Category: Web, Tech & Design

Human Body Broadband Networking

This gives a new meaning to the “connection” between two people…

Your body could soon be the backbone of a broadband personal data network linking your mobile phone or MP3 player to a cordless headset, your digital camera to a PC or printer, and all the gadgets you carry around to each other.

These personal area networks are already possible using radio-based technologies, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, or just plain old cables to connect devices. But NTT, the Japanese communications company, has developed a technology called RedTacton, which it claims can send data over the surface of the skin at speeds of up to 2Mbps — equivalent to a fast broadband data connection.

Using RedTacton-enabled devices, music from an MP3 player in your pocket would pass through your clothing and shoot over your body to headphones in your ears. Instead of fiddling around with a cable to connect your digital camera to your computer, you could transfer pictures just by touching the PC while the camera is around your neck. And since data can pass from one body to another, you could also exchange electronic business cards by shaking hands, trade music files by dancing cheek to cheek, or swap phone numbers just by kissing.

[Source: Taipei Times]

Oops, sorry, I didn’t mean to put my hand down there, I was just uploading an mp3 to your, hmmm, hmm, thingie, I mean iPod 😉

Tunisiana launches “Ma Tunisiana”

Tunisiana, the first private mobile operator in Tunisia, has launched a new web based service called “Ma Tunisiana” (My Tunisiana).

Ma Tunisiana currently provides the following services online:

– Sending, receiving and archiving SMS messages.
– Checking your credit.
– Checking how much you’ve spent up to the day before.
– Changing your personal preferences on whether you would like to receive SMS ads and newsletters, or appear in the user directory.
– And soon, checking your invoices and their details.

I think this is great. Bravo to Tunisiana for this.

Even though we in Tunisia are still a bit behind in the mobile telephony sector and the services available through it, I think this is a very good step forward.

Tunisiana has been the force driving this sector in Tunisia by offering new services and pushing Tunisie Telecom into following them.

Hopefully “Ma Tunisiana” will keep growing to provide more great services and stuff like Mobile Email, content subscription possibilities, Web to MMS, …etc.

I think it’s also time MMS and GPRS services are introduced from both operators.

Yahoo! Does Acquire Flickr

So it turns out the rumours were true after all, Yahoo! has actually acquired Flickr.

I wrote about this here, when the rumours first surfaced, and I basically thought it was bad news.

Now after reading what the guys at Flickr have to say about it, I’m feeling a bit better about it all, but will still be watching how things go with some skepticism.

I just wish the Flickr people continue to have the freedom they need to keep making Flickr an even greater service and that Yahoo! don’t interfere too much and screw up the service.

Fingerprint Shopping

I think this is really cool and practical…

Customers of the German supermarket chain EDEKA in the southwest German town of Ruelzheim have been able to pay for their shopping by a fingerprint-pay-system for some time now.
And the company plans to equip more of its stores across the region with this technology.

According to Roland Fitterer, the store manager, customers need to register once with their identity card and bank details, then they can shop straight away. The scanner compares the shopper’s fingerprint with those stored in its database along with account details.

[More: Heise Online]

I love cool technology like this that makes life easier and somehow safer for people.

[Via: AquaCool]

AOL: No Privacy For You On AIM

AOL have changed their Terms of service for AIM (AOL Instance Messenger), and the changes are pretty crazy and unbelievable:

… AOL owns all right, title and interest in any compilation, collective work or other derivative work created by AOL using or incorporating this Content. In addition, by posting Content on an AIM Product, you grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium. You waive any right to privacy. You waive any right to inspect or approve uses of the Content or to be compensated for any such uses.

Even though the possibility of someone hacking into an AIM session always exists, the idea of AOL openly violating it’s users’ privacy and using their private discussions without their consent is totally unacceptable.

I only used AIM for a short while in the past, but with this I’m sure I’ll never use it again.

[Via: Thrashing Through Cyberspace]

43 Things

Sometime ago I found 43Things, a website where you can make a list of your goals and the stuff that you want to do in your life.

Other than putting in your own list, you can also see what other people all around the world want to do.

You can also find people who want to do the same stuff as you or who have already done it, who can tell you how it was like and give you advice.

I think it’s a really cool and fun idea.
I’ve started putting in my list of stuff, which you can find here.

Try it out yourself and post what you think of it as well as a link to your list in the comments.

PerfectJournal

Lately I’ve been playing around with a new tool called PerfectJournal which is, as it’s name suggests, a journal software.

It’s quite a nice tool to capture and store notes, thoughts, plans, ideas, todos, research and diaries in a clean and organized way using folders and keywords.

A cool feature that could come in very handy is the ability to directly publish entries onto Blogger, as well as export journal entries to RSS format or to Word.

I also like the ability to rate entries, which works great for me with stuff I write or with ideas as I like to rate them according to importance or priority.

It’s got a lot of other really nice features and it’s pretty straight-forward and easy to use.

If you’re interested, you can find more info on the site: PerfectJournal.

Yahoo! To Buy Flickr?!

Om Malik reports:

Rumors are flying thick and fast in Silicon Valley: Yahoo is all set to buy Ludicorp, the company behind the hot photo blogging web service Flickr, for an undisclosed amount of money.

Its not the first time rumors of these talks have made the rounds. Most of the deal-related chatter is coming from blogging world insiders who have said that Flickr might have inked the papers last week, but Yahoo is holding off on an announcement until March 1. At this point, it could all just be that