The March of Technology

[Saturnine Tenshi]

I liked Ethan's post solely because of the "barbarians" comment.

[Thursday Next]

Spin the bottle of champagne while hosing it with cold water. This way you can have refreshing cold champagne EVERYWHERE! Also, where does the cold (<4 degree C) water come from?

 

I also hate when they make claims like 35sec "This technology is now trademarked V-Tex" that doesn't mean fuck all other than that no one else can use the term "V-Tex" in association with drinks cooling technology and around 1:15 "Envirocool Ltd... who own the intellectual property." Both statements are clearly attempts to suggest that they have the patent, however, they have not mentioned anything about patents which makes me very suspicious as to who actually owns the technology.

[TheMightyEthan]

Spin the bottle of champagne while hosing it with cold water. This way you can have refreshing cold champagne EVERYWHERE!

 

If you read the article, supposedly it sounds it in such a way that it sets up vortices inside that prevent the carbonation from leaving solution.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

Not really, you can have increased sales of pre-builts increasing with new steam accounts. If anything it's reasonable to assume that original bulk of steam accounts are the more hardcore PC gamer types that are more likely to build their own, and later accounts are folks rocking whatever desktop or laptop they happen to have that'll run all the cheap and simple games steam is becoming known for. The top two GPUs on the h/w survey are Intel HD Graphics, accounting for over 8% (5.2million accounts) alone.

 

I find it hard to believe that absolutely no new people are putting together computers themselves.

[deanb]

I never even said absolutely nobody new was building computers. I doubt you'll find the tens of millions of accounts since Steams launch, the millions of mac owners, all the folks playing the F2P TF2 and Dota 2, are all going out and building their own desktop PCs.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

Do you think that I'm saying that more people are building than not building? Because I've been saying the opposite.

[Mal]

 

Spin the bottle of champagne while hosing it with cold water. This way you can have refreshing cold champagne EVERYWHERE!

If you read the article, supposedly it sounds it in such a way that it sets up vortices inside that prevent the carbonation from leaving solution.

 

Either way, its doing the chilling in the way I expected it to. There is no way around using cold water since it is the best and most cheap thing we got to chill stuff with. The only thing new is that is that it spins and agitates the liquid inside the bottle or can. It is really the only additional step to my way of wrapping a damp-ish towel around the bottle or can and putting it in the freezer. Since my freezer is already running and tap water is pretty cheap... there is not real need for it at home. For the store... maybe. Do my entire 6 or more pack of beer because you bastards aren't putting the kind I want in the fridge and I may be game.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

If you have to get your beer that cold it's shit beer in the first so just drink whatever your friends are having.

[Thursday Next]

 

Spin the bottle of champagne while hosing it with cold water. This way you can have refreshing cold champagne EVERYWHERE!

If you read the article, supposedly it sounds it in such a way that it sets up vortices inside that prevent the carbonation from leaving solution.

 

 

I'll believe it when I see it.

[TheMightyEthan]

Yeah, that's why I said "supposedly."  

[deanb]

 

Why does it always seem the only cool things the Kinect can do are non game related.

[TheMightyEthan]

I think the coolest part about that is the 3D table display thing, rather than the hand tracking.  That table makes me think of the awesome tactical displays you see in sci fi movies where they've got a 3D map of a battlefield or whatever that they can move around like a screen.

[deanb]

http://www.engadget.com/2013/12/01/amazon-prime-air-drones/

 

Amazon intend to roll out a system where by drones deliver your packages. Though it's a while off yet given they likely have to get airspace approval and probably work out how they'll make sure they won't accidentally kill someone, land at the wrong house, or end up in "the wrong neighbourhood".

 

Then combined with amazon Prime 3D, get your products custom made from scratch and delivered within 60 minutes, coming 2020.

[TheMightyEthan]

That seems so awesomely impractical.

[deanb]

Yeah the logistics would be a bit of a nightmare but it all kind of makes sense. If most orders are relatively light, and it can be made to be somewhat affordable (though I doubt easily affordable, not yet) then why would folks have items sent through random distribution centres and relying on a post centre normally set up to deal with letters?

 

It's like the Berlin Airlift, just with substantially less communism. 

[Alex Heat]

It'd be a step up from getting packages from UPS or FedEx at 8 PM, that's for sure.

[Mal]

This will surely not happen to them.

[deanb]

http://www.openculture.com/2014/01/isaac-asimov-predicts-what-the-world-will-look-in-2014.html
 
Asimov predicts 2014 (from 1964). As with all types of predictions he's near the mark with a few, and off the mark on others. Always nice to have a look back, sets us up in store for what's to come.

• Automeals - Not quite there. We have microwaves and ready-meals, but nothing where your food is made on demand.
• Communication via video - We're kinda sorta edging there. For the most part we still use voice and text to communicate, video calling is very feasible just not as popular as anticipated.
• Telephones used for books and photos - Yeah we got that.
• Electroluminsicnet panels - man I want those Cloud Atlas walls. We however lack them and have good old fashioned wallpaper and bulbs. Though some bulbs, with advent of LED, are colour changing.
• Yeah we have shit robots.
• Still have wires.
• We still drive with wheels. This one seems to be a common prediction for stuff like this. I don't think in even in 2114 we'll have flying cars.
• Vehicles with robot brains - Yep. That's actually correct to the year (ish, 2013 saw legislation brought in but non sold to public yet AFAIK)
• We have really big TV panels about the size of a wall I guess. Holographic/3D video still in infancy.
• 7 billion not 6 billion.
• We have Quorn I guess, but most part still eat regular farm grown foods. Did have first lab burger last year though.
• Schools still not quite grasping the world of "Oh shit we need to teach people computers". Many jobs taken over by computers though. More n more checkouts being replaced by self-service.
• I'd say we're the least bored of any time period so far. In fact the very opposite of bored, over stimulated with it's own set of societal and psychological problems.
• Work - HAHAHAH

[Pojodin]

Those are some solid predictions. I wish he was right about the work part.

[TheMightyEthan]

I'd say we're the least bored of any time period so far. In fact the very opposite of bored, over stimulated with it's own set of societal and psychological problems.

I dunno, I think our oversaturation with entertainment has led to the mental equivalent of a full pantry with nothing to eat.  I can't count the number of times I've spent an hour or so flipping through Netflix or idly browsing the internet, bored out of my skull because nothing sounds good to watch or interesting to read.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

 

I'd say we're the least bored of any time period so far. In fact the very opposite of bored, over stimulated with it's own set of societal and psychological problems.

I dunno, I think our oversaturation with entertainment has led to the mental equivalent of a full pantry with nothing to eat.  I can't count the number of times I've spent an hour or so flipping through Netflix or idly browsing the internet, bored out of my skull because nothing sounds good to watch or interesting to read.

 

 

Boring people are boring. I firmly believe this. I am definitely oversatured. There's simply too many movies, books, comics, games, art installations, articles, etc, to enjoy and experience out there in the world during just one lifetime.

[TheMightyEthan]

A prosthetic hand that gives the wearer back their sense of touch.

[deanb]

http://www.google.com/atap/projecttango/

 

Project Tango. Google have made a prototype phone to detect the three dimensional space around it. Currently looking for developers so it's likely more than a gimmick. I think in general day to day use for the average person it likely won't do much use. But for sight impaired then it could be quite the boon if their phone could tell them they're about to walk into a wall, or if something around them has moved from last time.

 

edit: TechCrunch have some videos of it in action:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/21/heres-an-actual-3d-indoor-map-of-a-room-captured-with-googles-project-tango-phone/

[TheFlyingGerbil]

here's an article about a "new" way to speed read. (actually originally developed in the 70s)

 

 

It's interesting because on the Spritz site I can read their 600 wpm sample fine but when I read traditionally I am super slow, as I do the subvocalization thing mentioned in the article. I think this method may help me to just look at a word and take it in rather reading and comprehending each word individually.

 

Having said that it would probably be quite relentless and draining for anything too long. I have dozens of articles I've saved instead of reading because of the length of them, and this would help you power through them instead of chucking them in a pile I'll never touch, but the fact it mentions novels, even light reading novels I think would be too much - I read to relax and I don't think "spritzing" is relaxing so I'd say more for information than enjoyment, but a pretty cool idea.

[TheMightyEthan]

I could read most of their 600 wpm sample, but missed a few words here and there.