First Magic Paper, Now Magic Fabric - One more nail(futuristic) in the Coffin of the Copier

One step closer to the Death of the Copier - "Magic Fabric"

The Propeller-Heads at M.I.T. are perfecting an "optical fabric" that can be used to "gather and image".

These professors have created a polymer fiber that can detect the angle, intensity, phase, and wavelength of light hitting it, information that can be used to re-create a picture of an object without a lens.

Without A Lens.

Digital or analogue. A4 or A3. Copier, Fax, MFP, MFD, Mopier, plotter, scanner, Edgeline or ColorCube - they ALL HAVE A LENS.

When we remove the lens, we kill the copy part of a copier - or do we?

Original article, MIT, here.

Greenpeace Trespasses, Paints and Decries HP's Environmental Stewardship

I almost joined Greenpeace as a freshman in my college days.

Back when Springsteen was on the "No Nukes" tour and Greenpeace was out saving the whales.

Yet, by senior year, I was wearing and selling "Nuke The Whales" T-shirts.

Proceeds going to the floor "beverage fund".

I'd like to think I've grown up. It's clear, Greenpeace hasn't.

In a remarkable display if ingenuity - an act of "Mission Impossible" proportions - Greenpeace operatives breached security, scaled the walls to HP's roof and vandalized the technology producers property.

Judging from the large, all capitalized, block font and the lack of South LA-like hieroglyphics, the roof graffiti was most likely produced by young, suburbanite, some-what educated hooligans with excellent penmanship and way too much time on their hands.

We assume the colorant used is water soluble and non-toxic.

All this over PVC and BFR's; elements that HP will remove by 2011 instead of 2009.

A statement from G-Peace -

"Earlier this year, HP postponed its 2007 commitment to phase out dangerous substances such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic from its computer products (excluding their server and printer lines, (GoIPG!)) from 2009 to 2011,"

Not only did G-Peace scratch out their display for the benefit of everyone above the altitude of 400 feet or so, in a cunning application of high-technology, they also dispatched automated phone calls to HP from non-other than Captain James Tiberius Kirk!

Bill is urging HP to phase out toxic chemicals in its products.

DeathOfTheCopier's DOUBLE-DOG-DARE to G-Peace:

There is a place I hear of, seven to eight thousand miles West of Palo Alto. A land of great growth and pollution and many, many corporate HQ's with roofs - Communist Red China.

The double-dog-dare is simple: go there and tag any one of their roofs - hell, tag a wall or corporate driveway.

And then, if you can, come back home and tell us all your great tale. Like Beowulf and the Grendle.

Most likely, you will be sharing space with Tank Man and his family in a dark, musty cell.

Locked up and forgotten.

Interesting footnote. HP has been "Green" since before it was "hip"(1957), before the word "Green" applied to anything anti-human and well before G-Peace even existed,1971.




LAT

HP Defends

Canon Quarterly Profit Plunges 86% - YIKES!

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 28, 2009

Filed at 3:10 a.m. ET

TOKYO (AP) -- Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) said second quarter profit sank 86 percent as the global economic malaise weighed on sales of its copy machines, printers and digital cameras while a stronger yen took a bite out of overseas earnings.

The electronics manufacturer said Tuesday its net profit was 15.6 billion yen ($164 million) for the April-June quarter, down from 107.8 billion yen a year earlier. Revenues declined 28 percent to 793.8 billion yen, from 1.11 trillion yen last year.

For the current fiscal year through December, the company cut its revenue target to 3.20 trillion yen from 3.33 trillion yen. It held its profit target steady at 110 billion yen, which would mark a 64 percent yearly decline.

Canon, which brings in three-quarters of revenues from overseas, was hurt by the stronger yen compared to a year earlier. The company said the rise in the Japanese currency has taken about 151 billion yen from its revenue over the first six months of the year, compared to last year.

A stronger yen means sales abroad are worth less when repatriated to Japan.

A lone bright spot for the company was its SLR, or single-lens reflex, cameras, where demand was steady. But its overall camera business suffered as selling prices of cheaper digital models continued to fall rapidly.

Unlike many Japanese companies, Canon's fiscal year matches the calendar year. The company reports earnings under U.S. accounting rules.