Wednesday Tech News Roundup #1 (2007-08-01)

2007-08-01 23:29

Wednesday Tech News Roundup #1

It dawned on me recently that sometimes the things I post here are too sporadic and unplanned, and scheduling something as a recurring weekly activity might be a good idea for consistency - and hey, it would give me something to post about every week right? When trying to think of an idea that would fit well into a weekly slot, the best idea I came up with was a weekly tech news roundup; Now I know what you are going to say, a lot of tech blogs are "tech news" blogs, and the only thing that they cover is tech news. Also, you might be thinking (if you know me really well) that I've never wanted to run a blog focused on news. On the flip side of the coin, I often run across interesting articles relating to technology that I wouldn't mine commenting on, it's just that I never feel that my comments justify a new post here at my blog. Also, it seems that one post focused on news per week is just about the correct ratio so as to not overwhelm my blog with news posts. So, as an attempt at a scheduled weekly posting, and as a remedy to my problem of not wanting to post short news story reactions, I give you my roundup of this week's tech news, I hope you enjoy it:

Study: Printers Spew Potentially Dangerous Particles

This article discusses the fact that some laser jet printers and toner cartridges give off air particles that are damaging to the lungs, similar to second hand smoke. This is bad news for me - not only do I have a laser printer at home, but I talked my parents into getting one, and they are already regular smokers to begin with. I am possibly shortening the lives of myself, my girlfriend, my cats, my parents, and my siblings. Even worse for me, I can now look forward to a career working in offices filled with dangerous toner particles floating freely in the air, only to come home to a house that isn't any safer - as if the guaranteed carpal tunnel syndrome isn't enough. Seriously though, I think that while the headline is interesting, this article is generally just written to play on people's fears; I doubt if even the worst printers and toner cartridges are being used that anyone is being seriously harmed in any way, and until I develop lung cancer I will refuse to put any stock into yet another reason for people to fear technology. Does this article strike any real fear into any of you? Okay, next article...

House panel approves legal shield for bloggers

This is an interesting debate between law makers about protecting confidential sources in journalism - the debate is trying to answer the question, are bloggers journalists, and should their sources be protected as well? We all know that some journalists blog, but are bloggers really journalists? I say yes - and I am glad to hear that the congressional panel voting on this issue decided to protect any potential bloggers' sources from overzealous governmental agencies. It seems to me that anyone wanting to report news should be considered a legitimate journalist, and this is a step in the right direction. Do you have an opinion on this issue?

Cell phones light up operating room during blackout

One reason I found this tiny bit of news interesting is because I often reflect on how quickly the cell phone became a universally owned gadget. Even five years ago I did not own a cell phone - and neither did a good portion of society. It is now incredible how ingrained my phone has become into my everyday life - I no longer have a "land line" - I haven't for years. I use my phone daily for talking, texting, and sending pictures. This story highlights the fact that this is a world-wide phenomenon, a person was able to gather enough cell phones to light a surgery by making a quick trip into the hallway to borrow the phones of people outside the operating room. Another reason I wanted to include this story is, who hasn't used their cell phone as a flashlight? And now this surgeon gets to boast that he completed a surgery by cell-phone-light, I think he should publish the accomplishment in a medical journal.

Iraq war vet shows off bionic hand

This one barely needs an explanation - I mean, a bionic hand, does it get any cooler than that? This is the kind of technology that makes me love the ingenuity and inventiveness of the human race. It's almost cool enough to say that I want my own... almost. A technology that interfaces with electrical signals from muscles - one step closer to The Borg; awesome.

Since I will be on vacation next Wednesday and the one after that, I may not get around to roundup #2 for a few weeks - but we'll see what happens. Until then, any feedback would be appreciated!

- Kevin
Kevin (at) Upcsite (dot) Net

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