How would you like to charge your iPod... wirelessly?

How would you like to charge your iPod... wirelessly?

That's right. That wasn't a typo. Wirelessly. The stuff of many myths and science fiction novels has actually come to fruition, but has it always been with us all along?

Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla was at the forefront of electricity and how it can work through wireless fields. His first experiments about broadcasting power wirelessly were done way back in 1890. He used work developed by Michael Faraday in 1831 to research the property known as electromagnetic induction. Basically that means that having one wire with flowing electricity near another wire with no flowing electricity causes the electrons in the dead wire to start to move.

It's now 2009. 119 years later and Tesla already has a car named after him, nevermind the whole wireless technology bit. We now have plenty of companies starting to come into the market offering wireless charging bases, and even planning mobile electronics to be wireless in the not so distant future.

Power enthusiast company PowerCast was one of the first companies out with the technology, offering a... wireless christmas tree. Well, not the most practical of applications for wireless power, but it's a start, and at least allowed people who love moving their christmas tree's the freedom to do so.

So how come 119 years later we're just starting to find applications for the technology? That's a question for the inventor/application scenario's. Some people hypothesize that big businesses destroy innovations that could be threatening. Some say that there was no need for innovation of wireless electronics before today's market. Whatever the reason, free-range innovation and adaptability to new solution is what keeps us strong, and our iPod's charged.

[via http://bea.st/sight/lightbulb/]

Heart of Black

Valentines day is right around the corner, and everyone's thinking of just what they're going to do for their dear sweetheart. But many of those of the species homo erectus know many reasons, ex-es if you will, that make that holiday a pain to celebrate.

Coming to the rescue just in the for cynical and diabolical planning is Black Rose Floral Company. Red may be romantic, but send a black rose to someone, and you might match the black tarnish that person left in your heart from whatever relationship you may have had.

Since black roses don't actually exist yet, they offer two synthetic versions, feather and silk. The high class feather roses, and their leaves, are made from goose feathers. The silk version has a plastic stem.

The company offers boxed bouquets for shipment, but they don't allow any of those things you might like to say to the person you send these to.

The best part of the deal is that since the roses are synthetic, they never die, just like the undying feeling of torture in your heart.

If you'd like to order some for your diabolical plans, or just to give to that friend who sees red things and wants to paint them black, you can check them out at http://sendblackroses.com

[via ArriveMagazine]

Hang on for a Wyldryde!

Wyldryde is a chat server using the popular IRC Chat protocol, short for Internet Relay Chat. IRC servers are text only chatrooms that are moderated, and help to organize and facilitate the transfer of information between people.

Wyldryde is a server offering plenty of opportunities for technology oriented people, including:

• #Chris - Life blog of prior TV show host and current internet personality
• #BestTechie - Reviews of tech equipment and how-to video posts
• #geeksradio - Providing a 24/7 web radio broadcast powered by you!
• #killspyware - A channel where you can get help getting rid of spyware

Participating in IRC is easy! The easiest way to connect to Wyldryde is via their webchat utility at http://www.wyldryde.org/chat/ , or you can use one of their recommended IRC clients that you can download. If you already have the software, just connect to irc.wyldryde.org .

IRC has a slight learning curve to get used to, but offers a rewarding community of people who love to hear about what you have to say, and offer a diverse range of topics on different channels! Check out the Wyldryde IRC Network today!

Hide And Seek

Well worth a listen to. Some of the best and most dramatic use of a Vocoder ever.

Alright, well I tried to provide a nice embedded video, but apparently it doesn't work. Click here to see the video in Youtube.

Can I have yo numba?

On Facebook I see a lot of people creating groups trying to get their friends numbers because they have suddenly and insurmountably broken their phone to such an extreme that their numbers are all gone. I am here to say that's dumb.

Facebook has a Phonebook feature, allowing you to search and see all of your friends numbers from one convenient location!

Besides, why would you allow anyone in your network to see your phone number publically? Using friend security options, you can restrict your contact details to only include your friends, network, or even globally if you so desire.

Man, the back of your head is reedicculuuuusss!!!

My New Desktop

From Random Things

Top:
Menu Bar, Firefox, Network Meter, Window Switcher, CPU Core Controls, Temperature meters, Application closer and Sleep Inhibitor. Then task tray, which at the moment has Add/Remove Programs, Pidgin, Bluetooth, Dropbox, Wifi, and Battery icons. Date and time.

Dock Bar:
Office 2007 Word, Firefox, XChat, Transmission Bittorrent, Pidgin, Pidgin Conversation with Rachel, Add/Remove Programs, Battery meter.

Desktop picture is Goldrush_Wallpaper_Remix.jpg

All my windows and applications are themed black, and sexy. Fonts and colors of notices are pink/purple. ^^

Running Fedora 10.

Death Star Wifi

(11:59:06 AM) Silivrenion: gah, i hate wireless
(11:59:22 AM) Silivrenion: whenever i get further away from the point, my speed goes down
(11:59:58 AM) Silivrenion: I wish houses were like the death star, and a wifi point was strategically placed in the center, so no matter where you are, you'd get perfect wifi
(12:00:41 PM) Ashley: Hahaha
(12:01:40 PM) Silivrenion: ...except minus the whole blowing-up-when-a-missile-enters-the-exhaust-chute thing
(12:01:53 PM) Silivrenion: fricken Linksys...

Flight of the Conchords Ep 4 If You're Into It

My Desktop

From Random Things

Every OS Is Special

Every operating system has it's pro's and con's, and some of us are tired about the old "OS X is better" or "Vista sucks" arguments.

Review: Plantronics Discovery 925

The need to have a Bluetooth headset becomes apparent in a lot of places today. When driving, holding a phone is obnoxious. When talking with friends, you don't necessarily want to hold a phone to your ear for hours on end.

To solve this dilemma, I went out and purchased the high-end Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth Headset.

It's a great little headset that set me back $120 USD, but has some standard features that make it a nice competitor to other headsets on the market.

The packaging alone for the headset was higher class, showing the headset suspended in a plastic frame. Unpackaging it was straightforward, and I was surprised to see so many accessories coming with it.

The Discovery 925 comes with three silicone-gel earpiece inserts, the unit itself, an AC charger, a USB charger, a docking/carrying case providing mobile charging capabilities, a mini-USB lanyard, and the instruction book.

I was afraid the device would be loose in my ear, but since it comes wit three earpiece inserts, it fits snugly and does not fall out.

The device charges via mini-USB, so if you have anything else that uses the standard, this will work perfectly with it. You can charge the device alone, the docking battery, or charge them both together. The advertised charging times are 3 hours for AC power and 9 hours for USB power.

When I received the unit, it was already in a charged condition and didn't require charging.

This headset supports QuickPair technology, trademarked. When the Bluetooth headset is turned on, it will enter pairing mode automatically for 10 minutes. If no phone is found to connect to, it will shut off, and will continue this method until connected. Actually connecting the headset was simple, as it uses the standard 0000 code for connection.

The buttons on the device are easy to press, although I had some problems finding the volume button at times. There's only two buttons, a main one and a volume button, with the main on the front face of the device, and the volume on one of the sides.

The device has good quality itself, but the quality you get depends on the phone that you pair with. My LG Chocolate VX8550 has somewhat poor quality when connected, but my laptop connected with high quality. Range is advertised at 33 feet without obstruction.

The earpiece felt very natural to use, and has good sound. Talking to people, they said I sounded very natural and not distorted. I did not test it in a noisy environment.

The earpiece sounds very good in regular conversation, but depending on the kind of voice the other party has, it can have too much bass or treble to understand really clearly what they're saying.

Overall, the headset comes with a lot for the money, looks good, and offers great features that make it a strong competitor against other headsets. I would recommend it to others!