Scheming for a video’d and escrowed future…
When on, it would light a red LED, so anyone present would know they are being recorded. The recording would not be stored locally, but would rather be immediately transmitted via a 2.5G or 3G cellular telephony network to a server. This transmission would be encrypted at the source, and incorporate a space-time stamp (e.g., GPS, or time of flight from three cellular towers). Once in the server, it would be possible for the creator of the video clip to cause it to be served up – but NOT to be edited or replaced – the server would be an escrow server.
There is no viewfinder in Fair Witness. There is no local playback. The lens is wide angle. The video created by fair Witness is not highly produced – it might not be very pleasant to watch, but it would be veridical. And it would be non-alterable, with a provable chain of evidence.
So what kinds of social uses could such a video device and escrow service be put to?
Content, Devices 3G, escrow, evidence, mobileTech, social media, witness
New standard proposed, using multiple antennae, MIMO technology, makes WLANS way-fast?
A new Wi-Fi standard that promises to significantly boost the speed of existing wireless local area networks (WLANs) is being submitted for approval by a consortium of companies looking to take broadband wireless to the next level.The WWiSE (worldwide spectrum efficiency) group said it has developed technology for review by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11n task group, which is overseeing a next-generation Wi-Fi standard capable of sustaining data throughput exceeding 100Mbps.
Network 802.11, IEEE, mobileTech, spectrum, wi-fi, WLAN
From Lockergnome news:
“Being close to a Wi-Fi transmitter is heaven for laptop users, but being close to several is something else entirely. In buildings with dozens of Wi-Fi transmitters, signals can overlap and interfere with each other, slowing data transmission. But Propagate Networks in Acton, MA, is introducing so-called swarm logic software that lets access points communicate with each other and choose nonconflicting frequencies or adjust their power levels to eliminate overlap.”
From Propagate’s site:
AutoCell turns 802.11 access points and clients, into a self-organizing network. It’s lightweight. It’s powerful. It’s embedded. It runs continuously. It automatically controls the RF environment.
Network 802.11, interference, mesh, mobileTech, self-organizing, swarm, wi-fi, wireless
Phones don’t “remember” enough? More storage is coming. That means programability, which means rich functions, right?
The two companies it mentioned are Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, Inc (HGST) of the United States and Seagate Technology LLC.
‘HDD makers are seriously thinking of using HDDs in mobile phones,’ said Hiroshi Suzuki, president and chief executive officer of the company.
…
In the world of one-inch HDDs, HGST has already launched ‘Microdrive,’ and Seagate announced in June that it will enter this HDD market.
Devices mobile phones, mobileTech, storage
Flexible mobile charging device for your car:
Enjoy the convenience of powering your iPOD in your car and the ability to use a single charger for many FireWire powered devices. Also, the convenience of charging cell phones, PDAs, other USB MP3 players and even Gameboy Advance SP on the road with a USB charger.
The USB port of the Firepod is regulated to the strict standard of USB power specification; works with popular bus-charging devices such as USB link cable for popular portable devices (PDA, cell phones, etc). The FireWire port of the Firepod outputs a steady and regulated current that is identical to your Apple FireWire port, so you don’t have to worry about battery-butchering power surge from accelerating and braking in everyday commute. …
Devices iPod, mobileTech, power, recharge, USB
Wait… Windows Media Center Operating System?
Toshiba Corp. plans to announce a new laptop model next week that allows users to watch TV on it without having to boot up the computer’s Windows operating system – the first in what analysts say will be a new crop of multimedia notebooks to come.
Called Qosmio, (koss-me-oh) it will be Toshiba’s first laptop to fully integrate audio and video features, including a bright, near TV-quality display, DVD drive, TV tuner, and enhanced speakers. A user could click on the TV with the laptop’s remote control or watch a DVD movie without having to go through the all-too-familiar process of starting the accompanying Windows Media Center operating system.
Devices Microsoft, mobileTech, operating systems, TV, Windows, Windows Media Center
Two thumbs up! Thumb-driven Digital Assistant. A little expensive to start, but they expect prices to fall soon. Looks pretty customizable. Wonder if it’s as usable (content) as it is usable (thumbs)?
The first ever:Thumbs-only
> No stylus or handwriting recognition
> No mechanical buttons or keyboard
Fully customizable
> Removable Front-cover
> Control panels
> Multiple Soft-Keyboards
Totally reliable PDA
> Backups on memory cards
> Data automatically saved in internal Flash memory
Devices mobileTech, PDA, personal digital assistant, portable digital assistant
Underpowered, expensive sunglasses. Will cool-factor be enough?
Oakley, Inc. (NYSE:OO) today announced the introduction of Thump(tm), the world’s first performance eyewear combining patented optics with an internally integrated MP3 music player. Oakley will launch Thump(tm) in December for the 2004 holiday season under an exclusive distribution arrangement with Circuit City Stores, Inc. for the consumer electronics channel. Thump(r) will also be offered by Oakley’s own O Stores(r), online at Oakley.com and through limited specialty retailers. …
“Thump(tm) reinvents the experience of on-the-go music,” said Jim Jannard, chairman and CEO of Oakley. “The audio circuitry is built inside the eyewear frame, which means there’s nothing dangling from your body and there are no wires to get in the way.”
Oakley’s digital music player mounts the speakers to the eyewear frame with miniature extendible booms, enhanced with pivots. They allow the wearer to adjust speaker position for optimal ear placement and to reposition the speakers away from the ears whenever necessary. By pivoting the speakers, the wearer can control the balance between environmental sound and digital music. “When you want to carry on a conversation, you simply flip up the speakers,” continued Jannard. “We even designed the lenses with a pivot mount, so you can flip them up for low-light conditions.”
Devices eyewear, mobileTech, mp3 player, sunglasses
As if we didn’t have enough ads already, now they’ll be following us around, literally.
Starting today, a San Francisco marketer is sending models out in public in T-shirts with built-in television sets.
‘People of my generation and younger are so used to moving images on TV that if it’s not a moving image, it doesn’t move them,’ said 30-year-old pitchman Adam Hollander, who created the Adver-Wear shirts.
His company, Brand Marketers, will debut the T-shirts today at theaters, malls and elsewhere to promote the Fox movie ‘I, Robot.’
An 11-inch flat screen is mounted at chest level in each shirt, and four hidden speakers deliver sound. A shirt weighs about 6 1/2 pounds and costs about $1,000 to make.
Adver-Wear isn’t for sale, however. ‘I don’t want to lose my shirt,’ Hollander said.
Devices advertisement, commercial, mobileTech, TV, wearable
NEC launches touchscreen phones for Chinese market. Not much detail available yet, but this is the third announcement of this kind from NEC.
Both the ‘N610′ and ‘N620′ are GSM flip phones with 176 x 220 dot touchpanel displays. They do not have 10-key buttons so typical of modern phones, and the time can be seen through a window on the back side of the unit. The phones feature a Chinese handwriting recognition function, and are operated using the included pen on the touchpanel. Apart from featuring a 0.30MP camera, the ‘N620′ features SMS functions and reading of vocal guidance.
Devices China, GSM, handwriting recognition, mobile, mobileTech, NEC, SMS, telephone, touchscreen