Sorry all folks out there, it is really getting tough to be regular. Any way, for this weeks roundup, we have lot of hands on stuff. Not any theory, or theories in the making. We are going to see some pretty real stuff. Its people like these who give make use of all the technology that comes up. From discussion on various electricity standards around the world, to glitch art and paper art we have some amazing things made by some amazing people.
Electricity around the world: We all at least those of you who have traveled in more than one country have faced this issue. Your laptop charger or your mobile charger does not fit into the point there. And even if it fits, you may be witness to some great fireworks if there is some difference in the specifications. Now we have a site which brings out all the world standards at a glance. Next time you travel you know what to carry or at least what to expect. This website by Conrad H. McGregor also contains more information on the driving sense in different countries, the international paper sizes, international bar codes and so on. Its really a must for all those travellers out there.
Paper Art: Su Blackwell has an amazing work of art. See for yourself this beautiful piece made from book cuts. For more of his masterpieces go to his site at http://www.sublackwell.co.uk/index.htm.
Glitch Art: Looks like art is the flavor of the day. How many of us have seen glitches on screens, be it be TV, your calculator, that new camera or the inseparable monitor. Ant Scott turns this glitches into art. A good collection of glitches and he goes on to explain the story behind each. Impressive I would say.
History: Continuing in the same vein, let us see two sites which offer an insight into the past. One titled Historical Photos, contains a very nice collection of aero engines, dog breeds, steam engines and many more from the past. One more site that caught my attention was The Cathode Ray Tube Site. This site has on display the history of various tubes. It has nicely divided the tubes into CRTs, Camera tubes,X-ray tubes and so on. Thus providing us with an easy navigation. An informative site and a must for all tube enthusiasts.
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I have a lot to write. However, my schedule prevents me from doing it the way I would have wanted to. I was pressed to find a solution? The solution, publish a summary of things that I felt was interesting and would interest you. Until I can write regularly or we have more people contributing this space, this might be the arrangement. Please continue reading for the first ever wiztec weekly roundup.
FTIR: This is about FTIR (Frustrated Total Internal Reflection), nothing new but something very interesting with promise. Read on what Han a researcher at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences has to say about it. The touch driven interface is so lovely. Catch Han in a video on TED in TEDTalks in Monterey. (source Slashdot.org)
Update: Check this video by Han at TED 2007.
Virtual Fabric: Another thing that interested be was this blog on Engadget. There is a research going on in University of Geneva that will incorporate touch into your online shopping. Now will that not be fantastic. Now will it be a success !! Whatever happened to online aroma sensing, that I last heard of when I was in college.
Penny Powered LED: Have you ever wondered what you would do with all your old coins that have piled up since your fad for coin collection passed. Of course you can always display it to no one in particular or give it to your child who does not need it. Now you need not worry about all this, Makezine brings you an interesting way to power a LED. Check this following link on one of the many ways to put those pennies to use.
Alien World: Since you are already on flickr, have a look at the following pics in the album Halloween 2006. Those of you who shudder at the thought of aliens please refrain from clicking this link.
Visual Search: Gadgetell brings to us a search engine "Quintura". One more search engine, yes it is, but it might hold your interest for a few more seconds than that one more search engine. What appeals to me is the following features it has to offer. "Context Management", "Dynamic Data Clustering", "Visual Symantic Map" all these coupled with a friendly clean interface. The search results themselves look very impressive, though I cannot comment much until I put it to extensive use.
First Speaker Phone: Many a times the past looks more beautiful than the present and the future. More so when it is presented in a elegant manner. Another one from Makezine is a post on "First Speaker Phone". The phone for sure is impressive. However, what hooked me is the blog itself. This blog named Modern Mechanix, has the history of many things, categorising them under various heads of Automation, Computers, Aviation, Cool and so on. Its is a must in the feeds of all blogdicts.
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