OLED TV

What is an OLED TV?

OLED TVs use a new display technology called OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes). OLED televisions will be brighter, more efficient, thinner and with better refresh rates and contrast than LCD or Plasma TVs.

31-inch OLED TV prototype (Samsung)

Sony XEL-1 OLED-TV

In December 2007 Sony started to sell the first OLED TV, the XEL-1, which is actually more of a technology prototype than a commercial set. The XEL-1 is a small television (11"), expensive (around 2,500$) and Sony only makes it in small quantities (and have recently announced it will cease production of it altogether in Japan). But the picture quality, colors and contrast are amazing, and the whole TV is just 3mm thick!

Sony XEL-1 OLED TV

Samsung OLED TVs

In June 2009 Samsung has revealed two new OLED TV Panels, 14.1" and 31". They are both "ready for production", and we can assume Samsung will start to produce them yet.

Samsung 31-inch OLED HDTV

LG OLED TV

LG have unveiled their first OLED TV, the Object 15". It has a 1366 x 768 resolution, contrast ratio of 100,000:1 and it's only only 1.7mm thick. It is on sale now in Korea (for around $2600), and will arrive in Europe in May 2010 (and will cost 1999 euro). Hopefully it'll be sold in the US too, soon.

The future of OLED Televisions

Several companies already have large-sized OLED TV prototypes. Samsung has shown a beautiful 40" HDTV OLED, and Panasonic has a 37" display of their own.

LG display has revealed their OLED TV roadmap: 15" displays in 2009, 20" in 2010, 30" in 2011 and 40" or larger panels in 2012. The 40" panels in 2012 will be "fairly expensive"... LG says that in 2012, OLEDs will cost about 50% more than LCDs, and by 2016, OLEDs will cost 20%-30% less than LCDs.

Currently the companies are trying to keep the costs down, and also there is a problem of lifetime - OLED displays go 'dim' faster than Plasma or LCD ones - but this aspect is advancing rapidly. OLEDs are great as 3D Displays, and at least two companies (Sony and Samsung) have shown prototypes of such sets.

15-inch OLED TV prototype (LG)

It might take a few years yet until OLED TVs become competitive with LCD or Plasma displays. Several companies have plans for OLED Televisions in the near future:

• Sony stated several times that they are really close to release a larger OLED TV. 21" or 27", the new generation is was to be unveiled at the IFA 2009 trade show, at September. That didn't happen though, and Sony have delayed this new TV to 2010. New reports say it will be called the KDL-ZX OLED TV.
• LG will start selling 15" OLED TVs in November 2009, and plan larger TVs in the next few years (40" will arrive at around 2012).
• Panasonic have teamed up with Sumitomo to work on 40" or larger OLED TVs.
• Samsung has got 14.1" and 31" OLED panels which are "ready for production".
• Seiko Epson are working on inkjet printable OLED TVs. They hope to have 37" sized TVs made using their technology in 2012.

Sony 27-inch OLED prototype

Other companies such as CMEL and Sanyo have active OLED research, but haven't yet revealed commercial plans.

Samsung 40 HD-AMOLED TV Prototype

25-inch OLED prototype by CMEL

A little bit about the technology

OLEDs are made by placing a series of organic thin films between two conductors. When electrical current is applied, a bright light is emitted. The OLED materials emit light and do not require a backlight (unlike LCDs). In fact OLED TVs are better than LCDs in many ways:

• OLED TVs have Faster refresh rate, better contrast and better color reproduction.
• OLED TVs are really thin - the Sony XEL-1 for example is just 3mm thick. The new prototypes by Sony are merely 0.3mm thick!
• OLEDs have a much better viewing angle - almost 180 degrees.
• Better for the environment - they draw less power, and contain no bad metals.
• OLEDs can actually be made flexible or transparent. Imaging a foldable large OLED TV that takes no space when not used...

Rollable OLED televisions?

Like we said before, OLEDs can be made flexible, or transparent. In the future we might see an OLED displays that is actually rollable. So maybe you could just roll it when you want to watch some TV, and then remove it when not needed.

Or perhaps the OLEDs will be so thin and transparent that they will just be invisible when not in use - you'll just see the bare wall, but when lit up, it'll display your TV picture. 

Samsung flexible OLED

This future technology is already being worked on, but it will obviously take some time before we could buy such TV sets...

2010 FIFA World Cup™ to pioneer 3D technology

For the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup™, the action on the field at next year's tournament will be broadcast using the next-generation technology 3D. FIFA today (3 December 2009) announced that it had signed a media rights agreement with Sony, an official FIFA Partner, to deliver 3D images from up to 25 matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. To this end, FIFA will use the best expertise available in its production in 3D, and take advantage of Sony’s technologies and knowhow in the area of 3D.

This groundbreaking deal means that viewers watching the matches on Sony’s 3D products will experience the sheer immediacy and visual clarity of the action as if they were on the pitch themselves. FIFA is working on whether a live right will be offered in the coming months.

“This propels the football fan into a whole new viewing dimension and marks the dawning of a new era in the broadcasting of sport,” said FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke. “We are proud that the FIFA World Cup can serve as a platform for advancing technology and the viewing experience, and are truly fortunate to have Sony as a partner in this endeavour.”

“The transition to 3D is underway, and, we, at Sony, intend to be leaders in every aspect. Our sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup allows us to leverage our cutting-edge 3D technology and premier products with dazzling content to produce a unique and totally compelling viewing experience. 3D viewers around the world will feel as though they are inside the stadiums in South Africa, watching the games in person,” said Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President of Sony Corporation.

Sony Pictures Entertainment will produce and distribute the official 3D film of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ after the event.

iPhone 4 and FaceTime – Apple’s biggest smokescreen

The iPhone 4 has been unveiled by Steve Jobs at this year’s WWDC to the heroes welcome you’d expect from the resident fan boys. Jobs has called it the “… platform’s biggest advance since the original model’s intro back in 2007″, which is a big bold claim to make.
It’s also patently false!
Read on for full details of the new iPhone 4.

To claim that the iPhone 4 is the biggest advance in the iPhone since it was launched tells you something about either Apple or Jobs: either the iPhone has hardly evolved since its launch, or that Jobs might be trying to spin things a little!
In short, it’s a good improvement over last year’s model, but there’s no killer must-have feature, and it brings the iPhone in line with some of the features of Android phones from the likes of HTC and Sony Ericsson. There’s no knock out blow, and despite some nifty tricks, it’s clear that innovation in the mobile space has now shifted from Apple to Android.
OK, that said, what does the iPhone 4 give us?

iPhone 4 features

• Apple A4 CPU (as in the iPad)
• 3.5″ screen with a huge 960 x 640 resolution
• 720p HD video recording at 30 frames per second
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi
• 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and auto focus
• Front-facing VGA camera
• 6-axis motion sensor thanks to Accelerometer, compass and gyroscope
• 25% thinner than the iPhone 3GS (just 9.3mm thin)
• Multitasking
• iAd mobile advertising platform ( same as on the iPad)

These features are good, but they’re typical of nearly all top-end smartphones these days. Indeed, looking at the difference between the iPhone 4 and its predecessor, you can see that the iPhone 4 is a definite improvement, but only an incremental one.
The iPhone 4’s biggest improvement is the screen, which has an extremely impressive resolution of 960 x 640 pixels. This, apparently, is one of the best displays on the market today, at least in terms of pixel count (and therefore the fineness of the resolution).
The rest of the features merely match other phones, though – they don’t overtake them.
The iPhone was never about features, though; it was about the overall user experience, with the user interface in particular being its wow factor. So what does the iPhone 4 have to offer that’s new with the user experience?

The iPhone 4 – a new user experience?

So does the iPhone 4 offer a brand new user experience? Well, no. It’s the same iPhone experience, with just a few extra features borrowed from the iPad tacked on.
Folders, for example, let you group related apps into, well, a folder, while iBooks let you buy and read books. Both of these come straight from the iPad, but then this shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, as in nearly every sense, the iPad and iPhone 4 share exactly the same operating system (now called iOS 4).
Worse, the end result is simply an extension of of the existing iPhone user experience, and isn’t exactly a great leap forward.

FaceTime – a 7 year old video calling app

Perhaps the biggest new feature of the iPhone 4 is Apple’s new FaceTime video calling app. This is a new app that lets you carry out a video call using two iPhone 4s.
This works exactly as you’d expect a video call to work. In fact, exactly as video calling has worked since the first 3G phones became available back in 2003!
The only difference is that with the iPhone 4, you can’t use the mobile network – you can only use WiFi instead. Worse, the result is still just as jerky as video calling has always been, despite the better data transfer rates of WiFi.

I hope Apple don’t make a big deal of video calling. It never took off because it was always lame – it’s just a gimmick. Making a big deal about a gimmick that the rest of the world has had for seven years would be lamer still.
Oh wait – Jobs has said this in the press release:

“FaceTime video calling sets a new standard for mobile communication…We have been dreaming about [this] breakthrough for decades”

Seriously?! For decades?! The technology’s been around since 2003!
Call me cynical but I think it’s no more than a giant Apple smokescreen. It’s far more likely that Apple execs, concerned that the iPhone 4 had nothing new to show the eagerly awaiting press and Fanboys other than a fancy new screen, decided to throw in a last minute gimmick that lets the tech blogs post pics and videos that look flashy.
“Oooh, look it does video calls – it’s the future” coo the excited Masses.
Or as a small boy once said “look, mummy, Emperor Jobs is wearing new clothes!”
Lame, lame, lame!

iPhone 4 release date

Apple fanboys desperate to get their hands on Apple’s latest wonder will be pleased to know that the iPhone 4 release date is set for June 15th (for preorder) for the US, UK, Germany, France and Japan, and by the end of September everywhere else.
It comes in either black or white and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model.
The price of the existing iPhone 3GS model has also fallen to just $99 in the US.

Final thoughts

The iPhone 4 is a great smartphone, of that there’s no doubt. Although I’ve ranted a fair bit in this post, I don’t want you to think it’s a bad phone.
But at the same time, don’t be fooled by Jobs’s hype. It’s not a revolutionary phone, FaceTime is a simple gimmick that’s been around on 3G phones for 7 years (and which I guarantee you’ll never use), and if this is the most revolutionary iPhone since the platform’s launch, then Apple’s innovation department has seriously stalled.
With version 4, the iPhone is now as good as Android phones such as the HTC Evo and Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 – not better. Its screen is certainly better, but its user interface is simply different, and it has more apps – at the moment.

But in terms of innovation, Apple are no longer defining the mobile agenda – they’re following it, and are barely catching up. Apple have been at the forefront of mobile innovation since 2007, but 2010 is the year they’ve slipped behind. FaceTime is just a huge smokescreen, designed to make you think there’s more to the iPhone 4 than there really is.
The iPhone has now become just another smartphone platform. It’s still a great platform but it’s no longer unique.
Jobs’s worst nightmare just came true: the competition caught up.

Source:http://mobilementalism.com/2010/06/08/iphone-4-and-facetime-apples-biggest-smokescreen/

Fuel Cell Technology

courtesey:Wikipedia

A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts a source fuel into an electrical current and water. It generates electricity inside a cell through reactions between a fuel and an oxidant, triggered in the presence of an electrolyte. The reactants flow into the cell, and the reaction products flow out of it, while the electrolyte remains within it. Fuel cells can operate virtually continuously as long as the necessary flows are maintained.

Fuel cells are different from conventional electrochemical cell batteries in that they consume reactant from an external source, which must be replenished – a thermodynamically open system. By contrast, batteries store electrical energy chemically and hence represent a thermodynamically closed system.

Many combinations of fuels and oxidants are possible. A hydrogen fuel cell uses hydrogen as its fuel and oxygen (usually from air) as its oxidant. Other fuels include hydrocarbons and alcohols. Other oxidants include chlorine and chlorine dioxide

Why go for a greener IT environment?

1. It saves money (a lot of money): PC power management software can cut energy costs by $20-60 dollars per PC per PC, which can translate to six- and seven-figure annual savings for large enterprises. For many organizations, this can mean a 5-15 percent reduction in overall, organization-wide energy consumption.

2. It’s the right thing to do: Fifteen PCs can generate as much carbon emissions as a mid-size car each year. Implementing effective PC power management strategies in your enterprise provides a way for your business to do its part in helping the environment.

3. It’s not easy being not green: In recent years, news coverage has exposed deep holes in many company sustainability initiatives, raising concerns about high-cost infrastructure changes and the validity of overseas carbon offset programs. Replacing office equipment can be time- and cost- intensive. But making your existing equipment more energy-efficient is a fast and easy process that pays off within months, and makes it difficult being not green.

4. Sustained growth requires sustainable operations: The average PC consumes 588 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, and wastes almost 400 kWh of that by running at full-power when not in use. Putting a computer in sleep mode during inactive times can cut energy use on average 60-70 percent and up to 90 percent in aggressive scenarios. As your company grows and as demands on your IT and PC networks increase, getting control over energy use will become an important advantage.

5. Attract and retain customers: According to reporting from Verdiem’s current customers, enterprises can cut PC carbon emission by as much as 440 pounds per year per PC. For large enterprises, this can literally mean savings of thousands of tons of carbon each year, simply by managing PC power consumption.

6. Inspire employees: Employees feel a deep sense of pride working in organizations that do their part for the environment. When your employees know their computers are using less than half the power they used to, with no impact on productivity, they’ll know they personally are helping to reduce the company’s carbon footprint.

7. Improved reputation and brand value: According to the BBMG Conscious Consumer Report, the vast majority of Americans not only expect business leaders and marketers to provide environmentally-friendly products, but they’re adamant that those “green friendly” claims are backed up with legitimate practices. Investing in a strong sustainability program (which can be led with Green IT) and communicating the value to your customers and stakeholders can do wonders for your reputation and brand.

8. Be a cost-savings and sustainability hero for your organization: Every year, enterprises waste nearly $4 billion powering devices that are not in use. Curb these expenses and the excess carbon emissions through the introduction of power management ideas and you’ll become a hero for your organization on both fronts: sustainability and cost-savings.

9. Lower exposure to energy prices: Energy sales are expected to grow 50 percent worldwide by 2030. By reducing the amount of power required to operate your business, you’ll mitigate risk from factors well outside of your control.

10. Energy-efficient IT is high performance IT: IT equipment can account for nine percent of all energy consumed by businesses- the third-largest source of power for the commercial sector. Putting power management policies in place is the easiest way to control power consumption across your network.

Some Famous Quotes on creativity

"There are no problems - only opportunities to be creative."
Dorye Roettger


"As the season of believing seems to wind down let me gently remind you that many dreams still wait in the wings. Many authentic sparks must be fanned before passion performs her perfect work in you. Throw another log on the fire." 
Sarah Ban Breathnach


"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it." 
Pablo Picasso



"To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly."
Henri Bergson



"Some men throw their gifts away on a life of mediocrity, great men throw everything they have into their gifts and achieve a life of success."
Greg Werner



"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."
Joseph Chilton Pierce



"Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun."
Mary Lou Cook



"There are two ways of being creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish."
Warren G. Bennis



"I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life."
Miles Davis

Creativity and Innovation

Real life or tech life, it's like facing changes like never before. Numerous driving forces to this change included a rapidly increasing competition, diversity among communities, and availability to new forms of technology. Creativity and innovation are often key to the success in life, particularly when strategizing during strategic planning, and when applying for new works and jobs. Creative thinking and innovation are particularly useful during Strategic Planning.

It's important to keep ourselves updated and increase the number of sources of knowledge.