Kelly's Campaign

Archive for the ‘High and New Technology’ Category

Who would have thought that chat shortcuts will ever make it to the list of the Oxford English Dictionary? Well, it is true, added to the OED lexicon are web abbreviations OMG, LOL and FYI. These new ‘words’ join the ranks of IMHO and BFF as proud members of the officially sanctioned initialisms (abbreviations contracted to the initials of their words) used in the English language. And if it wasn’t enough, the symbol <3 which is a heart also made it to this year’s new list.

Who knows what will be added next? I bet we will all be surprised yet again.

Technology has gone a long way, really. I remember having to to save precious money for a USB flash drive that can only store less than 1GB worth of data! I am amazed that Patriot upped the ante on USB flash drives by offering the Supersonic Magnum Series which can store up to 128GB! It uses an eight-channel controller to achieve sequential speeds of 200MB/s-plus read and 110MB/s write which is really awesome. This is not yet available, however, but is expected to hit the stores in May.

I honestly did not know anything about Cord Blood Banking (until now, actually, I am trying to understand it) after I gave birth to my DD. I would hear about parents asking other parents. Incidentally, there is little information on this part of the world because the system is too expensive and only one company offers the service for now. There is also little assurance that that cord blood will still be potent in case of need in the future. If my understanding is wrong, then let me know and correct me

Anyway, according to what I’ve read, in the 70s a study revealed that umbilical cord blood could supply the same kinds of blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells as a bone marrow donor. So when a baby is born and her cord blood is collected and stored, she may potentially be saved from a future serious illness. A perfect match may also use it. Like a bone marrow transplant, the blood from the cord may fight off the bad blood cells and help the body create the blood needed by the body, or at least the stem cells will do that. The time for storage and potential usage is still being determined but some stored blood for nearly a decade were successfully used in transplants.

Parents consider this service if there is an illness that runs in the family. Some diseases that more commonly involve bone marrow transplants include certain kinds of leukemia or lymphoma, aplastic anemia, severe sickle cell anemia, and severe combined immunodeficiency. Otherwise, the risk that a child may need her cord blood in the future is very slim. And the procedure of stem cell transplant is usually just ideal for babies and young children because adults require more stem cells that  cord blood may not fully provide.

The service goes for $1000-$2,000 on top of the annual storage fee.

With these factors, I guess you can already decide if this will work for you. The best decision may arrive after you have studied facts first before the baby is born. Good luck!

Here is the teaser:

A friend sent me this image which tells a lot about the upcoming announcement of Steve Jobs. She heard that I was waiting for this too. There is no stopping for the arrival of the next generation iPad. The launch is scheduled for March 2 when the new features will be shown too. That is only a few days from now, I cannot wait to see it!

The husband finally upgraded our desktop OS to Windows 7. I am not sure what took him so long, maybe he loved XP too much? I am on Vista with my laptop and I love it, so I am not too sure yet if it is going to be the same with the desktop. Anyway, I rarely use it since I am always downstairs to work but I will give it a try…once the husband is able to install all programs that I need (he had to reformat, of course, is why).

I remember my cousin, who is a certified Star Wars geek, mentioning about this: The Star Wars Saga is said to be released soon. I am not sure if all the other geeks are happy about it even if the exact release date was not readily revealed. Amazon has updated its preorder ship dates to September 27th though. The clamor is not that too big as most fans prefer the last three episodes of the George Lucas blockbuster. We’ll see when September sets in.

In January, Hewlett-Packard applied for the trademark protection of the term “HP Toouchpad”. Most analysts suspect that this is for yet another tablet, if not for a marketing push based on the company’s laptop devices. According to pocketnow.com, “The description for the filing is fairly broad, however, the meat of it clearly refers to "computer hardware, namely memory cards; computer hardware for telecommunications; computer monitors; mobile digital electronic devices; mobile computers; handheld computers; portable computers; tablet computers; personal digital assistants; electronic organizers; computer memories; telephones; mobile telephones; pagers; smartphones, videophones."

There is a rumored launch in September and we are all left wondering what this new offering will be.

Samsung introduces five new models of their point and shoot camera line, or the ST series. These are low to mid-range point-and-shoot cameras that anyone can use on a daily basis. Those begin with the $100 ST30 model, and move on up to the ST65, ST90 and touch screen ST95, before topping out with the $230 ST6500 (pictured above), which packs a 16 megapixel sensor, a 5x optical zoom, 720p video recording, and the same touch screen interface as the ST95. As for the rest of the lot, you can expect to get between 10 and 16 megapixels, either a 3x or 5x optical zoom, and 720p video recording on all but the ST30. The specs are promising but it always helps to read reviews first before buying your camera.

Take a look and it is no ordinary mirror. This nifty gadget will tell the temperature off the person looking at it. This device called Thermo Mirror was developed by the Japanese electronics company NEC/Avio. It works with infrared sensors that determines the temperature of an onlooker. The price for one unit is hefty which makes this an unpractical home device but can be pretty helpful in high foot traffic places like the airport.

Sometimes the built-in microphone is not enough. The people from IK Multimedia developed the first handheld, quality condenser microphone for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. They call it the iRig and it is designed for all your mobile sound needs.

iRig Mic features:

• Ideal for all vocal applications from singing to speech
• Great for all types of sound recording or processing in music or any other audio application
• Quality condenser-electret unidirectional capsule
• Dual mini-jack connector allows real-time monitoring on headphones, speakers, mixers, PAs
• Rugged, durable metal housing
• Easy to set-up for any sound source
• Can be handheld or placed on a standard mic stand
• Comes with apps for singers and songwriters
• Can be used with a multitude of other apps

Preorder is now accepted, $59.99