Sharks Inspire Tech

July 27, 2009

Think "shark" and chances are images of technology are not the first to dance in you're head. But technology abounds. It's used to study sharks -- from satellite tracking to DNA analysis -- and plenty technologies are inspired by sharks. So pull up a beach chair and read what we have in store for you with this Wide Angle series: Shark Technology.

• IM Interview: Sharks in the Emergency Room
  Sharklet Technologies is developing the world's first surface pattern inspired by sharkskin. The surface resists the growth of organisms such as bacteria and could be used in hospitals to reduce disease.

Smart Grid FAQs and As

July 10, 2009

We're focusing on the smart grid this week with lots of articles, interviews, podcasts and blogs. There's a ton of stuff out there on this topic. I have my Google Alert set to "smart grid," and my mail box is inundated with news and stories daily. It's a bit overwhelming. There are so many components, including hardware, software, infrastructure, standards, protocols, etc. Hardly any of it has been implemented, but the country seems to charging forward and most of us are sitting around thinking, "What the heck does it mean for me?"

One of the stories that popped up in my in box today helps answer that question and others about the smart grid with a short Q&A. It's from CNET and it answers the following seven questions:

1. What is the smart grid?
2. What would a smart grid be able to do that today's not-so-smart grid can't?
3. What are some examples?
4. Who are the companies participating in the smart grid?
5. OK, so the smart grid is supposed to reduce wasted energy, give consumers better information, and allow the grid to use more solar and wind power. What's the hold-up?
6. Is the smart grid more secure?
7. So when will I have my smart grid?

It's a short article and worth reading to get a solid understanding of what this is all about.

Hey Power Grid: Smarten Up!

July 06, 2009

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. Of the $787 billion intended to stimulate the economy, $43 billion will be spent directly on energy-related matters. And a big piece of the energy pie will be devoted to the the power grid, which works about the same way it did when Thomas Edison conceived of it. Find out what needs fixing and why in this Wide Angle series: The Smart Grid.

• News: Community Genome Could Produce Biofuels
  The genomes of 17 different ants, fungi and bacteria that eat through hundreds of pounds of leaf matter a year could give scientists new clues to how a 50 million-year-old bioreactor operates.

• Puzzle: Plugging Into the Smart Grid
  Spend some time piecing together the power grid.

• Blog: Micro-Curtailment to Curb AC Use
  This is a story about how you can curtail people's air-conditioning use without them noticing, and the big opportunity this represents to do a little micro-curtailing.

• HowStuffWorks: How Living Off the Grid Works
  For most people, paying utility bills is a tiresome and frustrating task. What if there was a way to get out from under the thumb of public utilities and produce your own sustainable energy?

Photo: iStockPhoto

Video Sums Up Cool Tech Jobs Wide Angle

June 25, 2009

Look Who's Hiring

June 24, 2009

This week on Discovery Tech, I'm featuring a lot of interesting people who have unique, ultra cool tech jobs. My hope is that you might be inspired. Many of you are laid off and perhaps rethinking your career path. If you can glimpse the possiblities, you might ignite a smoldering dream.

But I also understand that some of you just simply need a damn job. In that light, here's some solid, useful information from CNET's Rafe Needleman's blog. It's a spreadsheet listing Web 2.0 job openings. It was first posted in January, but it's done with Google docs and there's a note that says it updates every 5 minutes.

My favorite opening is for an "Interface Rockstar." Hey, who knows, you might be on your way to fame and fortune.

Late to the Game, China Sets Digital Standard

June 18, 2009

IEEE Spectrum has a great article about China's digital tv standard. The standard delivers a high-definition picture in bad weather and on the go.

China just finalized its digital television standard in late 2006, beginning transmission with last summer’s Beijing Olympics. Being late in this particular game is not necessarily a bad thing. It allowed China to take advantage of advances in information-coding technologies that make digital television in China—unlike that in the rest of the world—work well even in bad weather. These technologies mean that China’s digital television can be viewed on the go; it won’t break up even at 200 kilometers per hour—you can watch a broadcast on a cellphone while sitting on a high-speed train. (The United States is only now trying to retrofit its digital-television standard for mobile reception.)

How Did TV's Switch-a-Roo Affect You?

June 15, 2009

The big switch from analog to digital happened last Friday. How did it affect you?

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

TV Goes All-Digital

June 08, 2009

It's finally happening. On June 12, 2009, broadcast stations in the United States are going digital, and all analog signals will be turned off. It's one of the latest technological advances in the history of television, but it won't be the last. We'll take a look back at where TV has come from, and look forward to where it's going on this week's Wide Angle: Future TV.

• Blog: A Smart Green TV You Can Leave Be
  This summer Sony is coming out with a new super-energy-efficient TV called the Bravia VE5.

• News: Radio Head
  MIT engineers have built a fast, ultra-broadband, low-power radio chip, modeled on the human inner ear, that could enable wireless devices capable of receiving cell phone, Internet, radio and television signals.

• News: Color-Shifting Cuttlefish Inspire TV Screens
  Scientists from MIT and elsewhere are developing cuttlefish-inspired electronic ink and screens that use less than one-hundredth the power of traditional television screens.

• Planet Green: 4 Ways to Avoid Junking Your Analog TV
  On June 12, analog broadcasts will cease completely and digital television broadcasts will dominate all television transmissions. But this does not mean that you should junk your old TV.

• Feature: Europe Looks for a Peer-to-Peer TV Alternative
  The same kind of peer-to-peer file sharing that made Napster famous -- and infamous -- is being used in a new research project in Europe that aims to pipe TV programs over the Internet.

• Puzzle: TV's Future and History
  From cathode ray tubes to holographic images, see what was and what will be for television.

• Top 10: Technological Advances in TV
  Although the latest developments in television are impressive, some of TV's biggest innovations happened more than a 100 years ago.

• HowStuffWorks: How Digital Television Works
  HSW explores the world of digital television so that you can understand exactly what's going on.

• HowStuffWorks: 10 Trendy TVs
  If you're a serious home entertainment system enthusiast, you know that a top-notch television is important if you want to get the most out of your home theater. But with all the choices that are on the market, how do you know which is right for you?

MORE DISCOVERY TECH WIDE ANGLES

Microbes Make Wind Power Possible

June 05, 2009

I want to point you to a news story, Discovery tech writer Eric Bland published on the Discovery News site back in April. It has to do with a microbe that, in the natural world, consumes electrons emitted by bacteria and emits methane. Scientists think that the microbe, Methanobacterium palustre, could be used to consume excess electricity generated from renewable sources, such as wind, and emit methane that could be used to power a fuel cell or could be stored chemically until it's needed later.

Read Microbe-Powered Fart Machine Stores Energy for more details. It just goes to show that there's more than one way to make renewable energy work.

Wind Power Getting the Most Investment

June 03, 2009

Wind power has received a big spike in investment, the biggest, in fact, compared to other renewable energy sources, says a report from the United Nations Environment Program. In the NY Times article, "Clean Energy Funding Trumps Fossil Fuels," reporter James Kanter provides some details:

"Overall, the wind sector attracted the most new investment, with a total of $51.8 billion, representing growth of 1 percent compared to 2007. Solar made large gains, recording growth of 49 percent to reach total investment of $33.5 billion. Geothermal was the highest growth sector, with investment up 149 percent to $2.2 billion, but biofuels dropped by 9 percent to $16.9 billion."

Along those lines, China has recently announced that it plans to invest $14.6 billion US to boost wind power capacity to 30,000 Megawatts from 12,000 MW.

Image: iStockPhoto