Sensecam Black Box helps jumpstart a failing memory.

With a cure for Alzheimer still elusive, for people with early stage of the disease or for people with other memory disorders, there is a new device that holds some promises as a memory aide.The device, called the Sensecam, was developed by Microsoft's research lab in the U.K. and now a British company is trying to bring it to market.
The device is a little black box that contains a digital camera and an accelerometer to measure movements according to the New York Times.
The way the device is envisioned as a memory aid, is to have it worn around the neck by people with memory difficulties when they are out and and about or when engaged in some activities and have it take hundred of pictures in a very short period of time, creating a slide show that can be viewed later. The logic behind the process is to focus on very few images that might unlock the memories related to the events or places in question.
Another potential use for the device, is by young people interested in logging their everyday activities and broadcast them Online in social networks, videos or photos sharing sites.

For more, see NYTimes.com

Meetingtomorrow.com and other sites offer electronics rental options.

In these tough economic times, for people wanting to use the latest piece of electronics, without having to pay the full retail price, there is an alternative to buying, it's renting. Beside the obvious economic allure of renting versus buying, renting electronics present the advantage of allowing people to try out new gadgets in a fast moving field where innovation is the rule. So if you want to try out things before you buy it, or maybe you are on the road and need some hardware to work with, these are a few options.
For instance the company MeetingTomorrow which operates the Web site meetingtomorrow.com, is said to have more than 1,200 of the latest models of desktop, laptops and printers for rent, according to the New York Times.
Potential users can rent whatever they may want Online and have the company shipped it to them the next business day with a shipping fees usually around $49. The rented device will come with a labelled box for return shipping.
Another rental company, is ATS Rentals at atsrentals.com specializing in video equipments such as LCD projectors and camcorders.
For people needing to rent a cell phone, there is cellhire.com, while for people looking for a GPS system, GPS 4 Rent at gps4rent.com is the place to go.


For more, see NYTimes.com

Intel Home Dashboard Concept to help monitor energy usage at home.

With all the potential seen in smart meters to save them and their customers money, utility companies all across the country are in an arms race for their implementation. One of the majors attractions of the smart meters is the fact that they can tell homeowners the cost of the energy they are using at any given time of the day. Armed with that information, homeowners are given the option to defere their heavy energy use untill off-peak hours, therefore saving them money.
But the process is in its very earlier stages with only a very few homes equipped with the devices. To remedied to that, there are some companies offering alternative products, some readily available, some not. Intel the computer chip maker, is one of them with a prototype product called Home Dashboard Concept, part of its new Home Energy Management Concept.
The product looks like the interface in most smart phones with a sleek touchscreen and can be hang on a wall or left sitting on a counter which add convenience since you can move it around the house.
Like the same suggests, the product does more than just monitoring energy use, it serve multiple purposes. Just like a smartphone, the Home Dashboard Concept is equipped of a camera that allow family members to leave video messages to another. It also allow dozens of applications to be run like you would on a smart phone for different purposes like mapping out an itinerary, looking for a telephone number in the phone book, tracking packages, looking for the weather or traffic conditions etc. Watch a video demonstration of the product here.
As cool and exiting as the new product may sound, Intel does not have a plan to commercialize it for now, instead it is looking to work with others manufactures to have them use its designs and processors with their own devices, the New York Times said.

For more, see NYTimes.com

Solutions for watching video wirelessly from the Internet onto your TV.

One of the phenomenon stemming from people spending more and more time Online, is that they tend to do most the activities they used to offline, Online, and watching TV and videos is one of them. On the downsize, computer screens small size push some people to hook their computers to the TV, task that is not easy or pretty when you consider all the wires and cables that may be involved. One solution to that problem is to have the signal of whatever video you are watching Online, beamed to your TV wirelessly. Believe it or not, companies have been working for a long time to have that process works, but with various levels of success.
The Wall Street Journal has recently tested two solutions to the problem; the first called Wi-Di is from several well known companies including chips maker Intel and several laptop makers and the other one is from a lesser known company called MediaMall.
Both systems require a device that remains connected to your TV to receive the wireless signal from your computer. But while the PlayOn system from MediaMall works with an existing computer, the Intel Wi-Di system is only available on three specific laptop models from Dell, Sony and Toshiba respectively. Also, the system requires a Netgear adapter called Push2TV that comes free with those specific laptops otherwise, it retails for $100. Both Intel and Netgear are saying the Wi-Di system will be available on other computers models later this year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The PlayOn system from MediaMall works by beaming video from your computer to your TV through games consoles such as Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii but not before a $4o software is installed on whatever computer you are using.
Both the Wi-Di and the PlayOn systems play videos wirelessly from your computer or laptop to your TV, but the experience is different with each system.


For more, see WSJ.com

Allrecipes new app provides unlimited access to 40,000 new dishes.

Allrecipes.com which claims to be the "world's No.1 food site" has just released a new paid version of its free iPhone app. Called Allrecipes Dinner Spinner Pro, the new $2.99 app provides unlimited access to the complete Allrecipes.com library, including 40,000 dishes not available with the free version, according to the New York Times.

On top of the extra dishes, the new app has added a feature most requested by users, the ability to save favorite recipes.

The new app most noticeable functions are three spinning wheels that allow users to do three things respectively: choose a meal, select some ingredients and set the completion time.

Also the new app makes it easier to go shopping for the ingredients on a recipe by putting them into a single list.

For more, see the NYTimes.com

FamilyGeteway.com offers reduced-prices travel packages for families.

Responding to frequent request for family trips, LuxuryLink.com, the Online auction travel company has launched a new Web site, FamilyGateway.com, geared towards family travelers.
Just like with LuxuryLink.com, travelers with families can bid on reduced priced travel packages that put the focus on families. To meet that market segment needs, packages usually include activities such as kids's clubs, suite accommodations, cultural excursions etc.
According to the Wall Street Journal, packages are discounted up to 65% and "users can buy them in an auction or at fixed prices."

For more, see WSJ.com

Microsoft Office 2010 to be launched in May.

Last week, Microsoft announced May 12 as the launch date for Office 2010 which will go on sale the same day to Enterprises with volume license agreements. For the general public and business without licensing deals, it will be available sometime in June with no set date yet.
Also announced, was a new program called Technology Guarantee Program which is a free Office 2010 upgrade for certain owners of Office 2007.
Will qualify for the program, customers who purchase an eligible copy of Office 2007 between March 5 and September 30 2010. According to computerworld.com who reported on this, those customers will be able to download a corresponding edition of Office 2010 for free when the new suite become available in June.
Still according to computerworld, "users who want a DVD installation disc will have to pay a small shipping-and-handling fee" which is not released yet.

For more, see computerworld.com