MobiSocial

Welcome to "mobisocial" and the new smart phones of the future.
Mobile and Social Computing Labratory at Stanford University is developing this open-source mobile social media future with support from the National Science Foundation, Google, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and AVG.
They have created a suite of applications such as anytime-anywhere communications with friends, making purchases, transferring contact info, video and photo sharing. These new smart phones would be operating independent of proprietary social networks and will be open-source to foster innovative uses while protecting personal data security.
These mobile devices could become the must have gadgets for users that want the best smart phone for interacting and sharing outside proprietary social networks.
Current social networking providers are closed networks and they often own your content posted to their servers. The content can also be searched, analyzed and used for advertising purposes.
MobiSocial platform will be based on widely adopted email technology, where providers and open standards have privacy of content and non-sharing with third parties.

Source: mobisocial.stanford.edu

Water Drop Lens

Physicist and inventor, Bruno Berge, has created a liquid optical lens.
Using a process known as electro-wetting, a water drop is deposited on a metal substrate and covered by a thin insulating layer. When a voltage is applied to the metal, it modifies the angle of the liquid drop.
The liquid lens is comprised of two liquids, water and oil, one is a conductor while the other is an insulator. A variation in the voltage causes a change to the curvature of the liquid to liquid interface, which changes the focal length of the lens.
The use of liquids allows for low cost construction. There are no moving parts and electrical consumption is extremely low. The lens has a large inverse focal length range, quick response, high optical quality and can operate in a wide temperature range.


Source: varioptic.com

Jet Man

Inventor and former Swiss Air Force fighter pilot, Yves Rossy, jumped from a plane over Calais, France and flew 200 mph crossing the English Channel in 13 minutes before landing in Dover, England.
Earlier this year he unfolded the wings on his back and flew 186 mph (300 kilometers) above the Swiss Alps.
Using four small jet engines attached to his carbon wings, he climbed at 200 ft per minute before executing a series of stunts for a crowd of reporters watching from a mountain top.
The spectacular demonstration was the first public revelation of his latest invention, which he spent five years developing.
"It is absolute freedom" says Rossy.
The inventor says his 120 lb Jetman suit will eventually be available to the public but it's still a few years away.
The flight over the English Channel was his second public demonstration. He is planning his next flight through the Grand Canyon.
Update: Yves Rossy has completed his flight over the Grand Canyon. He jumped out of a helicopter at 2,440 metres (8,000 feet) and soared over the Canyon at 330 km (205 mph) for eight minutes before deploying his parachute.
"My first flight in the US is sure to be one of the most memorable experiences in my life, not only for the sheer beauty of the Grand Canyon but the honor to fly in sacred Native American lands," said Rossy.

Sources: jet-man.com;swissinfo.ch/jetman

New Battery Technology Charges in Seconds

For the successful takeover of alternative energy over conventional sources of energy we need a good battery technology too for power storage. The devices we want to keep on using need to be recharged. And we all know that recharge takes hours whether it’s our mobiles or laptops. If the researchers from MIT has implemented the know-how of these lithium-ion batteries, successfully then our waiting hours for recharge will be over.

Nanotech Batteries – A New Energy Future

People want to use clean and green energy and live easy on earth’s resources. Many are changing to hybrid cars and using solar panels side by side with conventional sources of energy. But they hold a grudge. How to store large amount of energy in batteries? Hybrid cars fit batteries for power storage. But this power is not enough to last long distances and takes many undesirable hours to recharge. The storage battery is not very helpful during acceleration. Solar and wind also don’t provide us with power at constant rate. They give us energy intermittently. Their storage devices also take lots of space and money as well and yet they don’t seem promising for surge demand. Gary Rubloff, who is the director of the University of Maryland’s NanoCenter is also voicing a common consumer’s concern, “Renewable energy sources like solar and wind provide time-varying, somewhat unpredictable energy supply, which must be captured and stored as electrical energy until demanded. Conventional devices to store and deliver electrical energy — batteries and capacitors — cannot achieve the needed combination of high energy density, high power, and fast recharge that are essential for our energy future.”

Smartphone concept Philips Fluid

Source:  http://itechfuture.com

Intel Technology in Digital Signage

Digital signage is a relatively new display category that encompasses in-store kiosks, large information displays suspended from a ceiling, touchscreens for navigating a building or store, ambient displays that show imagery or advertising, and more

Source: http://itechfuture.com