UPCOMING TECHNOLOGIES

       
 
Now, charge your mobile phone with water

 

WASHINGTON: Researchers in Sweden have developed a new technique where you can charge your devices anywhere without electricity, provided there is a water source nearby. Just add a spoonful and get instant power, anytime anywhere.

Handy for anyone who spends time away from electricity, the small, lightweight PowerTrekk could power critical devices for warfighters and aid workers deployed to remote areas of the world, Fox News reported.

Developed by a team in Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology and made by MyFC, it's the world's first water-activated charging device that powers using fresh or salt water, the developers claimed. It can extend battery life up to 3 watts.

So if you take an iPhone, the charge would be enough for between 25 and 100 per cent of its battery capacity. Any convenient water can be harvested for power, from a kitchen faucet through to a puddle in the jungle.

Solar charging can be affected by the weather and the position of the sun, of course, and not hugely helpful if your urgent power shortage hits at night. Water charging isn't hindered by these external factors. Even in a desert, a spoonful of water from your thermos can give you power.

The new device leverages the team's more than 15 years of research on micro fuel cell technology and small flat Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells at the Department of Applied Electrochemistry at KTH.

To use the PowerTrekk charger, you fill-up water compartment with about one tablespoon, close the lid and connect it to the electronic device with a USB cable. It starts charging automatically as the water inside interacts with a small disposable metal disc causing hydrogen gas to be released.

When the gas combines with oxygen it converts chemical energy into electrical energy. While in many ways fuel cells are similar to batteries, they are different in that electrodes do not become consumed making them finite.

Instead provided water and air is provided to the electrodes, these fuel cells will run. Very green power, water vapor is the only by-product.

Currently, Powertrekk works with devices like cell and smartphones, digital cameras, iPods and GPS. The company is looking into developing their fuel cells to function for larger devices like laptops.
 


 





 Nine reasons why you should get the new Kindle
The new Kindle is out and  now it is powered with WiFi and 3G with the same 6″ reading area but overall the device is smaller. Probably that’s the first reason somebody will opt for Kindle but its more to reading that device is trying to change than actually asking you to buy it on the first hand.
  1. It’s not shiny: When you read a book, something very shiny and glossy on the pages make it a bit of distraction and not attractive. Why ? You keep on looking there when you should have spent time exploring books. The new Kindly is has High Contrast E Ink which makes the text look darker and gives paper like experience.
  2. You can take it to the beach : It’s not bulky, you don’t need wires and on top you don’t to put the device into sunshade  instead of you being there to read the book.  Kindly is perfectly NO GLARE. Read it on the road, in full sun doesn’t matter.
  3. Wi-Fi : Amazon did a smarter thing to compete with other reading devices. Instead of locking users to use their service or taking from their store, Users are not free to get the books over Wi-Fi, so if you are at Starbucks you will probably stay there for bit longer.
  4. 3G : This has been on lot of countries already but for countries like India where 3G is going to be rolled out soon, adding 3G support was smart. Though 3G will cost data plan charges but many people who have unlimited plan will like to use 3G. Getting the books on the go anywhere finding Wi-Fi is a bit of pain, 3G is the best option.
  5. Battery Life like you dont have to charge : The new Kindle battery lasts for 1 month. Yup that’s like you charge it once and you forget it. In case you even forget the charging device you are not like running out of it in next 3-4 hours. This is one of the best-selling point Kindle has.
  6. PDF Reader with more horns : – The PDF reader that comes along with kindle has power of dictionary lookup, ability to take  notes and also highlights texts which you like. This makes it an idle tool for making me come back to same book again and just read important points.
  7. Your Kid can carry it :  The new kindle looks like a calculator which is light but it’s just little bigger than that. Seriously you kid can carry it without you worrying much of that getting dropped somewhere. It weights only 8.7 ounces and is as long as a standard pencil.
  8. More Storage : You can have 35K books stored. Well I don’t think I can even read  10% of that in my life time but for a person who likes to make collection will not run out of storage for sure.
  9. You can check your E-Mail: Last but for users who would love to get on Internet from Kindle do have an option. This new New WebKit-Based Browser , though experimental, can take you anywhere and if you plan to check your email etc, you don’t have to turn on the laptop just for it.
The new Kindle is available in 3 versions.




                       An experiment


Google has recently announced the trial run of it’s new project, fiber-to-home internet access at the speed of 1 Gb per second. Google is seeking information from interested municipalities in America about locations to build the network. It plans to serve around 50,000 to 5,00,000 people in it’s initial phase.










Google says:
Our goal is to experiment with new ways to help make Internet access better, and faster for everyone. Here are some specific things that we have in mind:
Next generation apps:  We want to see what developers and users can do with ultra high-speeds, whether it’s creating new bandwidth-intensive “killer apps” and services, or other uses we can’t yet imagine.
New deployment techniques: We’ll test new ways to build fiber networks; to help inform, and support deployments elsewhere, we’ll share key lessons learned with the world.
Openness and choice: We’ll operate an “open access” network, giving users the choice of multiple service providers. And consistent with our past advocacy, we’ll manage our network in an open, non-discriminatory, and transparent way.
Even though the service will be launched in selected markets, this is a big step toward the much needed revamp of ISP market all over. It’s pretty clear that Google is preparing and making it’s first step for the future of it’s online based products and not to forget, Chrome OS which entirely based on cloud computing.



Bluetooth 3.0

This is one of the no-brainers on the list. The Bluetooth 3.0 specification will be released this year and devices will start to hit the shelves by 2010. At this point, it's expected that the 3.0 spec will include faster speeds, reportedly transferring files at 480 megabits per second in close proximity and 100 megabits per second at 10 meters. It will also feature an ultra-low-power mode that Gartner predicts will enable new peripherals, sensors, and applications, such as health monitoring. The technology will be backwards compatible, allowing old devices to communicate with new ones, so there's no reason for it not take off in the upcoming years.


Windows 8 in 2012, Beta as Early as 2011


Microsoft started dropping the first Windows 8 references as early as March 2009; yes, long before Windows 7 was finalized. And the next iteration of the Windows client and server operating systems are now taking shape in Redmond. The software giant already confirmed officially that Windows 8 client and Windows 8 Server are being developed in parallel. Just as it was the case for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Still, the company is mute on the evolution of Windows, including features, capabilities, the actual timetable, etc.


within three years after the GA of its predecessor. 



The successor of Windows 7 is planned for availability  

Microsoft said it would impose such a rhythm after the release of Windows Vista, promising to never again repeat the gap between Windows XP and the delivery of the OS initially codenamed Longhorn. It took the software giant less than three years after Vista’s general availability to offer Windows 7 to customers around the world, and the same is valid for Windows 8. 

In this regard, Windows 8 is reportedly planned for release by mid-2012, some two years away. Mary-Jo Foley reveals that the planning stage for the platform has been already finalized, and that Microsoft already wrapped up the first Milestone for Windows 8. Some Softpedia readers might still remember that Windows 7 M1 (Milestone 1) was served to early adopters for testing at the end of 2007, with the first copies leaking as early as 2008, a year after Windows Vista hit store shelves.

150 million sold copies of Windows 7 later, we are now at a little after eight months since the latest major version of Windows was released, and almost a year since it RTM’d. Just the right time for Microsoft to start the actual coding for Windows 8.

The company is bound to produce a few Milestone releases of Windows 8, before actually taking it to the next level, and producing the first Beta build. If Windows 7’s development process offers any clues, Windows 8 could hit Beta as early as mid-2011, a year from now. Of course, all reports related to Windows 8 need to be taken with a grain of salt, since no actual details were confirmed by Microsoft.