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Dr. Samuel Says
Let There Be (Tolerable) Light Print E-mail
Smart Design
Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.   
Friday, 22 June 2007

I can't prove this, but I have a working hypothesis that fluorescent lights , of the variety typically deployed in offices, are more than simply depressing -- they can actually suck the life-force right out of you. I did some work for Quantico back in the 1970s, and for security reasons was assigned to an office approximately 17 doors away from the closest natural sunlight. The overhead fluorescent lights gave everyone a delightful corpse-like glow, and began my lifelong hatred of argon plasma.

Last Updated ( Friday, 22 June 2007 )
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The Warmth of the Sun Print E-mail
New Toys
Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.   
Thursday, 21 June 2007

Interesting item today on the solar-powered gadgets beat. Reminds me of my days at NASA, when I headed up a program that put solar arrays in orbit to beam microwave energy back to earth. I'm not kidding . The program was called off when we accidentally broiled several offshore islands in the Caribbean.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 21 June 2007 )
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Mickey Mouse Contraptions Print E-mail
New Toys
Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.   
Wednesday, 20 June 2007

Reporting from the 2007 Software Exhibition of Korea today. I've had a frustrating few weeks in the lab -- my attempts to introduce artificial intelligence to the undergarment industry are going nowhere fast. Turns out, people don't really want Smart Underwear . And the AIs aren't crazy about where they're being dispatched, either. So I figured: road trip. South Korea in June is always lovely. Anyway...

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 June 2007 )
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Not Your Father's Taxicab Print E-mail
New Toys
Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.   
Tuesday, 12 June 2007

An outfit called TaxiTech announced today it has won approval to offer passenger touch-screen computers to New York City's 13,000 or so taxicabs. Clearly, TaxiTech has recognized our current cultural crisis -- a desperate need to increase the time we spend in front of a computer monitor.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 12 June 2007 )
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Biometrics for the Rest of Us Print E-mail
New Toys
Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.   
Monday, 11 June 2007

All right! More news I can use. The New York Times recently reported on the latest in biometric convenience -- the fingerprint-scanning home door lock . Unlike ultra-high end biometrics used for corporate or military security, the SmartScan lock is simple, relatively cheap ($199), and self-contained. That is to say, the fingerprint recognition system is strictly local and built into the mechanical hardware of the door lock itself. It can't be hacked.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 12 June 2007 )
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Cultural Decadence Corner! Print E-mail
Rants
Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.   
Wednesday, 06 June 2007

The history of consumer electronics is littered with failed gadgets, crazy inventors, and breathtakingly bad ideas. Then there's the iShave. I'm not saying these two sentences have anything to do with one another; they just happen to be adjacent.

 

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 06 June 2007 )
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Cultural Decadence Corner! Print E-mail
Smart Design
Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.   
Wednesday, 06 June 2007

The history of consumer electronics is littered with failed gadgets, crazy inventors, and breathtakingly bad ideas. Then there's the iShave. I'm not saying these two sentences have anything to do with one another; they just happen to be adjacent.

 

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 06 June 2007 )
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The iPhone Cometh: Gadget Rapture Print E-mail
Rants
Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.   
Monday, 04 June 2007

According to some TV ads aired over the weekend, and Apple's website, the much-heralded iPhone will officially hit store shelves June 29. Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone at last January's MacWorld Expo, where it was unveiled with a reverence and awe typically reserved for Biblical artifacts.

Last Updated ( Monday, 04 June 2007 )
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The iPhone Cometh: Gadget Rapture Print E-mail
Smart Design
Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.   
Monday, 04 June 2007

According to some TV ads aired over the weekend, and Apple's website, the much-heralded iPhone will officially hit store shelves June 29. Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone at last January's MacWorld Expo, where it was unveiled with a reverence and awe typically reserved for Biblical artifacts.

Last Updated ( Monday, 04 June 2007 )
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Playstation: It's All About Sitting On Your Butt Print E-mail
New Toys
Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.   
Monday, 21 May 2007
You know, the researchers I like to hang with -- extrasolar metallurgists, notional physicists -- tend to diss gamers. But I can tell you for a fact that these kids today have synaptic reflex numbers and hand-eye coordination stats that are simply off the charts. My nephew Aaron, for instance, is a complete savant with massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs).
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 30 May 2007 )
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News You Can Use: Anti-Kitty Keyboard Covers Print E-mail
New Toys
Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.   
Monday, 21 May 2007
Here's a perfectly good example of industrial design scaled down to my practical concerns -- the Kitty Keyboard Kover. As many home office workers can attest, cats simply love to walk over keyboards. Whether this is due to some primal creative writing instinct, or is simply a byproduct of the feline genius for annoying, it's certainly a familiar modern dilemma. The Kitty Keyboard Kover, despite that unfortunate acronym, takes an admirably direct, low-tech approach.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 22 May 2007 )
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Heavyweight Bout: TV v. Fridge Print E-mail
New Toys
Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.   
Monday, 21 May 2007
Somehow I suspected it would come to this: "By 2012, it will be safe to say that televisions will use more power than the average refrigerator in an average household." That's my old friend Keith Jones of Digital CEnergy Australia, consultant to the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) and former General Manager of Panasonic TV (Australia). Keith and I anchored the Pan-Pacific Volleyball Team back at Stanford in the late '70s.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 22 May 2007 )
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