Posts tagged Invention at Switched

Posts with tag invention

V12 Designs' Dual-Screen Laptop Coming in Two Years?

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 12th 2008 at 2:20PM

No, not that dual-screen, silly. Or that one. Or that one! The dual-screen lappie we're talking about actually has two LCD panels, one of which takes the place of a traditional keyboard / trackpad. Reportedly, V12 Designs -- which takes credit for dreaming up the design some four years ago -- is working with an undisclosed US firm in order to bring said concept to market.

We're told that the keyboard display will likely support haptic feedback so users can feel when a keystroke is registered, and of course, voice recognition will also play a large role. It's not that we don't think these are coming, but V12's Valerio Cometti is suggesting that they'll be ready for consumption in a mere 16 months. Don't hate us for being skeptical, but... we're skeptical. [Source: Laptop Mag]

Sensor-Equipped Vest Measures Stress

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 7th 2008 at 1:36PM

So maybe your stress level isn't sky high just yet, but even after an extended weekend, all it takes is that one email to get you right back where you were last Wednesday. As if you really needed something to tell you that (and if you don't have time to wait for Sweety to become a reality), a host of researchers have created a sensor-laden vest that will be able to inform wearers just how stressed they are.

Developed as part of the EU's CONTEXT project, this sure-to-be-hip vest packs ultra-sensitive electrodes which register changes in muscle tension as individuals get more and more stressed, and in theory, letting someone know what's happening will allow them to simmer down before they further jeopardize their health (and the livelihood of colleagues, if you dig). Eh, we still prefer the Dr. Whippy method, honestly. [Source: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Research News via Talk2MyShirt, thanks Tony]

Inventor of First Business Computer Dies

by Will Safer, posted Jun 30th 2008 at 3:55PM

What if the latest technology news came not out of Microsoft or Apple but instead from McDonald's or Pizza Hut? It would be surprising news, to say the least. Even so, it turns out that one of the biggest advances in computer tech for business was developed by an English food company back in 1951, and its principal designer, David Caminer, died on June 15 at the age of 92.

Caminer is credited by Guinness World Records with creating the world's first business computer on behalf of his employer, J. Lyons & Co, which operated a chain of bakeries and food shops. While other companies, such as IBM, soon overtook the British firm (due to what Caminer said was arrogance and a failure to appreciate the rapid pace of technology by his employer), it is Caminer who gets the credit for devising the business machine. Its first task was to calculate costs, prices and margins of that week's baked output.

Caminer's goal was to speed up the logistics and payroll process for Lyons, which besides running stores also served events at Wimbledon and Windsor Castle. While it took an accountant eight minutes to calculate an employee's pay, the computer, called LEO (short for Lyons Electronic Office), needed only 1.5 seconds. Although the LEO 1 has less than 100,000th the power of a current desktop personal computer it did have all those cool vacuum tubes. They hummed.

What was one thing Caminer did have in common with other great technology inventors? No college degree. (But to all you kids out there, Switched says "Be cool. Stay in school.")

The real innovation of Caminer's machine was that it could be loaded with different programs to work on different tasks. And thus modern business computing was born. [Source: The Seattle Times]

Gallery: A History of Computer Firsts

A Lawn Mower That Flies

by Will Safer, posted Apr 4th 2008 at 12:07PM

Leave it to our friends up in Canada to spend their long winters coming up with creative modifications and twists on the familiar.

Two Canadian radio control enthusiasts have made a business out of making bizarre things fly. Things not shaped like planes. Not shaped like birds. Not even shaped like a moth or a dragonfly.

So, the next time you find yourself in a park on a warm sunny day, and you hear that high-pitched buzzing you expect comes with a remote controlled plane, look closely and you may see a flying witch, a flying doghouse, or even a flying lawn mower.

Yes, the inventive guys at Flying Thingz have put a lawn mower in the sky. Brilliant, we say.

Think you want to mow the sky yourself? Order one up. They're selling the kits to these choppers for $149 a pop.

From Revver.

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Man Claims to Boil Water With Sound

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Feb 1st 2008 at 3:20PM

Every so often, someone comes along with an invention that confounds the experts. Peter Davey, a 92 year-old inventor and saxophonist, has a created device that looks like a small bent desk lamp, but can boil water in a matter of seconds, no matter the amount, using sound waves.

Experts have yet to confirm how the device works, but apparently it does indeed work. Many doubt the man's claims that the small orb is actually using sound waves.

Davey says he got the idea when he realized everything around him resonated at different frequencies: "The glasses will tinkle on one note. Knives and forks in the drawer will tinkle on another note and I realized that everything has its point of vibration." He then went about finding the point at which water would resonate. The sound waves cause the water molecules to vibrate and produce heat, which we assume is similar to how a microwave works, but much more efficiently.

It's an interesting idea, and seems possible in theory, if highly unlikely... though we're not engineers or physicists. We'll just have to wait for the device to get some closer scrutiny and see if it's good enough to replace our microwave oven.

From Boing Boing

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iPhone Named Time's "Invention of the Year"

by Tim Stevens, posted Nov 2nd 2007 at 10:39AM

Ahh, the iPhone. Winner of hearts, creator of long lines, and possible media brainwasher. If you don't believe that last point, take a look a this: 'Time Magazine' has made the iPhone its "Invention Of The Year".

'Time' claimed its number one reason for selecting the iconic touch-screen mobile was because "it's pretty," despite the iPhone really being nothing more than a muted black slab with a chrome back and a front typically covered in smudges. This apparently was enough to beat out other, seemingly more important inventions, like a deployable shield that could save the lives of helicopter pilots, and an inflatable antenna that could help bring connectivity to otherwise inaccessible places.

But let's remember that 'Time' doesn't always make the most seemingly logical choices when naming its "Of The Year" awards, since the magazine seems to generally rely on the person or product that made the most noise in the media rather than the thing that actually had the most impact in our lives. And, when this award is looked at from that perspective, it's hard to think of any other invention that wooed the hearts of TV pundits and tech scribes everywhere -- whether rightly or wrongly.

From CNET News.com and Time.

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Coffee Control

by Evan Shamoon, posted Jun 4th 2007 at 8:58AM

What's worse than having to drag your achy, sleep-deprived body out of bed on Monday morning to trudge to work? How about having to wear gauze wrapped around your tongue because you tried to inhale a blistering hot cup of coffee?

Luckily, Smart Lid Systems believes it has the solution to these modern dilemmas (with the exception of the "going to work" part, unfortunately). The company has developed a special lid that comes with a warning and sealing indicator, alerting you to whether or not the lid is properly sealed. The color of the lid also changes according to the temperature of the bevvie inside, so you know when it's just cool enough to start choking down your morning fix.

From UberGizmo

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Top 25 Tech Inventions of the Last 25 Years

by Terrence O'Brien, posted May 21st 2007 at 4:12PM

USA Today is running a series of top 25 lists in honor of its 25th anniversary. Their list, "25 Years of 'Eureka' Moments", is a collection of the top 25 inventions of the last 25 years. All the usual suspects are there: Cell phones, laptops, DVD's, iPods, salad in a bag ...

Wait... salad in a bag? Anyway, other items include Karaoke, The StairMaster, and Purell hand sanitizer for the hypochondriacs and obsessive compulsives.

Of course, we can't leave this one alone, so here are some additional eureka moments from the editors of Switched:

The GameBoy: The original GameBoy sold over 70 million units and brought us solid portable gaming.
GPS for the masses: Sure, GPS has been around for a long time, but the death of the map on the back seat is upon us, and our safety/sanity/trees thank us.
Voice Mail: Remember tape-based answering machines? Yeah, we're trying to forget as well.
MP3s: Say what you want about the iPod, but if it wasn't for the tiny MP3 file, we'd never be able to carry 5,000 songs in our pocket.
eBay & PayPal: That junk in your garage? Someone's willing to pay for it on eBay. Trust us.
Wi-Fi: Wireless Internet was the final step toward making laptops truly portable.

From USA Today

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V12 Designs' Dual-Screen Laptop Coming in Two Years?

Sensor-Equipped Vest Measures Stress

Inventor of First Business Computer Dies

Gallery: A History of Computer Firsts

A Lawn Mower That Flies

Man Claims to Boil Water With Sound

iPhone Named Time's "Invention of the Year"

Coffee Control

Top 25 Tech Inventions of the Last 25 Years

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