You may have heard the statement that having a black background uses less power than a non-black background. Google even switched to a black ground a while ago to attempt to save energy. Logically, this seems true because your screen doesn’t light up as much, however this is not the case.

For proof, check out this video (ignore the advertisement)… the demonstration speaks for itself. So if you are using a black background solely for the purpose of saving energy, it might be time to look for another color.

Note: this holds true for LCD monitors, if you are using a CRT black is probably still the way to go.

If you have multiple monitors and do a lot of reading online, one thing you might want to consider is turning one of your monitors on its side and then changing the orientation. The reason for this is when you maximize your browser/PDF/emails/etc. on an upright monitor, the orientation resembles an 8.5×11 page (at least more so than a the monitor being in its typical orientation) and usually fits more text in the window.

Most flat panel monitors can be easily rotated to accomodate this change, so the only thing you would need to do is rotate your screen alignment. I know Intel graphic engines (what I use) can do this easily within the provided graphics software, so I am pretty sure most all other graphic drivers can accomplish this as well.

This change may not be for everyone, but as I mentioned earlier it is worth a shot if you do a lot of reading online.

Sony is developing a new fold-up display that could herald the production of fold-away computers.

According to The New Journal of Physics, researchers from Sony and the Max Planck Institute are exploring the possibility of creating, and are working on the development of, bendable optically assessed organic light emitting displays.

When fully developed, this technology could lead to the production of electronic poster displays for advertising as well as digital newspapers that can be folded and televisions which can be bent.

Additionally, the “upconversion” full-colour displays have several other advantages than flexibility over current display technologies. These include faster response times, almost unlimited viewing angles, and a virtually unlimited possibility of shapes and sizes.

Sony originally announced news of a similar development in 2006, but that early development ran into problems such as distortion when bent and size-limitations. Their new technology isn’t beset by any of those previous problems and therefore makes the development open to many further possibilities.

It certainly appears that technology is providing some amazing gadgets and gizmos that we never even dreamed of only ten years ago. Amazing developments are occurring lately, such as the one above, that can only change society for the better if used correctly.

It appears, to the untrained eye, that the depth of development of technological gadgets and gizmos is unlimited. However there is just one thing that puts the brakes firmly on one avenue of development – that being component miniaturization.

Current technologies have made it possible to build microelectronic devices out of almost infinitesimally-small transistors as small as 45 nanometers across – considerably less than the width of a human hair. You can pack millions of these devices into a small package, such as the processor chip of the computer that you are using right now.

There is a limit beyond which it appears impossible to go though. 45nm is only the distance across a small number of atoms of the doped molecular substrate used in the transistor’s construction, and we’re already getting close to as small as all possibility will allow these devices to be built without massive fabrication costs, electromechanical breakdowns, and current-leakages in the individual transistors themselves. In short, we’re nearly at the point where technology is as small as we can make it.

Nevertheless, even if we do ever actually reach that limit, there still seems to be almost endless possibilities in utilizing the available technologies.

Do you think that there may be a limit at which we have to stop developing all technologies and accept defeat? A point when humanity has developed every technology possible? If so, do you think there will ever come a point when we’ve also invented every possible practical device imaginable? Will geeks die of boredom at that point?

I have been using more than one monitor on my computer for years. Once I read that Windows could indeed handle more than one video card, the light bulbs went off. I can have more than one screen? I shortly went out and purchased a second screen.

When I switched to the Mac Pro back in October, the system came with a single video card with two video outs. But, I had more than two monitors. I had visions, yet again, of being surrounded in monitors. You know, like I’m working at NASA or something.

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