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Vital signs can be monitored through a mirror
When your heart beats, it sends blood pulsing through the blood vessels. Blood absorbs light, so more blood traveling through the blood vessels means less light hitting your skin is reflected. With a webcam and a computer this data can be translated into a heart-rate reading. The inventor says the system could be used to measure other vital signs as well, including respiratory rate and blood-oxygen saturation.
The first public cell phone call was made in the 70s
The first public cell phone call was made on April 3, 1973 by Martin Cooper, general manager of Motorola's Communications Systems Division back then. 11 years later the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X was the first cell phone sold in the US; launched on April 11, 1984, it was designed by Rudy Krolopp and weighed 2 pounds.
The internet was invented in the 50s
The history of the Internet starts in the 1950s with point-to-point communication between mainframe computers and terminals. In 1982 the concept of a world-wide network of fully interconnected networks was developed. Commercial Internet providers began to emerge in the late 1980s. In 1993 the Internet carried 1% of the information flowing through two-way telecommunication, growing to over 97% by 2007.
There's a new way to print
Weighing in at less than a pound, Alex Breton's PrintBrush easily fits in a laptop bag and prints on any flat surface, from wood to fabric to plastic. As the user slides the PrintBrush across a sheet of paper, optical sensors track the velocity and direction of the printer relative to the page. A controller matches the location coordinates to a pixel map of the document or image and runs algorithms to predict the next pixel to print.
3D printing – an innovative concept
3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing technology where a 3D object is created by successive layers of material. 3D printers offer product developers the ability to print parts and assemblies made of several materials with different mechanical and physical properties in a single build process. Advanced 3D printing technologies yield models that closely emulate look, feel and functionality of product prototypes.
New emotion detector can see when we are lying
A sophisticated new camera system can detect lies just by watching our faces as we talk, experts say. The computerized system uses a simple video camera, a high-resolution thermal imaging sensor, and a suite of algorithms. Researchers say the system could be a powerful aid to security services. While the camera analyzes the visible signs, the thermal sensor spots details like swelling blood vessels around the eyes.
Kodak stopped producing Polaroid cameras
The Polaroid Swinger camera came out in 1965. It sold for under $20 and was a big hit with consumers. Polaroid Corp., the assignee of numerous patents relating to instant photography, brought an action against Kodak for infringement of 12 Polaroid patents in 1976. Seven Polaroid patents were found to be valid and infringed. Kodak was out of the instant picture market and offered camera owners compensation.
Amazon sells more e-books than printed books
Amazon began selling hardcover and paperback books in July 1995. In 2007, Amazon introduced the Kindle and began selling Kindle books. By 2010, Kindle book sales had surpassed hardcover book sales, and six months later, Kindle books overtook paperback books to become the most popular format on Amazon.com. Since April 2011, for every 100 print books Amazon has sold, it has sold 105 Kindle books.
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Public and Private Clouds Servers market trend
A study by research firm IDC shows the global revenue for servers deployed in public and private clouds is expected to approach $9.4 billion by 2015. This revenue will mainly be driven by IT managers’ growing view of cloud computing as the best way to simplify managing technology environments. IDC estimates that the number of servers shipped for deployment in public clouds will exceed 1.2 million by 2015.
