Technoholics Anonymous

I recently have been pondering weather we as a society have become increasingly addicted to technology. This idea has been spurred by recent observations of tech around me. I have a son that is almost 3 and he loves to play with my Ipod touch. I have downloaded about 10 preschool apps along with a couple of preschool videos. My son has enjoyed all of the apps that I have downloaded for him, but he has also become curious about the other apps I have. He has recently discovered the app Tap Tap Revenge 2 and loves the Stroke 9 song Tap Tap DomiNation. Somehow he has picked up on the words tap tap and he says "play tap tap". He has also become enamored with the Star Wars light saber app. His fascination with these apps have made me worry that he's too young to be into these types of things and that he'll turn into a video game addict. Also, when he asks to use my Ipod, he calls it a Mypod. Hey, I thought I was a part of the "me" generation. It's pretty scary to watch him navigate through the Ipod. He has figured out how to do pretty much everything except sending e-mail. Check that, I apologize if anyone on my contact list has gotten e-mails with the following text: apowiehjnadshfasfj. I still have yet to teach him how to use spell check.

We use technology so much in our daily lives, that we now don't know what to do when it's not available. On my way home from work (I was coming from a construction meeting from a local fruit based company), the guy sitting next me was multitasking between his 2 Iphones and his Ibook. I'll overlook his addiction since he works for the company that makes those products. I also heard a story about the long term affects of Hurricane Ike in Texas. This June, Texas is about to experience a mini baby boom. Hurricane Ike caused power outages in certain areas of Texas for a number of days. I guess since people were not able to use their everyday tech, well... you can connect the dots. Let's just say there will be about twice as many babies born during the first part of June in the region.
So whats the solution? I'm not sure, but maybe we need to start support groups to help wean ourselves off of tech. A sort of 12 step program for geeks. Step one: Admit you have a problem....
With that I'll leave you with a link to a YouTube video about Facebook. http://rhettandlink.com/videos/#facebook-song

To much information

Over the past week our country has been bombarded with news about the swine flu. Oops, I meant H1N1. I don't want to offend any swine. On one hand I agree that we need to know about virus outbreaks than can become pandemics, but I also feel the media got a little carried away on swine flu updates. I understand how a virus can spread so fast with the globalization of our world, but the virus I'm more concerned with is the media frenzy of both information and misinformation. All of this media over saturation is enough to make you sick. Not once did I hear the mainstream media report about the hundreds of normal flu related deaths each day in our country during each flu season.
Over the weekend, I caught a cold from my son. At one point, I felt bad enough to look up the swine flu symptoms to make sure I didn't have it. Luckily I don't, but I still can't explain my craving for bacon. I'm feeling better now, but am not looking forward to the next headline of bad news to send the world into another information pandemic. "Just in an outbreak has been reported of dolphin flu spreading across west coast beaches".

Liquid HD

I recently found out about an upcoming technology that promises to simplify the interconnectivity, control, and distribution of home electronics. It's called Liquid HD (http://www.liquidhd.com/) and is being developed by a local company called Silicon Image. Now I know some of you are hoping that this is a box that liquefies any electronic device that you are frustrated with. While others may think it's marketing hype for a high definition energy drink. (the term high definition is becoming way too overused). What it actually is, is a technology that connects various electronic devices, such as TVs, DVD players, and game consoles together through a network. Once connected, any device can be used anywhere on the network. An example would be that you could use you kids' Nintendo Wii ,which may be located in their bedroom, on the living room TV, while someone else uses the living room satellite receiver to watch TV on the built-in screen on the outside of the refrigerator door. Also, remote control signals travel through the network to control whatever device is being used. If this technology works it should make every one's lives easier. I just wish I knew it was available before I spent a couple of days crawling under the house running cables from my computer to my TV.

Hospital wifi and child birth

Tonight my wife and I went on a hospital tour to prepare for our second child. I was glad to hear the woman leading the tour highlight the fact that the hospital does have wifi. I bring this up because a lot seems to have changed as far as peoples' views regarding technology involved with momentous events in life. Three years ago I was on a hospital tour before the birth of my son. On this tour I asked if the hospital had wifi. I was instantly scorned by everyone else on the tour, except for my wonderful wife. The other people on the tour thought,"How dare you think of even touching a computer at any point during the three to four day hospital stay for child birth!" For some reason this backward thinking group didn't see how technology can help them instantly share this moment with friends and family. So I was relieved that the tour guide highlighted the wifi access and was amazed that this time no one batted an eye. As for me I brought my iPod to test the access at the hospital. This time around I have even more tools like Twitter and Facebook to share this incredible event.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPod touch]

To twit or not to twit

After taking a week off to celebrate my wife's birthday, I'm pondering the relevance of Twitter. About a month ago I decided to join twitter out of curiosity. Initially I did not see the point or understand the premise of Twitter. After all I reluctantly joined the Facebook cult and have since indoctrinated others to join. Twitter is just one of those things you have to try to understand. My best definition is a social networking, micro-blogging site, that allows you to follow anyone else who is on Twitter including actors, sports figures, musicians, politicians, and companies. At first it feels a little strange having a window into the daily lives of famous people. You find yourself thinking, "Should I really know what this actor had for lunch or that they just used the bathroom?" For the most part the people I follow have pretty witty post and that makes them seem a little more normal. Some tech savvy people I know have even figured out how to link their post to go to all of the social networking sites that they are a part of. In the city where I live, Twitter recently saved the life of a woman contemplating suicide. She posted a tweet to actress Demi Moore about what she was considering. Luckily people were able to intervene and she got the help she needed. So go on give Twitter a try.

As a side note, last week I made a phone call using my iPod through Skype. I just think that is so cool. Geeky, but still cool.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPod touch]

Flying Cars and Wireless Power

Since I was young I always thought it would be cool to have a flying car like on the Jetsons. When I became a long distance commuter, I realized it should be a necessity. Sometimes when I'm stopped in traffic, I imagine pushing a button to take off and fly over the other commuters. So far I've had to settle for the next best thing: driving my Civic hybrid with carpool stickers in the carpool lane as a solo driver. Well it now looks like the dawn of the flying car is finally upon us. Here's a link showing a prototype of a flying car. Check it out.

Flying car now a reality?

The other futuristic invention I'm excited about is wireless power (even though the concept has been around since 1820). I work with a lot of various wireless products in my field. My colleagues and I often joke about having wireless power. This joke stems from clients requesting us to put electronic devices in areas where there is no power and no easy way to have it installed. There are now a number of companies working on real wireless power. The process they use is called induction. Which basically is using magnetic fields. Here's the wiki if you want the scientific explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_induction
Our society is ever increasing the amount of electronic gizmo's that either need to be plugged in to work or plugged in to be recharged. On a daily basis I need to recharge my ipod, blue tooth headset, and two cell phones. Imagine not having to ever plug these devices in. Just set them near the electromagnetic field and they recharge. Or imagine having a blender in the kitchen without a power cord. You just set the blender in the field and it works. Check out the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwkKkLDhAJ0
Now I just need to figure out how to install conveyor belts into my house and find a place to purchase a robot maid named Rosie.

Control your house from anywhere.

One of the manufacturers (www.crestron.com) that I regulary work with makes equipment that allows you to automate your house. With their equipment you can control all sorts of devices such as your entertainment system, lights, security system, thermostat, and even your hot tub. Their equipment also has the ability to be accessed remotely through the Internet. But the really exciting news is that they recently released an app for the iPhone and iPod touch. So if you have their equipment integrated into your house, you can now monitor and control it from anywhere. Now if you forget to turn off the heater when you go out of town, you can just pull out your phone and turn it off. Or if your kids are at home watching TV instead of doing their homework, you can turn it off while you're at work. I think their equipment is quickly going from a want to a need for me. I don't care who you are, but having something like this is very cool.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPod touch]