IBM Says We’ll Have Mind-Reading Computers Within Five Years

Keyboards and mice may seem like clunky artifacts of the past within the next five years, pushed aside in favor of the ultimate user interface: the human mind.
That’s according to IBM, which just published its “5 in 5″ forecast: a prediction about five innovations that will fundamentally change our world within the next five years. The most head-turning prediction: we’ll be able to use the power of our minds to operate machines.
This isn’t telepathy, so those hoping to get a real-time stream of thoughts from an individual had best look to shows like Heroes or Bablylon 5. What IBM envisions is using a simple brain-machine interface (BMI) that can detect different kinds of brainwaves and tell a computer to respond a certain way.

Extremely simple versions of the technology already exist in products like the Star Wars Force Trainer, which includes a headset that’s based on electroencephalography (EEG). More advanced versions of the technology have been beneficial to the disabled at operating computers.
Now IBM wants to take the tech mainstream. Big Blue says it’s working on technology for people to use their brains to interface with their everyday devices, like phones and PCs. “Just think about calling someone, and it happens,” IBM promises in this video:
Rounding out the other four technologies that IBM sees exploding in five years: passwords become replaced by multiple biometric scans, people will help power their homes simply by moving around, the digital divide will be eliminated by the wide accessibility of mobile technology, and spam will actually evolve into something useful.
The thrust behind IBM’s predictions isn’t just to pick the technologies that are the most promising, but also to find the ones that have the potential to reach the mass market.

Read More

Facebook Timeline's Coming - Better Tidy Up

Facebook recently began rolling out its Timeline feature, which will replace the social networking site's traditional user profile.

Everything ever posted on a user's page will be included in Timeline.
Members have seven days to review everything that appears on their Timelines before anyone else can see them, and Facebook lets them mark which items they want to keep private.
However, the feature has raised concerns that it might breach users' privacy because Facebook will upgrade everyone to Timeline -- whether or not they opt for it.
"Your privacy setting with Timeline will carry over," Facebook spokesperson Victoria Cassady told TechNewsWorld. "If you posted a picture in 2006 to all of your friends except one, that person still won't be able to see the picture, even if it appears on your Timeline."

How Timeline Works

Everything you have posted so far on Facebook will appear in your Timeline. The highlights will be expanded and the rest summarized, but you can expand any of the minor items at will and feature them prominently.
To feature items on your Timeline, roll over them and click the star on your screen to expand them to two columns.
If there's something you want to hide, delete or edit, click the pencil icon on your screen and proceed.
You can see how your Timeline appears to others by clicking the gear menu at the top of the Timeline and selecting "View As."
Two dropdown menus on a new tool called the "Activity Log" let Facebook members indicate whether posts should be kept private, and whether they should appear on their Timelines.
The Activity Log lets members review all their posts and activity back to the day they first signed up for Facebook. An account's activity log is only visible to its owner.
Mobile device users can access Timeline if their devices run Android 1.8.1, or by accessing m.facebook.com.

Facebook Steamrolls On

All users will eventually have to upgrade to Timeline whether they want to or not. That has aroused the ire of consumer advocacy groups, including Consumer Watchdog and the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
"I haven't tried the Timeline features yet; I've only read about it. But I think this is a breach of users' privacy," John Simpson, director of the privacy project at Consumer Watchdog, told TechNewsWorld.
"This is a substantial change in how my information is used," Simpson continued. "It should be offered only on an opt-in basis."
This refers back to an agreement Facebook recently made to settle charges from the United States Federal Trade Commission that it deceived consumers about privacy.
That settlement requires, among other things, that Facebook get consumers' approval before it changes the way it shares their data.
Timeline appears to be a "substantial breach" of Facebook's settlement with the FTC, Simpson said. However, he pointed out that the settlement has not yet been entered in final form.
The FTC did not respond to requests to comment for this story.

Free to Choose

Facebook should offer Timeline on a strict opt-in basis, Consumer Watchdog's Simpson suggested. It's a "completely new, potentially privacy-invasive feature," he added.
However, "You have no expectation of privacy because that information is already out there on Facebook, and if Facebook wants to change how things are being displayed, that's not an issue," Yasha Heidari, managing partner of the Heidari Power Law Group, pointed out.
"The only issue is if Facebook takes what's private and displays it to the public," Heidari added. "People might not be happy with [Timeline], and that's understandable, but that doesn't mean it's illegal or a breach of the law."
(as seen on www.technewsworld.com)

Read More

Android app surpasses iPhone on Facebook

Facebook for Android has 58.3 million average daily users compared with an average of 57.4 million daily users who access the social network via an iPhone app, according to stats complied by AppData.
The Android app, which was released in September 2009--a full year after the iPhone app, still trails the iPhone in monthly average users accessing Facebook, tallying 85.4 million users to the iPhone app's 99.1 million. However, the monthly user data doesn't reflect the "stickiness" of the daily user data, or the number of users who return on a daily basis. In that measurement, the Android app's 68.2 percent still leads over the iPhone app's 57.9 percent.
One explanation for the leadership change could be the fact that more than 550,000 devices are being activated every day--up from a daily tally of 500,000 in June and 400,000 in May. More than 200 million Android devices have now been activated around the world, Google announced last month.

Read More

How microneedle sensors could watch your blood chemistry

A scan of a microneedle that incorporates electrochemical sensors to detect glucose, lactate, and pH levels.

(Credit: North Carolina State University)

The new tech, developed by a team of biomedical engineers out of North Carolina State University, the University of California at San Diego, and Sandia National Laboratories, employs electrochemical sensors in the hollow channels of microneedles to detect certain molecules. The researchers reported their findings in the chemistry journal Talanta.
Current body chemistry monitoring involves taking samples, often before or after an event. Wearable micro-sensors, on the other hand, could monitor a diabetic's glucose levels in real time to help scientists explore precisely what causes high or low levels, or to warn the user as levels rise or fall.
Customized microneedle sensor arrays could be incorporated into wearable devices such as wristwatches, says Roger Narayan, a biomedical engineering professor at North Carolina State.
The team's proof-of-concept array uses three sensors to measure acidity (pH), glucose, and lactate, but Narayan says other sensors will likely be developed to measure a wider range of molecules.
"Microneedle-based sensors could be used to monitor a variety of physiologically-relevant molecules," Narayan says. "For example ... [to detect] glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter."
And because the needles are so small, you might be able to wear such a sensor safely and comfortably even in the middle of strenuous activities. For instance, it could measure lactate levels (which can indicate exertion) in athletes, soldiers, or the elderly.
Narayan says the team's next steps will include testing these devices in a variety of settings.

Read More

Because Cameras Should be Simpler

Everything about the AXIO camera logical and efficient – save for a few design flourishes. There are no tactile buttons, just a simple on/off switch. The touchscreen lets you navigate the menus but for the most part, the experience is quintessential point & shoot. Questionably, the lens is surrounded by a blue LED meant to indicate when it’s on but one can assume, the lens might pick up unwanted flare. And of course, charging is all done via mat along with the usually wireless accoutrements. Nice, but not remarkable.
Designer: Christos Ragias

Read More

E-Paper

The mobile concept by designer Amid Moradganjeh aims to redefine the mobile experience through technology that is more sensitive to the human experience. Inspired by print posters, Rimino can be bent to switch between different modes of operation. Along with a simple and easy user interface Rimino also introduces new tools and behaviors to approach and communicate in a more human-human way.

1. Natural input and navigation: The limited size of mobile devices and the circumstances in which they are used have defined the constrictive nature of the user experience (particularly for input, capture and navigation). By using the whole device and by exploring new physical properties, users will be free to interact with their mobile devices in a more natural and intuitive way.

2. Human-like communication: Inspired by face to face communication, Rimino offers new methods beyond call and notification to approach other people. It provides a bigger range of resolution for communication and expands the user experience beyond, before, and after the communication session.

3. Lively device: Rimino implements a new set of behaviors that make the user feel that it is truly aware of them. Another feature that makes Rimino alive is the “Lively pad” at the back of the device. Lively pad enables certain interactions using temperature, haptic feedback, light, airflow, olfactory feedback and moisture.

4. Goal based UI: There is no need for apps on Rimino and tasks can be accomplished by following a path that is closer to the human’s mental model. By capturing elements (time, location, voice,image, temperature, objects, people, etc.) first, the user is able to choose and initiate a task.

5. One experience – multiple devices: Rimino is an experience which is independent of the device itself. The tasks (and not the programs) with which the user is involved are constantly move between Rimino and other devices. In addition, the accessible hardware and devices become a part of a bigger connected system. The Rimino mobile device is able to detect devices nearby and behave accordingly.

6. Right resolution for right interaction:The desirable interaction resolution on a mobile device very much depends on the context and the task. Rimino offers both rich and basic versions of the same interface when needed. The interface is switched to the basic mode by bending the device. Basic interface represents the essentials and needs less engagement to interact with. The bent device can be used in a stationary state, creating new application.

Designer: Amid Moradganjeh


Rimino - A Human Touch on Mobile Experience from Amid Moradganjeh on Vimeo.

Read More

Re-Q, an eco-friendly soap maker

Re-Q is an eco-friendly soap maker that recycles domestic wastewater and the last wedges of used soap to make you a brand new soap bar! Essentially it is a brilliant idea! In a three-step process, the machine purifies greywater, mixes it with soap bits and then processes the mixture into new soap cakes! How radical is that!
Designers: Jung Hwan Song & Kim Jong Won

Read More