TechHelpBasics » Tech News & Views

A Really Flat Flat Screen

Mark — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 00:55:19 +0000

Here’s a headline that might revolutionize what laptop computers, cell phones, and PDA’s look like in the future: Sony develops film-thin, bending display.

The prototype display is 2.5 inches in size, 0.01 inches thick, and supposedly bendable enough to be wrapped around a lamppost or someone’s wrist. It can display high-quality color images that rival existing displays. There are still problems to solve in its development, such as making the displays bigger and less expensive, but Sony’s achievement does seem to be a genuine breakthrough.

Imagine a low-power, feather-light, paper-thin color display that can be bent or dropped without damage. Amazing!

Tags: Flat Screen Displays

Artificial Unintelligence

Mark — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 00:38:27 +0000

That title isn’t a joke on my part; it’s the name of the lesson plan used at Georgia Tech in a course “aimed at reigniting interest in computer science among undergraduates.” According to an article in Forbes, educators are trying to reverse the trend against majoring in computer science by changing the curriculum to attract people who are not mathematically inclined. Some of these changes at Georgia Tech and other colleges and universities include:

Giving students little blue robots called “Scribblers” that can be programmed to draw shapes and make sounds (kind of like Logo in three dimensions).
Emphasizing the use of computers in other popular subjects such as bioengineering, entertainment, and medicine.
De-emphasizing the use of computers as mathematical tools (the “prime number syndrome”).

I do wonder about a college course whose lesson plan contains wording such as, “Singing, dancing and drawing polygons may be nifty, but any self-respecting evil roboticist needs a few more tricks in the repertoire if they are going to take over the world.” Unfortunately, whether computer science students have math aptitude or not, sooner or later they are going to have to put the Scribbler aside and apply actual mathematical concepts to their work. Also, I think that anyone going into the computer field should have some rudimentary knowledge of computer history, which was something that was never mentioned in the Forbes article.

Still, it’s a good idea to try to get more people interested in computer science, because it’s a vital skill that will be in great demand in the near future. I hope a whole new generation will experience the same excitement in computers that I felt when I started nearly thirty years ago.

Tags: Computer Science

Dell and Wal-Mart

Mark — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 22:56:36 +0000

Dell and Wal-Mart have entered into an agreement to sell Dell computers in Wal-Mart stores. According to CyberNet News, starting this month Wal-Mart will offer the Dimension E521 with or without its 19-inch monitor. According to Dell’s web site, the E521 “can be built with a range of AMD processors,” comes pre-loaded with Windows Vista, and is priced starting at $359. No one is saying what Wal-Mart’s version will look like or how much it will cost.

Analysts in print and on weblogs seem to think that Dell and Wal-Mart are something of an odd couple. In an article from the Los Angeles Times, Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder warned, “You don’t want the Dell name and the Wal-Mart name to get too closely associated” because Wal-Mart’s image is not as upscale as Dell’s.

For the customer I think this is a great decision. Dell is well-known for making quality computers, but many people will never consider buying from Dell because they are still not comfortable buying a computer without seeing it “in person” first. Hewlett-Packard already sells their computers in retail stores like Wal-Mart (as a matter of fact, I bought my Compaq Presario at a local Staples store). Why shouldn’t Dell?

Tags: Dell, Wal-Mart, Computers