Up to his passing, Leonard Nimoy had a longing for knowledge and learning, which he included into his Star Trek character Spock. It was fun at times to watch Dr. McCoy and him clash, calling him a "green-blooded Vulcan," with his classic eyebrow raise. That Vulcan salute and quote "Live long and prosper" has become ingrained in all of us.
Star Trek has always had something going for all of us, even those who barely watched the series, if at all. It aroused interest in the stars and science out there, even getting people to clamor for their own versions of devices seen on the series. From the communicators, we got cellphones. From the padds we saw Captain Kirk write on, we got tablets. From warp speed, we get the wanderlust of wanting to go further out in the stars without it taking so long. From the transporter, we want to spend a longer vacation without the time it takes to get there. From the phasers, come laser pointers and various uses of lasers in the military and commercial/private sectors.
From the Enterprise, both starship and space shuttle, we want to be able to go where no one's gone before.
Two of the best quotes from his character Spock can be found in two Star Trek movies.
In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, in the reactor scene after he saves the ship, his final words to Kirk were "I have been, and always shall be, your friend." He says it again at the end of Star Trek III: Search for Spock after the ceremony, "I have been and always ever shall be your friend."
Powerful stuff. Classic scenes and excellent quotes. Brought many a tear inside and out of theaters. Star Trek's not going to be the same without him, McCoy, or Scotty.
His final tweet on Monday - "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory."
His place is in the stars somewhere on a Genesis planet.
Live long and prosper.
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Friday, February 27, 2015
Monday, June 27, 2011
Hearing Aids STILL Cost Too Much
The Why Hearing Aids Cost So Much blog post on the SayWhatClub blog pretty much has nailed the question and issue right there. Then they follow up with The Cost of Hearing Aids–Why It May NOT Be About Supply and Demand.
I've always wondered why the prices of analog hearing aids have stayed sky-high over the years, despite many being made and sold? By now, we should have, for example, an Oticon 380P for less than $150. Have you looked inside? Many of the parts can be easily found off the shelf, thus making the total cost cheap, from most good electronics houses. There may be a few parts that may be hard to get. It helps if you have the skills to deal with the very fine wires, tiny parts, and even smaller solder points.
With the right skills and equipment, the hearing aids can be repaired. One website says you can build them for about $300, but it's possible to do for far less than this. You can make a hearing aid that costs less, has AGC, and has the abilities of other hearing aids.
Why do hearing aids cost so much? (Michigan news station)
Hearing Aid Cost
Bluetooth Headsets & Hearing Aids - also has a discussion list/forum
Hearing Aids - Too Expensive?
The slight drawback is you'll look a bit like a Borg if you don't make the circuits small enough and use too many flashing lights. Then again, we're starting to look like them anyway.
As for the marketing angle, marketers tend to make us want to spend more when we really don't need to do so.
Greed at its best.
I've always wondered why the prices of analog hearing aids have stayed sky-high over the years, despite many being made and sold? By now, we should have, for example, an Oticon 380P for less than $150. Have you looked inside? Many of the parts can be easily found off the shelf, thus making the total cost cheap, from most good electronics houses. There may be a few parts that may be hard to get. It helps if you have the skills to deal with the very fine wires, tiny parts, and even smaller solder points.
With the right skills and equipment, the hearing aids can be repaired. One website says you can build them for about $300, but it's possible to do for far less than this. You can make a hearing aid that costs less, has AGC, and has the abilities of other hearing aids.
Why do hearing aids cost so much? (Michigan news station)
Hearing Aid Cost
Bluetooth Headsets & Hearing Aids - also has a discussion list/forum
Hearing Aids - Too Expensive?
The slight drawback is you'll look a bit like a Borg if you don't make the circuits small enough and use too many flashing lights. Then again, we're starting to look like them anyway.
As for the marketing angle, marketers tend to make us want to spend more when we really don't need to do so.
Greed at its best.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Got A Wireless Router? Password It!
Over the years, I've seen how people have gone from wired to wireless. I can understand the appeal, but the issues of security remain. Even though encryption is used, it takes time for the password to be cracked and the victim's service to be used and abused.
NY case underscores Wi-Fi privacy dangers
Not passwording a wireless router is asking for trouble, and quite a bit of it. If you can't seem to set the password, then TURN OFF the wireless part or ask for help from someone who has done it. That plus change the password of the router. The major reason an open access point is found is due to those who wardrive. Meaning, they look for access points, whether encrypted or not, by way of walking around, driving, or using a bike using something like Netstumbler. When I last wardrove about 2007 for a report for class, there were around 1700 access points. A little over HALF were encrypted!
The second reason is that there are websites that list default passwords for every router made. So if the router password isn't changed despite the wireless being turned on and encrypted, trouble can still happen.
In short, when a wireless router is used, either turn off wireless or set a password, and a good strong one, including the login password. Wired is still quite secure.
NY case underscores Wi-Fi privacy dangers
Not passwording a wireless router is asking for trouble, and quite a bit of it. If you can't seem to set the password, then TURN OFF the wireless part or ask for help from someone who has done it. That plus change the password of the router. The major reason an open access point is found is due to those who wardrive. Meaning, they look for access points, whether encrypted or not, by way of walking around, driving, or using a bike using something like Netstumbler. When I last wardrove about 2007 for a report for class, there were around 1700 access points. A little over HALF were encrypted!
The second reason is that there are websites that list default passwords for every router made. So if the router password isn't changed despite the wireless being turned on and encrypted, trouble can still happen.
In short, when a wireless router is used, either turn off wireless or set a password, and a good strong one, including the login password. Wired is still quite secure.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Transferring Data From A Sidekick To The SK 4G
I mentioned earlier the ways that the data can be imported from your old Sidekick from TMobile's webpage to the new Sidekick 4G.
Before transferring your service, place the SD card currently in the SK 4G into the old Sidekick and save your photos onto it. Next is download the utility to send your other info to the SIM card, and do the transfer. I didn't do it this way, but it could easily be a headache-free way to transfer your data.
What I did was a bit different since I was told to use synchronize when importing my data but it never worked for some reason. TMobile's site has a page called MobileLife. Go there and follow the prompts to upload the CSV or VCF file and then click synchronize. You may need to compare what's on the old SK with the info on the website. Then update and synchronize every now and then. If you transferred the pics as transferred above and put it back into the new SK, you're in good shape.
Next was a little troublesome for me for some reason. Use the USB cable to transfer your Notes from your export from the computer to the new Sidekick. You'll see a menu of choices, one of them is to use the SK as a mass storage device. Choose that. Your computer should detect the SK and set up a drive in My Computer for you to make the transfer. Then copy the files from the export directory onto that drive. In my case, it set up the SK as drive E:.
Some of you may have used Intellisync to do the transfers. Customer Service may be able to help if all else fails. I did a bit of research on this as well before doing my transfers.
Before transferring your service, place the SD card currently in the SK 4G into the old Sidekick and save your photos onto it. Next is download the utility to send your other info to the SIM card, and do the transfer. I didn't do it this way, but it could easily be a headache-free way to transfer your data.
What I did was a bit different since I was told to use synchronize when importing my data but it never worked for some reason. TMobile's site has a page called MobileLife. Go there and follow the prompts to upload the CSV or VCF file and then click synchronize. You may need to compare what's on the old SK with the info on the website. Then update and synchronize every now and then. If you transferred the pics as transferred above and put it back into the new SK, you're in good shape.
Next was a little troublesome for me for some reason. Use the USB cable to transfer your Notes from your export from the computer to the new Sidekick. You'll see a menu of choices, one of them is to use the SK as a mass storage device. Choose that. Your computer should detect the SK and set up a drive in My Computer for you to make the transfer. Then copy the files from the export directory onto that drive. In my case, it set up the SK as drive E:.
Some of you may have used Intellisync to do the transfers. Customer Service may be able to help if all else fails. I did a bit of research on this as well before doing my transfers.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
New Tech Solutions Needed To Save Captions
After I posted the "More Info" post, Jamie mentioned something from her time as a captioning activist some time ago;
"Long ago I was told that when the media format changes, e.g. from movie to DVD to television to internet, the closed captions are lost because of the altering of time codes on the media. Closed captions have to match up with time codes.
"In addition, I remember that in the early days there was discussion about how because captioning is a service, there may be issues with payment. That is, if Company A pays for captioning then gives the media in a new format to Company B with captions included, then Company B saves money that Company A had to pay.
"But the bottom line problem is the loss of captions as media formats change. We need new technical solutions or more use of existing solutions. One way to save the captions would be to use the available tools CCExtractor or CaptionKeeper to extract the captions into a separate file before converting the media to another format. Then the captions can be refitted to the new media format (and this is a manual process as explained by Hulu).
"The deaf community and its hearing friends are going to have to pressure the original content providers to save captions before converting the media."
In short, by "issues with payment" in the second paragraph, the business that received the captioning services may not want to just give the captioned file/media to Company B.
Also, some utilities I've seen will remove the subtitles AND captioning when the movie is transferred from DVD to a format like AVI and/or send them to a separate file. One I've seen will do just this in PAL/NTSC conversions. I'm checking on the Matroska (.MKV) (Wikipedia entry) container, as it can hold many tracks in one file.
"Long ago I was told that when the media format changes, e.g. from movie to DVD to television to internet, the closed captions are lost because of the altering of time codes on the media. Closed captions have to match up with time codes.
"In addition, I remember that in the early days there was discussion about how because captioning is a service, there may be issues with payment. That is, if Company A pays for captioning then gives the media in a new format to Company B with captions included, then Company B saves money that Company A had to pay.
"But the bottom line problem is the loss of captions as media formats change. We need new technical solutions or more use of existing solutions. One way to save the captions would be to use the available tools CCExtractor or CaptionKeeper to extract the captions into a separate file before converting the media to another format. Then the captions can be refitted to the new media format (and this is a manual process as explained by Hulu).
"The deaf community and its hearing friends are going to have to pressure the original content providers to save captions before converting the media."
In short, by "issues with payment" in the second paragraph, the business that received the captioning services may not want to just give the captioned file/media to Company B.
Also, some utilities I've seen will remove the subtitles AND captioning when the movie is transferred from DVD to a format like AVI and/or send them to a separate file. One I've seen will do just this in PAL/NTSC conversions. I'm checking on the Matroska (.MKV) (Wikipedia entry) container, as it can hold many tracks in one file.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Netflix CEO Said No To Captions?
Did I read Jared's Netflix CEO really doesn’t care about subtitles/captioning blog post (including the shareholder meeting post) right? The Netflix CEO said there's no captioning technology or it's not widespread? Picking my jaws up off the floor, I read further...
"Mr. Hastings said other sites didn’t offer captions, and mentioned hulu.com as one of them."
Does he live under a rock? Then he said we could receive DVDs in the mail and most had captions. That's pretty insensitive, ignorant, and dismissive.
Cry me a river, Mr. CEO... You've had two years to add this "nonexistent" tech according to this blog post. Check these sites out which have captioning/subtitling utilities and related forums;
http://www.doom9.org/
http://www.videohelp.com/
http://www.cdfreaks.com/
http://autocaption.com/
http://www.cpcweb.com/
Adobe's Encore has the ability to add subs. We know YouTube, CNET, and Hulu have captions/subtitles. Google has more hits on these using keywords (dvd captions), and/or (dvd subtitles), including (netflix captioning online deaf), minus the (). Check out Hulu Has Captions and Netflix Doesn't. Why?
Care to try that again, Mr. CEO?
Let's get a new Caption Action off the ground!
Update: I neglected to add the Facebook group Netflix Watch-Instantly Needs Closed Captions!
"Mr. Hastings said other sites didn’t offer captions, and mentioned hulu.com as one of them."
Does he live under a rock? Then he said we could receive DVDs in the mail and most had captions. That's pretty insensitive, ignorant, and dismissive.
Cry me a river, Mr. CEO... You've had two years to add this "nonexistent" tech according to this blog post. Check these sites out which have captioning/subtitling utilities and related forums;
http://www.doom9.org/
http://www.videohelp.com/
http://www.cdfreaks.com/
http://autocaption.com/
http://www.cpcweb.com/
Adobe's Encore has the ability to add subs. We know YouTube, CNET, and Hulu have captions/subtitles. Google has more hits on these using keywords (dvd captions), and/or (dvd subtitles), including (netflix captioning online deaf), minus the (). Check out Hulu Has Captions and Netflix Doesn't. Why?
Care to try that again, Mr. CEO?
Let's get a new Caption Action off the ground!
Update: I neglected to add the Facebook group Netflix Watch-Instantly Needs Closed Captions!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Technology and Equal Access
Interesting vlog titled We, Deafies have equal access to today's techology. NOT! She has MANY good points, especially when she said that we still have a long way to go in catching up.
I was in the hospital in 2003 for a bad infection and December 2008 for knee surgery. I had the same problem as RLM in the comments when he was trying to use the call button on his hospital bed. I had my hearing aids on/off and I could hear/feel them talk, but that was it. All I could do is tell them I needed them for something. At one DC Metro stop's turnstile near the elevator, when my farecard didn't work a couple times, I had to press the help button. When someone said something, I just said "I'm deaf, I can't understand you."
It shouldn't be too hard to put some sort of notification to note that a patient in a room has a hearing loss and may or may not be able to respond to the patent pressing the call button.
But, technology *CAN* be used to create things to allow someone at the other end to respond. If that's created, one problem that will be faced is those who will abuse and vandalize it.
When it's inclusive of everyone, then we know we've gotten some inroads somewhere. We've got at least some with the TTY phones in airports and other places. But in the meantime, sometimes you gotta depend on other people.
Technology, indeed. It can be good and a curse at the same time...
I was in the hospital in 2003 for a bad infection and December 2008 for knee surgery. I had the same problem as RLM in the comments when he was trying to use the call button on his hospital bed. I had my hearing aids on/off and I could hear/feel them talk, but that was it. All I could do is tell them I needed them for something. At one DC Metro stop's turnstile near the elevator, when my farecard didn't work a couple times, I had to press the help button. When someone said something, I just said "I'm deaf, I can't understand you."
It shouldn't be too hard to put some sort of notification to note that a patient in a room has a hearing loss and may or may not be able to respond to the patent pressing the call button.
But, technology *CAN* be used to create things to allow someone at the other end to respond. If that's created, one problem that will be faced is those who will abuse and vandalize it.
When it's inclusive of everyone, then we know we've gotten some inroads somewhere. We've got at least some with the TTY phones in airports and other places. But in the meantime, sometimes you gotta depend on other people.
Technology, indeed. It can be good and a curse at the same time...
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