SG5 Pro - Every Golfers must have!

GPS is at it again. In my previous post GPS being used as training tool even while competing

GPS Technology touches in with golf.
Introducing the SG5 Pro by Sky Golf GPS. The company has been around for quite a few years and was one of the first companies to offer a hand held GPS device for golfers. Its important features are:

• Patent IntelliGreen® technology enables golfers to measure the full physical features of their course.
• Golf course maps can be easily downloaded from their website.
• SkyGolf's advanced GPS technology is integrated with the very best Swiss engineering to provide unmatched reliability.
• Its vibrant color display features automatic backlighting to ensure easy readability indoors and outdoors.

If you’re traveling to play golf or you want to know everything about your existing golf course the Sky Golf GPS maybe the device for you.

Cardio Exercise Tool

Another cool gadget that will surely be loved by anyone especially those who want to be in shape this coming summer. Introducing the X-Bike by Trixter (second picture on the left).

It’s not just any other indoor cycle; it offers a total-body workout while pedaling. It’s like pedaling a real bicycle. The X-Bike requires the upper body and core musculature to be in action while the legs do the pedaling.

That’s not all, this bike has unique patented handlebar mechanism that the rider pumps from side to side against adjustable resistance while exercising. What a nice tool to include to your cardio program.

Vibration = Strength + Power

Have you ever heard of Vibration Technology? This technology was tested and started by Dr. Nazarov in competitive sports and realized the benefits in developing strength and power.

It surely is a very useful training tool for all athletes, especially those activities fell into the categories where much physical strength is required. These machines create instability in the human body, and force the body to perform reflexive muscle contractions. The result is an improvement in force production, or strength and power. It is becoming a wellness solution for all ages, lifestyles and physical abilities. For athletes in any sport I think this vibration technology is the real thing and encourage you to try it out.

For more information go to www.powerplate.com.

Cell Phone Can Read Documents for Blind

BALTIMORE (AP) — Chris Danielsen fidgets with the cell phone, holding it over a $20 bill.
"Detecting orientation, processing U.S. currency image," the phone says in a flat monotone before Danielsen snaps a photo. A few seconds later, the phone says, "Twenty dollars."
Danielsen, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind, is holding the next generation of computerized aids for the blind and visually impaired.

The Nokia cell phone is loaded with software that turns text on photographed documents into speech. In addition to telling whether a bill is worth $1, $5, $10 or $20, it also allows users to read anything that is photographed, whether it's a restaurant menu, a phone book or a fax.
While the technology is not new, the NFB and the software's developer say the cell phone is the first to incorporate the text-to-speech ability.

"We've had reading devices before," Danielsen said, noting similar software is already available in a larger handheld reader housed in a personal digital assistant. Companies such as Code Factory SL, Dolphin Computer Access Ltd. and Nuance Communications Inc. also provide software that allows the blind to use cell phones and PDAs.

Inexpensive hand-held scanners such as WizCom Technologies Ltd.'s SuperPen can scan limited amounts of text, read it aloud and even translate from other languages.
However, the $2,100 NFB device combines all of those functions in one smart phone, said James Gashel, vice president of business development for K-NFB Reading Technology Inc., which is marketing the phone as a joint venture between the federation and software developer Ray Kurzweil.

"It is the next step, but this is a huge leap," Gashel, who is blind, said in a telephone interview. "I'm talking to you on the device I also use to read things. I can put it in my pocket and at the touch of a button, in 20 seconds, be reading something I need to read in print."
Ray Kurzweil, who developed the first device that could convert text into audio in the 1970s and the current NFB device, said portability is only the first step. Future versions of the device will recognize faces, identify rooms and translate text from other languages for the blind and the sighted.
The inventor plans to begin marketing the cell phone in February through K-NFB Reading Technology. The software will cost $1,595 and the cell phone is expected to cost about $500, Kurzweil said.

Dave Doermann, president of College Park-based Applied Media Analysis said his company is working on similar software for smart phones that could be used by the military for translation and by the visually impaired.
"We don't anticipate ours being that expensive, but unfortunately we're not quite to the release yet," said Doermann, who is also co-director of the University of Maryland's Laboratory for Language and Media Processing.

Doermann said the company, which has received funding from the Department of Defense and the National Eye Institute, hopes to have its software ready in the next 12 to 18 months.
Kurzweil's device uses speech software provided by Nuance, said Chris Strammiello, the director of product management at Nuance, who said the company has also developed a prototype reader that uses the Internet to access more powerful server-side computers.
"As you can harness the power of remote environments and do that so quickly with the Web technologies, it gives a lot more capability, flexibility and options to the way you solve these type of problems," Strammiello said.
There are about 10 million blind and visually impaired people in the U.S., a number that is expected to double in the next 30 years as baby boomers age.
Kurzweil said those with vision problems are not the only ones expected to benefit from the technology. Dyslexics, for example, are expected to be among the users of the current device because of its ability to highlight each word as it's read aloud, helping them cope with their disability, which affects the ability to read. The highlighting function can also help them improve their reading skills, he said.
"What's new here is both blind people and kids can do this with a device that fits in their shirt pocket," Kurzweil said.
Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind, said the device and its PDA predecessor are a "form of hand-held vision" that will make the visual environment "much more readily available to the blind."

Aging Baby Boomers Influence great Technologies

The baby boomers are in their 50s and early 60s. They are accustomed to consumer goods that accommodate their interests. Not only are they looking for technology geared to their needs, but they want technology that helps them tend to their aging parents.
Add this to that the fact that the boomers are known spenders and consumers, and it's no surprise that smart technology companies are beginning to see a lucrative market, and are designing accordingly.

The Jitterbug

The Jitterbug cell phone, the brainchild of GreatCall Inc. of California, launched in October 2006. It lacks a camera, customizable wallpaper or voice-dialing capability, but it is hearing-aid compatible and has chunky, easy-to-read keys, a large screen display, straightforward command buttons, a familiar dial tone, and an operator available to help at the touch of a button.

The operators greet the caller by name, make calls when asked, provide directory assistance, and add names to a member's phone list. Jitterbug's service starts at $10 a month, has no long-term contracts and no long-distance or roaming fees. The phones come in two easy-to-use models, each costing $149.

Early this year, GreatCall won the Andrew Seybold Choice Award for Best New Company. Later, In May 2007, Arlene Harris, the company's co-founder and CEO, became the first female innovator to be inducted into the RCR Wireless News Hall of Fame.

The Ford Motor Company and Its "Third Age Suit"

Possibly one of the earlier companies to grasp the importance of catering to an aging demographic, Ford introduced a "Third Age Suit" to its engineers as early as 1999. The suit helps young ergonomics engineers feel what it's like to be 30 or 40 years older than they are.

The garment restricts the engineers' physical mobility, and simulates an older person's driving capabilities. Its bulky materials restrict movement in areas such as knees, elbows stomach and back. When the young engineers don this outfit, along with gloves that reduce the sense of touch, a headset that reduces hearing and goggles that simulate cataracts, they have new insights into the needs of older drivers.

Designed in conjunction with the University of Loughborough, the suit resembles what you get when you mate a high-tech astronaut suit with a beekeeper's protective gear.