Sunday, May 27, 2012

10 Useful Google Tools

Google's stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Oct. 8, 2006. Seepictures of the Googleplex, Google's headquarters.

Torsten Silz/AFP/Getty Images

Some days it seems like Google is working hard at achieving its goal of organizing the world's information, making it easier for us to find what we need. Other days it seems like the company plans to take over the entire world. And with a code of conduct that includes the direction of "don't be evil," maybe that's not necessarily a bad thing [source: Google Investor Relations].

There's no denying it -- Google is an Internet powerhouse. It's such an influential presence on the Web that when Yahoo! partnered with Google to put Google Ads on Yahoo! search results pages, people began to worry that Google would monopolize the search engine advertising business. Even the U.S. Congress began to question the allegiance [source: Hart]. Google has certainly come a long way -- the company grew from a haphazard collection of computers networked together in a garage to a global corporation worth billions of dollars.

The backbone to Google's business is its search engine, but that's not the only service Google offers. Do a little digging on Google's site and you'll come across everything from productivity applications to an instant messaging client. Google developed some of these products and features itself. But in some cases, Google products started out as independent projects designed by other companies. If Google executives see an interesting application that helps the company achieve its goals, there's a chance Google will make an offer to acquire that company.

It seems that Google is reluctant to promote many of its projects from beta versions -- early releases that may still have problems with functionality -- to completed products. Even Gmail, Google's e-mail client that launched in 2004, is still in beta. But some of the company's initiatives are less finished than others. Google allows users to try experimental services at the Google Labs Web site, but admits that the services "aren't quite ready for prime time" [source: Google Labs].

Let's dive right into the diverse world of Google products. We'll start by taking a closer look at Gmail.

Gmail organizes e-mails into threaded conversations.

Courtesy Google

Google E-mail

In 2004, a Google press release revealed that the company wasn't satisfied with dominating Internet searches -- the second-most popular online activity. Google wanted to tackle the biggest online service on the Internet: e-mail. To that end, Google announced it would allow a select number of people to test a Web-hosted e-mail service called Gmail [source:Google].

Gmail started out as Google's internal e-mail service. When Google decided to make Gmail available to people outside of the company, it chose to take a gradual approach. At first, the only way to get a Gmail account was to receive an invitation from someone else. Nearly three years after announcing Gmail, Google opened up access to the public at large. Now anyone can create a Gmail account.

Gmail organizes messages into "conversations." If someone sends you a message and you respond, Gmail will present the two messages together in a stack. The original e-mail will be on top and your reply will appear beneath it. Future messages will appear under the originals, which Gmail collapses so that they don't take up too much space on your screen. By grouping messages and responses together, Gmail makes it easier for users to keep track of several discussions at once.

Some people think that communication by e-mail is dying (or is already dead). Google appears to have an answer to that as well: Google Talk. Find out more about it on the next page.

The Web-based Google Talk gadget doesn't have all the bells and whistles found in the desktop version.

GTalk

Just when you thought the Internet had its fill of instant messagingclients, along came Google Talk. Introduced in 2005, Google Talk is an application that lets users send messages to each other. UnlikeGmail, the Google Talk client isn't entirely Web-based. Users must first download an application to their own computers in order to access its full set of features.

Those features go beyond simple messages. You can send unlimited files -- of unlimited size -- to other users. Just remember that if you choose to send someone a big file, it's going to take a while to transfer to the other user, especially over slower connections. Also, if you have a cap on how much data you can transfer over your network, you might face some hefty fees from your Internet Service Provider(ISP).

Google Talk is also a voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) client. That means you can make PC-to-PC calls to other Google Talk users. You and your contact will both need microphones and speakers, but Google Talk handles the rest. Real-time voice transmission can take up a lot of bandwidth. Just like file transfers, you might risk going over your data cap with your ISP if you use this feature a lot.

Users can also download the Google Talk Gadget, a Web-based application that allows users to access many (but not all) Google Talk functions from a personal Web site like a blog or an iGoogle page. That means you can use any computer connected to the Internet to navigate to the right site and use Google Talk. Right now, using a Google Talk Gadget is the easiest way Mac owners can access any of Google Talk's features.

That pretty much covers communication. What else can Google organize? How about Internet shopping? Read all about the Google Checkout service in the next section.

A sample of the stores that use the Google Checkout system.

2008 HowStuffWorks

Google Checkout

Many people use the Internet to shop. One of the drawbacks of online shopping involves transmitting your personal information over the Internet. If you want to purchase items at different Web sites, you have to enter all your information multiple times. Google saw the opportunity to create a tool that would allow merchants and users to take advantage of a universal checkout system.

Here's how it works: first you create a Google account. If you already have a Google account, you'll need to enhance it by providing a credit card number, billing address, shipping address and a phone number. Once you complete this step, you can go shopping.

All you have to do is log in to your Google account and look for Web sites that subscribe to Google Checkout. When you see the checkout symbol listed next to an entry on a search results page, you know that you can purchase items from that site using your Google account. You'll be prompted to provide your Google Checkout password, but you won't have to enter your credit card number or personal information again. You make your selections and Google handles the rest of the transaction. The merchant never even sees your credit card number.

Google Checkout is free for consumers. Merchants must pay 2 percent plus 20 cents per sales transaction. But Google gives a discount to merchants who use Google AdWords. For every dollar a merchant spends in AdWords advertising per month, Google will process $10 of sales without charge [source: Google Checkout].

Google also offers products designed to help you organize your life. Find out more about Google Calendar in the next section.

An empty Google Calendar.

2008 HowStuffWorks

Google Calendar

In April 2006, Google released a free online calendar application called Google Calendar. If you have a Google account, you can create a Google Calendar. If you don't have one, you can register for a free account.

You can use Google Calendar to schedule events and invite people to participate. By sharing folders, you can compare your schedule with other users. If everyone keeps his or her calendar up to date, it's easy to avoid conflicts. A single user can open multiple calendars and view all the scheduled events in a single window. Since this can get confusing, Google displays each calendar's events in a different color.

Google includes its search feature within the Google Calendar system. You can search for specific calendars. Calendar owners can choose to keep a calendar private or share it openly with everyone. It's also possible to create multiple calendars with one account. That can come in handy for organizations that have multiple customer bases. For example, a theatre might have one calendar for the general public that shows the times of performances and a second calendar for actors to let them know about auditions and rehearsal schedules.

Another Google product that's gaining popularity is a suite of applications that you'd usually find in office desktop software. It's the Google Docs suite of programs. Find out more about them in the next section.

Google Docs uses a simple folder and file organizational system.

2008 HowStuffWorks

Google Docs

The Google Docs suite marks Google's attempt at getting into the online productivity software game. The free suite includes a word processor, a spreadsheet editor and a presentation application. In short, it has the basic software applications many businesses need. Instead of saving all your data to your computer's hard drive, you save your Google Docs files to a remote Google file system. Because the files are hosted on the Web, you can access them from any computer connected to the Internet. Your documents aren't tied to a specific device.

Another feature of Google Docs is the ability to share documents and editing capabilities with other Google users. Multiple people can make edits to the same document at the same time. With traditional desktop applications, a project manager might have to handle multiple copies of the same file as various collaborators make edits and additions to the document. With Google Docs, everyone can make his or her changes directly to the file saved on Google's servers. Google Docs also keeps track of earlier versions of the document -- project managers don't have to worry about someone accidentally deleting an entire section.

One drawback to Google Docs is that none of the applications are as robust as popular desktop productivity software suites like Microsoft Office. If you only need basic functionality, Google Docs can be useful. If you're accustomed to creating documents, spreadsheets and presentations with all the bells and whistles, you'll probably want to stick to traditional software.

We're halfway through. Maybe you're feeling a little lost with all these products and features. Never fear, Google has a solution: Google Maps. Find out more in the next section.

The Google Maps satellite view gives you a birds-eye perspective of cities like Atlanta, Ga.

Google Maps

Google launched its online mapfeature in 2005, nearly 10 years after MapQuest's online debut. Like its competitor, Google Maps lets users view maps of specific regions and get directions from one location to another. Google Maps allows users to view street maps, topographical terrain maps or even satellite views. For some areas, Google also has a traffic map feature that can alert you to any snarls or bottlenecks.

The Google Maps feature relies on digital map images from NAVTEQ. NAVTEQ provides map data to many different clients, including in-vehicle navigation systems. A company called deCarta -- formerly Telcontar -- provides the applications that power the mapping features. Google employees create the applications that combine the images from NAVTEQ and the mapping capabilities provided by deCarta to create the features you see in Google Maps.

In 2008, Google added a new feature to Google Maps. Now you can get walking directions from one location to another. Previously, Google Maps only plotted out driving directions, which have to take things like one-way streets into account. Now users can find the shortest walking route between two points.

Sometimes Google's decisions don't go over as well as they had planned. Google's Street View feature for Google Maps is a good example. Google mounted special cameras to cars, then sent them through cities across the United States and France. The cameras pointed in different directions and took pictures every few seconds, giving users a street-level view of certain cities. But some people say that Google's actions violate privacy. Google responded by blurring people's faces in the photos to protect their identities.

Google Maps is closely related to the Google products suite called Google Earth. We'll look at it more closely in the next section.

The interactive globe in Google Earth

Google Earth™ mapping service

Google Earth Maps

Google is always looking at new ways to organize and present information. One of those ways is to geotag data. Geotagging is a way of linking information to a real-world location. You view geotagged information on a map. While Google Maps could serve as a way to provide geotagged information to users, Google decided to go with an alternative. Google chose a digital globe and called it Google Earth.

Google acquired a company called Keyhole in 2005. Keyhole built the foundation for Google Earth, a digital globe that gave users the ability to zoom in and out of views ranging from a few dozen feet from the surface of the Earth to the equivalent of orbiting the planet. Google Earth gives the user dozens of choices, from viewing satellite images of the planet to overlaying maps, three dimensional terrain features and even fully-rendered cityscapes.

Google Earth also allows developers to create applications to link information to specific locations on the globe. Users can elect to view geotagged information ranging from general news reports to customized data. Google Earth makes it possible to illustrate news stories in a new way. For example, a news agency could illustrate a story about wildfires by plotting out the damage on Google Earth.

Originally, the only way users could access Google Earth was to download an application and install it on their own computers. The application accesses the Internet to get the latest information and updates, but the user's computer hosts most of the application's features. In 2008, Google launched a new Google Earth application that's entirely Web-based. But since the full version of Google Earth needs a lot of computing resources to run smoothly, the Web-based version is a streamlined variation with fewer features than its desktop cousin.

When Google executives say they want to organize the world's information, they're not kidding. And they aren't stopping with just the Web -- they want to organize your information too. That's where the Google Desktop application comes in. Read more about it in the next section.

Google Desktop lets you install gadgets like these on your own computer's desktop.

Google Desktop

Have you ever had to search for a particular file on your computer? How about an e-mail that's somewhere in the middle of a folder that has thousands of messages in it? The experience can be frustrating, and those of us who are organizationally challenged can endure a lot of stress while trying to dig up a particular piece of information.

That's where Google Desktop can come in handy. It's a downloadable application Google offers free of charge. Once a user downloads and installs the application on a computer, Google Desktop goes to work. It searches and indexes the files on the user's computer. It does all this during the idle time when the computer isn't working on other things.

It doesn't just index the name of a file -- it searches the contents as well. Maybe you don't remember the subject of a particular e-mail, but you remember it mentioned something about a new sushi restaurant in town. You can search for the term "sushi" using Google Desktop and it will return results relevant to that term. The results look a lot like the search engine results pages Google generates for Web searches. One of those results should be the e-mail you need to retrieve.

Google Desktop also gives users the option to install personalized Google Gadgets. Gadgets retrieve information on the Web and present it in a window that stays on the user's desktop. Information might include traffic and weather updates, news feeds or to-do lists, among other things.

If the Google Desktop doesn't gather enough information for your liking, you can always create a specialized Google homepage that can pull information and applications from hundreds of sources. That's the idea behind iGoogle, which we'll look at in the next section.

iGoogle acts as a portal to other Web sites.

iGoogle

You probably have a small number of Web sites or applications that you use more than others. What if you had a way to collect those Web sites so that you could go to a single location on the Web to access all of them at once? That's the concept behind iGoogle, a freeaggregator or portal Web service.

The iGoogle service allows users to select multiple applications and news feeds from across theInternet. Each user can customize his or her own iGoogle page. For example, sports fans can add applications that grab the latest scores and statistics of their favorite teams from the Internet and display them in a dedicated window on the iGoogle page.

Google lets users organize their own iGoogle pages using a set of simple tools. One of those tools is a series of tabs at the top of the iGoogle page. Account holders can create tabs for specific categories of applications or news feeds. This makes it easier for users to find the information they want when they want it. Once the user sets up his or her iGoogle site, the application does the rest of the work.

While you can choose to include Google apps like Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs in your iGoogle page, you aren't limited to Google applications. Third party developers have created iGoogle applications that let you access lots of different Web-based programs. With the right application installed in iGoogle, you can access things like:

Digg
Facebook
Hotmail
MySpace
Pownce
Twitter
Yahoo! Mail

The final Google product we'll look at is possibly the most controversial one. That's because it's an attempt to organize medical documents. Find out more about Google Health in the next section.

Google Health

Changing doctors isn't always a smooth experience. On top of all the normal stress of dealing with unfamiliar people, you also have to find a way to get your medical information from your previous doctor to your new one. That usually means you have to rely on other people and hope that they respond. Transferring your medical data is important because the more information your doctor has about your medical history, the more effectively he or she will be able to diagnose and treat you when you need it.

Google's solution to this issue is to create an electronic, centralized location for your medical files called Google Health. Your doctors would transfer your files to Google's databases. Instead of having to track down the physical location of a paper file, your doctor would be able to log in to a computer and pull up your entire medical history. You don't have to worry about remembering which doctor has your file.

But some people think Google's approach creates a serious problem. What if someone were to compromise Google's security systems and access that data? Medical information is, by its very nature, personal. The potential for abuse of this information worries some people. Others don't like the idea of a third party having access to all their medical information, even if it is secure from hackers.

Google stresses that its databases are very secure and that patient privacy is a primary concern. Google Health's purpose is to put patients in control of their own medical information. It's supposed to give them the tools they need to stay informed about health issues. It's up to the individual to decide if the benefits outweigh the risks.

That wraps up our look at ten Google products. If the past is any indication, we'll see many more Google applications and services in the future. As long as the world has disorganized information, Google's job isn't done.

To learn more about Google and related topics, search through our links on the next page.

Strickland, Jonathan. "10 Useful Google Tools" 05 August 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/google-tool.htm> 26 May 2012.

Top 10 'Star Trek' Technologies that Actually Came True

by Josh Briggs

"Beam us up." It's one of the most iconic lines in televisionhistory. It's something often heard in the hit science fiction television series "Star Trek" and all of the television showsand movies that followed.

The transporter essentially dematerialized a human body at one point only to rematerialize it in the transporter bay on the ship. Somehow, it broke down atoms and molecules within the body -- scattered them through the vacuum of space without losing a single one from point A to point B, then voila, that person re-emerged out of thin air. Sounds pretty cool, though impossible, right? But what if there was such a device?

The truth is, you can forget about a transporter. No one has been able to realize such a concept. But that doesn't mean some of the ideas that seemed far-fetched when the show debuted in 1966 haven't become a reality. In this article, we feature the top 10 technologies from Star Trek that actually did come to fruition, listed in no particular order. Some of them may surprise you.

10: Transparent Aluminum (Armor)

The fourth installment of the original "Star Trek" movies is perhaps the most endearing to fans. The crew returns to modern-day Earth. Kirk, Spock and the rest of the gang ditch a Klingon Bird of Prey spacecraft in the San Francisco Bay after narrowly missing the Golden Gate Bridge while flying blind in a storm. You may remember the scene -- but how many of you remember Scotty introducing transparent aluminum for the first time?

In the flick, Scotty traded the formula matrix for transparent aluminum -- a huge engineering advancement -- for sheets of plexiglass in order to build a tank to transport the two humpback whales (George and Gracie) to the Earth of their time. The claim was that you'd be able to replace six-inch (14-centimeter) thick Plexiglas with one-inch (2.5-centimeter) thick see-through aluminum.

It may sound impossible, but there is such a thing as transparent aluminum armor or aluminum oxynitride (ALON) as it's more commonly known. ALON is a ceramic material that starts out as a powder before heat and pressure turn it into a crystalline form similar to glass. Once in the crystalline form, the material is strong enough to withstand bullets. Polishing the molded ALON strengthens the material even more. The Air Force has tested the material in hopes of replacing windows and canopies in its aircraft. Transparent aluminum armor is lighter and stronger than bulletproof glass. Less weight, stronger material -- what's not to like?

These replica communicator badges seen at the "Star Trek -- The Exhibition" in Los Angeles on Oct. 10, 2009, appeared in later TV series.

Michael Tullberg/Getty Images Entertainment

9: Communicators

Whenever Captain Kirk left the safe confines of the Enterprise, he did so knowing it could be the last time he saw his ship. Danger was never far away. And when in distress and in need of help in a pinch, he could always count on Bones to come up with a miracle cure, Scotty to beam him up or Spock to give him some vital scientific information. He'd just whip out his communicator and place a call.

Fast forward 30 years and wouldn't you know it, it seems like everyone carries a communicator. We just know them as cell phones. Actually, the communicators in "Star Trek" were more like the push-to-talk, person-to-person devices first made popular by Nextel in the mid to late '90s. The "Star Trek" communicator had a flip antenna that when opened, activated the device. The original flip cell phones are perhaps distant cousins. Whatever the case, the creators of "Star Trek" were on to something because you'd be hard pressed to find many people without a cell phone these days.

In later incarnations of the "Star Trek" franchise, the communicators evolved to being housed in the Starfleet logo on the crewman's chest. With the tap of a finder, communication between crewmembers became even easier. Vocera Communications has a similar product that can link people on the same network inside a designated area like an office or a building by utilizing the included software over a wireless LAN. The B2000 communication badge weighs less than two ounces and can be worn on the lapel of a coat or shirt and allows clear two-way communication. It's even designed to inhibit the growth of bacteria so it's suitable for doctors [source: Vocera].

No Star Trek medical kit, like this one on display at "Star Trek -- The Exhibition" in Los Angeles on Oct. 10, 2009, should be without a hypospray.

Michael Tullberg/Getty Images Entertainment

8: Hypospray

The creative team behind "Star Trek" found spiffy ways to spice up some activities we endure on a day-to-day basis. Take medical treatment, for example: Not many people enjoy getting a flu shot, and in "Star Trek," inoculating patients was one of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy's primary duties. It seemed not an episode went by that Bones wasn't giving someone a shot of some sort of space vaccine. But what was more fascinating was the contraption he used.

Hypospray is a form of hypodermic injection of medication. A hypospray injection is forced under the skin (asubcutaneous injection) with high air pressure. The air pressure shoots the liquid vaccine deep enough into the skin that no needle is required. The real-world application is known as a jet injector.

Jet injectors have been in use for many years. In fact, the technology predates "Star Trek." Jet injectors were originally designed to be used in mass vaccinations. Jet injecting is safer (no needles to pass along infectious disease) and faster in administering vaccines. Similar in appearance to an automotive paint gun, jet injection systems can use a larger container for the vaccine, thus allowing medical personnel to inoculate more people quicker.

7: Tractor Beams

When NASA needs to make repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope, astronauts have to be specially trained to get out of the Space Shuttle for extravehicular activity. They also have to learn how to work within the confines of their space suits, with thick gloves on. Wouldn't it be nice to just bring the telescope inside, where repairs wouldn't be so challenging and dangerous?

In science fiction, space ships including the Starship Enterprise snatch each other up using tractor beams. In some cases, large vessels have a tractor beam strong enough to prevent smaller vessels from escaping the gravitational force. So is this science even plausible?

Yes and no. Optical tweezers are as close as you're going to get to a legitimate tractor beam on current-day Earth. Scientists have harnessed small lasers into beams capable of manipulating molecules and moving them with precision. Optical tweezers use a focused laser to trap and suspend microscopic particles in an optical trap. Scientists can use optical tweezers to trap and remove bacteria and sort cells. Optical tweezers are used primarily in studying the physical properties of DNA. While the beams used in optical tweezers aren't strong enough to dock the space shuttle to the International Space Station, it's a start in that direction.

Seen on Oct. 10, 2009, this replica phaser was on display at "Star Trek -- The Exhibition" in Los Angeles.

Michael Tullberg/Getty Images Entertainment

6: Phasers

"Set phasers to stun" -- another oft-heard command given to the Enterprise crew. The crew often relied on the stun setting of their fictitious weapon of choice known as a phaser. Armed with a phaser, Kirk and his colleagues had the ability to kill or more desirably, stun their adversaries and render them incapacitated.

Actually, stun guns have been around for some time. In fact, electricity has been used for punishment and to control livestock as far back as the 1880s. But it wasn't until 1969 when a guy named Jack Cover invented the first Taser that the stun gun was most realized. The Taser fails to kill like the phaser did, yet, it packs enough of an electrical punch to render its victim disorientated, if not completely incapacitated.

Unlike the phaser, the Taser and other stun guns must come in physical contact with the target in order to have any effect. Tasers take care of this by projecting two electrodes, connected by wires, which attach to the target's skin. Once in contact, the handheld unit transfers electricity to the target, thus having the stun effect. Stun guns with stationary electrical contact probes are somewhat less effective because while they have a similar effect on the target, you have to be much closer (within arm's length) in order to zap your target.

Something more along the lines of the phaser may be in development. Applied Energetic has developed Laser Guided Energy and Laser Induced Plasma Energy technologies that are said to transmit high-voltage bursts of energy to a target [source: Applied Energetics]. In other words, these pulses of energy would stun the target and limit collateral damage. So a true phaser may soon be a reality.

5: Universal Translator

Imagine if no matter what country you visited, no matter what the culture, you could understand everything the indigenous people were saying. It sure would make traveling easier. Take that thought to another level like say, if you were planet hopping like the crew onboard the Enterprise. Fortunately for Captain Kirk and his peers, they had a universal translator.

The characters in "Star Trek" relied on a small device that when spoken into, would translate the words into English. Guess what? The technology exists for us in the real world. There are devices that let you speak phrases in English and it will spit back to you the same rhetoric in a specified language. The only problem is, these devices only work for certain predetermined languages.

A true universal translator like the one on the show may not be a reality, but the technology is available.Voice recognition has advanced considerably since its inception. But computers have yet to be able to learn languages. Computers would be able to theoretically gather the information much faster than a human brain, but a software program is dependent on actual data. Someone has to take the time and expense to put it together and make it available, which is probably why these systems focus on more popular languages.

A replica of Geordi LaForge's VISOR sits on display at "Star Trek -- The Exhibition" on Oct. 10, 2009, in Los Angeles.

Michael Tullberg/Getty Images Entertainment

4: Geordi's VISOR

When "Star Trek: The Next Generation" thrust the love of everything "Star Trek" back into popular culture, the quirky Mr. Spock and crass Bones McCoy and others were supplanted by a new cast. One of the most popular characters on the new show was engineer Geordi LaForge.

What made Geordi unique, perhaps even mysterious, was his funky eyewear. Geordi was blind, but after a surgical operation and aided through the use of a device called VISOR (Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement), Geordi could see throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. Though it may sound far-fetched, in reality, similar technology exists that may someday bring sight back to the blind.

In 2005, a team of scientists from Stanford University successfully implanted a small chip behind the retina of blind rats that enabled them to pass a vision recognition test. The science behind the implants, or bionic eyes as they're commonly referred to, works much the way Geordi's VISOR did. The patient receives the implants behind the retina, then wears a pair of glasses fitted with a video camera. Light enters the camera and is processed through a small wireless computer, which then broadcasts it as infrared LED images on the inside of the glasses. Those images are reflected back into the retina chips to stimulate photodiodes. The photodiodes replicate the lost retinal cells then change light into electrical signals which in turn send nerve pulses to the brain.

What it all means is that in theory, a person with 20/400 sight (blind), due to the loss of retinal cells from retinitis pigmentosa, can obtain 20/80 sight. It's not good enough to pass the driving test (normal vision is considered 20/20) but it's good enough to read billboards and go about your day without the aid of a seeing-eye dog.

3: Torpedo Coffins

In the second installment of the "Star Trek" movie franchise, the beloved Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, died after saving the Starship Enterprise from certain disaster. The movie culminated with the crew firing Spock's corpse out of the torpedo bay in a coffin shaped like one of the ship's weapons, the photontorpedo.

Believe it or not, you too could be laid to eternal rest in your own Federation-approved photon torpedo casket. OK, it may not technically be Federation-approved since there is no such thing as the United Federation of Planets (UFP) but the coffins are, in fact, very real.

Designed by Eternal Image, the "Star Trek" coffin was slated to be available early 2009, but is still not for sale as of this writing. The price is yet to be determined. If the fan would prefer to be cremated, the company also plans to offer a "Star Trek" urn as well.

2: Telepresence

In 1966, the idea of interacting with each other while separated by the void of space seemed as far fetched as, well the idea of being in space. That's precisely what the idea of telepresence is.

Telepresence is more than just video conferencing. The visual aspect is important and immersion is vital. In other words, the more convincing the illusion of telepresence, the more you feel like you're there.

In 2008, AT&T teamed up with Cisco in delivering the industry's first in-depth telepresence experience. The key to Cisco's TelePresence is the combination of audio, video and ambient lighting working together. These telepresence kits are designed to mirror surroundings and mimic sounds so that users on each side of the video conference will feel as though the images on the screen are in the same room with them. For instance, the people in boardroom A will see the people on the screen in boardroom B as though they are sitting across the table from them. The ambient lighting and room features are constructed to mirror each other. Sure, these telepresence kits are much more advanced than anything drummed up on "Star Trek," but perhaps that's because the show sparked our imagination so many years ago.

A Christies New York employee holds a replica of a newer-model tricorder in London on Aug. 2, 2006, as part of a "Star Trek" 40th anniversary celebration.

Bruno Vincent/Getty Images

1: Tricorders

How many of you remember that instrument Mr. Spock used to always carry over his shoulder, especially when the crew (usually consisting of only Spock and Captain Kirk) first surveyed a new planet? That was a tricorder.

One of the more useful instruments available to "Star Trek" personnel, variations of the tricorder (medical, engineering or scientific) were used to measure everything from oxygen levels to detecting diseases. Often times the tricorder gave an initial analysis of the new environment. So, what's the real-world tie-in? NASA employs a handheld device called LOCAD, which measures for unwanted microorganisms such as E. coli, fungi and salmonella onboard the International Space Station [source: Coulter]. Beyond that, two handheld medical devices may soon help doctors examine blood flow and check for cancer, diabetes or bacterial infection.

Scientists at Loughborough University in England use photoplethysmography technology in a handheld device that can monitor the functions of the heart. Meanwhile, researchers at Harvard Medical School have developed a small device that utilizes similar technology found in MRI machines that non-invasively inspect the body. Using nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, this device would be sensitive enough to measure samples of as few as 10 possible infectious bacteria. This kind of sensitivity (800 times more sensitive than sensing equipment currently used in medical labs) could revolutionize the way doctors diagnose disease [source: Mick].

Briggs, Josh. "Top 10 \u0027Star Trek\u0027 Technologies that Actually Came True" 10 November 2009. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/10-star-trek-technologies.htm> 26 May 2012.

Friday, May 25, 2012

10 Telecommuting Careers that Can Make You Rich

by Dave Roos and Laurie L. Dove

What's the definition of the perfect commute? From the kitchen table to the couch. Working from home, ortelecommuting, is no longer the stuff of cubicle daydreams. As of 2011, an estimated 20 to 30 million people worked at home at least one day a week, and at least 2.8 million people worked primarily from home [source: Telework Research Network]. With improvements in networking technology and changes in corporate philosophy, the right career -- and income -- might be closer than you think.

While "rich" is a relative term, researchers have identified how much money a person needs to be happy. According to researchers at Princeton University, those who earn $75,000 annually are generally satisfied with their lives. Earning less than $75,000, however, seems to introduce higher levels ofemotional stress [source: Rubin]. To that end, we've uncovered 10 telecommuting careers in which you could earn $75,000 or more.

First, however, you'll need to steer clear of Internet "work at home" scams promising thousands of dollars a month for 20 hours of work a week, no college degree required. Remember that telecommuting is a benefit of a job, not the job itself. The best way to land a well-paying telecommuting job is to look for jobs that offer telecommuting as an option. If you're qualified for the position, then you might be able to negotiate a part-time or full-time telecommute, even if it's not an option at the time of your interview. Beginning on the next page, find out which careers made our list.

10: Accountant

You don't need to be a certified public accountant (CPA) to land a lucrative work-at-home career in accounting. However, you will need a bookkeeping background or an accounting degree to get started, as well as a way to network with potential clients.

Accountants help their clients by handling a variety of tasks, from running payroll to preparing corporate taxes. The highest-paid accountants earn $100,000 or more per year, but even an average salary is still between $45,000 and $78,000. Better still, accountants can operate their businesses from home without a lot of overhead [source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics]. All it requires is a typical office setup, including a computer and printer, as well as some specialized accounting software.

9: Programmer

Experienced software and Web programmers are in high demand, and an increasing number of companies viewtelecommuting as way to retain talented employees. Cisco Systems, for example, allows many of its 65,000 employees in 92 countries to interact through video conferencing instead of face-to-face meetings [source: Reuteman].

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 80 percent of software or Web programmers have earned a bachelor's degree in computer science or information systems [source:U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics]. However, depending on the job requirements, you may be able to apply for a telecommuting programmer position with an associate's degree or a certificate in a related field. Programmers with proven skills in Java, C#, SQL and other Web and software development scripts can easily pick up freelance projects and work from home. There are even dedicated Web sites, likeProgramming from Home, that specialize in freelance programming job listings.

8: Transcription and Translation

Are you a fast typer? Do you speak more than one language fluently? Do you have a mind for legal or medical terminology? Transcription or translation might be for you.

Of the two, translation jobs offer the best pay. Businesses, book publishers, Web sites -- just about anyone who produces marketing or editorial content -- need the help of experienced translators to push their products into new global markets.

In the medical field, hospitals and doctors offices need trained transcriptionists and coders to document procedures for insurance and record-keeping purposes. Law offices also need fast, accurate typists who can transcribe audio or video recordings of depositions.

7: Public Relations Professional

Public relations specialists, also known as media relations professionals, help corporations and nonprofit organizations implement and measure public perception campaigns. The job may require creating and carrying out public awareness initiatives, drafting news releases, writing speeches for company executives, executing social media strategies and handling the requests of reporters -- and can encompass many other aspects of communication between a client and the public. Traditionally, public relations professionals have worked in offices, but an increasing number of people who work in the field have launched their own home-based firms or arranged telecommuting options with their employers.

According to a survey of Public Relations Society of America members, the average annual income of freelance public relations professionals is about $104,000 [source: PRSA]. And job prospects throughout the industry are encouraging. Between now and 2018, public relations jobs are expected to grow by 24 percent nationwide [source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics].

6: Home Business

By setting aside space for a home office, any small business can be turned into a home business. Get a 1-800 number, an e-mail address and a well-designed Web page, and no one needs to know that your corporate headquarters are in your spare bedroom.

Some high-paying careers are increasingly centered at home, such as home-based physicians who review and evaluate patient cases for health care companies. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, these physicians earn an average of $100,000 a year [source: Goudreau]. Even if you don't hold a doctoral degree, there are virtually unlimited options for running a small business out of your home: business consulting, meeting or event planning, Web-based retail, life coaching, personal training, therapy, dog grooming -- the list goes on and on.

5: Freelance Writing/Editing

For experienced journalists and editors, freelance writing and editing can be an excellent career move. Most journalistic jobs require a degree in journalism or communications, and it's important to obtain this education -- plus real-world experience as a journalist -- before embarking on a full-time freelance career. One of the chief indicators of futuretelecommuting success is networking. As in any career, building relationships with other journalists and editors can help freelancers secure steady work.

Many large newspapers and magazines have taken on more freelancers to save money on full-time employees. And Web content is in high demand. For editors, there are opportunities to manage teams of freelancers, help executives write their memoirs or do freelance editing for fiction and nonfiction authors. The highest-earning 10 percent of freelance journalists earned more than $77,000 in 2008, the latest year for which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has released data [source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics].

4: Virtual Assistant

Are you craving some variety in your workday? Consider a career as a telecommuting virtual assistant. These professionals provide administrative services to businesses, but should also be willing and able to step in when other tasks are requested. According to the International Virtual Assistants Association, this home-based job can include everything from light bookkeeping and data processing to Internet marketing and event planning [source: International Virtual Assistants Association].

You'll either need to have some previous administrative experience or specialized training from organizations like VAClassroom to launch your virtual assistant business. Of course, it also helps if you're a tech-savvy person with stellar organizational and communication skills. Although the starting wages for virtual assistants are about $25 an hour, those at the top of their field can charge about $100 an hour [source:Peterson].

3: Call Center

An increasing number of companies are hiring American workers for call center jobs. And as of 2011, the 60,000 call centers located in North America had hired 20 percent of their employees to work from home. By 2013, the percentage of North American call center agents working from home is expected to reach 30 percent [source: TMC]. For some companies, such as Denver-based Alpine Access, work-at-home employees make up the bulk of the company's hires [source: Beeler].

With today's networking technology, it's much easier to route help desk calls to any phone, anywhere. You may not become independently wealthy while answering calls from home, but you could earn about $2,000 a month working 30 to 35 hours a week. Those willing to work more hours could earn $75,000 or more a year [source: Weston].

2: Computer Support Specialist

According to the 2010-2011 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook, new jobs for computer support specialists are poised to outpace all other occupations. And tech-support jobs fit a telecommutingmodel, too. Computer support specialists provide phone and e-mail support for clients, run diagnostics on misbehaving machines and perform repairs on company computer systems.

The highest-paid computer support specialists earn well over $70,000 a year, assisting tech-reliant people and companies in a variety of industries, and require little more than a bachelor's degree to get started. In some cases, this typical requirement will be waived if a company offers on-the-job-training.

1: Financial Planner or Advisor

If you're interested in learning how investments, tax laws and other financial decisions impact the bottom line, working as afinancial planner or advisor could be a great way to help others while avoiding a daily corporate commute. Because financial planners can meet with clients in a variety of settings, from the local coffee shop to the client's own home, it's a simple matter to run this enterprise as a home-based business. And, with salaries in this field exceeding $100,000, you could afford to make a few smart investments of your own [source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics].

In addition, telecommuting could increase your job satisfaction. A July 2011 survey of telecommuters found that more than 85 percent reported higher productivity and happiness when working from home instead of a corporate office. For financial planners, the ability to work at home without interruption can result in lessstress, too [source: McConville].

Roos, Dave, and Laurie L. Dove. "10 Telecommuting Careers that Can Make You Rich" 10 April 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. 24 May 2012.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Google Chrome overtakes Internet Explorer for the first time

by Chris Smith

Google Chrome is, for now, the world's most popular web browser. It has outperformed Internet Explorer for the first time over the last two weeks, while Firefox has dropped further back

Google Chrome has marginally edged ahead of Internet Explorer for the first time, to take the title of the world's most most popular web browser.

Stat Counter reckons that for the last two weeks Google has pipped Microsoft with 32.5 per cent of the market compared to IE's 32.1 per cent share.

Chrome's ascent to the number one position comes after it overtook Mozilla's downward-trending Firefox browser back in December. Now Firefox only has a 25 per cent share of overall global usage.

Google will now be hoping that Chrome can stay ahead for the rest of the May to take the monthly title for the first time. However, The Next Web reports that the latest version of Microsoft's browser IE is gaining traction during evening and weekends, bucking the traditional work-only usage patterns.

Chrome's popularity has surged in the last year thanks largely to a regular update schedule that continually brings the addition of new features including the popular multi-user accounts functionality outed in Chrome 16 and an Android iteration that syncs with the desktop app.

Will computers overtake humans in intellectual ability?

by Jonathan Strickland

In 1997, world chess champion Garry Kasparov played a series of six games in a rematch against the supercomputer Deep Blue. The year before, Kasparov defeated Deep Blue, winning three games to one (with two draws) against the supercomputer. During the rematch, Kasparov won the first game but then began to struggle. When it was all over, Deep Blue claimed the victory with two wins against one with three draws.

Was Kasparov's loss a sign thatcomputers had become smarter than people? It's true that computers can perform calculations at a blistering pace. The Jaguar supercomputer has a top speed of 2.33 petaflops -- it can perform more than 2 quadrillion calculations every second [source: National Center for Computational Sciences]. By comparison, Hans Morvec of the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University estimated the human brain's processing speed at about 100 teraflops, or 100 trillion calculations per second [source: Delio]. Clearly, computers can already make calculations faster than humans. But are they smarter?

There's more to intelligence than processing speed. While a supercomputer like the Jaguar can analyze problems and reach a solution faster than humans, it can't adapt and learn the way humans can. Our brains are capable of analyzing new and unfamiliar situations in a way that computers can't. We can draw upon our past experiences and make inferences about the new situation. We can experiment with different approaches until we find the best way to move forward. Computers aren't capable of doing that -- you have to tell a computer what to do.

Humans are also very good at recognizing patterns. While we're making progress in machine pattern recognition, it's mostly on a superficial level. For example, some digital cameras can recognize specific faces and automatically tag photos of those people as you take pictures. But humans can recognize complex patterns and adapt to them -- computers still have trouble doing that.

Currently, computers fall short of possessing intelligence. But will that always be the case?

Massive supercomputers can perform trillions of calculations per second.

iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Computers and the Human Brain

Could computer scientists build a machine that simulates the way humans think? It's not as easy as it sounds. The human brain is incredibly complex. We still don't have a full understanding of how the brain works. Without this understanding, it's challenging to create a meaningful simulation of the brain.

One of the features computers would need to be more intelligent than humans is the ability to draw conclusions from observations. In a study published in 2009, computer engineers at Cornell University designed a program that could do this on a limited scale. The program gave the computer a basic set of tools it could use to observe and analyze the movements of a pendulum. Using this foundation, the software was able to extrapolate basic laws of physics from the pendulum's motions. It took about a day for the computer to arrive at the same conclusions it took humans thousands of years to grasp [source: Steele].

While the Cornell project was a remarkable achievement in computer engineering, we're still years away from computers that can make conclusions from general observations. The Cornell software gave the computer the tools it needed to draw conclusions -- the computer was unable to create or refine these tools for itself.

As long as computers rely on sets of pre-installed instructions to perform tasks, they can't be said to be more intelligent than humans. Only when computers can adapt and perform tasks outside their initial programming will they be truly intelligent. Until that time, computers are just very sophisticated calculators.

Dozens of computer scientists are trying to solve this crucial problem. Some are attempting to design computers that can mimic human thought -- a tricky situation considering we still don't have a complete understanding of how we think. Other computer scientists prefer to design systems that don't use the brain as a model. Futurists like Dr. Ray Kurzweil predict that it's just a matter of time before we develop a computer system capable of being self-aware. After that, we may see computers capable of recursive self-improvement. That means computers will be able to analyze their own capabilities and make adjustments to improve performance.

But creating a self-aware computer system is beyond our capabilities right now. It may not even be possible. While we continue to gain understanding in the fields of biology and computer science, we may encounter a fundamental obstacle before we can ever create a self-aware machine. Alternatively, we may come to a point where human and machine intelligence merge, leaving the entire question moot.

Learn more about artificial intelligence and computer science by following the links on the next page.

Strickland, Jonathan. "Will computers overtake humans in intellectual ability?" 22 March 2010. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://computer.howstuffworks.com/computer-intellectual-ability.htm> 22 May 2012.