MPJ

Recently, every time I am trying to shut down our Xbox 360, loud laughter fills our living room as my wife is every time equally entertained by my heavily accented "turn off" command, especially in all those times when I am repeatedly saying it again and again with different levels of enthusiasm until the poor thing finally understands what I really want it to do. I don't mind, even though the laugh is on my account. I am positive that voice commands are the most effective way to shut down the Xbox. Alternatives are either to use its motion sensor and in a series of waves force it to turn off or to find the controller (which is always located under the last pillow in the farthest corner of the living room) and in a series of clicks do the same. But this is also not the only reason I like to use voice commands. The main reason is that I really like to try and use new features in today's computers simply because no matter how rudimentary they are, they surely represent ...

"Gently, he took her by the shoulders and turned her around, facing her back into the house. - Let's go have dinner. Vincent said he made us that Serbian cevapcici." - Eureka, TV Show. The very last decade of the very last century of the previous millennium was very exciting in many ways. It won't be remembered by all the meaningless Balkan wars flaming down here for many years, nor by the final end of the communist era in this part of Europe, nor even by the birth of the European Union idea or the rise of the new world order we are all living in today. No, to me, it was the birth of the internet, email, the World Wide Web, social networks, instant messaging, blogging, and everything we are using in our homes on a daily basis the same way we do with television or radio or... the kitchen and all its appliances. Although the internet network and its services were invented many years before, it was the nineties when all started to go real worldwide and accepted by the...

If you start thinking of augmented reality, what will come to your mind first? Well, I don't know about you, but if you ask me, there is no doubt it's the car keys. Yes, car keys. Let me explain. This is one of those weird situations when you're approaching your car from a distance and vainly trying to unlock the door with your fancy wireless keys. You are simply too far away from the car. But if you put the keys next to your head and try again, your brain will do the magic. It will augment the poor thing and considerably enhance the wireless range, and the car will no longer be locked. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself. I don't remember exactly where I saw this, probably in those documentary shows like "Brainiac" or "Top Gear", but it works every time. The human body is a large conductor when it comes to radio waves, and it easily alters the field when it's close to a transmitter or receiver, but still, this is a very nice example of ho...

Ah yes, the year of 1981. 30 years ago. It was a time when the first commercial home computers arrived in stores worldwide. More or less. Importantly, that particular year I entered my teenage years, and I always wondered what would happen if home computers arrived a couple of years later and avoided my teen days, allowing me to have a different childhood with different options for life later. Would I be a different person with a different career today? Probably. I remember I was on the edge by choosing my professional career and was ready to go for science, most likely in physics or astronomy, as those two fascinated me at the time the most. They still influence me a lot, probably because of the same reasons computers hooked me - they are so mysterious and provide endless pleasurable time unlocking nature. Sinclair ZX Spectrum But no, computers arrived just the same year when I turned 13 years old, when I was the most emotionally disturbed by various hormones and other chemica...