But, I have a feeling the first step is going to put this flat on it's face.
Mr. Owens say he has addressed this by making sure the lower half weighs far more than the upper half, and some other design modifications. The whole thing (pic) weighs a ton and a half, though.
I'd love to see a project like this tackled on "Junkyard Mega-Wars". Dueling Exoskeletons!
...Instead of looking at what these drugs will do to a healthy person, look at what they could mean to a those that suffer from neurologic illnesses, like Parkinson and Alzeimer.
These conditions are caused by problems in the way neurons work, and as a result they stop sending signals. For those that suffer from these, and many other mental related problems, such drugs could very well be the light at the end of the tunnel.
There will be a huge market for these kinds of drugs. Baby boomers will be clamoring for anything that will delay or halt demetia and alzheimers. I know of someone who's father, uncle, and grandfather all suffered from alzheimers so the odds of his avoiding this aren't looking too good.
HT-0712 sounds like it has promise for delaying the onset of these brain-related illnesses. From the article:
The most important market, however, could be healthy people in their forties and fifties whose memory is deteriorating. "There are an awful lot of people who'd like a drug that could do something about that," he said.
The drug, code-named HT-0712, helps to retain information in the short-term memory. It works by activating a gene called Creb, contained in every human cell. Once activated, it allows brain cells to make the connections vital for memory formation.
In many people, these memory-forming processes slow with age, leading to forgetfulness. About 15 million Britons are thought to suffer from memory problems.
This summer, 100 people in the United States with mild memory loss will receive the drug to test its safety and efficacy. Prof Tully hopes it will help patients to develop improved memories and will compensate for damage done by the early stages of dementia. If the study is successful, larger trials will be carried out with the aim of producing the drug commercially within five to seven years.
Researchers and drug companies are scrambling to try and find "the" drug for this huge market.
...only 3 ASW programs had a 'batting average' of better than.500 when it came to eradicating the broad range of spyware in the test... The top three? Giant Anti-Spyware, Spy Sweeper, and Ad-Aware....
Maybe someone at M$ read that article and said, "Hmmmm, that might be just what we need. Buy 'em!"
Seattle has the largest fleet of hybrid diesel buses in the world, but transportation officials are finding that the expected fuel efficiency isn't there. It seems the regular diesel engine buses have a slightly better mpg performance while still having with very low emissions.
During a check on fuel efficiency in September, the hybrid buses (which are equipped with the regenerative braking system) were getting 3.75 mpg on average while the older model diesels were getting 3.8 mpg.
The article does go on to say, though, that this may be because the city uses the hybrid buses for longer routes where the diesel engine gets more use. Plus, stricter federal emission standards are affecting fuel efficiency.
Ubergizmo has a report about an electronic paper product coming out in 2006. It has a thickness of 3mm and delivers full color images. Competition for the Tablet PC?
Anyone who watched and loved the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie will probably hate this new version. This generation of kids will probably love it, though.
When we watched the original version with our kids a few years back, it was looking pretty dated by today's film-making standards. I don't think the kids loved (or even liked) it as much we who had originally seen it in the theater did.
I don't think I'm going to make a snap judgement based on the trailer alone. But it looks to me like Johnny Depp has got a long way to go to get even close to Gene Wilder's level of fascinating creepiness in the original.
It seems people are never happy with how things are supposed to look - when given the opportunity, many chose to change it.
Is this a result of the plastic surgery generation? Or is it just human nature?
Why should someone have to live with someone elses idea of how something should look? Should the world have the same sameness everywhere? Boring!
Might as well ask, "Why do people decorate their houses?" Or "Why do they change the desktop pic on their computers?"
Or even better: "Why do children see a blank piece of paper and want to color or draw on it?"
I think people have an innate creativity that they all want to express. Egos play into that too, I think. Everyone likes it when someone says, "That's so cool, dude!"
Sony PSP (Playstation Portable): It's only the most anticipated handheld gaming device ever -- a portable wonder that packs all the power of the original PlayStation in one palm-size package. And it doesn't just play games: according to Sony, it'll also deliver music and MPEG-4 video, display photos and offer 802.11 Wi-Fi connectivity for wireless gaming and messaging. It's going on sale in Japan this weekend. The United States, however, doesn't get it until March 2005 at the earliest.
As far as the N-Gage, its described as "part game deck, phone, organizer and MP3 player". Users can participate in 3D multiplayer games online, using Bluetooth and GPRS wireless connections. I believe that phone connectivity and airtime minutes apply, correct me if I'm wrong...
Just how far will adware companies go to continue to attempt to bombard us with their ads?
A) As far as they think they need to go
B) As far as they are allowed to go and remain on the right side of the law
C) As far as they need to go despite the law
D) All of the above
E) Profit?
F) CowboyNeal
Sad, but true. I think the answer is A) and E). They will go as far as they think they need to go in order to make more money. The better question might be, how far will they be allowed to go, either by computer users or by law. Considering the average computer user is rather ignorant of what is going on in their computers, it might be left to the judges and the government to regulate the adware companies as they try to push the boundaries further and further.
They are testing different regions with different results. From the Wisconsin State Journal article:
The electrical signals in the brain are very weak - about one millionth the strength of the electrical current running through a home. And the skull is a good insulator, Williams said, meaning the signals are degraded if the electrodes are placed on the scalp.
So the researchers decided they needed to place the sensors directly on the brain.
"It was previously thought motor areas (of the brain) would be the most effective," Williams said. "We find many different areas the patient is able to control to move the cursor."
In fact, many of the brain areas that worked the best are part of the "silent brain," Garell said. The silent brain is a large area that scientists haven't determined what its function is.
What all this means is that practice may be the key to making this work, researchers said.
"We may not need to find the exact right spot," Williams said. "It can be (through) training and learning that a patient can control movement."
So the sensors are not buried in the brain, just laid on top of it. In fact, the researchers mention making the sensors smaller and, ideally, wireless (why does this make me think of antennae like on the show "My Favorite Martian"?)
The "scrinching up" and "thinking about screaming" was part of the learning curve, and as the subjects practiced, moving the cursor became easier.
From the press release: "...richly entertaining show, based on the theme "The Dream, Joy and Inspiration of Mobility in the 21st Century...
performance content will feature Toyota's efforts toward achieving "optimal mobility," "harmony with society" and "meeting the needs of individuals," and the future technologies and vehicle possibilities that form part of the company's vision for the society of tomorrow."
In other words, these are not meant to be practical. They are just toys for a stage show for the 2005 World Expo. Expos are well known as a platform for showcasing visions of the future, dangling futuristic toys in front of the world. But how often do these concepts make it into the real world use? 50% of the time? 25%? Less?
Cool ideas, though. Toyota should be commended for its creativity and ingenuity.
I tend to agree. Blogs are more often like the editorial pages of the newspaper. They give anyone and everyone a chance to comment on events, point out things others might have missed, or just basically rant about things.
From what I can see, this $100 PC won't include anything beyond the computer itself. You'll need to provide your own monitor and power source (or purchase one from them).
The SolarPC website also lists their specs for their other computers along with the price so maybe you can deduce from there what the $100 model might contain.
This quote from the home page is interesting, too:
"A no cost license to manufacture SolarPC designs is available for educational and charitable groups participating in the Global Education Link project. Please contact SolarPC for additional information."
FWIW, a review was posted touting their computer as a great war driving machine.
Using an innovative approach, a team of eight specialists at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin intentionally placed Giese into a coma within an hour after her diagnosis on Oct. 19...
Within three days, Giese was on a four-drug cocktail -- two anti-virals that helped salvage her brain and two anesthetics. She was never given a rabies vaccine.
No details on which anti-virals they used. You can bet that there will be a write-up in some medical journal in the near future though.
Any explanation of why they didn't have the vaccine on hand?
It wasn't a case of there not being a vaccine on hand, it's that you need to receive a series of vaccine shots over a period of weeks before symptoms appear, which usually happens weeks later (up to a year in some cases). This girl and/or her family, didn't seek treatment for whatever reason, early enough. Once symptoms appear, all the doctors can do is make you as comfortable as possible. It is considered to be fatal 100% of the time once the symptoms appear.
These doctors tried a whole new approach. Protect the brain as much as possible while letting the body develop its own antibodies. While the girl's body appears to have defeated the virus (our body's self-defenses are amazing!), it's still to be determined how successful the doctors were in preventing brain damage.
First of all, these local governments are not providing "free" (read: tax-funded) wifi service.
The article did say in response to this bill becoming law that, as an option "The city could provide the service for free". I realize this means tax-funded to get to that point, but the shared cost would still be much lower than the fees charged by Verizon as I doubt taxes would increase without taxpayer approval.
Second, it's not fair to force private industry to compete with an entity with a virtually endless supply of capital.
And is it fair to the American people to let Verizon have a monopoly and decide for us that only certain people (those rich enough) can have internet access? As for a virtually endless supply of capital, I think that taxpayers pockets are not virtually endless.
do you really want EVERY individual in your neighborhood to have network access? When I go to the store, or to the mall, or to the pub, I run into all sorts of people that, honestly, I do not want to meet on my network.
Then you would be free to use the Verizon/cable/other service-for-a-fee options. Hopefully the competition would help to bring down the prices to more reasonable rates than the current $40 - $50 range. Meanwhile, those who can't afford it would not be left out completely.
Think of it as public transportation. Buses and subways are the city-subsidized transportation for those who can't afford their own car. There are people on buses and subways that I don't want to meet either. Therefore, I drive my car.
... broadband is only in 20 percent of US households. Companies, in the pursuit of ever increasing profits for their CEO's and shareholders, are trying to keep customers paying through the nose for their products. Of course free wireless access would be unfair competition... from their perspective.
According to the article, one store in England is phasing out VCRs because it is no longer feasible to fill up their shelf space with a product that is not moving. Plain old economics. This could mean that the market is saturated. This does not mean that VCRs are dead and buried (yet, anyway).
I remember hearing about the death of VCRs before. About 2 or 3 years ago, someone told me that the companies that make VCRs had stopped making them. This person told me that no more new ones would be made and so stores would just be clearing out their inventories and then only DVD's would be available. Okay - that never happened.
From the article: "Sales of VCRs are in decline but we still sell a lot of them. As long as there is a market for them we will continue to sell them."
This shows me that VCRs will die only if no one ever buys them anymore or at least when so few do that its not worth it to manufacturors to keep making them or for retailers to sell them.
The Mayo Clinic came to my mind too. He should get his doctor in Fargo to contact the Mayo clinic, tell them he has to be seen ASAP and don't take no for an answer or let them put him off.
In my experience (our family dealt with a rare infectious disease - Kawasaki's - in which I knew more about it than our doctor thanks to the internet), doctors are fascinated by a chance to treat a rare disease that they don't see too often, esp. at a teaching/research hospital. Get going already!
Slashdot Mirror
But, I have a feeling the first step is going to put this flat on it's face.
Mr. Owens say he has addressed this by making sure the lower half weighs far more than the upper half, and some other design modifications. The whole thing (pic) weighs a ton and a half, though.
I'd love to see a project like this tackled on "Junkyard Mega-Wars". Dueling Exoskeletons!
These conditions are caused by problems in the way neurons work, and as a result they stop sending signals. For those that suffer from these, and many other mental related problems, such drugs could very well be the light at the end of the tunnel.
There will be a huge market for these kinds of drugs. Baby boomers will be clamoring for anything that will delay or halt demetia and alzheimers. I know of someone who's father, uncle, and grandfather all suffered from alzheimers so the odds of his avoiding this aren't looking too good.
HT-0712 sounds like it has promise for delaying the onset of these brain-related illnesses. From the article:
- The most important market, however, could be healthy people in their forties and fifties whose memory is deteriorating. "There are an awful lot of people who'd like a drug that could do something about that," he said.
Researchers and drug companies are scrambling to try and find "the" drug for this huge market.The drug, code-named HT-0712, helps to retain information in the short-term memory. It works by activating a gene called Creb, contained in every human cell. Once activated, it allows brain cells to make the connections vital for memory formation.
In many people, these memory-forming processes slow with age, leading to forgetfulness. About 15 million Britons are thought to suffer from memory problems.
This summer, 100 people in the United States with mild memory loss will receive the drug to test its safety and efficacy. Prof Tully hopes it will help patients to develop improved memories and will compensate for damage done by the early stages of dementia. If the study is successful, larger trials will be carried out with the aim of producing the drug commercially within five to seven years.
Next announcement from M$:
- Microsoft Acquires Firefox
If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em!...that Gates and/or Ballmer read
- Failing Grades For Most Anti-Spyware Tools
...only 3 ASW programs had a 'batting average' of better than .500 when it came to eradicating the broad range of spyware in the test... The top three? Giant Anti-Spyware, Spy Sweeper, and Ad-Aware....
Maybe someone at M$ read that article and said, "Hmmmm, that might be just what we need. Buy 'em!"Seattle has the largest fleet of hybrid diesel buses in the world, but transportation officials are finding that the expected fuel efficiency isn't there. It seems the regular diesel engine buses have a slightly better mpg performance while still having with very low emissions.
During a check on fuel efficiency in September, the hybrid buses (which are equipped with the regenerative braking system) were getting 3.75 mpg on average while the older model diesels were getting 3.8 mpg.
The article does go on to say, though, that this may be because the city uses the hybrid buses for longer routes where the diesel engine gets more use. Plus, stricter federal emission standards are affecting fuel efficiency.
Ubergizmo has a report about an electronic paper product coming out in 2006. It has a thickness of 3mm and delivers full color images. Competition for the Tablet PC?
- Well, take a look at these photos..
j pg ...
Looks more like the fifth doctor, Peter Davison, to me.Baker as Dr. Who: http://www.solicitor.de/gamebox/gw/technik/drwho.
Wilder as Wonka: http://www.cineplexx.at/pics/Gene_Wilder_P42.jpg
Anyone who watched and loved the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie will probably hate this new version. This generation of kids will probably love it, though.
When we watched the original version with our kids a few years back, it was looking pretty dated by today's film-making standards. I don't think the kids loved (or even liked) it as much we who had originally seen it in the theater did.
I don't think I'm going to make a snap judgement based on the trailer alone. But it looks to me like Johnny Depp has got a long way to go to get even close to Gene Wilder's level of fascinating creepiness in the original.
It seems people are never happy with how things are supposed to look - when given the opportunity, many chose to change it.
Is this a result of the plastic surgery generation? Or is it just human nature?
Why should someone have to live with someone elses idea of how something should look? Should the world have the same sameness everywhere? Boring!
Might as well ask, "Why do people decorate their houses?" Or "Why do they change the desktop pic on their computers?"
Or even better: "Why do children see a blank piece of paper and want to color or draw on it?"
I think people have an innate creativity that they all want to express. Egos play into that too, I think. Everyone likes it when someone says, "That's so cool, dude!"
- Sony PSP (Playstation Portable): It's only the most anticipated handheld gaming device ever -- a portable wonder that packs all the power of the original PlayStation in one palm-size package. And it doesn't just play games: according to Sony, it'll also deliver music and MPEG-4 video, display photos and offer 802.11 Wi-Fi connectivity for wireless gaming and messaging. It's going on sale in Japan this weekend. The United States, however, doesn't get it until March 2005 at the earliest.
As far as the N-Gage, its described as "part game deck, phone, organizer and MP3 player". Users can participate in 3D multiplayer games online, using Bluetooth and GPRS wireless connections. I believe that phone connectivity and airtime minutes apply, correct me if I'm wrong...-
Just how far will adware companies go to continue to attempt to bombard us with their ads?
Sad, but true. I think the answer is A) and E). They will go as far as they think they need to go in order to make more money. The better question might be, how far will they be allowed to go, either by computer users or by law. Considering the average computer user is rather ignorant of what is going on in their computers, it might be left to the judges and the government to regulate the adware companies as they try to push the boundaries further and further.A) As far as they think they need to go
B) As far as they are allowed to go and remain on the right side of the law
C) As far as they need to go despite the law
D) All of the above
E) Profit?
F) CowboyNeal
- The electrical signals in the brain are very weak - about one millionth the strength of the electrical current running through a home. And the skull is a good insulator, Williams said, meaning the signals are degraded if the electrodes are placed on the scalp.
So the sensors are not buried in the brain, just laid on top of it. In fact, the researchers mention making the sensors smaller and, ideally, wireless (why does this make me think of antennae like on the show "My Favorite Martian"?)So the researchers decided they needed to place the sensors directly on the brain.
"It was previously thought motor areas (of the brain) would be the most effective," Williams said. "We find many different areas the patient is able to control to move the cursor."
In fact, many of the brain areas that worked the best are part of the "silent brain," Garell said. The silent brain is a large area that scientists haven't determined what its function is.
What all this means is that practice may be the key to making this work, researchers said.
"We may not need to find the exact right spot," Williams said. "It can be (through) training and learning that a patient can control movement."
The "scrinching up" and "thinking about screaming" was part of the learning curve, and as the subjects practiced, moving the cursor became easier.
Or attach a cluster of helium balloons to it. Whee!
From the press release: "...richly entertaining show, based on the theme "The Dream, Joy and Inspiration of Mobility in the 21st Century... performance content will feature Toyota's efforts toward achieving "optimal mobility," "harmony with society" and "meeting the needs of individuals," and the future technologies and vehicle possibilities that form part of the company's vision for the society of tomorrow."
In other words, these are not meant to be practical. They are just toys for a stage show for the 2005 World Expo. Expos are well known as a platform for showcasing visions of the future, dangling futuristic toys in front of the world. But how often do these concepts make it into the real world use? 50% of the time? 25%? Less?
Cool ideas, though. Toyota should be commended for its creativity and ingenuity.
I tend to agree. Blogs are more often like the editorial pages of the newspaper. They give anyone and everyone a chance to comment on events, point out things others might have missed, or just basically rant about things.
;-)
Hmmmm, that sounds a lot like Slashdot.
Well, that would certainly put a crimp in any anyone's terra-forming plans...
The SolarPC website also lists their specs for their other computers along with the price so maybe you can deduce from there what the $100 model might contain.
This quote from the home page is interesting, too:
- "A no cost license to manufacture SolarPC designs is available for educational and charitable groups participating in the Global Education Link project. Please contact SolarPC for additional information."
FWIW, a review was posted touting their computer as a great war driving machine.- Using an innovative approach, a team of eight specialists at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin intentionally placed Giese into a coma within an hour after her diagnosis on Oct. 19...
No details on which anti-virals they used. You can bet that there will be a write-up in some medical journal in the near future though.Within three days, Giese was on a four-drug cocktail -- two anti-virals that helped salvage her brain and two anesthetics. She was never given a rabies vaccine.
Any explanation of why they didn't have the vaccine on hand?
It wasn't a case of there not being a vaccine on hand, it's that you need to receive a series of vaccine shots over a period of weeks before symptoms appear, which usually happens weeks later (up to a year in some cases). This girl and/or her family, didn't seek treatment for whatever reason, early enough. Once symptoms appear, all the doctors can do is make you as comfortable as possible. It is considered to be fatal 100% of the time once the symptoms appear.
These doctors tried a whole new approach. Protect the brain as much as possible while letting the body develop its own antibodies. While the girl's body appears to have defeated the virus (our body's self-defenses are amazing!), it's still to be determined how successful the doctors were in preventing brain damage.
First of all, these local governments are not providing "free" (read: tax-funded) wifi service.
The article did say in response to this bill becoming law that, as an option "The city could provide the service for free". I realize this means tax-funded to get to that point, but the shared cost would still be much lower than the fees charged by Verizon as I doubt taxes would increase without taxpayer approval.
Second, it's not fair to force private industry to compete with an entity with a virtually endless supply of capital.
And is it fair to the American people to let Verizon have a monopoly and decide for us that only certain people (those rich enough) can have internet access? As for a virtually endless supply of capital, I think that taxpayers pockets are not virtually endless.
do you really want EVERY individual in your neighborhood to have network access? When I go to the store, or to the mall, or to the pub, I run into all sorts of people that, honestly, I do not want to meet on my network.
Then you would be free to use the Verizon/cable/other service-for-a-fee options. Hopefully the competition would help to bring down the prices to more reasonable rates than the current $40 - $50 range. Meanwhile, those who can't afford it would not be left out completely.
Think of it as public transportation. Buses and subways are the city-subsidized transportation for those who can't afford their own car. There are people on buses and subways that I don't want to meet either. Therefore, I drive my car.
... broadband is only in 20 percent of US households. Companies, in the pursuit of ever increasing profits for their CEO's and shareholders, are trying to keep customers paying through the nose for their products. Of course free wireless access would be unfair competition... from their perspective.
According to the article, one store in England is phasing out VCRs because it is no longer feasible to fill up their shelf space with a product that is not moving. Plain old economics. This could mean that the market is saturated. This does not mean that VCRs are dead and buried (yet, anyway).
I remember hearing about the death of VCRs before. About 2 or 3 years ago, someone told me that the companies that make VCRs had stopped making them. This person told me that no more new ones would be made and so stores would just be clearing out their inventories and then only DVD's would be available. Okay - that never happened.
From the article:
"Sales of VCRs are in decline but we still sell a lot of them. As long as there is a market for them we will continue to sell them."
This shows me that VCRs will die only if no one ever buys them anymore or at least when so few do that its not worth it to manufacturors to keep making them or for retailers to sell them.
They already have, back in 2000:
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins (on DVD and VHS, bypassed the theatrical release)
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command TV show
The Mayo Clinic came to my mind too. He should get his doctor in Fargo to contact the Mayo clinic, tell them he has to be seen ASAP and don't take no for an answer or let them put him off.
In my experience (our family dealt with a rare infectious disease - Kawasaki's - in which I knew more about it than our doctor thanks to the internet), doctors are fascinated by a chance to treat a rare disease that they don't see too often, esp. at a teaching/research hospital. Get going already!