Techno-Files
Seeing is Believing
Imran H. Khan
I have always been fascinated by this advertisement 'The world at your fingertips'. Wouldn't it be nice to '...have the world at the palm of your hands...' Since the world is getting gadgets friendly with cameras in cell phones and Mp3 players in flash disks, I was fascinated to see a girl with a hologram of the world in her hands. Upon readjusting my spectacles, I noticed that it was not the world but rather an ad. Yoko Ishii, one of the chief researchers of Japan's telecommunication giant NTT's Cyber Solution Laboratory proudly boasts two round-shaped advertisements on her palms -- which are projected from the ceiling. Ishiii is busy in Yokosuka developing a prototype model of 'information rain' system as a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera tracks the entrants' movements and sends the data to connected computers. A CCD camera uses a small, rectangular piece of silicon rather than a piece of film to receive incoming light. This silicon wafer is a solid-state electronic component which has been micro-manufactured and segmented into an array of individual light-sensitive cells called 'photosites.' Each photosite is one element of the whole picture that is formed, thus it is called a picture element or 'pixel.' Ok, back to palm reading. After the computer gets the required info, the projector shoots out an advertisement that projects the words: 'SALE!' right onto her palms. Imagine if we could project 3D holograms in this fashion, could this be the latest hi-tech, the next generation of PalmTops?
Now to appreciate the next generation of monitors from Sharp, we have to be beside ourselves. Ever had one of those Toms take a sneak-peek at what you're doing on your computer? Well Tom's days are numbered, thanks to Sharp's Dual View Liquid Crystal Display Monitor. Sharp recently unveiled its Dual View and Veil View LCD technologies expected to hit the market in August 2005. The main aspect of this monitor is that it is capable of showing completely different screens at different viewing angles. As Engadget.com puts it, "…this is supposed to be a technology used to protect your information from shoulder surfing interlopers, what does it do to protect your screen from the person peeking behind you who's far less likely to be detected than the one sitting right next to you?" Note To Self: Must get rear-view mirrors for monitor. If privacy is such a modern issue, maybe they should start building monitors that have retina scans. That way, someone will have to lose an eyeball to hack into your private matters. And if that does happen, I am certain that privacy would be the least of your concerns.
Photos: Engadget and AFP
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