A Free Ezine about Anything Tech and Everything Else
2008.11.14 Issue No. 205
The mobile office has truly come a long way. My colleagues and I were driving along the freeway to a town 85 kms. away when we got a call from our client. They want us to join a conference bridge. Sure thing. What we used: a Nokia E65, a Pop-Port to a 3.5mm audio connector, and an audio cable to the car stereo's aux in port. By pressing the mute button at appropriate times, I was hoping the customer wouldn't know we're not in the office. Next, they wanted us to log on to the network and implement some changes for them. No problem. What we used: a Lenovo T61, an Optus Wireless Broadband USB dongle, and an inverter to power the laptop from the car's 12V port. By connecting to the Internet, then using a VPN to the intranet, it's as if we're in the office. All throughout the road trip, our voice and data connections never dropped. By the time we got to the parking lot at Terrigal, we've edited some configuration files, restarted processes, and restored service. Mission accomplished.
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_________TABLE OF CONTENTS_________
* Robotic Plants from Korea
* Breaking the 1000mph Land Speed Record
* Cancer-Fighting Beer
* Aussie Electric Vehicle Network
* Cancer-Busting Robot
* NY Driver's License with RFID
* Likeable Links
* Questionable Question
* Quotable Quote
* Trivial Trivia
* Laughable Laugh
_________ROBOTIC PLANTS FROM KOREA_________
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200810/200810160007.html
The "plant" responds in various ways to stimuli from outside, such as approaching persons, music or light. When a person comes within a 40 cm radius of the flower, its supersonic sensor perceives the approach, the stem bends towards the person, and the buds come into full bloom. When the person leaves, the plant returns to its original state. If a person's voice becomes louder than a certain level, the flower buds will come into bloom, and the stem shakes slightly to suggest a greeting. When the room lights up, the buds open and close, and when music is played, the plant dances.
_________BREAKING THE 1000MPH LAND SPEED RECORD_________
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7685049.stm
Known as Bloodhound, the new car will be powered by a rocket bolted to a Eurofighter-Typhoon jet engine. The team-members have been working on the concept for the past 18 months and expect to be ready to make their new record attempt in 2011.
The 12.8m-long, 6.4-tonne Bloodhound SSC (Super Sonic Car) will be expected to travel faster than a bullet fired from a handgun. Its 900mm-diameter wheels will spin so fast they will have to be made from a high-grade titanium to prevent them from flying apart. The car will accelerate from 0-1,050mph (1,690km/h) in just 40 seconds; and at its maximum velocity, the pressure of air bearing down on its carbon fibre and titanium bodywork will exceed 12 tonnes per square metre.
_________CANCER-FIGHTING BEER________
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9117656
A team of researchers at Rice University in Houston is working to create a beer that could fight cancer and heart disease. The team is using genetic engineering to create a beer that includes resveratrol, the disease-fighting chemical that's been found in red wine.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin had noted that adding small doses of resveratrol to the diet of middle-aged mice significantly slows their aging and keeps their hearts healthy. (Resveratrol is a natural component of grapes, pomegranates and red wine.) They added that giving high doses to invertebrates extends their life spans, and high doses also stave off premature death in mice fed a high-fat diet.
The Rice research group came up with the idea of adding resveratrol to beer during a casual conversation about potential projects to undertake. The students are now in the process of developing a genetically modified strain of yeast that will ferment beer and produce resveratrol at the same time. The team turned to the Saint Arnold Brewing Co., a craft brewery in Houston, for some good beer-making yeast to use. In general, the addition of the resveratrol shouldn't affect the taste of the beer, since the chemical is odorless and tasteless. The modified yeast strain could one day be sold to breweries where beverage companies could make their own disease-fighting beer.
The research team is looking to enter their so-called BioBeer in the annual International Genetically Engineered Machine competition next month in Cambridge, Mass.
_________AUSSIE ELECTRIC VEHICLE NETWORK_________
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5il6f9UKjXLMrq0sQ-Ccd8vh5VANA
Better Place, which has built plug-in stations for electric vehicles in Israel and Denmark, has joined forces with Australian power company AGL and finance group Macquarie Capital to create an Australian network. Under the agreement, Macquarie will raise one billion dollars to build electric-vehicle networks in the country's largest cities -- Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane -- while AGL will power the system with renewable energy.
Under the plan, the three cities will each have a network of between 200,000 and 250,000 charge stations by 2012 where drivers can plug in and power up their electric cars. In addition, 150 switch stations will be built in each city and on major freeways, where electric batteries can be automatically replaced in drive-in stations similar to a car wash. Under the scheme, drivers will pay to recharge their cars through various power supply agreements similar to mobile phone contracts. Drivers can pick a plan and rate that best reflects their car use.
Franco-Japanese automaker Renault-Nissan and General Motors are both planning electric cars to debut in the next two years.
_________CANCER-BUSTING ROBOT_________
http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2008/10/10/News/Robot.Will.Be.Able.To.Detect.Destroy.Breast.Cancer.Cells-3481447.shtml
Mechanical engineering professor Jaydev Desai from the University of Maryland has spent the past year and a half developing a robot that can perform biopsies and destroy tumor cells all in one session, making the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer less time-consuming and more accurate than ever before.
After a tumor is located on an MRI, the robot will perform a biopsy of the breast while the patient is inside the scanner. This way, the doctor who controls the robot can see where the tumor is located during the procedure. (Since the robot is made of titanium and stainless steel, it's not affected by the MRI's magnetic field.) If the biopsy displays cancerous cells, the robot will then insert a probe into the breast until it reaches the tumor. The probe will then burn the cancer cells until they are destroyed. This entire process is conducted while the patient is inside the MRI scanner, so the doctor controlling the robot can more specifically target the cells. With the robot, the three months between mammogram and treatment can be reduced to a hospital visit and the cancer can be stopped before it spreads.
Desai and his team have built only a preliminary model so far. The final version of the robot will take about four years to complete. Then, the robot will have to go through FDA approval, follow guidelines and prove it makes a big difference before it is widely used.
_________NY DRIVER'S LICENSE WITH RFID_________
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/tuesday/news/ny-nylice165845220sep16,0,5665783,print.story
The optional license will include a picture and radio frequency identification tag that can be scanned to verify a person's identity. The tag will not contain any personal information - only an assigned number. The enhanced driver's license will satisfy the land and sea requirements, which take effect June 1, 2009, but not for international air travel.
The optional license will include a picture and radio frequency identification tag that can be scanned to verify a person's identity. The tag will not contain any personal information - only an assigned number that would be meaningless except to Homeland Security agents. Drivers, though, should be prepared to offer a stack of identifying paperwork when they apply for an enhanced driver's license - in addition to the old license, a birth certificate or other proof of U.S. citizenship, their Social Security card and two proofs of New York residency, such as recent property tax bills or credit card statements. The documents will be scanned for authenticity, a step that will add 10 to 15 minutes to the application process. All of the licenses are produced in Albany and mailed to drivers.
The enhanced license, which like the current licenses will be valid for up to eight years, will cost about $80, compared with $50 for a basic license and $100 for a new passport.
_________LIKEABLE LINKS_________
Media-Convert
http://media-convert.com/
100% free online file conversion
7 Important Fitness Tips for Web Workers
http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/10/7-important-fitness-tips-for-web.html
Block Posters
http://www.blockposters.com/
Create large wall posters from any image for free!
14 Simple Ways to Super-Charge Your Brain
http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/06/14-simple-ways-to-super-charge-your.html
_________QUESTIONABLE QUESTION_________
What is bated breath? I think I might have it, and I'm worried. Can my dentist help?
_________QUOTABLE QUOTE_________
Age does not protect you from love, but love to some extent protects you from age.
~ Jeanne Moreau ~
_________TRIVIAL TRIVIA_________
How is a penny different from other coins?
Other than its color, the penny is the only coin currently minted in the United States with a profile that faces to the right. All other coins the silver dollar, half dollar, quarter, dime, and nickel all feature profiles that face to the left.
Source: Arcamax Trivia
_________LAUGHABLE LAUGH_________
Q: Did you hear about the unique platypus?
A: He was unlike all the otters.
Q: Did you hear about the robbery in the laundry room?
A: Two clothespins held up a pair of pants.
_________DOWNLOADABLE DOWNLOAD_________
DivXLand Media Subtitler
http://www.divxland.org/subtitler.php
SubDownloader
http://www.subdownloader.net/
Fast and Easy Subtitle Downloader
Fast Copy
http://www.ipmsg.org/tools/fastcopy.html.en
MKN TaskExplorer
http://www.mkn-software.de/en/software/desktop/taskexplorer/
That's all for this week. Nybble is and will always be a work in progress. Please do send me your comments and suggestions on how to improve Nybble. Just hit the reply button to you know, reply.
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