Geekly Update - 27 October 2010

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

Forty years after Alvin Toffler predicted things to come in his book "Future Shock," he has released "40 For The Next 40." Included in the technology trends are rapid access to specialists, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and meteorological sensors in cellphones and increased invasion of privacy resulting in "cyber dust."

YouTube has officially released Leanback, an interface capable of navigating videos with arrow keys. Video will be played in full screen mode and can be used on Google TV devices and link to Facebook.

In a survey taken by 800 execs, theft of information and electronic data is more prevalent than theft in the physical world. The Kroll report claims that most fraud is perpetrated by insiders, and fear of fraud is also the reason that 48% of businesses won't expand to other countries.

Based on European systems, the Social Bicycle System (SoBi) will soon enable people to rent a bike in NYC. Utilizing GPS, mobile communications and a simple lock, you will be able to find and unlock a bike by using your cellphone.

AT&T is hawking iPads directly to businesses that pay their employees' wireless bills. They claim that it is part of an initiative to help companies increase productivity and flexibility, but I don't think that there will be a whole lot of work being done until the fun factor wears off.

Imagine a light bulb that would last 20 years. Panasonic did and came up with the EverLed screw-in bulbs that will set Japanese consumers back 4000 yen (about $40) apiece and will cost about $3.00 annually to use instead of $25.80.

Barnes & Noble will be releasing a 1.5 patch for its Nook 3G and Nook Wi-Fi that will increase page turn speed, improve Sync and search, and have lockability. Available on those sold in units beginning in November, the patch can be downloaded to current owners.

At this week's Back to the Mac Apple event, Steve Jobs announced that he took the best of the MacBook and iPad and came up with the new MacBook Air. At a starting price of $999, it comes in both 13.3" and 11.6" models, has full keyboard and track pad, instant on, longer battery life, FaceTime camera and Flash storage.

Jobs also announced the next version of the Mac's operating system dubbed "Lion" and that Kacs will be getting their own App Store. Watch for an updated iLife with new features such as iPhoto and iMovie.

Associate professor Johan Bollen of Indiana University claims that the general mood on Twitter can predict the rise or fall of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Even scarier, he says that his research is 87.6% correct in predicting the daily up and down of the DJIA. So why isn't he filthy rich?