tech
Curious tech and technology from the realm of science and science fiction.
Screen Reader Usage: Part 4
Welcome to another article here on Vocal. This is part 4 of the screen reader series. In this article, I would like to talk today about using a Mac computer using access technology called Voice Over. Voice Over is a piece of technology similar to the Windows Counterpart Window-Eyes and Jaws I last talked about in my last article.
By Jared Rimer8 years ago in Futurism
Space Travel: Breakthrough Starshot Launch Paves The Way To Alpha Centauri
On June 23, 2017, a slew of Sprite spacecraft had a successful launch into orbit. But, it was more than just a trip to Earth's orbit, it was the first step into a new kind of space mission, one that promises to take us farther, faster than ever before.
By Anya Wassenberg8 years ago in Futurism
Love and Robots
This weekend I celebrated the successful completion of my first-ever Arduino-powered project, a dance costume sleeve that changes colour as the dancer moves. This weekend I also found out that the Afghani competitors in this year's FIRST Global robotics competition, a team of six young women, were at last granted permission to enter the United States in order to join their robot for the competition.
By Caitlin McDonald9 years ago in Futurism
Alex The Inventor (Book 2 - Chapter 1)
Read Chapter 1 (Part 1) at: Deep Sky Stories Chapter 1 (Part 1) - Of Lineage and Tokens of Manhood When the boy and his large companion arrived on what became their new Homeworld, they had to learn to survive and adapt to the new environment as best as they could.The boy was fit and hardy though and he had the good sense to pack what provisions he thought were necessary before he began his lone journey from one planet to the other.He first saw his new Homeworld from afar only a year before - that being two of our years.His father, King T'eir of the Valley's southwestern shores, had taken him to the highest tower of his palace on a dark, clear night and pointed up at the tiny blue dot nestled among the stars.It did not appear to be very interesting to the boy at first - it was just a pale blue speck in the darkness and looked much too distant as well. Yet his father told him that that dot in the night sky was a very interesting place indeed. The blue dot was actually nearer to their Homeworld than even the brightest of the stars which turned in the black velvet dome high overhead.How could that be, the boy wondered. It was only a little blue dot in space. There was no other place which could possibly match the beauty and wonders of the boy's own Homeworld.The valley he lived in was a full, rich and wild country all by itself. It was the envy of the Plains People who roamed the cold and dusty steppe-lands beyond his home.In the Valley there were thick, carpets of Ground-Leaf and mosses of every kind grown with care by the Life-Givers of each village. And rich farmlands of the hard-working Tils Clan stretched in thin strips of fertile soil for hundreds of miles along the banks of the mighty River Styx.Then there were the Strand Villages which were clusters of mud huts that stood upon tall, erosion-carved sandstone pillars. The pillars were situated throughout the entire length of the endless river valley. The Valley did seem to be endless, so far did it stretch from East to West, from horizon to horizon.The village pillars all stood a full two miles above the thundering river. A boy, such as he, could run and explore from village to village for weeks on end because each was inter-connected, one to the other by a web of strong rope bridges.A boy could meet new and interesting people all along the way and would never go hungry because the food and bounty from the Valley floor was shared freely among the villagers.No, there was nothing, the boy was sure, which could possibly compare with the splendor of his Homeworld. True, there were a few worrying signs of troubles ahead which the boy often heard his Royal parents discussing with various diplomats and "High-War Moderators" during evening meetings.The meetings had something to do with "accidents" involving the "Moon-War" machines which were somehow reaching the surface of his world and causing serious problems, even fatalities at times, among the nomadic Plains People.But Halden, the son of King T'eir was not afraid of such problems as these. His father would make short work of those nasty little robot Flies, he was sure. No, there was no world as wonderful nor any people as powerful as his race, that was certain.
By G.F. Brynn9 years ago in Futurism
Artificial Gender Intelligence. Top Story - July 2017.
As a western society with fairly traditional views, England as a whole has moderately outdated views on what gender is as a concept (Woods 1995). Even with progressive views speaking of non-binary people or trans people; there is still some element of binary or even a linear spectrum. When realistically gender is a performance, which yes, we already know. So how do we begin to break this down in the future?
By Jam Steward9 years ago in Futurism
It Was All Lost
For Ryuji Satosan the day had started out as it usually would, by starting his daily routine immediately. He slipped out of bed into his slippers before making his way to the bathroom. There he showered, brushed his teeth, then made his way to his bedroom to dress himself. He dressed in normal everyday clothes, jeans, and a t-shirt. Before he left he slipped on a long white lab coat, his keys already in the left hand pocket. When he made his way out of the door the first thing his eyes laid upon was his sleek black motorcycle shining brightly in the morning light. The male walked the few feet towards the bike before slipping onto the comfortable padded seat. He started the engine while putting on his black bike helmet, slipping the visor down as he took off down the street.
By Brandon Mckinney9 years ago in Futurism
Screen Reader Usage: Part 3
Welcome to another article in the series dealing with screen reader usage for the blind and visually impaired. This time, I would like to cover how someone who can't see can use a screen reader to browse the internet. When I was growing up, the process was far easier; we dialed in with a text browser and everything just worked. Links were numbered and we would simply press the number corresponding with the particular link we wanted to browse. With Windows, that whole system changed. That was the beginning of what we call browse mode or MSAA mode, which is now widely used. I would like to discuss how this works.
By Jared Rimer9 years ago in Futurism
A History of Gravitational Waves
14th September 2015. A 4 kilometer long arm forming part of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) changed its length by one ten-thousandth the width of a proton, due to a distortion in spacetime, disturbing a laser beam housed inside. Computers immediately detected the mind bendingly miniscule change, sending an automatically generated email containing the observed data to a postdoctoral researcher by the name of Marco Drago working in the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Hannover, Germany. Marco’s job was to monitor LIGO readings examined the data to rule out any error or “dummy signal” used for testing purposes. Within a few days news of the detection had been leaked to the world astrophysics community and after the observation had been definitively confirmed an official press conference on the 11th of February 2016 revealed to the world the first observation of a gravitational wave on earth by LIGO.
By Devon Keogh9 years ago in Futurism
Alex The Inventor-Chapter 17
Read Chapters 1 - 16 at: Deep Sky Stories Chapter 17 (Part 1) - The First Hello Elizabeth Faraway led Alex into the little kitchen where he saw something resting on the table. It was a little square computer screen on a folding stand and, at first glance, it could easily have been mistaken for a tabletop picture frame."Come sit down," Elizabeth said and she pulled up a chair for him. Sitting down beside her son, Mrs. Faraway brought the small silver screen up close and then lightly touched the glass.There was a momentary blink and flicker as the tiny screen reset itself, then a face appeared behind the glass. The person belonging to the face seemed to be in the middle of talking to someone else but then was interrupted by a faint voice that sounded like Miss Vee‘s. She was talking urgently and there were faint explosions in the background.Alex couldn't understand much of what she said but he thought he heard his name mentioned once. Suddenly the man's face changed drastically and a look of deep sadness and guilt showed clearly in his eyes. He looked away for a few moments, perhaps trying to gather the nerve to continue talking, but finally, he got control of himself and looked up again, straight back through the glass and into Alex's eyes.
By G.F. Brynn9 years ago in Futurism
