Map Tech: Google Maps, spy enabled.

the_unexplained: So tonight I spied on Area 51. Actually: "So tonight I spied on Area 51. Actually, maybe I should explain a little more, before I lead with such a tempting sentence. If you go to CNN�s website tonight, you will see a story about google�s new map search service. Basically, the company has integrated satellite technology into their map-searching site, and now you can get ACTUAL photographs beamed directly from somewhere in space. This section of the page just launched a day or two ago, and already many people are upset because they feel, for some reason, having satellite mapping software on the web that gives basic users the ability to stare at the roof of someone else�s house is an invasions of privacy (Sheesh, what prudes.) "

I think this is cool technology. I mean imagine all the cool stuff you can see. You can scan central park for people having sex, you can check out all the homeless people in America, you can search for Bigfoot in the pacific northwest and even try to find your lost dog. Or not. Even at it's highest zoom it's impossible to make out even cars, let alone people. Some people are worried about privacy. It's neat but not very good at invading people's privacy, heck I could barely make out Neverland. After some research I also found some of the images are over two years old. Cool it is, a privacy issue it ain't.

Tech: Comcast ups speed, drops the ball.

Comcast recently started up grading their speed to 4Mb. Which is great, I love to see the numbers go up on data transfer. The problem is right after they did it people started having connection problems. This wasn't one of those local problems it was nationwide.

My Way News: "Comcast's high-speed Internet customers nationwide have suffered Web and e-mail problems since last week, the company said Thursday.
The intermittent nature of the problem made it difficult to pinpoint how many of Comcast's nearly 7 million broadband customers have been affected, Comcast spokeswoman Jeanne Russo said.
Some Web pages took a long time to load or were inaccessible altogether. E-mail was down for some.
The exact cause of the problem had not been determined, but the troubles related to Comcast's Domain Name Server system, which translates easy-to-remember domain names like 'AP.org' into a Web site's actual numeric address, Russo said.
The latest service disruption started about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and ended shortly after midnight. Customers experienced similar problems last Thursday and during a three-hour period Tuesday starting around 6:30 p.m."

Computer Tech: The worst mouse

Leave it to sony to throw caution to the wind and give us the worst designed mouse ever. Apparently this for all those people who thing ergonomic design is just "the man keeping us down".




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Tech: Tiny Drone

Wasp MAV: Seven-Ounce Drone : Gizmodo: "Smaller than the death-dealing, missle-launching UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehice) drones is the MAV�the Micro Air Vehicle. This particular model, called the Wasp, is currently being tested with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group and weighs just seven ounces. It can be controlled from the ground (via a taut string and an 11-year-old) or can wirelessly follow a pre-plotted path using GPS coordinates, snapping pictures from forward and aft cameras. It�s not unlike the ship-orbiting �options� from Gradius, except they can�t deflect as much laser fire."

Alright, so I need this for the Mech paintball thing so I can take overhead shots of all the action.

Robot Tech: Coolest real mech yet

That's right, this bad boy is the coolest REAL mech so far. It shuffles more then it walks. It only goes 1.5km/hr but it's got guns. They shoot foam balls. I'm thinking swap them out for paintball guns, build a city mockup and charge people a ton of money for 30 minutes blowing their friends up. Now if only I can figure how to make jump jets...



Sakakibara Kikai's Land Walker Robot : Gizmodo

Akira Scooter Mod : Gizmodo

Akira Scooter Mod : Gizmodo: "I just thought you’d like a little more info about that story. According to the ITMedia article, it’s based off of the Honda Fusion (http://www.honda.co.jp/motor-lineup/fusion/index.html). There’s two (well, three) types for sale. A new Fusion, pre-modded will run you around Y1,155,000 (that’s in “Fighting Red” color). One that is painted to look more like the real (?) thing is called Kaneda Red and that will run you Y1,470,000. If you already have a Fusion and you just want the body kit, the bolt-on kit will run you Y630,000.

This is all put together by Saitaniya, a custom parts maker out of Osaka. They’ve been working on this for over a year, trying to get a kit that would be easy to put together and also not cost an arm and a leg. They say that if you can change your own muffler, then you can assemble the kit."

Ultra-Lightweight LCD Glasses

I4U News - Ultra-Lightweight LCD Glasses: "Japanese Nikkei.Net reports aboout Scalar Corp. introducing a wearable LCD screeen that only weighs 7g.

The Scalar Teleglasses can be mounted on ordinary eye-glasses. The 0.24' 180,000 pixel LCD chip creates a 14' TV screen viewed in 1m distance.

The weight of just 7g is just amazing. The price for the LCD HMD is set at 50,000 yen (~$459.62). "

Video Tech: Cool JVC Camera

I'm not sure how many people know this but not only am I a writer, I like to think of myself as a filmmaker too. I've been drooling over a Canon camera for quite some time, but now I have a JVC to drool over.

The GY-HD100 is an incredible camera. It has a native resolution of 16:9. It does up to 1080i recording. It has standard DV media as well as a built in harddrive. The harddrive is removable for quick easy editing. The lenses are also interchangeable.

The camera uses 3 CCD's and is extremely compact. It is also one of the most flexible camcorders I've seen when it comes to formats. Admittedly it's standard resolution is PAL (at least in the information I saw) but I won't be shooting standard resolution with this bad boy.

No pricing information but as soon as I know I'll let you guys know. All I know is it won't be cheap.

The JVC GY-HD100 & BR-HD50E HD recorder

Gmail to up capacity.

My Way News: "A year after unveiling a free e-mail service with a full gigabyte of storage, Google Inc. (GOOG) is doubling the capacity of each account and plans to keep bumping up the limit in the future.
Once the upgrade takes effect Friday, Gmail users will be able to store up to 2 gigabytes of e-mail and attachments for each account. Even more capacity will be made available after that as it becomes feasible, the company said."

The article goes on to say that Google plans on upgrading storage space as often as possible. They want to make sure storage isn't a problem. That makes me very happy and means I won't be leaving Gmail anytime soon.