Worlds first computer mouse

Another image and facts I found on a friends Facebook page:

The world's first computer mouse was made by Douglas Engelbart in 1964, it consisted of two gear-wheels positioned perpendicular to each other -- allowing movement on one axis. Ergonomic shape, great button placement -- and it's made of wood.



We have came a wee way since then!

We have used a variety of different mice since then, some of which are:

• Optical and laser mice -  They make use of one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and an imaging array of photodiodes to detect movement relative to the underlying surface, rather than internal moving parts as does a mechanical mouse.
• Inertial and gyroscopic mice - They do not require a surface to operate, inertial mice use a tuning fork or other accelerometer to detect rotary movement for every axis supported. The user requires only small wrist rotations to move the cursor, reducing user fatigue.
• 3D mice - These devices generally function through ultrasound and provide at least three degrees of freedom and was worn on a ring around a finger, which enabled the thumb to access three buttons. The mouse was tracked in three dimensions by a base station.
• Tactile mice - It contains a small actuator that made the mouse vibrate. Such a mouse can augment user-interfaces with haptic feedback, such as giving feedback when crossing a window boundary.
• Ergonomic mouse - It is designed to fit natural hand position and movements, to reduce discomfort and to avoid injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis and other repetitive strain injuries.

YOUR SMARTPHONE IN THE 80s

Found this image on a friends facebook page and thought I would blog it.



It was accompanied with the following words:

"This image beautifully portrays how far technology has come in 30 shorts years. All of the gadgets seen here effectively reside in the palm of your hand. When you sit back and think of the computing and multimedia powerhouse [many of] us have at the touch of our fingers, it’s quite remarkable.

Now try and imagine 30 years from now when we look back at our technology of today!"

I wonder what we will have 30 years from now?

Solar Powered Cellphones

Wouldn't it be great to have a solar powered cellphone?
To be able to charge it on the go just by leaving it in the sun?



In the book I am reading at the moment mentioned, the main guy, was trying to create a solar powered cellphone.

I wondered if it was possible or if it had already happened so I decided to google the possibility.
It turns out there have been trials by Nokia but it did not work very well.
Nokias commented

"When carefully positioned, the prototype phones were able, at best, to harvest enough energy to keep the phone on standby mode but with a very restricted amount of talk time. This means there’s still some way to go before a workable and care-free solution is achieved."

and

"The most substantial challenge is the limited size of a phone’s back cover, which restricts the extent to which the battery can be charged. What’s more, to ensure mobility, it is essential that the phone’s weather protection doesn’t cover the solar charging panel."


But you can by a Eton Mobius, which is a phone case, for an iPhone 4, with a battery and solar panel on the back. When the phone is inside the case, a 30-pin connector can draw power from the charged battery. When fully charged, the 1800mAh lithium ion battery provides five hours of talk time, or up to 32 hours of audio playback, Eton says. Depending on conditions, estimates have each hour of direct sunlight providing around 25 minutes of talk time.

 
 

Also the phone does not need to be in the case for the battery to charge. The case can be left in the sun while the phone is used elsewhere and you can just slip the phone in when you need a little more battery power. It will keep its charge if the power switch is left in the off position and an array of LEDs lets the user know that power is or is not being transferred to the phone.

 

Invisible Ink

I was just watching the build up to the All Blacks playing against Argentina and a lady was interviewing a guy from weka workshop and mentioned a map with invisible ink.
It got me thinking about whether there was in fact invisible ink, so I decided to research it over the internet.



It turns out there is at least four ways of making invisible ink.

1. Making it with lemon juice
• Squeeze the juice of half of a lemon into a bowl.
• Add a few drops of water. Stir the juice and water with a spoon.
• Dip a cotton swab into the lemon juice mixture and write a message on a piece of white paper. A feather, a toothpick, a fountain pen, a paintbrush or a calligraphy pen will also work in place of the cotton swab.
• Allow the invisible ink to dry. As the ink dries, your message will disappear.
• Hold the paper that contains your invisible ink message over a light bulb. Keep the paper near the bulb until the message reappears.
2. Making it with baking soda
1. Mix 1/4 cup (60 ml) of baking soda with 1/4 cup (60 ml) of water in a small bowl using a whisk or a spoon.
2. Dip a cotton swab into the baking soda and water mixture. Use the swab to write a message on a white piece of paper.
3. Wait until the ink is dry.
4. Dip a paintbrush into some grape juice concentrate. Paint the grape juice over your message and wait for the message to appear.
    
3. Making it with milk
1. Dip a cotton swab into a shallow dish of milk.
2. Use the cotton swab to write a message onto a white piece of paper. Allow the milk to dry.
3. Place the paper over a light bulb. The milk will heat up at a slower rate than the paper, which will cause the message to reappear.
    
4. Or using a white carayon
• Use a white crayon to write a message onto a white piece of paper.
• Paint over the message using watercolors and a brush. The message will reappear.

Not as magical as I had thought, in my imagination when I heard the words "Invisible Ink" but it is something fun I could do with my girls on a rainy day, which we are getting a lot of lately.

Hmmm,human microchipping?

Why would we, as humans, need to be microchipped?

The thought of human microchippng scares me.
As someone who is very private and enjoys being pretty much anonymous, I do not like the thought that my every movement could be traced!
And why would my every movement, or anyones movements, need to be traced?

What is contained in a microchip?
A microchip typically contains a unique ID number that can be linked to information contained in an external database, such as personal identification, medical history, medications, allergies, and contact information.

You can see why the people, who are into the idea of being microchipped, would want to promote it as it would be good to have all that information on you at all times so that no matter what happens it is available.
But it is all the thoughts of people getting hold of all that information and what and how they use it which scares me and possibly many more.
There would have to be strict control and regulations when it came to using and accessing the information.
But even then would you totally trust "Big Brother" to stick with the rules and regulations?
Maybe it would be good to microchip repeat offenders etc. so authorities could keep an eye on them and make sure they do not offend again.

It is nice, though, to have my dog microchipped although it would suit me better if I was the one who was able to do the tracking so that everytime he wandered off I would be able to find him.

The Human Genome Project

The Human Genome Project was a 13 year project which started in 1990 and was coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health.



Its goals were to:

• identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA,
• determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA,
• store this information in databases,
• improve tools for data analysis,
• transfer related technologies to the private sector, and
• address the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that may arise from the project.

Even though the Human genome Project has finished,the  analyses of the data, will still continue for many years.

You can look at the timeline of major events of the Human Genome Project on this website http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/project/timeline.shtml

There were many ethical, leagal and social issues with the Human Genome Project. Some of these were:

• Who should have access to personal genetic information, and how will it be used?
• Who owns and controls genetic information?

To deal with these two issues there are two primary pieces of federal legislation which directly apply to genetics nondiscrimination:

1. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
2. The 2000 Executive Order to to prohibit discrimination in federal employment based on genetic discrimination.

Other issues which have arisen are:

• How does personal genetic information affect an individual and society's perceptions of that individual?
• How does genomic information affect members of minority communities?
• Do healthcare personnel properly counsel parents about the risks and limitations of genetic technology?
• How reliable and useful is fetal genetic testing?
• What are the larger societal issues raised by new reproductive technologies?

 There were many more issues whci have arisen and they can all be answered on the following website http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/project/about.shtml.

Luddites

Luddites, a social movement of 19th-century English textile artisans who protested against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which replaced them with less-skilled, low-wage labour, leaving them without work and changing their way of life.



You can understand why the Luddites smashed the new machines which were replacing the workers.
Its a hard life when you are stuggling to feed and clothe your family and when you lose your job because of a machine which replaces you of course you would want to take action against it.

This is something that happens all the time. Not just workers being replaced by machines but also by companies gettting there products made overseas, in places like Taiwan and China, to cut costs. you put the words "Manufacturing in China" in Google and get lists of websites, such as http://www.manufacturingchina.com/ and http://www.made-in-china.com/, who can help you with finding the right manufacturer for your product and most of them mention the cost savings you can have.
Even when you ring a big company in New Zealand, the phone gets answered by someone in India, which I have always found frustrating as I am always repeating what I am saying and asking them to repeat what they are saying as we never seem to understand what the other has said.
But do the companies care?
No!
Why?
Because they are saving themselves money by having their customers enquiries answered by someone in India.

People are being replaced by computers and machines all the time and the reason always is more about the company saving more money than anything else.
At the end of the day most business' and companies are obsessed about making money and if there is a way that they can save money, they will do it.