We might be seeing an Iron Man in real life soon? Well not quite. Many companies are working on suits that will make the human body stronger and capable of doing what it won’t normally be strong enough to do! DARPA’s exoskelton program said that units enabling soldiers to “run faster, leap further and carry more will be delivered for Army testing in 2008 coincidentally the year the first Iron Man movie was released. That was 6 years ago!
Things have gone far beyond that now, with many exoskeleton systems being tested to enhance humans to do more. Companies like Daewoo, eksobionics and university researchers have been testing and trying out the feasibility of these devices
Conclusion; This doesn’t mean we will all be in iron suits and flying to work soon. One thing I am glad for is that physically challenged people can do more with the help of these artificial skeletal structures and depend less on helpers.
A worker wearing an exoskeleton suit at the Daewoo plant in South Korea Photo: Daewoo
Stress is everywhere and anything can cause stress! We are animals that do everything using our brains. If the brain focuses too much on an issue or problem, it leads to stress. Our electronic devices have been linked to add more stress to our lives, especially our mobile phones. The reason why mobile phones do more than other devices will be because we take them around with us everywhere we go and if you are like someone I know you check it every hour even when you are sleeping! Sorry babe!
According to researchers, the amount of information we consume now is three times more than humans did in 1960. You can always agree with this, having in mind there was no twitter, facebook and such in those years. Now anything happens, and anyone with a social media account gets an update of it within seconds anywhere in the world.
Forbes magazine conducted a survey of over 1000 people to find out what impact screen time is having on people’s lives. The results are shown above.
The main issue is we cannot say no to checking our phones, we even stop while talking, while eating, or while on a date to check our phones. And this translates to us spending more time with our screens than real people!
The odds are if you are really stressed now there is a fat chance your devices really add to it. To curb this, try and spend less time with the devices. Call your family and friends instead of chatting or sending texts. Even better, Skype Video calling is free for up to 10 people, so you can do video calls with friends and family without worrying about price. Plan more outdoor fun with friends and family that doesn’t involve checking your phone or tablet, if you can afford it, turn off your device till you are back at home or you need it to make a call.
Do you need glasses to read? Do you use tablets and phones? Is it annoying that you have to pick up your glasses each time to read your text messages or read your favourite book on your tablet? If you answered yes to the three questions, then soon you will not need to reach for your glasses to read your mobile devices. No, I am not going to heal your sight with these texts you are reading, neither will you need to go for laser surgery for this!
Your mobile devices will adjust to your eyes! Yeah, you read that correctly! Your tablet or phone will adjust to your eyes in the nearest future so that you would not need your glasses.
Some UC Berkeley researchers teamed up with other researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to develop their latest prototype of a vision-correcting display. Like always the Computer Potatoe is here to simply how it works for you!
How it works; it uses light and some other technologies to present the images on the screen to the reader following their glasses prescription.
A prototype has been built and will be presented to the world soon. This doesn’t mean it will be available on all devices in months. We can only be assured that this will be very useful to many people and it will get into the markets as soon as possible.
For: It will help any visually impaired reader to use their devices without glasses or squinting.
Against: This will mean that two people can share at the same time with the prescription on because to one person, it will look sharp but to the other it will look distorted.
Fancy video chatting with your friends or family? Well, Skype group video chat is now free on Windows desktop, OS X and the Xbox One. If you have non of these platforms, not to worry because In a blog post, Skype said group video calling will be added to more platforms in the future “at no cost.” At the moment you can only skype with up to 10 people with video on all but Xbox One. For the mobile devices users, Skype has assured us it will be coming to Windows Phone, Android and IOS soon.
Why is this news? Skype started group video calling as a premium service in January 2011 for about £4.99 per month.
Skype Group Video Calling
Why this sudden change of heart then? We can only come to the conclusion that Microsoft (the owner of Skype) is trying to compete with Google’s communication platform (Google Hangout) which was always free and does the same thing and more.
Only one thing is left to say. Get your skype on here!!!
If you thought the movie Transformers was mere science fiction, you might have been correct last year. It has turned out team of researchers from Harvard and MIT have developed a new kind of robot – one that is capable of folding and unfolding itself, much like origami.
“Getting a robot to assemble itself autonomously and actually perform a function has been a milestone we’ve been chasing for many years,” researcher Robert J. Wood said in a press release
Even though they don’t look like much, this is actually a great achievement and first of its kind.
What is the use for this? Well, first thing to come to mind is that they will make great toys. But in a world where space is becoming less and less, we can build machines that can fold up to smaller bits and tuck themselves away when not in use. For me, I still think it is cool to see a real life Transformer. Autobots!
Have you been on the road and your phone ran out of battery? There is no charging point around and you really need to use your phone? Well do not worry, there are chargers that you can take around with you called power banks that will boost your phone’s battery without actually connecting it to a power point. You will need to charge these mobile power banks though.
How do they work? They simply have batteries inside that are capable of charging your mobile devices, some are so powerful they can even charge your laptop.
See below some of the acclaimed mobile power banks
Have you ever wondered what 3D printing is? The Computer Potatoe is here, as always to simplify this for you. If you are reading this, the chances are you have used a printer before or have had someone help you print your documents. You simply select the page you want printed and the printer does all the work of turning the document on the computer into ink on paper. Inside the printer, ink is sprayed layer by layer on the paper until all your text appears exactly as it is the computer be it coloured or black and white.
3D printing is exactly the same, only more detailed and it is not just on paper. 3D printing can use several materials including plastic and metals instead of just ink. It gradually binds layers and layers of granular material together from bottom to top until it has produced a full 3 dimensional object (hence the name). Even though it sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, this technology has been out for more than a decade but is just starting to gain commercialisation.
3D printing in action!
The benefits of this technology are many. Imagine you wanted a new spoon in the house and all you do is go to your computer and send a template to print to your 3D printer. In minutes you have a spoon that you can use to eat immediately. This goes for all objects you want to print. Simply pop the template on your computer and send it to print on the 3D printer, and you get it in minutes no matter how intricate the object design is.
3D Printer
As of now to get one of these printers still cost an arm and a leg and the materials even more but many technology companies are working hard on getting these into our homes for cheaper.
For your enjoyment, see this 3D printed real ice cream
Displays have certainly gone through changes within the years. From the black and white screens on your old “much-larger-than-it-should-be” TV, to the colour TV, to the handheld devices like your phone, then to clearer colourful screens on small devices, to High definition screens on your flatscreen TV and your phones, 3D screens, Quad High Definition. Now it is changing again and many big companies have been working hard to make sure they find the next thing first.
LG Flexible OLED Screen
Well drum roll please, the next big thing is a screen that bends. Yes, a screen that you can bend without breaking it. In fact, LG has just announced an almost paper like screen that you can roll cylindrically without affecting its functions. They take pride in the fact the 18 inch screen can roll into a cylinder with a 6cm diameter (that would be the cylindrical size of your typical air freshener can). They are not the first though, as Samsung had announced they would be making bendable screens in 2013.
As The Computer Potato only brings you information in a simple way, there is not much to be said about this technology yet. All we know about them is still technical at this stage.
The Use; Well you might think there is little use for this, but there are quite a few. One of them is viewing angle. Generally screens are dim when light reflects on them, with the “bendy” screens you can easily bend it into view.
Conclusion; Even though this is a very good idea, we won’t be rolling our phones into a cylinder any time soon. Why? Even if the screen bends, the other components of the device cannot so they have to attach heavily on one side (not ideal for ergonomics), until we find a way to make everything bendable in the future.
Fancy making your own phone? Yeah, you read right, make your own phone. Not to worry you will not be buying your own factory to create the phone, rather you will be able to customise your own phone thanks to a project named Project Ara by Google. Project Ara is looking to provide a build-your-own smartphone with which users can mix and match features themselves. Users will get an empty phone frame with a screen, and can add or remove modular parts of the handset to make up the phone of your dreams. You don’t get it? Think of it as a Lego box and from the pieces you are making a fully functional phone.
Making Your Own Phone Like A Pro
History; Project Ara was started by Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility with the goal of offering a highly customizable smartphone based on open hardware. Motorola Mobility was later acquired by Lenovo, but Google retained the Project Ara effort, which is now part of the company’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) division.
Finished Phone
Production; Google has said the snap-on modules (or Lego like bricks) will be mass-produced via 3D printing. 3D Systems is Google’s exclusive printing partner for Project Ara. 3D Systems has said Project Ara’s success could depend on the modular parts available, and the ability to mass produce those components in time.
How it will work; Ara phones are going to be built using modules inserted into metal endoskeletal frames known as “endos”. The endos will be the only component in an Ara phone made by Google. It acts as the switch to the on-device network linking all the modules together. You can then upgrade your phone by changing the modules connected to it and viola; you have a new powerful phone.
You Decide What Is In Your Phone
This is a great idea as you spend less to keep a new phone, you can decide to change the screen, or the processor, the battery or all of it without buying the whole phone. If it is ever commercial, it is the best idea ever! Gone will be the days of losing that phone case you are sentimental to because a newer model of your phone is out. You will be able to hold on to your “old-new” phone until it actually gives up or you decide to change it yourself, not forced to.
Well finally Apple’s flagship system that runs on all Ipads, Iphones and Ipods has been given a facelift in the anticipation of the new set of devices rumoured to be released in September, like the IPhone 6. IOS is beginning to listen to the users’ cry to feature functions that will make the life of their users easier. Many features were announced in June but I have put together those that I think will make it a happy system to use.
Battery life improvement; The new software is said to make your battery life last longer, so you can enjoy your devices for more time before you need a charge.
Touch Login; Apple, in their last phone, blessed users with an unlocking system where you print your finger on the home button and your phone unlocks. Now they are taking it a step further where, users can use their fingerprints to login to applications.
Keyboard getting personal; Apple is now letting third party apps run keyboards on their systems, something that was never allowed in the past. This means your apps can customise their keyboards within the app or you can download keyboards on your phone from the App Store.
Third Party Keyboard
Your phone is healthier; Your new software will collect more data about your activities, and not just collect it, it will also make sense of it and push it to a built in health app on the phone. Apple has also confirmed this will work together with wearables not unlike the nike fuelband to better help with the collection and analysis of your activities.
Sharing is easier and personal; This is my favourite feature in the announcement. Long have I loathed apple for locking down their devices in the sharing aspect. This is changing now even though it is not where we want yet. You can setup your family on your device and this will make sharing instant to the everyone in the family. Making it easier to share your moments with your loved ones.
Family Sharing
Your phone is smarter around you; Your phone will now learn about you and customise itself to you in notifications and even your typing habits. This is something Androids have always had and improved in their systems. Also, all your apple devices will seamlessly connect and share data, so you can easily pick up on your MAC where you left off on your phone.
Your Personal Phone
It is a shame not all devices can get this update though, only the iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPod touch® 5th generation, iPad 2, iPad with Retina® display, iPad Air™, iPad mini™ and iPad mini with Retina display will.
Apple has definitely made an effort to make this their best system ever. As for me, until I can run and share anything on my “idevice”, I will be sticking with other open systems like the Android. For the I-lovers, these features should make you I-happier.
