In this issue: > SMART CARDS > CYBER DATING > VIRTUAL FENCES And much much more... ------------------------------------------------------------ ____ ____ ___ _____ ____ ______ ______ * / __ )/ __ \/ | / _/ | / / |/ / | / _/ / / __ / /_/ / /| | / // |/ / /|_/ / /| | / // / / /_/ / _, _/ ___ |_/ // /| / / / / ___ |_/ // /___ /_____/_/ |_/_/ |_/___/_/ |_/_/ /_/_/ |_/___/_____/ *Keeping brains healthy since 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail email 001 - 31 Dec 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------ Read this issue in your browser: http://brainmail.nowandnext.com/brainmail_issue1.txt Brainmail is a free bi-monthly newsletter about new ideas, Innovations and trends. If you'd like to receive regular Copies simply click on subscribe. If you'd like to be Removed from future mailings just click on unsubscribe. Subscribe: mailto:subscribe-brainmail@nowandnext.com Unsubscribe: mailto:unsubscribe-brainmail@nowandnext.com Please feel free to forward this to a friend ------------------------------------------------------------ VIRTUAL FENCES From the end of 2005 it will be a legal requirement for all cell (mobile) phones in the US to be equipped with GPS to pin point the owner's precise location. The names and addresses of all cell-phone owners are already known to the authorities. Ref: Newsweek (US). SEABED CEMETERY In what is almost certainly a world first a Florida entrepreneur is developing an underwater cemetery. The Atlantis Memorial Reef will house up to 21,000 people in 12 metres of water off the Florida Keys. If you're wondering what we're wondering, the answer is that ashes will be sculpted into tasteful columns and statues. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK). I TOLD YOU I WAS ILL An American inventor has created a gravestone that talks. The 'stone' incorporates a touch screen display and can deliver messages from beyond the grave. Ref: New Scientist (UK) JESUS IS COMING If you thought you'd seen a lot of Jesus recently you're right. T-Shirts with Christian messages are all the rage in the US but it doesn't stop there. Religion is almost becoming an entrepreneurial activity. Recent innovations include a magazine version of the bible from Thomas Nelson Inc and church services for pets. Meanwhile, the American Association of Publishers reports a 50% increase in the sale of religious books over the past 12 months. Why is this happening? Part of the reason is simply fashion trends but there's also a more serious explanation. People are worried that their lives lack meaning so they're increasingly drawn to points of stability. Ref: Wall Street Journal (US) BELIEF IN ANGELS According to a survey 31% of people in Britain believe in angels. 17% also believe that they've been helped by one. Ref: ITV (UK). RAIN THEFT China is one of the world's main users of cloud seeding technology. Some Chinese regions have become so proficient at seeding clouds that other regions have started to complain that they are stealing their rain. Could such activities be made crimes in the not too distant future? Ref: China Daily (CN) CHRISTIAN GAMING The Christian software market is worth an estimated US $ 300 million a year according to The Wall Street Journal. This is just 1.5% of the total market but some people are predicting that percentage will grow as a parental reaction against other, increasingly violent, computer games. If you're wondering what Christian software is, it's simply computer games with a Christian message or story. Ref: Wall Street Journal (US). NO KIDS In Australia 25% of women will never have children. Ref: The Australian (AUS) COLDER FOR LONGER A beer bottle that keeps colder for longer has been created by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company in the US. The aluminium bottles stay cold for almost an hour longer than traditional bottles and cans. Ref: Trendcentral.com (US) FROM LANDFILL TO SOIL CONDITIONER Approximately 90% of disposable nappies currently end up as landfill. A company in Australia has found a way to turn used nappies into compost material that also holds water - thereby saving water use in the garden. Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (AUS). SHORT MESSAGE ADDICTION Researchers at a substance abuse clinic in the UK have witnessed an increase in behavioural problems associated with text messaging. Apparently receiving messages boosts dopamine levels in the brain and can lead to altered mood states. Ref: Wired (US). A TUB OF PERSONALISED ICE CREAM Design your own ice cream? You bet! Ecreamery.com is a website (and ice cream company) that lets you do precisely that. You can choose a style, fat content, flavour and toppings. You even get to name your masterpiece. Ref: Dailycandy.com (US). AN IDEA TOO FAR? A company in the US has invented edible cling-film. The product can be fortified with added vitamins. Meanwhile, Chiquita has created strawberry-flavoured bananas. Ref: Ananova.com (UK) HOLE IN THEIR CASE An attempt by NestlŽ to copyright the shape of a Polo Mint was thrown out of court after the company refused to specify the size of the hole or the colour of the mint. Can a company copyright a hole? In the future the answer will almost certainly be yes - along with smells, feelings and sensations. Ref: Spiked Online.com (UK) WINE TASTING PARTIES It works for Tupperware, cosmetics and marital aids so why not wine? US company Geerlings & Wade has set up The Travelling Vineyard to educate people and sell wine to them in their own homes. At the other end of town, UK retailer Berry Brothers & Rudd has established an 'at home' tasting service which includes your very own sommelier. Ref: www.springwise.com (NETH) BIG IN CHINA In China 10% of the population was obese back in 1982. The (rather larger) figure is now 25%. Ref: Red Herring (US). SELLING MONEY A number of Japanese companies like Toyota, Tokyo Electric and Yahoo Japan are entering the financial services area for the first time. Deregulation now allows companies to offer everything from credit cards to investment trusts for the first time. Ref: The Nikkei Weekly (JP) HERE COME THE CHINESE If you thought that Japan had the auto market sewn up think again. Chinese cars are expected to make an appearance in some countries as early as next year. The appeal is price. Chinese SUVs, for example, could sell for as little as US $9,000. Ref: USA Today (US) POWER HUNGRY The average American soldier now carries around 22 batteries on his (or her) person. Ref: Newsweek (US) IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT 25% of the world's mammal species and 10% of birds are predicted to be extinct by the year 2035. Ref: Bloomberg (US) A REALLY BIG SMALL STEP Hitachi has created the world's smallest diamond weighing in at just one five billionth of a carat. Uses for the small stones could include various micro-machines. Ref: Kyodo News (JP) SOFTWARE VENDING MACHINES EZ Zap is possibly the world's first vending machine to sell computer software. You'll find them in the US along with vending machines that sell movie soundtrack CDs in cinema foyers. Ref: Seth Godin (US) PRINT YOUR OWN BODY PARTS Rapid prototyping and 3D printers have been around for a while and you can already find mini milling machines that produce crowns in dental surgeries. So how long will it be before hospitals have 'printers' that can reproduce entire body parts such as new bones? Ref: The Economist (UK) BRAIN-MACHINE INTERFACES In the future mankind will control computers and other intelligent objects simply by thinking about it. Far-fetched? Not really. Scientists have already conducted experiments in which electrodes were planted into the brains of volunteers who then played video games by mind control. Ref: Newsweek/Journal of Neurosurgery (US) NO FUTURE FOR MOBILE PHONES Mobile (cell) phone design is already being influenced by primary usage (i.e. is the phone mainly used to play games, send and receive text messages, listen to music or make calls?). In the future it is possible that mobile phones will cease to exist as the primary function is subsumed into other products. In other words people will buy music players, PDAs, cameras and gaming consoles that also offer telephony. Ref: http://www.nowandnext.com REALLY SMART CARDS Wearable computers may still be a few years away but Visa International is working on credit cards with flexible display screens. The idea is that you could switch your card on and check your balance or credit limit. Ref: Icon/Sydney Morning Herald (AUS) CYBER DATING A company in Hong Kong has created an 'artificial girlfriend'. Owners of suitably equipped mobile phones can send messages and flowers and receive a voice message in response. Ref: Xinhua News Agency (CN). 58 WINTERS The life expectancy for a Russian male is now 58 years. Ref: The New Yorker (US). ------------------------------------------------------------ : PREVIEW OF NEXT ISSUE A report published by the RAND Corporation (US) claims that living in suburbia can reduce your life expectancy. Meanwhile, a study by Glasgow University (UK) says that people who keep diaries are more likely to get depressed than people who don't. ------------------------------------------------------------ : CONTRIBUTE TO BRAINMAIL Seen something we haven't? 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