The Future of Personal Transport - A Car-Plane?

Heading skyward to beat gridlock
By Maggie Shiels Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley

The solution to gridlock on our overcrowded roads is to take to the air in a plane-car hybrid that will revolutionise the way society works. Could flying become a daily means of transportation?

This vision of the future twenty years hence was revealed at the 2008 Electric Aircraft Symposium held a stone's throw from San Francisco airport in California. Plotting the next frontier in green technology was Richard Jones, a technical fellow at Boeing Phantom Works.
He said "Today I am talking about making aviation available to everyone as a daily means of transportation. Transportation changes society."

"When they dumped the horse and cart people took over two continents. 150 years ago steam turned America into a nation. Today 50 per cent of the world lives in urban areas thanks to the car. And in the last 50 years, the aviation industry has made one world thanks to the airplane."

Future transportation
When your 100mpg (miles per gallon) car is stuck in traffic and a 100mpg airplane whizzes overhead, you're going to be jealous. Richard JonesBoeing's research group is designing a hybrid aimed at travelling up to 300 miles at a time. It will use precision navigation systems that would allow the average 'driver cum pilot' to fly without special training thanks to a computerised 'flight instructor' built into the cockpit. This Mr Jones believes could make the compact plane easier to drive than a car. "People will probably be reading a newspaper rather than flying the vehicles."
He said that they will be powered using electricity and /or batteries making them the "cleanest transportation of the future."
This sneak peak at the world twenty years from now was eagerly welcomed by the assembled group of engineers, scientists, venture capitalists and chief executives who were brought together by the CAFE Foundation, a non profit organisation that promotes personal air travel.
The organisation's President Brien Seeley said that there were good sound reasons for believing that such a hybrid will be an everyday part of life. And with an estimated 1.2 billion cars expected to be clogging up the roads by 2030 he said that it is a no brainer.
"When your 100mpg (miles per gallon) car is stuck in traffic and a 100mpg airplane whizzes overhead, you're going to be jealous."

Personal aviation
The symposium was told that the environmental need to find an alternative to the combustion engine is long overdue and growing ever more urgent as fuel prices top $120 a barrel and passengers get hit with crippling surcharges for taking to the air. Dr Ben Santer who is a physicist with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory told BBC News "We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are changing the chemistry of the earth's atmosphere by burning fossil fuels in cars and airplanes." "If we don't want to have really serious changes to our climate then we have to figure out other ways of doing business."
The CAFE Foundation believes the solution is obvious. Mr Seeley told the BBC "The electric aircraft promises to solve these problems and produce a real enlightenment of aviation with new technology and a rebirth of popular general aviation and personal aviation travel."
But there is no reason to wait for Boeing's hybrid vehicle according to a Slovenian company called Pipistrel. By the end of the year it plans to deliver the world's first commercially produced, two seater electric aircraft to customers.
Their Taurus Electro can climb to 6,000 feet after taking off using a 30-kilowatt motor.
Recharging the glider's lithium-polymer battery is meant to take about as long as charging a cell phone. And weather permitting, the glider can travel 1,000 miles a day. Pipistrel's head of research and development Tine Tomazic says they already have over a dozen orders for the plane. "We are doing it now. We are flying the world's first two seater self launching glider powered by electrical means, powered by batteries." "We have seen tremendous demand from existing owners who fly the internal combustion powered version and we think the market potential for the Taurus Electro is just huge."

Efficient plane
That of course is open to question given that the sticker price for the basic model starts at around $132,000 or £67,000. For the time being it's probably fair to say that the market for the Taurus Electra and similar planes is limited to enthusiasts and those with money to spend. People like Google founder Larry Page who was also at the event and owns his own aircraft.
But in order to generate some buzz about electric planes outside of this cosy coterie of 'plane nuts' CAFE is teaming up with NASA to launch a 'Green Prize' competition. It will award $50,000 for a craft that achieves at least 100 miles per hour and the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon. Supporters of such competitions hope it will help convince people that air travel could become the greenest form of transportation. Speaking to the BBC, Mark Moore of NASA Langely said "If such an aircraft can achieve greater efficiencies than being stuck in gridlock or even on commercial airlines then we will have something to get excited about. Boeing's Mr Jones agrees and says making personal aviation the norm is the ultimate goal. "It will change society, the way we work, the way we live, the way cities grow."

Sky's the limit
And while it may take some time to persuade the public at large that they will be whizzing through the air on a vehicle that is part car and part plane, investors were being told that getting on the bandwagon early will pay off in the long run. Adam Grosser of venture capital firm Foundation Capital sponsored the event and not unsurprisingly believes personal electric aircraft is a money winner. "It is vitally important to catalyse an industry like this. A lot of the stuff you are hearing may take a while to come to fruition and we are willing to wait patiently and invest prudently behind that vision. But it will take off and the sky's the limit when it does."

Amazing New Invention in Electronics Noted

Scientists have been looking for the devices for 40 years
Details of an entirely new kind of electronic device, which could make chips smaller and far more efficient, have been outlined by scientists.
The new components, described by scientists at Hewlett-Packard, are known as "memristors".
The devices were proposed 40 years ago but have only recently been fabricated, the team wrote in the journal Nature.
They have already been used to build novel transistors - tiny switches that are the building blocks of all chips.
"Now we have this type of device we have a broader palette with which to paint our circuits," Professor Stan Williams, one of the team, told the BBC last year.
Total recall
Memristors were first proposed by Professor Leon Chua, a scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1971
They are the "fourth" basic building block of circuits, after capacitors, resistors and inductors.
"I never thought I'd live long enough to see this happen," Professor Chua told the Associated Press.
"I'm thrilled because it's almost like vindication. Something I did is not just in my imagination, it's fundamental."
The memristors are so called because they have the ability to "remember" the amount of charge that has flowed through them after the power has been switched off.
This could allow researchers to build new kinds of computer memory that would would not require powering up.
Today, most PCs use dynamic random access memory (DRAM) which loses data when the power is turned off.
But a computer built with memristors could allow PCs that start up instantly, laptops that retain sessions after the battery dies, or mobile phones that can last for weeks without needing a charge.
"If you turn on your computer it will come up instantly where it was when you turned it off," Professor Williams told Reuters.
"That is a very interesting potential application, and one that is very realistic."
'Industry anathema'
Professor Williams and his team have already shown that by putting two memristors together - a configuration called a crossbar latch - it could do the job of a transistor.

The team has built hybrid circuits using memristors and transistors
"A cross bar latch has the type of functionality you want from a transistor but it's working with very different physics," he explained.
Intriguingly, these devices can also be made much smaller than conventional transistor.
"And as they get smaller they get better," he said.
As a result, the new devices could play a key part in the future of the electronics industry, as it relentlessly pursues Moore's Law.
This industry axiom, first stated by Gordon Moore, co-founder of chip-maker Intel, states that the number of transistors it is possible to squeeze in to a chip for a fixed cost doubles every two years.
However, according to some, it may be some time before the device is widely used.
"Even to consider an alternative to the transistor is anathema to many device engineers, and the memristor concept will have a steep slope to climb towards acceptance," wrote Drs James Tour and Tao Heare of Rice University, Houston in an accompanying article in Nature.
They said that some in the electronics industry would only accept the use of memristors "after the demonstration of a well-functioning, large-scale array of these densely packed devices".
"When that happens, the race towards smaller devices will proceed at full steam."

Vegetarianism Helps Environmental Protection

Read a great article today where Paul McCartney has clearly endorsed the vegetarian movement as it causes less environmental damage...felt very glad to read it.

The rationale behind this analysis is that it takes more resources (food, water, medicine and human effort) to breed and rear animals for consumption vis-a-vis the veg route.

Hurraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!

Here's to vegetarians worldwide, we rock!!

Globalization Continues At a Scorching Pace!

On my recent visit to the USA that ended last month, I was pleasantly
surprised at the transformation that is taking place at various levels of
day-to-day life.

1. The ticket booking process was a very good learning and educative
experience using sites such as http://www.kayak.com/ and http://www.orbitz.com/. My choice was British Airways.
2. The process of online check-in including meal preferences, seat
selection and boarding pass generation was a very welcome and convenient
experience and a first for me in relation to international travel
3. I was most impressed and surprised to note the breadth of
entertainment services lined up on board the flight……obviously, it should
not come as a surprise that I watched three movies on one leg alone.

The whole experience made me realize the extent of of technology control
over our lives – especially the internet. I wonder how the future experience
would be, especially when internet access aboard the plane becomes a reality
and complimentary at that…interestingly, I came across two very interesting
crystal-gazing attempts at the future of air travel – one written by British
Airways and the other on Forbes. The thoughts they reflect really make me
wonder on the net effect of travel on the future traveller…that is something
I would love to witness.

Another phenomenon that I witnessed was the increased proliferation of
vegetarianism in the USA. This was not the case during my trip around 5
years back when a vegetarian meal availability was more of chance than
choice.

Now, every eating place has a good choice of vegetarian and healthy food
options -> a definitive transformation towards managing calories and
eventually health better. And yes, one cannot forget the C phenomenon.
Everything and everything is made in China, China and China. Their influence
is very dominant in our lives today (I realized their fooprint in India is
no less when I visited one of the local toy shops…they are definitely taking
over the world!)

This is clearly a case of an increasing pace of globalization that I have
been witness to.

One is coming across more and more of such examples on a daily
basis…..geography has surely become history!!

My Weekend

Had a lovely weekend when I was able to visit the country side near Bangalore (about 45 km or 2 hours away) for a silence-filled oxygen-rich getaway.

 

The location - Jain Farms near Baggalur where a very soothing resort with basic amenities awaits you.

 

The road was good and only choppy at some places; however, what hits you as you drive out of Bangalore is the sheer growth in urban development on the outskirts like a growing amoeba. It is therefore not long before the boundaries of Bangalore will get extended and we will have more sq. km under the city administration.

 

Back to mother nature where I was transformed into a person lost in pristine nature among various fruit and flowering trees amidst lush green environs and very few human beings on this lovely Saturday.

 

Now in the midst of a great family debate whether one should own such a place for oneselves to spend some more weekends like that.

 

We are in the process of debating that eventuality...watch this space for updates and progress..

Mobile calls on Emirates flights - Another Era of Mobile Dependency To Be Ushered!!

Dubai-based airline Emirates has become the first commercial airline to
allow passengers to make mobile phone calls during flights. Emirates said
the first permitted mobile phone call was made on a flight between Dubai and
Casablanca. The aircraft, an Airbus A340, is fitted with a system which
stops mobiles from interfering with a plane's electronics. Emirates plans to
extend the system to more aircraft and later this year add BlackBerry and
other data services.

According to the airline, the mobile service will only be activated when the
aircraft is at cruising altitude and the cabin crew will be able to monitor
and control the use of the system. Passengers will be able to receive and
send text messages, but the crew will be able to prevent voice calls at
certain times, such as during night flights. Passengers will also be
requested to keep their phones on "silent" mode, said the airline.

Emirates said it decided to introduce the use of mobile phones in its fleet
after experiencing high demand for the phones already installed in aircraft
seats. The airline had to obtain approval from international air safety
organisations before adopting the system, which was developed by the
AeroMobile Company. "We have gone to considerable lengths to ensure that all
safety and regulatory issues have been fully addressed", said AeroMobile
Chief Executive Bjorn-Taale Sandberg. Emirates flies to more than 60
countries and is owned by the government of Dubai.

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Can This Be True?

An open letter to Mr Ben Bernanke, chairman, US Federal Reserve:

Sir,

Decades back, one of your predecessors splendidly captured the post-gold standard and the consequent free float of the US dollar scenario rather succinctly when he termed the US dollar as 'our currency, others' responsibility.'

It is this responsibility cast on outsiders like me that compels me to write this open letter to you.

As I write this, I am fully conscious of the fact that we are living in exceptionally troubled times. I am equally conscious of the fact that being the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, you are in effect the central banker to the entire world. Surely, it is an unenviable position.

Your actions, sir, not only impact the United States economy, it does have the potency to impact the global economy. That explains, partly, if not wholly, the 'why' to this letter.

Yes, I am indeed aware of the sub-prime crisis that has engulfed the entire global financial sector. I am sure you are fully aware as to how your predecessor, Mr Alan Greenspan -- one of the most influential economists of our times -- described the sub-prime crisis in his book -- The Age of Turbulence. According to him the American economy was 'facing not a bubble
but a froth -- lots of small, local bubbles that never grew to a scale that could threaten the health of the overall economy.'

Yet, as events turns out, I suspect, Alan Greenspan is wrong. But the point is not merely the judgemental capacity of Alan Greenspan. Rather, it reflects poorly on the American regulatory mechanism. After all, wasn't he the product of a system that was repeatedly touted as
fail-proof; at least in surveillance, supervision and regulation? And my worry is that you too are a product of the very same system that has compelled him to be wrong.

Saving US economy from the US Fed!

In fact, the starting point of the present conundrum was the American assumption about globalisation. In hindsight, your assumption that the world was 'flat' seems to be incorrect. In fact, it was skewed, tilted, slanted -- anything but flat.

Based on such simplistic assumptions that you can prepare a global order for the world, you unleashed a war between interest rates and the index, between spenders and savers, between exporters and importers, and between producers and consumers. In this war, your countrymen -- or institutions that were controlled by Americans -- mostly wrote the rules.

More importantly, the US Fed sided with the index, consumers, spenders and importers -- all in the name of free market, capitalism and, of course, globalisation.

And you thought the world had no other options but to follow your model. It is in this connection I am reminded of the title of the famous book, Saving Capitalism from Capitalists by Raghuram Rajan, the noted economist.

I only hope and pray that your actions do not lead to a situation where we need to save the American economy, the US dollar and, by extension, the entire global financial system from complete collapse from your actions or inactions. Save the US economy from the US Fed!

Systemic failure?

Your actions over the past few months wherein you have reduced the benchmark interest rates from 5.25 per cent to 2.25 per cent now is akin to a village hakim (doctor) in India, prescribing his only concoction as medicine to patients suffering from sterility to those in advanced stages of pregnancy.

By merely prescribing rate cuts repeatedly since September 2007, to an outsider it would seem that the US Fed is keen to attack the symptoms rather than to address the systemic malaise.

In a scenario where the wave of bad news keeps coming regularly, with rumours of financial institutions going belly-up hitting markets continuously, and with markets alternating between crisis and calamity, one is not sure about the efficacy of the interest rate cuts effectuated by you.
More importantly markets are not responding to your line of treatment.

Or is the diagnosis of the entire problem wrong?

All of us want to know -- in case the problems persist -- whether you will cut the benchmark interest rates to zero? Assuming that the pains in the markets are not mitigated even then, what is the monetary, or for that matter, policy instrument available to deal in such a scenario?

Crucially, even six-months after we first heard about this crisis, despite all the surveillance, systems and procedures, we are yet to figure out the aggregate value of the sub-prime losses. Despite all the tall claims about the efficacy of your regulators, why is that we are still kept in the dark? Is it that they are unable to fathom the problem?

Or is it a comprehensive failure of the entire system? I am scared as experiences from 9/11 demonstrate that American surveillance systems are indeed suspect -- both on fiscal and physical matters.

Is it a mere $100-200 billion, as it was reported originally and thereupon dismissed as inconsequential by some? Or is it $400-600 billion as reported by UBS or Goldman Sachs subsequently? Or is it $1 trillion as reported by economists like Roubini and others? Or is it something more that compels you to be silent?

Lack of trust compounded by silence

Whatever it be, an official statement from you clearly defining the extent of the problem, would be in order. At least that in my opinion, sir, would put an end to the uncertainty that is plaguing the financial markets all across the globe. And, sir, as you know, markets abhor uncertainty, for lack of trust is highly corrosive.

Nouriel Roubini captures this paradigm brilliantly when he states: 'The lack of trust in counterparties -- driven by the opacity and lack of transparency in financial markets, and uncertainty about the size of the losses and who is holding the toxic waste securities -- will add to the impotence of monetary policy and lead to massive hoarding of liquidity that will
exacerbate the liquidity and credit crunch.'

Sir, the problem that is confronting the US economy does not only concern liquidity, profitability, capital adequacy or solvency. It concerns credibility of the system leading to lack of trust. And your studied silence is compounding the issue.

When rouges go berserk

But this is not a mere issue of even a trillion dollars as others opine. As the Fed chairman, I am sure you are aware of the magnitude of the problem. Let me elaborate.

Sir, you may recall that it often said that when normal men go berserk they are called rouges. When rouges go berserk, it is called the global financial system -- a system that is defined, dominated and denominated by the world of derivatives.

Sir, as you may be aware that derivatives are creatures of the world of 'virtual finance' that dominates the world of 'actual finance,' several times over.

With the best of financial minds engaged in devising complex and exotic derivative instruments, regulators across continents are oblivious to the net impact of these instruments (aggregate value estimated to be in excess of $500 trillion in 2007 when the world GDP is approximately $40 trillion only) on global economy.

In this world of virtual finance, currency, commodity, and stocks have been uniformly converted into financial assets. And as every market gyrate violently, risks would materialise, then crystallise and get actualised, the cascading effect of this highly leveraged game in the world of 'virtual finance' on the relatively tiny world of 'actual finance' is indeed mind-boggling.

Sir, no wonder you are silent on the extent of the potential damage -- both on actual and virtual finance. And this is eloquent testimony to the fact that the markets are beyond your control, your surveillance and your regulations.

Sir, I am sure you would know that even on the morning of November 9, 1989 (A different 9/11) one could never have predicted the fall of the Berlin wall that evening. That in turn signified the fall of Communism. Though analysts had predicted its fall for over two decades, the abruptness did catch everyone by surprise.

Sir, the world does not want to be caught once again by such nasty surprise. Already economists like Martin Wolff (in the US) and Gurumurthy (in India) have predicted large-scale intervention by the 'US public sector' to bail out private finance firms from collapse. The recent bail out of Bear Stearns was an indicator of what lay ahead.

But this solution seems to suggest the conversion of the US into a perfect socialist state -- socialism for the rich, mighty, privileged and those who were reckless with others' finances.

In the alternative, the US runs the risk of going the erstwhile USSR way with the only variation that abrupt collapse of the US, unlike USSR, could have profound impact on global economy.

Either way it would seem that you are following the Russian model. What a fall for a country that was held to be a model for free markets and capitalism! Surely Karl Marx would be chuckling at your predicament.

Sir, your silence on all these matters is funereal. And the list of those who doubt the very viability of the US economy is growing by the minute. Let me confess with a heavy heart, sir, today, I have joined that bandwagon.

With best regards,

M R Venkatesh

Specialized Search Engines

Found an article on Economic Times with some key search engines for
specialized needs!

Images:

With FaganFinder.com, you can use one search field to search several dozen
sites that contain rich image repositories. FaganFinder acts as a kind of
front end to the image-searching tool of your choice. Type a search term,
select the site you'd like to explore, and click Search. FaganFinder passes
your search term to the site you've chosen, and you're presented the
results.

Live Music:

The Web is alive with the sound of music — or just with sounds. The trouble
lies in finding what you want. No major search engine is going to help you
to find lots copyrighted music to download without paying for it, but
there's plenty of free music available online if you know where to look.
Start by looking at Songza (http:// www.songza.com). This unique search tool
finds an amazing number of music from both major artists and unknowns.
Included among search results are sometimes rare or bootlegged songs that
have somehow found their way somewhere onto the Web. Songza not only finds
recordings from musicians that you know but also makes suggestions, based
upon your searches, about which music you might. You can also click the 'top
played' tab to see what other users have been listening to. Songza provides
a fascinating and enjoyable way to experience music on the Web. The Web is
slowly but surely becoming a replacement for the television.

Videos:

Witness the number of videos that adorn the pages of everything from news
sites to Internet forums. Wouldn't it be great if there were a way to locate
a specific video when you wanted to? The answer is Blinkx (http://
www.blinkx.com), which bills itself as the world's largest and most advanced
video search engine. Whether you come away from Blinkx agreeing with that
assessment, one thing's for sure: you can use the Blinkx to find a lot of
videos, very quickly. Blinkx is attractively laid out and, like Google and
other search engines that now offer video searching, makes it easy simply to
type a search term and find some videos with one click.

Tried these out and they rock….

Hope you enjoy them too!!

CES COOL GADGETS!

The best gadgets of CES 2008 (Apologies for the late posting but these are too cool to miss out!)

More than 20,000 new gadgets and technologies from more than 2,700 companies
were on display at the Consumer Electronics Show.

The BBC News website's take on the devices and gadgets that caught the eye
throughout the show.

Eee GOES WIMAX

The lightweight and small Eee PC from Asus has been one of the tech hits of
the last 12 months and more than 350,000 machines have been sold in the past
thee months.

It has won admirers for its four gigabyte solid state hard drive, small form
factor and attractive price. It runs the Linux operating system, but can
also run Windows XP.

The company has now announced new models - 7, 8 and 9 inch - but crucially,
they will have Wimax built in - giving it increased wireless capabilities.

In truth, there are not that many Wimax-enabled areas anywhere in the world,
although 70 different countries are trialling it.

But Intel is betting heavily on Wimax as the winning next generation
wireless network and so Asus has taken the plunge - at least, in North
America.

The entry level Eee with Wimax will cost about $999, according to reports.

FEEL THE FORCE

If you have ever wondered what it feels like to fly a fighter plane or drive
a formula one car, now is your chance.

TN games has designed a wardrobe for gamers that recreate on screen action
in the real world.

The vests are based on technology that was originally designed for use by
doctors to remotely examine patients.

The vests, connected to the computer by USB, consist of a light weight air
compressor that pumps air into bladders.

A version designed for first person shooters contains eight cells that are
able to recreate the direction and force of bullet fire.

Another version recreate the G-forces felt whilst driving and flying.

When the player accelerates, the cells inflate in the chest. Faster
acceleration causes the cells to inflate quicker, whilst braking causes the
back cells to activate.

The firm has also designed sleeves, leg covers and a helmet that plug into
the vests to deliver what it says is a "full body gaming experience".

AD REMOVER

One of the problems of recording TV programmes on to video tape was that
when watching them back the viewer had to fast forward through the adverts.

The same is now true of programmes recorded digitally through a TV tuner in
a PC.

But a company called VideoReDo has developed a piece of software that
automatically strips out the adverts.

A trial download of the TV suite software which includes the ad remover is
available for free.

It works by looking for clues that what is on screen- such as the black
screen between adverts - before cutting out the relevant section.

The original version of the software - which includes a video editing suite
- is nearly three years old.

But the newest version incorporates useful features such as the ability to
record the edited programmes to DVD.

According to the firm the next version, out later this year, will let users
encode the video to a format suitable for viewing on iPods.

ROBOT TOYS

Children's toys went hi-tech at this year's CES.

Woowee, the company behind the best selling Robosapian robot, launched a
series of robots packed with gadgetry.

Its wi-fi enabled Rovio robot packs an omni-directional webcam which can be
controlled remotely using any web accessible device, such as a cell phone,
PC or games console.

The wheeled robot also features a stripped down GPS system that allows it to
locate itself and navigate around its environment.

The company has also launched a new version of Robosapien.

Tribot is a three wheeled machine controlled by a tilt sensor that is able
to tell jokes, read stories and play games.

The firm's line-up also included machines that dumped the cold, hard
exteriors normally associated with robots in favour of fur and cute
expressions.

Known as the Woowee Alive series, the cute animals, which include pandas,
polar bears and tigers all feature animated faces, and realistic noises
activated by touch and tilt sensors.

The lion cub also has other lifelike behaviours - leave it on its own for
five minutes and the cub purrs itself to sleep. Pick it up by the scruff of
the neck and its legs go limp.

Other hi-tech toys included a flying robot packed with infra red sensors to
allow it to fly autonomously.

RADIO FOR THE DEAF

Millions of people around the world miss out on the joys of radio because
they are hearing impaired.

But a new initiative by National Public Radio, technology firm Harris
Corporation and Towson University aims to change that.

The consortium is developing radio for the deaf, a counter-intuitive
sounding system that translates speech radio into text in real time.

At the moment the voice to text conversion has to be done by typists but
could one day be automatic.

The information is then broadcast alongside the voice transmission and
displayed on a screen on the radio.

The consortium will transmit the first live broadcast at CES using a
prototype radio that has a screen large enough to display big swathes of
text.

They expect the first commercial radios to be available to wards the end of
this year.

WIRELESS HDTV

The number of wires running behind the television has been reduced by one.

LCD TV manufacturer Westinghouse, working with networking firm Pulse-Link,
have shown off what they say is the world's first integrated wireless HDTV.

The 47-inch television looks like any other but has an in-built receiver
that takes a signal from an ultra wideband transmitter plugged into a high
definition DVD player.

The setup at CES was streaming the James Bond film Casino Royale from a
Samsung Blu-ray player.

The firms claims that the secure connection has no lag and is able to stream
a range of high definition formats including the highest resolution TV
format available today, known as 1080p.

The first sets are aimed at business but the technology will soon make it
into the home when the technology becomes cheaper.

MOBILE HOME

The mobile phone has changed the way people communicate, but a consortium of
Japanese researchers and companies are banking on the device to do much
more.

The P2P Universal Computing Consortium (PUCC) has developed a set of
networking standards that allow mobiles to remotely control domestic
appliances from afar.

At CES the consortium showed off an iPhone application that allowed a user
to control a flat in Tokyo.

The user could switch lights on and off, control the air conditioning and
even turn the washing machine on.

The technology is already available in Japan where users of the NTT DoCoMo
network can keep an eye on their home from afar.

The consortium has also shown off healthcare applications including a
wireless nappy for use by bedridden patients and a heart monitor that allows
a doctor to monitor a patient from afar.

Later this year the group will release software that will allow anybody to
build applications using the standards.

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Blogging resumes!

So I have been off the blog for what seems ages now for several genuine and not so genuine (:-)) reasons.

Now I plan to make up thanks to my latest gizmo, the BlackBerry Curve.

Here's wishing me luck!!
Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel