Personal Robots!?

To all those who don’t know TED, TED is a company that hosts conventions where people are given the chance to speak about projects they are currently working on. Almost every speaker who presents, offers ingenious ideas, products, and proposals they want to share with the public. 

One presentation in particular discussed the probability of personal robots in the not too distant future.

Cynthia Beazeal, discussed the history of our fascination (as humans) to robots. Look at Furby or Tomagotchi for example, two immensely popular robotic toys in the 90’s. They “touch something deeply human” as she explains in her speech. They become “helpful companions.” 

After much thinking, I feel that one major reason we are so intrigued by robots is for the stability. The saying: “The only constant in life is change,” can be completely applied to my reasoning. Marriage, economy, jobs and every other aspect in life cannot be controlled. 

Everything in life is never certain, and it is in that where people come to crave stability. The idea that a robot is always there, no matter what the circumstances come to be, becomes extremely appealing to humans, especially in their hectic life. 

That is my reasoning to why people become so fascinated by robots, but I want to know what is yours? Why do you think we as humans become so attached to robots?

Another question to think about is that given what you have thought about so far, do you think personal robots are a very real possibility? Or is it something that won’t become accepted into society?

Let me know what you think!

Here is the TED presentation.

Thanks for reading!

The Atrix...Redesigning the way Cell Phones and Laptops Interact

Motorola is releasing a new type of cell phone that will completely redesign the way people use their cell phones and laptops. Releasing this week on AT&T, this new cell phone, named the Atrix, plugs and syncs directly into the back of a Motorola laptop (that you will need to purchase separately). The Atrix holds all the information that is necessary for the laptop to run, being that it has no processor, memory or storage of its own. Essentially, the laptop in this case is just a more convenient way to access all the information that is on the phone; oddly you could compare it to a skull, while the Atrix acts as the brain.  

To add to its already long list of impressive technological advancements, the laptop even charges the phone while it’s plugged in and being used. The laptop acts almost like a fully functional dock for the phone to charge, so if you wanted to use it on an airplane for example, you could exit the plane with more battery life on your phone then when you got on.

Think about the seamless interaction between these two devices. Cell phones have been slowly morphing into personal handheld computers, but their technology has always been lacking. Now that it's possible, the Atrix, if released successfully, could not only begin a new wave of cell phones, but it could also start a new wave of laptops. Could Apple become the followers now to this new technological advancement? 

What do you think? Is this something that will spawn and completely redo the way we use cell phones? 

I have wanted an iPhone for as long as I can imagine, but being that I have Verizon, it has been next to impossible until just recently. Now though, after reading about this new cell phone and its capabilities, I don’t think I want an iPhone anymore…
    
Here is a video that explains and uses the device.

 Let me know what you think!

The #1 Bestselling, #1 Most Gifted, #1 Most Wished For Product...

...on Amazon.com. But that is saying A LOT. Amazon is a mega force in the online retailing industry, but that is neither here nor there...

If you haven’t heard of a Kindle by now, it’s a portable handheld “thing” (that kind of looks like iPad’s reject brother) which allows you to read books and other printable media on it. The Kindle from Amazon was released for public consumption in 2007, and in a relatively short span of over three years, has been updated three times. The latest Kindle, the creatively titled Kindle 3 was released on July 28, 2010.

Updated hardware, screen size, wi-fi, and other personalized touches, such as more aesthetically pleasing buttons/keys, and such make it an easier to function, and, a more importantly CHEAPER product.

It got me thinking about the future of print. As we all know, print is on its way out…but I’m curious as to how fast? Products like this, and the newly crazed iPad (and it’s newly released digital newspaper) is making it harder and harder for print to say relevant.

Heck, even the New York Time’s publisher and chairman, Arthur Sulzberger said print is destined to run out. According to the article, he was quoted saying:

"We will stop printing the New York Times sometime in the future, date TBD," Arthur Sulzberger told an audience at a London media summit Wednesday.

Obviously it’s not surprising, but when a chairman and publisher of one of the most successful newspapers in the world says that, and comes to term with all the threats that has piled up against him, the world takes a step back (at least I would hope so) and starts to question their role in this.            

I’m curious to see what you guys think. How often do you find yourself reading a newspaper, magazine, novel or any other sort of printed material? When do you think print will really start to become completely irrelevant in our lives? 20 years? 40? 60? Only time will tell, but what are your predictions?

Thanks for reading!

iPad's new daily newspaper
NY Times article

The Future is Now!

Having been surrounded by technology and its many advances all of my life just like everyone else; I decided to dedicate this blog to upcoming technological advancements and its impact on our future. Products such as the iPad or kindle, or even online advancements such as online television, or location based social networking. I want to discuss what the future may hold after these products are released.

I strongly encourage comments, discussion starters, and even disagreements. 

If you want to e-mail me:

alecfg@gmail.com is where to do it.

Thanks for reading.