Movies On Blu Ray Disc

Blu ray disc can be used to play movies stored in a digital form. One can also play movies directly from internet and use these discs simultaneously to store movies on them.

Blu Ray disc is a next generation optical disc which is used for storing huge quantity of digital data in a compact space. This disc is developed keeping in view that it would enable recording, rewriting and also playback of movies that require large storage space. Blu ray movies are an enormous source of entertainment for the people. These discs can be used to store upto five times more data compared to the traditional DVDs. A single layered disc can hold upto 25 GB of electronic data and a double layered disk can hold upto 50 GB of data. Movies, when stored on these discs provide great entertainment to the viewers. The latest Blu ray movies are known to provide high quality entertainment to the users. The name of the this disc is derived from the technology that is brought to use for its functioning. A 'blue-violet laser' is used to read and write data on the disc.

The Blu-ray disc can work on wide range of formats. This includes Rom, R and RW. The BD-Rom is a read only format that allows the opening of games and movie files. The BD-R is a format that allows HD video recording and data storage in a PC. The BD-RE is a writable format for PC data storage and HD video recording. Thus these formats effectively support the playing of any type of videos stored on the discs. Essentially the video codecs supported by Blu-ray are on formats such as MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC. The SMPTE VC 1 is another standard format based on Microsoft Windows Media Video (WMV) technology.

There are some compelling features of Blu ray recorders. They allow the users to have random access to a track that is being played. The user can jump to any position on the track. There is also the option whereby the user can quickly browse and watch recorded programs. One can also change the order in which recorded programs are stored on the device. One of the key features of this disc is that it can simultaneously be used to record as well as play videos. While doing this, the disc automatically finds an empty space so as to avoid recording over already stored programs.

One can record videos and simultaneously play movies on these discs. The disc can also be used to run online Blu-ray movies too where one gets the opportunity to store her or his favourite movies online while also simultaneously watching it on the internet. Nowadays, these discs are being used by high definition televisions (HDTV) for their improved picture quality. They also have the capability to record surround sound. All these parameters make these discs highly compatible.

Asimo

A robot to cook your dinner, do your homework, clean your house, or get your groceries? Robots already do a lot of the jobs that we humans don't want to do, can't do, or simply can't do as well as our robotic counterparts. In factories around the world, disembodied robot arms assemble cars, delicately place candies into their boxes, and do all sorts of tedious jobs. There are even a handful of robots on the market whose sole job is to vacuum the floor or mow your lawn.

Many of us grew up watching robots on TV and in the movies: There was Rosie, the Jetsons' robot housekeeper; Data, the android crewmember on "Star Trek: The Next Generation"; and of course, C3PO from "Star Wars." The robots being created today aren't quite in the realm of Data or C3PO, but there have been some amazing advances in their technology. Honda engineers have been busy creating the ASIMO robot for more than 20 years. In this article, we'll find out what makes ASIMO the most advanced humanoid robot to date.

The Honda Motor Company developed ASIMO, which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, and is the most advanced humanoid robot in the world. According to the ASIMO Web site, ASIMO is the first humanoid robot in the world that can walk independently and climb stairs.

In addition to ASIMO's ability to walk like we do, it can also understand preprogrammed gestures and spoken commands, recognize voices and faces and interface with IC Communication cards. ASIMO has arms and hands so it can do things like turn on light switches, open doors, carry objects, and push carts.

Rather than building a robot that would be another toy, Honda wanted to create a robot that would be a helper for people -- a robot to help around the house, help the elderly, or help someone confined to a wheelchair or bed. ASIMO is 4 feet 3 inches (1.3 meters) high, which is just the right height to look eye to eye with someone seated in a chair. This allows ASIMO to do the jobs it was created to do without being too big and menacing. Often referred to as looking like a "kid wearing a spacesuit," ASIMO's friendly appearance and nonthreatening size work well for the purposes Honda had in mind when creating it.

Nano Technology

There's an unprecedented multidisciplinary convergence of scientists dedicated to the study of a world so small, we can't see it even with a light microscope. That world is the field of nanotechnology, the realm of atoms and nanostructures. Nanotechnology is so new, no one is really sure what will come of it. Even so, predictions range from the ability to reproduce things like diamonds and food to the world being devoured by self-replicating nanorobots.

In order to understand the unusual world of nanotechnology, we need to get an idea of the units of measure involved. A centimeter is one-hundredth of a meter, a millimeter is one-thousandth of a meter, and a micrometer is one-millionth of a meter, but all of these are still huge compared to the nanoscale. A nanometer(nm) is one-billionth of a meter, smaller than the wavelength of visible light and a hundred-thousandth the width of a human hair.

As small as a nanometer is, it's still large compared to the atomic scale. An atom has a diameter of about 0.1 nm. An atom's nucleus is much smaller - about 0.00001 nm. Atoms are the building blocks for all matter in our universe. You and everything around you are made of atoms. Nature has perfected the science of manufacturing matter molecularly. For instance, our bodies are assembled in a specific manner from millions of living cells. Cells are nature's nanomachines. At the atomic scale, elements are at their most basic level. On the nanoscale, we can potentially put these atoms together to make almost anything.

In a lecture called "Small Wonders:The World of Nanoscience," Nobel Prize winner Dr. Horst Störmer said that the nanoscale is more interesting than the atomic scale because the nanoscale is the first point where we can assemble something - it's not until we start putting atoms together that we can make anything useful.

Iris Scanning

Iris scanning can seem very futuristic, but at the heart of the system is a simple CCD digital camera. It uses both visible and near-infrared light to take a clear, high-contrast picture of a person's iris. With near-infrared light, a person's pupil is very black, making it easy for the computer to isolate the pupil and iris.

When you look into an iris scanner, either the camera focuses automatically or you use a mirror or audible feedback from the system to make sure that you are positioned correctly. Usually, your eye is 3 to 10 inches from the camera. When the camera takes a picture, the computer locates:

* The center of the pupil
* The edge of the pupil
* The edge of the iris
* The eyelids and eyelashes

It then analyzes the patterns in the iris and translates them into a code. Iris scanners are becoming more common in high-security applications because people's eyes are so unique (the chance of mistaking one iris code for another is 1 in 10 to the 78th power. They also allow more than 200 points of reference for comparison, as opposed to 60 or 70 points in fingerprints.

The iris is a visible but protected structure, and it does not usually change over time, making it ideal for biometric identification. Most of the time, people's eyes also remain unchanged after eye surgery, and blind people can use iris scanners as long as their eyes have irises. Eyeglasses and contact lenses typically do not interfere or cause inaccurate readings.

Competing Technologies On Smart Window

There are several technologies that can be used in a smart-window application:

* Thermotropics
* Photocromics or photochromatics
* Liquid Crystals
* Suspended Partical Displays
* Electrochromics
* Reflective Hydrides

Cleaning window treatments can be a hassle. In this regard, smart windows are an easy alternative -- no more blinds to clean, or expensive drapery to be professionally cared for. Not only will smart windows cut down on your dry-cleaning bill, but they can save money on your power bill, too. When the summer sun is bathing your house in rays, things can really heat up inside your home, making your air conditioning work overtime. Smart windows can be used to block that extra heat. By blocking UV radiation, smart windows can protect paintings and furnishings in your home or office, too.

Although thermotropic and photochromic technology can be used in smart windows, both applications are ultimately impractical as energy saving devices because they cannot be manually controlled. Photochromic technology is most commonly used in sunglasses: Photochromatic material darkens in response to direct sunlight. As you can imagine, windows featuring this technology would not be entirely energy-efficient during cold winter months. On a cold but sunny day, instead of letting light in to warm a room, the windows would automatically darken instead. Thermotropic material responds to heat. So, on a beautiful, sunny summer's day, your view outside would be unavoidably diminished.

Digital Picture Frames

We all have at least one technologically challenged relative. We can e-mail photos or post them on a personal Web page for some of our loved ones, but there are others who want nothing to do with a computer, let alone the Internet.

The perfect gadget for sharing photos with the computerless is the digital picture frame. This is a device about the size and shape of an ordinary picture frame. It contains an LCD screen, which displays multiple photos in a slideshow format, and it connects to the Internet via phone line to download new pictures and information to display on the screen.

Several companies have made digital picture frames, including Polaroid, Kodak and Ceiva. The frames are fairly similar in construction, though they do offer some different features.

Protecting Your Cellphone

The best way to protect yourself from cellphone viruses is the same way you protect yourself from computer viruses: Never open anything if you don't know what it is, haven't requested it or have any suspicions whatsoever that it's not what it claims to be. That said, even the most cautious person can still end up with an infected phone. Here are some steps you can take to decrease your chances of installing a virus:

* Turn off Bluetooth discoverable mode.

* Check security updates to learn about filenames you should keep an eye out for.

* Install some type of security software on your phone.

Although some in the cell-phone industry think the potential problem is overstated, most experts agree that cell-phone viruses are on the brink of their destructive power. Installing a "security patch" that ends up turning your phone into a useless piece of plastic is definitely something to be concerned about, but it could still get worse. Future possibilities include viruses that bug phones, so someone can see every number you call and listen to your conversations and viruses that steal financial information, which would be a serious issue if smartphones end up being used as payment devices. Ultimately, more connectivity means more exposure to viruses and faster spreading of infection. As smartphones become more common and more complex, so will the viruses that target them.

Digital Television

Are you familiar with the world of DTV. Here is a quick summary of the important points:

* Broadcasters in your area have each been allocated a new channel for their DTV broadcasts.

* The broadcasters each transmit a 19.39-Mbps stream of digital data. This signal contains television programs compressed using the MPEG-2 compression system.

* DTV shows can be broadcast at several different resolutions:
- 480p - The picture is 704x480 scan lines sent at 60 complete frames per second.
- 720p - The picture is 1280x720 scan lines sent at 60 complete frames per second.
- 1080i - The picture is 1920x1080 scan lines sent at 60 interlaced frames per second (30 complete frames per second).

* Broadcasters can transmit either a single 1080i high-definition channel that consumes the entire 19.39-Mbps stream, or several different sub-channels by encoding multiple programs at 480p resolution and lower bit rates.

For example, the DTV station 53 can have sub-channels named 53.1, 53.2 and 53.3. accessDTV can record and play back the sub-channels.

The accessDTV Digital Media Receiver Solution consists of hardware and software. The hardware is a PCI card that you install inside your PC. The software controls the card and allows you to tune in and view DTV broadcasts in your area, using either your computer monitor or an external HDTV display

Fur Fabric Displays

There has been some confusion about what, exactly, a fur fabric display is. Philips Electronics filed a patent application with the simple title "Fabric Display," though some science blogs and magazines have referred to it as "furry television." At its most basic level, this fur fabric display relies on a very simple technology. Patches of fur cover an image, and when the fur moves, it reveals the image underneath. It's a simple way to conceal and reveal designs.

The fabric display has three layers. The bottom layer is conductive, which means it can carry electricity from a power source - like a small battery pack - to the rest of the fabric to create an electrostatic field across the fur, which gives each strand of fur the same electrical charge.

The next layer in a fur fabric display is the fabric's base color or design. This could be a company logo, a picture or just a particular color. The furry display doesn't change the design on the cloth; it just hides or reveals portions of the design at a given time.

The third layer is the fur. It can be any color, but it must be short enough so that when the user turns on the electrostatic field, the strands stand on end and reveal the design or color of the fabric underneath. For example, in a simple fur fabric display, you could use red fur to cover a blue shirt. When you turn on the power for the conductive layer, the red fur would stand on end, revealing the blue shirt underneath. To a distant observer, it would appear that the shirt had just magically changed colors.

The patent application refers to each small, visible section of the base fabric as a "pixel," which may be why some articles refer to the display as furry television. While it might be possible to approximate primitive animation techniques by printing one image across the fur layer and a slightly adjusted image on the fabric underneath, it's not quite the same as watching television on someone's jacket.

WiFi On Cellphones

Free stuff is good, and free stuff that you'd ordinarily have to pay for is even better. That's one of the reasons people have tried using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to make phone calls. With VoIP, you can make calls, even long-distance and international ones, for free. But until recently, VoIP had one pretty big limitation to make a call, you had to be at a computer.

New phones make it possible for people to place VoIP calls without being leashed to a computer. WiFi phones use the same wireless network technology that computers use, making VoIP a lot more portable.

This article will explore WiFi phones and their abilities, as well as the pros and cons of using them. We'll start with a quick review of VoIP and WiFi.

WiFi & Telephone Basics. Understanding VoIP is easier if you have a basic understanding of how old-fashioned telephones work. Most people have used an ordinary "land line" phone so often that the process seems instinctive. You just pick up the phone, hear a dial tone, dial, talk and hang up.

But several things happen between you dialing the phone and the other person answering. To get from person to person, the call travels through the wires that make up the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Your local phone carrier routes your call through a series of physical switches that eventually connect your phone to the other person's. This is called circuit switching.

This isn't a particularly efficient way of making phone calls. The entire circuit between the two phones stays open during the conversation, even though only one person is talking at a time. It's also open when neither person is talking.

Life Is Easy With Your GPS System

Global Positioning System(GPS) is a modern technology which is used primarily for tracking the position of your object. The object can be anything from vehicles to human. The invention of GPS system can be dated back to the year 1940 when the radio-based navigational systems was used for Long Range Navigation. The GPS as we know today is the evolution of the Long Range Navigation technology. However, the system was available to public until 20 years ago. Now-a-days, GPS system is implemented in almost every facet of human life.

Mobile phones: The advancement of GPS technology can also be seen being used in the mobile phone industry. For instance, some of the latest mobile phones are based on 3G network. Today`s mobile phones use the Global Navigation Satellite system. The GPS receiver in the mobile phones catches the signal transmitted by the Global Navigation Satellite. This helps in determining the location, time and speed of the object, i.e. the handset.

Personal vehicles: What works for a mobile phone also works for vehicles such buses, trucks, cars and even motorbikes. The Global Positing System technology is being predominantly used for tracking the position and movement of the vehicles. Using GPS system in your vehicle helps you know the accurate route of your vehicle.

Police department: The Global Positing System technology is also used by the police department to track the criminal through route maps and voice guidance. Understandably, this system is used under the sea and also in the sky for surveillance purpose.

Gaming console: GPS system is used in many gaming consoles allowing the gamers to figure out their speed of the vehicles to improve their gaming skills. The latest play station introduced by Sony is the best example of GPS system-based gaming console.

How GPS Can Help You Improve Your Personal Life:

In your car: If you are driving a GPS automobile you are least likely to lose you way no mater wherever you go. With the help of GPS you can figure out where you are located at any particular point of time. As a result you save your precious time in wondering about you are located.

While you play: If you are a serious golfer, GPS will help can help you determine things such as how far is your ball from the hole, a bunker or even a water hazard. If you are sucker for soccer, use GPS to figure out your speed on the ground and total distance covered by you.

For you family members: If you are one of those who always worry about their kids taking their car out, you can use the GPS in your car to track their movement no matter wherever they go. Similarly, if your parents or any family members are suffering from dementia and likely to get lost in their way back to home, you can use GPS in their vehicles which will help you tack their position and rescue them accordingly.

In your business: If you are running a transport business and need to keep track of the drivers, GPS can do a world of good to your business. GPS system will help you find if your drivers are taking undue breaks or using wrong routes. Moreover, GPS will help you find the status of your shipment.

It`s not always easy to ensure you remember everything in the fast-paced life. To reduce the risk many people use GPS technology where they feel its importance.