Stories by Mark Gibbs

NeuroSky MindWave: Fun with Brainwaves

In last week's Gearhead I discussed, in part, the science of electroencephalography or EEG … the detection and measurement of the neurological activity of the brain via electrodes attached to a subject's scalp.

By Mark Gibbs | 10 February, 2012 11:29

Tags: NeuroSky MindWave, NeuroSky, hardware systems, Flash, EMG, electromyography, electroencephalography, EEG, Data Center, Configuration / maintenance, brainwaves

Goodbye e-books, hello apps

"It doesn't matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don't read anymore ... Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year."

By Mark Gibbs | 03 February, 2012 09:33

Tags: wireless, tablets, steve jobs, software, pc, online media, networking, media, library, iPad, hardware systems, e-readers, e-books, Data Center, consumer electronics, Configuration / maintenance, books, apps

Smart hat monitors brain waves to watch fatigue levels

I just read an interesting article in Gizmag, an online technology newsletter, about an unreleased product called the SmartCap from Australian company EdanSafe. The SmartCap is worn as a cap and analyzes brainwaves to ascertain fatigue levels, one obvious use case being to monitor commercial drivers to reduce road accidents.

By Mark Gibbs | 02 February, 2012 02:25

Tags: software, road safety, monitoring, fatigue, electroencephalogram, EEG, driver, brainwaves, alpha rhythm

The real reasons why SOPA and PIPA are real bad

Following last week's Backspin, reader Alex Gonzales (Sweetwater, Texas) wrote to me: "Just read your SOPA article and I guess I'm just not seeing the big picture. If the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) could put an end to online piracy and stop a lot of those damn viruses, maybe even stop hackers -- what's bad about that? You say bad for business, bad for Internet -- but how? How is stopping/policing the bad stuff on the Internet bad? Give me some real reasons as to why [SOPA/PIPA] is bad. And don't tell me to go read the SOPA/PIPA bills in their entirety."

By Mark Gibbs | 28 January, 2012 02:20

Tags: US Department of Justice, Stop Online Piracy Act, SOPA, security, riaa, Recording Industry Association of America, Protect Intellectual Property Act, piracy, PIPA, music piracy, mpaa, movie piracy, Motion Picture Association of America, law, Intel, due process, doj, constitution

Twine, jump-started by Kickstarter

Last week I discussed the Lantronix xPrintServer, which allows iOS devices supporting Apple's AirPrint to print on any output device that supports the Common Unix Printing System (CUPS).

By Mark Gibbs | 26 January, 2012 10:31

Tags: wireless sensor, wireless, web-based, Twine, temperature, printing, networking, Lantronix xPrintServer, KickStarter, internet, hardware systems, funding, electrical current, Data Center, crowdsourcing, Configuration / maintenance, Common UNIX Printing System, cloud computing, cloud-based, cloud, Apple, AirPrint, accelerometer

No blackout for SOPA/PIPA? We know who you are.

Given the week that just was there's really only one topic I can write about: The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA).

By Mark Gibbs | 21 January, 2012 02:27

Tags: wikipedia, twitter, Twitpic, Stop Online Piracy Act, SOPA, security, reddit, Protect Intellectual Property Act, PIPA, mozilla, Intel, Google, Facebook, Cheezburger, AOL

AirPrint to almost any printer

Back when I was young printing was complicated. Printer drivers were a nightmare of options and standards were rare. Now there are all sorts of standards for printing but the nightmare still continues. Even printers that sell for $50 have multiple drivers, often support various printing protocols, have multiple driver updates, and then there is the printer installation software.

By Mark Gibbs | 20 January, 2012 09:25

Tags: xPrintServer, Telecommunication, tablets, smartphones, RFC2910, RFC1179, printer, Mobile OSes, mobile, LPD, Line Printer Daemon, Lantronix, IPP, iPhone, iPad, iOS, Internet Printing Protocol, HP JetDirect, HP, hardware systems, Epson, Data Center, CUPS, consumer electronics, Configuration / maintenance, Common UNIX Printing System, Canon, AppSocket, applications, Apple

Your identity up for grabs

Security was a big issue in 2011 with more sophisticated and a wider range of threats than ever before wasting even more of everyone's time at a cost of billions of dollars.

By Mark Gibbs | 14 January, 2012 04:35

Tags: Walgreens, US Bank, tivo, The College Board, sony, security, rsa, privacy, mortgage, lockheed martin, Kroger, JPMorgan Chase, Home Shopping Network, Epsilon, EMC, divorce, Disney Destinations, Citi, China, Capital One, Brookstone, Best Buy, anonymous

A tablet for under a Benjamin?

Product names are tricky, there's no doubt about it. If you're not going to use a meaningless string of characters such as "X77-P73" then you've got your work cut out for you because it's hard to find a good name that isn't already taken by some other company. Even internal project names have to be researched, checked that they are OK to use and vetted by lawyers for liability.

By Mark Gibbs | 14 January, 2012 02:36

Tags: youtube, Web browser, Warty Warthog, ubuntu, Tablet, spiderman, Sandy Bridge, Rose Geranium, Precise Pangolin, Pandora, Oneiric Ocelot, Natty Narwhal, MIPS Technologies, MIPS, kindle, Intel, Ice Cream Sandwich, Honeycomb, Hoary Hedgehog, Haswell, hardware systems, Google, gingerbread, froyo, Frank Zappa, Facebook, Éclair, Ebola, Donut, Donald Duck, Documents to Go, Disney, Death Star, Data Center, Cupcake, cryptonym, Configuration / maintenance, code name, Angry Birds, Alladin, Aladdin, Ainovo Novo7 BASIC

2012 Outlook: The end of everything?

Welcome to 2012, the year the world ends. Yes, in case you haven't been following the eschatologists out there (and most of them are definitely "out there"), 2012 will be "it" for humanity. The "last hurrah". Fini. Au revoir.

By Mark Gibbs | 09 January, 2012 16:30

Tags: hacktivism, hacking, hackers, fcc, Facebook, eschatology, end times, DDoS attacks, consumerization, business intelligence, botnets, Big Media, Big Data, applications, antispam, analytics

Goodbye 2011 ... What a year!

Well, as we are just a hop, skip and an eggnog away from putting on silly hats, drinking champagne, and kissing random people as we bid goodbye to the year, it behooves me to look into the digital rearview mirror and ponder what we can see rushing away from us.

By Mark Gibbs | 19 December, 2011 17:27

Tags: year in review, WLANs / Wi-Fi, wireless, Windows Phone 7, WiFi, Stop Online Piracy Act, SOPA, security, retrospective, research in motion, PROTECT IP Act, Nokia, networking, Net Neutrality Rules, netflix, Microsoft, internet explorer, HP, Google, Federal Communications Commission, CarrierIQ, 2011

Gmail Backup, a recipe for happiness

Before I get to this week's main topic I must give a big thumbs-up to a book that all of you who like to cook will thoroughly enjoy: "Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food" by Jeff Potter (pub. O'Reilly).

By Mark Gibbs | 16 December, 2011 12:27

Tags: software, security, recipes, intrusion, IMAP, hacks, hacking, Google, gmail, Food, email, cooking

Social networking, ignorance, and apathy

There's an old joke: What's the difference between ignorance and apathy? Answer: I don't know and I don't care.

By Mark Gibbs | 09 December, 2011 05:45

Tags: web 2.0, unified communications, Stockholm Syndrome, software, social networking, social media, security, privacy, networking, mark zuckerberg, Internet-based applications and services, internet, ftc, Federal Trade Commission, Facebook, Etsy, collaboration, brother, applications

The amazing shrinking computer

The quest for smaller and smaller computing devices usually involves a tradeoff between processor power, battery life, communications features, memory and storage. While the product I'm looking at is in some respects the result of the intersection of a vision with compromises, the WiMM One from WiMM Labs is one of the slickest miniature computing devices I've seen to date.

By Mark Gibbs | 08 December, 2011 06:28

Tags: WLANs / Wi-Fi, wireless, wi-fi, vibrator, usb, transflective, touchscreen, TFT, smartphones, sdk, Samsung ARM11, processor, networking, GPS, Google, Data Center, consumer electronics, computer platform, capacitive, bluetooth, battery, Android

How stupid can cell carriers be? Really Stupid.

The recent revelation that most of us are carrying around smartphones with embedded rootkits is both surprising and not so surprising. It's surprising because it makes you wonder, "How stupid can the carriers be?" It's not surprising in that we know the answer to that.

By Mark Gibbs | 05 December, 2011 16:39

Tags: wireless, smartphones, security, networking, malware, consumer electronics, Carrier IQ, Android

 
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