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Get ready for the Wireless MAN, baby. Or short for Wireless Metropolitan Area Network.
> All About The MAN

Spam Overload Dept:
According to a recent survey, about 65 percent of Net users spend 10 minutes or more a day dealing with spam. About 37 percent of respondents get 100 junk messages a day, and 63 percent get 50 or more.
Source: Symantec and Insightexpress

Alice Hill's Technology Watch

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

World PDA Shipments Plunge
Looks like "smartphones" and other two-way communication devices are taking a bite out of the old PDA market. According to The Register, "PDA shipments may be rising in Europe, but around the world as a whole they continued to decline during the first three months of the year, market watcher IDC reports.

"A dip between Q1 2004 and Q4 2003 is only to be expected given consumer spending patterns in the holiday season, but as IDC's fuller European figures show, consumers are proving more interested in smart phones than PDAs. Buyers of high-end devices in particular are opting for handhelds with voice communications built in, the researcher said."
# Posted at 2:00 PM

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Fuel From Pig Manure

Now, it truly is bodily function week, because reader Rick Markey insisted we share this tidbit about a technology that aims to turn pig manure into fuel.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, "Manure from 25 sewer lagoons at Circle Four will be piped into one of four concentrators where 85 percent of the solids floating in the manure will be captured and then moved to an oxygen-free digester. here, methane will be released from the solids by carbon-chewing bacteria stimulated by an environment kept at 95 degrees. The gaseous methane is then turned into liquid methanol using a thermocatalytic reaction that heats the methane to 200 degrees."

Oink!
# Posted at 4:54 PM

Laser Monocle Dramatically Enhances Vision

The BBC has an outstanding story on a new technology that will radically change the way we look at the world around us. "US firm Microvision has developed a system that projects lasers onto the retina, allowing users to view images on top of their normal field of vision. It could allow surgeons to get a bird's eye view of the innards of a patient, offer military units in the field a view of the entire battlefield and provide mechanics with a simulation of the inside of a car's engine."

"The first generation product, called the Nomad Expert Technician System, consists of a wireless computer and a hi-tech monocle, costing around $4,000."

Who knew that the monocle would be making such a fantastic comeback?

# Posted at 12:21 PM

Odd Frog-Based Weather Sensor

Those wacky French. A company in France has developed a combination barometer, thermometer, hygrometer, and data logger shapped like a frog. (Wasn't the term "frog" a slur against the French?)

Attach the device to your serial port (what no USB??) and you can start tracking weather trends on your PC. The software actually looks pretty interesting, but let's just say we're not especially motivated to take readings from a rubber frog every day.

# Posted at 12:13 PM

Monday, April 26, 2004

Gadget Measures Stress Levels in Saliva

This must be bodily functions week, but we're just rolling with the trends and keeping you up on everything just the same. Looks like Yamaha has developed a gadget that can detect and measure a person's level of stress from their saliva.

Maybe it's just us, but have they considered asking the person how stressed they feel? The whole testing process looks pretty stressful. Bring back the mood ring.
# Posted at 11:14 AM

HD TiVOs Begin Shipping

With a 250 GB hard drive for 30 hours of record time, and a $999 price tag, this TiVo isn't for the gentle newcomer. But for those itching to go high definition, it is the one you've been waiting for. We've heard that there's a ton of talk on the TiVo boards about setup problems and getting HD to work. Best Buy apparently has a huge waiting list.
# Posted at 11:00 AM

Gross Tech Alert: Human Waste As Source of Electricity
Get ready for the Microbial Fuel Cell. From F2 Network, "Scientists have developed a device that generates electricity from human waste.The Microbial Fuel Cell devised by American researchers at Pennsylvania State University uses bacteria to break down waste, liberating electrons in the process. Normally the electrons would power respiratory reactions in the bacterial cells and be combined with oxygen molecules. But the MFC wrestles the electrons away from the bacteria and uses them to power a circuit."

# Posted at 10:59 AM

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