The first OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) displays have hit the market. Sony is claiming that it's XEL-1 is the “next big thing”. I think they may be right. Don't get me wrong, I love my dual 21” wide screen LCD's, however their contrast ratios are a measly 2000:1 compared to the XEL-1's 1,000,000:1. That's right ONE MILLION TO ONE! In layman terms, that means that the whites are 1,000,000 times brighter than the blacks. That's another thing OLED displays have to offer: complete darkness. With an LCD display black is simply a dark combination of reds, greens, and blues. However, this is not the case with OLED's; when pixel is “off” it really is “off”, there is nothing to be displayed but total darkness. Along with total darkness comes an incredible array of colors that can be displayed with OLED's. It's not that any different colors are displayed with OLED's. It has more to do with the contrast ratio allowing for a greater difference in colors resulting in what is seen as a purer hue. Power consumption is another great feature of OLED's. LCD displays require a backlight, to be constantly on in order to make the display bright enough to see. With OLED technology the OLED molecule itself is the backlight. So going back to the total darkness, this means that when the pixel is off it consumes no power whatsoever. Given that there is no longer a need for a backlight the OLED displays are significantly thinner. In fact Sony's XEL-1 is only 3mm thick (or thin for that matter). To put that into perspective, two penny's stacked on top of each other are 3mm thick; really, really thin to say the least. Now, Sony's display is designed for consumers and has a nice cover on it and what not. However, without any plastic housing OLED displays are much thinner than that. There has been talk of developing HUDs (Heads Up Displays) for military vehicles using this technology. They would simply adhere the OLED to the windshield, plug into the appropriate interface, and go. Also, OLED's are incredibly flexible allowing for them to be rolled up and taken anywhere. One drawback with the current OLED technology is that the displays are pretty small at this point, for example Sony's XEL-1 is a whooping 11” measured diagonally. All of that will change as the technology matures and its market share increases. Until then, I will stick with my dual 21” wide screen LCD's.
Apple’s iPhone 3G launch didn’t go quite as expected. Customers across the globe had problems activating the beloved smart phone with the Apple network, and as many have probably guessed this did nothing to overall sales.
The problem started when consumers were told that stores would not activate the phone that they had go home and do it on their own due to overloaded servers and the long wait incurred with activating in-store. In weeks previous Apple made it clear that this generation would be different than the other iPhones and activation would only happen at retail locations. Along with this confusion came iTunes network problems. When customers tried activating at home, as they were told to do so, many faced network problems associated with a new release of iTunes. And the lines at the stores were only getting longer. As the day went on, those waiting at stores for their iPhone were welcomed to a few shows such as a boxing match at one AT&T store featuring customers who thought it would be a good idea to skip in line. Still though, Apple projects iPhone sales to top around 13 million this year and to come close to 45 million by next year.
In the days to come we will no longer hear about the problems that plagued the iPhone upon release but about the wonderful things you can accomplish with an iPhone at your side. “Pick one up when you’re heading out the door and see how many great opportunities come landing at your feet!” they’ll say; but I know I can go outside without an iPhone and still have a great time. Can you?
Believe it or not there has been a push recently in the scientific community for more research into nanotechnology. Nanotechnology refers to the developments made by applied science and technology that are on the atomic or molecular scale and their ability to control these devices. Be advised that this is not a new science; we have been living with nanotechnology for quite some time such as carbon allotropes used to produce the silver in food packaging and some clothing. Although these are not very “techy” applications they are still reserved as “first generation” passive nanomaterials. Currently nanoparticles are being considered as a viable option for direct drug delivery to diseased cells, an answer to reducing the weight and power consumption of today’s electronics, cleaning and filtering water, and as chemical sensors that are able to detect trace amounts of chemical vapors. Another advancement in terms of nanotechnology is the famous Respirocytes.
These Respirocytes are an artificial red blood cell that is able to deliver 236 times more oxygen to body tissues than your homegrown red blood cells. It is also speculated that an adult filled with Respirocytes would be able to hold their breath underwater for four hours and sprint at top speed for at least 15 minutes without the need for a deep breath.
Of course with the good comes the bad. It has been proposed that nanomachines could be given the ability to self replicate, meaning a human would only need to make one of a type and then give the order for the machine to go to work building five million more of the same type. Could this be useful? For sure, it makes Joe Scientist’s job easier helping people, but I don’t think I need to explain the risk of self-replicating machines.
All in all, could this move to development in nanotechnology prove useful for the people of the world? Yes it can, but people like you and I will not determine the applications in the future.
Currently it takes at least 1000 years if not longer for the PE (Polyethylene or for you chemists out there C2H4) to breakdown. PE has been used for consumer applications since the 1930's however, there is one serious problem: We have trillions of these bags all over the earth that will not decompose in our lifetime. But fear not the plastic shopping bag any longer. The Record, a Canadian newspaper, has reported that Daniel Burd, an 11th grade student, has developed a way to decompose PE 4000 times faster. He came up with this as way to get rid of all the plastic bags that he encountered while doing his daily chores. To accomplish this Burd exposed the PE to "concentration of plastic-eating microbes". After isolating the bacteria that degraded the most plastic, he tweaked his solution and ran his test again. After 6 weeks in the solution the PE "was visibly clearer and more brittle", it was hypothesized that another 6 weeks and the PE would have ceased to exist. "Why do I care about a high school science fair project?", you ask. Well I'll tell you. Not only is this solution feasible on a large scale but it could possibly be sold in DIY kits; comparable to a DIY compost heap. It would be a much nobler way to get rid of those plastic bags than releasing them into the environment to choke some birds and fish. Another reason that you should care is that it offers a way to get rid of the pollution that already exists. It wouldn't be long before all the Green people in the world would start a movement to collect and destroy the plastic bags already in the environment. Oh and did I mention it's cheap and doesn't create hardly any waste. As it is now, in it's developmental stage, "each microbe produces only 0.01 per cent of its own infinitesimal weight in carbon dioxide". What that means is that for every 100 microbes that are use to break down the bags in this way, the carbon dioxide created would only be equal to that of a single microbe. This is pretty insignificant considering all of PE that would be taken out of the pollution loop. Also, costs are relatively low: a bucket, some of the bacterial solution, and some time. That's all it takes to rid the world of all these annoying plastic bags. However, until this process reaches the consumer market I recommend that everyone take a look at reusable bags.
HP is currently in talks to buy Electronic Data Systems Corp. for the modest price of $12.6 billion in cash. HP takes the lead when it comes to manufacturing personal computers for the world but teamed up with the technology services of EDS they are hoping that they can start a company to rival the all knowing IBM.
Even with this goal unachieved HP is expected to come close to doubling their revenue with this acquisition. In 2007 EDS alone had $22.13 billion while HP brought in a good $16.6 billion. HP has gone on to say that the business would have its home office in Plano, Texas at EDS Headquarters and led by the chairman and Chief Executive Ronald A. Rittenmeyer.
Seeing as it is HP’s biggest deal in six years it is understandable that they have big plans for EDS if the deal is closed. HP sees this as an opportunity to challenge the IBM Corp. basically at its own game in technology services (IT). As companies expand and see the need for faster better and more technology their need for a great IT service grows, but at the end of the day whom are you going to choose HP or IBM?
Most I & E Technicians are long time fans of Fluke meters. We at PCO are big fans and we use several pieces of their test and laboratory equipment. Almost every Instrument and Electronics technician has a trusty Fluke 87 or simular meter. The also usually have an 4 to 20 ma process simulator. from a company like Altek, Transmation or Unical. These are typically somewhat limited and not very field toughened.
Fluke has a new meter, the 789 Processmeter. It is a standard volt Ohm Current meter with the diode test and beeping continuity check, but it can output 0 to 20 milliamp signals. It behaves as a a source or as a passive device. It is as close as a field tech will ever get to a one meter fits all solution.
Our 789 came with 2 sets of leads: the standard Fluke multimeter probes and another set of leads with big rubberized alligator clips on the end. The first thing I did when I got my meter was fabricate a set of miniclip leads. The alligator leads are just fine for larger lugged terminations but are too big for smaller terminations that most newer systems are using today. One of the first things I noticed is that it uses 4 AA cells instead of 9Volt batteries that never seem to be around when you need them. We also have the C Cell adaptor so that the unit can run on the very long lasting C cells for our benchwork. The C cells seem to last forever. It has a large well laid out display that can be back lit if needed.
The meter displays 5 digits of accuracy in both input and output. 0.000 to 20.000 Which is up to par for 16 bit measurement systems
24 V Loop power supply
Double-sized, dual display
Enhanced backlight with 2 brightness settings
20mA drive into 1200 ohms
HART mode setting with loop power (adds 250 ohm resistor)
0% and 100 % mA Span Check buttons to toggle between 4 and 20 mA
Externally accessible fuses for easy replacement
Infrared I/O serial port compatible with FlukeView Forms software
Precision 1000 V, 440 mA True-RMS digital Multimeter
0.1% dc voltage accuracy
0.05% dc current accuracy
Frequency measurement to 20 kHz
Min/Max/Average/Hold/Relative modes
Diode Test and Continuity Beeper
Simultaneous mA and % of scale readout
20 mA DC current source / loop calibrator / simulator
Manual Step (100%, 25%, Coarse, Fine) plus Auto Step and Auto Ramp
Improved battery power with four AA batteries
Fluke has found a need and filled it for those who seek the one meter that does everything.
