• Category Archives Computers

  • Imagine a life with no computers……ahhhh……bliss…..

  • Email a tool

    Posted on by beno Comment

    You probably saw this one already (one of the hassles of this blog scheduling so much stuff into the future just so you don’t get spammed).. But in case you missed it…..

    http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/12/nasa-just-e-mailed-a-wrench-to-space/

    When International Space Station Commander Barry Wilmore needed a wrench, NASA knew just what to do. They “e-mailed” him one. This is the first time an object has been designed on Earth and then transmitted to space for manufacture.

    They have a 3D printer on the ISS (International Space Station) and so they just needed the file to print the tool.
    (That and the stuff the printer uses, called filament).

    Previously, if an astronaut needed a specific tool it would have to be flown up on the next mission to the ISS, which could take months.

    This isn’t the first 3D-printed object made in space, but it is the first created to meet the needs of an astronaut. In November astronauts aboard the ISS printed a replacement part for the recently installed 3D printer. A total of 21 objects have now been printed in space, all of which will be brought back to Earth for testing.

    There is no question this sort of testing is really important. The concept of just taking raw material into space with you and building pretty much any part you need right there on the spot is really important for long term trips in space.
    And yes. There are companies looking at the possibility of printing entire new wings or sections of the station right there in space.

    We live in an amazing time.


    Computers

  • Looking for dark matter with GPS

    Posted on by beno Comment

    I don’t get to do as much astronomy as I would like and so keeping up to date with what’s going on in that field is left to crumbs falling off the table.

    Here is something of that nature.
    http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/11/looking-for-a-different-sort-of-dark-matter-with-gps-satellites/

    Some physicists have been exploring the idea that dark matter might be ‘topological defects’ in a quantum field. Rather than solid particles, these would be perturbations, or oscillations.

    This week, two physicists proposed a way to look for such defects using only atomic clocks. Atomic clocks are “arguably the most accurate scientific instruments ever built,” the researchers write in their paper. And, crucially, the clocks necessary already exist in the form of our GPS system.

    We (the human race) is still trying to figure out what most of universe is made of. For the longest time, its simply been called ‘dark matter’.

    Some latest thinking is that we should be able to test a newish theory on it using the atomic clocks that exist in GPS satellites.

    Hope this one gets some legs as I can see more than just this test coming out of it – like understanding jitter in atomic clocks and relativity – time compressing in front of a moving clock and expanding behind it.

    While this gives a high degree of certainty about measurements by the prospective network, it is also susceptible to a lot of noise. As with many other experiments designed to look for elusive objects from space, it’s very important to rule out as much noise as possible in such an experiment. While GPS satellite clocks are affected by things like solar flares and temperature, none of these will propagate through the network at 300 kilometers per second like the topological defects will. For this reason, the scientists are confident that the defect cloud signal should stand out from the noise and be detectable.

    There would be a lot of data to come out of this experiment, looking through the noise for a signal could be a useful outcome as well.


    Astronomy Computers

  • Tools for the hardware / software future

    Posted on by beno Comment

    This one is for those of you that have been keeping to your field and not venturing out much – I’m talking about you here Terry….

    http://radar.oreilly.com/2014/12/what-you-need-to-know-for-the-hardware-software-convergence.html

    We now have hardware that acts like software, and software that’s capable of dealing with the complex subtleties of the physical world. So, what must the innovator, the creator, the executive, the researcher, and the artist do to embrace this convergence of hardware and software?

    At its core, this is about a shift from discipline toward intent. Individuals and institutions — whether they’re huge enterprises, small start-ups, or nonprofits — must be competent in several disciplines that increasingly overlap, and should be prepared to solve problems by working fluidly across disciplines.

    A few years back and over the past few years I have lamented how I am a jack of many and master of none. Seems my time is finally coming to sine.
    Gone are the days when tech-heads could just be a silo of knowledge and understanding.
    Don’t get me wrong, you still need have deep understanding and skill in a given field, but you can no longer be stubborn or proud of that fact.
    You need to have more than a passing understanding of more than that…..

    Many problems can be solved somewhere in a large multidimensional envelope that trades off design, mechanics, electronics, software, biology, and business models. Experts might still do the best work in each discipline, but everyone needs to know enough about all of them to know where to position a project between them.

    The rest of the article then breaks out a few books and key terms that will give you a good foundation for each area.
    Well worth the read. (And effort to follow up on each and spend at least an hour or two reading!).


    Computers

  • Smart thermostats

    Posted on by beno Comment

    Google paid 3 billion dollars for a thermostat company earlier this year.
    It pretty much blew everyone out of the water and verified that IoT was a thing.

    The NEST thermostat can tell if you are home or not (movement sensor) and the time of day etc because its ‘connected’. It hooks into your home Wifi and can call home to NEST and get updates etc.
    Because its connected, you can also download an App and control it from your mobile device.
    Pretty boring huh.

    3 billion dollars.

    You can adjust your heat while you are not home….

    3 billion dollars.

    Its a 300 buck thermostat you stick on your wall.

    3 billion dollars.

    What most people miss is that Google did not pay 3 billion for the thermostat company, they paid the money for the connected aspect of it.
    Huh?
    Yeah, see, imagine, if you will, that you could, with one command, turn everyones heating (or cooling) up a degree. Most people would not notice that in their homes, but wow, the power grid sure would notice.
    What do you think a power company would pay for that sort of power control?

    Yeah. A boatload of money.
    Who are they going to pay, the homeowner with the smart thermostat or the computer company with the signal path?

    Cha-ching!
    Google is going to make a boatload of money on their ‘investment’.

    The kick back to the homeowner? You can sign up for a program where you are happy to have Google mess with your setpoint and if the price of electricity (or gas for heating) goes up or down, Google will tweak your settings for you and thus you save money.

    It’s not about the thermostat, it’s about the connectedness of it.

    I told you all that, to point you to this link.

    http://9to5mac.com/2014/11/17/apple-ecobee3-smart-wifi-thermostat/

    Although Apple continues to offer the Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Protect despite Google’s acquisition of the smart device company, the iPhone maker has added a competing Wi-Fi-connected smart thermostat to the lineup. Apple has recently added the Ecobee3 smart Wi-Fi thermostat to the Connected Home section of its online store. The smart thermostat, which can be controlled with an iPhone or iPad, is available for $249.95.

    Its such a big deal that Apple could not leave it all to Google…. so they brought a connected thermostat company as well.
    No mention of how much they paid.


    Computers

  • Fitness wearable roundup

    Posted on by beno Comment

    So. You’re in the market for a new fitness wearable?

    Here is a great round up of them.

    http://gizmodo.com/the-best-fitness-tracker-for-every-exercise-1673000514

    Like many of you, I work in front of a computer. They’re powerful devices, but they also suck your will to live and trick you into never, ever getting up and going outside. Reasons like that are why fitness trackers were invented.

    Over the last few years as Giz’s primary writer for Fitmodo, I’ve had the fortune (or misfortune?) to try almost every fitness tracker that’s come down the pipe. There are hundreds out there, but only a few of them are worth your time.

    I’m still waiting for my Kickstarter band to arrive…..
    (It’s not on the list).

    Anyway, if you are wanting one, and don’t want to go the Kickstarter route, check it out. It’s a great write up and pretty much on point.
    (The closing blurb about the Moto360 is wrong. I have one. The heart rate monitor is turned off, we are waiting for Google to turn it on via software).


    Computers