Gadzooki

Blogsearchengine.com Relaunched

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One of the most popular topics discussed on the internet are gadgets and it’s really not a big surprise. The young generation of internet users are more gadget and tech savvy so it is only natural that they will look for content that will fuel that interest.

There are a lot of gadget related blogs proliferating on the internet. Some deal with the news end of the gadget industry, some talk about their gadget love and what gadgets the blogger has recently bought. Then there are review sites that give their opinions about the gadgets they get their hands on. Of course, there are generalist sites that offer all of these article types in one site. While gadget blogs very useful and will give you a more informed level of content there are just so many similar blogs on the internet that it will be hard to be noticed especially if your blog is just starting out and still trying to find its feet in the very frenetic and fast-moving netosphere. Fortunately, you really don’t need to go it alone in your quest to develop an audience for your blog.  There are some steps you can take to increase your blog traffic at a faster rate – enrolment in blog directories.

Blog directories, as its name suggests, lists down blogs based on the subjects or topics. A user who is looking for a particular topic or subject will usually go to a blog directory and look for blogs or sites that offer the kind of content they are looking for. It’s one of the fastest ways for your blog to be noticed and build a following. One of the most reliable blog directories out there is blogsearchengine.com. The site, which was recently relaunched, offers great benefits for people who want to promote their blogs. First, it offers a complete description of the blog. It will also provide a backlink to the blog. Blogsearchengine.com is a PR6 site so you can imagine how valuable that backlink is.

Using blogsearchengine.com is easy. You only need to register to the site. The membership only costs $14.99. Upon confirmation of the membership you can now submit your blog for review. It will be posted on blogsearchengine.com. If you want to gain more benefits you can upgrade your membership plan to Silver, Gold or Platinum.

Pushing the Boundaries of Science

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The scientific community has always been responsible for pushing the boundaries of our knowledge in order to improve the technologies that we have at hand. The scientific industry is itself a thriving market of change and improvement, where progression occurs at phenomenal rates. But what are the current boundary-pushing inventions and research is being carried out?

It is important to remember that scientific research does not simply relate to one particular area or field of the subject, but rather encompasses everything within its incredibly broad spectrum. Recent research and development has been made both in the technological fields and the medical, so here are a few examples of the latest breakthrough developments.

Mars Rover Landing Technology

The $2.5 billion Mars rover (named Curiosity) will utilise a new form of landing technique, known as sky crane architecture. The new architecture, which has not yet been tested, is named after heavy lifting helicopters which are implemented within the construction of skyscrapers.

The architecture itself works by the rover falling free of a parachute approximately one mile above the surface. A descent stage, which contains 8 small rocket engines, will then manoeuvre the rover to a safe landing zone.  Pulsating radar beams will constantly update the computer on the altitude and motion of the rover, allowing the two thousand pound (lb) device to be lowered safely.

The technology is designed to enable more precise landings of heavier cargos and will remove the need for a landing pad, placing the rover’s wheels directly onto the planet’s surface instead. Previous technology for Mars rovers have required landing equipment such as cushioning airbags and landing pads, so this is a prime example of scientific research.

The Diamond Synchrotron Facility

This impressive facility, based at Harwell Oxford Science Park, is capable of aiding research in everything from health care to archaeology, with recent developments bringing hope that it will be able to help speed up the diagnosis of cancer. The technology itself accelerates electrons in order to reach a rate near the speed of light. This therefore generates astounding beams of light which can be used for academic research as well as business development.

The beams of light created can be anything from Infrared to X rays and are applicable to a range of different scientific disciplines. The Diamond Synchrotron was opened in 2007 and currently has 18 operational beam-lines, with a further four under construction.

‘Smart Skin’ Technology

This innovative development is a small, electronic platform which attaches to the upper epidermis of human skin and acts much like an interactive computer chip. The device is comprised of micro-circuitry which is designed for medical purposes, such as monitoring heart rates. The device is capable of bending and stretching with the movement of skin making it far less obtrusive than traditional methods of monitoring such measurements. The technology is also seen to have huge potential, with predictions that it could become a human interface system already being made by its developers. If this was to happen, the possibilities for the technology would be endless and could see patients with muscular or neurological disorders using them to communicate their ideas directly to computers.

Rachel is a freelance blogger with a particular interest in space exploration.

 

The CrunchPad is dead. Now what?

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500x_500x_crunchpad

It’s dead, Jim.

And now, news of the CrunchPad’s demise has reached the blogosphere (twice-over, I must say), we’re here to examine the post-mortem. It was an ambitious project: an internet tablet meant to sell cheap. Everybody was waiting for it with bated breath, but it never came. [Read more…]

Pedal Green

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A cute invention!  This may just win a “cute-see” award soon.  The idea is described below.  While this may well be a “noble” process, for city-planners/engineers this may be a nightmare.  If this does spread flower power in the city, all the randomness would soon be a mess.  But hey, I like the idea… Perhaps this is much suited for the country instead?  I just think that cities are much better off with “pocket gardens” or “rooftop greens”.

Seeds are co-mingled with a bubble mixture and upon pedaling to your destination , you release the floating seeds which land in cracks and crevices throughout the city streets. Over time, the seeds grow into flowers and plants to create a green “fringe” to our sidewalks and streets.

Using natural ingredients; vegetable based soap and seeds, combine together to make a dissolving “nugget”. The resulting mixture resides in a reservoir inside Blooms aluminum housing. The housing is attached to the lower frame near the rear tire, similar to a exhaust pipe. Upon pedalling, air enters the front of Bloom and spins a pinwheel inside which picks up a small drop of the seed/bubble mixture and blows a bubble carrying a seed out the back as “exhaust”.

Our inspiration comes from the tale of Johnny Appleseed, where he would spread seeds everywhere he went planting apple trees for future generations.

When the Mighty isn’t might after all

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Here’s a good case made by the GeekSugar.com blog (http://www.geeksugar.com/1550696), and is exactly what I have thought of regarding Apple’s mighty mouse.  I’ve contemplated on getting one unit for 6 months already, but everytime I see a great deal from ebay.com, amazon.com, bestbuy.com or even apple.com I just can’t seem to click that “BUY NOW” button.  I ended up (three times) getting an A4Tech mouse for both my brand new Macbooks.

Yeah, I did give the Mighty Mouse a good try, I liked how it fits my hand.  I also liked the small scroll button (although I know I’d get tired of it soon), but over all, i’d give it a fair mark.  I’m not surprised that this isn’t part of the best selling list on the Apple Online Store.

Quick price watch:  The Mighty Mouse Wired version sells for $47-$56.  The Might Mouse Wireless version sells for $66-$70.

Here’s a noteworthy review from the professionals at CNet.com:

The good: Bluetooth wireless connectivity (even works in Windows, with Boot Camp); batteries lend welcome heft; ease to install and set up.

The bad: Side buttons lack sufficient tactile feedback and require too much pressure; doesn’t work with standard Windows-based PCs (at least, not easily).

The bottom line: Apple’s new wireless Mighty Mouse cuts the cord, giving you the freedom of untethered mousing. The design isn’t perfect, and Apple isn’t shy about the price, but Mac desktops and laptops beg for as little clutter around them as possible, and for that, the Mighty Mouse delivers.

Pretend Geek

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I was strolling in a mall while listening to Leo Laporte and Amber McArthy on Net @ Night.  They were discussing about technology and how it has evolved many many times over.  I was quite struck from strolling to steps as Leo was clever to relate that his son was saying he was a geek.  Knowing who Leo Laporte is, I also said “yes, Leo, you’re a geek” (in my mind of course). 

But Leo went on to a light-bulb statement.  He said, “You know, my son says I’m a geek dad because I can do sooo many things.  But you see, he’s geekier than me, yet he clearly doesn’t admit it.  I had to learn all that I know, he on the other hand is doing this naturally.  So call me a learned geek… he’s a geek since he’s born!”

10 years ago, flashback, high school days.  To me, being a geek meant carrying this HP scientific calculator.  I made sure it was seen when I carry it with my binder.  I was high-tech then.  I could imagine how silly I’d look now if I did that same thing.

20 years ago, flashback, elementary days.  To me, being a geek meant carrying a slider ruler.  Or maybe a pencil case with those “groovy” secret areas where by the click of a hidden button a hidden drawer pops out.  I was high-tech then. I could imagine how my daughter would stare me down if I offered her that!

I have a 10-year old daughter, and she’s a geek.  She has 3 friendster accounts, 2 my space accounts, a .Mac account, a YouTube account, a gmail, a macmail, a yahoo mail, a yahooID of course…  SHE’S A GEEK!

But like Leo’s son, she’s a natural geek.  She doesn’t know it, because what’s around her is all too natural for her.  An iPod, a creative Zen, a Macbook, a Nintendo DS, a Sony PSP, a Dell Laptop, a Toshiba Laptop, WIFI at home, a slider cellphone, a cybershot camera, a cybershot cellphone…

Arggghhh… SHE’s a geek! 

I’m… well, a pretend-geek next to her!

Interchangeable Lenses on a Digital Point-and-Shoot Camera?

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Often this blog tells you about the latest and greatest gadgets and gizmos that are either just hitting shelves or soon to be released. Well today I need YOU to give me a better understanding of something…

Recently, I listed my home with a real estate agent. Part of the selling process is taking pictures of each room to be posting on a Website. None of the rooms are humongous, and I found myself having trouble capturing multiple walls with my point-and-shoot digital Canon.

What I needed was some type of wide-angle lens. Since I don’t to shell out the money for (or learn how to use, for that matter) a camera with interchangeable lenses, I figured there had to be a cheap alternative.

I came up empty. The closest I came to finding what I needed was this lens adaptor hack.

So my question is this: Does a point-and-shoot camera with interchangeable lenses exist?

And since I don’t really understand many photography basics: If it doesn’t exist, why not?

Even if the photos aren’t “professional” grade, isn’t there a market for consumers who want to have fun with some silly (yet useful) snap-on lenses?

Online Work Makes One Platform Agnostic

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As I write this, I’m running Windows on my laptop, here at the dinner table. It’s been almost a year since I worked on Windows, meaning actually running it for a few hours and doing real work with it. With my computers usually running some flavor of Linux or Mac OS X, Windows has mostly only been run only in those rare instances I need to run Windows-specific software. My most recent acquisitions, being an Asus Eee (running on Linux) and a Mac desktop, have brought me farther away from Windows, I was almost tempted to wipe it out from my laptop.

And yet here I am. I’ve booted up good ol’ Windows XP because my wife wanted to play Sims 2 (to get ideas for home remodeling). Looks like I haven’t forgotten how to use it.

Or perhaps it’s because I’ve learned to be platform-agnostic when it comes to work-related matters. With a lot of apps these days running over-the-web instead of locally, you would learn to be such. A lot of my documents and spreadsheets are hosted on Google Docs, so I could access them from any computer of mine, anywhere. My task list is on TaDa list, and my schedules are on Google Calendar. Let’s not forget Gmail. And then there are the instant messaging apps, which you could actually run online, or through cross-platform software (like Pidgin).

Then, of course, most (if not all) sites I work on run WordPress. So it’s usually the same thing no matter where I access the sites from, no matter what browser I use. Sure, there would be some differences in how shortcuts or keystrokes would be used on a Mac compared to a PC (such as the big CMD vs. Ctrl issue), or differences in the workflow (such as using alt-tab instead of Expose). But it’s essentially the same.

Still, being platform agnostic in terms of blogging means I would have to be well-versed with other blogging software as well, instead of just WordPress. I’ve had my share of using Blogger, Typepad and Movable Type, though not as extensive as my experience with WordPress. Managing a blog network with all blogs running WordPress I would have to be an expert (or try to be). But working mostly with Web apps, the Web browser has been my main “platform” so the operating system it runs on becomes a secondary concern.

And so as I close this, I would probably move back upstairs to my home office to fix some sites on the Mac, or perhaps even on my Asus Eee (small screened as it is, you could still squeeze out lots of productive time due to the fact that you can take it anywhere). Different OS, but because I’ve made the browser my “platform” I don’t think I would need much adjusting.

A lazy Sunday

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This is not a review, neither is this a rave or a rant.  I may just call this my way of just passing time.  But don’t worry, i’ll somehow bring this back to the tech talk we like here at gadzooki.com .

Sunday afternoon, it was my time to just bum around in a cafe.  Brought my macbook with me to see the podcasts I’ve missed viewing this week.  After getting my fill from http://mahalodaily.ning.com and http://www.geekbrief.tv , I fired up Mail to check if there’s something in my inbox.

Well, got the usual junk stuff of course, but before I was able to hit the delete key the graphic above caught my eye.

I was sooo laughing.

Taking a step back though, and after braving my best not to spew coffee from laughing… isn’t the graphic almost largely true?

We are now seeing the fact that tech companies are “fashioning” their products to appeal to a mass feminine base.  Apple is being very evident with this by releasing theirs with hues of pink, red… pastel colors.

Look at http://www.popgadget.net .  It’s a website full of gadgets, lifestyle and tech stuff for women.  Kudos to that blog by the way. 🙂

I think the day has almost come when women would like to see more buttons on their tech craves than men.  Most men would probably like them too, but I’ve seen to many who at the end of the day would just use the on/off switch!  women on the other hand would most likely be very intent on using the functions of say a palm Treo.

They’re a growing breed!

A Bright Future for Apple.. And Jonathan Ive

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I was just lurking around on PhilMug.ph today and I saw a thread on the speculations of who will succeed Steve Jobs.

I came across the name Jonathan Ive one time here on Gadzooki, I think, or was that on ZDNet, and when they said that he was the one who was behind all these sexy breakthroughs in computer and gadget designs, I did realize that the speculations of his succeeding the Apple Inc. throne are not too far off the mark. [Read more…]