[audio https://garethstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/36_technolotics.mp3] Listen: Episode 36 Watch: Youtube Notes A Dose Of Genius Dramatic increases in the numbers of students using “smart pills” to increase concentration, focus, wakefulness and short-term memory. Adderall, used to treat attention-deficit disorder. Sales up 3,135 per cent in the last 4 years. Provigil used to treat narcoleptics, who fall asleep uncontrollably. Sales up […]
[audio https://garethstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/36_technolotics.mp3]
Listen: Episode 36
Watch: Youtube
Notes
A Dose Of Genius
Dramatic increases in the numbers of students using “smart pills” to increase
concentration,
focus,
wakefulness
and short-term memory.
Adderall,
used to treat attention-deficit disorder.
Sales up 3,135 per cent in the last 4 years.
Provigil
used to treat narcoleptics, who fall asleep uncontrollably.
Sales up 359.7 percent in the last 4 years..
These “brain steroids” are cheaply available, with those having legitimate perscriptions selling or giving away the pills to their friends.
Study published in an international biomedical and psychosocial journal noted that 7 million Americans used bootleg perscriptions in 2002 and 1.6 million were in the student age group.
In May, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America issued its annual attitude-tracking study on drug use
it concluded 2.25 million kids of middle school and high school age are abusing stimulants.
This represents 1 in 10 students in that age group.
These represent the first geneneration of brain pills, memory drugs may soon be on sale pending the results of clinical trials.
Four US companies are racing to bring drugs for Alzheimer’s patients to market.
Researchers expect those drugs to slowly filter into use by a population sick of forgetting what they meant to buy at the shops and students looking for an edge.
One new drug boosts the activity of glutamate, a key neurotransmitter that makes it easier to learn and encode memory.
For the future:
Will business see it as a way to get more out of the average worker.
Certainly in jobs where mental endurance matters it will creep in, especially as those who take them at school move into these roles.
What about the side effects?
Cleaner student accomodation.
Strattera — the ADHD medicine can result in liver failure
a form of Adderall was pulled from its markets as a result of sudden unexplained deaths in children with cardiac abnormalities.
How long before it becomes common over here?
Points race and pressure to succeed placing greater pressure on students.
Will those who cannot attend grind schools use these drugs to keep up?
Links
Original Article from Washington Post
The Last Radio
The GNU programmable radio
Capable of grabing most of the electromagnetic spectrum
Most devices that use wireless communications utilize single purpose radios which operate over a narrow band of frequencies.
A general purpose radio that can be reconfigured offers greater flexibility and economy of scale.
Imagine being able to recieve or transmit any kind of signal using one device.
Eric Blossom & Matt Ettus teamed up to develop a HDTV reciever.
While they have yet to decode HDTV they have gone on to build the a software-defined radio.
The system consists of the:
Universal Software Radio Peripheral, or USRP motherboard
the daughterboards that allow it to transmit and recieve over various parts of the electomagnetic spectrum.
The device is already being used to track shopper movements within a closed area using triangulation of the GSM signals.
Blossom is working on a passive radar system which will use ambient radio waves to track flying objects up to 50 km away.
System opens up vast possibilities for researchers and amateurs, Ettus is selling the kits from his website starting at $550
Links
Netvibes Ecosystem
Popular WEb2.0 online desktop / portal netvibes have launched Netvibes Ecosystem
The ecosystem is a cleverly designed one way mirror of RSS content, widgets created with the netvibes API, and flash content
You can alter how netvibes works, subscribe to feeds created by users, add a clock, games etc
With integrated POP3 mail, mouseover feed preview, and built in RSS viewer, Netvibes is rapidly becomming a top notch alternative to separate RSS feed viewers
Links
Gesturtek outdo the Wiimote
New camera software from Gesturetek should enable X360 and PS3 to replicate all the functionality of the Wiimote and more
Gesturetek showed off their Software development kit at E3
It is used to program for the as-of-yet unannounced XBox 360 camera.
This is not a slightly better EyeToy which could only identify motion and direction.
The SDK allows for the identification and tracking of a single person’s face.
It also tracks limbs in 3 dimentional space.
It can in fact identify and track individual fingers.
This allows for very sophisticated gesture recognition if the hype is to be believed.
The SDK is also being ported to the PS2 and PS3 and should be ready by the end of the summer.
The question is – will software support the peripheral?
Writer makes the point that Nintendo Wii is all about the controller.
Game makers have no incentive to incorporate gesture control into their games.
It’s much easier to churn out generic sequels to popular titles.
Those that do might do so poorly.
Nintendo on the other hand incorporate gesture recognition by default.
It’s the unique selling point of the Wii.
For developers it is much more likely to be fully incorporated into games for the Wii.
Gesture games are hugely popular, Guitar Hero allowing air guitar afficionados everywhere to strut their stuff.
If the system works then it would be nice to see other uses of it.
no more seaching for the remote control, simply control every device in the room via gestures.
Links
Short Stories
Google Spreadsheets
Googleblogger – Spreadsheets for everybody else
Will not replace advanced corporate functions
But – multiuser / post online / all basic functions – fine for home / small business use
Only major feature missing = charts
Google Browser Synch
Google have launched a tool for those of us forced to skip from Desk to desk
Google browser synch lets users carry their settings with them
bookmarks, history, persistent cookies, and saved passwords are kept up to date
handy, but do you trust google with this info?
NSA Lawsuit will go ahead
Judge rules that the lawsuit against the NSA over their illegal wiretapping can go ahead
Lawsuit filed by the ACLU in Detroit and the Center for Constitution Rights in New York in January.
Claim was that the wiretapping violated American’s rights to free speech and privacy.
Plaintiffs asked the judge in March to declare the wiretaps illegal.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requires a visit to a secret court to authorize spying within the United States.
The NSA had not done this, making their wiretaps warrentless and illegal.
Government filed a motion saying no court can consider the issues as it may harm national security.
Judge said she will hear the government’s motion only after proceeding with the hearing on the plaintiff’s motion to declare the spying illegal.
The Justice Department has yet to respond to the legal challenge.
Link:: Boston.com
Hitch – iPod to iPod without PC
Finally – rip to and from portable devices without a PC
Link:: Sima Products
Media Pimp
Gareth
Man vs Flash
Observer Chris Morris Special
The Amen Break Video
The Establishment – Ultimate Peter Cook Fan Site
Amazing RC Piloting
Powers of 10
Francis
Search for content with a particular tag on flickr, youtube, del.icio.us,technorati, feedster, newsvine, reddit and tailrank, all at the same time on Tagfetch.com
Make your own lcd projector
Make google maps the easy way with Google Map Maker
Prison Break begins on RTE 2 on Tuesday night.