Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on August 14, 2007 by CyberNet.

We’ve known that Google has been working on a “Health” service for quite some time now, but what we haven’t seen are screenshots. Google Blogoscoped has posted the first screenshots of what Google Health will presumably look like. They came from a prototype, so while things may change, the images give us a general idea of what Google intends to do with it.

There’s a lot of health information available these days, but Google’s Adam Bosworth says that people “need the medical information that is out there and available to be organized and made accessible to all. Health information should be easier to access and organize, especially in ways that make it as simple as possible to find the information that is most relevant to a specific patient’s needs.”

So how is it that Google intends to organize all the medical information out there? Take a look:

Notice that there is a Profile tab and a Medical contacts tab. You’ll also notice the Google Health Privacy Policy where they state the information you enter will not be shared with anyone unless given permission.  Privacy will be important because if it’s used like Google intends for it to be used, essentially a patient’s entire health history including the medications they take, test results, allergies, and more could potentially be available.

Another image illustrates the auto-completion feature that is seen across all of Google Health, but in this example it’s used for conditions and symptoms.  You’d just start typing your symptoms or condition, and a list of options would appear as seen below when typing in “head.”

How successful Google Health will become is largely dependent on doctors using computerized records versus the standard paper option. Under the “Services and health guide,” it’s explained that if your doctor or pharmacy offers the option to securely download medical records, you’ll be able to add your records to your health profile. The current problem though, is that the New York Times reports that only 20 percent of the population in the United States has computerized records.

Google Blogoscoped has many more screenshots for you to take a look at. While the service sounds interesting, and could potentially empower people with health information and their health care, it could take a lot of time on Google’s end to get this working as intended, and for people to latch on to it.

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A more robust version of Apple’s Apple Store app for the iPhone adds a number of truly useful features.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

Hey friends, you too can make a robot from perfectly ordinary household materials. Have a balloon and some coffee grounds lying around the house? Stick the grounds in the balloon and voila, you’ve got a super awesome, super grippy robot arm.

As for the rest of the robot arm, that’s going to require some serious electronic engineering–and a degree in advanced robotics certainly wouldn’t hurt, but at least you’re half of the way there, right?

The simple machine was devised by a team of robotics types in Chicago and New York. If the video is any indication, the device can pick up just about anything. In just under three minutes, the device picks up a spring, a jack, plastic tubing, a light bulb, an uncooked egg, pours a cup of water, and draws a square with a pen.

The Register explains the mechanics of the coffee and balloon concoction,

The manipulator works by pressing the soft balloon full of loose coffee grounds down on the object to be gripped. Then the air is sucked out of the balloon, causing the coffee granules to press together and lock into a rigid shape – just as they do when vacuum-packed. The object is now securely grasped by the manipulator, and can be released as desired by ending the suction on the granule-filled bulb.

A scientist involved with the project suggests that it “could be on the market tomorrow.” In the meantime, I can watch video of the arm picking up stuff all day long. Check it out in all of its glory, after the jump.

And now we’re at a crossroads. Apple is about to start hitting the wireless media streaming game hard with AirPlay and an armada of third party manufacturers. Meanwhile, Sonos is improving its already impressive streaming ecosystem with a now-shipping Sonos Wireless Dock (WD100) for your iPod or iPhone that can stream your device’s music digitally to any of your Sonos ZonePlayers. It’s not that bad a buy at $119, especially if you already have a big investment in Sonos. Plus, Sonos has plenty of other perks (like great support for online streaming music services) that it would be happy to point out to you. Still, we can’t help but wonder what this sort of product will look like in an AirPlay-contoured market, say, one year from now.

Continue reading Sonos Wireless Dock for iPod and iPhone is out now for $119

Sonos Wireless Dock for iPod and iPhone is out now for $119 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is surely the sort of story Digg would prefer to keep buried. The social media site this week announced that it will be making major cuts to its staff, in an attempt to become profitable by some point next year. The note was written by the company’s new CEO Matt Williams, who took over for Digg founder a mere six weeks ago.

“[W]e have to take some difficult steps,” Williams wrote. “The fact is our business has a burn rate that is too high. We must significantly cut our expenses to achieve profitability in 2011. We’ve considered all of the possible options for reduction, from salaries to fixed costs. The result is that, in addition to lowering many of our operational costs, I’ve made the decision to downsize our staff from 67 to 42 people.”

It’s a staff decrease of 25 people–about 37 percent of the Digg’s total staff. It’s the latest move for a site that has taken a decided stumble in recent months, thanks in no small part to a redesign, which caused even some of its most devoted fans to flee Digg for greener pastures, including competitors like Reddit.

“It’s been an incredibly tough decision,” Williams added. “I wish it weren’t necessary. However, I know it’s the right choice for Digg’s future success as a business. I’m personally committed to help find new opportunities for everyone affected by the transition.”