Lofty Matters

According to information found here: http://www.broadband-expert.co.uk/, the booming sales of smart phones is leading to mobile broadband sales showing significant decreases–as much as 40 percent over the past 18 months.

Another factor affecting this slow-down is that mobile broadband technology is not performing to the desired and promised expectations. According to Rob Webber, commercial director of Broadband Expert, mobile broadband experienced quick growth at the beginning due to high expectations from consumers. Sales have since slowed, however, as consumers react with disappointment. Broadband technology has also received bad press, further affecting sales.

Another factor influencing broadband growth and sales is the expanded growth of smart phones like Apple iPhones and Blackberrys. Consumers who would ordinarily have purchased mobile broadband deals, decide instead to utilize their smart phones for internet access. Webber says he can’t see this trend changing in the near future and believes that until mobile broadband speeds are high enough that a mobile broadband device can be considered as a replacement for home broadband then sales will continue to suffer.

Perhaps 4G technology will provide the needed boost due to faster speeds. This may be what consumers need to get them to switch landline broadband services for a pay as you go mobile broadband contract.

Before selecting and contracting with a broadband mobile service provider, research your options carefully to ensure your service fits your needs and expectations. Read reviews and information compiled by Broadband Expert to learn about and compare broadband and mobile broadband packages. Factors such as contract length, cost, speed and download limits must be considered before making a final decision about service providers and Broadband Expert can help you navigate your way through this process.

Nothing newfangled like a barcode scanner here. No, this is looking back to something ancient.

An ancient toy has inspired a powerful new weapon that might be used for destroying submarines or even eliminating tumors. It’s similar to the ancient Newton’s cradle. Remember those balls suspended by wires? Scientists have created a powerful weapon for soldiers and doctors and they call it the “sound bullet.”

Researchers created rows of stainless steel ball bearings in small area with weights attached at the ends to change the pressure on each row. A small ball was dropped about eight inches onto the ball bearings and researchers used a high-speed camera to watch the pressure waves focus on a single spot.

Researchers focused all of the sound waves onto one specific area and they amplified those waves over 100 times than what any other metamaterial had ever created.

What will they create next…electronic cigarettes?

Synthetic nacre has been a goal for material scientists and biologists. Unfortunately, the production process is very difficult and costly. Drawing on previous experience, scientists mixed hard clay particles and a soft polymer. The two materials attract each other and naturally arrange themselves in alternating layers. When drawn out flat, artificial nacre is produced.

Synthetic nacre could be glued to a surface or adhered to a wall to make it flameproof.

It seems like everywhere I look these days, people are toting around their cute little netbooks. At the library, at the gym, at the dance academy…they whip them out and open ‘em up and go to it. Me…I just got a new touchscreen smartphone that seems to be able to satisfy all of my mobile needs at this point. I really like something small enough to fit easily in my pocket too.

If you have a netbook…what is your favorite feature?

Make war on consumption – yep…we’re talking all of those office supplies, paper plates, napkins, appliances…even electricity. Solar panels are the way to heat your home, cool your home, heat your water, and run your appliances. Solar technology has made huge gains recently and is easier than ever to install and use in your home. Approximately 85 percent of the at-home renewable energy-producing systems installed today are solar panels.

How’s this for insurance marketing…

Have you bought a cell phone lately? It can be a stressful experience. When you are almost finished they levy the insurance question on you. If you are buying an iPhone, BlackBerry or Palm Pres, it makes sense to consider insurance. Be careful though, and ask questions.

There are other companies like Safeware, SquareTrade and Best Buy that offer insurance and warranty policies independently. In addition, some home and auto insurance companies let customers add smartphones to existing policies.

Search your insurance options first and read the terms and conditions of the insurance policy through the carrier. Don’t just sign papers…ask questions and then make the most prudent decision for your situation.

Do cows eat rice husks? I don’t know if they do or not so perhaps rice husks are not a common ingredient in cattle supplies…but here is a mighty interesting use for rice husks.

A new way of processing rice husks to make concrete may create a boom in new green construction. Rice husks surround edible kernels of rice and are high in silicon dioxide. This is an essential ingredient in concrete. Scientists have determined that rice husks may be a viable option for building material but past attempts to burn it created an ash too contaminated with carbon to be useful as a cement substitute.

If this new method proves successful, scientists will begin construction on an full-sized furnace capable of producing 15,000 tons of rice husk ash annually. If production is scaled up to use all of the rice husks produced in the US, 2.1 million tons of ash could be produced each year.

Astronomers have discovered more than 300 planets that orbit stars other than our sun. Most of these are gas giants like Jupiter. Powerful new space telescopes will make it easier to spot much smaller rocky extrasolar planets that are more similar to Earth. A team of astronomers and astrobiologists has devised a technique to tell whether these planets have liquid water. This could tell whether it might be able to support life.

It will be years before the launch of space telescopes capable of making similar observations for Earth-sized exoplanets. Creating this technique now could guide the construction of those instruments, however. These planets will be much farther away but the techniques will be similar. Imagine the bathroom faucets! ha!

A new formula that could be used to give advance warning of where a tsunami is likely to hit and how destructive it will be has been discovered by scientists at Newcastle University.

This research was spurred by the 2004 disaster which devastated coastal communities in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

In this tsunami, an earthquake in the depths of the ocean triggered a huge wave that resulted in six massive wave fronts in succession.

It was the third wave that caused the most devastation. It was this wave that lifted a train from its tracks and killed almost 1,000 people aboard.

The number and height of the tsunami waves hitting the shoreline depends on the shape of the initial surface wave in deep water.

From this information it is possible to work out whether a ‘trough’ or a ‘peak’ is the front wave. If it’s a trough there will be a warning of the tsunami. If it’s a peak, there will be no warning.

Automatic sensors have been in the Pacific Ocean for years and sensors have now been placed in the Indian Ocean.

The number of peaks and troughs in the initial disturbance will dictate the number of wave fronts that will steepen and eventually produce tsunami waves.

By calculating the number of waves that will join together as the faster ones catch up the slower ones, it is possible to predict how many and how big and fast the final waves hitting the shoreline will be.

What an incredible potential for life saving this research is!

Caffeine is a legal performance enhancer. Can you believe it? Studies now show that caffeine effects the brain’s sensation of exhaustion and releases calcium that is stored in the muscle giving you more endurance.

Exercise physiologists have studied the effects of caffeine extensively. Will it help sprinters? Marathon runners? Cyclists? Rowers? Swimmers? Caffeine seems to enhance them all.

Now we need to know how it exerts its effects and how little is needed to get an effect.

Caffeine increases the power output of muscles by releasing calcium stored in muscle. This enables athletes to keep going longer or to go faster in the same length of time. Caffeine also diminishes the brain’s sensation of exhaustion so it improves endurance.

I’d say this definitely is another winning mark for caffeine. Not only can it wipe away the cobwebs early in the morning, act as an appetite suppressant, but now it is a legal performance enhancer! Woot!