ConnectedLife - Show 33 Baby Tech
ConnectedLife is all about babies. We visit UBC’s Baby Cognitive Lab, look at some popular baby gadgets and learn about a new study that says babies and TV shouldn’t mix. Stop crying - this is ConnectedLife.
Baby Tech
In 2006, tech-savvy, gadget-crazy North Americans spent $2.9 billion on baby goods with $337 million going towards things like video monitors, digital thermometers and wireless surveillance cameras. Technology is everywhere, even the baby’s room.
If emailed photos just won’t do, you can now get video phones to share exciting moments with relatives. In a similar vein, baby monitors - the must-have piece of gadgetry for every parent – are now available with video. Love your iPod? Now so can your baby, the iCrib speaker dock straps to the crib with Velcro and features a slot for your iPod or other mp3-player. Many MP3 players let parents record soothing messages for when they are away.
Having trouble figuring out what's bothering your newborn? The “Why Cry baby-cry analyzer” will translate wails into five expressions--hungry, bored, annoyed, sleepy or stressed--by measuring volume, frequency and crying intervals.
And remember, if technology can’t provide you with the answer – try a hug.
History Bytes - April 24th, 1962
Children all over the world watch cartons that come from satellite signals. On April 24th, 1962, scientists working for M.I.T. and the U.S. Air Force successfully bounced television signals off the Echo I satellite. The signal was sent from an M.I.T. lab in California and was picked up in Massachusetts, 2,700 miles away. The TV signal simply consisted of the word "M.I.T.," written in block letters.
Babies and Television
Do “so-called” educational baby videos really work or are they brain junk food? Studies at the University of Washington suggest that not only do they not make your kids any smarter - they may actually hinder language and attention development, particularly in the first two years. Babies who watched videos scored 17 percent worse on language-skills assessments than babies who didn't. The UW findings are the latest in a growing body of work that questions the use and effect of television on young children. In fact, growing evidence led the American Academy of Pediatrics to issue its recommendation in 1999 that no child under two years old watch any television.
Green Tips
With over 50 million going into landfills every day, diapers are a serious environmental problem. Consider using eco-friendly alternatives like cloth diapers, or greener disposables from Nature Babycare, Moltex, Tushies, or GDiaper. The outer part of the GDiaper is flushable and is made of viscose rayon instead of plastic, with an inner part made from wood pulp. Whichever method you choose, you’ll be helping to keep nasty diapers out of our landfills.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Going Green Show 32
Going Green
ConnectedLife is going green as we take a look at some amazing inventions at the Green Living Show and Globe 2008. We’ll also talk with Ed Begley Jr. Get green with envy, this is ConnectedLife.
Green Tip
According to Statistics Canada, many Canadians still get rid of dead batteries, old medication, and computer equipment by throwing them in the trash. As a result, dangerous chemicals and more than 275,000 tons of consumer electronics end up in landfills every year. Remember to return obsolete computers and batteries to municipal depots, and always take old medicines back to your pharmacy.
Tech Bytes
On April 10, 1849, prolific inventor Walter Hunt patented the decidedly low tech safety pin. Invented with the desire to pay off a fifteen dollar debt, he later sold the rights for the measly sum of four hundred dollars. His brainstorm went on to make millions for the patent holder and had a profound influence on fashion...
Quote
There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.
~Mohandas K. Gandhi
ConnectedLife is going green as we take a look at some amazing inventions at the Green Living Show and Globe 2008. We’ll also talk with Ed Begley Jr. Get green with envy, this is ConnectedLife.
Green Tip
According to Statistics Canada, many Canadians still get rid of dead batteries, old medication, and computer equipment by throwing them in the trash. As a result, dangerous chemicals and more than 275,000 tons of consumer electronics end up in landfills every year. Remember to return obsolete computers and batteries to municipal depots, and always take old medicines back to your pharmacy.
Tech Bytes
On April 10, 1849, prolific inventor Walter Hunt patented the decidedly low tech safety pin. Invented with the desire to pay off a fifteen dollar debt, he later sold the rights for the measly sum of four hundred dollars. His brainstorm went on to make millions for the patent holder and had a profound influence on fashion...
Quote
There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.
~Mohandas K. Gandhi
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Freaks, Geeks and Games Show 31
Freaks, Geeks and Games
ConnectedLife looks at the latest computer advances as we check out William Gibson, free online games from Electronic Arts, and Sony’s new Vaio computers. Plug in, this is ConnectedLife.
Flying Robot
Harvard University's Micro-robotics Laboratory claims to have created the first tiny micro-robotic fly able to generate enough thrust to take off. It has a wingspan of 3 cm and only weighs 0.06 grams. They plan to showcase it at New York's Museum of Modern Art in late February, 2008. The project received funding from DARPA, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which hopes to gain access to micro-miniature surveillance technologies.
Free Video Games from EA
Electronic Arts, the world's largest video games company, is releasing a free ad-supported online version of its popular Battlefield Heroes title. Selling ads within computer games has become big business in recent years, but EA's move is the first time a major gaming company has experimented with using advertising to pay for the game itself.
EA saw huge profits in South Korea by distributing its FIFA soccer title online for free, then charging a small fee (or micro-transactions) for character clothing and accessories. EA resorted to online distribution in South Korea in an attempt to fight rampant piracy that drove sales down from 250,000 in 2002 to only 10,000 in 2006. The new online version of FIFA soccer is harder to pirate and has been pulling in an average of $1 million per month, which is almost twice what it earned in its best retail sales year.
Unfortunately, in addition to micro-transactions, Battlefield Heroes will also include in-game advertising. And if the free version of Battlefield Heroes is successful, you can be sure that additional titles will follow this new business model.
ConnectedLife looks at the latest computer advances as we check out William Gibson, free online games from Electronic Arts, and Sony’s new Vaio computers. Plug in, this is ConnectedLife.
Flying Robot
Harvard University's Micro-robotics Laboratory claims to have created the first tiny micro-robotic fly able to generate enough thrust to take off. It has a wingspan of 3 cm and only weighs 0.06 grams. They plan to showcase it at New York's Museum of Modern Art in late February, 2008. The project received funding from DARPA, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which hopes to gain access to micro-miniature surveillance technologies.
Free Video Games from EA
Electronic Arts, the world's largest video games company, is releasing a free ad-supported online version of its popular Battlefield Heroes title. Selling ads within computer games has become big business in recent years, but EA's move is the first time a major gaming company has experimented with using advertising to pay for the game itself.
EA saw huge profits in South Korea by distributing its FIFA soccer title online for free, then charging a small fee (or micro-transactions) for character clothing and accessories. EA resorted to online distribution in South Korea in an attempt to fight rampant piracy that drove sales down from 250,000 in 2002 to only 10,000 in 2006. The new online version of FIFA soccer is harder to pirate and has been pulling in an average of $1 million per month, which is almost twice what it earned in its best retail sales year.
Unfortunately, in addition to micro-transactions, Battlefield Heroes will also include in-game advertising. And if the free version of Battlefield Heroes is successful, you can be sure that additional titles will follow this new business model.
Tiny Tech Show 30
ConnectedLife looks at tiny tech. We find out about UBC’s TRIUMF particle accelerator, learn about new Nano Tech brain surgery, and check out Sony’s new OLED TV. Let’s Get Small! This is ConnectedLife!
The Future is Nano
Nanotechnology refers to the fields of applied science and technology that deal with control of matter on the atomic and molecular level. Nano means "dwarf" in Greek and is shorthand for nanometer, or, one-billionth of a meter. To give you some perspective, a human hair is about 80,000 nanometers wide.
Nanotechnology is changing the world we live in because everyday materials often show new and interesting properties when they're cut down into nano-sized pieces of themselves. For instance, aluminum has been shown to explode when it is cut down to around 30 nanometers.
Nanotechnology is already helping to extend the life of our batteries and get more energy from solar power. New approaches to storing data could even lead to memory chips a hundred times smaller than today's devices but with even more storage capacity. Some researchers are working on nanotechnology that may one day deliver cancer fighting agents directly to the brain.
Nanotechnology is leading the way towards technological advances that may help us improve everything from modern medicine to energy consumption.
Nano Battery Tech
A battery that never needs recharging may be only a dream, but researchers at MIT are closer to making one that never loses its ability to hold a charge a reality. They cover the electrodes with nanotubes, which increases the surface area and allows the capacitor to store more energy. In tests, the batteries could be recharged many times over and recharged in seconds instead of hours. The commercial applications for a battery like this would be enormous.
Nano Brain Tech
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is teaming up with the City of Hope cancer center to develop a new minimally-invasive brain surgery that uses carbon nanotubes. Researchers hope that these sharp-tipped tubes, 50,000 times narrower than a human hair, will be able to deliver cancer-fighting agents directly to specific parts of the brain. Initial tests in mice were successful and the nanotubes proved non-toxic.
The Future is Nano
Nanotechnology refers to the fields of applied science and technology that deal with control of matter on the atomic and molecular level. Nano means "dwarf" in Greek and is shorthand for nanometer, or, one-billionth of a meter. To give you some perspective, a human hair is about 80,000 nanometers wide.
Nanotechnology is changing the world we live in because everyday materials often show new and interesting properties when they're cut down into nano-sized pieces of themselves. For instance, aluminum has been shown to explode when it is cut down to around 30 nanometers.
Nanotechnology is already helping to extend the life of our batteries and get more energy from solar power. New approaches to storing data could even lead to memory chips a hundred times smaller than today's devices but with even more storage capacity. Some researchers are working on nanotechnology that may one day deliver cancer fighting agents directly to the brain.
Nanotechnology is leading the way towards technological advances that may help us improve everything from modern medicine to energy consumption.
Nano Battery Tech
A battery that never needs recharging may be only a dream, but researchers at MIT are closer to making one that never loses its ability to hold a charge a reality. They cover the electrodes with nanotubes, which increases the surface area and allows the capacitor to store more energy. In tests, the batteries could be recharged many times over and recharged in seconds instead of hours. The commercial applications for a battery like this would be enormous.
Nano Brain Tech
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is teaming up with the City of Hope cancer center to develop a new minimally-invasive brain surgery that uses carbon nanotubes. Researchers hope that these sharp-tipped tubes, 50,000 times narrower than a human hair, will be able to deliver cancer-fighting agents directly to specific parts of the brain. Initial tests in mice were successful and the nanotubes proved non-toxic.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
