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CHICAGO WRITER MARGO ROWDER TESTS HER FIRST PAIR OF 'GOOGLE GLASS' AR GLASSES AT GOOGLE'S VENICE OFFICE

Chicago writer Margo Rowder was one of the few selected to try Google Glass, and here she is at Google HQ trying them out for the first time (Click Image To View Video)

During the month of May 2013, Google has been handing out the first editions of its much-anticipated Glass wearable computer devices to a select group chosen to try it out.

One of them was avid bicyclist and science-fiction writer Margo Rowder, who was invited to pick up the high-tech eyewear at a Google office in Los Angeles. All those selected to buy the glasses must pick them up at a Google office and go through a Google initiation-like process.

Rowder allowed me to tag along and experience the whole process with her.

She applied to receive an invitation to the Google Glass Explorer program in February, telling Google she was interested in using the device to help her get around Los Angeles on her bike.

In her application, Rowder also said Glass would make it easier for her to record any thoughts that came to her that would be useful for the book she is writing called "Thirty Decibels," which is about a futuristic society where most people are forbidden from speaking any louder than a whisper.   Rowder said she was very excited to receive her invitation to purchase the $1,500 glasses because in her book, which she began writing in 2009, she imagined a device that's very similar to what Google has made.

Riding on her blue Raleigh hybrid bike, Rowder pulled up Wednesday afternoon to Google's offices in Venice, located inside the Binoculars Building, designed in the 1980s by architect Frank Gehry.

Google office in Venice Beach, California (Click Image To Enlarge)

A look at the sleek interior of Google's Venice Beach, California  (Click Image To Enlarge)

The cafeteeria at Google's Venice Beach, California office (Click Image To Enlarge)

Inside we were greeted by half a dozen Google employees, all wearing Glass.

After Rowder finished putting on her contact lenses (you can't wear prescription eyeglasses while using Glass) we were escorted to the Glass team's wing of the building. Along the way we got an inside peek of what employees have access to: a Google L.A.-imprinted burgundy pool table, a large snack room and an open courtyard complete with a human-size chess board.

The team’s room looked like an Apple store that had been converted into a theater dressing room with vanity mirrors. On one side were counters with numerous glasses in various colors, and on the other, were vanity tables with black bags labeled with the “Glass” logo. Google's staffers offered drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

Rowder had no interest in the white, black or gray glasses and instead focused on those that were in orange (tangerine) and blue (sky).

Glass is essentially made up of five parts: a titanium frame, two nose pads that hold up the frame, a counterweight on the back right side of the device, the main component which sits next to the right temple of a user's face and doubles as a touch pad, and a glass cube, which houses the tiny screen.

Once she picked out her color, Rowder was taken to one of the vanity tables, where she was presented with an encyclopedia-sized white box. She opened the box slowly, hoping to take in the full experience like a tech geek unboxing a new device. Once she got to the Glass, she lifted the device and examined it before putting on her very own head-mounted display for the first time.

Pat, a Google Glass team member, asked Rowder how the device felt before giving her tips on the proper way to wear it: The frame should sit straight across her brows and once she turns it on, she should be able to see the screen in the glass unimpeded.

She said.  

"Oh I see it." 

Pat asked her.

"You see the screen already?" 

Rowder said with an excited chuckle.

"Yeah." 

Another Glass staffer asked if I would like to try on the device. We went to the stand and I picked out the shale gray model -- I've always gone with dark and cool colors when it comes to my devices.

Margo tries on a light blue pair of Google Glass glasses and checks how the new augmented reality glasses look on her in a mirror. (Click Image To Enlarge)

Margo Rowder wears her new pair of Google Glass glasses for the first time (Click Image To Enlarge)

After putting it on and turning it on, I had to tap the touchpad on the main device (quickly tilting your head 30 degrees also works) to bring up a floating screen with a transparent  “OK Glass” written across it. It was like looking through a heads-up display on a fighter jet.

Along with “OK Glass” the see-through screen displayed the time of day. The display of “OK Glass” signaled that I could give it commands, to take a picture for instance. 

I instructed.  

“OK, Glass, take a picture.”

And the device snapped a photo, which I could see immediately on my display screen.

With the touch pad, I could scroll the screen left or right using a finger. Scrolling to the left displayed various information, including weather.  Scrolling to the right, I found the picture I had just taken.

After a few minutes, my eyes were beginning to strain -- I felt a little bit overwhelmed by the new technology -- so I took it off and handed it back to the staffers.

I rejoined Rowder as Pat helped her set up the smartphone app that works with Glass, check out the website where she can adjust Glass' settings, and add Glass apps (or Glassware as they are officially called). Rowder tried out all Glass’ functions, shooting video of us, searching images of actress Julia Roberts and sending her first Glass-written text message.

Rowder said aloud, specifying the punctuation marks, which Glass transcribed, turned to text and sent to her mom.

“Hi mom I'm talking to you from Glass. What do you think!?” 

After about half an hour spent setting up the device, Rowder was finally good to go. The Glass team walked us out and gave her as much information as they could before we said our goodbyes, like a couple of parents sending their daughter off to college for the first time.

Outside, Rowder popped on the sun visors that came with the Glass, put on her helmet, and hopped on her bike. For a moment, though, she seemed in an odd daydream-like state as she tried to get the Glass to give her directions.

I told my colleagues all about this weird instance that must surely happen to all Glass users as they scroll through their device looking for information. We came up with a term for it: Glass-eyed, as in,

“That girl’s totally Glass-eyed right now.”

COMMENTARY:    Sure looks like Margo Rowder had a great time experiencing Google Glass. Here a few of our Google+ posts shortly after she began using her glasses.

Courtesy of an article dated June 1, 2013 appearing in The Los Angeles Times

DOES GOOGLE GLASS HAVE A BRANDING PROBLEM? MARKETING EXPERTS MAP STEPS TO MAINSTREAM SUCCESS

Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin wears a pair of Google Glass AR glasses (Click Image To Enlarge)

Still in its test phase, Google Glass may be dorked to death before it gets the opportunity to take off. Here, marketing players from a range of agencies provide their assessment of Glass’s chances and some suggestions for paving the way to mainstream success.

Google’s much-hyped wearable computer, Google Glass, has been touted by the tech elite as one of the leaps forward of recent times, but those same elites may hobble mainstream adoption of the device.

While privacy concerns have blossomed (the device may be on its way to being banned at a number of locations), it may comfort those worried that we are all about to become spies for Google that the early adopters of Google Glass are helping to give it an image problem it might not recover from.

Technology venture capitalists Marc Andreessen, Bill Maris and John Doerr model Google Glass AR glasses (Click Image To Enlarge)

Marc Andreessen, a partner in the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, said, 

”You put it on and you’re like ‘Oh my God, I have the entire Internet in my vision. Where have you been all my life?’ ”

Kleiner Perkins venture capitalist John Doerr noted last month when unveiling Kleiner Perkins’ Google Glass-focused investment fund. 

"For paraplegics and quadriplegics, Glass could be a stunningly useful way to get information and interact with it."

The futuristic-looking headset can augment our everyday reality by putting data in our field of vision as well as allowing us to take pictures, and translating the spoken word on the move. But unfortunately, it also appears to have unintended contraceptive powers, as illustrated by this Tumblr featuring members of its decidedly unhip core fanbase.

Google CEO & Co-Founder Larry Page wears a pair of Google Glass AR glasses (Click Image To Enlarge)

It’s all very well having wearable technology that lets you livestream yourself hang gliding. But if it has all the sex appeal of orthodontic headgear, it’s unlikely to catch on. Google’s Glass Explorer program has put Google Glass in the hands and on the heads of developers and tech pundits who Google has selected to test it and have paid $1,500. Google chief executive Larry Page has indicated that the product won’t be in stores for about another year, by which time it may be hard to separate it from its association with tech fanatics.

Arguably, success in wearable technology hinges on making people look and feel good as much as providing a functional service. Developers might be happy to fork vast sums for the privilege of being a Google Glass owner, but when the product goes to mass market, fashion, or at least some sort of coolness and covetability will be as critical as functionality.

Tech pundit Robert Scoble wrote a glowing review about the augmented reality glasses and said, "I will never live a day without them." He then showed off a picture of himself showering while wearing the glasses.  Google co-founder Sergey Brin looking cool wearing a pair of Google Glass AR glasses onboard a bus (Click Image To Enlarge)

With this in mind, we asked five marketing experts: How would you position Google Glass to make sure it achieves mainstream success?

AFTER NAILING THE EARLY ADOPTERS, FOCUS ON LESS-EXPECTED APPLICATIONS.

Jinal Shah, digital strategy director, JWT New York

Google is embracing its influencers. Make no mistake though--they aren’t just going after the nerds. They are strategic in who they’ve invited to their Glass Explorers program, an influencer program that allows a handpicked group to use the first generation of Google Glass. Google has carefully curated a group of people who sit at the intersection of nerd and celebrity. For example, tech celebrity Soraya Darabi, among others. People like her not only bring their passion for technology but also their massive audiences (500K+ followers in the case of Soraya) into the conversation.

California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, and former mayor of San Francisco, tries the glasses on Current TV (Click Image To Enlarge)

There’s incremental innovation and there’s wow-your-pants-off innovation. Google Glass is in the latter category. We tried it on last week at Google and it was pretty amazing. Mainstream success will happen as it expands the breadth of its audience and also as its simplifies its technology. What we’ll end up with in a few years is just a tiny camera that we’ll be able to attach to any eyewear. To the broader point, wearable technology is the future. Making it as nerdy as possible at the outset is a smart strategic move to get those who will engage most with the glasses to develop their capabilities and advance them to a place of general adoption. It should be no surprise that Google has already developed a partnership with Warby Parker. The aesthetic will change over time, and this will be one of the many norms of wearable tech.

The Google Glass initial approach has focused on driving exclusivity in select communities. And they’ve nailed it. In the next stage, I’d focus on creating desire by introducing a library of plain interesting to bizarre applications of Glass. Think government, music, Hollywood, retail partnerships--maybe even an episode of Family Guy with Stewie touting Glass.

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT NERDS.

Jonah Disend, CEO and Founder of Redscout

When we look at the challenge of extending Google Glasses out of nerdom, we believe that the challenge is first, one of execution and second, one of positioning and targeting.

• First, in terms of execution, Google Glasses inherently plays in two worlds--fashion and technology--and they haven’t created “cool kid” lust in either area.  It is neither an incredible fashion accessory that you would want to wear, nor is it a beautiful or obviously useful gadget that you would want to own.
• Second, in terms of positioning and targeting, today Google Glasses is seen as a barrier to social engagement as opposed to an enabler. While it may make your world more exciting and dynamic (as the promotional video might suggest), it does not currently enhance socialization nor have they shown how the value of the glasses increases with additional users (there is currently no clear Network Effect).

Now for our gross generalization about nerds versus everyone else. Nerds actively look to create barriers to protect them from the world, mitigate social engagement, and connect through virtual worlds (thinkWorld of Warcraft). In this context, Google Glasses are the ultimate tool for nerds to add a layer of protection between them and others and potentially seal the fate of Google Glasses as something that only the geekiest of the geeks would ever want to wear (or even own).

WORK WITH TRENDSETTERS.

Lloyd Salmons, Director of Digital, Saatchi & Saatchi London

I love Google. It gives me convenient access to a world of information and that’s something I want. I don’t love their glasses, because they don’t give me what I want. What I want is my glasses. If you’ve ever chosen a pair of glasses you’ll know how long it takes, how many opinions you seek, how many photos you’ve texted and images of celebrities you’ve looked at, be they fashion, sport or sunglasses. What I want is the Google I love, in the glasses I love. I want Google in my glasses.

Open APIs, products as platforms, and cocreation are the norm for tech companies. There is no way Apple or Android could have brought the level of innovation needed to create so many apps personalized to individual needs. Just because Google Glass is a physical product doesn’t mean Google should change the approach to creating the range of glasses needed to facilitate individual tastes.

To facilitate this, we’d build a platform allowing us to work with a range of individuals and the people who make their glasses. These people would range from well-known celebrities in fashion and sport, to everyday style leaders. The content generated across the journey from inception, build, and trial to launch would provide both broadcast content and ways to engage.

Google in Bradley Wiggins’s glasses: We follow the journey of Bradley and his glasses climaxing at the start of the Tour de France. Google in Elton John’s glasses: No one has more glasses than Elton John; he’s given us a hundred of his best to create a range of Google glasses and we’re going to find the perfect person for each of them. You get the picture. Google in P.Diddy’s glasses. Google in Sven Göran Eriksson’s glasses. Google in Victoria Beckham’s sunglasses.

If you try on anyone else’s glasses, you look like a nerd; that’s just a law of the universe. If you don’t believe me, try it. What I need is Google in my glasses.

IDENTIFY AND EMBRACE THE USAGE SWEET SPOT.

Brian Carley, SVP, Executive Creative Director, Rokkan

It’s a challenge, specifically because of the stigma that was quickly attached to them. Putting aside all flaws in its physical appearance, it would be ideal to tap into how people would realistically use them day to day. Very few people are going be wearing them ALL the time, but there are times when it would be useful to have a device such as this and also have complete use of your hands. We all assume that our mobile devices have no boundaries, but there are instances when we are apprehensive about having them on our person. I think that utilizing those moments is the sweet spot for this product. It’s a more useful Go-Pro and those are wildly popular within their specific usage, which is quite broad. There’s no real need for these beyond enjoyment, and so it would be wise to illustrate the truly hands-free experiences that surround the product beyond the dorkiness we’ve experienced already. At least they’re not as cumbersome as a Segway.

DON’T CHANGE A THING.

Bud Caddell, SVP, Director of Invention and Digital Strategy, Deutsch LA

Yes, white middle-aged men love Google Glass. Is it a problem? Of course not. Wearable tech has hardly fallen down Geoffrey Moore’s chasm. We’re seeing early adoption, and in tech (if we’re not counting Pinterest), white men from the Valley with disposable income tend to be first in, first out. And that didn’t stop iPads, laptops, or the mobile phone from reaching mass adoption. Yes, Robert Scoble in the shower is frightening. But take a breath. Google has already tapped Warby Parker, who I personally trust in putting things on my face, and I think Google Glass (in one iteration or another) is here to stay.

COMMENTARY:    

What Tech Guru's Are Saying About Google Glass

I am discounting by about 95% the positive comments made by most of the above technology pundits, expecially some of the above VC's in favor of what other technology pundits are saying:

Marcus Wohlsen, a tech reporter for Wired, on May 2, 2013, gave some hints that Google Glass could end in failure by making these comparisons: 

“The Segway. The Bluetooth headset. The pocket protector.”  

Rebecca Greenfield of The Atlantic, called the secret photo-taking application a “privacy nightmare,” and she also said:

“The Creepiest Google Glass App Is a Stalker’s Dream.” 

Jason Perlow of ZDNet wrote:

“Google Glass: Let the evil commence."   

Perlow also noted that in the “Explorer” version of Google Glass that shipped in early May to first generation of users,

"There is no recording LED indicator light on the device, so that one could stealthily record without any indication to the subject that they are being captured on-camera.”

Jason Zada, an award winning director, wrote on Twitter.  

 ”White Men Wearing Google Glass. This doesn’t make me want a pair.”

Another person simply wrote that Google Glass looks “lame.”

The Google Glass Is Banned List Grows

Privacy and security have become major concerns and as the list of concerned protesters continues to grow, we began to wonder: Where will we be most likely to see this Glass resistance moving forward?  This is a short list of businesses and places who will ban Google Glass:

• Movie theaters and concert venues - It's interesting to consider what Glass could do for film piracy and that annoying guy in front of you who waved his phone snapping photos through an entire two-hours concert. But these are two of the most obvious examples of places that traditionally prohibit cameras.
• Public schools - Or nurseries, or playgrounds. Really, anywhere with an influx of children is going to be a potential hotbed of legal headaches.
• Behind the wheel - The West Virginia legislators' attempt to ban Glass while driving will inevitably gain favor within other states, which will likely include many of the country's 39 states and Washington, D.C., where texting while driving is prohibited.
• Hospitals - Hospitals house boatloads of some of our most personal data, including medical records and insurance information. A stray paper or tilted clipboard could easily find its way into a Glass photo.
• Banks and ATMs - Similar to the hospital example, it's not unfathomable to imagine a Glass-clad someone hovering a little too close to your left shoulder to peep a glance at (not to mention a photo of) your credit card.
• Dressing rooms, locker rooms, and other rooms with people who are potentially naked - Think everywhere from department stores to your gym to strip clubs.

I might also add to the above list:

• Law enforcement - The police will absolutely hate Google Glass.  They don't want you recording their every move and what they say, because this could be used against them in court.
• Courts rooms - Court rooms often ban photographers from their court rooms, especially high-profile and controversial cases.  This is often necessary in order to protect the identity of the jurors and individuals making testimony.  
• Military bases - Any military personnel on military bases who enter or work in highly classified and secured areas will definitely be banned from wearing Google Glass. 
• Schools and colleges - Google Glass will definitely be banned from the classroom. Instructors will be weary of students who might use Google Glass to teach on tests.

On the other hand, I can definitely see immigration inspectors, airline security, law enforcement and even retailing establishments benefiting from Google Glass, in helping them identify criminals, security risks, people of interest and shoplifters before they commit crimes. Companies that want to protect their valuable intellectual property as a matter of practice will ban Google Glass.    

In my opinion, any technology that raises the high level of privacy and security concerns and could lead to consumer litigation potentially in the billions, has a huge PR image and this has the ability to permanently damage or destroy a brand.  This is what I see happening with Google Glass.  If Google wants to market Google Glass to the masses, they will have to severely limit or block its use in certain situations.  

Google needs to be careful that it does not damage its own brand reputation as the company whose motto is: "Don't Be Evil."   Google Glass has the potential to turn Google into the feared "Big Brother,"  that Steve Jobs warned us about when he tried to portray IBM as "Big Brother" in the famous TV commercial.  The company has to be very careful how they launch Google Glass. The company has a social responsibility to uphold (its motto) and it should not take us for granted.   The small cadre of tech geeks and very early adopters who now love and applaud Google Glass as the next big thing, may later learn to hate if they are not too careful.

I keep hearing that Google Glass represents the next evolution of the social network. Bringing the social network experience into the real world and sharing what we see and do with others.  Is this what Google (and Facebook) really wants?  God help us if this is where social networks are headed.  I don't want that kind of "social media experience" biting me in the butt, and I am sure you don't either.   Left to its own accord, without any controls, I believe that Google Glass crosses a line in the sand where our privacy is not only violated, but completely destroyed.  We lose our individuality as human beings, and we become an open book to anyone and everyone.

So keep in mind the old adage: "What goes around, comes around."       

Courtesy of an article dated May 15, 2013 appearing in Fast Company, an article dated May 4, 2013 appearing in CNN Tech, and an article date May 3, 2013 appearing in The New York Times Bits and an article dated May 15, 2013 appearing in VentureBeat

 

DEEP INSIDE A MOUNTAIN IN ITALY, RESEARCH IS BEING CONDUCTED OF A MYSTERIOUS SUBSTANCE KNOWN AS 'DARK MATTER'

Schematic drawing of the Gran Sasso National Laboratory underground facility in Italy's Gran Sasso mountain range (Click Image To Enlarge)

In a man-made cavern, deep beneath a mountain, scientists are hoping to shed light on one of the most mysterious substances in our Universe - dark matter.

The Gran Sasso National Laboratory seems more like a Bond villain's lair than a hub for world class physics.

It's buried under the highest peak of Italy's Gran Sasso mountain range; the entrance concealed behind a colossal steel door found halfway along a tunnel that cuts through the mountain.

At the forefront of the hunt for elusive particles is the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, the largest underground facility of its kind (Click Image To Enlarge)

But there's a good reason for its subterranean location. The 1,400m of rock above means that it is shielded from the cosmic rays that constantly bombard the surface of our planet.

It provides scientists with the "silence" they need to understand some of the strangest phenomena known to physics.

Inside three vast halls, a raft of experiments are running - but with their latest addition, DarkSide50, scientists are setting their sights on dark matter.

Everything we know and can see in the Universe only makes up about 4% of the stuff that is out there.

The rest, scientists believe, comes in two enigmatic forms.

They predict that about 73% of the Universe is made up of dark energy - a pervasive energy field that acts as a sort of anti-gravity to stop the Universe from contracting back in on itself.

The other 23%, researchers believe, comes in the form of dark matter. The challenge is that until now nobody has seen it.

Layout of Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy's Gran Sasso mountain range houses the world's largest underground facility of its kind for conducting research on sub-atomic particles includes Project Xenon which is conducting research for detecting dark matter (Click Image To Enlarge) 

What is dark matter?

• Normal matter gives out or absorbs light to make it visible, but matter doesn't have to interact with light this way
• Astrophysicists calculate that there isn't enough visible matter to explain the rotation of galaxies
• They proposed a type of matter that we can't detect in the normal way - dark matter
• You can't see dark matter directly with telescopes, but its gravitational effect can be seen on visible matter
• Dark matter should be all around us, so scientists are developing new ways to detect these mysterious particles

Dr Chamkaur Ghag, a particle physicist from University College London, explains:

"We think it is in the form of a particle. We have protons, neutrons and electrons and all these regular normal particles that you associate building things with. We think dark matter is a particle too, it's just an odd form of matter in the fact that we don't perceive it very readily.  And that is because it doesn't feel the electromagnetic force - light doesn't bounce off it, we don't interact with it very strongly."

Physicists have called these dark matter contenders Weakly Interacting Massive Particles - or WIMPS.

They believe millions of them are passing through us every second without a trace.

But very occasionally one will bump into a piece of "regular" matter - and that is what they are hoping to detect with DarkSide50.

Inside the Gran Sasso National Laboratory scientists hope to detect that rare event when a particle of dark "stuff" bumps into regular matter (Click Image To Enlarge)

Inside a house-sized tank, a large metal sphere holds a particle detector called a scintillator.

This container is filled with 50kg of liquid argon and a thick layer of the element in its gas form.

Dr Ghag says.

"If a dark matter particle comes in and hits the argon, the recoiling atom gets a kick of energy and it quickly tries to get rid of it.  In argon it gets rid of it by kicking out light; it sheds photons.  But it also gives charge: some electrons that are liberated from the interaction site. And those electrons drift up into a gas layer, and when they hit the gas and you get another flash of light."

As dark matter particles steam through the detector, scientists hope that a few will collide with the argon atoms. This will generate two flashes of light - one in the liquid argon and another in the gas - which will be detected by the receptors. (Click Image To Enlarge)

In DarkSide, dark-matter particles are detected in a two-phase liquid-argon TPC surrounded by a neutron veto of liquid scintillator (spherical vessel), inside 1000 m3 of water to veto muons. Image credit: DarkSide collaboration. (Click Image To Enlarge)

Until now, the hunt for dark matter has proved elusive.

Some experiments claim to have seen signals of dark matter in the form of annual modulation.

This is the idea that the number of these particles we should be detecting changes as the seasons change.

That's because as the Earth moves around the Sun, it is moving into a stationary field of dark matter - and for half the year it will be moving against the tide of dark matter - just like driving into the rain. But for the other half it will be moving with this tide and less dark matter will hit.

But other researchers have questioned attributing these seasonal variations that have been detected to dark matter.

Scientists of the Gran Sasso National Laboratory are conducting experiments to detect dark matter inside a cavernous room underground (Click Image To Enlarge)

Other experiments have run for long periods of times without so much as a hint of the stuff.

One, called XENON100, which is also in Gran Sasso, ran for the course of a year, but only saw two "events" - not enough to rule out that this might have been some stray background radiation.

But with DarkSide50, there seems to be a new push to find some answers.

Alongside this experiment, another large detector - LUX - which is in a gold mine in South Dakota in the US will soon be coming online.

And in the next few years, scientists are planning even more ambitions detectors, such as XENON1T and LUX-Zeplin - they are hoping to find the first experimental evidence of these particles.

Aldo Ianni, from the DarkSide50 team, says:

"Dark matter is really a major scientific goal at the present time.  It will help us understand a big fraction of our Universe that we don't understand at the present time. We know there is dark matter - but we have to understand what this dark matter is made of."

Fruitless search?

Professor Stefano Ragazzi, director of the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, hopes that the first glimpse of dark matter will be in his research facility.

He explains.

"There is competition amongst different experiments - so when you compete you prefer to win rather than coming second or third.  The feeling is that dark matter could be just around the corner, so everybody is rushing to be the first to find it."

However, he admits that there is always the chance that these experiments may find nothing at all - and dark matter may not be in the form of WIMPs.

Professor Ragazzi says:

"We may find that we have the wrong hypothesis… [dark matter] may be something completely different.  But it may be even more interesting not finding dark matter than finding it."

In the next few weeks DarkSide50 will be fully kitted out, the surrounding tank flooded with purified water, and then the scientists will have to watch and wait.

But Dr Ghag says despite the uncertainties, the potential reward of finding dark matter would be huge.

He explains.

"If we did find dark matter, then we'd have done would be to solved one of nature's best kept secrets. And that would have been to have figured out what a quarter of the Universe is made of. That would be a revolutionary discovery - it would change our understanding of the Universe, the way it formed, and the way it will evolve."

COMMENTARY:    

Why Scientists Believe Dark Matter Exists

The following video from Canada's Perimeter Institute For Theoretical Physics explains why scientists believe there is "missing or unseen mass" that does not emit, reflect or absorb any type of electromagnetic radiation or light and is necessary in order to keep galaxies from spinning out of control and breaking apart as they spin.  This missing mass is now referred to as dark matter, or matter that cannot be seen.    

 

The Technology Behind DarkSide50

DarkSide50 is a new experiment that uses novel techniques to suppress background sources as much as possible, while also understanding them well. The programme centres on a series of detectors of increasing mass, each making possible a convincing claim for the detection of dark matter based on the observation of a few well characterized nuclear-recoil events in an exposure of several years. The design concept involves a two-phase, liquid-argon time-projection chamber (LAr-TPC) in which the energy released in WIMP-induced nuclear recoils can produce both scintillation and ionization. Arrays of photomultiplier tubes at the bottom and top of the cylindrical active volume detect the scintillation light. A pair of novel transparent high-voltage electrodes and a field cage provide a uniform drift field of about 1 kV/cm to extract the ionization produced. A reflective, wavelength-shifting lining renders the scintillation light from the argon (wavelength 128 nm) visible to the photomultipliers.

In a two-phase argon TPC, rejection of background comes from three independent discrimination parameters: pulse-shape analysis of the direct liquid-argon scintillation signal (S1); the ratio of ionization produced in an event to scintillation, where the former is read out by extracting ionization electrons from the liquid into the gaseous argon phase, where they are accelerated and emit light through electroluminescence (S2); and reconstruction of the event’s location in 3D using the TPC. The z co-ordinates for the event are determined by the time delay between S2 and S1, while the transverse co-ordinates are determined through the distribution of the S2 light across the layer of photomultiplier tubes.

In a typical target, there are three main sources of background at energies up to tens of kilo-electron-volts: natural β and γ radioactivity, which induces electron recoils; α decays on the surface of the target in which the daughter nucleus recoils into the target and the α particle remains undetected; and nuclear recoils produced by the elastic scattering of background neutrons. This latter process is nearly indistinguishable from the signals expected for WIMPs and requires an efficient neutron veto in the apparatus.

As in other experiments searching for rare events, DarkSide’s detectors will be constructed using materials with low intrinsic radioactivity. In particular, the experiment uses underground argon with extremely low quantities of ³⁹Ar, which is present in atmospheric argon at levels of about 1Bq/kg as a result of the interaction of cosmic rays, primarily with ⁴⁰Ar. The DarkSide collaboration has developed processes to extract argon from underground gas wells, where the proportion of ³⁹Ar is low. A particularly good source of underground argon is in the Kinder Morgan Doe Canyon Complex in Colorado. The CO₂ natural gas extracted there contains about 600 ppm of argon. The DarkSide collaboration has operated an extraction facility at the Kinder Morgan site since February 2010; it has to date extracted some 90 kg of underground depleted argon and subsequently distilled 23 kg to about 99.99% purity. (The throughput is about 1 kg/day, with 99% efficiency.) Studies of the residual ³⁹Ar content of the distilled gas with a low-background detector at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility, Virginia, give an upper limit for the ³⁹Ar content equivalent to 0.6% of the ³⁹Ar in atmospheric argon.

It is not only the argon that has to have low intrinsic radioactivity. Nuclear recoils produced by energetic neutrons that scatter only once in the active volume form a background that is, on an event-by-event basis, indistinguishable from dark-matter interactions. Neutrons capable of producing these recoil backgrounds are created by radiogenic processes in the detector material. In detectors made from clean materials, the dominant source of the radiogenic neutrons is typically the photodetectors, so ultralow background photodetectors are another important goal for DarkSide. A long-term collaboration with the Hamamatsu Corporation has resulted in the commercialization of 3-inch photomultiplier tubes with a total γ activity of around only 60 mBq per tube, with a further 10-fold reduction foreseen in the near future.

To measure and exclude neutron background produced by cosmic-ray muons, the DarkSide TPC will be deployed within an active neutron veto based on liquid scintillator, which will in turn be deployed within 1000 m³ of water in a tank 10 m high and 11 m in diameter, which was previously used in the Borexino Counting Test Facility at Gran Sasso. The liquid-scintillator neutron veto is a unique feature of the DarkSide design and is filled with ultrapure, boron-loaded organic scintillator, which has been distilled using the purification system of the Borexino experiment. The water serves as a Cherenkov detector to veto muons. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that with this combined veto system, the number of neutron events generated by cosmic-rays at the depth of the Gran Sasso Laboratory should be negligible, even for exposures of the order of tonne-years.

The DarkSide programme will follow a staged approach. The collaboration has been operating DarkSide 10, a prototype detector with a 10 kg active mass, in the underground laboratory at Gran Sasso since September 2011. This has been a valuable test bed during the construction of the veto system. It has allowed the light-collection, high-voltage and TPC field structures – and the data-acquisition and particle-discrimination analysis systems – to be optimized using γ and americium-beryllium sources. The first physics detector in the programme, DarkSide 50, should be deployed inside the completed veto system in the Gran Sasso Laboratory by the end of 2012. Looking forward to the second generation, upgrades to the underground argon plants are planned, and the nearly completed veto system has been designed to accommodate a DarkSide-G2 detector, which will have a fiducial mass of 3.5 tonnes.

Courtesy of an article dated February 5, 2013 appearing in BBC News Science & Environment and article dated May 31, 2012 appearing in CERN Courier

SAMSUNG UNVEILS THE NEW 5-INCH GALAXY S4, SETS A NEW HIGH BAR, SET FOR RELEASE IN APRIL ON ALL MAJOR CARRIERS

 

Samsung on Thursday officially took the wraps off the Galaxy S4, a 5-inch smartphone coming to all the major U.S. carriers during the second quarter.

Journalists packed Radio City Music Hall tonight for the big reveal, which – as expected – was brought on stage by Samsung's pint-sized pitchman, Jeremy. Samsung's mobile chief, JK Shin, touted the Galaxy S4 as "a life companion for a richer, simpler life."

Shin said. 

"We are committed to innovation, we are always listening to learn from people around the world about what kind of progress they really want."

The smartphone will roll out with 327 mobile operators around the world in 155 countries starting at the end of April, he said.

The revamped smartphone, which follows last year's Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II is "slimmer yet stronger, less to hold yet more to see, [and] it is simply amazing," according to Shin.

The new Samsung Galaxy S4 (Click Image To Enlarge)

Design and Specs

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is 136.6 by 69.8 by 7.9mm and 130g, the same height but slightly slimmer both in width and depth than the Galaxy S III. The edges are a little squarer than the GS3's, but the phone is still made of plastic. It comes in two colors, "black mist" and "white frost."

There's a 5-inch, 1920-by-1080 Super AMOLED screen on the front with a very tight 441ppi density. New software on board alters the screen's color temperatures based on what kind of content you're looking at, for the best possible view.

 

The processor inside is either a 1.6-GHz Samsung Exynos 5 Octa or a 1.9-GHz Qualcomm S4 Pro, depending on the country. The phone has 2GB of RAM and either 16, 32 or 64GB of storage, plus a MicroSD card slot. It runs Android 4.2.2.

There's a 13-megapixel camera on the back and a 2-megapixel camera on the front. The cameras can actually be used together to shoot picture-in-picture photos and videos.

For networking, the GS4 has EDGE, HSPA+ 42 and LTE; there will also be a CDMA/LTE version. Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, GPS, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, and MHL are all on board as well. An infrared transmitter lets the phone work with the built-in WatchOn software to function as a TV remote and electronic program guide. The phone will support wireless charging if carriers demand it, the company said.

Tons of New Software

The Galaxy S4 has a huge amount of new software and features beyond the Android baseline.

Samsung's director of product marketing, Ryan Bidan said.

"We wanted to give users a device that really understands what's going on around them." 

Samsung groups the new features into four categories.

• "Fun" features include a bunch of new camera modes including dual-camera picture-in-picture, time lapse, and animated GIF, and a "sound and shot" mode which lets you record nine seconds of audio with any image. The built-in "Story Album" app lets you combine pictures with location information from TripAdvisor and then print it all as a paper copy through Blurb.
• "Relationship" features include Group Play, which lets multiple Galaxy S4 phones play the same music track, show the same photos, or play multiplayer games over Wi-Fi Direct; Asphalt 4 and Gun Bros 2 will be the first two multiplayer games to be supported, Samsung said. S Translator builds language translation into both the email program and Samsung's ChatOn chat program, automatically translating between nine languages.
• "Convenience" features include WatchOn, a universal remote control app which works with the phone's IR emitter. It combines data from the Peel electronic program guide along with streaming choices from Netflix, Blockbuster and Samsung's own media store, although it can't access DVRs. Smart Pause pauses videos when you look away. Gesture control lets you scroll the screen or fast-forward music by waving at the screen. Air View lets you preview items like e-mail messages by hovering your finger over them, like you can do with the S Pen on the Galaxy Note. An OCR program reads business cards.
• "S Health" features take on Fitbit and its ilk with a built-in pedometer, environmental sensors and diet guide. Samsung will sell Fitbit-like bands for people to wear when they aren't carrying their phones with them, and the biometric data will sync back to S Health, the company said.

All of these features interact with the new Samsung Hub, a unified app, movie, video, book and music store that will appear on Galaxy S4 phones.

No Samsung event would be complete without a theatrical performance. Samsung showed off the Galaxy S4's camera functionality with a scene at an Upper West Side dance studio, where Jeremy's mother was all set with the GS4, but his classmate's dad was out of luck. Then, of course, Jeremy tapped danced – all captured by the new Galaxy S4.

Flash to two friends traveling around the world, which gave Samsung the chance to show off S Translator, as well as photo album options. In concert with blurb, Galaxy S4 owners will be able to order hard copies of their albums for $10-$30 for a 20-page album.

To cut down on the distracted driving, meanwhile, S Voice Drive features bigger fonts and bigger text to speech for drivers. It's intended to serve as an in-car personal assistant, and allows users to respond to texts, calls, and other messages by voice.

For those in cooler climates, meanwhile, the Galaxy S4 works for those wearing gloves.

Availability and Carriers

The Galaxy S IV will come out on all four national U.S. carriers plus U.S. Cellular and Cricket between April and June of this year; Samsung didn't cite a price.

T-Mobile has set up a pre-registration page, but the other carriers had few other details about the Galaxy S4 at this point.

Jeff Bradley, senior vice president of devices of AT&T said.

"AT&T was the first to deliver Samsung's Galaxy series and we are excited to bring the Galaxy S4 to the nation's fastest 4G LTE network.  We continue to offer our customers a broad choice of devices and features to fit any mobile lifestyle, and look forward to growing our family of Samsung Galaxy devices."

Fared Adib, senior vice president of Product Development at Sprint said.

"Sprint is excited to bring the benefit of Truly UnlimitedSM 4G LTE data to the U.S. variant of Galaxy S 4 in the second quarter of this year.  Our customers will appreciate the ability to use Galaxy S 4 to surf the Web, share pictures and videos, and use this smartphone as much as they want without worrying about throttling or overage charges on their monthly bill due to data caps."

COMMENTARY:   Let's take a look at a Specifications Comparison between the new Samsung Galaxy S4 versus the iPhone 5, HTC One and BlackBerry Z10 to determine how Samsung's new Galaxy S4 measure up against three major competitors:

Specifications Comparison - Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Apple iPhone 5 vs HTC One vs BlackBerry Z10  (Click Image To Enlarge)

As you can readily conclude from the above Technical Specifications comparison between the Samsung Galaxy S4 and three other leading smartphones -- Apple iPhone 5, HTC One and BlackBerry Z10, the S4 is clearly superior in every major technical specification.  

The Samsung Galaxy S4 (left) and the HTC One (Click Image To Enlarge)

The latest slick software accoutrements give the S4 a continuation of the bragging rights it gained when it released the S3.  Of special note are the S4's four software features:

• "Fun" features, which now includes dual-camera picture-in-picture, time lapse, and animated GIF, and a "sound and shot" mode which lets you record nine seconds of audio with any image.  Very cool indeed.
• "Relationship" features, which allow users to interact with others by sharing content like multiplayer games, music and photos. This includes Group Play, which lets multiple Galaxy S4 phones play the same music track, show the same photos, or play multiplayer games over Wi-Fi Direct; Asphalt 4 and Gun Bros 2 will be the first two multiplayer games to be supported, Samsung. The S4 comes with Samsung’s S Translator tool that enables you to speak in one language and have the phone translate to another.  When someone responded in Chinese, the phone typed out his words in English. It supports several other languages including French, Spanish, Italian and Portugese.
  
• "Convenience" features, provide a storehouse of intuitive and automatic features to help improve the overall S4 owner experience.  This includes WatchOn, a universal remote control app which works with the phone's IR emitter to faciliate video stream from Netflix, Blockbuster and Samsung's own media store.  My favorite convenience feature is Smart Pause which pauses videos when you look away.  The Gesture control lets you scroll the screen or fast-forward music by waving your hand over the screen.  The Air View control lets you preview items like e-mail messages by hovering your finger over them, like you can do with the S Pen on the Galaxy Note. An OCR program reads business cards.   The S Voice Drive voice recognition feature outclasses Siri. You can ask it to read your email out loud and ask the phone to respond to a text message while you’re driving. Now that's cool.
• "S Health" features, provides a built-in pedometer, environmental sensors and diet guide. Samsung will sell Fitbit-like bands for people to wear when they aren't carrying their phones with them, and the biometric data will sync back to S Health, the company said. That's a neat medical device that is sure to attract the attention of athletes and the health conscience.  

Although Samsung lost a patent infringement suit against Apple in 2012, and demonstrated stone cold audacity and defiance by paying the settlement in coins -- $2 billion worth -- and delivered by several armored trucks in front of Apple's HQ, it now has the last laugh.  It is now giving those arrogant bastards at Apple lessons in innovation and oneupmanship.      

 

It remains to be seen whether Samsung's S4 has climbed to the level of a "super-smartphone" or "best in class," but from what I have seen and read so far, there is no doubt in my mind that Samsung has "raised the bar," finally supplanting Apple when it comes to new smartphone product innovation.  Apple's iPhone 5 clearly looks drab, tarnished and very ordinary (albeit with a few differentiators like SIRI), for it is now Samsung that has "put a dent in the Universe" and will make S4 customers "lust" over their new smartphone when they go on sale in April 2013.   Makes you kind of wonder "what Steve would've done", doesn't it.....     

Courtesy of an article dated March 14, 2013 appearing in PC Magazine and an article dated March 14, 2013 appearing in C|NET

ENGINEERING STUDENTS FROM PENN'S GRASP LAB DESIGN SWARMING AQUATIC ROBOTIC TO BUILD BRIDGES

 

The idea of creating autonomous robotic swarms is nothing new, a concept that's been demonstrated by GRASP Lab's quadrotors. What needs to happen now is for developers to push the technology forward and come up with practical applications for these cooperative bots. A good example is the new Tactically Expandable Maritime Platform (TEMP) — a fleet of programmable robots that could someday come to your rescue.

Penn GRASP Lab engineering students tinker with floating robotic shipping containers a.k.a. TEMP at the Penn swimming pool (Click Image To Enlarge)

In conjunction with DARPA, TEMP was developed by the University of Pennsylvania's Vijay Kumar and Mark Yim. They recently put together a scale model of their aquatic system and tested it in a swimming pool. Eventually, the swarming boats will each occupy a space similar in size to a standard shipping container.

The modular boats are designed to work together to hook-up and form a desired shape, such as a floating platform. The TEMP system will also utilize rapidly deployable sealift, airlift, logistics, and medical care capabilities (some of which will also be robotic).

 

For it to work, Kumar and Yim had to figure out a way to get each robot to work smartly and autonomously — and without getting in the way of each other. For their experiment, they created a fleet of 100 individual robot boats, each one measuring about a foot-and-a-half in length.

Along with a set of algorithms, the team equipped each bot with a unique visual identifier that can be read by a camera (kind of like a QR code). With this system, each robot knows where it stands in relation to all the others. Once scaled up to real size, the boats will use a GPS to determine their precise location.

TEMP robotic mini modules floating in the Penn swimming pool (Click Image To Enlarge)

Each boat "knows" its physical proportions, along with its overarching goal — such as instructions for building a bridge. Once they get the greenlight, the collective bands together to finish the task. When they've shimmied themselves to the right place and orientation, they use a hook-and-tether system to connect themselves to each other. The technology to do this was developed by QinetQ NA (who will eventually make the full-sized boats).

Yim through a UPenn statement said.

"We give them a structure, and then each boat figures out where to go and in what sequence to go to make that structure." 

DARPA says.  

"The ultimate point of the project is to enable humanitarian assistance and disaster relief over broad coastal areas without dependence on local infrastructure, using unmodified commercial containerships, thus freeing military ships to carry out other military missions."

Moving forward, the developers will have to anticipate non-ideal real-world conditions, such as storms and choppy waters. Eventually, DARPA hopes to see the system applied to disaster recovery and delivering humanitarian aid.

It's not clear, however, if it'll ever be built. According to DARPA, "Due to cost constraints, an integrated demonstration of the complete TEMP system is not planned, but the core amphibious and air vehicle technologies are being considered for continued development to support a variety of military missions."

COMMENTARY:    I think this is a great idea, but when it comes to scaling this to full-size shipping containers, it is going to take a much stronger and more sophisticated tethering system to tie those containers together so they don't bop up and down too much or separate from each other.  What happens if one of the containers has mechanical issues? The TEMP system must be homogenous so that one broken container can be immediately replaced by another. 

Courtesy of an article dated March 1, 2013 appearing in io9

NEW VIDEO SHOWS HOW GOOGLE'S GLASS AUGMENTED REALITY GLASSES WORK FROM THE WEARER'S POINT-OF-VIEW

A beautiful young lady wears a pair of Google's new augmented reality glasses (Click Image To Enlarge)

Developers, start your laptops. Google depicts how it'll feel using the augmented reality headset.

Google's Glass augmented reality hardware isn't yet available and the project's development is generally kept secret, but the company has now released a video that gives us a hint about how its user interface will work. In it many users are seen interacting with Glass's systems. The video shows the point of view of normal vision plus the Glass augmented reality-style window in the field of view.

Googler shows what Google's new augmented reality glasses see from the wearer's point-of-view (Click To Enlarge Image)

Users demonstrate searching for information, taking a picture or recording video, and even asking for a Google translation into Thai.

 

In many ways, these are the same details we've seen in other Glass PR stunts, but this conceptualized video shows it from the "inside" glass point of view, presumably to demonstrate the power of the device and its seamless UI. Google has recently allowed developer access to Glass hardware, and will soon be releasing 8,000 new headsets to promising app developers. Still, a consumer launch is not expected any time too soon.

COMMENTARY:   Since I last blogged about Google's Project Glass, a lot has happened, and it looks like things are cranking up and preparation are being made for a launch in either late 2013 or early 2014.

Facebook Wants A Piece of the Google Glass Action

Face1book founder, Mark Zuckerberg, can’t wait for the Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) release of its Google Glass device. The tech entrepreneur made the comments at a charity function that both he and Google founder, Sergey Brin, were attending. According to Forbes, this is what Mark Zuckerberg said about Google's new augmented reality glasses.  

“I can’t wait to get my own.”

There is a heated rivalry between Facebook and Google, as both companies compete for the same advertisement revenue. The firms’ executives are not above honest appreciation of each others products, as evidenced by the statement from Zuckerberg.

Both tech luminaries were attending an event at the University of California medical campus at Mission Bay. They were there promoting the Breakthrough Prize For The Life Sciences, a new $3 million award for excellence in the Life Sciences. Brin and Zuckerberg are both prominent backers of the prize.

Brin, who has been spotted sporting Google Glass eye wear in public since last May, was wearing the device at the event, and offered Zuckerberg a sneak peak at their capabilities, fixing his pair onto the CEO’s head at the back of the hall after media comments. Google Glass is billed as a social experience, that means that Facebook integration will be absolutely necessary.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin demonstrates Google's new Glass, the wearable internet glasses shown at the Google I-O conference in San Francisco, June 27, 2012 (Click Image To Enlarge)

Despite the growth in Google’s own social platform, Facebook is still the gold standard in social networking. Google will need absolute cooperation from the Menlo Park company if its glass product is going to succeed, and judging by the mood surrounding it, it will need all the help it can get.

Here's an early video when Google announced Google Glass back at Google I/O 2012:

 

Google announced just two days ago that it would offer Google Glass to early adopters for $1,500 a pair. In order to avail of the offer, hopefuls will have to fill in an application demonstrating their ability to add to the Google Glass project. Developers have already been able to apply for a pair.

Facebook employees will no doubt be involved in the development of applications for the device, though it remains to be seen whether or not the firm will be able to release an early application. The firm showed weakness with its release of poor iPad apps more than a year after that products release.

Facebook will be essential to Google Glass in the early days. The product will almost certainly require apps specifically designed for it. It does not seem like full web pages will be useable on the device. If Zuckerberg’s comments are anything to go by, Facebook engineers might jump right in.

Warby Parker To Design Glass AR Frames For Google

In a blog post dated April 18, 2013, I reported on what Fast Company felt Google needed to do in order to make its Glass AR glasses a commercial success.   It now appears that Google listened. A New York Times report claims that Google is talking to Warby Parker, the online glasses store with a heart, and it's one of Fast Company's Most Innovative in Retail 2012, in an attempt to make its glasses look like something you'd want to wear out without making people point, scream, faint (optional) and shriek, "Cyborg, Incoming!" when they see you.  Neither firm, of course, would comment on the claim, which emanated from "two people briefed on the negotiations." The current model is glassless, but there is an idea to fit them with either tinted or prescription lenses. There is still no clue as to when Google Glass will be available, but the firm yesterday ratcheted up the excitement another notch with this, the If I Had Glass project. Consider yourself cool, curious, creative, and a U.S. resident over 18? Should Google feel the same about you, then you could become an Explorer (nothing so mundane as testing, eh?) for the project.

Google Glass Undergoes FCC Tests

Earlier this month, it was reported that the F.C.C. has been giving the glasses the once-over.  Every electronic device that transmits radio signals must undergo FCC tests and meet stringent radio frequency and communications requirements before a product is approved for the commercial market. 

New York Fashion Week Test Drives Google Glass

Google Glass AR glasses have been seen out in the wild at New York Fashion Week last September, at DVF's runway show (she later released a short film, DVF Through Glass, about the specs).

Apple iWatch Under Development

Snapping at the heels of Google's AR glasses could be the iWatch, a wearable gadget which, according to a report last week, has 100 product designers seeing to its every whim.

From the look of things, Google is taking extra care and is very serious about launching Google Glass AR glasses, and doing it the right way.  From everything I have seen so far, I think the era of wearable electronic devies is about to take a significant jump into our daily lives, and tying the whole thing with a social platform, whether its Google+, Facebook or Twitter, makes obvious sense for enriching our online experience in a new and more dramatic fashion than we ever thought possible.  

The $1,500 price tag is hefty, but there will always be a small group of early adopters ready, willing and able to pay the price for the next new thing in electronic gadgetry.  The fact that that Google is making it a requirement that buyers fill out an application demonstrating that they can add to the overall Google Glass project user experience, makes it appear very likely that the initial launch rollout will be to a relatively small group of customers.       

It also seems very likely that the first owners of Google Glass AR glasses will be running an a Google app that will integrate the glasses with Google+.  I have often commented that Google+ users are mostly affluent male social media and technology geeks, so this could be a rich proving ground for the new Glass AR glasses.  You can expect a lot of the will already be Googler's.  

This also raises a lot of questions as to how Google intends to make money off of Glass AR glasses.  I don't think it will be the glasses themselves, but a grand plan involving mobile ads appearing in the lens.   Example:  If I look at a McDonald's restaurant while wearing a pair of Glass AR glasses, the software will recognize McD's and immediately prompt me with a small add promoting a free fries if I buy a Big Mac.  I think that's Google's grand scheme to monetize Google+, by making users much more pro-active within its social platform, and then coupling the whole thing with advetising.  

Google could also integrate Google Glass AR glasses with your moble phone to give you instintaneous location information and tell you how many of your Google+ fans are nearby, what they are doing, and you can either text them or call them from your smartphone.  

The capabilities are endless, and Google is about to change the social media landscape several notches.  Whether it will share this technology with Facebook and Twitter remains to be seen.  I know that Zuck would love a pair of those AR glasses, and he probably will get a shot, but I have a feeling that Google may not want to integrate the Facebook or Twitter platforms with its AR glass technology, keeping that competititve edge for itself.  This makes me very happy, since I am already a Google+ user.  :) 

Courtesy of an article dated February 20, 2013 appearing in Fast Company and an article dated February 21, 2013 appearing in Fast Company and an article dated February 20, 2013 appearing in IGN

4MOMS "ORIGAMI" STROLLER, A BABY STROLLER FOR TECHY MOMMIES

4Moms Origami Stroller (Click Image To Enlarge)

Strollers are all the same and haven't changed for decades. That's why 4moms developed the Origami power-folding stroller. At the touch of a button, it folds itself. It's also a cell phone-charging, mileage-counting, LCD-sporting stroller, with generators in the rear wheels that charge it as you walk. Plus, the Origami has daytime running lights, pathway lights for low-light conditions, and sensors that detect when a child's in the seat (so it'll never fold by accident).
From power folding to cell phone charging, the Origami is what strollers should be.

Click Image To Enlarge

 

COMMENTARY:  Now that's what I call an incredible baby stroller.  It's one cool looking stroller for today's modern parents. If you can afford a new iPhone or iPad, then you can afford an Origami stroller.  Besides, it's for your baby.    Origami strollers sells for $849.99.  Origami stroller seats or kits come in five colors (black, hot pink, blue, green and red) and sell for $99.99.  The Origami stroller comes with an optional Origami Graco SnugRide® Series Car Seat Adapter so you attach your baby's car seat to the Origami stroller.  All three can be ordered through the Shop 4Moms online store  Origami stroller's are very pricey, but they are not your ordinary stroller as you can see from the above video.  Reviews for the Origami stroller have been excellent.

Courtesy of an article December 14, 2012 appearing in Mashable

DELL: STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN CHINA BEATING OUT U.S. COUNTERPARTS WHEN IT COMES TO USING MOBILE DEVICES IN THE CLASSROOM

 

According to Dell there are quite a few things that the U.S. can learn from China when it comes to meeting students technology needs.  According to the findings: 

1. China is more likely to integrate technology into all curriculum,
2. Chinese students spend more time using technology in school, and
3. Chinese teachers are more technologically savvy according to students

Please include attribution to BrainTrack.com with this graphic.

 Click Image To Enlarge

COMMENTARY:   It would appear that there are several stark differences between how Chinese students use technology devices in the classroom compared to students in the U.S.   Chinese students are more likely to use their devices to colloborate with other students, use technology in all of their classroom curriculum and for technology training.  In the U.S. students are more likely to use technology for classroom research and special assignments.   57% of all Chinese students use technology in the classroom 1-2 hours per day, compared to only 30% of U.S. students. 96% of Chinese students are more like to bring their own technology devices to school, compared to only 69% in the U.S.  Chinese students (79%) and teachers (90%) are getting more technology training compared to the U.S. students (41%) and teachers (24%).   Chinese students consider their teachers more tech savvy than them, where the reverse is true in the U.S.   

It is very obvious from Dell's findings, that U.S. students are lagging behind their Chinese counterparts when it comes to technology in the classroom, and this is probably due to demographic and economic reasons.  The Great Recession and spending cutbacks in the schools has left teachers to fend for themselves.  Many students are the children of a single parent, and the parents are unable to afford technology devices for their children.

Courtesy of an article dated January 16, 2013 appearing in BrainTrack.com

NASA’s NEW Z-1 SPACE SUIT WITH ITS FLEXIBLE JOINTS USING BEARINGS LETS ASTRONAUTS DRESS IN SECONDS

EVEN THE TOUGHEST, SMARTEST ASTRONAUT LOOKS SILLY GETTING DRESSED FOR SPACE. BUT A NEW SUIT DESIGN WILL MAKE THE PROCESS NEAR-INSTANTANEOUS.

If you stepped into the vacuum of space in whatever you’re wearing now, you actually might be okay. You won’t pass out. Your blood won’t boil, nor would it instantly freeze. (Our skin and circulatory systems actually hold in our gas and gunk pretty well.) So long as you make no attempts to hold your breath as the air exits your lungs, you might even enjoy the moment. But you’d only have about 30 seconds before you began sustaining long-lasting injuries. As NASA once explained:

"Various minor problems (sunburn, possibly "the bends," certainly some [mild, reversible, painless] swelling of skin and underlying tissue) start after ten seconds or so. At some point you lose consciousness from lack of oxygen. Injuries accumulate. After perhaps one or two minutes, you’re dying. The limits are not really known."

 

To view interview with Amy Ross, Space Suit Engineer, Part 2 click HERE.

So in other words, while you could walk in space without a suit, you probably shouldn’t try. Which is precisely why NASA works so hard on refining its space suits.

The Z-1 is their latest, and it’s designed for planetary exploration, right down to the Buzz Lightyear paintjob.

Its innovations are largely in the flexible joints, fitted with bearings in the waist, hips, upper legs, and ankles (to make retrieving rock samples and running from alien species more feasible), along with all of the new materials found in the “heavily engineered” inner suit, which include urethane-coated nylon to retain air and polyester to help the suit hold its shape.

But the Z-1’s pièce de résistance is its inventive back port, which allows the suit to latch into a planetary rover as part of its outer shell. This port also means that astronauts can simply slide from the vehicle into the suit, getting dressed instantly before detaching and walking on the surface of another planet. Just as important, the suit is already perfectly pressurized, too, meaning that astronauts can avoid some of the deep-sea-diver-esque pressurization routines that make trips outside the ship such a hassle.

Sadly, the Z-1 won’t actually make its way into space. But as it’s polished into Z-2 and Z-3 forms, the new Z suit will eventually reach realization in 2017.

COMMENTARY:  NASA's Z-1 space suite is the first new space suit design in 20 years - and has turned it into a hatchback.   It's important to keep in mind that the present Z-1 is an early prototype and a more finished prototype will not be ready until 2014.  As hard as I tried, I could not find a price for the Z-1 space suit, but you can bet that they will be expensive considering all the added technological innovations incorporated into the suit.  The following infographic highlights the key features of the Z-1 and compares the suit with both the Apollo and NASA space suits in use since 1982.

Click Image To Enlarge

Courtesy of an article dated January 2, 2013 appearing in Fast Company Design and an article dated January 2, 2013 appearing in Global Economic Intersection

HYPERSTEALTH CORP DEVELOPS CLOAKING TECHNOLOGY THAT REALLY WORKS, U.S. MILITARY SHOWS KEEN INTEREST

 

Over the past few years there have been tantalizing reports that scientific progress was on the cusp of creating a real life invisibility cloak. But upon a closer reading, these experimental technologies didn’t amount to much beyond reminding us just how far off we are from the fictional universe of Harry Potter.

• University of California researchers announced last year that they had developed a metamaterial fully capable of hiding objects from the naked eye. The breakthrough does, though, lose much of its luster considering that they’d still have to figure out a way to scale up the technology to mask objects beyond the size of a red blood cell. 
• Duke University just last month announced a diamond-shaped design that bent light around an object so perfectly, it even concealed shadows. Too bad the illusion only worked when looking straight and in one direction.

HyperStealth Biotechnology Corp. created the following mock-up photos to show the public what they claim their 'invisibility fabric' (Click Image To Enlarge)

Now, a little-known Canadian defense firm called HyperStealth Corp claims to be closing in on a breakthrough technology that should soon lead to a true, in every sense of the term, invisibility cloak. And to allay skeptics, company CEO Guy Cramer told CNN in an interview that they’ve even garnered strong interest from the U.S. military after demonstrating to officials how the fabric’s light-bending properties prevent the wearer from being detected entirely.

 

Development of the material codenamed “Quantum Stealth” has been kept shrouded in secrecy. The project’s web site reveals very few details about how the technology actually works, except that it’s lightweight, inexpensive and reduces 95 percent of an object’s shadow. The page also includes a few mock-up photos that illustrate what the material’s remarkable camouflaging effect would look like, along with an explanation from Cramer as to why they’ve decided to at least go public with their design.

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According to the site, Cramer started to receive a lot of attention from the media after giving a talk at a military trade show about the company’s development of an inexpensive and lightweight “light-bending material.”   He said.

“After enough press had been written on the subject, the U.S. Military Command finally asked to see the real material to verify that it worked.  Those meetings took place with very limited ‘Need to Know’ access and the technology is now moving forward.”

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If substantiated, the implications are tremendous. Snipers would be able to position themselves covertly with very little risk of being spotted, while troops could use the cloak to elude capture or to carry out surprise raids against enemies. On a more ambitious front, the invisibility-inducing material may even someday enable aircraft and ships to take the notion of “stealth” to a whole new level.

However, Cramer says that, once available, it’s likely that only the military will have access to the Quantum Stealth’s special effects, at which point, it’ll be hard to hide the collective excitement.

COMMENTARY:   Guy Cramer, President and CEO of HyperStealth, said that there have been similar inventions over the years but his is the only one with a 360-degree view.

He said he isn’t able to discuss details or do demonstrations of Quantum Stealth for security reasons, but claims several military groups in Canada and the U.S. have expressed interest.

Cramer said.  

“We’ve also got a countermeasure for the device to be able to detect it.  It [costs] about $100 to $200 per soldier which is about what their uniforms are costing them right now.”

Only mockup photos are currently available to the general public.

Colin Worth, a recently retired RCMP officer, said he went to Ottawa with Cramer to demonstrate Quantum Stealth in front of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Worth said. 

“I don’t have a vested interest in the company or the technology, but I’ve seen it work.  The stumbling block last time I talked to Guy was how does he make it big enough and how does he make it portable enough to work in a real life situation?”

Worth said that he signed a secrecy and confidentiality agreement so he isn’t able to give any details, but said “stuff just seems to disappear. It’s weird the way it works but it does work.”

Bill Jarvis, a retired Navy Seal, also said he has seen the fabric work at U.S. Military Command meetings.

Cramer said that he would consider marketing Quantum Stealth to the general public only if the military allowed him to do so.

He hasn’t been approached by any Harry Potter fans yet.

On October 19, 2012, Guy Cramer, President/CEO of Hyperstealth Biotechnology Corp. announced its new cloaking technology called "Quantum Stealth."  Here's a copy of that press release.

Quantum Stealth; The Invisible Military Becomes A Reality By Guy Cramer, President/CEO of Hyperstealth Biotechnology Corp. from turk5555

Courtesy of an article dated December 11, 2012 appearing in SmartPlanet and an article dated December 13, 2012 appearing in MetroNews