By Nick True

Executive Summary:

We are entering a new world of human body augmentation.  Genetic, chemical, and even technological resources can be used to customize the human body.  We are rapidly approaching a time in human history where human evolution is not limited or even dictated by the ‘selection of the best adapted’, because we can now change ourselves within our own lives consciously.  We are entering an era where humans can make themselves better, faster, and stronger.  It is no longer our genetics that determine how well we are physically adapted to the environment, but our conscious decisions and actions. 

A Brief History of Body Augmentation:

Humans have already been doing simple body augmentations for centuries, but so far it has mostly been superficial. Simple body modifications include body art such as ceremonial tribal decorations, tattooing, or piercings.  Historical body augmentations have been met with a wide range of cultural and societal responses, far too many to list here, and these augmentations have served just as many purposes, ranging from those of deep religious and spiritual significance, to mere rebellions against modern society.  They can be a simple as a simple ear piercing to as extreme as the following picture, where whole facial structures are changed.

Current Advances in Body Augmentation:

We are now at the beginning of an era where body augmentation is beginning to have true biological and even psychological impacts.  Steroids have been around for a near half century, and have allowed individuals to far exceed natural physical feats.  Belgium Blue cattle are a new breed of cow that have a genetic mutation that give them a very dense muscle structure good for  beef, this mutation or trait is now being selected by ranchers to create a new breed of ultra-muscled cattle.  You may be surprised, but even Lasik eye surgery is a form of body augmentation where the cornea of the eye is modified and reshaped to give better vision.  Cochlear implants are being used to allow some deaf patients to hear for the first time.  Many students and even adults are giving brain chemistry, and even personality changing drugs to treat conditions such as Bi-polar disorder, and ADHD.

Possible Future Advancement in Body Augmentation:

Now this is where it gets truly exciting; augmentations are in the works that allow humans to push the boundaries of human capability to unseen lengths, people will soon be able to augment their bodies in extreme facets that will change the fundamental way in which the world is interacted with.  National labs funded by the Department of Energy have created a third generation ‘artificial retina’ for the blind that allows them to see at extremely low resolutions, proving that artificial retinas can partially restore sight.  It is the hopes of this second sight project that in the next decade, sight can be restored to the blind that has resolutions similar to that of a computer screen.  There is also much work being done in exoskeletons, a device that is worn outside of the body that allows for augmented and increased strength, or even allow partial paraplegics to have motion again.  Defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin have very promising prototypes that have already been field-tested and show great promise, check out the video here.  A company in Japan is already renting out their primitive exoskeletons for $2300 a month, and in a bit of savage irony, the company is named Cyberdyne.  Video here

Executive Summary

We are facing a new frontier, an era where humans can modify the very way in which their bodies work to achieve goals before thought impossible.  As a great idol of mine once said “another glorious dawn awaits”.

Additional Resources

Belgium Blue Bull

second sight

Lockheed Martin exoskeleton video

Cyberdyne exoskeleton and video

I wanted to put out a quick post on URL shortners and it just happens that another news-worthy tech is out so what do you do?

Shorten the URL and use it as an example for this article of course!

Well here we go…

Executive Summary:

This little link below is a shortened URL (Uniform Resource Locator).

http://bit.ly/dr4pJj

Without this little piece of techno-magic the Tiger Text App would not be such a viral post… Why you may ask?  Because how do you try to twitter this–  http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1968233,00.html#ixzz0gz4kVgNZ

Simply put… you don’t.

The Skinny

Need more info?  Then read on to see how it works.

• Step 1-  User copies long URL into memory
• Step 2-  User pastes long URL into a shortening website
• Step 3-  Shorting site such as Bit.ly or Tiny.com makes a little database entry that says if someone goes to bit.ly/X45c35 (or whatever little code it makes) then please redirect them to the mirrored long URL.
• Step 4- User grabs little tiny URL and puts it in their Tweets, Facebook Status, or emails it to a friend.
• Step 5-  Others click on it, get redirected to the long URL site and if they like it send it on/Re-tweet it to their friends.
• Result—– Lots of people sending it around the world and people seeing crazy videos or news articles that become very popular very quickly.

So, why is Tiger in this post then?

Good question.  This little app (see article here) or (http://bit.ly/dr4pJj ) is moving super duper fast because of shortening sites like Tinyurl.com or Bit.ly and also because people are fascinated by crazy stories, especially applications that can help you not get caught sending sensitive information.

What is Tiger Text anyway?

Another Fabulous Question!  Basically it is a really bad use of technology that can help you effectively do wrong without getting caught.  Read the entire Time article for a good recap but suffice it to say the creator of the app really doesn’t have much of a conscious to create such an app for Iphone users.  I could go on and on but I won’t.

Summary

URL shortners help make long unreadable URLs into a short and possibly more friendly URL for sending complex links to your friends.   Bit.ly, Tiny.com, and other are ready to help you take that long Map link and shorten it in an instant.  That is why the Tiger Text App has moved so quickly around the Web.

So, here’s my even Tiny-er summary-

Use URL shortners. Don’t use Tiger Text.

Last links:

• www.Tinyurl.com (one of the orginal url shortners)
• http://bit.ly/ (an even shorter url shortner)
• www.shadyurl.com (This one is fun, it doesn’t shorten them… it makes them “shady”… try it out for a good laugh).

But before we do that, a big Thank You!!!  The readership is continuing to grow and we thank you for that keep spreading the word!

Site Stats:

• From Jan 1st 2009- today (Jan 1, 2010) we have had almost 12,000 visitors with an average 2.25 pages read per visit. Thanks!
• All the states of the USA are represented as well as the UK, India, and Australia! (This surpassed our Goal!).
• Our sister site Playin’ With Fire was launched and is doing good.
• Our Facebook fan pages and groups are growing well.
• We’ve had lots of great questions and comments!  Yippee!

So with that a big Thank You and a Happy New Year!

Last Links:

1. By far the most read article is “Omegle: Chat with Complete Strangers”
2. Facebook viruses: how to simply protect your self A must read.
3. Picasa 3: The Best Photo Editing Tool Around –Over a year old but still going strong!
4. Buying a computer in 2009: Advice from both sides -  3 experts, 3 angles, and lots of good advice!
5. Tech Cafe: Trailer Our trailer for the video. Watch it again if you want, the “digital native” is my daughter “immigrants” my folks

# 6-10?  Well we are glad you asked!  Here’s the list enjoy them all if you have time!

Do Your Kids–Think Before They Post?

3 Steps to Spyware Removal: Wash, Rinse, Dry

Why Teens don’t Tweet

Your kid’s a Pirate

Internet Phishing: Hook, Line, and Sink… ya

As always. Thanks for swinging by!

By Nick True

Executive Summary

The Naughts (the term I prefer for the years 2000-2009) saw an amazing expansion in consumer technologies that make our daily lives easier, and more enjoyable.  Most of these technologies were incomprehensible in the 1990’s, yet alone being integrated into our daily lives. The tech found on this list get our chores done faster, greatly diminish the lines that we stand in, and help of integrate with the technology around us and the internet.  So now I present to you the best technology of the Naughts.

Top 10 Technologies

IPhone / IPod Touch

This piece of tech revolutionized on-the-go computing.  The IPhone was more than just a phone, with on-board GPS, compass, camera and full computational ability it was a truly pocket computer.  The IPhone allows for true internet browsing and even is breaking into the emerging technology of augmented reality.

Wikipedia

With the internet reaching a new pinnacle and more Americans more than ever having access to the web, collaboration is now easier and more effective than ever.  Wikipedia is the shining example of this; based on an extremely large online community with thousands of editors.  Wikipedia helped put an end to the stigma that ‘if information comes from the internet, it must be incorrect or untrustworthy’.  It has shown that people can come together to compile individual knowledge that is both highly useful and accessible by all.

Online Airline Check-in

This one may seem off-kilter for a tech blog, but it has made travelling so much more tolerable.  With the ever increasing security measures and the hassle of just getting to the plane, any measure to make the process easier is welcome.  I personally cannot image ever standing in line at that horrible check-in counter again.  When I went to Europe I never slowed down; I went from the drop-off outside the airport, strait to security, through customs, and onto the plane having nothing but the printed page of my ticket, and my passport.  I cannot even imagine another way.

I-tunes / Digital Music

The teen generation now will never have the memory of sitting in a friends room shuffling through endless tracks of CD’s to find that one great album with the amazing song on it.  Instead, it is a simple search on I-Tunes.  Also, any one remember those lugging those big black CD organizers just to have access to your collection of music, often times carrying around 500 CDs on your person, well this is a thing of the past with thousands of songs fitting in your pocket.

YouTube

According to ‘Did You Know 4’ there has been more new video added to YouTube in the past two months than if NBC, ABC, and CBS have been airing all new content 24/7 since 1948.   YouTube and the technology behind it has allowed any person to share their views, their opinions, and yes many times their stupidity with the entire world.

Facebook

It took over the social network world in a big way to a huge audience both old and young… you probably have an account and you use it.  What more needs to be said?!

Multi-Core Processors

The rise of dual and quad core processors in personal computers has let to a sort of renaissance in personal computing.  This allows not only more calculations per second, but also many more processes and applications to be run at the same time, allowing for a much more efficient use of resources.

Camera Phones / Digital Cameras

Whether it is a good or bad thing, most people now have some way to record the world around them with either a camera or camera phone in their pocket or purse at all times.  This allows people to document their activities and remember them forever.  Well that, or just disconnect them from the moment way too much.  But either way, they sure are impressive forms of tech.

Google Maps / Google Earth

We now have the world at our fingertips.  Nearly every corner of the earth where people live have high quality satellite photos that not only reveal city blocks and homes, but individual vehicles, and some times people.  With street view on Google Maps, you can virtually explore the street from the ground level as if you were actually walking down it.  This is a boom for the arm chair traveler, and even those just looking for a more interesting route on the family road trip.

Open Source Movement

The open source and Linux movement made amazing strides in the new millennium.  What was once and obscure way for super-nerds to customize and personalize their computers and operating system.  With the newest Linux Ubuntu 9.10 operating system, what was once accessible to only a few is now an extremely viable (and in my opinion a much better) alternative to the Windows and Macintosh options.

Last Links

Did you know 4.0

By Nick True

We are all carrying around micro computers in our pockets every day, and check them many times an hour.  These computers are many times the first thing we look at in the morning, and the last thing we look at before we go to sleep.  It is not a desktop or even a workhorse computer; they are our personal cell phones.  Mini technology pervades our lives and we use it on such frequent intervals that it can easily be forgotten how technologically advanced these little pieces of tech actually are. 

Examples of Micro Technology

Micro projectors – There are new multimedia projectors that are not only cramming more processing and computational power into a smaller space, but also slipping in advanced optics and audio.  This newest era of projectors are so small, they fit into front pockets easily.  New projectors are giving multimedia experiences on up to 60 inch screens and impressive audio; all emanating from a very small source.  3M

Netbooks – These are ultra-light (usually weighing in at a paltry 3 lbs) laptops that focus on usability, convenience, and internet access rather than brute computational power.  They are very small with around 9 inch screens and allow for easy internet access and related applications.  These computer’s small, compact, and efficient nature allow for incredibly long battery life, and a more rugged durability that can easily be carried where even laptops were once awkward.  I actually can (and have) carry my netbook under the small back seat of my sports motorcycle.  One example of a company at the forefront of ultra-light laptops is Asus and their EEEPCs.

Personal Media Players and Cell Phones – IPods and other personal media devices like the Ipod Nano are so small they fit in front pockets effortlessly as a pack of gum.  The new IPod Nano even takes full motion video at high quality.   Plus, these devices are much more than just music players, cameras, or phones, they are all one micro computers.

A Movement towards Smaller, more Portable Technology

When ‘ENIAC’ the first computer with modern computational capabilities was built by the University of Pennsylvania in 1946 it took up an entire building (see pictured).  All of this physical space was for a computer that computed artillery fire for the United States Army and later made computational models for the first hydrogen bomb.  These types of calculations could now easily be made by an 8-year-old simple cell phone.  With better transistor production technology the processors as of late are able to pack much more computational power on much smaller chips that require much less energy to run.  This means that true computer computational power can now fit in our tiny Iphone’s and media players.

Smaller Technology Goes Hand in Hand with Convergence

One big thing about the shrinking of technology coupled with an increase in computational power is convergence:  more and more diverse technology and different functionalities are being crammed into a single device.  The technology around us is converging to one unit, with one or very few devices servicing much of our personal technological needs.  Take the IPhone for example; (I must admit, I talk about the IPhone way too much in this article series, but it is at the forefront of so much technological progress) this is a “phone” that is a contact book, e-mail access, internet access, access to maps, weather, radio, video and so much more.  It is not so much a phone with these other functionalities as it is a micro personal computer that happens to be able to make calls.  Some of us are carrying better micro-computers in our pockets than others; but most of us are carrying some sort of these micro computational powerhouses whether it is a standard flip phone, or a state of the art IPod 3Gs.

Last Links / Resources

Moye, William T (January 1996). “ENIAC: The Army-Sponsored Revolution“. US Army Research Laboratory. http://ftp.arl.mil/~mike/comphist/96summary/index.html.

Accessed via Wikipedia

3M micro projector

Asus – A leader in Netbooks.

The link has expired for the free download.  Thanks for all of your responses and downloads!  Happy New Year too!

*****

Ahhhh the Season of Giving. .. And waiting in line. …

And getting to the right store early so that you can get one of those Zhu Zhu pets for your kiddos.

Ah, joy is in the air.—

Executive Summary:  (we’re giving away 100+ digital download in December)

How could we pass up such a great time of year without doing our part to add to the generosity with a gift, actually 100 gifts to be exact.

That’s right we are giving away 100 of our digital downloads including our:

• Premium “Social Networking Bundle” (includes 3 video tutorials, 4 pages of Social Network know-how, a whole bunch of bonus material on Social Networking)
• “Simply Protect: PC edition” Tip sheets (for the people that just want the facts, the best free and cost tools to protect your PC and keep your info safe)

The catch:

None.  We just want to thank our loyal audience and say Merry Christmas to you all!

Is it really free?  Yes, if you want it to be simply select $0.00 as the price, if you feel like donating to our cause then fill in whatever you think it’s worth.  Either way, we still like you.

If you like the info and want to support us please download a copy for your friends, your mom, your non tech-savvy neighbor

How to get in on this deal?

1. Click on the button below and it will take you to the Free/Donation download page.
2. Click “Add to Cart” on that page.
3. Change the price if or leave it at $0.00 and click “check out”
4. Fill in your name, email and any other info you’d like.
5. Then click “Complete Free Checkout”
6. Proceed
7. A new page will pop-up with 3 downloadable links, select 01 READ ME, for the instruction file
8. Select the other downloads, read them, learn lots, and have a Merry Christmas!

Last Links

****Update Jan. 1, 2010***

The link has expired for the free download.  Thanks for all of your responses and downloads!  Happy New Year too!

Does your friend like Eggnog lattes?  Elfster can help you out.

Read along and we’ll get you set up with your coming gift exchange in 3 simple steps.

Executive summary:

Elfster is a quick and easy way to setup and manage a holiday gift-exchange.  Pick names with your relatives, co-workers or friends.  Here’s how.

1. Sign up on Elfster:
2. Create a new exchange, set your rules, gift limits, etc.
3. Invite your participants via email
4. They sign up
5. They answer some Qs if they want to about their likes and dislikes
6. Once they are all signed up you click a magic button and “poof!” you participants are automagically drawn from a hat and emailed the name of the person that they will be buying gifts for!
7. Yippee you’re done.

If you want to ask the person that was picked for you a question anonymously you simply sign in and ask the question.  Your selected person will be get an email from elfster asking your question for you and sends the answer back!

Summary

This is the best way to simply manage a gift exchange!  Just let the little elves take care of things for you!

Last links:

Elfster: http://www.elfster.com/

Executive Summary:

Augmented reality is our real world reality augmented by technology.  This could be a very simple augmentation that we can hardly perceive, or something that changes the very essence in which we interact with the world.  This emerging technology is already starting to show up in many facets of our lives and will soon be invading on a much larger scale.  This will change the way we navigate our roads, compare prices at the store, and even interact with our flesh and blood friends.  -By Nick True

Example of Existing Augmented Reality:

The IPhone already has a functional AR (Augmented Reality) program called ‘Nearest Tube’ developed by Acrossair.  This program uses the IPhone camera, internal compass, and GPS tracking to show you where the nearest subway lines (tubes) or stations are in England.  When you point your IPhone to the ground, you see that patch of ground on your screen thanks to the camera.  Then, with the help of the internal compass and GPS tracking, the subway tunnels are overlaid on the real world picture of the ground on your IPhone, those ones out of the frame are represent by arrows pointing in their direction.  When you tilt your IPhone up to the horizon, instantly the nearest real world station is highlighted and pointed out if it is in view, if it is not, an arrow in the sky will appear pointing to it.  Then as you walk toward the station, you are given turn by turn directions in real-time.  Check out the video demonstration here.  Gone are the days of 2-D maps!

Another example of AR using the IPhone includes the application Wikitude.  This app works very similar to ‘Nearest Tube’ except when you look at a national monument, of point of interest through your IPhone camera it gives you information on that physical landmark that is gathered from internet sources such as Wikipedia.  So if you are in Berlin, you can point your IPhone toward the Reichstag and the application will use the IPhone hardware its internet connection to identify the Reichstag.   The application will then gather and display relevant information such as history, what it is used for, and other useful facts right along side the real-world image.

Personal AR products on the Horizon (or maybe just my wishful thinking):

Now, all these products I am about to mention are in their extreme early infancy stage, if not still on the drawing board.  The big goal for AR in the next five to ten years is personal, fully incorporated devices that are so integrated into our personal lives that we hardly know that they are there.  One vision includes using personal micro projectors (picture to left) to project images and information directly onto the cornea.  Images can then be displayed along real world physical objects.  This coupled with a micro computer and advanced camera can create limitless possibilities.

One possible application of this that I can foresee includes Facebook integration.  Imagine this: you are walking down the street and see an acquaintance that you do not remember too well.  The camera of your AR unit can quickly scan your acquaintance’s face.  The micro-computer will then cross reference facial data with your Facebook friend’s list.  The projector will then project that person’s Facebook profile data directly onto your cornea (so that only you can see it), voila, you now have all the information you need to remember this person.  Not only that, but other photos of them in social situations you may be familiar with can be displayed to the right of their real world body, putting how you know this person into perspective for you.

Other possible applications with this system include:

• Road hazards are highlighted on the windshield of a car before a driver can even see it, and an audible alarm is given to the driver.
• More information about what you are seeing: a word you are not familiar with in a physical book can be selected–a definition and other cross-referential information will be displayed.
• A song you are listening to can be identified and artist, album, and other information would be displayed
• When looking at a physical business or store, information will be displayed such as its website, store hours, menu, prices, and offerings would be displayed.
• An interactive number pad being projected on your hand so that you can dial your friend without ever removing your phone from your pocket.  See title picture from HowStuffWorks.

Last Thoughts

The future of Augmented Reality is extremely exciting, albeit a bit uncertain and hard to predict.  With Augmented Reality we will hopefully be able to augment every aspect of our life with more data relevant to the physical world around us and increased usability of the technology that already is so integrated in our lives.  Technology is constantly striving to become more integrated within our lives, and AR is the next natural step. At its most successful AR will become a sixth sense of sort, an ability we have without actually noticing its presence.

Last Links:

Nearest Tube by Accrossair

Augmented Reality on Wikipedia

How AR reality will work on howstuffworks.com

Wikitude by Mobilizy and Imprint

1. By far the most read article is “Omegle: Chat with Complete Strangers” (1402 page views since March) — Take a look at the article and put your comment down too!
2. Facebook viruses: how to simply protect your self (781 page views)– Is a good article to read so that you won’t get a virus on Facebook (or anywhere for that matter).  A must read.
3. Picasa 3: The Best Photo Editing Tool Around –Over a year old but still going strong!  If you don’t use Picasa and would like an easy way to edit photos, make albums, etc.  Picasa if for you!  It really is amazing!
4. Buying a computer in 2009: Advice from both sides –Who knew Buying a Computer Advice would be such a hot topic?!  3 experts, 3 angles, and lots of good advice!  (we’ll be doing a new Buying Computer in 2010 soon too).
5. Tech Cafe: Trailer Our trailer for the video as well as our Purchase Bundles page pretty much tied for #5 (Glad you all like the trailer so much!)  Watch it again if you want, the “digital native” is my daughter “immigrants” my folks

# 6-10?  Well we are glad you asked!  Here’s the list enjoy them all if you have time!

Do Your Kids–Think Before They Post?

3 Steps to Spyware Removal: Wash, Rinse, Dry

Why Teens don’t Tweet

Your kid’s a Pirate

Internet Phishing: Hook, Line, and Sink… ya

Thanks for swinging by!  As always we love you to tell others if this stuff is helpful too you!  Also email us with questions or article ideas at ninja@nplb.net

By Nick True

Executive Summary:

According to Wired (this is a link to my source article, go ahead, click it) the newest, fastest, most face-melting supercomputer known as Jaguar actually belongs to civilian science, not the military which usually dominates the work of ultra-fast supercomputing.  This computer achieves the great feat of computing at a staggering 1.79 petafops, or 1,759 trillion calculations per second.  This blows the previous fastest supercomputer out of the water which broke the petaflop barrier.  To put this in perspective, the computer you are reading this on probably runs at about 100 gigaflops, this means that jaguar does about 20,000 times more calculations per second than your computer

Background:

Since the 1970’s the fastest supercomputers in the world were used for nuclear explosion modeling.  The jaguar, however, is used for climate modeling.  This is significant because it represents a shift in what humanity is using its computation power; instead of modeling nuclear scenarios we are modeling climate.  This shift in our computational goals represents a larger shift in global trends, a shift away from using our scientific and technological resources war and instead using them for peace-time research.

What it means for the world and you:

The implication of this computer for weather and climate research is far reaching.  Alexis Madrigal of Wired writes:

This has great implications on how we use climate data and do climate research:

• We can now look at climate on a much more micro and intimate level.
• The more localized we can look weather and climate, the more accurate our models are.
• This not only has implications on our weather forecasting abilities, but also for our learning and research concerning climate change.
• Climatologists can use the terabytes of data collected from climate satellites to track individual occurrences of carbon emissions and even track man-made carbon as is moves throughout our atmosphere over days, months, or even years.

But, most of us are not interested in large-scale climate modeling, or don’t see it as affecting our personal lives.  This supercomputer, however, represents much more than just the standard progress of computational and technological power.  With jaguar our computational power is being used for peace-time research and scientific progress, not war-making capability.  This represents an essential shift that our culture is undertaking from being preoccupied with war and what threats us to larger and more peaceful goals.  As a culture, we are starting to shift away from being preoccupied and over-worried about what threatens us and starting to focus on what we can achieve.  This is a truly monumental change, and we are monumentally lucky to be a part of it.

Last Thoughts:

The future is upon us, we are living at the forefront of scientific and technological achievement and discovery.  With each passing month we are breaking boundaries of what we previously thought possible with computational power and data processing capabilities.  As our many models of the world become more complete and more capable, the more we will learn about our world, our reality, and possibly even ourselves.

Last Links/More Resources

Wired.com full article

Official National Center for Computational Sciences website explaining Jaguar

History of Supercomputing (Wikipedia)

Photo Credit- Wired Magazine Supercomputer Article