The World's First Commercial Brain-Computer Interface

The world's first commercial effort at a patient-ready brain computer interface is on display over at CeBIT 2010, but don't go throwing out your keyboard and mouse just yet. Intended for patients suffering from locked-in syndrome and other communication-impairing conditions, the Intendixfrom Guger Technologies allows users to input text using only their brains.

Intendix works using an EEG-sensitive cap that measures brain activity that is focused in a particular way. You simply watch a grid of letters that flashes on the screen, focusing on the letter you want to type. When the letter you want lights up, your brainwaves jump ever so slightly, allowing the EEG to determine what to type. Guger Technologies claims that the interface is simple enough that users can utilize it relatively well after just ten minutes of training.

As the brain acclimates to the system, users can type as quickly as one letter per second, making it possible to carry on a conversation and communicate complex thoughts, a step above some of the more rudimentary communication systems that have been devised over past decades.

At more than $12,000 per unit, Intendix is a bit pricey for the BCI enthusiast simply interested in the technology, but the commercialization of the product does signal a new degree of accessibility to brain computer interfacing. It doesn't appear we're going to be mind-melding with our PCs anytime soon, but this certainly marks a small step in that direction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_1RlfdIwBU

Motorola's Droid

Motorola is introducing its Android 3G Motorola Droid, using Android 2.0 with a capacity of social networking etc and back in the race. Add in a slide-out Qwerty keyboard, 5 megapixel camera, improved browser, Wi-Fi, and A-GPS with sat nav capability, and things are looking very interesting at Motorola.

It's solidly put together though, weighing in at a surprisingly heavy 165g for its 60 x 116 x 14mm dimensions. The weight is partly due to its metal casing, which features a rubberised coating on the back to prevent it sliding around on smooth surfaces.

The large screen sits above a touch-sensitive Android menu bar with back, menu, home and search buttons, while the sides sport a volume rocker, blingy gold-coloured camera shutter button and micro USB power/sync slot, with a power/lock button and 3.5mm headphone jack on top.

The slide-out Qwerty keyboard is nice and thin, but found it just a little bit disappointing. It has four lines of good-sized keys with a large D-pad on the right. Yet, even though the keys are slightly raised, they're not as easy to find under the thumbs as recent models from Nokia or HTC.

Its google buzz time and don't know how many will hit. The beginning is not good but may be expect some edit in the next few days. Cannot allow contacts in public. Let see what buzzing...

ultra-DVD stores 10,000 GB of data

A DVD that can store up to 2,000 films could usher in an age of 3D TV and ultra-high definition viewing, scientists say. The ultra-DVD is the same size and thickness as a conventional disc, but uses nano-technology to store vast amounts of information.

Scientists believe it could be on sale. One disc could back up the memory of a computer or record thousands of hours of film.

The breakthrough comes from Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia, where scientists created a prototype using 'nano rods' - tiny particles of gold too small to see - and polarised light, in which the light waves only flow in one direction.

Professor Min Gu, whose findings appear in the journal Nature, said: 'We were able to show how nano-structured material can be incorporated on to a disc to increase data capacity without increasing the size of the disc.'

A DVD can hold up to 8.5 gigabytes of information, enough for a movie, several special features and an alternative soundtrack.

Blu-ray discs, which were designed to replace them, can store 50GB, enough for a film and extra features in high definition.

But ultra-DVDs will be able to store ten terabytes - or 10,000GB.

A conventional DVD records music, pictures and computer files as digital code - a series of ones and zeroes. The code is written as a series of pits under the clear surface of the disc and is read by a DVD player's laser.

The technology could help usher in an age of 3D TV or ultra-high definition.

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Samsung's 1st Android handset

Samsung has finally taken the wraps off its first Google Android-based handset, with an official launch of its I7500 phone.

The device has been unmasked by O2’s German arm, which said it has the I7500 exclusively. It’s unlikely the operator will restrict sales solely to Germany, although we’ve yet to hear anything about a UK launch date.

Aside from all the usual Android OS characteristics, the I7500 supports unspecified HSDPA 3G bandwidth, GSM/GPRS/Edge connectivity, Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. GPS is also built in.

A 3.2in, 320 x 480 touch-sensitive display is average these days, as is the I7500’s 5Mp camera and LED flash. However, you’ll also be able to record videos – with a selection of formats supported, including H.264, MPEG 4 and WMV – and listen to several audio formats, such as MP3, AAC and WMA.

The phone itself measures 115 x 56 x 11.9mm and is equipped with 8GB of internal storage. However, if that’s not enough for you, it also accepts Micro SD memory cards of up to 32GB in capacity.

Samsung’s I7500 will be available, in Germany at least, during June. A price hasn’t been announced yet. ®

COLD BOOT

Researchers release 'COLD BOOT' attack utilities, A way around disk encryption

The security researcher who demonstrated the 'cold boot' attack has released the source code for the hack. The attack, first demonstrated in February, uses a set of utilities to lift crypto keys from memory even after a reboot.

A boon for hackers and computer forensics experts alike, the approach created a means to circumvent disk encryption simply by powering off a target machine which has been left hibernating or screen-locked, and quickly re-booting it to an external hard drive loaded with customised software. The attack worked because DRAM chips used by modern computers retain data for seconds or even minutes after being powered down, contrary to popular opinion. Cooling the chips wasn't absolutely necessary but aided the process in some cases.

Once the data is recovered utilities are needed to make sense of the information and perform functions such as correcting errors caused by bit decay.

The approach was pioneered by researchers from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Princeton University and Wind River. One of the researchers involved in the celebrated hack, Jacob Appelbaum, released source code for the utilities used for it at the Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE) conference in New York last weekend. It's hoped the release of the utilities will spur the development of countermeasures as well as raising awareness about the risks posed by the original attack.