Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on March 04, 2009 by CyberNet.

Over the last few years it seems as though the iPhone has really sparked a greater interest in smartphones, and has managed to show consumers what handheld devices are capable of doing. Of course they aren’t alone in the market with both Windows Mobile devices and Blackberries all competing to be the one you carry in your pocket.

Having all this power in your hand is a tremendous convenience, but I recently met a girl named Payal who wasn’t as eager to get one of these gadgets. Being the geek that I am I curiously asked what her reasoning was for not not wanting the iPhone, or any smartphone for that matter.

A lot of times when I ask the question of why someone doesn’t want a smartphone the response is typically that they don’t need it. Those types of people use the device for talking, and maybe some occasional text messaging, but other than that their phone stays tucked away in their pocket. Her response was something I hadn’t heard before. She explained how so many people are in love with their smartphones, but to her such a device would curb the spontaneity and enthusiasm that she wants from life.

How so you might ask? I wondered the same thing since I personally use the iPhone quite a bit for finding places I ordinarily wouldn’t have stumbled across. I will, for example, fire up the Yelp application and look for unique restaurants in the area I’m at. In her eyes that’s not the same kind of excitement. To her it’s more fun to walk around and grab a bite to eat at any place she comes across, and doesn’t want to rely on the reviews and thoughts of online strangers. In other words she wants to see the world through her own eyes, and not through someone else’s.

Another example she provided was exploring new places. She loves to drive around almost hoping to get lost, and find places she’s not been to before. With a smartphone she fears that having the capability to quickly get back on course (via a GPS) would discourage any of this from happening.

So I’d love to hear from all of you in regards to how you feel about smartphones. Why do/don’t you use one? I have to admit that the conversation I had with her has really made me ponder how I use my iPhone, and how much I actually rely on it. I’m sure that the next time I pull it out for leisure purposes I’ll think twice as to whether I actually need it, or whether I’m passing up what could be a fun experience.

With that being said we’ve got a new poll to accompany this topic! If you have Flash enabled you should be able to vote below, otherwise the poll will remain up for a few weeks in the sidebar of the site.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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This article was written on July 31, 2006 by CyberNet.

Million Dollar Monday

How might this change your everyday life? Just think about how your shopping experience would change. You’re in an electronics store looking for a camera. You walk in front of one camera to check it out and immediately you’re hearing all about the features of the camera you’ve stepped in front of. You step to the right of the camera, and you can’t hear it. You step to the left, and you can’t hear it. The only place you’re able to hear the message is when you’re directly under the ‘beam’ or in this example in front of the camera. You could move from camera to camera or product to product, stand in front of it and get a brief run-down without the entire store hearing about it. Now how cool is that?


Just imagine what could be done with this technology. Kevin Maney over at USA today brought up the idea of integrating this technology into laptop speakers. Only the person sitting in front of the laptop would be able to hear the sound. How perfect would that be for a plane ride or sitting in a lecture? Another example he gives is in the car. Mom and Dad could be listening to one CD up front with the kids listening to another in the back. It could even work great for trade shows or corporate lobbies. The possibilities are endless. Everyone wants to get their hands on this technology to experiment with it. Companies like Wal-Mart and McDonalds have expressed some interest as well as Fox and Sony.

Not only is this technology being considered for commercial use, it is also being used for more serious endeavors by military and police forces. Similar to HSS, LRAD which stands for Long Range Acoustic Device, as its name states is for long range use. It can produce a sound so piercing it could bring someone to their knees. LRAD was put into use after the attack on the USS Cole. It works as an unbelievable way to notify from a distance and provide information. It is turning out to be an effective non-lethal form of a weapon for militaries and police forces to use.

The inventor of HSS, Woody Nooris won the Lemelson-MIT prize of $500,000 for revolutionizing acoustics. He’s described as a classic independent inventor. His curiosity is unbounded and spans many fields. While we probably won’t see this technology mainstreamed quite yet, there are countless possibilities with it. Could this possibly be the next generation of advertising?

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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This article was written on July 17, 2006 by CyberNet.

Million Dollar Monday

Talk about luxury home entertainment with Armed Chair motion simulators! They may look like your typical recliner, but don’t be fooled! This chair is fully loaded and equipped with enough horse power to give you whip lash. Armed Chairs are designed to move in sync with specially made DVDs to make the motion and action in the movie come to life. The motion ranges from movements that are almost undetectable to dynamic theme park ride types of motions making the DVD you’re watching come to life. With Armed Chair it’s easy to get into the action of a high speed car chase!

How does it work?

The combination of actuators moving in a programmed, choreographed motion enables the system to reproduce a wide range of 2 and 3-dimensional motions and vibrations; ranging from subtly detectable to extremely dynamic.
This motion is coordinated by the motion controller (connected to the digital audio output of any DVD player), which synthesises motion and instructs the actuators to move in perfect synchronisation with the on-screen action and sound. You are literally drawn into the action as you experience the motion and drama of the movie.

There are over 70 different colors available to choose from and over 500 movies specially made for the Armed Chair motion simulator.

A luxury like this doesn’t come cheap! Prices begin at around $12,000, and add around $3,000 more if you want a remote to go along with it. Plus, if you want it delivered and installed, it will cost an additional $1,300. There are a few other additional options such as receiving your updated movie codes via the Internet for $250, or by DVD for $500 a year. Armed Chair Simulators are definitely luxury home entertainment… to the max!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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When it comes to technology, board games are usually blissfully outdated. People play board games to get away from the LCD inundation and computer overload. But Hasbro is releasing a fresh new version of Monopoly that brings it into the next generation and tries to appeal to technophiles.

Monopoly Live incorporates four electronic card swipes, special debit cards, and a towering computer in the middle of the board. The “smart” board game keeps track of everyone’s money and where their token is on the board, so cheating in this game is getting harder and harder.

The core of the game doesn’t really change, so the 108-year-old Monopoly legacy is still kicking, but it’s nice to see something new and fresh spicing things up. Monopoly Live will go on sale this fall for $50.

Via Uber Gizmo

This article was written on March 21, 2008 by CyberNet.

Sony has begun to do what we have all been asking begging of computer manufacturers: deliver a bloat-free computer. There is a catch are several catches though. At this point the option is only available for a custom-configured Sony VGN-TZ2000, and Vista Business must be your operating system of choice. Oh, and we can’t forget to mention that there is a $50 premium that you must pay to get a squeaky clean PC.

Sony dubs the option Fresh Start, and while they don’t say exactly which things your system will come without they do have a reassuring statement regarding it:

Opt for a Fresh Start™ and your VAIO PC will undergo a system optimization service where specific VAIO applications, trial software and games are removed from your unit prior to shipment. Fresh Start™ safely scrubs your PC to free up valuable hard drive space and conserve memory and processing power while maximizing overall system performance right from the start.

What I love is that it says they “safely scrub your PC” which is almost a statement of admission as to how terrible the software is that they actually pre-install normally. I’m actually surprised that they wrote that second sentence in the description at all because that will leave a lot of people wondering why Sony wouldn’t want to give them the best experience possible right off the bat.

I would like to give Dell some credit because I believe that they are leaps and bounds better than many of the manufacturers out there. Even on one of their budget computers you’re able to remove any antivirus software and productivity suite, which is a lot more than I can say for their competitors. And Dell doesn’t charge a dime for turning those things off, but then again there are some other things that comes with their PC’s that you still can’t have removed at the factory.

So what do you think? I know I’d go for it, but is forking out an additional $50 worth it to you considering how much hassle it could save in the future? I would assume that the computer also comes with a way to restore the system back to this “Fresh” state, but there is no mention of that.

UPDATE: Looks like Sony will be removing the $50 fee tomorrow.

[via Engadget]

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