Latest Inventions

posted by admin on Dec 16

Welcome to the final Blog Carnival of 2009 - And Best Wishes for the New Year!

Let’s begin with the very thorough and interesting article by Mary Jones who details 25 Everyday Technologies That Came from NASA. Neat!

And welcome back to a regular writer on e-books - Marco Gustafsson with his article this time on the Cool-er EBook Reader: Intuitive Marketing or Blatant Copying?.

The third article is about the planet - and lists lectures that could change the way you think about biology, technology and the world itself - let Linda Jones share with you 50 Fascinating Lectures on the Future of the Planet.

A little story about the Eco Rally that took place earlier this year by 00FF00 has some great info and some nice photos too! So, read here about The Revolve Eco Rally

And finally, the obligatory ‘Apps’ listing article this month is from Carolyn Friedman who tells us about the Top 20 iPhone Apps for Business Travelers but is joined by a very in-depth article on just 1 particular app - John presents us with his article on A Bird-finding App for iPhone and iPod Touch

See you in 2010!

posted by admin on Dec 13

Just like the UNESCO Heritage Sites are saved for future generations - now the Tango will live on too!

Since 2001 the United Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) have been recognizing living traditions that cannot always be held or preserved physically such as dancing and certain rituals as worth preserving for the future. 

These intangible heritages are vital for family groups across the world. The knowledge of these acts is passed down from family to family; father to son and mother to daughter.

They represent a part of the community, a part of their lifestyle that just cannot be simply copied by others - it needs to be felt. And how can someone know what to feel, if they have not learnt from someone who already knows.

What Else Is Worth Saving?
Such things already on the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) include China’s Dragon Boat Festival, Lace Making in Croatia and the Indonesian Batik.  There are many other virtually unheard of traditions, festivals, musical and dance related events from around the world that are vitally important to those countries, and those communities, no matter how large or small they are.

The UNESCO listings offer documents, photographic slideshows and video footage of all these events in action, to show readers why it is so important to preserve.  And it’s not just the actions that make them unique, it’s the history, the meaning and the passion that brings them alive they are literally embodied by the participants.

What Can You Do?
So, what UNESCO hopes to do, is to make sure that they work with communities and countries to ensure that maximum participation is encouraged to ensure that these traditions are learnt for generations to come.  They need to keep an interest in these cultures - not just for the people themselves, but for visitors from across the world to enjoy.

What better way to learn the Tango than from an Argentinian Dancer actually living in Argentina?

posted by admin on Nov 5

I recently received the most amazing gift, and I didn’t realise it was all so easy!

Imagine your child’s 1st birthday, your wedding day or a special trip you took made into a unique photobook albums that you designed yourself. 

Now I’m not talking about a jazzed up photo album with hand written notes and photo’s stuck in - I mean an actual real book with your images actually printed into the pages like it was for sale in a store.

Now I knew these things might be possible, but when I received a book about an amazing month in Costa Rica, with all my own great photos and a few of me thrown in - I really was brought to tears!

It Is So Simple:
Not that the person giving me this wanted to give away his secrets, but it turns out that it is really easy to create your own photo book albums online.  Basically you choose your images, you decide what size and design you want for the album - you can even help choose how many pages and what cover you want and it is all stored online until you actually tell them you are delighted with the result.  

If you change your mind, you can then add more pages, remove certain images and basically tamper with it until you are 110% happy.

If you choose a premium online company to help - they will professionally design the book for you to your very own template and in a sturdy hardback cover.  This way, you simply upload your best images onto their site, and they use their experienced design staff to create your own bespoke photobook. 

Before it is printed and individually bound - they give your the opportunity to see the final draft - allowing you to make any final adjustments.

The Result:
Imagine, being able to keep a book of every year of your child’s life, or send out copies of your book to the bridesmaid for a permanent token of your friendship. 

Or send a gift to a friend who achieved something great, a beloved family pet, a beautiful vacation, a house renovation or anything that you want to remember and have taken plenty of images of!

You can choose from plain covers, a photo on the cover, or mine has personalized writing on the cover.  There are also many companies that have specific covers and bindings for certain occasions like your professional wedding album, amazingly designed new home album, birthdays, parties, friends etc, so the choice is yours.

I love my personal photobook, as I know exactly what I was thinking when I took every one of those images.  I remember where I was when I took the snap and I know the little stories that surround each one.

And because it’s a book of only the best shots, my friends don’t have to stare at pictures of people with their heads missing and out of focus animals like in a normal album - this is my special book, and I want one of every vacation I take from now on!

posted by admin on Jul 23

Fancy a simple GPS gadget that can get you back to square one?

It’s not as stupid as it seems really - especially if the starting point is your car parked up in a national park. Or your tent in the middle of the woods!

It’s called the ECCO and it’s a small gadget that fits nicely on your key fob.

Basically, this small device can save the global postition of exactly where you are standing - and then get you right back there when you have finished whatever it is that you are doing.

How Does It Work?
Let’s say that you have travelled to a large woodland that you have never been to before - and you want to go for a long stroll - but there are no clear footpaths or marked walkways.

Now, you don’t want to get lost do you? So it would be great to know that where ever you walked up or down hills and over streams - you could click on your gadget and it would lead you back to your vehicle so that you could go home!

Nothing could sound more perfect to me as a walker. I could park my car anywhere, click the gadget to register the location, then go out for hours with the dog without the worry of getting back to where I started.

Ths gadget even tells you how far away you are from your car, so you can work out how long it would take to get back - that way you won’t end up walking for miles in the opposite direction. You would be able to walk roughly in a circle and knowing exactly where you are.

Does It Only Work For Cars?
No. I was using the car as an example of a popular thing that we want to get back to but it could be anything.

Basically, you set the first location wherever you want to, so from your home, from your school, from your tant or caravan - or just at the start of a woodland or mountain range. It will save any location regardless of where it is or why you saved it!

It would be great for kids to use if they are playing outdoors as they could always follow the gadget back to where you wanted them to be! Yes, it’s not foolproof and it in no way replaces good parents - but it is a back-up plan if your kids tend to wander out of eyeshot!

Great to use at great theme parks, mainly as a safety device - where you set the start point as the security desk or your hotel/cabin and if you get seperated from anyone - you can all meet back at the same place!

Great for being on holiday and not knowing your way around - or when you are staying out late in a new town after a few drinks - and you need to find your hotel room!

posted by admin on Jan 13

A Flying Car - At Last!!!!

Well, it sounds a lot better than Road-Going Plane - which is really what it is if you want to kill the James Bond moment right here. If not, then read on!

Someone has finally invented the flying car - and they reckon that it could take to the sky in then next few weeks for it’s maiden voyage. Yippee!!!!!

Basically, it is already a road-legal ‘car’ and you can drive it all over town if you want, fuelling up with ordinary premium unleaded petrol - although you would look a tiny bit silly with the giant wings folded up to the rear of the vehicle as you pulled in to the services!

Why haven’t we had one before?

Well, after changes in the licencing of pilots in light aircraft in the US, there is a new category of ‘light sports aircraft’ for 2009 which this vehicle fit’s into. There are also less regulations to fly one in terms of ‘pilot flying hours’ and you only need 20 or more hours to gain this license (as long as all other requirements are met).

There have been numerous improvements in the field of avionics too - this is the new technology that helps you to fly a plane. There are no longer whole panels of instruments and controls to watch over - it all got a lot simpler. GPS does your navigation, the weather is just displayed on a screen rather than having to run calculations and use charts, and they have automatic throttles.

So, who did it?

A company called Terrafugia (Woburn, Massachusetts) are behind this one, and Carl Dietrich - one of the bosses - describes it as ‘a little Transformer’. However, push all ideas of your car turning into a robot and running across fields - and even forget about your car looking like a regular car. This machine just does the basics at the moment.

So, imagine flying your small 2-seater light aircraft with a ‘fold wings up’ button on the dashboard (obviously don’t press it while flying). Then imagine landing your ‘plane’ on a small runway, and taxing off to the side. You then press your little red button and within 15 seconds the wings have folded neatly away to the sides and you can then drive out through the parking lot and then head straight off to that all important meeting.

Obviously, you need a full pilots licence as well as a driving license for this one, but how cool to avoid all that tiresome commuting every day! You could fly over interstate traffic rather than sitting in it! No need to follow the ring road around a town or city - just pass right on over it!

There will also be no annoying check-in at airports for those shorter business journeys or weekend get-aways - just load up your car with essentials - drive to the airport and press your little button. You fly off and when you land at your destination - press the button again - and drive to your cabin in the woods. Imagine the day trips you could have with this baby!!!!

The facts:

The Terrafugia Transition (it’s full name) is currently a road legal car but is still working on the plane bit. Currently, there are some issues with insuring the vehicle as companies are not sure whether it should be a car that flies or a plane the goes on roads.

When extended, the plane has a 27.5ft wingspan and can fly at around 115mph - covering up to 500 miles on one tank of petrol.

When it’s a car, it drives as an automatic (as there is no gearstick). It has 100bhp and can be driven by anyone with a licence. It fits into a standard garage and saves you having to tow your own plane or pay hangar fees.

The company already have orders for 40 even though it’s not off the ground in both senses of the word!

The competitors:

Believe it or not there are several other companies using the new ‘light sports aircraft’ category to produce their own flying vehicles in 2009. And here are just 2 of these new vehicles/big boys toys:

Parajet Sky Car - Basically a dune buggy with a giant fan attached to the back and a parachute on top. This British invention can travel 100mph as a car and 80mph as a ‘plane’. They even have a pitch for a ’sports’ version and are planning to travel from London to Timbuktu to get publicity.

Pal-V Europe BV - Not so catchy a name, but this invention is a 3-wheeled gyrocopter, with full vertical take-off and landing ability! According to the manufacturers, it is as agile as a motorbike on land and the single rotor folds completely away. As it flies so low, you apparently don’t have to log your flight as you would do with the Transition.

Literally - the sky is the limit now for your childhood dreams to come true!