Archive for the 'Science' Category
After I have blogged about VoIP , I now have MSN and GTalk permanently installed on my work PC; GTalk through web GMail permanently, with Gizmo Project and Mercury occasionally on my Powerbook. The problem is, MSN and iChat offers video chat, audio chat as well as IM but GTalk offers audio chat and IM only. While there are methods and applications that offer crossed platform IM, audio and video chats are seemingly only available with the same application on both ends. Adding the different computers and OSs, Gizmo Project is pretty well the only application that can do both audio chat as well as IM when both ends have it installed or IM only when just one end has it installed with the other end having some other IM client install; and GP works on both PC and Mac.
Here comes the Web 2.0 age.
Well, actually social networking services have been around for a couple of years. While I have only just been invited to join my first social networking service, I found out there are many of them around such as Facebook, Windows Live Spaces, MySpace, Google orkut,…… The list goes on and on. I don’t want to have to join 50 services just to be able to do one thing with all my friends and colleges.
It would be nice to be able to consolidate different types of applications into one suite like that of Windows Live or Google. Still, not everyone are installed with the same suite. While I am using GMail, GTalk, and GCalendar, I could use G.orkut which would integrate at least the “contact” (email address book) very well; but no, friends used MSN Live Messenger and/or Facebook (Hey, which one has most babes anyway?). Just like we have many languages in the world, modern communications are just not as simple as the plain old landline telephone.
So what do we have now? Direct SMS/MMS (video calls with 3G phone), SMS relay notification, over cellphones; Push Mail, mobile web, IM, VoIP over smartphones? Then there is the different cellphone systems over the 5 Continents. Unless you have the top end cellphone nowadays, you may be carrying 2 or every 3 different cellphones if you travel around the world often. Many many ways but all with different hardware/software. Carrying chargers alone could back your back.
Ohura! Scotty! I want that universal translator online and I want it now! I kiss all humanoid females, alien or otherwise!
In ST:Voyager, the EMH Doctor’s altered ego mentioned the Photonic Cannon.
Here comes the photonic laser thruster which could reduce a 6 month trip to Mars to just one week!
Some recoil.
In the Outer Space. What was shown in Star Trek:Voyager episode Night and later The Void is as real as reality can be. The latest real one found is much bigger in size and is much further away than the Delta Quadrant.
“It is 1 billion light years across of nothing. That’s an expanse of nearly 10 billion trillion kilometres of emptiness.”
It seems to be completely empty. It is said that not even dark matters exist there.
Sometimes I feel like there are 23 of these in my brain…
Coincidence?!
The largest predatory fish ever lived.
Do they still exist?
The Cover Story of Wired issue 15.02. A very interesting read.
Science Revealed. An excellent science information site and podcasts, which is great for kids and adults alike, now also has video podcasts in 5G iPod or PSP format and are also viewable on PC or Mac with iTunes with QT7.
Viewing a SciQ video podcast on the way back from ShenZhen.
Looks like a couple of friends are having mold problems.
The environmentalists are pushing for a 25.5 degree celsius air-conditioning temperature for Hong Kong in order to further protect the environment. The problem with that idea is, unless you have one of the latest mildew and mold proof air-con units, most air-cons over 5 years old and quite a few new ones don’t work so well under these temperatures in HK.
Since HK is such a humid area in the hot summer, add sweat and body odor to a constantly closed office full of workers with some smokers at higher than 23 degree celsius, you’d get smelly air-cons. Add flu to it and you’ll get an office empty of ill workers.
At home, I have older air-cons with dehumidifying mode which uses much less energy than air-con mode. I also have a dehumidifier for day time use since it uses even less energy but generates too much noise for a good night sleep. I also have fans to keep the air circulating so running air-cons at 24 degree celsius would not give that awful smell. Alec’s air-con is new with mold proof function and proven to run at 25 without the smell but then again it is new, I don’t know whether keep running it at high temperatures would make it smelly in the long run.
To save the environment, turn off those idling cars, taxis, vans, buses, trucks, boats… and along with that, quite smoking.
A first paving the way for Commander La Forge’s?
WhaUSay?!