Are you ready for the Wave? May 30, 2009
Posted by Cobus in Innovation, Internet, Technology.add a comment
Google is about to change the face of the email inbox with their new product, Wave.
Google Wave is a new model for communication and collaboration on the web, coming later this year.
Wave is a web-based application that merges multiple forms of communication and collaboration, including chat, mail and wikis, into a unified interface. Everything inside Wave happens in real time, and you can even see a comment being made as the person is typing it, character-by-character.
You’ll be able communicate and work with others with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process. Then playback lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when. With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have faster conversations, see edits and interact with extensions in real-time.
Google’s Android: First open and free mobile platform June 26, 2008
Posted by Cobus in Innovation, Technology, Trends.Tags: Android, Google, mobile phone
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I came across Wired’s article “Google’s Open Source Android OS Will Free the Wireless Web” today that provides an expose of the birth of the project through to its current status. Google is positioning itself with the increasing demand of people’s preference to connect with each other and everything else via their mobile phones. Hence Google wants to bring the coolest bits of the Web to people’s cell phones through Android’s Killer Apps. Android is the first complete, open, and free mobile platform.
Nearly any new mobile phone will be able to run Android (HTC, LG, and Motorola have dedicated models on the way). But the Operating System is just the start; the phone evolves as users add apps from developers to take advantage of the seamless Web access. Cool apps that surprise and delight mobile users, built by developers are a huge part of the Android vision. To support developer efforts, Google has launched the Android Developer Challenge, which will provide $10 million in awards for great mobile apps built on the Android platform. For more information on the project, visit the official Android website.
To wet your appetite, here’s a video clip on Android…
World’s fastest computer June 18, 2008
Posted by Cobus in Innovation, Technology.Tags: petaflop, supercomputer
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A USA government computer in New Mexico is the first supercomputer to perform at one petaflop (one thousand trillion calculations per second). Designed and built by IBM, the Roadrunner uses both traditional computer chips and the Cell Broadband Engine. The cell processor was originally designed for video game consoles such as the Sony Playstation 3.
Roadrunner will be used primarily to ensure the safety and reliability of the US nuclear weapons stockpile, and it will also do research into astronomy, energy, human genome science and climate change.
Roadrunner’s petaflop performance is roughly equivalent to the combined computing power of 100,000 of today’s fastest laptop computers. That’s a stack of laptops 2.4 km high. It would take the entire population of the earth, each working a handheld calculator at the rate of one second per calculation, more than 46 years to do what Roadrunner can do in one day.
Check out the Fact Sheet & Background and the US Department of Energy Press Release.
The Wheelsurf Motorized Monocycle March 29, 2008
Posted by Cobus in Innovation.add a comment
Imagine surfing on land inside a wheel… Sounds farfetched huh? Well, with the Wheelsurf apparently you can…
The Wheelsurf is a single-wheeled, ride-inside conveyance that’s sure to get you noticed. But how does it work? According to Wheelsurf:
The Wheelsurf consists of an inner and an outer frame. The inner frame has three small wheels that make contact with the outer frame. The outer frame is the actual rotating wheel and has a solid rubber tire. The rider sits inside the inner frame that also contains the engine, drive train and petrol tank. The Wheelsurf is steered by shifting your weight. Although it has a hand brake, braking is limited to the counterbalance you can provide by leaning backwards. If you brake too hard, you will start spinning with the outer wheel. Which of course is exciting…
The Wheelsurf is however not a street-legal vehicle, but rather meant to be a form of extravagant entertainment that will set you back about €5000 exluding taxes and shipping. The 50 kg Wheelsurf is powered by a 4-stroke 31cc engine that produces 1,2 kW @ 7000 rpm and can reach a top speed of 40 km/h. Click <<here>> to check out a video of the Wheelsurf or visit their website.
Dirtbike Innovation: The Quantya FMX December 19, 2007
Posted by Cobus in Innovation, Technology.3 comments
Every six months BrandNew pays homage to innovation. The jury of the world’s largest competition for start-up companies in the sporting goods industry convenes to test and rate fresh and groundbreaking products and brands. For eight years now, the event has been a benchmark for the newest and latest.
The jury of the 17th ispo BrandNew Awards faced a tough challenge this year. 261 entries from 26 countries represented about 13 percent more products than last year, which is a new record. Among the entries were a multitude of products with eco-friendly characteristics as well as accessories. Following tests, demonstrations, analyses and in-depth discussions among the jury, 31 finalists and 8 winners were finally selected.
The Advansa Overall Award went to the Quantya FMX Dirtbike, an electric powered dirtbike for motocross, freestyle, freeriding or crosscountry. Zero emission! No noise, no gas & oil pollution and no bad conscience to interfere with your fun. The powerfully accelerating dirtbike is made in Switzerland and has no exhaust. After a two-hour charge with energy from an electrical outlet the bike has enough power to spend 3 hours on a Motocross trail. Quiet, no exhaust fumes, yet incredibly powerful. The bike should be approved for road use in 2008.
