Keegan’s Posterous

Professor Vedral reveals the best explanation of the universe that I've ever seen! I've been thinking along these lines for some time now, but wasn't able to put it into such easy to comprehend terms.

I think understanding what information is, what the universe is, points toward an answer to the question: "Why are we here?". And at the heart of everything is probability. That is the concept of information.

Since the beginning, the universe has been moving in one direction, towards ever increasing complexity. It's about energy density per unit time (energy per gram per second). Up until the first transistorized computer was demonstrated at the University of Manchester in 1953, we were the most energy dense per second thing the universe had created (assuming no aliens or alien tech). Per second, we're even more energy dense than a star! Now computers are by far more energy dense per second than us.

What is the end product the universe is trying (probabilistically) to produce? Will technology continue to aid us on this journey as it does now or will it eventually replace us? I don't know. In other words, is technology, or something greater than technology, the end goal or are we? One thing is for sure, we created technology. The universe could not create it without first creating us.

I like to think of it like an assembly line for a car. The production process has already started, but the assembly line itself has yet to be completed! It starts out with the basic parts and pieces (energy, matter, laws of physics) needed for assembly, and as the car progresses down the line it gets more and more complex. I think we are either a robot working to produce the car on that assembly line, or we are the car. Either way, I don't think we'll have to wait long to find out.

Read more at: What is the Singularity?

This device makes connection possible between devices that previously couldn't talk to each! Anyone who's been looking into how to get their computer to display on their big TV knows it ain't easy or inexpensive. Hopefully, this device will change all that.

Click the via link at the bottom to go to Engadget's post with the official press release and descriptions of some interesting use scenarios.

Okay, this has to be one of the coolest, most useful apps Google has made for Android phones! It's very intuitive. After only a minute I was gesturing away and finding stuff on my phone. I think I'm going to be using this a lot.

I installed Swype on my Droid and it is truly a game changing, jaw dropping experience!

I'm not sure how I'm going to use this yet; hopefully it will work with Google Voice!

Verizon Wireless USED to be one of the most closed, protective carriers on the planet, suffocating features so their users would have to pay extra for them. With the introduction of the Motorola Droid, that paradigm seemed to shift in a HUGE way. People were fearful they would limit Android %u2013 but they didn%u2019t. Now, instead of simply allowing/inviting something that%u2019s open, Verizon Wireless is going on the offensive like never before.

Starting next month, Verizon Smartphone users with data plans will enjoy free and unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls to anyone on the planet. And you%u2019ll enjoy amazingly cheap Skype International calls as well. All this from Verizon Wireless%u2019 3G network.

Holy smokes %u2013 THIS is a huge move. It will be interesting to see how the company deals with potential %u201Ccaps%u201D on what they call %u201Cunlimited data%u201D plans. I really have no idea where this will take us%u2026 but I bet you it will take other carriers like AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile into a decision making room where they decide they have to do the same. But will their networks buckle under the data pressure?

Skype Mobile will be offered on all 3 Verizon Android Phones %u2013 the Motorola Droid, Motorola Devour and HTC Droid Eris %u2013 as well as several other smartphones. At least for starters.

Here is the full press release:

BARCELONA, SPAIN; BASKING RIDGE, NJ, UNITED STATES; AND LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG %u2014 At the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Verizon Wireless and Skype today announced a strategic relationship that will bring Skype to Verizon Wireless smartphones in March. The new Skype mobile%u2122 product enhances Verizon Wireless%u2019 smartphones for users who have data plans by offering a new way to call around the globe, while also giving hundreds of millions of Skype users around the world the opportunity to communicate with friends, family and business colleagues in the United States using Verizon Wireless.

The two companies have created an exclusive, easy-to-use Skype mobile offering for 3G smartphones. Verizon Wireless 3G smartphone users with data plans can use Skype mobile to:

* make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls to any Skype user around the globe on America%u2019s most reliable wireless network;
* call international phone numbers at competitive Skype Out calling rates;
* send and receive instant messages to other Skype users; and
* remain always connected with the ability to see friends%u2019 online presence.

Initially, Skype mobile will be available on millions of best-selling Verizon Wireless 3G smartphones with data plans, including the BlackBerry� Storm%u2122 9530, Storm2%u2122 9550, Curve%u2122 8330, Curve%u2122 8530, 8830 World Edition and Tour%u2122 9630 smartphones, as well as DROID by Motorola, DROID ERIS%u2122 by HTC and Motorola DEVOUR%u2122.

John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless, said, %u201CSkype mobile on Verizon Wireless changes the game. For Verizon Wireless%u2019 more than 90 million customers, Skype mobile adds great value because we%u2019re effectively giving customers with smartphones and data plans the option to extend their unlimited calling community to hundreds of millions of Skype users around the globe. And you%u2019re not limited to using a single type of phone; we%u2019ll have nine smartphones ready right at launch in March.%u201D

Josh Silverman, chief executive officer of Skype, noted, %u201CPeople want to take their Skype conversations with them wherever they go, whether it%u2019s on a PC, TV or increasingly mobile phones. Verizon Wireless will give U.S. consumers the best Skype experience on mobile phones and will truly change the way people call their friends and family internationally.%u201D

Customers interested in learning more about Skype mobile for Verizon Wireless smartphones can visit www.verizonwireless.com/skypemobile. Additional information about the service will be available next month.

Visit www.verizonwireless.com for more information about Verizon Wireless or follow the company at http://twitter.com/verizonwireless. Learn more and download Skype at www.skype.com or follow the company at http://twitter.com/skypemobile.

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[Verizon Wireless via Engadget via AndroidForums, Thanks CRPercodani]

Google is getting better with social networking and real-time search. I think this will be very useful since many people already use Google Maps. I like the idea that I can find out what others are "buzzing" about near me. I'm sure I'll be able to find out all kinds of interesting stuff. It's just another easy way of finding out what others know. A system for mass knowledge sharing...and I love sharing my massive knowledge! :)

Associated Press

Fish oil pills may be able to spare some young people with signs of mental illness from a progression into fully developed schizophrenia, according to a preliminary study of 81 patients in Austria.

The study adds to evidence suggesting that severe mental illness may be prevented with intervention. The researchers are starting a larger study in eight cities, hoping to replicate the findings, which appear in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, released Monday.

A severe mental illness, schizophrenia affects adolescents and young adults. Some 2.4 million Americans have the disorder, which is treated with antipsychotic medication.

"Schizophrenia is among the most mysterious and costliest diseases in terms of human suffering, so anything that gives some hope to avoid this is great,'' said lead author Dr. G. Paul Amminger, formerly in Vienna and now at the Orygen Youth Health Research Center at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

Researchers have wondered if the disease could be stopped before it overpowers a person's grip on reality. Studies have tried antipsychotics in select young people, but side effects pose ethical questions, and results have been mixed.

Researchers in the new study identified 81 people, ages 13 to 25, with warning signs of psychosis, including sleeping much more or less than usual, growing suspicious of others, believing someone is putting thoughts in their head or believing they have magical powers. Forty-one were randomly assigned to take four fish oil pills a day for three months. The other patients took dummy pills.

After a year of monitoring, 2 of the 41 patients in the fish oil group, or about 5%, had become psychotic, or completely out of touch with reality. In the placebo group, 11 of 40 became psychotic, about 28%.

No one knows what causes schizophrenia but one hypothesis is that people with the disease don't process fatty acids correctly, leading to damaged brain cells. Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil could help brain cells repair and stabilize, the researchers speculate.

Dr. Janet Wozniak of Harvard Medical School said the findings might reasonably cause psychiatrists to recommend fish oil to some patients because there are known benefits and little risk.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press