Recently I’ve been watching Professor Walter Lewin from the MIT Physics Department while I work.

Prf. Lewin is very entertaining in his lectures. Granted if you are not already interested in science you will not find these videos exciting. But for myself, I find them intriguing, well produced and informative.

You can check them out for your self at: MIT CourseWare

I recently became aware of the website origamiproject.com. The domain, owned by Microsoft, features a Flash presentation and a release date 3.2.06. Besides that info there are three links, week1, week2 and week3. Week 1 is the only functional link as of this writing and only serves to reload the current flash file.

There is quite a bit of buzz going on at Digg.com regarding this site. Some folks insist Origami will be Microsoft’s iPod killer. Others think this will be a mobile device. I tend to agree with the later.

Thanks to humanchip over at Digg, I have acquired a Word document entitled, “National Semiconductor Conceptual Products Group Decided to Create a Multifunction Information Appliance”. This document, published on November 28th, 2001, details a product concept named “National Origami Mobile Communicator” which is:

…a multipurpose information appliance that works both on the desktop and as a mobile device. It features the National Semiconductor Geode SC3200 processor, which powers a combination camcorder, digital camera, video conferencing, and e-mail terminal, Web access device, and MP3 player all in a package about the size of a large personal digital assistant (PDA).

National Semiconductor introduced the Origami at COMDEX on November 11, 2001. To date we have not seen the Origami on the market so if I’m correct, and we are about to see this device on March 2nd there should be significant changes to what we were introduced to in November 2001.

Obvious possible changes would be the body style, although I rather like the design shown in 2001. Obviously to combine 8 electrical devices into one appliance would take some serious power, or at least power conservation. We will probably see some cutting edge screen technology, oLED perhaps.

Another possible change would be the operating system. According to the 2001 information, Windows XP was to be the OS of choice. While there is a high likelihood that this is still the case, I would not be surprised to see Vista running on these appliances.

• Whois record for Origamiproject.com
• Digg.com information
• OrigamiProject.com
• National Semiconductor 2001 Press Release from COMDEX
• Engadget.com

Updated to include full image on click.

The image of earth titled “Earth Lights” was taken by the Defense Meteorological Satellites Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS) on November 27th, 2000. The United States Air Force is responsible for the DMSP and its series of satellites which investigate the Earth’s environment from an altitude of ~800 km (497.097 miles).

Click for larger image.

“Earth Lights” is actually a composite of hundreds of pictures made by the orbiting DMSP satellites. The image was created by Craig Mayhew and Robert Simmon, NASA GSFC.

Now, Peter Pesti, a student at Georgia Tech, has utilized the Google Maps API to integrate Google Maps with “Earth Lights”. Although this image has been popular for sometime, Peter is the first to present the 128 MB image in an interactive format.

• Earth Lights - Earth Observatory
• Defense Meteorological Satellites Program - Goddard Space Flight Center
• Google Maps Nighttime! - Peter Pesti
• Budaors West - Peter Pesti’s Blog

Worldwide Aeros Corp, the Aeroscraft manufacturer and world’s leader in FAA-certified lighter-than-air vehicles, announced today it has entered into an agreement with hospitality design firm Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG) for the interior design of a new generation of airborne cruise ships.

Igor Pasternak, President, said,

“Worldwide Aeros is center stage in developing a radically new transportation infrastructure –- Aeroscraft airships — that will carry leisure travelers and cargos across vast oceans to remote locations. To design the interiors of those airships, we’ve chosen the world’s leading design consultant for the hospitality and leisure industries, namely WATG.”

According to Howard J. Wolff, senior vice president of WATG,

“The Aeroscraft will revolutionize leisure travel. Our designs for airborne travelers will rival the luxury cabins of the world’s greatest ocean liners and will feature all the latest technological amenities. This remarkable new form of transportation will appeal to millions of retiring baby boomers who are interested in luxurious and unique travel experiences.”

(more…)

Today NewTechSpy is reporting that American auto maker Ford is working on a new kind of hybrid. The 2008 F-150 pick-up is said to be subject to tests using hydraulic energy storage.

Current hybrids store energy in batteries. The Ford project will store energy in hydraulic cylinders. Reportedly, the test F-150 gets 60MPG in city, the same as the much smaller Toyota Prius.