Disappearing Ink

I don't know about you, but these days I tend to print out very little content. I consume the vast majority of it on computer screens.

However, that's not because I prefer to read from a screen; it's related more to the ephemeral value of such printouts. It just seems so damned wasteful to print something, only to throw it into the recycling bin within a short period.

So, I was interested to read this article over at the Times Online.

It talks about new printer technology being developed by Xerox PARC (the research establishment that brought us many innovations, like the mouse and windowed environments).

As opposed to using plain paper to which toner particles are attracted, or onto which ink is sprayed, it utilises paper that is coated with photo-sensitive particles.

Basically, the way it works is that the printer causes these particles to change colour, hence producing a readable printout. The particles, when exposed to light, revert to their clear state over the course of a couple of days.

At that point, the paper can be directly reused, rather than going through a complex industrial process to effect the recycling. Further, if the content becomes redundant prior to the normal regeneration interval, the paper can be cleared on demand as part of the printing process.

All up, this sounds like something I would find very useful, indeed!

Batteries Included

This video is mildly NSFW, but it shows such a clever use of technology that I couldn't let it pass!

I'm with the guys over at Gizmodo on this one ... just where did she hide the batteries :-)?!

Digital Learning

This is an interesting video I found on Dan Meyer's blog, relating to the (non) use of digital technology in education.

I have no idea from whence the various statistics were sourced, but it's interesting to contrast how comfortable students are with technology, compared to their teachers.

While it's no surprise that adults, in general, are comparative Luddites; I just assumed educators would be a little more progressive.

I was also saddened by the statement that only half of US students finish high school. If that's accurate, it's a truly woeful situation.

We're Getting Closer

Finally, someone has produced a display that would be capable of exhibiting my PDF technical books well ...

At CES next week, LG Philips are apparently showing off a colour A4 size electronic paper with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, capable of displaying 16.7 million colours.

I thought I'd heard about this ages ago and I was right ... a quick Google found a reference to it from way back in May, although at that time it could only display 4096 colours and was presumably a lower resolution.

Thanks to Engadget for the information, anyway, As they say, we're still unlikely to see this in the wild anytime soon, but I live in hope!

Antipodean Podcast

I just rediscovered a show I'd forgotten about, called the Antipodean Podcast, produced by a chap named Mark Bradley, who lives in Canberra.

He covers local science and technology news on a more or less regular basis.

Quite worthwhile listening to if, like me, you live in the "arse end of the world" :-).

While searching for a link to explain that quote from Paul Keating, I came across a wonderful MP3 ringtone of him calling John Howard "a little dessicated coconut".