Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Tech Tuesday: Too Varied To Bother With A Theme edition

Sorry for the lull in posting, to the few people who actually read me. Just had a serious case of "can't be arsed." Had these building up but just never could be bothered to actually write up the post.

http://gizmodo.com/fda-approves-first-prosthetic-arm-controlled-by-muscle-1574530219 Now approved for general consumption, a prosthetic arm that's controlled by muscle readings. We've got better stuff in the works, but this is still a substantial step up from a lot of what's around. I'd take muscle-reading hands to a hook, at least until "hooked into the brain and works/feels just like the old one, but easier to replace if busted" became available.

http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/the-solar-powered-fridge-of-1937-made-sunbeams-into-ice-1574174343 Solar, used to do stuff before we had solar panels. As someone in the comments says "imagine where we'd be if we actually built on what we already know, instead of reinventing everything every couple decades"

http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/the-futuristic-superhighways-of-1964-had-glow-in-the-da-1562397863 More retrotech, but relevant today as a more viable version of stuff being thrown about these days. Glow in the dark road markings would be darn useful, particularly in inclement weather. Wouldn't even have to be the really good high end glow in the dark stuff that can go all night on a charge, just has to glow for a bit and spit light back from headlights, to make up for the fact that when wet the headlights themselves wouldn't throw enough light back off the markings to make them visible (water makes it work like a mirror, so instead of hitting the ground and scattering to provide useful light back to the driver, it just goes on ahead)

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/new-dual-carbon-battery-charges-20x-faster-lithium-ion Improved batteries. We keep getting good advances but they aren't making it all the way to functional usability. Hopefully these will see use, and start making electric cars and other such things viable, with fast(er) charge times and higher capacity. Electric vehicles are great in theory, but battery tech just isn't ready to make them really workable... yet.

http://gizmodo.com/skype-to-launch-star-trek-style-real-time-language-tra-1582404890 Autotranslate. It'll still have the google translate problem, but it's a damn sight better than nothing for communication across a language barrier. Throw that together with google translate-or-equivalent's text reader, and a throat mic, and you could probably even converse with people you didn't share a language with in mostly real time.

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/scientists-think-there-may-be-wormhole-in-the-center-of-1582831794 I for one support throwing things into black holes, if we can get to them. For Science, and stuff. Still going to need some manner of faster communication or something to get word BACK as to whether it's a wormhole or a black hole (although a probe that can turn around and come back, assuming it works like that, would work)

http://gizmodo.com/soviet-doctors-cured-infections-with-viruses-and-soon-1587311881 If antibiotics don't work, why not infect the bacteria with a virus? Good to at least have options for getting rid of antibiotics when stupid people overuse them until they stop working.

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/hovercraft-coming-market-2017 It's a hoverbike. It looks like it might not be the ultra flying car of the future, but it certainly looks more controllable than modern hovercraft. I suspect it's either related to this, or is at least an offshoot. The Hoverbike seems designed to be more "flying motorcycle" than the AeroX.

http://gizmodo.com/the-armys-new-helmet-design-comes-with-built-in-a-c-1575643048 and lo, the Space Marine's gear gets one step closer to arrival. Looks futuristicy. Also futuristic helmet related, http://heartsracer.com/ Gimme a blend of the two and a space rocketbike.


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