Department of Good Ideas

What if you could just think and cause things to happen? Would you multi-taskers be unfettered by your lowly bodies abilities?

Looks like it’s coming. A report from New Scientist shows a new mind controlled wheelchair. This is great news for the handicapped and speechless. It works using subvocalization. You think of saying the words and it picks up the signals reaching the larynx, interprets them and executes. NASA has been working on similar ideas. You can check it out on Gootube also.

I guess this wont work for multi-taskers that chat on the phone and do five things at once but it’s a great start.

The iPhone reduces it’s price by 30% after 2 months. Here’s what happened:

Apple’s spin: “We wanted put some heat on the competitors.”

iFanatics: “Huh? Steve, you ripped me off - how could you (sniff)?”

Apple’s spin: “Here’s a $100 in iMoney. Have a good day.”

iPress “Front page news every day! We love Apple!”

Apple Spin Doctors: “Job well done team, buzz is at an all time high.”

Reality: Apple product marketing screwed up. Misjudged the market and priced iPhone too high. Did you notice there was no shortage of this product? No? There was no shortage. Too expensive, not enough sales.

Apple Spin Doctors are unmatched on this planet. Well done, indeed.

When our blue marble was created it’s geology gave us two fantastic gifts.  Our hot molten core gives us the magnetic field that defends us against solar winds that would turn us to corn flakes.  It also gives us a worldwide supply of heat that can be used to generate electricity - and I mean a lot of electricity.

A report from a panel of experts at MIT found that the US could tap this heat and create lots of clean electricity with little requirements for new technology.

The findings showed that drilling  wells to reach hot rock and connecting them to a fractured rock region that has been prepped to let water flow through it creates a heat-exchanger that can produce large amounts of hot water or steam.  These in turn run electric generators at the surface.   Even better, the drilling and prep work are very similar to techniques used in oil extraction today.   In the west there hot rocks are closer to the surface and easier to drill but the hot rocks are everywhere.

The 18-member panel reported that there is enough geothermal energy under all our feet to deliver the entire 27 trillion kilowatt-hours of energy we consume and support our energy consumption at its current growth rate for more than two millennia.

Rumors are still flying about Google’s phone. Is there really one? This sure is a crowded space - Goog - do you think you should focus a little? My search results aren’t getting any better …. What is the niche for Google’s phone? Google requested to the FCC to require the winning bidder for old TV airwaves create a network unlocked for use (no locked phone and no locked services).  The idea is a very interesting market changer.   Is Google trying to help us wireless junkies?   No, this is just part of their monopoly play.  They can’t let the big CellCo’s dictate which phones and services you can access.  That leaves the CellCo’s between the users and Google.   That’s bad for Google.   However, if this neutral networks is created I can see a big new niche opening - open airwaves and maybe a GPhone with an open OS on the phone.  That’s a new world indeed.

I have played with the iPhone. It has big cool factor and I was pretty happy with the ability to type on it. That was one of my biggest worries - no tactile feedback. But I’m a business users and that phone just doesn’t fit the bill on email use. I really don’t need to surf photo’s and Youtube on my phone. I used to complain about having too many devices but now my iPod is so unobtrusive and tiny, it’s not a factor. I joke with my friends, if they really want to integrate music on their phone to just tape their Nano on the pack of their Treo.   And there is that stupid AT&T lockin.  Wait for another generation and see.

Frankly, the best answer out there is the T-Mobile HotSpot @ Home with a Blackberry Curve this month. Free Wi-Fi calls from my house or office (that’s 80% of my calling) and the great email and keyboard of the Curve. Super! Still have to tape my iPod on the back…