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December 29, 2006
Actual smart product features of 2006
Brilliant Ideas That found a Welcome
This article was really comforting to read. Really. I have spent the past few months getting increasingly frustrated with a couple of cell phones that just never seem to do the things I want them to - and I really don't think I am that demanding... It just seems that for every different make and model, the manufacturers of cell phones and smart phones (large heavy things that try to be both a little computer and a cell phone, and fail miserably at both) each have a few good feature ideas, and at least an equal amount of bad ones.
However, David Pogue has reassured me that product features are not always astoundingly dumb and ill-thought-through. From magnetic power cords for your laptop that prevent the technological death caused by tripping over your power cord and bringing your fancy-schmancy laptop crashing to the ground, to Vista's Point Without Pointing speech recognition software feature that lets you identify a button or program without knowing the name, 2006 has luckily spawned a few really great product features.
I will sleep more soundly tonight. I think.
; )
Posted by lara at 11:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 24, 2006
cool blogs
an interesting list to check out if nothing else... The 2006 Weblog Awards
Posted by lara at 11:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 18, 2006
cool/freaky/cogsci/i hope it never happens to me...
OK, brain surgery is scary. One of the big reasons is the anaesthesia - because anytime you go under anaesthetics there are all kinds of risks that might cause you to just not wake up. Another tricky thing about brain surgery is - obviously - not messing up. by that i mean, e.g. when removing a tumor, to remove all of the tumor, while not damaging any other part of the brain.
Some of these problems are now fading into the past of brain surgery. Patients can now be awake during the procedure, and can actually be used to test brain functions (can you still move your left arm? see anything?) during the surgery.
so the thought makes me a bit squeamish, but the end result is safer, and more precise surgery, so that's good...
Posted by lara at 02:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
