12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

[vt]

http://www.wired.com/2015/12/gift-gu..._12115#slide-x

[Thailandnotes]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

Some drool for the future, others drool for the past.

[vt]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

Certainly much to be said for the tried and true.

It would be interesting to have a discussion on what old ways still work better than the current ones.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

...It would be interesting to have a discussion on what old ways still work better than the current ones.

Here's one, vt.
When I do woodworking, I find that old-style hand tools are sometimes faster than my power tools, and sometimes give a better result.

When I edge glue two boards, a hand plane is much faster than setting up my router table to make the glued faces flat, and my hand plane give a better finish than my power jointer.
Same for using a hand saw rather than a power saw for just a few quick cuts.
And for using a hand plane and shooting board rather than a power saw to trim miters and to square the ends of boards.
And chisels rather than a router table for adjusting the fit of dovetails or mortise and tennons.

I use my beloved power tools for all the heavy work and for making many pieces the same.
But at least half the time a 200-year old technology does a better job faster.

[shiny!]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

It would be interesting to have a discussion on what old ways still work better than the current ones.

If you still value privacy, old-fashioned letters written on paper and mailed in envelopes.

I'm a slow adopter of technology. Only last month did I get a little MP3 player to take my music to work. I don't own a microwave oven or a smartphone. But I switched to induction cooking three years ago and never looked back. It's like something out of science fiction.

[dcarrigg]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

http://www.wired.com/2015/12/gift-gu..._12115#slide-x

A $700,000 personal plane...a $133,000 television...a $50,000 camera...a $3,600 ice cream maker...

This list doesn't make one drool for the future so much as for millions of dollars...if you're into that sort of thing...

[vt]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

Very true DC. Early adopters pay top dollar.

Here's some developments that may benefit billions over time:


BioScience Meet Computer Science
By Matthew Pollotta | November 30, 2015 | 1365 views - TechTics Weekly

1. A Primer on Genome Editing

The human genome is fundamentally the blueprint for how we’re built at a cellular level. It determines what we look like and, more or less, our physical abilities. It also determines our propensity for any number of biological deficiencies such as cancers or poor eye site.

The obvious application to this is the correction of deficient genomes held within human embryos. Which, as you might expect, is up for debate as to the ethics of such an operation. The opportunities, however, are already there.

A less obvious application for genome editing is how it will provide advances for the preclinical studies of vaccines and drugs. An excellent investment opportunity when such offerings are eventually made available to big pharma.

Source: Scientific American

2. Light Based Microchips and Quantum Computing

New developments in light manipulation are allowing scientists to edge ever closer to a consumer level quantum computer. The practical application to this technology, once stabilized, is almost infinite.

Every industry the world over would be revolutionized. These findings were part of a coop effort by members of Harvard and Peking University. When the finding do eventually make their way to practical applications early investors could find quite the payday.

Source: LiveScience

3. What is Li-Fi?

For all of the advancements in Wi-fi it will always have the drawback of having been built upon the radio spectrum. A spectrum that can easily become saturated and deliver diminishing returns or as industry experts call it “spectrum crunch.”

Li-fi is a new proof-of-concept that utilizes LED lights to transmit data. And by LED lights we mean LED light bulbs that can be theoretically applied to almost any light emitting source form billboards to standing home lamps.

The technology is still in its infancy but could be fast tracked to an early adopters market.

Source: Smithsonian

4. Bio-Electronics

Biomass based computers have been a long standing sci-fi trope but the day may soon be coming where such occurrence are very possible. Magnus Bergen at Linköping University in Sweden has turned an everyday rose into a living transistor.

The findings could open new doors to agricultural stability with crops that could report real-time on health. The, subjectively, more exciting application is the possibility of biologically grown computers finally merging living tissue with robustness of machines.

Source: New Scientist

5. Advances in Nano-Particle Drug Therapy

Drup delivering nano-particles have been not the medical and pharmaceutical radar for quite some time. A long standing issue has always been removing the nano particles from the blood after the treatment was complete. The solutions may have finally arrived.

The solutions works by sending an electric current through the plasma creating a momentary gap by which the nano-particles can be separated. The wonderful thing about the technology is that it requires no changes to the plasma or nano-particles.

[Woodsman]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

Here's some developments that may benefit billions over time...

Nanoparticles. That's nice. But if we're serious about helping billions, why wait until "someday?"

Today there’s 1.6 billion people on the planet who don’t have access to electricity. Tomorrow 783 million people won't have access to clean water. Friday 2.5 billion won't have access to adequate sanitation. And on Saturday 22,000 children will die in extreme poverty.

Okay, so it's not as sexy as nanoparticle drug therapies and none of us will make a penny off of it. But if it's billions we want to help, maybe we could start with keeping people out of the dark, freeing them of the need to drink fetid water, and providing a sanitary place to use the loo?

[vt]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

The development of these new technologies are no different than the past efforts of scientists around the world that have since saved millions of lives. Progress is accelerating but results are not instantaneous.


http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-...ccine-Delivery

http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/timelines/all

[lakedaemonian]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

Nanoparticles. That's nice. But if we're serious about helping billions, why wait until "someday?"

Today there’s 1.6 billion people on the planet who don’t have access to electricity. Tomorrow 783 million people won't have access to clean water. Friday 2.5 billion won't have access to adequate sanitation. And on Saturday 22,000 children will die in extreme poverty.

Okay, so it's not as sexy as nanoparticle drug therapies and none of us will make a penny off of it. But if it's billions we want to help, maybe we could start with keeping people out of the dark, freeing them of the need to drink fetid water, and providing a sanitary place to use the loo?

Is that "we" in the figurative sense, or the literal?

I helped 25,000(some literally living in caves) receive electricity in a remot location where it didn't exist.

I'm good. Your turn!

Do "we" even want to help billions of people?

I don't.

Not if it comes with a high risk of negatively impacting on my children's future.

Is that selfish? Absolutely.

But then again 1 child's death of dehydration/gastro bugs up close and personal is a devastating tragedy, while 10,000 starving to death or dying of cholera 10,000km away is just a social media statistic where "likes" and "shares" make people feel better about themselves but achieve absolutely nothing.

I keep thinking of Calhoun's Universe 25.

And while some smart folks can make compelling arguments I can agree with that humans will eventually problem solve their way into the future(keeping those hamster water bottles and gerbil food pellets flowing), nature and human innovation/creativity abhors straight lines.

I'd rather see the reduction of those billions to keep the rat cage a little more cosy and a little less Soylent Green-y in hopes we can get a few monkeys off this rock someday.

I'm with you on "fighting the man" Woody, but you're on your own when it comes to saving the billions of poor at the bottom.

There is no Star Trek future for us.

If we develop virtually unlimited cheap/clean energy upon which the Star Trek universe is based, we'll weaponise it and kill each other by lunchtime.

I think the best we can hope for is a Blade Runner-y future, and get off this rock someday. But that best case scenario has mega ghettos too.

Until the herd gets thinned, I'm sitting back with my www.picobrew.com a 1st world problem of deciding on which beer to make next with it using my Samsung S6.

I think I'll go with the Golden Bitter, but how will I be able to cask condition it? Now that's a serious problem in need of solving.

The Picobrew or its new little brother the Pico should have made that list!

I'm offended, and in need of a safe place.

[Woodsman]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

Is that "we" in the figurative sense, or the literal?

That's great, lake. You keep swinging that hammer. Bound to hit a nail sometime. I can't help but think that if parents can be assured that their children won't die of diarrhea, there might be a bit less of a need for your considerable expertise and willingness to exercise it. I don't like the idea that a child has to die so I can have a bigger television or car, but admit that I am part of the problem just the same.

[lektrode]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

....
I'm offended, and in need of a safe place.

heh!
i'd stick with deciding on what the next beer will be.

That's great, lake. You keep swinging that hammer. Bound to hit a nail sometime......

congrats woody!
looks to me like you just turned off another tuliper with your 'peeyu.gilistic' style

methinks you just hang out here to wrestle with anybody who doesnt conform/laydown/bendover+spread'em to the 'new whirled order' thats puking out of the tenured professoriat's ivory tower (of doom) and their twisted sense of 'fairness' thats taken over most all the lamerstream media along with the PC gestapo thats taken over most of the campuses!

case in point?

just overnight, from what was near continuous, endless blathering-on about mostly NUTHIN - since they - the talking heads - didnt know much more than what we could see on the 'live/constant coverage' for over an hour during last nights BIG DISTRACTION (not to minimize the event, that was horrible enough in and of itself) - but here we are the next day and THE BIG STORY is now dropped to 'headline #4' ?

and WHY IS THAT?

because the shooters aint whitemeat/redneck homeslices pickin on someone of color?

and - EVEN BETTER - they also aint exactly yer common disgruntled working class/white trash humps either...

nooooo sireee, what its looking more an more EXACTLY LIKE: our 'very own' jihadis have started to 'come out' LOUD AN PROUD?

so what happens?

the BIG STORY from last nite is now 'headline #4' as they continue to have us believe that theres no reason to stop the 'celebration of diversity' and that GUN CONTROL will be back in the news any day now - just as soon as o'whatshisname gets thru giving away whats left of the US treasury - in the name of climate change - over there in gay paris

[dcarrigg]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

because the shooters aint whitemeat/redneck homeslices pickin on someone of color?

To be honest, I assumed they were yesterday. Couldn't imagine who else would want to shoot up a welfare office in the inland empire...

[dcarrigg]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

Very true DC. Early adopters pay top dollar.

I think you're right for the TV. Probably eventually 8k tvs will come down and price and be more widely disbursed.

But ice cream makers aren't getting any cheaper. Neither are airplanes or cameras. They're all over 100 year old technology now. They aren't expensive due to 'early adopter' fees. They're just plain expensive and frivolous. Too expensive and frivolous for 99.9% of people to ever have.

[DSpencer]

Re: 12 Gadgets to make you drool for the future

I'd rather see the reduction of those billions to keep the rat cage a little more cosy and a little less Soylent Green-y in hopes we can get a few monkeys off this rock someday.

I'm a big fan of space travel and the idea of colonizing other planets. However, I don't see it ever making sense as an alternative to keeping the Earth healthy. Depending on your level of optimism the nearest earth-like planet is probably 10 light years away. Even if we can attain 1/10 of lightspeed that means it's 100 years away. And we still may not know if it's really habitable at all. If you think earth is crowded, try living your whole life on spaceship.

We could probably get to Mars without major technological breakthroughs. But why? It's ridiculously cold, the atmosphere is thin and toxic, it's not protected well from radiation. If you detonated every nuclear weapon on earth and killed every living thing on Earth and then moved to Antartica, it would probably still be more habitable than Mars.