Journalism

Four young technologies that will change the world

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

A look at some of the technologies that will affect the way we live in the near future

While the 20th century was packed with technological breakthroughs and discoveries, the 21st century could go one, or many steps further. In the last decade we’ve seen iTunes turn the music industry upside down, and the social media revolution forever changed the way we communicate, along with the rise of the smartphone. Check out the list below to find out which technologies are expected to affect the way we live in the years to come.

The Internet of Things

TIoT

Image via silabs.com.

If you think the Internet is all about your smartphone and staying connected with friends, you’ll be surprised to know that the Internet is increasingly becoming about objects communicating with other objects. Actuators and sensors are appearing on more devices so they can monitor surroundings, receive instructions, and share feedback. Currently there are over 9-billion devices connected to the Internet, and that number is expected to rise to a trillion in the next decade.

According to the director of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Carnegie Mellon University, Ed Schlesinger, traffic among devices will exceed the conversation among people and between people and devices. Read More

Charge all of your electronics with one device

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

thingCHARGER is a simple way to wirelessly charge all of your electronics

Whether it’s a smartphone, a tablet, or a reader, many of us rely on multiple electronics on a daily basis, and all of them require charging. Since each device comes with its own charger, having them plugged into the same outlet at the same time can become a tangled mess. But with thingCHARGER you can resolve that issue, as it wirelessly charges all of your electronic devices at once.

thingCHARGER

thingCHARGER powers up anything USB, including iPhones, Androids, Kindles, and tablets. You simply plug it into an empty outlet, place your device on top of one of the interchangeable tips (depending on what you’re charging), and you’ll be charged up in no time. Read More

Turn your ordinary gloves into touchscreen compatible ones

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

Liquid solution transforms all gloves into touchscreen gloves

If you own a touchscreen device and wear gloves, Nanotips is the best solution to poking your useless, bundled up finger on your screen. Formulated using nanotechnology, Nanotips is a conductive polyamide liquid solution that transforms ordinary gloves into touchscreen ones by mimicking the touch of human skin.

Nanotips Glove

Not only does Nanotips upgrade any pair of old gloves, it can also be used to restore existing touchscreen gloves, which wear out over time. With enough liquid in each bottle to treat multiple gloves, you don’t have to be limited to the select few that have touchscreen compatibility. Depending on what you use your gloves for, each application of Nanotips can last from a couple of weeks to a few months, and when it wears off, all you have to do is simply re-apply. Read More

Royal Caribbean uses 80-inch HDTVs to create virtual balconies

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

80-inch HD displays show close to real-time video from the front and back of a cruise ship

Booked your cruise too late and missed out on a window suite? There’s no reason to be bummed out, because for latecomers who would like the waterside experience, Royal Caribbean is offering what they call “virtual balcony staterooms.”

Royal Caribbean Virtual Balcony HDTV

Made of 80-inch floor-to-ceiling HD displays, the TVs show close to real-time video from the bow and stern of the ship, shot on RED Epic HD cinema cameras, complete with audio. In order to operate correctly in the sun, heat, salt and water, the cameras are marine compliant and weathertight. Fiber-optic cable carries the video to a server, then to a set-top box that decodes and processes the video before it’s displayed on the screen. Read More

Four technologies that don’t realize they’re dead yet

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

A look at some everyday electronics that are nearing extinction

Remember the days when you would patiently wait for the fax machine at the office to send over those important documents? Then you’d go home to pop your favorite VHS into the VCR? Though it may seem like it, that wasn’t too long ago, and now a fresh batch of electronics we use quite often are on their way to joining those devices in retirement. They just don’t want to believe it.

Computer mouse

Computer Mouse

Image via Microsoft.

The idea of not using a mouse to navigate your way through a computer was science fiction 10 years ago. Now, due to the use of tablets and smartphones, the mouse is on its way out. It’s predicted that in about five years, the cost of adding capacitive touch capability to screens will be so inexpensive that displays from large-screens TVs to laptops will have it, eliminating the need for an old fashioned computer mouse.

iPod

iPod

Image via dailytech.com.

The birth of the iPod completely destroyed the CD, and now it looks like the cherished music player may be next in line. In the past few years, the iPod has been seeing dramatic falls in its sales—now making up only 2% of Apple’s income. Most smartphones, including the company’s beloved iPhone, make perfectly good MP3 players, resulting in the iPod’s deadly decline. Read More

Four handy tech gadgets that don’t require electricity

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

Feeling powerless? It may not be such a bad thing after all

It’s always those times when you’re nowhere near an outlet when your smartphone or tablet uses its final breaths to flash a red light or slowly power down as it warns you of its nearing death. For the most part, electronics are nothing without power, right? Fortunately, that doesn’t always have to be the case. Check out the list of “powerless” tech gadgets below that can serve as useful devices while simultaneously charging your electronics.

SpareOne Plus emergency mobile phone

SpareOne Plus

Image via realsimple.com.

Even if you’re without power for an extended period of time and all of your other electronics have failed you, the SpareOne Plus will be ready to assist. This phone contains a special battery-isolator tab that keeps its single AA battery from draining, allowing the phone to offer 10 hours of talk time without electricity. If unused, it can survive up to an impressive 15 years. Also included is a built-in LED flash light for 24 hours of continuous light, a panic siren, and an SOS torchlight on top that flashes Morse code. Though it looks like something fresh out of 1998, it’s a good idea to keep this handy phone nearby and stored in a safe place.

Price: $80

Buy now. Read More

Wearable camera saves important moments right after they happen

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

meMINI is the world’s first wearable Wi-Fi camera with recall

Many special moments in our lives tend to happen without warning, and we’re usually wishing we had a camera to save those cherished memories forever. Enter meMINI, the world’s first wearable Wi-Fi-enabled camera with recall, which allows you to save meaningful occasions in high-definition video right after they happen. With meMINI you can preserve once in a lifetime memories and everyday moments such as wedding proposals, your child’s first words, or the joke your friend shared that had the whole room laughing.

meMINI Camera

Capture any special moment with meMINI. Image via memini.com.

Using meMINI

Because it’s small, light, and comes with magnetic back plates, meMINI can be worn on clothing, and looping footage is recorded every five seconds to five minutes. When you want to capture a specific moment, a press of the recall button on the device stores the most recent loop of video. On a full charge, meMINI can loop video for three continuous hours. The idea behind the camera is not only to preserve live action memories, but to cut down on editing when processing the video later on. Read More

3D printer saves three-legged kitten

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

Small 3D printer company gives three-legged kitten a second chance

By now we’ve heard of human body parts such as ears, bones, and even kidneys being 3D-printed, but how about a cat leg? Though cat owner Jenn Ruliffson wasn’t exactly sure how her kitten Sasha was injured, she knew something was up, as the kitten began dragging both of her back legs.

Sasha the Kitten

Sasha, the injured kitten whose leg will be replaced with a 3D-printed prosthetic. Image via bizjournals.com.

Ruliffson took Sasha to the nearby Jacksonville Humane Society for surgery in Jacksonville, FL, and according to a local newspaper, Sasha’s injury was so bad that her back right paw actually fell off. Read More

Six gross alternative energy sources to keep our planet spinning

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

With the pressing need to find alternative energy sources, things may get a bit messy

Ever thought we’d be using feces, dead bodies and leftovers as power sources? With our diminishing amount of irreplaceable fossil fuels, we’re sure on our way. Though we can rely on sources such as wind and solar power, the need to find alternative routes to produce energy for our busy world has pushed the scientific community into thinking way outside the box.

Feces

TOILET

Most of us agree that feces are disgusting and should be disposed of immediately. But since poo contains the odorless, colorless gas we know as methane, it can actually be quite useful to our environment. Read More

The History of the Jack Rose Cocktail

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for Chilled Magazine.

Rosy and smooth, the Jack Rose’s history isn’t as sweet as the cocktail might have you think. There are various theories about this drink’s origin, the most common being that it was invented and named after the infamous gambler and accused murderer, Bald Jack Rose, who became somewhat of a celebrity in New York during the early 1900s.

Image

Another theory is that the Jack Rose was invented by restaurateur Joseph P. Rose (who once held the title of the World’s Champion Mixologist) from Newark, New Jersey and named by him in honor of a defendant in a trial that was held at the courthouse in his city. Others believe the Old Waldorf Bar Days (1931), authored by Albert Stevens Crockett, which states the drink was named after the pink Jacquemot rose, a flower grown in France. The simplest explanation would be that it was named after the flush of color from its ingredients, but despite the different angles of the Jack Rose’s whereabouts, Harvey’s Famous Restaurant in Washington, D.C. first claimed to be the originator of the cocktail.   Read More