Nope, it’s not a disease, but rather the stark realization that your old vinyl records, VHS Tapes and black and white photos are fast becoming obsolete and forever destined for the garbage can. There is help though for the many baby boomers out there who do need help with such conversions in order for most analog gadgets and gizmos to have their contents converted into the proper digital format that would allow them to be used with your iPod or saved onto high quality DVD’s for eternity (well, not an eternity but as long as the DVD retains it’s ability to hold the information safe anyway for even they have life spans or expected time frames before they fail). Many technologies such as voice recordings on cassette tapes, old video on reel tapes, Black and white photos of the days of old and many other older analog technologies that have long been overstepped by the digital revolution.
For photos there are scanners that allow you to digitize them and convert them to your preferred format for storage and viewing. Old photos are sensitive and some even crumble due to time and climate conditions. Digitizing them makes them available for manipulation and restorations as well as playback as a slideshow on your PC or TV. Old VHS tapes can be digitized through several appliances you connect to the video in port or through the USB port that with accompanying software allows them to be converted into digital video formats and even DVD’s (this you’d best leave to the experts for it takes almost a day to convert a few hours of video but DIY is still possible and widely available). Old 8″ vinyl can be transferred onto your multimedia players through similar appliances that converts them to popular audio formats.
Lastly, this world is ruled by the law of supply and demand and as long as people need help with such analog to digital conversions, there will always be entrepreneurs who would provide the services necessary. Whether you aim to do it on your own or to hire a professional conversion firm, it’s up to you, but do it quick for technology changes as a very fast rate that it may again render today’s technology useless by tomorrow.
The Flexible Laptop
Laptops like most consumer electronic goods are hard and sensitive to shock and even the most expensive ones which use some of the best technology can offer in terms of shock protection. Then comes the ability to produce electronics circuits onto flexible substrates that would allow them to bend and twist without damaging the circuitry and other electronics parts which could herald the age of the less sensitive electronic products. These products are already in use but the future holds more surprises such as the flexible laptop that won’t cease to function after you kinda’ sat on when you were on the bus.
These flexible gadgets and gizmos (OLED’s for example are just some of the exciting new fields of applications for these flexible electronics) would be better for you can’t fathom the amount of abuse we subject current gadgets nowadays. The cellphone that prevented your car door from closing, the iPod that fell out of your pocket while you were skateboarding and many other crazy stuff that would all fall as “out of the terms and conditions of reasonable use” that not only invalidates the warranty but utterly removes all hopes of future repair. Having flexible electronics would allow these gadgets to withstand the twisting and wrestling they undergo in out pockets as we scramble to stuff them full with all the other must have gadgets every time you step out of that door into the world.
Velcro – The Unsung Hero of Sneakers
The invention is now celebrating its 50 year anniversary and many have used it yet not even known the name of the humble hook and loop thingy that makes the distinct rip sound without actually ripping, VELCRO. As it turns out, the product was initially patented by a Swiss engineer, George de Menstral in 1941 while on a hunting trip in Switzerland. He was intrigued at how cocklebur seeds clung to his socks and dog by the way and wondered what significance a product that could mimic the said seed and the wonders it would do for daily life, he let it off as another idea into the magic bag of tricks. After a decade, he came about the idea again and became serious about the incident and started work on a man-made equivalent to the errant seed that stuck to almost anything.
Under the microscope, the cocklebur seeds had many tiny hooks that clung or hooked onto the woolen pants that he was wearing that one day he was hunting in the Swiss mountains. Wool as we all know is made from fibers out of the coats of sheep and they had a natural loop that allowed the bush’s seeds to hook onto. He first tried to make the device out of cotton which failed, settling on nylon as a better solution to the problem. The nylon was spun and then cut to form the hooks that were needed to closing to the loops which was made of fibers loosely wound onto a mesh packing. The invention failed to catch on for a while for fashion designers saw it as ugly and very unappealing for their clothing lines. The only people who loved the stuff were those guys in space who hated the hassle of having to do zippers in space as they put on and off their space suits.
Little did people know that the stuff is to become mainstay of sneakers and much other stuff we take for granted today. Nearly all models of shoes have a piece of Velcro on them and modern life would be impossible without it. It has you sealing up the duffel bag you carry your stuff in, it holds your tents and other stuff together, car seats are held up by them and of course the sneakers which have benefited the shoelace challenged folks of this earth for so long. Out with the lace and in with the rip, the ripping Velcro that is. Many fail to see that Velcro is a brand name and refer to all those fasteners on the market as such. Little do they know that the brand has existed for quite some time and that may be the reason why infomercials refer to them as simply fasteners or hook and loop fasteners.