Custom laptop art

“Geek Chic” is all the rage, leading to Dell expanding its collection of laptop art offered online at the Dell Design Studio. More than 200 designs, artists, colors, patterns and causes turn a laptop into a fashion accessory. There is also a new online shopping experience similar to touring an art studio.

The Dell Design Studio will be phased in worldwide, featuring a selection of the “classic” designs from the original Design Studio portfolio unveiled in December. Dell will regularly introduce new collections to the Design Studio, each with a fresh style influenced by guest curators.

100 DVDs on a disc

General Electric claims to have developed a storage advance that will allow standard-size discs to hold the equivalent of 100 DVDs. The work in the field of holographic storage by GE scientists won’t be released to the commercial market for about three years, but if the costs surrounding the technology can be reduced, the potential is huge.

Holography is an optical process that can store not only images, but the 1s and 0s underlying digital data. With holographic storage it is possible to pack data denser than conventional optical technology used in DVDs and Blu-ray discs.

Holographic storage recently became available for specialist requirements, but it is expensive. GE’s technology uses smaller, less complex holograms or microholographic storage. A GE lab recently discovered a way to make microholographic storage discs readable by standard Blu-ray players. GE holographic discs would hold 500 gigabytes of data – much more than Blu-ray’s 25 or 50-gigabyte discs.

H1N1 education flyers

For schools, clinics and other organizations that would like to post information about the H1N1 virus and its prevention, Krames Patient Education has created a free HealthSheet on swine flu that can be downloaded from www.krames.com/swine-flu.html. Written at a 6th Grade Reading level, the Swine Flu HealthSheet clearly presents the facts about the H1N1 virus, clears up many misconceptions and provides a series of tips on how to avoid contracting the disease.

The History Lives Project

A Web-based effort, the History Lives Project, offers digital imaging and “artificial consciousness” technology that allows anyone with a PC and an Internet connection to participate in bringing Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, Mozart and other historical figures back to life.

Using tools available within Lifenaut.com, groups and individuals will pool their knowledge and efforts to build the “mind file” for a digital representation of the historical figure. A “mind file” is a digital archive that represents the unique knowledge, values, mannerism, beliefs and behavior of a person. With time, each “digital clone” will become more and more true to the original. The project also invites people to propose other historical figures for “re-animation.”

Mobile mercury analyzer

From PerkinElmer comes the SMS 100, a new analyzer designed to improve the detection and measurement of mercury in solids and liquids. The SMS 100 is an automated mercury analyzer that can analyze solids, whereas conventional mercury testing systems analyze liquid samples, which can require complex, lengthy sample preparation.

The SMS 100 enables users to test for mercury more quickly and efficiently, resulting in higher productivity, while still capable of delivering detection limits as low as one part-per-trillion. The SMS 100 can be used onsite with results delivered in minutes instead of hours. This means for example that the unit could spot test the mercury levels in fish that were being unloaded from boats, determining if those fish were contaminated before allowing them to be sent to wholesale markets.