Connect With Nvate:
tech Archive
-
Boys, Girls and Computers: Gender Differences in Technology Usage
Posted on October 4, 2012 | No CommentsBy Bobby Miller When a person hears the phrase “tech geek,” a guy usually comes to mind. That is because gender stereotypes tell us that men are the objective ones, the ones with scientific worldviews. Women, conversely, are the social ones, the ones with more emotional and creative outlooks. In terms of technology, this should mean that men better understand the science behind various electronics. On the other hand, if our assumptions about gender are correct, then the typical woman concentrates on using devices for social interaction. Does this typecasting... -
Sci-Fi Meets Reality: 5 Gadgets That Went From Science Fiction to Science Fact
Posted on October 2, 2012 | 2 CommentsBy Laura Kemmerer Ask any Sci-Fi author of the last 50 years for a prediction of what technology the future might hold and you would get 50 very different answers. Machines that replace limbs, devices that are controlled with the wave of a hand, medical apparatuses that make invasive surgery a thing of the past as well as a number of other out-of-this world postulations have become a reality. As the cutting edge of technology becomes sharper, the predictions of the past are rapidly becoming the realities of the present.... -
Technology for the Mind: A New Treatment for PTSD
Posted on September 28, 2012 | No CommentsBy Bobby Miller It’s shocking how many people suffer from anxiety disorders. It has been estimated that anywhere from 5 to 20 percent of children cope with an anxiety disorder. Roughly 18 percent of adults are in the same situation, according to the Archives of General Psychiatry. What is PTSD? Due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, one of the most prominent anxiety disorders in America today is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The condition is characterized by frightening memories of a painful or disturbing experience. These flashbacks are strong... -
Green Gadgets: 10 Products to Lessen Your Carbon Footprint
Posted on August 29, 2012 | No CommentsBy Caitlin Vandewater From a young age, we are taught to turn off the faucet while brushing our teeth and to shut off the lights when we leave a room. Our parents make it a game of sorts, telling us we are helping the environment, and secretly their wallets. It’s these first lessons from childhood that plant the seeds for environmentally conscious adults. Nowadays going green can sometimes be a little more daunting, especially since our dependency on electricity and technology has increased over the past few decades. Thankfully, there... -
Gear Review: The Kindle FireDock
Posted on August 28, 2012 | No CommentsBy Sam Parker The pool outside of Apple accessories is getting a little deeper. Grace Digital Audio, an innovative digital audio company, released plans for its FireDock, the first docking speaker system designed specifically for Amazon’s Kindle Fire. Designed to rival Apple’s docking products, the FireDock will provide charging capabilities, cordless playback abilities, a turn-and-tilt feature and 3 inch, full-range stereo speakers for Kindle Fire users, according to Grace Digital Audio’s website. Greg Fadul, CEO of Grace Digital Audio, said in a press release that the creation of the FireDock... -
Self Healing Plastic: Dents, Dings, and Scratches Fix Themselves
Posted on August 27, 2012 | No CommentsBy Cailtin Vandewater It has happened to all of us at some point, when you underestimate the distance between your car and a stationary object — the car parked next to you, a mailbox, high rise curbs — and accidentally ding up your car door or scratch your bumper. Like most things in life, we put an increased value on cars that look nice, so discovering a ding or scratch on your vehicle can be a painful experience. Although a scratch on the bumper is not going to affect the... -
Second Life: How Companies are Using the Popular Virtual World to Conduct Meetings
Posted on August 13, 2012 | 5 CommentsBy Janet Martin Ernest Cline recently wrote a novel called “Ready Player One.” Among many other things, the world within this novel is slowly falling apart due to the nation’s obsession with the virtual world known as OASIS. Rather than go to work, go on dates or really exist at all in the physical world, the characters prefer leading their avatars through this extensive virtual world, thereby allowing the world to fall into decay. Virtual worlds, where people interact and essentially live their lives, are part of people’s everyday lives... -
AutoTutor: Can Simulated Computer Tutors Revolutionize Education?
Posted on August 3, 2012 | No CommentsBy Talia Beechick It’s an established fact of education that every student learns differently. Some excel with the basic lecture, while others need hands-on practice and still others need to read and think about the topic on their own. It’s also an established fact that catering to the many different learning styles in a classroom of 30 is nigh impossible for teachers, and individual tutoring is too costly for most parents and school systems. But the developers of AutoTutor and Affective AutoTutor have created interactive computer programs that focus on... -
Father Time’s New Groove: 5 Innovative Timepieces
Posted on July 27, 2012 | No CommentsBy Laura Kemmerer In the age of technological revolution, everything is being reimagined. From furniture to computers, nothing is left behind. Yet, when it comes to clocks and watches, they have always remained more or less the same. With innovations in displays and functionality, the clocks of yesteryear are certainly not the timepieces of the future. From exhausted college student to overworked businessperson, waking up to the blaring noise of an alarm clock is never a pleasant experience. One could almost rank it up there with stepping on Legos first... -
There’s An App For That! New Software Could Help Drivers Catch More Green Lights
Posted on July 2, 2012 | No CommentsBy Linzy Novotny To the average driver timing green lights, a surefire way to improve fuel efficiency and reduce travel time, is an educated guessing game. It’s easy to learn the lights along your most frequented routes, and slow and accelerate accordingly, but once off the beaten path, you’re at the mercy of timers and traffic. Until now. Yes, there is an app for that (shudder). Doctoral candidate Emmanouil Koukoumidis of Princeton and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, along with the co-advisement of professors Li-Shiuan Peh of MIT and Margaret...