Apple’s New Nano - World’s Smallest Camcorder

Every year at about this time, Apple hosts an auditorium full of reporters and reviewers in California to unveil the new holiday season’s iPod/iTunes line—and yesterday was it.

There were lots of refinements to the free iTunes software, to the iTunes store, to the iPhone’s 3.0 software (now 3.1), and to the iPods themselves.

So what was everyone’s reaction? I tell you, man, it’s all about your expectations.

Already, there’s been a lot of grumbling about what Apple didn’t deliver. According to the rumor blogs, there was supposed to be a new iPod Touch with a camera. The Beatles catalog was supposed to come to the iTunes store. There was supposed to be an Apple Tablet, basically a giant-sized iPod Touch.

None of it was there.

What Apple did unveil, though, was a new iPod Nano model, which has enough new features to last for—well, until *next* September.

It’s exactly the same size as the previous one: 3.6 x 1.5 x 0.2 inches. That is, it’s a wafer-thin, rounded-edged slab that comes in 9 metallic colors.

But it now has a microphone. And a speaker. And an FM radio. And a voice recorder. And a pedometer that counts how many steps you walk or run. And a camcorder.

It sounds like a lot to cram onto a (slightly larger) 2.2-inch screen. I’ve taken it for an 18-hour spin, and this is how it works.

Article source: The New York Times
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Contact Lenses with embedded Electronic Circuits

Bionic Vision A Reality?

In movies like terminator, robots can do anything with their eyes. But bionic vision isn't just for hollywod anymore. Researchers at the University of Washington are now working on a project to make electronic contact lenses with a computer-like display. 
 

The lenses will create an image that is suspended in air about a foot or so in front of your eyes. Each lense is equipped with tiny electronics and antennas that could communicate with your cellphone, laptops, or other helpful gadgets. Since the images are semi-transparent, they would not block your line of sight. The electronic circuits were inputted through the use of nanotechnology.  Researchers say virtually anyone; gamers, pilot, doctors, or just people with bad eyesight could benefit from the technology. These lenses could be used to improve a ours vision or even to continuously monitor a person's health. It was first tested on a lab rabbit shown in the picture below. The researchers are still working on how to transmit power to the lens wirelessly.

If commercialized, the first generation of lenses would likely have low-resolution displays that probably could not convey much information. But as the technology improves, the possibilities would be seemingly unlimited, the researchers said. Drivers could read directions without taking their eyes from the road. Mechanics could get diagrams overlaid onto their equipment as they work. And virtual gamers could use the real world as a backdrop for their adventures. Watch the video here...