Technically Speaking

Walking tall

Argo Medical Technologies based in Israel have come up with an invention that could, if developed, be a great boon for people like myself with mobility issues. The ReWalk  is essentially an exoskeleton designed to aid people with walking and climbing stairs. Developed as a type of vertical wheelchair that would replace a whole slew of assistance devices and allow a much better quality of life for those people confined to regular wheelchairs or with significant muscular deterioration - like me, for instance. I will be watching developments in the commercial release and testing of these clever devices. In fact, I have already written to the company for updated information. With the rising number of older and potentially disabled citizens in our society, the need for such devices becomes more and more apparent.

When is enough enough?

I thought that we were just getting to a sensible stage with the plethora of video cards being released on almost a daily, if not hourly, basis. I was wrong though - I am sometimes. Here comes TUL Corp. with the PowerColor PCS HD4850 with an astounding 2GB of onboard RAM. That's as much RAM as most PC's now use. When will this madness end? Answer - never. I recall, back in the stone age of computing, that anythhing more than 512k of RAM for a video card was considered more than sufficient for anyone. It was the height of luxury to have 640k just for video processing alone. I remember being at a trade fair in Toronto when ATI announced a new video card specifically for CAD people with 2meg of RAM. We all looked at each other and though that they were crazy and no-one would actually NEED such a behemoth. Well who's laughing now? I'm just amzed how fast things can change and become the new normal. On another note, it's my wife's birthday today and mine on Monday - if you want to say 'happy birthday' to either of us, please click here.

Has the hype got to you?

So, the great Canadian public has access to the much vaunted iPhone after so long. The verdict? I suppose it's a great piece of modern technology and a terrific status symbol. Unfortunately, as happened before, the software glitches ensured that the buyers had no way of activating their new toys. There was no real doubt that there would be a massive response and huge queues. The action of Rogers to comply (somewhat) with the public outcry about it's exorbitant fee schedule ensured that their sales would be high. In my opinion, they really didn't go far enough. It's well known that we pay more than almost any country for our cell 'phone packages. It's a damn disgrace. I note that our wonderfully responsive (ha!) government only got upset with our 'phone carriers when they came up with the plan to charge us for incoming text messages. This response was only because it would cost the government workers and ministers a fortune in extra costs. I do wonder however, how many people buying the iPhone and other such hi-tech devices really need everything they can do. I'm sure that this is just a matter of the hype getting to you. I have a cell 'phone that is off most of the time. I only use it when I am out and may need a way to contact someone in an emergency. I don't need GPS, text messaging or internet access. Maybe I'm just a dinosaur, but I don't need all of the bells and whistles that we are told we need. I suggest you look around and see what you REALLY need. The trouble is, that most of the electronics today are just jam-packed with extra bits-and-bobs that most people don't use. I just bought a new MP3 player and found that it's hard just to get that. It comes with FM radio, voice recording, video capability and SD card expansion. Did I want all that - no - but for under $100 (including tax) I wasn't going to complain. The thing is, I only use it for playing music. it was a Creative ZEN by the way.

Zap attack!

I’m not sure if this is real or a hoax, but it smacks of typical modern-age paranoia. It’s reported that a senior government official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has expressed great interest in safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device, similar to that of a Taser. According to this video found at the Lamperd Less Lethal website, the bracelet would be worn by all airline passengers. This bracelet would not only contain all the passenger information regarding their tickets but also monitor their bags and, if necessary, shock the wearer on command, completely immobilizing them for several minutes. What! Now come on, that’s just a little too much, isn’t it? According to a letter from the Homeland Security official, Paul S. Ruwaldt of the Science and Technology Directorate, office of Research and Development, to the inventor whom he had previously met with, he states, ‘to make it clear, we are interested in…the immobilizing security bracelet, and look forward to receiving a written proposal’. This is nuts! However, I can see the comments now;

‘It’s OK if you aren’t a ‘bad’ guy’.

‘It’s all about safety, isn’t it?’

'I feel safe knowing the government approves it.’

I know the world is a scary place and the possibility of the loony terrorist attack is ever present, however, you can take things too far. For example: remember that (so far) only one deranged nutter walked onto a ‘plane with explosives in his shoes and no other instance has been found since. However, we all now have to take our damn shoes off to be scanned – just in case. Can you say overkill – I knew you could. Now, I do believe that security is important, but this make me feel less safe than before. Technology is not always for our benefit. Trust government? Are you crazy!

Watching you, watching us

It’s always amazing to me the lengths that companies go to ‘protect’ their video property. It appears that Google must now divulge the viewing habits of every user who has ever watched any video on YouTube. The U.S. ruling comes as part of Google's legal battle with Viacom over allegations of copyright infringement. Digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called the ruling a ‘set-back to privacy rights’ – never truer words were spoken. The viewing log, which will be handed to Viacom, contains the log-in ID of users, the computer IP address and video clip details. While the legal battle between the two firms is being contested in the US, it is thought the ruling will apply to YouTube users and their viewing habits everywhere. Viacom, which owns MTV and Paramount Pictures, has alleged that YouTube is guilty of massive copyright infringement. The US court declined Viacom's request that Google be forced to hand over the source code of YouTube, saying it was a ‘trade secret’ that should not be disclosed. But it said privacy concerns expressed by Google about handing over the log were ‘speculative’ – really? Viacom said it would not be asking for any personally identifiable information of any user. Riiiiiight! We believe you. This erosion of our liberties and rights to privacy is getting more apparent all the time. What’s next? Are the police going to raid people’s homes to see if they have copied any cassette tapes or ‘ripped’ any CD’ to put on their MP3 players? That’s illegal. Same goes for recording from the TV onto a VCR or CD recorder. The real criminals are those posting newly released movies onto the ‘net – especially those filmed with a video camera in the theater itself. Catch those fools and not the poor devil that just viewed it and has no intention of making it available to anyone else. As a recipient of a nasty letter said, ‘I pay a lot of money to my ISP for their service and I expected them to be on my side’. Ha! Fat chance.

Greedy devils

Just a quickie - in a manner of speaking. To great fanfare both Fido and Rogers announced that the iPhone (finally) is now available to it's Canadian customers - happy Canada day, eh! However, before you Mac and wannabe Mac fanboys rush out to spend your hard earned pennies - take a look at what you get for the money compared to AT&T in the US. The actual purchase price on a plan is the same, but the contracts are three years here and two in The States - hmm. The real 'kicker' is the poor content of the plans presented to us Canucks. The data and text messaging services are a joke and the cost! My word - can you say rip-off. I knew you could. Suffice it to say, my son and I will NOT be joining the iPhone club anytime soon and I advise anyone thinking of getting one to compare it to the Blackberry offerings out there and to the plans available down south before making the plunge. You have been warned. Sorry Rogers and Fido - just not good enough.

He'll be baaaack

So, Mr. Gates has finally 'left' Microsoft has he? I'm sure that he won't be that far away when the big decisions need to be made or when they have a shareholder's meeting. I must admit that it does seem odd to think of Bill and not think of Microsoft at the same time - end of an era. The media is full of the legacy of Bill and the hits and misses of his stint at Microsoft and I have my own story to tell. Many years ago, I was at a resellers conference in Toronto and a Microsoft shill was giving us the company line and the rah-rah message of how great Microsoft had been. He went on about how Microsoft did this and Microsoft was responsible for that and then he did a silly. He asked the crowd, 'what else is Microsoft known for'? From the back of the room a loud voice said, 'the 640k barrier'. Well, the room dissolved into loud laughter and the shame-faced company man had to slink away in embarrassment. I also remember the release of that wonderful product, Microsoft Bob- anyone remember that? What a piece of crap that was - sorry Mrs. Gates. Also, over the years, the success of Windows was never a sure thing and it was mainly timing and luck that allowed it to be the near standard of today. I still remember Windows 286 and the release of the original graphical Windows 3.0 that was the first time that the interface began to really take off. Once Windows 3.11 arrived, the future of computing began to appear. Yes, I know Amiga and Macintosh were already there, but they never became the mainstream products they could have been. Bill leaving Microsoft - meh! Doesn't really mean that much now - ten years ago maybe.

Brodys' revenge.

We probably all remember how the Intrepid Police chief finally got rid of that pesky great white shark in Jaws. Now a company has taken that rather 'explosive' idea a little further. The 'WASP Injector Knife' contains  a CO2 canister in the handle which, when a small button on the hilt is triggered, injects a blast of 850psi gas through a channel in the knife's blade, inflating the target with a painful and debilitating pocket of gaseous pain. According to rumours and speculation, this nasty little thing will sell for about $400 and be made available to the general public. To be honest, I really wouldn't like to get within knife range of a shark just to find you've forgotten to put in that little cannister of instant death. It would probably be a damn messy thing to clear up afterwards as well.

Face to face

In my misspent youth I got into the sub-culture of the wargamer. At that time we were talking about, it was specifically the tabletop recreations of historical battles using miniature figures. It was great fun and a tremendous learning experience not to mention a damn expensive one once it became serious. Later on I entered into the world of the 'magazine with a game in it' format of the venerable S&T (Strategy & Tactics) magazine now distributed by Decision Games. Over the years I have collected over 100 games from almost every time period in history - they are for sale now - e-mail me for a list. Anyway, the point I am making is this; in these days of electronic wargaming and the ubiquitous rise of the PC gamer, face-to-face wargaming is alive and well. In fact, in Europe, my brother has stayed with the miniatures gaming and is one of the top players on the international circuit. In Canada, the board wargaming world is thriving due to many grassroots organizations such as TABS. In fact, yesterday was their quarterly TABSCon and it was a real blast. I found a real mix of people of all ages and both sexes having a terrific day just mixing and meeting and playing a huge variety of games from the real hard-core military simulation to the more Risk-like family games. It was refreshing to see that the computer screen doesn't dominate our lives completly. I was moved to finally break out some of my games from the basement and re-learn them in preparation for the next 'con' later this year. If you have any interest in meeting people over a relaxing game or even just 'hanging out' then I urge you to look into this hobby and get away from that keyboard and mouse.

It's a record - maybe

Did you pledge? Yesterday, Firefox developer Mozilla asked everyone that could to download the latest version (3.0) of its fast growing internet software to help break a world record for downloads in a 24- hour period. Firefox is now more than 13% of the market and growing quickly. I'm actually surprised that it's only that percentage - I thought it would be much higher. Although I don't usually upgrade immediately when new updates are made available, I had enough confidence in using Firefox to make this 'no-brainer' install. I'm glad I did. The new version is faster, slicker looking and has some nice search and security features. My son and I have used Firefox for a while now and find it a nice alternative to Internet Explorer and with the addition of one particular 'add-on', find it an indispensible product for daily use. The add-on we use is called 'gestures' and it allows you to navigate, open and close tabs and make other user-defined actions with various mouse actions. For example, to open a new window, just make a right-click and a sharp upwards motion of the mouse and there it is - nice. Firefox is highly reccomended and I suggest you at least give it a try.