Monday, October 03, 2005
The 100 Best Products of 2005
- Mozilla Firefox Web Browser
- Google Gmail Web Mail
- Apple Mac OS X Version 10.4 (Tiger) Operating System
- Belkin Wireless Pre-N Router and Notebook Network Card Wireless Networking
- Dell Ultrasharp 2405FPW 24-Inch Wide-Screen LCD
- Alienware Aurora 5500 Performance PC
- Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Drive Portable Hard Drive
- Skype VoIP Service
- Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT Digital SLR Camera
- PalmOne Treo 650 PDA Phone
- Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Antivirus Antivirus and Firewall Software
- Mysoft Technology Maxthon Browser Plug-In
- Rio Carbon Midcapacity MP3 Player
- Webroot Window Washer 5.5 Utility
- Maxtor H01R300 Shared Storage Drive Network Hard Drive
- Google Search Engine
- Netgear 54 Mbps Cable/DSL Wireless Travel Router Model WGR101 Travel Router
- OnlyMyEmail Pro Spam Filter
- Sony PlayStation Portable Handheld Gaming Device
- NVidia GeForce 6600 GT Graphics Board
- APC Back-UPS RS 800VA 120V Uninterruptible Power Supply
- 2BrightSparks SyncBackSE Utility
- Moon Software Password Agent Password Manager
- HP Officejet 7210 All-in-One Multifunction Printer
- Winternals Software ERD Commander Data Recovery Software
- Ubuntu Linux 5.04 Linux Distribution
- Epson PictureMate Photo Printer
- Mozilla Thunderbird E-Mail Program
- Cloudmark Anti-Fraud Toolbar Browser Security Plug-In
- Vonage VoIP Service
- Cloudmark SafetyBar Spam Filter
- Adobe Photoshop CS2 Image Editor
- The New York Times on the Web Web Site
- Apple ITunes Media Player
- Seagate USB/FireWire Hard Drive External Hard Drive
- Canon CanoScan 9950F Scanner
- IRiver IFP-895 Flash-Based MP3 Player
- Valve Half-Life 2 PC Game
- Samsung HL-P5063W Rear-Projection TV
- Tor Privacy Software
- LG Flatron L1981Q 19-Inch LCD
- Dell 3000cn Color Laser Printer
- BlackBerry 7100t PDA Phone
- Verbatim Store 'n' Go Pro USB Memory Key
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 SATA NCQ Internal Hard Drive
- Compaq Presario V2000 All-Purpose Notebook
- Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 Media Player
- Canon Pixma IP4000R Inkjet/Photo Printer
- Best Software Simply Accounting Accounting and Personal Finance
- Orb Media Streaming Service
- Flickr.com Photography Site
- Dell Inspiron 6000 Desktop Replacement Notebook
- DirecTV HD DVR HR10-250 HD Receiver and DVR
- ACD Systems ACDSee 7 Photo Organizer
- Dell UltraSharp 1704FPV 17-Inch LCD
- Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom Digital Camera
- Qnext Instant Messenger
- IBM ThinkCentre A51p All-Purpose PC
- SightSpeed Video Instant Messenger
- Wikipedia Online Resource
- Cerulean Studios Trillian 3.1 Instant Messenger
- CMS 80GB USB 2.0 ABSplus Notebook Backup System Portable Hard Drive
- Nikon Coolpix 7900 Digital Camera
- Contour Design RollerMouse Pro Mouse
- Adobe InDesign CS2 Desktop Publisher
- Shuttle Computer XPC i8600b Small PC
- IBM ThinkPad X41 Ultraportable Notebook
- Adobe Premiere Elements Video Editor
- Dell Axim X30 PDA
- A9.com Search Engine
- Toshiba RS-TX20 Digital Media Server DVD Recorder
- Roxio Easy Media Creator 7.5 Burning Software
- Plextor PX-716UF Rewritable DVD Drive
- Casio Exilim EX-Z750 Digital Camera
- Apple Mac Mini Small PC
- Google Desktop Search Desktop Search Tool
- Mitsubishi LT-3050 30-Inch LCD TV
- Apple IPod Photo Large-Capacity MP3 Player
- Dell 3300MP Projector
- FileMaker Pro 7 Database
- Sunbelt Software CounterSpy Anti-Spyware Software
- Six Apart TypePad Blogging Tool
- Acronis True Image 8 Backup Software
- Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
- Brother HL-5140 Monochrome Laser Printer
- Apple ITunes Music Store Music Downloads
- Internet Archive (Archive.org) Web Site
- Opera 8 Web Browser
- Copernic Desktop Search Desktop Search Software
- Motorola Razr V3 Cell Phone
- Delphi MyFi Satellite Radio
- PDAapps VeriChat Standard Edition Mobile Instant Messaging
- Sonos Digital Music System Streaming Media Device
- EMC Dantz Retrospect Professional 7 Backup Software
- Garmin StreetPilot C330 GPS Navigation Device
- Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.0 Portable Speakers
- Logitech Z-5500 Digital PC Speaker System
- Antec P160 Desktop Case
- Corel Painter IX Paint Program
- Citrix Online GoToMyPC Personal Remote Access
Spider 'is 20 million years old'
Palaeontologist Dr David Penney, of the University of Manchester, found the 4cm long by 2cm wide fossil during a visit to a museum in the Dominican Republic.
Since the discovery two years ago, he has used droplets of blood in the amber to reveal the age of the specimen.
It is thought to be the first time spider blood has been found in amber and scientists hope to extract its DNA.
Dr Penney, of the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, said he had used the blood droplets to trace how, when and where the spider died.
It is a new species from the Filistatidae family commonly found in South America and the Caribbean.
| | It's amazing to think that a single piece of amber with a single spider in it can open up window into what was going on 20 million years ago Dr David Penney, University of Manchester |
He claims the shape and position of the blood droplets revealed which direction the spider was travelling in and which of its legs broke first.
"It's amazing to think that a single piece of amber with a single spider in it can open up a window into what was going on 20 million years ago," he said.
"By analysing the position of the spider's body in relation to the droplets of blood in the amber we are able to determine how it died, which direction it was travelling in and even how fast it was moving."
He first saw the fossil during a visit to the Museo del Ambar Dominicano, in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
Dr Penney reports his findings in the latest issue of the journal Palaeontology.
source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/4296398.stm
 |  |
Da Vinci clue for heart surgeon
The intricate diagrams of the heart were made by Leonardo 500 years ago.
Mr Francis Wells from Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, says Leonardo's observations of the way the heart valves open and close was revelatory.
Mr Wells has used this understanding to modify current repair operations, and has successfully treated 80 patients.
| | What Leonardo was saying about the shape of the valve is important. It means that we can repair this valve in a better way Heart surgeon Mr Wells |
The drawings allowed him to work out how to restore normal opening and closing function of the mitral valve, one of the four valves in the heart.
Until now, surgeons have repaired a floppy valve by narrowing its diameter. However, this can restrict the blood flow further when the individual is exercising and working their heart to the maximum.
Mr Wells said: "It's a complete rethink of the way we do the mitral valve operation.
"What Leonardo was saying about the shape of the valve is important. It means that we can repair this valve in a better way."
Valve repair
The job of the mitral valve, which is made up of two flaps, is to stop blood flowing in the wrong direction in the heart.
It works a bit like a pair of doors, slamming shut to stop blood returning from where it came.
In some people it stops working properly, and becomes like a swing door, letting blood flow backwards through it, which means the heart has to work harder to do its job of getting blood out into the arteries and around the body.
| | LEONARDO FACTS Italian artist, scientist and engineer 1452-1519 His anatomical knowledge came from his post-mortem dissection work, which the Church forbade He disproved the belief that the heart was not a muscle and showed it consists of four chambers and not two, as was commonly held He suggested that arteries fur up over a lifetime, creating a health risk |
Narrowing the diameter of the valve opening with surgery helps, but Mr Wells, with help from Leonardo, believes he has found a better way.
Leonardo worked out in the 1500s that the opening phase of the mitral valve was extremely important - this can be compromised with conventional surgery because the opening is made narrower than normal.
Mr Wells says he can now repair the floppy mitral valve in such a way that it does not alter the normal diameter of the valve when it is open which means that the individual can return to more vigorous exercise without any problems.
He said Leonardo had a depth of appreciation of the anatomy and physiology of the body - its structure and function - that perhaps has been overlooked by some.
The Italian artist had no formal medical training and brought together a number of disciplines, including mechanics and engineering, when he looked at a problem.
Mr Wells is now looking back at many of Leonardo's other drawings of the body to see if these might help medicine now.
Mr Wells and Leonardo feature in The Secret of Drawing which begins on BBC Two on October 8.
London's Victoria and Albert museum will be hosting an exhibition of Leonardo's work in art, science and technology starting 14 September 2006 to 7 January 2007, in collaboration with Universal Leonardo, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, University of the Arts, London.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/4289204.stm
Google's Patents Reveal Strategy To Beat Microsoft
According to “The Google Legacy,'' history is about to repeat itself. Microsoft today is where IBM was years ago. And Google is in a position to do to Bill Gates what he did to IBM. The result could be a new industry kingpin.
By W. David Gardner, TechWeb News
Sept. 30, 2005
URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=171202284
Dig deeper into Google, dig into its software and engineering patents and you’ll find a roadmap for its future, says an author and online systems specialist, who believes the patents also spell bad news for Microsoft if the tech world moves to a new Google-dominated network paradigm.
“Google really doesn’t hide things,” said Stephen E. Arnold, who has written a book on his one-year odyssey studying the search firm. “Bill Gates is basically in the same spot he had IBM in. IBM was challenged by Microsoft and IBM didn’t understand Microsoft’s business model. It’s history repeating itself.”
Arnold, author of “The Google Legacy”, said in an interview this week, that it appears that Microsoft doesn’t understand Google in much the same way that IBM didn’t understand Microsoft 20 years ago. “It will be the Googleplex from 2004 to 2020 – a network paradigm,” said Arnold. “It will be enabled by Google’s approach to innovation.”
In placing Google’s patents under microscopic scrutiny, Arnold said he believes Google is not so much protecting its past technology innovation, but is positioning itself for the future with the first stop targeting Yahoo!’s Web advertising. Microsoft will come into its gun sights later.
“These patents suggest that Google is looking beyond search, possibly targeting such companies as Microsoft, as Google tries to become the leading info tech company of the 21st Century,” he said.
Arnold has identified 72 patents with Google heritage that were filed during the first six months of 2005. That compares with the 47 Google patents he found from 2001 through 2004.
In Arnold’s analysis, he said some filings in the patent portfolio point to an accelerated use of high-speed fiber and wireless that could be used to deliver Google technology. “Google already has some number of data centers where it’s good to have high-speed connections,” he said.
With Wi-Fi currently working its way into communities across the world and with wide area WiMAX ready to be deployed in a big way next year, it could be a natural fit for Google to deliver its technology over these high-speed links, free of charge. Noting that Google is moving to VoIP via its recently-announced Google Talk, the high-speed connections appear tailor-made for delivering streaming video, Arnold said.
Google is testing Google Wi-Fi in locations near its headquarters in Silicon Valley. Arnold said China, India and Japan are attractive and ripe for Google to deliver its services over high-speed wireless links.
In a broader sense, Arnold believes Google is building a “patent fence around search” technology as the firm moves to codify its unique competitive advantage. An ultimate goal of the firm is to deliver completely individualized ads to users.
While Google currently dominates Microsoft in search usage and technology, Arnold believes that even Microsoft’s desktop software dominance isn’t safe from assault from Google. He notes that Google’s RTG feature already implements some 70 percent of the functions of Microsoft Office; Google Maps has underlying technology that could compete with Microsoft’s PowerPoint.
Another industry observer, Joe Wilcox, senior analyst at JupiterResearch, believes that Google represents a “version 2” challenge to Microsoft’s Windows dominance. “Version 1,” according to Wilcox, was the earlier threat to Microsoft’s dominance represented by Netscape’s browser.
“Windows is threatened again (by Google) and in some ways the threat is greater than before,” said Wilcox. “Google is betting on search as the next platform.” Wilcox believes there are still some big “ifs” in the future of the Google rollout – whether the search firm can execute its business plan well and what Microsoft will do to respond.
Arnold calls the search company’s universe “Googleplex” using the name the company has given to its Mountain View, Calif. headquarters. Because of its massively parallelized distributed network tied together with very high speed links, the Googleplex as seen by Arnold can be expanded indefinitely. As it evolves, users on the virtual network won’t need to backup, or setup or restore.
Arnold, author of six books and scores of articles on online technologies, has had hands-on online expertise as vice president of electronic business information for Ziff Communications and as a vice president in charge of electronic publishing at the Courier-Journal & Louisville Times Co. He is head of Arnold Information Technology of Louisville, Ky.
"The Google Legacy" (Infonortics, $180.00 per download) is available in online PDF version only. An online order form and a sample chapter are also available.
source:http://informationweek.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=171202284
The Skycar
Moller International has developed the first and only feasible, personally affordable, personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle the world has ever seen.
You've always known it was just a matter of time before the world demanded some kind of flying machine which would replace the automobile. Of course, this machine would have to be capable of VTOL, be easy to maintain, cost effective and reliable. Well, we at Moller International believe we have come up with the solution. That solution is the volantor named M400 Skycar.
Let's compare the M400 Skycar with what's available now, the automobile. Take the most technologically advanced automobile, the Ferrari, Porsche, Maserati, Lamborgini, or the more affordable Acura, Accord, or the like. It seems like all of the manufacturers of these cars are touting the new and greatly improved "aerodynamics" of their cars. Those in the aerospace industry have been dealing with aerodynamics from the start. In the auto industry they boast of aerodynamics, performance tuned wide track suspensions, electronic ignition and fuel injection systems, computer controllers, and the list goes on. What good does all this "advanced engineering" do for you when the speed limit is around 60 MPH and you are stuck on crowded freeways anyway?
Can any automobile give you this scenario? From your garage to your destination, the M400 Skycar can cruise comfortably at 350+ MPH and achieve up to 28 miles per gallon. No traffic, no red lights, no speeding tickets. Just quiet direct transportation from point A to point B in a fraction of the time. Three dimensional mobility in place of two dimensional immobility.
No matter how you look at it the automobile is only an interim step on our evolutionary path to independence from gravity. That's all it will ever be.
Moller International's M400 Skycar volantor is the next step.
