Building Towards the Future

Universal Translator

 

By: Kevin Robinson

The idea of a universal translator is a great one. It will give a person the ability to communicate with someone who speaks a different language.  Language barriers will be a thing of the past and people all around the world can communicate with each other more efficiently. The time it takes to learn a new language will be spent on more suitable things.

How this device will work is that every time a person wants to speak in a different language, the individual will need to insert a tiny microchip into the device. The microchip will read the language and translate it to the wearer. When the person wants to communicate back, the wearer will reply in the other person’s language. The drawback is that the wearer needs to know what language the other person is speaking in, so the individual knows what chip to insert into the universal translator. These chips can only hold one or two languages on it.

The device itself is handheld so it can only store a little bit of information; however, technology is always changing so new models of this device will come shortly after. Much of our society is surrounded by tiny handheld devices. This invention has not been invented yet. Judging from the descriptions, it will probably look like some sort of Bluetooth headpiece or handheld voice recorder.

Google created an online translator that translates any language a person types in into another. It even goes as far as to detect the language being typed in. We are one step towards achieving this invention. I think this invention will help a lot of people that work overseas or businesses that work with clients in a different area or country.  There are a lot of out-there inventions like the hovercraft or jetpacks that I don’t see happening, but the universal translator is actually something I can see happening within the next five to ten years. Apple managed to create a new iPhone that allows users to communicate with a computerized secretary that answers their every question. Can you imagine what it would be like if the universal communicator was like that? That would be pretty cool.

References

http://www.freshpatents.com/Universal-translator-dt20061214ptan20060282269.php

http://voices.yahoo.com/google-translation-precursor-universal-translator-7624124.html

Pick Your Side

Pick Your Side

By: Kevin Robinson

Nikola is a better inventor and without his help, Edison could not have been where he is now. Tesla worked for Edison at one point and didn’t stay long. Thomas Edison was known for stealing ideas from his subordinates and marketing them as if he made it. In no way was Edison a better inventor than Tesla was. Edison was a better businessman and a master of manipulation.

Edison was very competitive. He hated to lose and had no problem throwing people under the bus. The thief saw Nikola Tesla as competition for America’s most talented inventor. At one point Tesla was very vocal about Edison when the two of them were being honored for a Noble Prize. He still held some resentment towards Edison for stealing his ideas.

Tesla eventually opened up his own lab. He experimented with lightning and managed to light almost 200 light bulbs at once. The majority of his life Tesla was laughed at. Most of his ideas were very outlandish and he lacked the adequate funding to produce them. A good amount of his ideas were kept in his journal. It wasn’t until future generations that we realize how important his ideas were to history.

I would have to say that I side with Nikola Tesla. It was very shady of Thomas Edison to take credit for an idea that someone he worked for created. If he spent less time trying to scheme from his coworkers, he may have had the chance to create something just as important. Thomas Edison is a greedy businessman. He saw an opportunity to capitalize on something and sold it off as his own. Tesla may not have been as business savvy as Edison was, but that does not give Edison the right to steal work from other people. Thomas Edison was a snake.

http://voices.yahoo.com/nikola-tesla-thomas-edison-genius-the-912459.html

http://www.viewzone.com/tesla.html

Bionic Eye (Light Powered)

The Bionic Eye (Light Powered)

I have decided to use visual prosthesis, or the bionic eye, as my subject for this blog. Visual prosthesis is an experimental visual device that people will hope restore vision to the visually impaired. There are several forms of this device existing today, but I decided to focus on just one. The specific bionic eye I will be talking about is the one powered by light.

Scientists at Stanford University in California are creating at retinal implant powered by light. Using a special pair of glasses that take in infrared light directly into the eye, scientists hope to give sight back to people who can’t see at all. The glasses are installed with a video camera that records what the patient is looking at and fires beams of infrared light on to the retinal chip. There is a chip behind the retina and a battery fitted behind the ear. Compared to other bionic eyes, there are hardly any wires present. This particular bionic eye is wireless.

No human testing has been conducted with this device; however, scientists are testing these devices on mice. Scientists use an infrared laser on the rats that were implanted with the bionic eye. The infrared light being taken is weak enough to where it doesn’t do any harm. Scientists are hopeful that it will work on humans someday.

I think it is amazing that people are working on a device that can cure blindness. The only thing I am worried about is the level of light being taken in. I hope they are doing a lot of testing to make sure that it isn’t just one level of infrared light being transmitted into the chip. If something were to happen to the chip if too much light was taken in, that would be a problem and do more damage than it is worth. I am confident that scientists are taking every precaution available before them being human testing.

Resources,

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-05/new-light-powered-eye-implants-use-infrared-pulses-restore-sight

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18061174

WINDOWS VS MAC

 

Tech Milestones, Good

The first CD-ROM was invented in 1984 by James T. Russell. Russell loved music and began getting frustrated at his vinyl phonograph records when they would get damaged. He also did not like the sound quality traditional records gave.  This was the start of the development process of the CD-ROM. He wanted a system that could record and replay sound. The best way he thought to create this idea was to use light. The first digital-to-optical recording and playback system was successfully invented in the 1970’s. He continued to perfect his invention and adapt it to new forms of data. There were a few investors interested in Russell’s work. Eventually Sony and other audio companies realized the implications and purchased licenses. In 1985 Russell earned 26 patents for the CD-ROM.

Russell’s invention helped shape our ability to record and playback music and store files.

References,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1999). The Digital Compact Disc. Retrieved on July 19^th, 2012 from http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/russell.html

 

Tech Milestones, Fail

The Apple Lisa was the first personal computer to use a graphic user interface. The Lisa was released on January 1983. It cost Apple millions of dollars to create the hardware and software used on this computer. Only about 10,000 units were ever sold. In 1984 Lisa 2 was released with a 3.5" drive instead of the two 5.25". Lisa 2 was price at about $10,000 dollars shelf price. A year later Lisa 2 was renamed Macintosh XL. In 1986 Lisa, Lisa 2 and the Macintosh XL line was scrapped. A lot of people say the high price tag, delays and release date lead to the demise of the Lisa; however, the new Macintosh did quite well and lead the way to the future of computers.

References,

Mary Bellis. Inventors of the Modern Computer. Retrieved on July 19^th, 2012 from http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa043099.htm

Specific Hostorical Advancement

I used several technological advances that I thought were pretty important. Besides electricity, some of the inventions I have orbiting around earth helped shaped later inventions. The majority of the inventions I used are from the 1800’s, because I didn’t want to put an invention in that was basically inspired by another. The idea behind the image was that all of the inventions we had in previous days would orbit around earth, until they reached a certain point and would turn into what we have today. It didn’t really turn out the way I wanted it but I think it looks pretty nice, especially for someone who is not that great at graphics.

I placed and image over the circles and added a drop shadow and stroke effect. The background image is just some random grunge texture that I edited with a hue/saturation layer.

The Electric Typewriter and Computer

The Electric Typewriter and Computer

The electric type writer and computer are vastly different. At the time when the electric typewriter was introduced, computers were becoming popular. Though the electric typewriter did not market well, it still has some advantages that impacted society at the time. Today though, word processors are overshadowing it. Electric typewriters are becoming almost non-existent today when matched up against a computer.

Electronic typewriters work like a computer but print like a modern typewriter. The major advantage to an electric typewriter is that it can produce a printed document in hard copy as the user types. It doesn’t require a separate printer and produces it in less time than a computer does. The first electric typewriter was introduced around 1902, even though it wasn’t mass-marketed.  Some electric typewriters have small devices in them that can correct one line errors.  The only drawback to this device is that it only affects a typing mistake after you are done. With a word processor you can use a spellchecker to make corrections on the spot. Electric typewriters can also record media and digital content that the user can access for fast reproduction later on. The electric typewriter is cost effective and way cheaper than a computer; however, electric typewriters are very hard to acquire. The ribbons inside a typewriter are also cheaper than the ink cartridges a user will buy for their printer.

Computers have affected our society so much. Now-a-days, there are a lot of things computers can do for us than they could in the past. Around the birth of the first home computer in 1979 by Apple, there were a lot of things still unknown about them. It took many years for the first home computer to actually come about. The first working computer was created by Charles Babbage in the 1800’s. Many people help shaped the computer to what we see today. There are computers built to send signals in war, help sick patients, and keep accurate records for our documents. Society today is so reliant on computers. Many of the functions they produce today can have drastic impacts on our lives. The computer differs from the electric typewriter in many ways. Computers can be upgraded and created to suit the user’s needs. It has a function that allows users to insert internal and removable storage devices to store many documents. Computers are more versatile than electric typewriters.  We use computers today for a wide variety of tasks. Despite the heavy price tag that comes along with purchasing a computer, it allows the user to use it for any task they want to.

A computer has basically taken over the electric typewriter. With how advanced our society is going, the need for electric typewriters will continue to dwindle. Newer versions of today’s computers will replace our older versions, allowing us to do more than we can possibly imagine. Computers affect much of our society than you probably think.

 Works Cited

eHow.com. The Disadvantages of Electric Typewriters. July 8^th, 2012. http://www.ehow.com/info_8247391_disadvantages-electric-typewriters.html#ixzz205INUlLM

 eHow.com. Computers vs the Electric Typewriter. July 8^th, 2012. http://www.ehow.com/about_6398366_computers-vs_-electronic-typewriter.html