Virtual boarding pass

Airport check-in using a mobile phone is the next step in improving the check-in logistics for many airline companies. Equipped with a mobile phone you can check in remotely, a SMS/MMS message is sent to you with a 2D barcode. Just drop off your luggage at the fast bag drop-off counter, use the scanner to scan the barcode on your mobile and then make your way to the boarding area. Some argue that it will not save a lot of time for the passengers. That may be true but it will reduce the queuing time at the check-in counters. Passengers get to spend more time in restaurants and duty free shops, which will benefit the airports. With larger aircrafts and many more passengers, this will help in controlling queues in airports. Although the technology is available, not many airports will adopt virtual boarding immediately. Equipment and software will have to be replaced, staff will have to be trained and all this costs money. Unless airline companies have a big IT budget to spend, it will take time for a gradual adoption of this technology as the paper boarding pass is still a more cost-effective solution.

Chip implant in humans

Recently I read an article in ZDNet week, issue #43 about implanting RFID chips under people's skin. This method of human implant may allow identification in the event of a disaster but is also ringing privacy alarm bells. The main point against the implementation of this technology is the invasion of privacy. This technology was introduce on pets more than a decade ago so that pet owners can keep tabs on their dogs and cats. When the same is applied to humans, it is a big no no because of the invasion of privacy. The RFID technology is not possible to track someone in real time but with the rapid development of Global Positioning System, in the near future, we can keep track of a person's movement around the globe if he/she has the chip implant. Verichip was created by Applied Digital. The chips is a 11-mm RFID tag that are implanted in the fatty tissue below the right tricep. When near a scanner, the chip is activated and emits an ID number. It was the Sept. 11 incident that sparked the idea to create the verichip. Firefighters wrote their badge numbers on their arms so that they could be identified in case they were disfigured or trapped. According to the article, it has been estimated that 1,000 chips have been inserted into humans, most are from outside the US. People have the chip implanted as a form of security. If they are kidnapped, the chip will help the right authorities to find them. It would be interesting to follow the development of this technology and the acceptance / non-acceptance of human chip implant. Source :insight.zdnet.co.uk/chips

Virtual pet gaming

NutrinoPets is a virtual pet gaming site. It allows players to play over the internet and earn NC (NutrinoCredits). NutrinoCredits are great for feeding, grooming and playing with your virtual pet. Here's the pet I adopted.

Blu-Ray technology

Sony announced that the much awaited PS3 will use Blu-Ray technology, a next-generation optical disc format which 'can hold 25GB on a single layer and 50GB on the dual-layer discs'. More details will be revealed at a premiere in Japan in March next year.

Microsoft delays release of XP Service Pack 2

Microsoft once again decided to delay the release of Win XP SP2 which is expected to be release about now. Microsoft took the decision to delay the release due to quality concerns.

DVD X Copy company collapsed

The company that created software DVD X Copy and Game X Copy has collapsed. 321 Studios said that despite "best efforts", three federal court rulings against it from film and software bodies had killed off the firm. Robert Moore, the co-founder of the company, argued that it was defending customers' digital rights to make copies for personal use.

Linux gaining ground

I read an article in the Computing magazine recently regarding the server market where Linux is said to be gaining ground on Microsoft. Computing magazine conducted an interview with the IBM vice president of Linux sales. For further reading on this subject...

Microsoft's future

Microsoft is looking beyond Windows. I think Microsoft recognizes the threat of Open Source Linux in the operating systems area and sees opportunities in other areas that Microsoft can develop to their advantage. Bill Gates said that the area of search software, games, consumer goodies and lab research would all help Microsoft grow. We see Microsoft competiting with search engines such as Google, Lycos and newcomer Blinkx. We will see the future of search engine services extending beyond the internet where the search tool will be able to search documents on a PC hard drive and then recommend related URLs to users. Microsoft is looking at building this service into the Microsoft Office software. Microsoft has also recently acquired a security firm and will soon provide anti-virus solutions. The growth of broadband services and online gaming has also given Microsoft the opportunity to further develop the gaming market. Microsoft is reinventing their future and I think this is a good time to do it.

3D sound

The inventor of MP3 format has come up with a new innovation in music, 3D sound. It is called the IOSONO technology. What can expect from 3D audio - example, a horse galloping through the center aisle of a movie theater, or pinpoint a noise so that it sounds exactly like a person shouting from outside theater walls. The best existing surround sound speakers can approximate this only for a small "sweet spot," perhaps a few feet wide, while the Iosono system would create the same realistic illusion for everyone in the room. Full story...

RealNetworks stream music to digital jukebox

RealNetworks software, which will let songs sold from the company's online store play on a variety of portable devices, including the iPod and Microsoft-compatible rivals. For full story...

Mod chipping is illegal

UK has banned mod chipping of Playstation 2 consoles. Mod chipping a Playstation 2 console will allow a user to play imported or pirated games on the console. Is this the end of the lucrative mod chip business in the UK? Full story...

Who is the Fedora project?

Here is link that tells it al. Informative for someone who is purely interested in Fedora.

Fedora Core 2

Here is some humour and wit found on the RedHat website announcing Fedora Core 2 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Presenting FEDORA CORE 2 STARRING .............. Linux 2.6 GNOME 2.6 & KDE 3.2.2 Xorg 6.7.0 WITH APPEARANCES BY ... SELinux IIIMF and the CJK gang Xfce 4 subversion 1.0 And hundreds of other updated and new packages MUSIC DECOMPOSED BY ... Homey G of Redmond BARTENDER ............. The Man from Tettnang EXECUTIVE PRODUCER .... The Open Source Community DIRECTOR .............. Red Hat Including musical numbers such as "Who Let Fedora Out?" by the Slashdot Men, "The Download Goes On" by Celeron Dion, and "The Hacker in Me" by Shania Sane. "It's a singing, dancing extravaganza!" says the Rawhide Daily News. "The new DVD iso image brings tears to my eyes!" gushes Eugenius. "Two penguin flippers up!" votes the Tux Dispatch. "My mortgage rate was cut in half after I replied to spam using Fedora Core 2!" raves Bo Battipaglia. "The combination of better hardware support, a new kernel, and desktop improvements provides a more powerful and productive user experience." mutters someone with a grounding in reality. Fedora Core 2. "They can take away our hard drives, but they'll never take away our freedom!"

Fancy turning a bicycle into a wi-fi hub

New York emerging-media artist, Yury Gitman has taken on the idea to convert his bicycle into a wi-fi hub. He has a hidden laptop in the saddle bag and the wi-fi hub has antennas. The connection is received from nearby hotspots or mobile phone networks. Read the full story on BBC