John's Technology Blog

UltraCapacitors - first products arrive

Here is the first commercially available consumer product I see that uses ultra capacitor technology.  This electric screwdriver charges fully in 90 seconds.  Not 90 minutes - seconds.  500,000 power cycles, well beyond the life of the equipment.  This technology will change many things.  User reviews say it will run for 30 minutes.

Coleman Flashcell Cordless Screwdriver - 90 Second Recharge - Using a SuperCapacitor.

Can't wait for notebooks, PDAs and cell phones to be powered by these capacitors.

Video - Lee Kwan Yew interview

Fareed Zakaria and his Sunday CNN show GPS has become one of my favorites.  This interview with the founder of Singapore is a great example.  All Americans should watch this -- soon!   Great thoughts on success in Afghanistan, the role of China and the flavors of democracy.
GPS: Lee Kwan Yew interview.

ThinkGeek :: Phantom Keystroker V2

IT folks, drive your "friends" nuts with this new toy.

ThinkGeek :: Phantom Keystroker V2.

"The Keystroker emulates a keyboard and mouse and periodically makes random mouse movements, toggles caps-lock and types out odd garbage text and phrases."

CNN's The Moment - Photosynth

First CNN brought us the virtual reporter at election night (cheesy), and now we get The Moment. The plan is to have users email pictures to a special email address ([email protected]) and they will create a Photosynth collage.  I am not sure how the cell network in DC will handle this, but the idea is a good one.

Has any other large public event been recorded with Photosynth?

Obama's new BlackBerry: The NSA's secure PDA?

Good news - Obama gets to keep a PDA.  Bad news: it will run windows mobile and is rather chunky.  BTW, how can the IE on Windows Mobile be considered secure?

Obama's new BlackBerry: The NSA's secure PDA? | Politics and Law - CNET News.

'Amazing' worm attack infects 9 million PCs - Network World

Here is what happens when millions of users ignore that little yellow shield sitting on their Windows PC taskbar.  Are you one of the 9 million?

'Amazing' worm attack infects 9 million PCs - Network World.

Here is how to fix it -- please check your systems.

Lenovo annouces notebook with 2 screens - ThinkPad W700

I have always been a fan of Thinkpad notebooks.  The W700 announced at CES is truly and amazing workstation.  This is not for everyone, due to size and weight... but 2 screens?  Yes, a smaller screen that pops out of the main screen!  That is innovation.  Can't wait to see just how they managed to engineer that second screen.

Also has built-in RAID, a WACOM tablet and a colorimeter for screen correction.  Photographers who do field work should love this PC.

Watch a demo here.

Adults Outnumber Teens on Social Networks - ClickZ

Keep finding reports/articles like this one Adults Outnumber Teens on Social Networks - ClickZ that show that more and more adults are joining and using social networking tools. 

In particular, Twitter (twitter.com) has a much more adult user base.  Here is a post by Sol Young showing Quantcast numbers.  Focus on the % to the left of the age group.

My preferred anti-virus product: AVG

2008 has seen a resurgence in virus and spam attacks.  More than ever users should have capable anti-virus software protecting all their systems.  My recommendation for some time has been AVG.  Although this company has a free version (8) it is rather annoying with the suggestions to upgrade.  The good news is that the full product is very well priced and very capable.  Get it HERE.

This makes me want to sketch!

.I often wish I were more skilled in being able to express myself graphically.  Drawing or even sketching are not natural skills for me and I have never developed them.  Well, here comes tech to the rescue.  Watch the following video from the ILoveSketch.com folks.  This is technology enhancing people's skills.  This is why touch-screen technology is so important, and why tablet PC sales have been so disappointing.  Apps like this one will sell more tablets.

ILoveSketch from Seok-Hyung Bae on Vimeo.