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Jobs of the 21st Century - Job v3.0
2008-01-22 02:00:00
I want to revisit this topic.  It's been awhile since I talked about it.  For a quick review go and read this article: Job v3.0 - 21st Century Jobs I want to focus on crowd patronage.  There are a variety of people out there now attempting succeeding? at this route of self-financing.  The journalist Michael Yon mentioned in the article above is but one. Here is someone else trying to fund their effort via the web. Jill's next record Bringing people with a need in touch with people that want to fulfill that need.  In this case it is Jill Sobule's wish to create a record.  She has been frustrated by an industry that seems to be in obliteration mode. I am very skeptical as to whether she would have been able to accomplish this in any way prior to the internet,  Because if you are interested in her music you can go out and find a video of her and see what she's all about. You can then go read a review of her shows. 10 February 2002: Ti...

Bionic eyes - too bad you have to wear contacts.
2008-01-18 01:11:00
University of Washington. Engineers at the UW have for the first time used manufacturing techniques at microscopic scales to combine a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights. Go Huskies! This is pretty cool...but I wore contacts for a long time and they suck!  Some people can wear them without any problems, my sister for one.  Me?...pain and suffering. "Looking through a completed lens, you would see what the display is generating superimposed on the world outside," said Babak Parviz, a UW assistant professor of electrical engineering. "This is a very small step toward that goal, but I think it's extremely promising." Pretty snazzy nonetheless.
More About: Eyes , Wear , Bionic , Contacts

Update: Asteroid will miss Mars. Dangit!
2008-01-14 19:49:00
2007 WD5 Mars Collision Effectively Ruled Out - Impact Odds now 1 in 10,000 Looks like it will miss by at least 4000 kilometers and most likely by somewhere more in the neighborhood of 26,000 kilometers. Oh well.
More About: Update , Miss , Asteroid , Aster

Replacement Hearts grown in-vitro!
2008-01-14 19:42:00
Extraordinary! And not just hearts: The process, called whole organ recellularization, can be done "with virtually any organ," Taylor says. Researchers create a new heart in the lab Someday, doctors may routinely extract cells from heart failure patients and use them to reseed a new organ from a cadaver-derived ECM. What types of cells those would be isn't known yet. What we are looking at is heart replacement with a NEW heart from your own cells.  No rejection medicine required.  Gimme new lungs too, oh and how about kidneys! Wow!
More About: Hearts , Grown

Economic impact of coffee
2008-01-14 19:20:00
Has someone quantified the economic impact coffee has on worldwide productivity? It must be extraordinary. World?s Top Three Productivity-Enhancing Drugs oh and BTW I'm on my fourth cup today...you?
More About: Coffee , Economic

Asteroid impact on Mars - January 30th
2008-01-08 01:50:00
What do we hope to learn? Well for starters scientists have never had the opportunity to view an asteroid impact as it is happening.  They were able to watch the Shoemaker-Levy comet strike Jupiter, but that is a different type of observation entirely. Here we are talking about a planet strike.  There it was an impact into the atmosphere.  For the potential Mars impact we have two ground based rovers and an orbiting satellite.  For the Jupiter impact...none of that. This is historic. According to the latest data the likelihood of an actual strike keeps going up.  From 1-in-75 down to now a 1-in-25 chance, or approximately a 4% chance. LA-Times Story
More About: January , Asteroid , Aster

Bill Gates exit video.
2008-01-08 01:20:00
If you haven't seen it check this out. What will Gates do next? It's pretty funny.
More About: Video , Microsoft , Bill Gates , Bill

Warner Brothers goes Blu...and only Blu!
2008-01-05 15:56:00
  Does this mean the end of the HD-DVD wars? We here at techRivet had previously predicted that the High Definition DVD wars would end with the opposite result, a victory for HD-DVD.  Primarily because of the decision of the adult industry to produce their titles in HD-DVD format exclusively. Here: HD DVD vs. Blu-ray: it's all over. And then we had some little egg on our face as we had to retract part of that broad statement when Sony began to offer support to the adult industry later in the year. Here: Sony wises up and listens to techRivet Now Warner Brothers has stopped straddling the format divide and put both feet on the Blu-Ray bus Toshiba is going to need a near miracle to win the war.  There are a bunch of VPs, Executive VPs and  C-level folks over at Toshiba that are not getting very much sleep tonight. Toshiba Corp. late Friday said it was 'quite surprised' by Warner Bros.' decision to adopt Sony Corp.'s (NYSE:SNE) Blu-ray disc format...
More About: Warner Brothers

Microsoft enters a new era: MS G.E.
2008-01-03 05:26:00
Microsoft - Greg Era. Up until today Microsoft has not had the benefit of Greg being onboard. Now they do. Huzzah!
More About: Microsoft

Head Tracking for Desktop VR Displays using the WiiRemote
2007-12-28 19:52:00
I've been lethargically trying to purchase a Wii for months now, without success. Apparently you have to be quite serious about hunting one down because they're sell out everywhere that they crop up. Amazon.com reported that when they had them in stock, they were selling 17 of them a second! If the technology in this clip starts to make it mainstream, we're going to continue to be constrained on these puppies. The clarity of the description of the technology, as well as the demonstration itself, is first rate. Make sure to check out Johnny Lee's other Wiimote projects.
More About: Desktop , Head , Displays , Tracking , Mote

Posting will be light during the holidays...But I give you the ultimate Chr
2007-12-24 18:05:00
http://tackychristmasyards.com/ Awesomness and off-topicness wrapped up in holiday lights.
More About: Christmas , Holidays , Light , Give , Ultimate

Wired Science: Chemistry Sets of Today are wimpy...Chemistry sets of yester
2007-12-20 22:40:00
What should they be like?
More About: Science , Sets , Today , Wired , Chemistry

Autonomous Foosball Table
2007-12-19 23:40:00
> > Pretty cool. Here's the project website: Autonomous Foosball Table They were hindered by some hardware limitations.  Still like I said pretty cool.

Awesome! Peter Jackson WILL direct the Hobbit!
2007-12-18 20:21:00
Ok, I'm a geek, but I was at first psyched at Jackson doing the Hobbit then angry when the deal fell through.  Now it looks like New Line Cinemas and Jackson have buried the hatchet for the money and agreed to make the movie. Sweet!
More About: Awesome , Direct , The Hobbit , Peter Jackson

New web server technology...learned from Honey Bees.
2007-12-18 19:47:00
...and their famous waggle dance. Scientists abuzz over more efficient Web servers Tovey said his collaboration with Seeley demonstrated that the communication [bee waggle] provides a ?beautiful? feedback loop to prevent one flower patch from being abandoned while another is depleted. For a superior patch, more bees will shake it on the dance floor and recruit workers to join them. As the nectar level drops from all the hubbub, the bees take longer to fill up, delaying their repeat performances back at the hive. The drop-off in dance routines gives scouts returning from alternative sources a better chance to create their own dance fever and transfer worker allegiances. With the shifting allocations, the system continually equalizes itself and offers a steady stream of nectar. The emulated the load balancing of the "bee waggle" to divert traffic where it is most needed. very interesting read.
More About: Technology , Web Server , Honey , Server , Bees

How much power do your "Stand By" appliances use?
2007-12-14 01:00:00
Go check it out. http://standby.lbl.gov/Data/SummaryChart. html It may not make all that much difference to you or your energy bill, but just multiply this by millions of appliances in the US and you can get a sense of the energy savings impact we could have if we fully turned off all the appliances that we could. The FAQ explains it fairly clearly. Anything with an external power supply (wallpack), remote control, or clock display require standby electricity.      Some of the most common products are TVs, VCRs, cable boxes, stereo systems, and telephone answering machines. Our Data page presents measured standby power use of these and other domestic appliances. The message is, not everything needs stand by power, turn off what you can.
More About: Power , Appliances , Stand

SpaceX update.
2007-12-13 21:19:00
They've been too busy to update the website since August.  And by busy I mean BUSY! Report from Elon Musk. Among the many items listed, all of them impressive, is this one that caught my eye. A few months ago, NASA approved the critical design review (CDR) for the initial flight of our Dragon spacecraft on the Falcon 9 rocket booster. F9/Dragon is intended to provide crew and cargo service to the International Space Station after the Space Shuttle retires in 2010, so passing this review was no small matter. Apart from the flight itself, this was arguably the most important mark of progress in the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. SpaceX is in a unique position.  A place and time in space exploration that is unlikely to come again.  They have a project plan that aligns with a demand from NASA that no-one else will be able to meet.  If they can stay on schedule or near schedule SpaceX could become one of the if not THE pri...
More About: Update

Marine Biology - How do Baleen Whales feed?
2007-12-12 17:53:00
I know you've been curious. Well here is a fascinating article that talks about how huge Baleen [called Rorqual] Whales feed. I mean we all know that they open their mouths and let the water flow in and then squeeze it out through the baleen and trap the krill.  But the latest research fills in the details. Essentially they cruise along at 600 feet below the surface and then open their mouth, dropping their jaw perpendicular to their body.  This causes their whole mouth to act like a giant parachute and stops the forward motion of the whale completely. What the whale does next came as a complete surprise to the scientists. ?It was still swimming, but it was slowing down really fast,? Mr. Goldbogen said. Even as the whale pumps its powerful tail, it comes to a compete stop in three seconds. And the amount of water that they capture in their mouth during a gulp is truly gargantuan. Mr. Goldbogen and his colleagues calculate that in just three seconds, the...
More About: Biology , Feed , Marine , Hale

Planet Hunting, The Next Generation - The Lyot Project
2007-12-12 00:43:00
Accelerating change is going on all around us.  We see it in entertainment from computer games to movies.  We see it in telephones as they keep getting smaller and more feature rich.  We see it in cameras and music players and personal GPS devices.  Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. All of this creeps into our lives and becomes ubiquitous.  The changes quickly becomes invisible, expected and, in a weird sort of way, un-important. But accelerating change is also affecting the sciences. For example the hunt for extra-solar planets.  The first one discovered was in 1991.  Since then there has been a rapid pace of discovery.  The bulk of the discoveries essentially done by inference: careful detection of the wobbling of the star around which the planet[s] orbit.    So the point here is that before 1991 we had NO evidence of planets orbiting other stars.  In theory we were 100% sure (or so close as to make no difference) that ...
More About: Planet , Project , Generation , Hunting , The Next Generation

On a personal note, Greg is headed to Microsoft.
2007-12-11 16:48:00
I don't usually post personal information on the rivet, but I thought I'd post something about this. I've been hired by Microsoft . I'm going to be working in the Unlimited Potential Group. What is Unlimited Potential? It's about helping individuals and communities around the globe achieve their goals and dreams with relevant, accessible, and affordable technologies. Through innovative solutions and local partnerships that are transforming education, fostering local innovation, and enabling jobs and opportunities, our mission is to create a continuous cycle of sustained social and economic growth for everyone. It's a great opportunity and I'm quite excited. I am leaving my current company of 3.5 years with a little sadness.  Zango has been a great place to work; with a whole bunch of smart, motivated, nice people.  I wish I could have my cake and eat it too...
More About: Personal , Note , Greg

Carnival of Space #31 - Hosted at "Out of the Cradle"
2007-12-07 00:18:00
Carnival of Space #31 Cool roundup of space news, go check it out.
More About: Carnival , Cradle , Hosted

International Day of the Ninja
2007-12-05 17:22:00
Well naturally if we have the International "Talk Like a Pirate Day" then obviously we need the "Annual Day of the Ninja ".  December 5th is the Day of the Ninja. Plague your co-workers with ninja-ness and wear a ninja mask to work! Got the day off? Run wild in the streets, or dress like a ninja at the mall! Just show the world that YOU ARE NINJA! December 5 - Annual Day of the Ninja Now go flip out and wail on guitars!!  Be Awesome!!
More About: The Ninja

X-Prize Lunar Lander Competition
2007-12-05 00:58:00
To paraphrase Austin Powers - "Yay Capitalism!" I think there is a remarkable group of efforts going on right now in the world of space technologies.  And all of it is being spearheaded by private companies.  Not by huge governments. Where NASA is struggling to set a roadmap and plan for hundreds of different missions, here we have small nimble private corporations creating solutions to problems. Here is Armadillo Aerospace attempting to capture the Lunar Lander X-Prize . > > > They're sponsored by nVidia, which to me seems a cool corporate investment. Google is in the act as well. > > > The next couple of decades could be very interesting.  I would like to wholeheartedly encourage the multitude of high-tech billionaires that read the Rivet to invest in the emerging private space race. C'mon you already have 3 Ferraris, what's left?  How about a moon base. Related articles: SpaceX Flight Review
More About: Competition , X Prize

In the future, cars will drive themselves
2007-12-04 17:43:00
Nothing really new here but it is interesting that the mainstream press is picking up on this now. In the Future , Smart People Will Let Cars Take Control Stanford computer scientist Sebasian Thrun makes this prediction: In five years he expects a car that could take over simple chores like breezing along an expressway, inching along in stop-and-go traffic, or parking in the lot at a mall or airport after dropping off the driver. In 20 years, Dr. Thrun figures half of new cars sold will offer drivers the option of turning over these chores to a computer techRivet had a similar article earlier: Autonomous Cars will change urban living
More About: Drive , The Future

Resistance is Futile: we are Borg (that means you too)
2007-11-30 22:44:00
This might be off-topic but the title of the article keeps it in. [and it also let's put a 7-of-9 picture on the site] The premise of the article is that we, the capitalist/democratic/free-market west are the Borg.  But we don't compel assimilation.  We merely make all the alternatives less attractive than our way. You can join and better the lives of you, your kids, your grandkids etc. or not join and basically get left in the dirt.  Your choice, we aren't forcing you. But the decision becomes obvious. Go read the whole thing. What is our challenge as leaders in a Borg world? We should stop denying the obvious. We are taking over the world -- not because we want to -- we just can't help it. Our Borg stuff is just too good. Given the choice, most people will eventually vote Borg. We give them what they love. They will become part of us. We will all become more alike. Resistance , while not futile, may be inevitably the wrong decision.

InstallPad - Get all your programs installed at once.
2007-11-29 22:33:00
This is a great little utility that allows you to set up your machine at the click of a button.  Get all your favorite apps downloaded and installed in one fell swoop. InstallPad Great for when you are going to be setting up a new machine.  No longer do you have to go out and find each one separately and download them one by one.  Set it up ahead of time place the applist.xml file somewhere that you can get it and voila, you're ready to role. That would be my start up list of apps. WinAmp CDex Notepad ++ Windows Live Writer Sharpreader XP Pro IIS Admin VLC Audacity Super iZarc Gadwin Printscreen Explorer XP This of course does not include the large applications that require CD's for installation such as: MS Office, MS Visual Studio, Paint Shop Pro, Photo Album etc. This will also be the way I post techRivet 's Free Media Pack 2008.  With an InstallPad applist.xml file and link to InstallPad itself.  Brilliant. Related l...
More About: Programs

Landsat Image Viewer: Earth view of where the Landsat is passing over RIGHT
2007-11-28 21:16:00
Just plain cool: Landsat Image View er A java app that displays the ground passing under the Landsat satellite as it is traveling over it (sometimes it is a replay if there is not a satellite over the US at the time you are watching).  It scrolls smoothly, compiled from images made before.
More About: Earth , Viewer , Image Viewer

Nano-paper: Stronger than steel, environmentally safe.
2007-11-28 19:36:00
Beautiful. While there are plenty of pie in the sky nano-technology dreams out there: space elevator ribbon, artery cleansing robots, oxygen increasing blood.  But in reality those are still far off. What we will end up seeing in our day to day lives will be more mundane applications that appear to have marginal impact on change, but over the long term may have as much impact as the grandiose ideas. For example here: Nano -layered plastic sheet is strong as steel This stuff could be used in a lot of applications ranging from grocery bags to space vehicle linings.  It will all depend on how efficient the process can become.  It sounds like the process uses simple materials and that there is potential for big automation. It will be very interesting to see what other "mundane" nano-technology innovations come out over the next several years.
More About: Paper , Safe , Stronger , Steel

Visual representation of protocol headers.
2007-11-27 23:29:00
This is cool and actually one of the clearest explanations of what makes up the header information of the packets that are flying around the intertubes.  Gallery includes: IPv4, IPv6, TCP, UDP and ICMP.
More About: Visual , Protocol , Proto , Resent

One handed keyboard - effortless learning curve.
2007-11-27 23:13:00
That is for touch typers. http://matias.ca/halfkeyboard/demo/ This is cool.  It means never having to let go of the mouse again. They've got an online demo that lets you try out the technology.
More About: Curve , Learning , Keyboard , Handed , Earning