Carl Conrad

IBMLabs predicts holograms in the next five years

Dec 30th, 2010 by Carl

With its fifth edition of its five years predictions, IBMLabs foresees:

generalization of data collection by the dissemination of capters for a real time image of the environment,
3-D hologrammes for our telephone and Internet communications,
ten times superior battery life thanks to ambiant air’s oxygen charging,
recycling of the heat dissipated by data centers,
real time information (traffic, accidents, parking, alternatives, etc.) for the optimization of commutes.

See you in 2015.

Source: the IBMLabs channel on YouTube.

Tags: 2015, IBMLabs / Topics: technology

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Tascam’s Portastudio on iPad

Dec 15th, 2010 by Carl

Who ever was in the music industry in the eighties has bumped into Tascam’s Portastudio.

Believe it or not, modern times see the introduction of Tascam’s Portastudio on iPad. Reproducing the look and feel of the Porta One cassette based multitrack recorder that revolutionized recording in 1984, the Portastudio app records up to four tracks.
Tascam's Portastudio on iPad
The application allows to record one track at a time using the built-in mic or a headset microphone. A simulated cassette transport with position counter tracks your position while you mix with level, pan and EQ controls. When you’re ready to mix, the built-in mixdown function saves your song as a CD-quality WAV file. Your mix appears in iTunes when you’re finished, ready to share with friends and bandmates.

Idealistics will hope some hardware extension will soon allow for higher quality standard than the built-in microphone. Others will think this is a gadget lacking numerous features at times of powerful multitrack recording software…

Tags: Apple, iPad, Portastudio, Tascam / Topics: audio, recording

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Gmail Priority Inbox takes care of our time

Aug 31st, 2010 by Carl

Gmail introduces Gmail Priority Inbox. To help saving time, Priority Inbox splits your inbox into three sections: “Important and unread,” “Starred” and “Everything else” based on our emailing history.

I can’t wait to see my Gmail updated.

Source: Official Gmail blog.

Tags: Gmail, Google / Topics: Internet, viral marketing

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HP to buy Palm

Apr 28th, 2010 by Carl

Is HP trying to catch up with the industry?

HP already bought Compaq a couple of years ago to become a major player in the PC market.

Although I’ve never tried it, I love the concept of the Palm Pre. A sound alternative to Apple’s iPhone. But it seems to have been a too big project for Palm. Will this purchase be enough for HP to become a major player in the handheld computer market? Or will it allow HP to become a player on the handheld tablet matket?

In any case, this will need HP to fight on the operating systems market. Apple on one side, Google on the other side (not to mention Microsoft who will probably try not to be left behind), not an easy task…

Tags: HP, Palm / Topics: mobile, technology

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Herbie Hancock @ TED

Feb 8th, 2010 by Carl

Herbie Hancock’s all-star set featuring Harvey Mason and Marcus Miller. Any need to say more about it?

Tags: Harvey Mason, Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller, TED / Topics: music

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TED talks about India

Dec 3rd, 2009 by Carl

TED I’ve discovered the TED conferences last summer and have to admit I’m quite fund of them. The variety of subjects and the quality of the lecturers make these talks mostly interesting.

I’ve recently stumbled across some highly interesting talks dealing with India and I wanted to shared them.

Here they are:

Devdutt Pattanaik: East vs. West – the myths that mystify – Devdutt Pattanaik takes an eye-opening look at the myths of India and of the West and shows how these two fundamentally different sets of beliefs about God, death and heaven help us consistently misunderstand one another.
Shashi Tharoor: Why nations should pursue “soft” power – India is fast becoming a superpower, says Shashi Tharoor, not just through trade and politics, but through “soft” power, its ability to share its culture with the world through food, music, technology, Bollywood. He argues that in the long run it’s not the size of the army that matters as much as a country’s ability to influence the world’s hearts and minds.
Hans Rosling: Asia’s rise – how and when – Hans Rosling was a young guest student in India when he first realized that Asia had all the capacities to reclaim its place as the world’s dominant economic force. At TEDIndia in November 2009, Hans, managing to coment statistics as a horse race, graphs global economic growth since 1858 and predicts the exact date that India and China will outstrip the US with a nice comment about the health care system in the US.

Some eye-opening talks about the so called sub-continent (what a dreadful word)…

Tags: India, TED / Topics: general

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Beds are burning

Oct 2nd, 2009 by Carl

Two months before the Copenhagen summit, here is an international call for action to prevent consequences of the climate change. Who can still deny it? Time ticks, act now.

Visit the Time for Climate Justice web site. A free iTunes download is available from the web site. Each download counts as a supporting vote. Still reading this post?

Topics: ecology

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