beauty treatments. It could also be seen as a ‘green’ invention too for all the make-up it could save!

The next article is a nice short summary of some of the newest (and most lifelike) robots that have been invented recently - with a few snaps too, so join Ava Jones for her article on the 10 Real-Life Robots You Won’t Believe Exist!

Staying with technology, Steve Patterson short article brings to my attention the ‘Nook’, a Kindle-like gadget that is apparently kicking up a bit of a storm! So take a quick look at Nook Production Increased to Meet Demand for more info.

For those of you who like to stay at home and enjoy the best home theater systems, then maybe have a look at Steve Faber’s post about the New TiVO Premier XL DVR Gives Even More of Everything.

Health is the issue for Delmy Martin, who lists many gadgets that can help you to eat better, get healthy, keep fit and generally have fun doing it! So take a look at some of the links in 25 Fitness Gadgets that Can Improve Your Health, and maybe try a few yourself!

Whereas Madeleine Begun Kane is becoming distracted by the whole ‘must know’ nature of the internet at the moment - and I have included her little limerick because it sums up what the internet means to a lot of people these days! Feed Needs. Whereas Heather Sanders wants us to learn more about the newest social site, with her The Educator’s Guide to Using Google Buzz.

And finally, the obligatory ‘apps’ post - but this one from Allisin Jonanson has a twist: its not about the iPhone! Take a look at her 25 Essential Android Apps for Science Nuts.

Now, get back out there into the sunshine!