Not quite. Tech innovations we’d like to see
It could be argued we live in privileged times when it comes to technological advancements: 50-inch wall-mounted televisions capable of displaying hundreds of channels; laptops that have more processing power than what Apollo 11 used to get to the moon; and a little ol' thing called the Internet that offers a world of information, entertainment and communication at our fingertips.
But we still have not yet reached true tech nirvana. After all, we're still toiling over complicated computers, having trouble copying music and video over to portable media players, and, while our phones seem to have everything but the kitchen sink, we still struggle to place a simple call because of teeny buttons.
And so here is a look at a few tech innovations that should hurry up and arrive already.
Talk to me, baby
Computer keyboards and mice might do an okay job, but nothing is more natural to use than the human voice. And so many are waiting for a voice-activated operating system that lets you talk to your PC in plain English and hear responses in a pleasant (okay, sexy) voice. How cool would it be to walk into a room and ask your computer "What time is it?" while you leaf through a newspaper? Or, "Computer, what is the weather like outside?" as you roll out of bed. Or, "Tell me the highest-rated Indian restaurant on Queen Street West?" Imagine being able to play your favourite music, TV show or movie by simply asking for it by name.
Where we're at: Products such as Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 ($129.99; www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking ) offer voice-to-text transcription, therefore you can "type" a document or email simply by speaking. They can also let you use your voice to navigate around the web instead of typing and clicking. A similar technology from Nuance for supported cellphones is called Voice Control, available through select carriers such as Rogers Wireless ($6 a month; www.rogers.com/nuance ).
Wham spam
Spam is still the bane of our email existence.
This unsolicited, unwanted junk mail continues to pollute inboxes with everything from medical solutions for erectile dysfunction to promises of large sums of cash in an African bank. In fact, IronPort Systems, a division at U.S. telecom outfit Cisco Systems, has just confirmed a whopping 83 percent of all email is now spam, twice what it was just a year ago. Junk mail now accounts for between 60 billion and 150 billion messages -- per day -- and contributes to the growing problem of Internet congestion. Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates once predicted spam would be eradicated, but it's getting worse instead of better.
Where we're at: While some companies are getting better at filtering and segregating spam, such as the latest Microsoft Outlook email program, others are designing ways of barring it from your inbox altogether. Software such as DigiPortal Software's ChoiceMail (Free to try, US$39.95 to buy; http://www.digiportal.com/ ) is one of the growing "challenge-response" solutions that blocks everyone out of your inbox unless: a) they're already in your address book; or b) the sender is willing to take the time to type in some numbers and letters when the email bounces back initially, in order to prove they're a real person and not a spamming program.
A true "all in one" device
Sure, we've got so-called smart phones that can take photos, but the pictures are often so blurry they look like they were taken underwater. And yes, many phones can play music, but storage remains an issue (expandable phone memory tops 2GB, yet the latest iPods are 160GB), not to mention the battery suffers when you use your camera for music, shooting video and so forth. The point is, if you want a digital Swiss Army knife today, there's a serious trade-off when it comes to quality, memory and battery life.
How amazing would it be to have one pocket-sized device that truly does it all, and well? One day, and hopefully soon, our phone will be our high-definition camcorder, stereo system and high-speed Internet connection that lets you use VoIP services, such as Skype, for free calls over the Net.
Where we're at: Though it's not available in Canada just yet, the much-hyped iPhone (US$399; http://www.apple.com/ ) does a good job at organizing and playing your media, but it offers only 8GB of storage, which isn't much - especially when you're talking about high-quality, two-hour films.
Similarly, a small handful of phones take decent photos, such as the Sony Ericsson K790a ($179.99 with 36-month Rogers Wireless plan; http://www.sonyericsson.com/ ) with its 3.2MP camera, but when printed, photos could still look grainy. Perhaps in time we'll have the do-it-all device with no trade-offs.
What would you like to see? A flying car? An electronic newspaper you can roll up (with video and WiFi)? A laptop with enough battery power to last a few days, like your cellphone? Email us at letters@ppublishing.ca.
It could be argued we live in privileged times when it comes to technological advancements: 50-inch wall-mounted televisions capable of displaying hundreds of channels; laptops that have more processing power than what Apollo 11 used to get to the moon; and a little ol' thing called the Internet that offers a world of information, entertainment and communication at our fingertips.
But we still have not yet reached true tech nirvana. After all, we're still toiling over complicated computers, having trouble copying music and video over to portable media players, and, while our phones seem to have everything but the kitchen sink, we still struggle to place a simple call because of teeny buttons.
And so here is a look at a few tech innovations that should hurry up and arrive already.
Talk to me, baby
Computer keyboards and mice might do an okay job, but nothing is more natural to use than the human voice. And so many are waiting for a voice-activated operating system that lets you talk to your PC in plain English and hear responses in a pleasant (okay, sexy) voice. How cool would it be to walk into a room and ask your computer "What time is it?" while you leaf through a newspaper? Or, "Computer, what is the weather like outside?" as you roll out of bed. Or, "Tell me the highest-rated Indian restaurant on Queen Street West?" Imagine being able to play your favourite music, TV show or movie by simply asking for it by name.
Where we're at: Products such as Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 ($129.99; www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking ) offer voice-to-text transcription, therefore you can "type" a document or email simply by speaking. They can also let you use your voice to navigate around the web instead of typing and clicking. A similar technology from Nuance for supported cellphones is called Voice Control, available through select carriers such as Rogers Wireless ($6 a month; www.rogers.com/nuance ).
Wham spam
Spam is still the bane of our email existence.
This unsolicited, unwanted junk mail continues to pollute inboxes with everything from medical solutions for erectile dysfunction to promises of large sums of cash in an African bank. In fact, IronPort Systems, a division at U.S. telecom outfit Cisco Systems, has just confirmed a whopping 83 percent of all email is now spam, twice what it was just a year ago. Junk mail now accounts for between 60 billion and 150 billion messages -- per day -- and contributes to the growing problem of Internet congestion. Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates once predicted spam would be eradicated, but it's getting worse instead of better.
Where we're at: While some companies are getting better at filtering and segregating spam, such as the latest Microsoft Outlook email program, others are designing ways of barring it from your inbox altogether. Software such as DigiPortal Software's ChoiceMail (Free to try, US$39.95 to buy; http://www.digiportal.com/ ) is one of the growing "challenge-response" solutions that blocks everyone out of your inbox unless: a) they're already in your address book; or b) the sender is willing to take the time to type in some numbers and letters when the email bounces back initially, in order to prove they're a real person and not a spamming program.
A true "all in one" device
Sure, we've got so-called smart phones that can take photos, but the pictures are often so blurry they look like they were taken underwater. And yes, many phones can play music, but storage remains an issue (expandable phone memory tops 2GB, yet the latest iPods are 160GB), not to mention the battery suffers when you use your camera for music, shooting video and so forth. The point is, if you want a digital Swiss Army knife today, there's a serious trade-off when it comes to quality, memory and battery life.
How amazing would it be to have one pocket-sized device that truly does it all, and well? One day, and hopefully soon, our phone will be our high-definition camcorder, stereo system and high-speed Internet connection that lets you use VoIP services, such as Skype, for free calls over the Net.
Where we're at: Though it's not available in Canada just yet, the much-hyped iPhone (US$399; http://www.apple.com/ ) does a good job at organizing and playing your media, but it offers only 8GB of storage, which isn't much - especially when you're talking about high-quality, two-hour films.
Similarly, a small handful of phones take decent photos, such as the Sony Ericsson K790a ($179.99 with 36-month Rogers Wireless plan; http://www.sonyericsson.com/ ) with its 3.2MP camera, but when printed, photos could still look grainy. Perhaps in time we'll have the do-it-all device with no trade-offs.
What would you like to see? A flying car? An electronic newspaper you can roll up (with video and WiFi)? A laptop with enough battery power to last a few days, like your cellphone? Email us at letters@ppublishing.ca.
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