Monday, February 25, 2013

Wi-Fi: What are the health risks related to it?

It is good that most of your computing works today are seamless and done wirelessly, thanks to WiFi technology. But the more you use it the more you'll be wondering if there've been health risks linked to it.

         Radio waves emitted through Wi-Fi technology are at much lower intensities.


What is Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is the name of a wireless networking technology that allows an electronic device to exchange data wirelessly and it provide high-speed Internet and network connections. It is based on radio waves whose frequency is similar to that of microwaves.


Any ill health effect?

Given what microwave ovens can do to, say, meats, chicken nuggets, it is perhaps not surprising that there has been concern that exposure to Wi-Fi could be unhealthy. Fortunately, however, while they are found to be used everywhere, Wi-Fi waves are emitted at far lower intensities than microwaves in ovens. As a result, they cannot produce anything like the same heating effect.

Even so, some people still worry that perhaps even this far weaker effect could cause damage after years of exposure. To date, epidemiologists have failed to uncover any consistent evidence for even long-term effects.

It does, however, suggest that the health effects, if there are any, are pretty weak, and that we should worry about more hazardous things, such as tripping over all the cables we would need if we did not use Wi-Fi devices.

Technology, as it seem, is something you cannot go without.


References: Sciencefocus and The guardian

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Kota Kinabalu to have Malaysia's first green taxi stand

Great initiative by great people for the people! More corporations and private firms need to come forward  and contribute to life-enhancing ideas such as this one.

You can read further in the following article but to summarise it, the first ever green taxi stand in Malaysia - expected to be completed in KK in three months' time, probably in June 2013 - will feature among others:-

  • use of green building materials,
  • powered 100% by solar,
  • energy saving LED lightings, 
  • energy saving ceiling fans,
  • free power socket for phone charging

An artist's impression of the green taxi stand at Kg. Air. D.Express photo

Let's hope that more such stands (taxi and bus stands) would be built in and around the city centre, courtesy of generous firms, individuals and corporations.


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Kota Kinabalu's first green taxi stand in the making
D.Express, Feb 23
A proposal to upgrade and renovate the existing taxi stand at Jalan Pantai in Kampung Air, here, would see the first "green" taxi stand in the country.

The project, designed by local architect Sim Sie Hong of Innotech Design Architects Sdn Bhd, would convert the existing taxi stand into a new taxi stand using renewable and green building materials.

This was disclosed to Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir by Teo Chew Association President, Chua Soon Ping, during a courtesy call in City Hall. Chua said the project is initiated and partly sponsored by the Association  together with several other companies.

Explaining the project as part of their corporate  social responsibility for the city, Chua said the new taxi stand will be 100% powered by solar power, using the latest thin film technology to power up the basic essentials lighting and ceiling fans, with some power socket for phone charging to be used by the taxi operators.

On the design, he said the new seating area will also be specially design to prevent people to sleep on it, and will have an extended roof cover to prevent taxi passengers getting wet during rainy days.

Other features will also include new LED lighting to lit the area at night and ceiling fans to keep the taxi stand cool and ventilated during hot sunny days.

According to Chua, the project would take three months to complete and once in place it would serve as a prototype of a small green building in the city, which is energy saving.

Abidin thanked the Association and the sponsors for their contribution and regarded their effort as very good example of 'smart partnership' between the Association and the corporate sector, to assist Kota Kinabalu City Hall to make the City a more liveable place.

The Mayor said the City Hall would also conduct study to look into possibility of using the same technology for all the bus stands in the city in the future.


TheGreenMechanics: How about having a fleet of "green taxi" in the city? A far-fetched ambition, or dream?

Google giving away wonder glasses

Step aside bionic eyes, here comes your new challenger - a smart piece of glass.

Well, it's not exactly a 'give away' as the title suggests, as it cost early adopters or 'explorers' $1,500 to own the internet-enabled Google Glass. But its arrival could change the way on how people choose to get connected, and potentially being exposed. Or, do we really want to spend every second that we're awake connected to the net?

: : Photo credits: ndtv and zdnet : :
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How it works

It is claimed to perform many of the same tasks as smartphones, except the spectacles respond to voice commands instead of fingers touching a display screen. The glasses include a tiny display screen attached to a rim above the right eye and run on Google's Android operating system for mobile devices.

It will be easier to take pictures or record video anywhere and anytime. Just tell Google Glass to look for specific online search and you'll see the piece of information right in front of your eyes.

I suspect there'll be a bit of a challenge though for Asian users. Google's Android system has a voice search function on smartphones and tablet computers. Apple has its voice assistant Siri. But these voice search apps recognise English mainly in Europe (UK) and North America. What about localised English in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Hong Kong, etc?

But then again, the prospect of wearing a pair of these is pretty exciting.

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From  Associated Press on Feb 21:
Google to give contest winners a chance to buy its $1,500 glasses

SAN FRANCISCO: Google is giving more people a chance to pay $1,500 for a pair of the internet-connected glasses that the company is touting as the next breakthrough in mobile computing.

The product, dubbed "Google Glass," will be offered to "bold, creative individuals" selected as part of a contest announced Wednesday. Participants must live in the US and submit an application of up to 50 words explaining what they would do with the Google Glass technology. Entries must include the hash tag "ifihadglass" and be submitted through Google+ or Twitter by February 27. Google did not say how many glasses it will sell this way.

Winners will receive the "Explorer" version of Google Glass, a forerunner of the product that is expected to be released to the mass market next year. Google already sold an unspecified number of the glasses to computer programmers who also paid $1,500 apiece at a company conference last June.

To gauge how people might use its glasses, Google is encouraging entrants in its contest to include up to five photos and 15 seconds of video with their applications. The company doesn't want to see any nudity or violence. "Basically, don't add anything you wouldn't be OK with your Mom seeing," Google advised.

Google Glass is at the forefront of a new wave of technology known as "wearable computing."