The Earth is full – CNN.com

How many people can this planet support?  According to Paul Gliding, The Earth is full.  Or rather, it’s not the number of people that’s the problem, but the amount of resources we require from this plane to sustain our economies.  It’s possible to transform our economies to live in balance with this planet, but let’s face it, that’s not going to happen until we reach the breaking point first, and that’ll probably be within our lifetimes.  I’d like to believe that my blog will help influence enough people to achieve change here…but I admit I’m pessimistic, due to the global cooperation required.

Here’s his TED talk:

Real-time audio translation

This is pretty cool…AT&T is close to having a real-time audio translation service, shown here working on iPads which means it could run on about any computer hardware (or even in the background over your cell provider’s network, potentially).  The video below shows a brief demo, though it’s about the worst possible environment for a demo like this…noisy room full of other chatter.  But, it shows the technology in brief at least.  In a two-way audio communication (ie, phone call), it translates the audio into the language the party on the other end can comprehend.

via Engadget

The cost of oil

With the political season in full swing and our annual uptick in gas prices, there’s a lot of talk about how to lower the price of gas and oil.  The reality is really nicely summed up in this article at smartplanet.  The fact is, we’ve already tapped all the ‘cheap’, easily accessible oil.  While there are vast quantities of hydrocarbons still available to be extracted, the cost of doing so is quite high, and as a result, we’ll never have ‘cheap’ oil ever again.  Those new sources are also more difficult to get to (meaning more expensive).  This means that around 2014-2015, we’re expected to hit a point where global oil supply (production) decreases on a year to year basis.  Naturally, this is not going to be fun for those driving inefficient cars.  If you’re shopping for a new car, you’d be wise to consider the most fuel efficient model that you can for whatever type of vehicle you need!

It’s a really good article and worth the read, check it out here.

Time lapse video of Earth, seen from space

This is hardly new, but it’s worth sharing time and time again.  It’s a time lapse video taken of the most amazing planet our species has ever laid eyes upon, as seen from the International Space Station.  Nice to watch time and time again as a reminder of how awesome this planet is.

 

Oakley smart glasses

It’s pretty much a given that the first wave of augmented reality applications will not be through smartphones’ interfaces, but through glasses that have information overlaid on the display (such as the Google Glasses rumored for release later in 2012).  So, it should come as no surprise that Oakley has been working on this since the late 90s, according to their CEO.  It just goes to show that this really is cutting edge technology…it’s no small feat, though Oakley has made incremental steps in this direction first with their ‘Thump’ glasses that also had an MP3 music player, and also with bluetooth-capable glasses that would stream music from your iPod.  It’s similar to the Apple product design philosophy of slowing incorporating features into your products to learn from that, eventually merging into one awesome product that’s light years ahead of the competition.  A newly awarded patent shows that Oakley is indeed working on adding video capability to their glasses.  They’ve got the bluetooth link worked out.  Battery technology has been a continual learning area for them.  I’d say they’re poised to be a leader in AR glasses soon, though ultimately the hardware will not be what makes or breaks a company…it’s all about the software when it comes to AR.  If they release an API that provides for an easy link between the glasses and smartphones (since they’re the most ubiquitous portable computers), they could have a hit here.

There’s a bit more on this over at Techcrunch , also at Bloomberg, if you’re interested.

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