New Technology Archives - chimesfreedom

What Happens When Kids Try to Use an Old Computer?

For us old folks, it is easy sometimes to forget how much technology has changed in our lifetime. If you want to feel really old, watch some young whippersnappers react to a computer from around the late 1970s or early 1980s.

It is amazing what we take for granted now, as shown by one of the kids being surprised that the floppy disk drive did not automatically suck in the disk or another kid wondering how to connect to the Internet. One compares the size of the computer to old TVs “that were kind of boxy.” Check out the funny video.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

Google’s Eyewear of the Future: Project Glass

Google Ngram Reader & Word History

Discovery’s Final Launch: The Space Race is Over

Computer Wins Jeopardy: Are We Entering Westworld?

Jeopardy: Humans vs. Machine Continues

I’ll Die With a Buzzer in My Hand!

(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

Google’s Eyewear of the Future: Project Glass

While a week ago Google was punking everyone with their new “products” for April Fools’ Day, this new video seems to be the real thing. The video presents a view from Google’s “Project Glass” eyewear, which allows one to have all kinds of information accessible from the moment you wake up. As more and more the computer age integrates into daily life, it almost seems like the logical next step.

Don’t look for the eyewear at Best Buy right now. It is an ongoing project and the video is meant as sort of a teaser to get everyone buzzing. Still, a commentator on CNN this morning predicted that the product could be available in the next 12-24 months. And PC Magazine has a photo of Google co-founder Sergey Brin wearing the device. While I want the device right now, I am a little worried that it will lead to a lot of problems with people not paying attention where they are going. But I suppose there will be an app to warn you if you are going to get hit by a car. Then again, maybe it is a little creepy to have that much technology controlling our lives. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Would you try this device? What do you think of Project Glass? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Google Ngram Reader & Word History

What Happens When Kids Try to Use an Old Computer?

Search By Smell With New Google Nose

Google Saves the Planet By Adding “Bacon Number” Function

New Gmail Tap for Cell Phones

Discovery’s Final Launch: The Space Race is Over

(Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)

Google Ngram Reader & Word History

Google Labs recently released a new tool, the Google Books Ngram Viewer. It allows you to chart the frequency of the use of any words you choose for any time period from 1800 through 2008. CBS Sunday Morning featured a story about the new search tool yesterday.

Google has digitized more than fifteen million books as part of an ongoing project, and the Ngram Viewer uses more than five million books in various languages. Within that set of books, you can see the frequency of any word or phrase you choose, tracing it throughout history, even comparing various words (like “war” and “peace” to find “war” has always been ahead). Try it out and play around with it. Here is the frequency of the four words in the Chimesfreedom subtitle. It is not surprising that the word “life” has been used so much more throughout history than the word “movies.”

You may also narrow the time period and adjust some of the factors. Although it is from a large number of books, one may argue about the accuracy and what conclusions one may really draw. But it is fun. You may even try curse words.

Here is a comparison of two famous movie icons and two music icons. The use of Bob Dylan’s name passed the use of Marilyn Monroe’s name in the last decade, but he is still behind John Wayne and the Beatles.