 |
Personal Tech
haptics
The longer I wait to make my predictions for 2008, the more accurate I expect they'll be.
For example, I foresee (hands on crystal ball, now) "haptics" becoming one of this year's big technology buzzwords.
And that is because it already has, of course.
Haptics, which add the sense of touch to sight and hearing in virtual reality, let neurosurgeons wield instruments in more realistic, and therefore more useful, operating room simulations.
Industrial designers can also use haptic devices to feel the weight and shape of their inventions before they build prototypes.
And randy members of Second Life might soon find that haptics can bring a whole new level of intimacy to their scripted lovemaking furniture.
But this year, most of the talk about digital touch has been limited to phones, such as Samsung's AnyCall Haptic. It has a roughly two-inch touch screen and 22 vibration modes, each suited to a specific application. The screen simulates the bump-bump-bump feel of a mechanical click wheel when you spin the image with your finger.
The AnyCall comes with Bluetooth and a 2-megapixel camera, which is a tad better than most. It also has a drag-and-drop GUI, and you can create icons on the desktop to quickly open the apps you use most often.
Sadly, as with the best Korean phones, you will have little luck finding the AnyCall outside of Seoul.
Samsung is introducing a touch-screen phone similar to the AnyCall in Europe this spring. No word yet on stateside delivery for either of the phones, however.
Internet radio
Tune in to thousands of channels
Thank the gods: The Internet has saved radio from its bland state, one wrought by robo-DJs and the mighty corporations that control the airwaves.
Tens of thousands of broadcasters now stream content over the Net, as do countless other Internet radio entrepreneurs.
But until recently, there was no dial you could turn to surf and explore the new medium.
If you are desperate to hear WZBC, but prefer not to tune in via iTunes on your computer, you can now use a WiFi radio to do it.
The Revo Technologies Blik WiFi Radio (about $200 at Firebox.com) updates its list of 10,000-plus stations (from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, really) each time you turn it on.
The radio sorts the stations by genre or geography. It's easy to surf the control buttons on the Blik and its remote control.
My wife, Lisa, liked the Blik's looks. Its perforated shell reminded us of the exterior of the Battlestar Galactica.
The radio has an audio line out to your stereo system. But even its built-in speakers sounded pretty good.
The trick with the Blik is that your WiFi network has to be visible, or discoverable, for the Blik to lock in on it. That means other folks in your neighborhood can see your network, too, peeling away one layer of security. The Blik supports WiFi encryption protocols, however.
Ubicomp
Keeping score
Are you one of Boston's sports-challenged?
It's no fun standing around the watercooler with nothing to say when everyone else is talking about how the Red Sox game went down last night, inning by inning.
That's one reason I hide in my home office. I cannot talk sports, and that makes me an alien in Red Sox Nation.
Ambient Devices' (ambientdevices.com) Baseball ScoreCast will give you the ammo you need to talk the city's official language of line scores and standings.
Baseball ScoreCast (about $125) also lists starting pitchers, along with schedule information.
And you don't need an Internet connection or a service subscription.
The Baseball ScoreCast isn't as pretty or as clever as Liveboard (myliveboard.com), the classic-looking desktop scoreboard that I love to rant about.
ScoreCast, about the size of paperback book, is a bit dull looking, with a black-and-white LCD screen.
It uses Ambient's wireless InfoCast Network, which beams scores and stock figures to the company's always-on data appliances. One of those is the Football ScoreCast, which I told you about last fall.
Innovative last week
Alarm wakes you with music, pictures
I've heard urban legends about alarm clocks triggering heart attacks, with their clanging bells and ear-piercing beeps. For some, I imagine the sight of the person beside them also being enough to send them running "toward the light."
But there is more than one way to wake up. And not all of them are so scary.
The Philips PhotoFrame Clock Radio (about $130) has a seven-inch color display that plays images and videos from your nightstand. You can load the images to the clock via USB, or with an SD card.
Your audio wake-up options include the radio, a buzzer, and "sounds of nature," according to Philips.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
