The Bailey Mail Technology World Feed

Microsoft Show First Windows 7 Demo

Tue 27 May saw Microsoft unveiling Windows 7 in the first official demo of the software. Windows 7 is to feature multi-touch screen technology. As though following the Iphone, like Samsung, having also now brought out a touch-screen mobile phone.

I recently got an Iphone, and I'll be honest, I love it, but when I get a new phone it becomes my pride and joy, and for the first few months I shine and polish it, wash my hands before I touch it and many more extreme measures to keep it shiny. Then after a few weeks it goes back to normal and I use it like it's just a phone.

So, during my Iphone's honeymoon period, it has broken my heart having to dirty the screen. Each time I clean and polish the phone, and the screen, then five minutes later I have to use the phone, sliding my finger across the screen to unlock it, then pressing a few buttons by touching the screen and I'm back to square one -- like I said, it breaks my heart.

The biggest problem is that Apple have refused to allow the use of any kind of Pen or other input device that you could use to touch the screen, it must be your finger.

So I say to Microsoft, if you must use this new fangled technology, please release a pen or device so people don't need to dirty their pride and joy with their greasy paws. No offence intended, but it doesn't matter how fervently I wash my hands before touching my Iphone, it is still all smeared when I am finished, it's a nightmare.

Light at the end of the tunnel: apparently the touch technology is not to replace the mouse or keyboard, but is an alternative input device. Microsoft also hinted and features like digital ink in the new operating system and prominence of speech recognition technology, which gives way to hopes that indeed, the touch technology will involve a pen somewhere along the line -- here's hoping.

Anyway, I just got a new computer with Vista, so I won't be getting Windows 7 anytime soon. Please post your comments below on Microsoft's latest operating system.

Gadgets, Google and Child-Proofing the Computer

Gadgets: Sony Announce Smallest ever Camcorder

Sony releases smallest ever camcorder and at the same time proves that size doesn't matter and small is beautiful.

The tiny 33 x 119 x 63.5mm, 283g camera is capable of taking 4mp, 1080p video and has many of the bells and whistles found on Sony's premier camcorders, including:

A ClearVid CMOS Sensor with 'Exmor' (whatever the hell that is, sounds expensive anyway), Intelligent face detection and autofocus in still and video modes, and sound is recorded in 5.1 channel digital surround sound, from an auto-zoom mic than homes in on the foreground subjects.

The camcorder is expected to be launched in the UK around May and at a price tag of around £500-£600.

Hydrogen Power Aircraft Could Mean Greener Skies

A new hydrogen power air-craft has been successfully tested in the skies above Spain by air-industry giant Boeing. The small single propeller manned aircraft, which flew three successful take-offs, flights and landings, is being heralded as a massive step towards green air-travel, because hydrogen and water are the only two exhaust products, neither of which are as harmful to the environment as current airplane exhaust fumes.

The two-seater light air-craft is powered by futuristic fuel-cells that create electricity by combining oxygen and hydrogen. The fuel-cell technology was developed by UK company Intelligent Energy, and I for one am glad there are company's out there trying to do something about global-warming, and find new sources of fuel for when the oil inevitably runs out, as oppose to many others spending billions to secure their place near the top of the food chain for the oil that's left.

Computers are Good For Kids - Supervision Necessary

Computers often catch bad publicity, for exposing children to an unsafe environment filled with Pedophiles and pornographic images. I won't deny that both elements exist on the web, one to what extent I don't know, and the other certainly in abundance; Angelina Jolie naked adverts everywhere, and on sites with no adult warning. But computers have so many benefits for Children that it is impossible to suggest we should ban them.

The government's plans just shows how inadequately prepared and ill-informed they are to put protection in place for children's safe browsing.

Making registered sex-offenders provide police with their email address so they can be banned from sites frequented by children, is the stupidest idea I have ever heard, people can create a new email address in a matter of minutes online, so this would not keep one pervert away from our children in their social-networking environments -- it would be funny if it wasn't so tragic. You could suggest using IP addresses instead, but even then they are often dynamic (generated on connection and always different), and in any case are provided by the Internet Service Providers, so if they changed their ISP they would be back online.

The only real way to ensure our children are safe online, is to keep their computer in the living room, where you can take a peek over their shoulder from time to time, might seem a bit of an invasion of privacy but not as bad as the invasion of privacies those who we seek to protect them from have in mind. In such an environment a computer would be a lot safer, and now for the benefits a computer should be used for.

A computer puts the world at a child's fingertips; there is nothing they cannot research in minutes using their favorite search engine Google. With computers now commonplace in the school and the home, the computer in the living room with a no BEBO till you've done your homework ban should certainly take GCSE pass rates to an all-time high.

Tech News Roundup March 29

One of coolest Gadgets this Year to Date

California based Dash Navigation are releasing one of the coolest gadgets of this year so far. Their new GPs system not only tells its owner directions, but using information on traffic speeds collected from other users GPS will update the best route according to congestion -- cool. Well, a cool concept anyway, the downside is that it is heavily reliant on its own success, if there aren't enough users in your locale, then you are left with little more than a standard GPS system.

Mac the First to Crack in Security Trials

In an annual event where hackers are challenged to hack some of the most up to date laptops for $10,000 and the laptop they crack, the Macbook air was the first to be compromised, in just two minutes. The Macbook Air withstood a full-day of standard hacking attempts, as did all three other laptops on trial, but on the second day, when hackers were allowed to send malicious links, the Macbook Air was cracked in around 2 mins. The purpose of the event is to bring to light vulnerabilities in today's computers and operating systems in a controlled environment, and then provide the manufacturers in question the data, with which to issue security fixes.

Space Station Freighter to Practice docking

The Jules Verne space freighter, one of Europe's inclusions to the Space Station is about to start practicing docking with the station. It will make two approaches and retreats before performing its first ever full docking operation.

Space Shuttle Endeavour Begins Trip Home Tomorrow

Well, the astronauts of the Space Station Endeavour, currently docked to the International Space Station currently orbiting the earth, have been taking it easy today, performing minor tasks like a group goodbye photo of both their crew and the space station crew for the world news agencies. They will begin their intense journey back to earth tomorrow, and are expected to be back by Wednesday evening.

Dextre the robot, which I have written about twice before is fully assembled, and will no doubt play a major role in the building of the space station. The next mission to the space station will be by Space Shuttle Discovery in May, when it will carry another large section of the Japanese Laboratory, and some of the equipment to fill what is currently an empty shell attached to the Space Station.

The most intense time on Endeavours journey home will be re-entry, after Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during its re-entry into the earth's atmosphere in 2003, when its heat shield couldn't cope with the intense heat.

The crew of Endeavours fourth space-walk saw them using a fixer foam in a new experimental tiled repair of their heat-shield. The performance of the treated heat-shield will probably determine whether or not Space Shuttle Atlantis makes its scheduled trip to repair the Hubble Space telescope in August, as on that mission -- unlike Space Station missions -- if something goes wrong with Atlantis, they can't just wait for another shuttle to come and pick them up.

Mobile Phone Microscope: Pointless Device?

Researchers at the University of California have invented a device that turns camera-phones into mobile microscopes. The device is being hailed as a great tool for doctors, because images can be taken of the blood-workups, or whatever else is being microscopically analysed, and the images can be sent for better analysis, using mobile phone internet connections and wi-fi.

The device comes in a 5x magnification version for taking images of moles and rashes etc, and an up to 60x magnification version for capturing the microscopic analysis of things like blood-cells and parasites. The technology will be trialled in Uganda by the makers before being officially released.

I personally can't see it being all that effective, in fact I can't see the point. The type of scientists who will have the need for it would I'm sure far rather them to have invented a Bluetooth microscope. Though I'm sure many of them will just continue using what they already do.

Space Station Robot Completed And Ready for Action

Tuesday March 18 saw the rebuilding completed of Dextre, the $200billion robot designed by the Canadian Space agency, before being stripped down for transport to the space station currently orbiting the earth. It had a rocky start when a change in its positioning on the space station, without changing the design of the cable track, led to the cable failing to power the robot. The problem was fixed by attaching the space stations mechanical grab to Dextre and using it to power the robot. The 12 foot tall, 30 foot across robot will now undergo tests to ensure it is in full working order, and then wait for its first assignment.

Since the early hiccup the operation has gone like clock-work, according to NASA spokesman Allard Beutel, who added: "It's great to have it up there. No matter how much you test on the ground, you're going to have hiccups and you have to deal with it in space. We're learning how to work and build stuff in space. This is what we need to learn."

The robot is expected to take on most of the work on the developing space-station's exterior, reducing the need for dangerous space-walks by the astronauts. Apparently Dextre can work proficiently with objects as big as a phone-booth and as small as a phone book. March 18 saw the current mission's final space-walk out to Dextre, and astronauts attaching a 1 square foot camera, on a 3 foot outrigger attached to Dextre's hip. The camera will be one of five in total, one on its foot, one on both grippers and one on each hip.

Dextre is a truly amazing feat of engineering. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that the 3,400lb robot was never fully assembled on earth, because the robot would have been crushed by its own weight, so the first time it is assembled is when it is orbiting miles above the earth, moving at 15,700MPH. But assembled it is, complete with a tool-belt and ready for action.

An Important Day in the History of Manned Space Exploration

We are in the middle of what will be remembered as one of the most important periods in the history of space exploration. Saturday 15 March 2008 will see astronauts from the space shuttle Endeavour exit the space-station in a spacewalk to attach two 11 foot arms to Dextre, the massive robot taken to the space-station by Endeavour, that will assist in future space walks in the continuation of the space-stations development, and eventually could take away the need for some space-walks therefore reducing the risk to the astronauts.

It is only going ahead today because the brains at NASA instructed the astronauts to hook the space-stations mechanical grab onto Dextre and use the grab to conduct power to the robot, after failure to change the cable's route after a change in the mounting of the robot, led to the cable failing to conduct power to the robot. Without any power to heat the robot's joints today's mission wouldn't have been able to go ahead, and the entire mission would have been an almost complete failure.

Also aboard Endeavour was a fourteen foot storage container, which will be filled with a Japanese laboratory worth billions of dollars. The laboratory equipment will be taken to the space-station by space-shuttle discovery when it makes its trip to the station in May.

Why I say this will be forever remembered as a crucial time in the history of space exploration is because of the hope that the space station will become a forward launching point for future missions that could allow us to launched manned space-shuttles further into space than has previously been possible. Then who knows, maybe build more space-stations that will allow us to travel even further into space; to boldly go where no one has gone before.

The other good news about Endeavour is that its heat shield survived the exit-trip without too much damage, and has been officially cleared for re-entry March 25. But what I don't get is why they didn't send a couple of heat-shields up with endeavour to store in the space station in case of any problems with the technology in future, or even to replace heat-shields for re-entry on every mission -- mind you I am not up in these matters, maybe the shields are too large or something.

Laptop Misconceptions and Tech News Roundup

I just read a laptop buying guide. According to Digital Trends' Josh Norem the most important consideration when choosing a laptop is screensize, because it ultimately affects the overall size, and therefore weight of the notebook, as well as potentially affecting battery life. Josh then covered the pros and cons of each size of laptop from ultra-portable right through to desktop replacements.

For my mind he was too critical of desktop replacements. While he is right that you don't get great battery life, I disagree with his observation that they run ludicrously hot, mine certainly doesn't, but then I wouldn't say none do, because it is wrong to make sweeping generalizations about anything. What he also failed to mention is the fact that desktop replacements are generally a lot cheaper than their slim and lightweight counterparts, while often having equal or better performance attributes.

Meanwhile in other technology news, new software that allows users to feel and touch textured images is being trialled, and Trend analyst Nils MÜller of Trend One announced a new world was almost upon us, where humans would be able to self-upgrade, his exact words were:

"Evidence of the '4.0' era -- an "always-on" world where humans can "self-upgrade" through technology extensions -- is already nigh and being driven by the youngest generation, according to MÜller"

MÜller used the recent Barbie Girls, virtual Barbie doll world, that had 3 million signed up users in sixty days, and the currently in Beta trials the AskWiki search Engine. MÜller showed a video presentation of youngsters asking how far away is the moon, to display AskWiki natural search expression capabilities.

Microsoft were also previewing future technology, unveiling their collaborative search, searches running in sidebars and shared with friends on the fly. I on board with AskWiki I think it could be an amazing learning aid, but as for self upgrading humans I think we should keep that for the movies, and I doubt collaborative search has any viable use at all.

Wooden Supercar Faster Than Porsche and Lamborghini

I thought I had seen it all when I wrote about a new headset that controls computer game-play with the mind, but I hadn't. Today I read about a new wooden supercar that, in the words of Tech Radar "makes the Porsche and Lamborghini look decidedly pedestrian."

They are right, made from a mixture of Maple, MDF and Plywood The Splinter is 240KG lighter than the Porsche911 GT3 at 1134KG, and its V8 4.6 litre engine produces a whopping 700BHP, 300 more than the Porsche and combining to give the Splinter a top speed of 240mph, which is a lot faster than the Porsche and the new Lamborghini Revanton.

From North Carolina, head of the project Joe Harmon was on hand to explain what is immediately perceived as a wacky material for a supercar:

"Wood has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than aluminium or steel, and it possesses a versatility that makes many types of construction techniques possible. The satisfaction involved in making something from a piece of wood is awesome."

The most unbelievable thing for me is the fact that almost every part of the car is made from wood, from the wooden wheel rims right down and laminate wood suspension arms to the Osage orange wood suspension spring -- laminate wood veneers form the chassis, laminate mouldings have been used were solid wood isn't practical.

Apart from the engine, workings and windows etc, the only other part of the car that isn't made of wood is the roll-cage, inserted to increase passenger safety and strengthen the chassis. The two seater splinter is expected to be seen on the roads from later this year, price hasn't yet been released.

Harmon is so enthusiastic about wood in motor vehicle engineering he quipped about Formula One star Lewis Hamilton getting behind a wooden F1 car in the future:

"An F1 car could definitely be made from wood. Some extremely creative engineering would have to go into it to overcome the strength-to-weight and mould ability benefits of carbon fibre, but it's definitely possible. Getting permission to race it would probably be a bigger challenge than engineering it. But it would be fun to try."