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Oh spare me those stories of how we used to WALK 20 miles to school when we were kids– and UPHILL BOTH TIMES, even! 
lol
Here’s a cute video I found of some little kids pondering the enigmatic memorabilia of…. two decades ago! Very cute!
Yes, those were the days….
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These photos are pretty funny! They are from a 1962 book prophecying the technological advances of 1975. I guess 1962 was a very optimistic year (even though they’d just outlawed public praying in schools), as they had NO IDEA of the impending oil crisis that would essentially shut down innovation with the cardigan malaise. My kitchen was redone in the 1970s, and nothing good came out of it! lol….
Seeing how people of the past viewed the future is rather fun. While they had a curiosity about future and how pervasive technology would become in our lives (and that has been only recently, within the past 10 years or so, really), some of the inventions and their thinking is humorous. Did they realize how successful Sony Electronics or Microsoft would become, hm?
The next photo is of a living room entertainment center, replete with phonograph, oo lala! Haha, just wait until the HDMI cable splitter comes along and changes everything in living room entertainment!
By the way, I actually had furniture similar to this kind of style! *shudder* I got it from the curb, lol. It’s a cold, sterile design, I think– harshly geometric furniture in yellow plastics and spindly chrome legs. Ugh! How could anyone like this style?! LOL!!
This is a “Cardiac Pacer” and is worn by heart patients.
Um, really?
This contraption is an ultrasonic dishwasher. It would produce sound waves at very high frequencies, which would rattle the dirt off… and call every dog within a 30-mile radius….
This is cool. But very optimistic. I went to school in the late 1980s, and we didn’t even have individual computers back then. In my senior year, the entire school received 10 computers to share amongst 100 students. I wrote my term paper on it, but the print looked like something that HAL spit out. Today, I suppose schools are packed to the hilt with technology, everything from HDMI splitters to wide-screen TVs and Green Rooms…
Technology has certainly changed our lives! I am grateful, however, for missing out on the entertainment center and the ultrasonic dishwasher. What do you think?
Images courtesy of the dbostrom collection at Flickr.
Here’s the latest in wacky tech news:
You ready for a wristwatch cell phone yet?
San Diego-based Kempler & Strauss this morning rolled out an incredible $199 wristwatch cell phone called the W PhoneWatch. The gadget sports a calendar, address book, a calculator, stopwatch, a vibration mode for silent alarms, a no-stylus touch screen, microSD slot and the ability to both take and play pictures and videos.
The watch features an LCD micro-touch touchscreen with a resolution of 128 x 128 and 260,000 colors. It weighs only 2.5 ounces and is the smallest phone watch you can buy, according to the company.
The watch takes pictures at VGA resolution (640 x 480). The video camera feature captures MPEG 4 (AVI) format at 128 x 104. The watch will play MPEG4, MP3, WMA, WAV and AMR files.
What do you think? Would you prefer your cell phone attached to your wrist like a watch? I think the touchscreen capabilities are rather cool… you can switch the “faces” to look like graphic buttons, or go for the more “traditional” clock-style watch face.
According to the article, the W PhoneWatch will work with nearly every phone carrier network, and is rechargeable using the USB connection or a battery charger. You can do everything you normally would with your cell: get the time, make and receive calls, play music, snap photos, etc. Would you consider getting one?
Well, here I was today, blogging about South Africa, the World Cup, and technology, and look what I found: Sony Twilight Football! It’s a worldwide event where countries around the world will be participating in “football” (In the United States, we call it soccer; other countries call it football) games held at twilight, around the world. It’s hosted by non other than Sony, that company extraordinaire when it comes to photography and technology. I’ve long wanted an illustrious Sony camcorder because of Sony’s superior low-light capabilities, and here’s a great chance to see what Sony has to offer.
The event will take place on September 22, 2009. Seven twilight football games are planned, all to be held in the most beautiful locations: Iguazú Falls, Argentina; Tintagel, UK; Pinnacle Desert, Australia; Antequera, Spain; Venice, Italy; the gorgeous Alps at the border of France; and the finale will be at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa! Wow, it’s going to be spectacular viewing. Here’s a video with a preview of the fun to come (those soccer guys are such clowns! Is this what they call “Dodge Bull”? *snort*):
Yeaaaaah. If you had asked me initially who I thought would have won this practice game, I’d have said the bull. But after watching the entire video, aren’t these guys AMAZING?!
I’m looking forward to catching a few of the matches and seeing how the Sony equipment performs in the low-light, super-high-action conditions (not to mention maybe they’ll have the bull do a little show). The photos on the Twilight Football website are beautiful. It’s a real inspiration, definitely. It’s great that they are putting emphasis on the beautiful surroundings and on the ability of players to work as a team– that’s why I like soccer so much. (That, and I was QUITE the soccer player as a kid). Check out the website– Twilight Football– for viewing information and schedules.
This is just an interesting little piece of news I spotted today:
Pigeon transfers data faster than South Africa’s Telkom
Whoa, nothing like a little reality to get me to stop whining about my intermittent wireless here in the house!
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A South African information technology company on Wednesday proved it was faster for them to transmit data with a carrier pigeon than to send it using Telkom , the country’s leading internet service provider.
Internet speed and connectivity in Africa’s largest economy are poor because of a bandwidth shortage. It is also expensive.
Local news agency SAPA reported the 11-month-old pigeon, Winston, took one hour and eight minutes to fly the 80 km (50 miles) from Unlimited IT’s offices near Pietermaritzburg to the coastal city of Durban with a data card was strapped to his leg.
Including downloading, the transfer took two hours, six minutes and 57 seconds — the time it took for only four percent of the data to be transferred using a Telkom line.
SAPA said Unlimited IT performed the stunt after becoming frustrated with slow internet transmission times.
Holy cow!! LOL! What a way to bring attention to the situation! Telcom is hoping that a new underwater fiber optic cable, set for construction sometime soon, will improve speed. Yeah, I hope so! South Africa is hosting the soccer World Cup championship next year…
Got a business large or small, a mini-mansion, or are perhaps fencing off portions of your property such as a ranch? Unless you want to hop or pole-jump over the fencing every time you need to enter or exit, you’d better think of installing a gate! Gate opener technology has come such a long way with technological advances. Today, automatic gate operations can be controlled by radio receivers, telephone entry, microchips, and more. The technology is extremely sophisticated to make exiting and entering both safe and secure.
One of the leading companies in the United States for reliable and affordable automatic gate systems and parts is Access Control Distributors of Texas, and they have a website at GateOperator.net. Their product lines, quality of sales and service, and systems they offer is very impressive. And they are having an End of Summer sale on various gate systems– be sure to check out the website for their sales and other promotional offers.
Access Control Distributors of Texas offers a unique and versatile product line– automatic gates that are electric and solar; are suited for driveways large or small, for security access locations, and for any of the smaller barrier needs; are perfect for the homeowner, corporation, or small business; and more. The gates are in various styles for every need and taste: swing gates, slide gates, wrought iron, metal, and more. The selection is tremendous!
Access Control Distributors of Texas has headquarters based in Houston, TX. They proudly produce some of the best gate openers in the world, manufactured and made in the U.S.A. They offer sales and service around the world! And they promise to offer you superior customer service. Should you need help or service for your gate choices, you can go to their website and get a Custom Gate Operator Quote from a specialist; or you can call their office toll free at (877) 688-4283.
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