Alternate Input Device

 Disability, Tech  No Responses »
Jun 282013
 

9to5Mac uncovers a new accessibility option in the forthcoming iOS7 that allows users to control an iPhone or iPad using head movement. A video at the link offers a demonstration of the head gesture system. I probably don’t have enough head movement to make this work for me, but I’m sure others will be able to make good use of the feature. What intrigues me more about this function is that it appears to support other kinds of switches to mimic touch gestures. Will this be the key to me finally being able to turn pages independently? Stay tuned.

Farewell, Old Friend

 Tech  No Responses »
Jun 252013
 

Google Reader can’t stop giving me urgent reminders that it will disappear on July 1st. As if I could forget. After stubbornly clinging to the “denial” stage of grief for the last few months, I finally set up a Feedly account. It should be adequate for my needs and I’m sure I’ll settle in before long. Letting go of a favorite but now defunct website or application has become de rigeur for longtime surfers like myself. I’m still mourning the loss of the original Hotwired. The death of Reader may be the death knell for substantive reading on the web, but the other diehards and I will do our best to keep the RSS flame burning for a while longer.

Remote Storage

 Tech  No Responses »
Jun 122013
 

If Dmitry Itskov gets his way, I’ll be uploading my consciousness to a robot avatar in another 30 years or so. This seems like another case of ridiculously-wealthy-Russian-entrepreneur-with-too-much-free-time, but the idea is intriguing. I could get into all sorts of misadventures with my avatar, but this assumes that I won’t be teetering on the precipice of senility by the time the technology is ready.

But if I had to bet on whether this or the sexbot will come first, my money is on the sexbot.

The Future Goes Local

 Disability, Tech  No Responses »
Jun 052013
 

It’s no giant robot with laser cannons, but researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a brain-computer interface that can control a toy helicopter. They emphasize that the interface only requires a sensor cap; no implants are necessary. Here’s a video of the team demonstrating the technology:

So, how long before I can sign up with the Air Force for fighter pilot training? Or perhaps I could be a drone operator for some intelligence agency. I could even work from home!

The Future Isn’t Quite Now

 Disability, Tech  No Responses »
Apr 302013
 

The Times looks at the commercial promise of neural interfaces and concludes that the crude devices available on the market today will seem archaic in just a couple years. I’ve read enough of pieces like this over the years to realize that tech journalists lack a functioning hype filter. As much as I’d like to believe otherwise, the sixth- or seventh-gen iPad probably isn’t going to include a neural connection. We have yet to understand how to accurately decode brain signals using noninvasive hardware, much less figure out how to cheaply produce that hardware. I have no doubt we’ll eventually see such tech emerge, but it’s probably not as imminent as this article would have you believe.

Living In The Future Has A Price

 Tech  1 Response »
Mar 272013
 

Comcast recently increased broadband speeds in the Twin Cities area. Unfortunately, my trusty but aging router can’t quite keep up with the faster throughput. I’ll have to upgrade to a new router to fully enjoy my 50mbps connection (and for someone who remembers dial-up speeds, this seems almost comically fast). Routers can be notoriously flaky, so I’m not in a hurry to replace my existing model with something less reliable. This may be one upgrade that I can resist for at least a while.

It’s Not TV

 Tech  No Responses »
Mar 222013
 

While cord-cutting (dropping cable television in favor of streaming video over the Internet) is still a fringe phenomenon, the Internet loves to speculate about about if and when HBO will offer a broadband-only subscription. Until recently, network executives dismissed the idea, saying that they were happy with their current business model. But this week, they hinted that HBO could eventually be a surcharge on your Internet bill instead of your cable bill. Possibly. Maybe. In most cases, cable and Internet providers are the same entity, so HBO could probably renegotiate existing contracts.

HBO executives are certainly aware that most networks have digital offerings and that the market is inexorably shifting to on-line distribution models, which makes it more likely than not that we’ll see broadband-only HBO subscriptions in the next couple years. I’d certainly sign up for one, assuming that I can still watch the sexposition on Game of Thrones in all of its sweaty high-definition glory.

Little Black Box

 Tech  No Responses »
Mar 142013
 

The newest addition to my gadget wish list is a Roku 3 streaming box. My TiVo is still one of my favorite toys, but its interface is beginning to show its age (particularly when using Netflix). It also can’t access services I’d like to use such as HBO GO and Amazon Prime. I may wait to see if TiVo will release a compelling new product that can woo me with its shininess. Then again, $99 isn’t a huge investment and I can always give it away easily enough.

I’m still tempted to completely cut the cord, but cable is still handy for football and content that isn’t available on-line yet. Plus, I gots to have my Game of Thrones.

So Much For Not Being Evil

 Tech  2 Responses »
Mar 132013
 

Today I read in my Google Reader that Google Reader is going away. I use Reader to scan hundreds of articles each day, so I’m pretty annoyed with Google at the moment. It’s my primary source for blog material and in its absence I may be forced to wax at length about my daily commute.

“You could use Twitter.”

Okay, who said that? Because you don’t want to fuck with me right now. Twitter has its uses, but I prefer to get my web content in complete paragraphs. Twitter is fine for a quick scan of the latest, but it’s not a convenient way to keep up with a multitude of websites.

Somebody hold me.

Making Accessibility Standard

 Disability, Tech  No Responses »
Mar 122013
 

On the heels of news that the latest Samsung phone will feature eye-tracking technology, the Times profiles uMoove, an Israeli startup developing its own eye-tracking software that can be used on a variety of mobile devices. Standardizing this technology would be good news for consumers. As much as I like my iPad and iPhone, I may eventually want to use an Android product or something else that isn’t even on the market yet. A standard eye-tracking interface would allow me to use whatever device I liked without losing any functionality. An open source solution would be even better, but that seems unlikely.

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