Behold, every man’s dream.  The Husqvarna DXR 310 can destroy things – remotely.  What else could you ask for?

So, what could you do with this demolition robot?  It has a 15 foot arm and is controlled by a bluetooth enabled remote control.  It’s compact and is able to move in and get the job done.  Video:

Photo: Moses demonstrating multi touch.

It is always fascinating watching Apple present a new product.  It’s not Apple that I watch, it’s everyone else.  Bloggers goes nuts.  Stock analysts approach it with typical wry skepticism.  And news outlets tap into the prognostications.  Bloggers and followers almost always seem underwhelmed when a new product comes out.  Maybe because bloggers tend to obsess about the new product ad nauseum.  The Apple iPad met with the same backlash.  Regardless, here are my reasons why the iPad will be a success.

#1. The Middle Market – The iPad does not replace the netbook.  The iPad does not replace the laptop.  The iPad does not replace smartphones.  As Jobs said, the iPad works the middle market.  In some ways, I think this market exists in theory.  Yes, it’s being tapped somewhat, but I think iPad will eventually crush it.  It’s going to be very useful for people and very lucrative to Apple.  Oh yeah, the pricing will work.

#2. Performance – The one thing we are hearing over and over is how fast the iPad is.  That will be super appealing to users.  If I can have a portable device that flies….how do I get one?  People will pay for a device that does things well and performs fast, now.

#3. User Experience – C’mon, this is Apple afterall.  The iPad user experience is great and will continue to improve.  This goes from the hardware right to the OS and apps.  This is the type of electronics that people will be showing off to friends and family.  And people will be drawn in because it works well, is intuitive, performs quickly, and cuts the fat.

#4. Portability – The stand allows for quick docking and undocking.  But, more than anything, people will love to carry this thing around.  They will love to grab it and take it to the couch to use.  They will love sit in bed and read a book with it.  They will love to take it to meetings to project a presentation.  We shall see if the 10 hour battery life holds weight.  If it does, it will only bolster this claim.  Almost forgot, wireless and 3G.

#5 Apps and Media – Apple is slowly becoming the purveyor of media.  Trust me, long term that holds some serious weight.  Did you see how newspapers and book companies want to snuggle up to Apple?  Sort of reminds me of music companies and movie houses.  Hmmmm, me thinks Apple is strategic.  Oh, and the apps will get better and more addictive.

I could have waxed on about tons of other things, but these are the things that stick in my mind.  People are asking, “But what is the use case for this device?”  My best answer is wait and see.  Trust me, it’s coming.

One of the interesting newer technologies is plug computing.  These are very small computers that plug into an electrical outlet that serve some purpose.  At first look, it seems like a very empty sort of idea.  But if you stop and ponder the ideas coming into the plug computing space, I think you will see massive potential waiting to happen.

I recently posted about the Pogoplug, which allows for a great way to NAS over the internet.  It’s those kind of services that naturally lend themselves to plug computing.  Really, service providers are only limited by their imagination.  It’s a low cost, low energy usage device that can have some very interesting applications.

For instance, Shaspa provides home automation monitoring and management.  They also provide for data collection within those monitoring systems both on a home and commercial level.  They have plugs and monitors that allow you to access those systems over the internet.

It will be interesting to see if disparate plug devices will be marketable or if consumers will stick to centralized computing.  It seems that nodal computing on a small scale like this could have real momentum.

One thing to note is how powerful these tiny computers are.  They sport a 1.2Ghz Marvell 88F6281 ARM processor with 512MB of DDR2 and 512MB of NAND flash.  Another thing to note is the power consumption.  How about 5 watts under normal operating conditions (PCs can use 25-100 watts).  Most plugs have USB 2.0 and GigaLan.  That’s impressive for how small it is.

Here’s a video that summarizes it:

And here’s a Sheevaplug unboxing to show you the size:

Sony really does quality stuff.  The Sony Walkman A840 will bring sex back to the mp3 player space.  I really like the look, but does it live up to look or is it just a pretty face?

Sony brings a 2.8 inch OLED screen for your total enjoyment.  You will get 29 hours of music and 9 hours of video playback thanks to that OLED technology.  It’s very thin, measuing in at .28 inches thick.  Okay, so far so good.  It comes in 16 ($265) and ,32($331), and 64($442)GB flavors.  It comes with AAC and H.264 playback, along with the other standard.  It does sport good noise cancelling and earbuds – so, no HD or wifi – pretty face only (esp at that cost!)?

Taking a note from the Wii, Microsoft plans on making your whole body the controller with Project Natal.  It will be interesting to see if people really like this.  It’s a neat concept, but my guess is some gamers will like this.  Mainly because it’s too much work!

Here is a demo:

But I really want to see the two player boxing!

But that’s not why I’m writing.  I’m actually writing about something very interesting going on in the agricultural industry.  What if intellectual property extends to actual seeds?

The problem with technology is that we have a hard time seeing what will happen beyond our intended purpose for the technology we are employing.  Yep, technology always brings with it a host of unintended consequences.  The other problem with technology is that it can be used to wield enormous power and reinforce that power.  We have seen this in the media space.  That power can be used to propogate and inforce information ad nauseum.  Just look at marketers.  And technology can be used to centralize power, resources, etc.  The problem with the internet is that it is decentralized.  It is node based.  As soon as we brought that model online, the world changed.  And now, centralized power brokers are having a heck of a time protecting their turf against it.  Good luck.

Folks in DRM factions are fighting for their rights of ownership.  And I don’t blame them.  Big media companies are fighting for their rights of profit and intellectual owernship.  The problem is that we live in a new, decentralized, digital world.  The rules have completely changed.  It’s almost as if 1700′s England is talking to 20th century America.  It’s that radical.  So, if you think media rights and ownership are problematic, wait until you get to genetically engineered seeds.

Whether you know it or not, the likes of Monsanto and Syngenta have quietly been genetically modifying our food sources.  Now, these modifications are used to resist pesticides, increase growth, etc.  They are meant to help grow a crop quicker, faster, and give more yield.  Now, remember the point above – technology always has side effects.  Always.  One such side effect with genetically altered plants is that they can create very resistent weed like plant offshoots.  The pollen can also kill off insects that use it.  Lots and lots of effects when you start messing with foundational processes that we don’t fully understand.

Anyway, another such issue with these modifications is that they continue to gain widespread acceptance among farmers who are pushed to the ends of their margins.  In effect, agribusiness is killing farmers.  It is driving them to consolidate into massive mega farms.  They overproduce, produce diminishing quality returns on their crops, and make less money.  And so the cycle keeps pushing forward.  Grow big or go broke.  Well, one way to beat the margins is by getting massive yield.  And that is where genetically altered seed, pesticides, and the like come in.

Something that seed providers have already made is something aptly named the “Terminator.”  A terminator is a seed that will only produce one crop.  Yep, take those seeds from your crop and replant and they will not germinate.  Think about that for a minute.  Did you think your time terminating video of The Matrix was a raw deal?  Did you think it was lame when you were not able to transfer a legal copy of your music to another device?  This goes way beyond that.

Centralization of food supplies is bad.  Food supplies created only for increasing yields and shareholder interests is bad.  But creating terminating seeds is outright dangerous.  That goes not only for the power that could be wielded by them, but also because of potential wild pollution.  Think about if those alterations were somehow to get into the wild.  The results could be catastrophic.

Question: what happens when seeds become intellectual property?

PS: For a good legal treatment of the issues, take a look at The Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property’s discussion on IP (intellectual property) and seeds.

A bunch of Aussies have put together a pretty slick little device.  The Scarpar Power Board allows folks to board pretty much anywhere.  But what will the price be?

They put together a pretty neat video to showcase what their latest prototype can do.  It’s agile and seems like it can conquer almost any type surface.  Sounds like they are going to be hitting the VCs for funding soon.

I think there would be a real market for these type things, depending on the price point.  If it’s anywhere low, you will start seeing these things selling like hot cakes.  Looks fun.

Yeah, bizarre title.  Like something right out of a 24 episode.  Oh, and by the way, just how many moles can there be in CTU?  I mean seriously.  Is their security that lax?  Well, if it’s anything like our national security, the answer would be yes.  You see, peer to peer networks are great places to find all kinds of nasty little secrets.  One of them is social security numbers.  But how about the entire avionics for Obama’s helicopter?  Yeah, and that’s not the worst of it.

The worst of it would be that it’s in the hands of the Iranians.  Woohoo.  Major Presidential Fail.  Yep, that would be according the Sam Hopkins, co-founder of Tiversa Security:

Around the October to November (2008) time frame. We get about 100,000 or 200,000 confidential files that we bring back and if we find something really bad, we will contact that company and say that your information is out there on a peer-to-peer network. In this case, it was over in Iran, where they were actively trolling for information. We notified the defense contractor and they went through their steps to notify the Department of Defense…[they got] the entire avionics system of the president’s helicopter, and various upgrades by contractors.

-Quote courtesy of CNET

Oooowee.  I love the smell of national insecurity in the morning.  Here’s a hint: do not put a peer to peer client on your business network.  Don’t do it.  Let me repeat: don’t do it.  Did I make that clear?  So, I wonder when the bailout for Obama’s helicopter is coming?  Sorry, couldn’t resist.

I guess the solar system edition is next.  Western Digital tries to improve on their popular My Book external hard drive line.  Did they do it?

Well, the answer to that, in a word, is yes.  The drive’s network setup alone is super easy.  And, with Mac’s and Vista, the drive shows instantly in the drive listings.  In Vista, you have to go to the Network folder and you will see the drive listed there with all the folders set up.

The integrated status light (reminds me of a cyclon) is a nice touch.  It shows you when the drive is working and also how much space is used.  Also, the included WD Anywhere backup software makes this drive a nice network backup solution.  Basically, this is a great background backup service that will backup all your important documents and media automatically.  No need to set stuff up.  If you accidentally delete, or you lose the file, just launch WD Anywhere and restore it.  It’s very simple and easy to use.  Also, if you are using a laptop away from home, WD Anywhere will cue any changes.  When you return home it will back them up and make the changes.  Very cool.

Another great thing about the new Western Digital MyBook World Edition is the media integration.  Once your drive is on the network, it’s easy to play any stored media over an Xbox360 or Play Station 3 to your TV.  Of course, that can be in 1080p resolution.  It also includes an iTunes server so that you can listen to your tunes anywhere.  Very simple and slick.  They seem to be getting the whole media integration idea.

The last cool thing about this drive is the internet integration and mobility.  It includes (I’m not sure if you have to pay for a Mionet account!) integration with Mionet, which is a remote drive web service.  This allows you to connect your drive to the service.  Then you can access your drive through the web anywhere.

In all, I think this is going to be a wildly popular drive.  It includes all the features that I personally would love to see in an external drive.  I am going to try to get my hands on one soon.  Will retail for around $230 for the 1TB model and $450 for the 2TB model.

I simply love simple tech solutions to big problems.  Obviously, clean drinking water is an incredible problem in the world.  It’s heart breaking to watch folks drinking from rivers where animals are gathered and defecating.  And what’s most disheartening is that a vast majority of those that die each year are children.  The numbers on hemorrhagic diarrhea are really staggering.  And what an awful way to die.  The watercone can be used to desalinate water and remove dangerous heavy metals from the base water.  Though I didn’t see any results on microbes, my thoughts are that it works just as well in that department.

The makers of the WaterCone recently did a test run in Yemen.  The results were stunning.  The residents said the water tasted amazing and test results showed it to be WHO compliant.  Now the makers have found a German investor and will start mass production.  The cost is expected to be around $30.  The introduction of many WaterCones into a village will have drastic effects on the health of all villagers.