August 1934. Modern Mechanix and Inventions magazine cover featuring a “radio tube train.”
Remarkable today for its absurdity, however in any era we probably can’t help but imagine the future in terms of combining familiar workaday technology (trains) with magical new ones (radio, at that time).
“In order to make our collections accessible online, they needed to be in digital format. So what does it take to digitize an archaeological collection? We had to sort, rehouse, digitally catalog, and digitally photograph over 213,000 artifacts.”
“The work by the researchers entailed enlisting the assistance of 24 male and 16 female adult volunteers to conduct early human type activities using both hafted and unhafted tools—each was fitted with a suit holding sensors that measured motion, muscle contractions, oxygen consumption and the speed at which tools were moving through the air.”
“Humans love to control how they feel. Booze and coffee have been perking us up and lubricating social situations for millennia. Mood-enhancing technology, on the other hand, usually tries to emulate a cup of joe or a glass of wine but without the need for rinsing your liver. I’m generally OK with pumping chemicals into my body, but with a few mood-changing gadgets catching my eye in the run-up to this year’s CES, I thought I’d give some a go. The hope was that I could avoid the usual uppers-and-downers routine that a week in Vegas demands.” - James Trew, Deputy Managing Editor, Engadget
Chrysler unveils its concept minivan for the selfie generation
The future of driving (or more likely, riding) has become less about speed and more about making sure occupants are comfortable and more importantly, entertained. At CES later today, Fiat/Chrysler (FCA) will unveil its Portal concept car. The electric vehicle will have face recognition and voice biometrics for what the automaker says is focused on millennials and will be “more than a tool – it’s an integral part of their lives.”
Let’s face it: With the way things are going, you won’t be able to dodge virtual reality forever. That’s exactly why Lenovo has been working on a relatively inexpensive VR headset for Windows machines, and we got the chance to strap one on and take it for a spin. Before we go any further, though, let us answer the question you’re surely asking: No, there’s no word yet as to when the headset will ship (aside from “later this year”). That said, Lenovo has said the device will cost less than $400 when it goes on sale.
