The Ford Mykey

2012 Ford Focus photographed at the 2010 Washi...

Image via Wikipedia

Parents who feel a little uneasy about allowing their teen to drive may want to consider the Ford Mykey. This programmable ignition key is a remarkable piece of technology, it allows parent’s to be “backseat drivers” even when they are not in the car. With this special key, parents can control car speed, block explicit radio content, control radio volume and remind their teen to put gas in the car. What could be better than that?

It is free

The Ford Focus will carry this addition as a free standard feature. That means for no extra cost Parents can purchase a vehicle that meets their needs and goes the extra mile in keeping their kids safe.

How does it work?

Parents program the Mykey by using an Admin key to start the car and change the Mykey settings on the dashboard. The settings can only be changed by an Admin key insuring that parental decisions are upheld.

Automobile crashes are the number one cause of death for teens and automakers are doing their part to ensure the safety of vehicles. Safety technology includes everything from night vision, blind spot detection and even sensors that can alert drivers to pedestrians. Not just for parents, anyone concerned about safety can find technology that encourages peace of mind.

 

Filed Under: General, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Has Technology Improved Instant Replay in Sports?

Professional and collegiate sports have woven technology into their respective games to help decide the outcome of controversial calls with the use of instant replay.
If this technology is so wonderful, how come professional baseball, soccer and basketball haven’t followed suit?
In the most recent World Cup in South Africa, several crucial calls were missed effecting outcomes of games on the world’s biggest stage. Although the technology was there, the International Soccer Federation chooses not to use instant replay.
With technology in sports replays improving dramatically in recent years it makes you wonder how the officials still get it wrong sometimes. While we at home see the replay in 10 seconds and have a good idea what the outcome will be, the official takes over five minutes and still comes back with decisions that leave fans incensed and home viewers shaking their heads.
While technology has dramatically improved the officiating in college and professional sports, it still has room for improvement. One thing this technology has done is create more grey area between fans and officials as seldom talked about rules come into play that fans and home viewers don’t understand.
Professional baseball and basketball have missed some crucial calls in recent years that have cost team’s playoff berths or advancement in playoff length.
Several years ago, Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash was brutally assaulted on the side-line and no foul was called. While Nash bled like a stuck pig, not playing, the San Antonio Spurs rolled past the Suns and into the NBA finals.
Three years ago, San Diego Padres involved in a non-call at home plate that cost them a spot in the playoffs.
While some fans find the technology too slow, it is likely to improve in years to come. It is also likely that Olympic sports and those sports like baseball and basketball will one day have instant replay.

Filed Under: Internet, Search Engine, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The World through the Internet

10112010559
Image by Guardian Cardiff via Flickr

The Internet is not just important to the business world or those who are wanting to work from home, the use of the Internet in the classroom has opened up the world to many students who would never have been exposed to it previously. It is easy to guess that a large percent of it’s use is to use as a research tool. Another way it has enriched the classroom and it’s students is as a tool as a friendship ambassador. What is meant by this is that the teachers are developing their friendships with the teachers of other countries and are now including their students.

In other words, there is no longer a need for pen pals writing the antiquated way. This is all happening with the Internet now. Classrooms are paired off according to interests or locations. The students can write to the entire class or pick an individual. This can be used as a tool for language learning, but, really, any subject can benefit from this team work learning. Many classes share projects and write newsletters back and forth. Some have done projects and have asked the sister schools to answer some of their questions.

Still other schools have decided to make this a larger focus and are working on combined projects that have the potential to be of service and help to each city.  They are using the Internet as a way to provide for their own communities by first helping the other. This has culminated in groups of students traveling to the area to work on the projects that years ago could only be theorized on paper. The students return home to share their adventure and experience with the attentive student body.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: IP Address Database, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Thermal Fingerprint Developer: Advancement in Fingerprint Technology

3D fingerprint
Image via Wikipedia

Conventional fingerprint visualization techniques are highly manual. They also eat up time and resources. Various soluble staining substances are used to get the fingerprints to emit light. Thermal fingerprint developer technology uses heat energy to get the fingerprints to show up, and show up fast.

Developed by some students at the University of Technology Sydney, this technology will go a long way in determining the future of fingerprint technology. Forensic science stands to benefit from this technology. Due to the high toxicity of the chemicals used to obtain fingerprints, heat is the best replacement-option available as of now. Toxic chemicals have to be handled carefully. Care has to be taken as to not to let them get into the human body.

Instead of playing with toxics, fingerprint technology that uses heat is the safer option. Fingerprint images can now be viewed more clearly. Heat being the only raw material here, toxic chemicals can be done away with. Chemicals used in traditional fingerprint analysis are expensive. Thermal fingerprint developer technology puts paid to this problem by being an inexpensive alternative.

Any kind of material will be skimmed and examined by this technology. Be it paper, glass, or even porous materials. Being so powerful, this new thermal technology can literally “see” everything. Fingerprints cannot stand a chance to go unnoticed.

A forensic equipments manufacturer has developed a working model of the thermal fingerprint developer technology. Forensic equipment manufacturers feel that this new technology has the potential to be used effectively in crime scenes. More than that, it can also be used to detect duperies in official documents. Forged checks, bank statements, or any kind of fabrication of documents, can be checked for fingerprints. Using thermal techniques, documents don’t need to be dyed, in order to take fingerprints; rather a heat analysis is done to generate fingerprints sketches.

Thermal fingerprinting can have extensive usage in crime scenes that are acts of terror. Explosives have last-left-fingerprints on them. Conventional ways of using stains and developing the fingerprints will make way for a better way of developing fingerprints using the Thermal Fingerprint Developer technology.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Technology Tagged With: , , ,

Cloud Computing: Reducing Costs, and Increasing Efficiency

Diagram showing three main types of cloud comp...

Image via Wikipedia

Cloud computing has changed the way software is used. Desktop applications are giving way for Internet based software applications that you can use as a service. Just like your Internet service, software can be used only up to the point you might want to use it. What this means is, that you just pay for what you use. It is akin to a water supply system. The more you use, the more you pay.

Companies are using the flexibility that Internet technology offers to move their software services to a cloud-computing model. Software technology companies are now embracing Software as a Service (SaaS) model to offer pay-for-use software services.

Cloud computing technology reduces a software company’s overall costs. There is a drastic reduction in operational expenses. Hardware costs are minimal. With a minimal maintenance cost, software companies can rely on the cloud computing services partner to look after their software apps.   And with other cost-cutting software like the FTP software File Zilla businesses can transfer files back at forth to the cloud for no cost.  All in all, the cost of ownership reduces, and efficiency increases.

Cloud computing technology offers a robust system for upgrades. Clients of cloud service providers don’t need to do a lot. They can seamlessly transition upgrades, customizations, or any other change to their software applications to the cloud on which they reside. All these factors indicate the agility, and flexibility of cloud computing technology.

IT companies can also cut down on their maintenance costs, by doing away with in-house personnel who manage these applications. Instead they could just pay the cloud services provider, a small fee, to manage their applications. By doing this, they will not only get cost-efficient support, but also world-class support, that is competitive.

Small software technology companies have benefited immensely from the cloud-computing model. Since IT infrastructure costs are high, setting a full-fledged system administration capacity is not feasible. Answering this need is cloud computing, with the backing the technical competencies of an able cloud service provider.

Established companies provide most cloud services. Software firms can rely on these companies, since only the big players can implement cloud-computing technology. Companies with strong technical and organizational competencies can only develop this technology.


Filed Under: Computers, Technology Tagged With: , , ,

Pros and Cons of a Wireless Keyboard

Most everyone would love a wire-free environment and with a wireless keyboard you’ll be on your way to obtaining that goal. A wireless keyboard works exactly like a wired keyboard but now there are no unsightly wires to get in the way. These wireless keyboards utilize infrared beams to transmit the data between the computer and the keyboard.

These infrared rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths that are shorter than radio waves but longer than visible light. The computer has a radio frequency receiver that gets the data transmitted by the keyboard. This is also possible with Bluetooth technology where there would be a Bluetooth antenna. When a wireless keyboard is utilized, it has to be within the range of the infrared rays or beams as they are also called.

One of the cons of this approach is the lack of availability. The typical computer comes with a wired keyboard and a wireless keyboard usually has to be purchased separately. They can also be more expensive than a wired keyboard and sometimes that difference can be quite a lot. There is also the chance of something interfering with the infrared rays that would make the wireless keyboard hard to use, slow or not usable at all.

However, even with the few disadvantages of a wireless keyboard, the advantages usually outweigh them. There is less clutter, the user has more room to be in a comfortable position and there is much more room to move the keyboard around on a desk or even in a person’s lap. Last of all but one of the most important advantages is that there is no more need of hooking up wires. This makes installation a breeze rather than having to move the computer tower to locate where the wiring will need to go. Simply compare prices on wireless keyboards and you should be able to find one at a price that you can live with.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Computers, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Blue Tooth Technology for Computers

A Bluetooth USB dongle with a 100 m range. The...
Image via Wikipedia

Bluetooth technology lets PC users eliminate the need for cables to connect their computer accessories. Since the devices are actually connected to a computer via wires, they can be used remotely. For example, a Bluetooth keyboard can control a computer connected to a television across the room, or you can utilize a Bluetooth printer from another area in your home so that anyone in your family can access it.

Before you can utilize a Bluetooth type of tool with your computer, it has to be paired with the computer. Every Bluetooth device has its own individual code. The Bluetooth menu on your computer system allows you to have the computer search for Bluetooth devices in your vicinity, and then input the pairing code for the accessory you would like to connect to the computer in order to pair the devices together. Once paired, you can use your Bluetooth device for a number of functions.

You can use a Bluetooth device for a number of accessories such as printers, your mouse (if wireless), keyboards and even cell phones. You obviously must have Bluetooth capability on your system in order to use it but if you do not, there is another option which is to plug in a USB Bluetooth device.

While Bluetooth has a limited number of feet for it to function, most functions you want to perform are within that range such as using the keyboard, mouse or setting up a printer. If the computer is out of that range, typically 15-33 feet, you will not be able to use the device since the radio signals used to transmit the data will be too far away from each other.

A Bluetooth device is perfect for ridding your computer area of unnecessary wiring and clutter so you can have more room to work and enjoy your Internet experience.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Computers, Technology Tagged With: , , ,