This is an interesting graphic showing how much storage has changed over the years.
Be sure to click the image to see it full size. Just interesting to think about. It makes me so happy we’ve evolved over the years. And every few years it just gets better. The infographic was created by Curtiss Spontelli.
It seems a little odd that cars have been around for over 100 years but our stoplights are still essentially the same, red, yellow, green. This concept stoplight is designed to better inform drivers about how long they can expect to sit at a stoplight.
It takes an idea from modern computing where there’s a progress bar for almost everything you do. Installing a program? A progress bar shows the progress. Copying files? Progress bar again. Waiting at a stoplight? Progress bar. Maybe I’ve been using computers too long but it makes perfect sense to me.
One interesting note while I was looking into this, it seems the concept isn’t entirely new. In 1936 Charles Marshall designed a similar rotary light with the exact same function. Looks like it’s just getting an update.
In the past few weeks there has been an extremely childish fight between two of the biggest cell companies in the U.S. If you’ve missed out it all began with this commercial where Verizon used a play on Apple’s “There’s an app for that” series of advertisements for the iPhone. Verizon showed a comparison of their 3G coverage and AT&T’s and used the phrase “There’s a map for that” explaining why the iPhone’s 3G coverage is worse than Verizon’s. AT&T’s 3G coverage is considerably worse than Verizon’s but the map did not include AT&T’s EDGE service. EDGE service is slower but voice and data are both still available so AT&T was not pleased.
AT&T did have a tiny valid window but the map was clearly labeled 3G service and the areas of coverage were accurate. However, Verizon’s service is entirely 3G so that’s why the coverage area is significantly larger. Verizon did adjust the line that implied AT&T users would be out of service but continued to run the ad and even create more.
AT&T responded by filing a lawsuit against Verizon that I’m almost positive they will lose. In fact Verizon has become so confident that they responded to the lawsuit with a little sass. The opening statement to their response to the lawsuit was:
AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s “There’s A Map For That” advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts.
This is what I like to see from companies. Verizon is using an apples to apples comparison in their ads and AT&T just doesn’t like it. This really is a case where one product is better than another and one company called the other on it. It’s not Verizon’s responsibility to educate consumers about AT&T’s other inferior services. I’m with you Verizon, the truth hurts sometimes.
UPDATE: It looks like AT&T has lost its request to pull the ads. The trial is still going through, this just means Verizon can continue to run the ads until a decision is made.
Since the main goal of this blog is to discuss how technology and people interact I feel that there’s a certain person I have to mention. Her name is Aimee Mullins. Before she was a year old she had both of her legs amputated below the knee.
Since then she has volunteered for every type of prosthetic legs she could. She is the definition of combining technology with human and she’s even taken some flack for it. As technology is improving so are the legs she is able to use. At this point she has .
The pair she uses while running are made out of carbon fiber and some people claim they give her an unfair advantage during competitions. It’s interesting to see that people who are considered “disabled” are very now getting to a point where technology is allowing them to actually be better-abled than a regular person.
As technology continues to improve when will we hit a point where people will be volunteering to have there body parts replaced by artificial parts? How long before we can build a better arm or leg than we’re born with?
These questions are brought up by Mullins in the TED talks that she has done. I encourage you to watch her talk from 1998 as well as her most recent one below. She is also a guest editor on Gizmodo this week.
Below is an interesting video that compares the future of computing to our own bodies. It brings up some interesting ideas but it’s also a little scary. As much as technology is a part of our lives now we have no idea how much more complicated it’s going to get.