You may have already heard about this. Microsoft has a new operating system in the works. It has to do with cloud computing. If you are not sure what cloud computing means, that’s okay, neither am I. I’m sure with a little online research that problem could be solved. But I’m also pretty sure that in a few months or years advertising in general will make most of us aware of what cloud computing is used for.

The reason I bring all this up is because I was wondering if and when Microsoft was ever going to put out another operating system. It’s wild to think about the fact that they are already coming up with a new one, when so many of us are still using XP. You may have seen the recent advertising campaign for Windows Mojave, a.k.a. Windows Vista. When I first saw that ad and I was only half way through it, I thought that Windows Mojave might actually be a new operating system. I guess Microsoft has decided to go to interesting lengths to sway public opinion regarding what some considered to be a failed OS. But I remember hearing a few months ago that some of us have been waiting for a first or second service pack upgrade before diving into Vista. I’m still fairly comfortable with XP. In fact, quite comfortable. In fact if I had any upgrade at my disposal, it would just be a faster processor and more memory. XP is awesome!

But maybe the new cloud operating system will trump everything else on the market. That would be neat. But then again $1000 for a new operating system that everybody who’s anybody is using, especially during our current economic situation, doesn’t seem to attractive.

Probably.

I hadn't used Google Maps in a while, so it surprised me recently when I found out that they've got pictures of pretty much any location at street level. In 3-D! You can scroll around, look up, look down, look left, look right…

What I did was plug in one address, and then another to get directions. Each step of the directions had a camera icon. Double click one of those, or one of the green dots in the map, and up pops a picture of that location. Pretty neat, and handy too.

I thought this was interesting:

How your printer tricks you into buying ink and toner when you don't need it

The main idea is that some printers (or maybe most of them) have sensors that claim the ink is empty when there really is a lot left. Some people have found ways to fool the sensors, keep using supposedly "empty" ink cartridges, and still print a thousand more good quality pages.

It benefits the printer ink industry to have printers that jump the gun and signal for more ink too early.

Some printers can burn out if you fool them into using a near-empty cartridge, but others work fine even when ink is so low that the text being printed is barely visible.

Methods of fooling the sensor: 1) Cover the sensor in dark tape. 2) Color part of your ink cartridge with a dark marker. More info at the link above.

I was thinking about our energy issues, and the thought occurred to me that there is money to be made if we don't opt for renewable energy sources. The location and quantity of crude oil make owning land in certain locations highly profitable, at everyone else's expense. If we were to discover or develop technology that produced free energy on a major scale, there would be far fewer people making money from fuel. "We can't let that happen!" comes the imaginary call to action.

What if there is a direction we're heading in that has already been predetermined by Big Oil or some other entity? What if a few years down the line, we've successfully escaped the need for oil, only to have created a new need, for some other limited resource?

Maybe some people think that's inevitable. But I was really hoping that we could use the technology at our disposal to make sure the next major fuel source is not limited in the least.

I recently began to imagine what it would be like to reflect upon the changes that are happening now as if they occurred 100 years ago. Like, "In 1908, the price of fuel rose to incredible new heights, until people gave up altogether on their old energy source, and made incredible progress with new technology."

I think we can do it. I think we're going to have to, whether we like it or not. It might come down to necessity, that we leave oil behind for something better.

Then again, who's to say that someone doesn't discover a major cache of fuel that will last the world another 50 years? I don't think it will happen, but if it does, it might provide the sort of motivation to take it easy that a student feels when they realize their paper isn't due for a whole 'nother month. "Wow, I don't even have to think about that project anymore!"

Just take it easy…

Recently I updated my blog. I can't believe how different the administrative interface is. It's awesome. They must have worked forever, because it looks amazing. And seems faster!

I got to thinking… The more things change, the more we have to think in order to keep up.

But I think I'm getting used to it. Maybe too much. Sometimes I catch myself wishing a newly upgraded technology would hurry up and come on the market. Like a faster CPU! Come on, where are the 10 Gig-ers?

Or…where's the hydrogen fuel cell?

Or…where's the voice responsive AI in the glove compartment?

KITT, they drugged me…Get me outta here now!

[I'm on it, Michael.]

I once heard about something I think Bill Gates came up with for one of his Smart Houses. It’s a piece of artwork that changes based on who’s standing in the room. It’s like a framed painting on the wall that updates to suit the needs and desires of all present company. Well, that piece of technology is now widely available. It’s called a digital photo frame.

Basically it’s a really thin computer screen with all your favorite images stored in its memory. Digital Frames Direct is a wholesaler of digital photo frames, and is in fact the largest such wholesaler in the UK.

You can give digital frames to friends and family, coworkers too. They make a great surprise. They also perform well as ad space for your business. You can use them to tell you’re customers that you’re keeping up with all the incredible Digital Era technological advances. Can you imagine a Mom ‘n Pop shop in rural Middle America suddenly showing off a fancy new Digital Frame? I’ll bet the townsfolk would be a tad surprised. And then jealous!

Digital frames also serve well as corporate gifts. With so many reasons to buy them, you’ve just got to buy in bulk! And who better to order from than Digital Frames Direct?

You may already know this, but the average block of television programming is 1/3 commercials. One way to verify this is by watching a DVD of a series. One episode runs at about 40 minutes. But wait! Wasn't it on TV taking up a whole hour? That means that 20 of those 60 minutes were commercials!

So, if you are busy, but have some favorite shows, you could build your schedule around them. Or, you could DVR them to watch later. Take that one step further, and fast forward through the ads (like most people do). Then you'll be saving yourself and extra 1/3 of the time.

This is especially useful with movies. DVR the TBS version of "Gone With The Wind" and make it through in record time — only 47 hours!

I just realized, DVR changes everything! I took a class once where a legal case was mentioned about how some kids pulled some stunt they saw on some TV show. So the court decided to force networks to broadcast the darker material later at night, after kids go to bed.

I've also noticed uncut versions of adult cartoon shows like "Family Guy" and "Drawn Together" (I hate "Drawn Together") aired after midnight. So, kids will never know, right? Wrong!

One of the shows I like is "Seven Days." Time travel show from the late '90's. Airs on Spike TV at 3:00am. But I don't want to stay up that late just to watch it. So, DVR to the rescue!

Some parents might give their kids Tivo (after all, the guy in the commercial did). And the kid says, "Mom and Dad don't know, but I'm going to record this Secret Stash episode at 1:00am and watch it tomorrow. Hee hee!"

So now the court's decision will have little impact in homes where the kids have access to DVR. I love technology, but it's like this is a whole new can of worms!

Ok, so parents could probably block access to those specific episodes. But what a chore! Go through, down the line, episode by episode… And if you just block the series, the kids could complain. "But Mom, I wanted to watch the edited version!" Most parents probably haven't even thought about this stuff, because they don't watch those shows and aren't aware that the uncut versions are available after the Witching Hour.

But probably, most parents didn't get their kids DVR. So what's the problem? No problem, man…Be cool…here, just…just take the cash and go…

We live in the future.

I recently visited IVF1.com, a site representing the in vitro fertilization (IVF) and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) center in Chicago and Naperville, Illinois. It is run by the Randy S. Morris M.D. He is a fertility specialist who lends his knowledge and expertise to couples dealing with the issue of infertility.

I have known about in vitro for a while now, and hearing it come up in conversation isn’t really surprising. But visiting IVF1.com, I suddenly felt confronted with a sci-fi dream come true. I really enjoy seeing predicted scientific achievements move from fiction to fact. Reading from the site’s home page, it’s almost mind-blowing. “Frozen Embryo Transfer — Did you now that extra embryos from an IVF cycle can be frozen for your own future use? Learn more!”

It’s just amazing. The things we can accomplish with our vast knowledge stores of technology and medicine. The limits to what is possible keep being pushed back further and further by our scientific pioneers. And Randy Morris M.D. is one of them.