Posts from ‘technology’
Great or Weird Gadgets for the Office!
The Three Stage Desk Missle Launcher
Need to keep intruders away from your PCS reports?? This security system for your office or cubicle is equipped with a motion sensor. First it flashes and sounds a siren. Then it sends a signal to the second stage which is a louder alarm. The third stage is then triggered and it will fire two foam missiles at the intruder.
THE MILLION DOLLAR HOMEPAGE POSTER
WE FOUND IT!!! Our own Peter Peng had a funny story on this developement so we found the real deal poster for you! This poster will serve as inspiration, reminding you that a small, simple idea can grow into big, fat success. The million dollar home page poster is an exact replica of the original Web page, measuring 60cm x 60cm with a gloss finish.
These Meninos coasters are styled after the iPhone’s icons giving Apple fans somewhere cool to stick their cups. Made of medium-density fiberboard (MDF) with a durable vinyl finish and a rubber bottom to stop slips, the anally retentive among you could arrange them on the coffee table as precisely as they appear on the phone’s homescreen, while the rest of us can mix ‘em up as we see fit. Oh, and if the iPhone’s not your thing, then Meninos also offers an Internet-themed set too.
USB ports are a great thing and should be put to use! Keep your drinks cool with the USB beverage cooler. It’s guaranteed to keep your favorite drink at a nice, frosty 45? F.
Technological convergence can be a great thing. For those of you who require their caffeine fix, this little USB-powered hot plate is your newest best friend. While it won’t bring your cup o’ joe (or favorite tea) to a bubbling boil, it will keep it nice and warm around 104?
Bacteria Killing LCD Monitor
PC Bank Korea introduces the PBM-978PS “Negative Ionization” LCD Monitor. It features a 5ms response time, 1200:1 contrast ratio, and a wide-viewing angle.
These were too funny not to include! Just slip these guys over your shoes and their sheer surfaces will reduce the friction enough to allow you to glide at blinding speed across your office carpet! Late for that 3 o’clock meeting on the other side of the floor? No problem any more! Note: Speed skating/ninja suit not included, though strange glances from your coworkers are something you’ll be sure to attract. (Of course, you’re productivity will probably skyrocket as well, so you’ll have the last laugh at your mid-year review!)
Apparently we are getting technology advice from aliens. LOL just kidding. =) Buy some energy while your picking up some groceries!
Recently, Bloom Energy has revealed there fuel cell technology to the world. It looks like Silicon Valley VC isn’t just helping to produce groundbreaking web applications. It is also playing a part in the green tech boom. Bloom Energy (Be the Solution) is one of them. The company has been in operating for eight years, raising $400 million in funding from VCs including Kleiner Perkins (investors in Netscape, Amazon, Google and others).
Right now, the refrigerator size technology, is doing beta testing with some major corporations (i.e Google, Coca-Cola, Ebay and Fedex.) Only, these fortune 500 companies can afford one of these beasts at this point costing about $800,000. Not in my budget yet guys. It is being developed for our homes in the near future. The goal is to change the way homeowners buy energy. Its “Bloom Box” houses fuel cells that run on oxygen, natural gas, landfill gas, bio-gas or solar power. The companies currently using the technology has showed a sizable decline in energy costs and CO2 emissions. So basically it is an power source that is poised to save us money and better the environment.
Here are some questions you may have about the technology and the answers.
1. When will the Bloom box for the home arrive, and what will it cost?
K.R. Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy, has said he hopes to see brick-sized energy servers powering homes within 10 years. The price: Somewhere south of $3,000, although it’s unclear what the initial cost might be. Bloom Energy says its corporate customers will see a 3- to 5-year payback on their initial investment.
2. How durable would it be?
Fuel cell technology has been around for decades — it was even used during the Apollo moon missions — but it’s unclear just how reliable Bloom’s technology is. The Energy Server uses an electrochemical process to generate electricity, and it operates at extremely high temperatures. Could a home energy server last at least 10 years? A shorter lifespan might severely limit cost savings for consumers.
3. Buy or lease?
A lot of homeowners probably won’t want to shell out a few thousand dollars for a newfangled energy device. Perhaps your friendly power utility might lease a Bloom server to you and handle whatever maintenance tasks are required. Then again, would this business model kill the cost benefits for homeowners?
4. Would I be able to sell energy to the grid?
Yes! Let’s say you’re using only 75-percent of the energy your Bloom box produces. Why not sell the excess power back to your local utility? If feasible, the energy server might actually help defray a homeowner’s power costs.
5. What about future applications?
A Bloom box for the home makes sense. But what about other power-hungry devices? Automobiles, for instance. A brick-sized Bloom box is the right size for a car or truck. Heat dissipation might be a serious issue, however. Laptops and cell phones? Unlikely.
Q&A provided by msnbc.com
You can keep up with us on google buzz at:
Anyone with GMAIL?? FOLLOW MAKEMEALIVE ON GOOGLE BUZZ HERE
Google is finally getting there hands in social networking and it is called Google Buzz. In the short time Google Buzz has been available to the public it has been used for millions of comments and sharing by users. So with such a powerful platform developing like this by the Google monster…. what is going to happen to facebook?? Why do we need to use Twitter? Why does this inevitable cycle that has been proven pretty solid thus far for social networks look like its going to nail facebook like the others? I don’t feel like we have really even seen a successful social network as of yet. Friendster and Myspace sold for a ton of cash but was either actually successful?? Not in my opinion, they are not even relevant anymore. Facebook has millions of users and continues to develop but will it last? As Google Buzz evolves we will absolutely find out. But the Google Monster continues to grow in every aspect of media. I think it is safe to say they are the conglomerate media mogul of the future.
Buzz’s five key features include:
• Automatic friends lists (friends are added automatically who you have emailed on Gmail)
• “Rich fast sharing” combines sources like Picasa and Twitter into a single feed, and it includes full-sized photo browsing
• Public and private sharing (swap between family and friends)
• Inbox integration (instead of emailing you with updates, like Facebook might, Buzz features emails that update dynamically with all Buzz thread content, like the photo viewer we mentioned above)
• “Recommended Buzz” puts friend-of-friend content into your stream, even if you’re not acquainted. Recommendations learn over time with your feedback.
WELCOME TO GOOGLE BUZZ!
IS IT MOBILE??
Of course it is!! Google did create Android. I think they are well aware of the value in the mobile market.
What are your thoughts about Google Buzz? Is it the end of Facebook, twitter…etc? Or is it just another social network like the rest? Tell us what you think.
If you do like it. We have installed a buzz this button on each of our posts. Share with your crew and spread makemealive!
Right Side Capital is the latest company to announce their seed-phase fund, which will invest in 100-200 start-ups per year. Their approach is to focus on quantity, not quality. In their eyes this gives them the best shot at finding the “black swan” start-up that other wise would have been missed because of the vigorous typical funding process. If you are a technology start-up looking for funding to get started, all you would need to do is submit an online application and wait to hear back. Not everyone that submits an application will be funded obviously, but your chances are a lot higher with a seed-stage company like Right Side than a traditional VC fund. In fact, VC money has been in serious short supply lately, just as demand is reaching an all time high.
Right Side Media follows a very similar model of Y Combinator, which started seed funding companies a couple of years ago. Y Combinator runs a three month program two times a year, exclusively in the Silicon Valley area. You don’t have to be from Silicon Valley to be funded, but do have to travel and live in the Mountain View area of California for the three months where you will receivve private coaching and be introduced to key contacts and investors. A typical company that is accepted into the Y Combinator, or Right Side Capital program will receive $10 – $20,000.00 and give up 6%-10% equity of their start-up in return. Right Side Capital differs from Y Combinator in that start-ups that are funded will also need to put up a little bit of their own money to ensure they have some skin in the game, and founders will not receive as much one-on-one coaching time.
Y Combinator Seed Funding Company Located in the Bay Area
I love the model and have been thinking for a while that there was a lack of small scale seed funding for the companies not ready for VC, but need some start up cash to get on their feet.
Start-Up Guru and Founder of Y Combinaror Paul Graham with a Class of His Start-Ups
Although Google without a doubt has been a great facilitator in internet technology and has changed the world of business, I am starting to have doubts about the current direction they are heading with the new Chrome OS. With the domination of Windows 7 , Snow Leopard , and Linux what makes Google think they can compete in the OS market? I don’t think billions of dollars can save them this time.
I have predicted the inception of this type of OS for a few years now and had an inkling that Google was going to be the one to produce this according to the rate at which they are pumping out all sorts of apps. A few years ago while I was analyzing and studying RIA’s ( rich internet applications) I knew that the desktop would eventually become obsolete. What we are currently seeing here is the evolution of the personal computer into a “cloud computing shell” or “big brother” computer. Although the integration of information is key to the evolution of technology, I still believe Microsoft and Apple will still remain the champions toward facilitating this change.. NOT Google.
Here are my top three reasons for this thing floppin’…
1. Google is promoting this OS initially on netbooks…. enough said there…
2. Open Source OS’s like Ubuntu and Red Hat have been working on a system like this for years. What makes Google think they can just jump in the market? What is the benefit of a Google OS… Adsense on the side of your desktop now? There are too many players in the game in the open source OS market, Google needs to let the grassroots open development companies take care of it instead of trying to monopolize open source culture.
3. Hardware companies already have an agreement with software companies. These powerhouse relationships wouldn’t want to be disrupted for an open source solution to run native. I would be really upset of if my MAC came with a free, buggy, Open Source Google OS… with the $3000 price tag. As far as the netbook market… these are currently controlled by huge Asian vendors which doesn’t give a shit about a new OS. The switch over would cost millions in operations.
Ok… Before I bash Chrome OS before It comes out… let see what they say…
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/releasing-chromium-os-open-source.html
“Most of all, we are obsessed with speed. We are taking out every unnecessary process, optimizing many operations and running everything possible in parallel. This means you can go from turning on the computer to surfing the web in a few seconds. Our obsession with speed goes all the way down to the metal. We are specifying reference hardware components to create the fastest experience for Google Chrome OS.”
It looks like Google’s biggest selling point is speed……..Ok… like every other OS.
“Google is promising boot times measured in seconds, not minutes”
“Windows 7 is Engineered for speed. Special attention has been given by the Windows 7 team for making Windows 7 faster than the previous operating systems.”
“In ways big and small, Mac OS X Snow Leopard makes your Mac faster, more reliable, and easier to use. Snow Leopard is seriously faster than its predecessor.”
SEE A PATTERN HERE?!
That’s just my two cents… I don’t blame Google for getting into the market because it has the budget to have a crack at it. As a smart business decision… I don’t think it will pan out like Google thinks.
I’m always open to debate… let me know what you think through the comments below!
Facebook is beginning to launch there more search oriented redesign today. People are beginning to be graced with the ability to use it now but none of us at MAKEMEALIVE have as of yet. They planned to launch to a few users initially for testing before releasing to the public in the following months. Facebook is going on there sixth anniversary and have desided to make some changes to there social network.
The redesign is built around the ability to do more from the homepage which I think is a no brainer. Why should people have to search multiple pages and navigate when most can be accessible from a central point. There is a much larger emphasis on the search bar as you can see in the photos it is huge for a web design. Pushing the community to utilize the search ability more like twitter has.
They have streamlined the news and live feed together so you can see what your friends are doing. As well as much of the applications being moved to a left sidebar.
“We’re releasing a set of products designed to improve your everyday experience,” said Facebook engineer Jing Chen in a blog post. Facebook certainly has the money at this point to keep up this there commitment to being innovators. Creating a more user friendly and easy experience for there network. We have noticed that being that the Facebook staff is so large that they are creating the entire twitter movement integrated with there site. I feel like it was bound to happen.
“For example, when you receive a Facebook notification about someone writing on your Wall or tagging you in a photo, you’ll see a red bubble appear in the left-hand corner, near the search bar. When you click on the icon, you’ll see a drop-down menu with the most recent notifications.”
Facebook, which now has more than 400 million users worldwide, is celebrating its sixth birthday. Founder Mark Zuckerberg said the site had helped make the world “more open and connected”.
“Thanks again for making Facebook a part of your life. Happy sixth birthday to Facebook and our whole community. We look forward to building more things and continuing to serve you for many more years to come.”
Facebook is continuing to evolve and stay committed to the user. Stay posted as the changes begin to come in effect. Also if you have been graced with the testing of the new layout. PLEASE SEND US SCREENSHOTS!!
People have always created myths about robots being the villains. That we as humans will build technology to inevitably destroy ourselves. (Terminator)
Honda is a company founded by dreams. Everyone thinks of them as automotive manufacturers. Now we are here to expose that they are so much more. The amazingly talented people at Honda have generated a series of documentaries. It includes visionaries, scientists and even race car drivers. Empowered by there dreams and philosophies they are making the impossible a reality.
Below is the short documentary on LIVING WITH ROBOTS. It is a view into the evolution of Honda’s philosophies and vision to create a robot able to interact with humans daily lives. Here is the first inside look at ASIMO.
The announcement of Apple’s iPad came with mixed reviews. Especially when Steve Jobs stated that the 3G Models will be using AT&T’s wireless network. Current iPhone users asked, ” Hasn’t Apple learned there lesson?!”
These concerns were quickly met with AT&T’s announcement to spend $2 Billion over the next year to improve their wireless networks. The main focus will be on major cities, including San Francisco and Manhattan, where the AT&T network is largely overloaded. Increasing the number of cell towers and the use of fiber-optic lines are among the their improvements. AT&T also launched the HSPA ( High Speed Packet Access ) 7.2 software ahead of schedule to combat their highest-to-date increase in wireless customers. Ken Dulaney, of Gartner Research, states ..” Apple wouldn’t have commited to them ( AT&T ), if they were going to have significant problems.”
For those of you that aren’t interested in using the tablet on AT&T’s 3G wireless networks, there are other options out there! First, the iPad is not exclusive to AT&T’s wireless service, like the iPhone! So you will have the ability to use it on other wireless providers. You can also opt for the iPad WiFi, which would only run on WiFi internet connections.
Being an iPhone user myself, I am skeptical of AT&T’s capabilities. However, I am excited to hear their plans improvements! I also feel that Apple made a very intelligent decision by not pigeon-holding their customers to an exclusive wireless provider and giving them an alternative with the WiFi models.
