Tesla Home Battery

Last week, Tesla Motors announced a new product called Powerwall. It is a battery that powers homes or businesses. It can store 10 kilowatt-hours of power and can power a household for several hours, which would be very handy for when the power goes out.

The other version called the Powerpack is made for businesses. It is designed to be easy to install and can connect to the Internet so you can monitor the power usage.

What do you guys think? Do you think that this is a good power alternative?

Transparent Solar Cells

There is a new solar cell that has been made by researchers in Michigan State University back in August 2014 that is completely transparent. The researchers have said that it can be used on “tall buildings with lots of windows or any kind of mobile device that demands high aesthetic quality like a phone or e-reader.”

Transparent Solar Cell

They are now getting closer to releasing this out on the market. Since it is very hard to produce a transparent solar cell, they have used transparent luminescent solar concentrator (TLSC) that is composed of organic salts that absorb specific ultraviolet wavelengths. It now only has a efficiency of 1%, but they hope to have 10% in the future when production begins. 

How light passes through the solar cell

(Source)

More About 3D Printers

So, I know that I have done another post about 3D printers, but I just think they are so interesting. They can make so many different things and I think it's amazing. Most 3D printers only print in one color but a printer called The Pallette can print in more than one.

Not only can it add more than one color, it can also use different elements to make the object, like wood or carbon fiber. Here is a video of how it works:




They are not yet available on the market, but their Crowdfunding Campaign is becoming a success so we may see them later on.

What do you guys think? Do you think this would be a great tool to put out on the market?

Microsoft HoloLens

Have you guys heard about Microsoft's new HoloLens? It's a new virtual reality type computer. It uses equipment that look like glasses. It combine holograms with what you can see through the glasses so it will look like they are actually there. Here is a video of how it works:



Here is a better demonstration of it:




This actually looks really awesome. It is still in its prototype right now. Are you guys excited about this? Because I am.

Disney's Acoustruments

I thought that this was pretty interesting and wanted to share it with you guys. It is a new thing from Disney Research. They are plastic/cardboard accessories that can control phones by sound. They work by tubes that have holes in them. It is kind of like how a flute works. They do not have to be just a hole though, they can also work through buttons, knobs, switches, wheels, and sliders. Anything that can alter sound would work. Here is a video of how they work:




They are also cheap to make, which means that if they are sold they will be cheap to buy. As you can see in the video, they have made an alarm clock and a toy car app. This is something I might buy if it were to ever go out on the market. What do you guys think of it?

BB-8 ball droid

I recently saw this just surfing the Internet. It's a droid that is based after the droid on Star Wars. Since another movie teaser recently came out, I thought it was fitting to make a post about this. My little brother happens to be obsessed with Star Wars, so he was extremely excited to see the new teaser for the movie. Here it is in case you guys have not seen it:



That looks pretty exciting to me. So since this came out, Christian Poulsen decided to build one of his own. He split a first generation Sphero and then he attached a neodymium magnet onto the robot's stabilization arm. Here's a video of it:



I thought it was a cute little robot. What do you guys think?

Apple Watch

The release of the Apple Watch is just around the corner. It comes out on April 24th. It has lots of cool features that I am excited about.

 

One of them that I find the most interesting is that they have apps like they have on the iPhone. They also have other apps that are not available on the iPhone. Here's a video that shows some of its features.



They have different models of the watch, including the sports model. The sports model has a fitness app pre-downloaded.

I'd say that the cons of this is the price which is almost as much as a iPhone. It also requires a iPhone in order for it to work.

For more information on the Apple Watch, you can visit their site here.

3D Printers Printing Food

I'm sure you have heard of 3D printers. They are very interesting. Even my Grandpa was thinking about getting one recently. I think he would love this printer because it combines that with his other favorite thing-FOOD.



Foodini (source)

It's called the Foodini. It can make lots of different kinds of food. It is made by the company Natural Machines and I think it is so amazing that technology has gone this far. It uses actual edible ingredients instead of the plastics that other printers do. It can create detailed cake decorations and weird shapes. Here are some pictures of what it can do:

I think I like the dinosaurs the best. It makes food in layers in a circular motion as shown in this picture:

Also in this video:



Although this device can print the food, you have to actually cook it. I think I want this printer for myself. What do you guys think?

Disney World Technology

I recently went to Disney World about a couple of weeks ago. I have been there about nine times before. It has been about 5 years since I went, so it was a lot of fun.

I have noticed that there is a lot of new technological advances in the parks. They have new wristbands that were not there 5 years ago. 

Magic Bands (Source)

They are used at all the parks and resorts as a universal key.

Scanning the wristbands (Source)

I am thinking that they have some kind of chip in them that must enable them to scan. When you go to the park, you also have to scan your finger and it recognizes it. I had scanned my thumb the first time I used it and then the second day we went to the park, I tried to use one of my other fingers not even realizing that I did and I had to scan it again. So, you have to make sure you scan the right finger.

They have also started to use the wristbands for the Fast Pass option. Before you had to insert your ticket into a machine and it would send you a Fast Pass. Now it is much easier, but you have to make Fast Pass reservations of the Disney app. This is kind of annoying, but you have to have it in order to do Fast Pass.

Scanning for a Fast Pass. (Source)

You can also use the wristbands to pay for items in the parks and resorts.

Wristband scanner for buying things (Source)

The feature that I was most impressed with was actually featured on one of the rides. There is a Star Wars ride that has been there for a while now but is now revamped and is in 3D. Here's a video of it if you want to watch:
 

Here's another ride where you design your own car called "Test Track." This one was also very different from the last time I went. They really revamped this ride.



So if you have never gone to Disney World, I would really suggest it because it's a lot of fun and their rides keep on getting better and better as time goes on.

Blog #1

This is a introduction to my blog for my ITN 155 class. I will post things about Information Technology Security.

What is IT Security?

"Information technology security is controlling access to sensitive electronic information so only those with a legitimate need to access it are allowed to do so." This quote was from this website. I thought it describes it pretty well.

I thought this animation was cool and I also wanted to post this with it. It's called "A day in the life of IT security." Check it out!