Merger of tablet and phone seen as a welcome affair

Nokia Lumia

While some industry experts have been concerned that the phablet, or hybrid telephone and tablet would not perform well in the market because of its bulk, assessment of sales of the new technology reveal that the merger of tablet and phone is seen as a welcome affair by the public.

In addition to public acceptance, the new phablets are becoming increasingly light-weight and thinner, therefore easier for people to carry around.

Researchers predict sales of phablets will outsell small tablets.  This comparison is made with those devices with screen sizes less than eight inches.  They estimate that in 2013 they will see sales of 175 million.  165 million of the non-mobile counterparts projected for the year shows the difference of 10 million sales will reveal the special popularity of phablets.

Technology experts have noticed people are scaling down sizes of portable devices from the larger tablets and computers to the smaller handheld devices, as portability and power levels are recognized as important to have in a fast-paced world.

New application allows users to send voice messages on social mediasites

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Carol Forsloff - In these days of gotta-haves, the latest application lets folks send prerecorded voice messages to friends.  The application is called UWhisp and interfaces with social media sites.

In these days where many people use applications such as Facebook and Twitter,  some folks like to hear the sound of a friend's voice, so this new application which becomes a widget on the user's browser allows people to record and play messages. It was invented in Spain by four graduate students from the School of Informatics.  According to Gizmag, the application has been available for about three weeks, with both a basic, free version and a paid-for one that has more of the bells and whistles.

Whereas the new devices enable users to communicate, experts remind us that social media itself has its advantages and disadvantages. First, the issue has to do with time, and how much of it the user spends on social media, then tasks and ventures go by the wayside as users join more and more networks and spend more and more time maintaining contact with great numbers of people. In fact, many experts caution about this. So a voice mail system can allow people to send messages personally in a fashion that may reduce the time necessary for interaction. The use of a voice dictation system, also helps.

One of the big disadvantages of social media is its lack of personal, direct contact, face to face, which means that people lose the nuances of body language and other communications. A voice, however, allows for increased personalization of messages that can help bridge the gap between the impersonal and a more direct interaction. Most experts tell us that even the best devices need to be channeled appropriately to the user's time and need, because to be locked in social media as the primary source of social interaction is limiting.

In the meantime, scientists and entrepreneurs continue to find ways of improving communication in social media that will be effective and useful for everyone.

$25 computer opens the door to universal computer literacy

A computer for $25 is just a few months away, making it possible for computer literacy to be available for just about everyone.

Gizmag recently made the announcement.  It has been the dream and brainchild of Eben Upton, current director of RPF, a non-profit foundation.  The computer is called Raspberry PI.  It is said to be a “barebones” computer with the right components to be able to do most computer tasks, although it won’t have Windows, a mouse, keyboard or monitor.  What it will have is the wherewithal for young people to learn computer fundamentals and be able to put together those extra components.  In this manner they become literate in the hardware essentials and develop an understanding of how a computer works.

But there are more advances to come in the computer arena, as the new technology is continually updated at lightning speed to bring new ways of translating and transmitting information.  For example, South Korean scientists say they have developed technology that produces flexible memory so that computers can be bendable.  This will allow e-books additional flexibility, decrease weight of computers and allow for research of human organs by direct placement of computer devices on human beings to help make medical diagnoses.

Just as the tablet PC was revolutionary when Apple, through its guru, Steve Jobs, introduced it several years ago, this new technology will allow rapid advancement of ideas and information.   The next generation of computing will also be much faster due to spintronics,  that research scientists tell us is the successor to the transistor.  It will also conserve power as it performs computing functions at a rapid rate.

For those who want to keep abreast of the new technology, it is a never-ending task.  The new generation of computers will broaden not just the ability of technology to expand itself but will also enhance education of more and more people, empowering those who have not been able to afford inclusion in the brave new world computers continue to create.

New I-phone application launched by Natchitoches

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Veronica Sturman - The Natchitoches Area Convention and Visitors Bureau launched a new
I-Phone app that acts as a guide to central Louisiana. The app, called
Explore Louisiana Crossroads, is ad- free, cost-free, and now available
at the I-Tunes App store.

It was released the first week of January.  I
downloaded the app on an I-Pad last week after interviewing Brandi
Bradford, age 39, lead park ranger at the Grand Ecore Visitors Center.
This app was Brandi’s idea.

Brandi’s friend, who works for the
Great Smokey Mountain National Park, gave her the idea for this app. The
Smokey Mountain National Park was the first to use this technology.
Brandi went to the Convention and Visitors Bureau in July, 2010, and
began discussions about making this app.

They started working on it in
August, and it was on the market the first week of January. Brandi
said, “It was fun to make, but it was hard work.” She worked a lot of
late hours and had help from her partners at the Association for the
Preservation of Historic Natchitoches, Cane River Creole National
Historical Park, Cane River National Heritage Area, Cane River Waterway
Commission, City of Natchitoches Historic District, Natchitoches Area
Convention and Visitor Bureau, Red River Waterway Commission, and the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. People from the age of 18 to 80 worked on
this project.

Once in the app you can search in categories:
Do, See, Know, and Services. If you pick a place and press the word
“map,” it shows directions. Not only are there maps and trail guides,
but there are also rules, safety tips, and regulations. You can save
your favorite pages for one click access. There are many Creole and
Civil War sites included now, and the plan is to include Kisatchie
National Forest and Louisiana State Parks in the near future.

I’ve enjoyed browsing this app and playing with the map. Brandi
plans to update this app every three or four months and welcomes

suggestions from the public. Downloading the app is free and easy.

New technology will reduce oil and gas heating by 50%

 

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GHN Editor - For those who wonder if the world can catch up on technologically sound ways to save energy, it is nice to know there is rapid movement in this area with heat pumps to provide heating in winter and cooling in summer. 

Before they were only good for moderate climates, but now Purdue scientists are developing a new type of heat pump, more efficient and able to allow people to use them in cold climates.  It is anticipated this will reduce heating bills in half.

The goal is to improve efficiency as well as boost performance so heat pumps can be used in cold weather.  The scientists also are aiming to make these pumps half as expensive to operate as heat technologies that are now being used in cold regions where natural gas is unavailable.

It may reduce America's dependence on oil and gas, which is a major goal.

"We'll be able to extend the geographical range where heat pumps can apply," said W. Travis Horton, an assistant professor of civil engineering. "So this could open up a whole new market."

The new technology works by modifying the conventional vapor-compression cycle behind standard air conditioning and refrigeration.

"This could be a relatively simple modification to existing heat pumps, refrigeration and air conditioning systems," said James Braun, a professor of mechanical engineering.

It is a technology that is being developed that will be able to provide both heating and cooling for the home.