Test for swinging wave device
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A renewable energy system built in the Highlands is to be tried out in the sea off Orkney.
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By Mary Hopkin, Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Wash.  Sep.
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(InfoWorld) - Governments seeking inexpensive technology to warn of tsunamis could be interested in a free software application that monitors vibrations in the hard disks of computers in an attempt to detect the underseaÂ earthquakes that cause tsunamis. The Tsunami Harddisk Detector is the brainchild of Michael Stadler, who demonstrated the prototype system earlier this week at the Ars Electronica exhibition in Linz, Austria. As part of their operation, hard disks measure vibrations in order to keep the read-write head of the disk on track. These measurements can be read from some hard disks. The Tsunami Harddisk Detector captures this vibration data and shares it with computers in other locations connected via a peer-to-peer network to determine whether an earth tremor is occurring. In the p-to-p network, several participating computers act as supernodes, which analyze the data received from the other "sensing" nodes. The supernodes are able to ignore vibrations generated by a computer being kicked or shaken, by recording how many computers report the same vibrations simultaneously. If an earthquake that could lead to a tsunami is detected, the supernodes inform the other nodes. Computers running the client software and connected to the p-to-p network can then warn of such events. The software is able to provide such warnings because the seismic waves produced by earthquakes travel at about 5,000 kilometers per hour, while tsunamis move much slower at 500 to 1,000 kilometers per hour, Stadler explains on hisÂ Web site. The speed difference leaves time to evaluate tremors and, if necessary, warn of a tsunami. On his Web site, however, Stadler points out that his system is still in the experimental stage with some inherent problems and can't be fully relied on to provide a "serious prediction" of a tsunami risk in its present configuration.
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In photo land, a new gizmo extreme white balancing than the traditional white paper. David Becker's PMA coverage continues in Gadget Lab.
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A device that reads brain waves may give paralyzed patients a way to control prosthetic limbs without needing brain implants, medical investigators say.
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Device allows viewers to operate on/off switch, change channels or volume by simple hand gestures.
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Certain adapters may pose a risk of fire or electrical shock.
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Researchers at the University of South Florida have been working on a biological sensor that would test waters off Florida for red tide, hoping to eventually track the harmful algae blooms.
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Can cruise ships and nature coexist? An experiment gets under way in Cozumel to test the idea.
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By Nicole C. Wong, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.  Feb.
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It seems like a cool idea &#151; sunglasses with a built-in digital music player and speakers. No headphone cables to untangle as with most portable players. Music actually riding on your ears. Zero retinal damage from ultraviolet radiation.
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Chip maker will being testing the emerging, high-speed wireless technology.
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By Constance Loizos, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.  Jun.
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Feel like a fish out of water? You may not be too far off.
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A novel wireless EKG monitor could make diagnosing heart conditions much easier.
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An electronic device that uses spinach to convert light into electrical charge has been developed by US researchers. Shuguang Zhang at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, and research collaborators
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A custom chip powered a disputed demonstration of quantum computing by D-Wave Systems.