I recently came across this really cool ultraminiature microSD/microSDHC USB card reader, the ELAGO Nano II. This thing is TINY! It is barely larger than a standard USB connector. The neat thing about this reader is that the card slides INSIDE the USB connector itself. You can actually leave it plugged into your laptop’s USB connector while the laptop is in its case. Sweet! When I first saw this device, my jaw dropped and my eyes glazed over. Before I realized what was happening, I had ordered one …well, make that two.

Type some text or a URL into the box above and then click the “Make My QR Code” button.
NOTE: Click the QR Code image on the left to view a larger image in a popup window.

What is that weird looking image in the upper-left corner of this post? Is it a newly-discovered painting by Pablo Picasso? Is it an overhead view of a hedge maze in the English countryside? Is it a magnified image of an integrated circuit? Nope. It’s an example of a QR Code which is capable of encoding up to 2000 characters of text into a code block like you see above.

To encode a message into a QR code:
You can use the simple tool that I designed at the top of this post. This will generate a QR image with a “Width” of 400 pixels and a “Height” of 400 pixels. Click on the image of the QR Code to enlarge it.

What can QR Codes be used for?
QR codes can be used to store data on a tag which could be affixed to a package, an item of luggage, or to any object for which you would like to store information in text format. Museums or other public points of interest could display QR codes next to items on display so that visitors could view text or be directed to a website containing information about the item. The possibilities are endless.

As I was pondering what the year 2011 has in store for all of us gadget freaks, I began to think about the past. I was wondering what the gadget scene was like way back in the year 1911. Most homes did not have electricity or telephone service. Computers had not been invented yet, unless you count Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine. There were certainly no iPhones, iPads, Droids or Slates back in those days of yore. What did the gadget freaks of that bygone era do to “scratch the gadget itch?”

Believe it or not, those people were surrounded by all kinds of “new” technology. By the year 1911, the moving picture (movie) industry was rapidly developing in Hollywood, New York, and elsewhere. Ordinary citizens could spend a nickel and watch a short silent movie through the viewfinder of a coin-operated machine. Dozens of movie theaters were scattered throughout the land. Detroit was mass-producing cars for anyone with the money to buy one. The airplane had been developed just eight years earlier. Commercial radio wasn’t around in 1911, but ham radio operators were using spark-gap transmitters and simple receivers to talk to each other over the airwaves using Morse code.
(Note: KDKA, the first documented commercial radio station, didn’t begin broadcasting from Pittsburgh until 1920.)

What about the music scene of 1911? Thomas Edison had invented his phonograph in 1877. It recorded sounds onto a cylinder which had been covered by a layer of tinfoil. Later on, the layer of tinfoil had been replaced by brown wax. By 1911, there were hundreds of songs and speeches available on these brown wax “Edison Cylinders.” So, whatever became of all of those wax cylinders which contained so many historic audio recordings of that day? Many of them are still around, but they and the players used to play them are becoming harder to find.

This brings me to the focal point of this blog, “The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project” at the University of California at Santa Barbara. To date, this project has digitized over 8000 audio cylinder recordings made by Edison’s company and others. You can browse the collection or do a detailed search of their cylinder archive. Each recording can be viewed on its own page where you can use the built-in Java audio player or you can choose to download the recording in MP3 or WAV format. I have listened to many of these recordings and have found them to be very interesting. Try it out and see for yourself by clicking HERE.

Here are some related website links:
Archive.ORG (78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings)
Cylinder.DE
TinFoil.com
U.S. Library of Congress: The Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies
U.S. Library of Congress: Emile Berliner and the Birth of the Recording Industry
U.S. Library of Congress: Performing Arts (Music)

As a licensed amateur (ham) radio operator, I am always interested in the latest ham radio gadgets. When I saw this little handheld transceiver, I was instantly impressed with all of the features that Yaesu had managed to squeeze into such a tiny package. Its features include a built-in GPS, APRS capability (B band only) with Smart Beaconing™, CTCSS/DCS encoding and decoding, weather receiver with weather alert, high-resolution spectrum analyzer, and general coverage receive capabilities (108-999 MHz less cellular).

The VX-8GR dual-bander covers 2 meters and 440 MHz and receive coverage is 108-999 MHz (less cellular frequencies). Strong performance specifications are combined with intuitive operation. This unit has a built-in GPS unit right out of the box! It is not Bluetooth capable. It is, however, capable of CTCSS/DCS encoding and decoding.

The VX-8GR is supplied with the FNB-101LI 7.4V 1100 mAh Lithium ion battery, NC-86B charger, belt clip and SMA antenna. 2.4 x 3.7 x 1.1 inches (without knobs or antenna).

Click Here For More Information

Hello World!  Welcome to the GadgetRadar.COM Gadgets and Technology blog.  This blog is dedicated to the discussion of gadgets, gizmos, widgets and all other types of technology.  The topics I plan to blog about will cover all types of technology both new and old.  I hope you will find my blog to be interesting and informative. Your comments are welcome. Please remember that the use of profanity is a sure sign of weak vocabulary skills.

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