Transparent OLEDs

Transparent OLEDs will yield many new applications. Like glass that has display technology sandwiched between layers. No more need for heads up displays. This is is discussed in the Displays that give a clear view posted at a German site. This could create some very interesting display design and technologies in the future.

Canon SED flat screen TVs are coming

Canon and Toshiba have created a new flat screen display technology called surface-conduction electron-emitter display, or SED. Canon has invested $1.7 billion in this new technology. The new TVs they will produce are brighter, sharper and use less energy than current LCD or Plasma TVs according to the "Canon's Big Gun" article. Expect to see these on the market in 2007. I can't wait. I wonder how much the first ones will cost? That cost factor will be a challenge but it is nice to see that innovation in display technology continues.

Fossil Palm PDA Wristwatch for Cheap

I just saw this at that cool gadget site i4u. Remember the Fossil Palm PDA wristwatch? Well, apparently the price has been reduced to $79. If you use a Palm PDA, this is yet another way to always carry it and for a decent price! Check out the i4u Fossil Dropped PALM OS PDA Wristwatch Price to $79.

Wireless USB Hub

The USB cables spaghetti will be going away shortly. This is actually going to be on the market in Spring 2006 from Belkin. The device is to be around $130 and uses ultrawideband (UWB) technology. Like everything else that is going wireless, this opens a lot of new possibilities and I am sure will be competition for Bluetooth.

South Korea to develop Army and Police Robots

I saw this on the Discovery channel and though it was incredible. These robots will help with patrolling the DMZ. Slashdot had a posting about this here.

Super Portable PowerFilm Solar Charger

Gizmodo has a posting about a extremely portable and light solar charger made for the US military is now available. "Never Be Without Electricity Again". Looks pretty cool. At $299 a pop, is not bad for a solar product. They have these at Sundance Solar which is one of my favorite solar sites.

Disposable Micro Fuel Cell for Gadgets

i4u reports on a Disposable Fuel Cell Coming this Year from Medis Technologies. Sounds interesting however, given the fact that it is disposable and you must constantly replace them, it doesn't sound any better than disposable batteries. We'll see how these do later this year. Personally, I would prefer refillable micro fuel cells that can be refilled even while running. This means you don't have to turn off your device to refuel.

World's first maglev elevator

This is pretty neat. "Tokyo to get world's first 'maglev' elevator". Wonder if we'll ever see these in the USA?

Auto Tuning Guitar System, The Performer

Over at News.com they published an article about an auto tuning guitar system. "Tuning tech catches on with guitarists". This is a pretty solution to a very low-tech problem. I happen to play guitar and this is the #1 problem with string instruments. Especially in a performance or studio recording scenario. Now I just need to test drive it somewhere to see how it feels.

Radar Scope for DoD sees through concrete

Here is a pretty cool DARPA device that will be fielded this year in Iraq, called Radar Scope. Spotted this at Slashdot, "Military Will Sense Through Concrete Walls". Pretty amazing stuff.

Install a touchscreen for Linux

I read this when it was posted at IBM DeveloperWorks in Dec2005. Just noting here for future reference. It uses the LCD from the Sony PSOne. "Install a touchscreen for Linux".

Warp Drive theoretical physics

I thought I would not see this in my lifetime. "Warp engines in development?" The U.S. government is actually funding research into this theoretical area. This is based on some theoretical physics from the 1950s. Imagine going to Mars in 3 hours. If the research is successful that may be a possibility. The time frames mentioned in the article for this is probably 5-10 years away to even determine if the theories are sound.

Slingbox

The Slingbox device is a pretty neat device at initial viewing. The downside is that the required proprietary software requires Windows to run. PCMag reviewed this on 06/30/2005. I saw the Slingbox at my local BestBuy and the video quality is not as good as I would like. It is a bit choppy. Anyway, is an innovative device letting you view your video from anywhere in the world. Looks interesting but I think the Sony LocationFree technology is better since I can use my PSP for it.

Age of Information Overload

Finally, someone else agrees. Over at CNN they posted "Age of Information Overload" which talks about the ubiquitous nature of information in today's modern digital world. It's everywhere and we (as a society) are getting flooded with it by the minute. It ponders the point of are we drowning? My thoughts are yes we are. So to get out of this scenario you have to change your habits and attain new skills for acquiring, accessing and using this stuff.

First US Military Exoskeleton Prototype

Over at Slashdot, they posted an article today about the first prototype Military Exoskeleton. This thing looks pretty incredible and scary. I knew the DoD would have this technology first in America.

Run a Linux LiveCD as your Windows Screensaver

I read about this at SlashDot. An IBM Software Engineer posted the article, "Linux screensaver for Windows", describing how to do this at developerWorks. Based on reading the article, I am going to have to try this. It sounds pretty cool and would be fun to make work.

EPA invents battery-less hybrid system

I couldn't believe this when I read "EPA invents battery-less hybrid system" posted at CNNMoney. I wonder if we'll ever see this technology anytime soon? It would be nice and sounds like yet another alternative energy solution that we may never see.

Honda To Mass Produce Solar Cells

This was a surprising announcment, "Honda to mass produce solar cells by 2007". Honda said they are building a new factory on the site of one of their auto manufacturing plants in Japan to start producing solar products. Honda said its solar cells would be composed of non-silicon compound materials, consuming half as much energy and generating 50 percent less carbon dioxide during production when compared with conventional solar cells made from silicon.

The company aims to sell the solar cells for both residential and industrial use. It will initially target the Japanese market.

Is this the beginning of when my future hybrid or fuel cell Honda vehicle also has a solar rooftop to charge the batteries? That would be cool.

Archos Gmini402 20GB Camcorder/Camera Personal Video Recorder

Archos continues to be the sleeper innovator this year. I found this at Costco. It is also at Amazon. The Archos
Gmini402 20GB Camcorder/ Camera Personal Video Recorder is a pretty cool next generation device. Here's a review of it. It merges the digital camera, camcorder, portable media device all into one. It is a bit light on the camera side with its 1.2 megapixel camera, however, this trend towards integrating digital pictures with digital camcorders in a very portable format is a step in the right direction. I have used my Sony Cybershot as a portable digital video recorder for a while now. The video specs on my Cybershot are ok (640x480 video), however would be nice to be full 780p like the Archos is. In the next few years, my next camera/camcorder device will be some evolution of that the Archos Gmini402 represents. For now, my Cybershot and Handycam are sufficient.

Wolverine MVP 60GB Media Storage and Player

I was perusing the web looking for tech gadgets and found the Wolverine MVP 60GB Media Storage and Player from Wolverine Data. I actually found it at Costco site and after reading about it also found it at Amazon.com Doing a bit more research I found a 12/1/2005 review at PCMag. The cool thing about this device is that it has a large HD (60GB or 100GB) and has a 7-in-1 reader. Pretty cool if you have multiple gadgets and multiple flash memory formats. The MVP appears to a great digital camera companion.