Passionland

Deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean, forgotten for the best part of a century, lies a tunnel linking London and New York. It was built on the whim of a Victorian inventor with the aim of linking two great cities and developing the kind of friendship that still exists today. But bad fortune befell the venture - and the tunnel lay idle ever after.

Until today, that is, when the project was rekindled with a modern twist.

Using a giant “electronic telescope” and state-of-the-art technology, England and America were joined once again when the tunnel entrances were reopened beside Tower Bridge in London and Brooklyn Bridge in New York. It meant that New Yorkers and Londoners could wave to each other across the sea and begin the kind of mute dialogue that was only a dream all those years ago for eccentric engineering entrepreneur Alexander Stanhope St George (deceased).

Or at least, that’s the way the story goes.

What is certain is that now you can indeed stand on the South Bank of the UK end of the 21st century “Telectroscope” - and see someone standing 3,460 miles away across the water. And - oh dear - it didn’t take the Brits too long to utilise it for a bit of fun at the expense of their American cousins. The truth is that the Telectroscope - installed by Artichoke, the same people who spectacularly paraded a mechanical elephant through London two years ago - probably employs the latest broadband, camera and satellite technology to close the gap between our two great nations.

The Telectroscope uses 6ft screens and a Jules Verne style telescope that gleams with brass and an array of Victorian dials. Participants peer into one end of the screen - and hey presto - they can see anyone standing at the other side. “Part of the idea is just to allow people to use it in whatever way they want,” said Mr St George, 53, from Bristol, who insists he developed the Telectroscope after discovering his great-grandfather’s dusty notes and diaries in an attic.

“The thought of a tunnel under the Atlantic is fascinating,” he said. “What child has never dug a hole at the beach and wondered how long it would take to go through to the other side of the world? “The Telectroscope is a stage, and the people who use it are the performers. “Their unpredictability is all part of it. It’s encouraging people think about different ways of communicating, to see people living everyday lives thousands of miles away - and, perhaps, to study the way everyone reacts differently to something they’re not quite sure about.”

Chatting on a cell phone is so 2001. These days the average mobile phone user in Japan is more likely to be online: updating a blog, tapping out e-mails, reading books, playing video games, or just surfing the Web. Japan’s largest wireless operator, NTT DoCoMo (DCM), says revenues from mobile data transmissions have climbed 11.6% over four years through the March, 2008, fiscal yearend, while revenues from voice calls have fallen 19%. The trend should continue for some time.

Japan’s advanced wireless networks offer some of the fastest data-transmission speeds in the world, and that has helped usher in a new era for mobile Internet services. Some services are practical, such as Mobile Healthcare’s LifeWatcher, which lets diabetes patients keep tabs on the nutritional value of every meal. Others are frivolous, such as J-Magic’s Kaocheki, which matches your photo with the Japanese celebrity you most closely resemble.

The Place, yang terletak di Beijing China, telah memasang sebuah layar LED terbesar di dunia dengan ukuran panjang 250m dengan lebar 30m. Layar LED dapat dilihat di area seluas sekitar 7.500 meter persegi. Layar LED ini akan diisi dengan berbagai macam tema / film seperti pemandangan sebuah akuarium raksasa yang mungkin pernah kita lihat di SeaWorld, Ancol.

Sebagai informasi, ukuran lapangan sepak bola adalah sekitar 5.500 meter persegi. Jadi sudah bisa dibayangkan kan berapa besar layar ini?

Bukan saja ukuran layarnya yang “raksasa” tetapi biaya yang harus dikeluarkan untuk membuat Layar LED ini adalah sekitar US$ 32 juta atau setara dengan 288 milyar rupiah.

Sepertinya Cina memang lagi “show off” yah?

Soon media promotion ‘billboard’ will be having a BIG revolution. Lately, Big Moving Pictures Inc, Americas Television Network company, has create a mobile billboard sizing 12 x 6.7m (40 x 22 ft).

This billboard isnt made from wood or regular material (as they used to be), instead of TV HDTV LED. Later this media promotion can be used as a TV in a exhibition or outdoor event like racings. With this BIG size hopefully it can also create traffic :)

Usually iPod can only be heard simultantly. But now u guys can hear the sound of an iPod using this product from belkin, Rockstar (http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=404634). Rockstar is sort of a hub for earphones that enable users to use earphones in five pieces simultantly.

Their product overview; RockStar makes it fun to create your own music experience. Connect up to five headphones, and your iPod, to start sharing. Or, add another iPod to mix songs and listen together. Works with all MP3 and DVD players, as well as other portable media devices.

Interesting to use this with your neigbours?