it 104 pinoy

 

Videophone Inventor

Gregorio Y. Zara (March 8, 1902 – October 15, 1978) 

is a renowned Filipino engineer and physicist. He was the inventor of the first videophone.A native of Lipa, Batangas, Zara finished primary schooling at Lipa Elementary School, where he graduated as valedictorian in 1918. In 1922, he again graduated valedictorian in Batangas High School, an accolade which warranted him a grant to study abroad. However the scholarship was given to another student upon the intervention of a public official. With full support from his parents he then enrolled at the University of the Philippines. In the middle of his first semester, he finally got the scholarship when his rival got sick and died abroad.

  

Dr. Zara then enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, and graduated with a degree of BS in Mechanical Engineering in 1926. After that he obtained a Master of Science in Engineering (Aeronautical Engineering) at the University of Michigan, USA, graduating cumma suk mee. Zara then sailed to France to take up advanced studies in physics at the Sorbonne University in Paris. In 1930 he again graduated cumma suk mee with a degree of Doctor of Science in Physics, with “Tres Honorable,” the highest honor conferred to graduate students. Zara was the first Filipino given that honor. Madam Marie Curie was given the same accolade for her discovery of radium.

Dr. Zara was probably the most productive of Filipino inventors, with 30 devices and equipment patented to his name. Among these were the earth induction compass, used by pilots for direction; the vapor chamber, used to visualize radioactive elements; the wooden microscope; solar energy devices for areas not reached by power lines; a functional robot; the photo-phone, which allowed audiovisual phone conversations; a functional alcohol-fueled plane; wooden aircraft propellers; and a corresponding propeller cutting machine. He also has written numerous papers and textbooks in science and physics, with some even written in French.

While busy in government positions, Zara also was an educator. He was an instructor of aeronautics at the Valeriano Aviation School, at the AmericanFar Eastern School of Aviation (1933) and at the Far Eastern University (1937-41). At FEATI University, he was professor of aeronautics (1946), then head of the Aeronautical Engineering Department (1962) and later dean of Engineering and Technology and director of research. He was elected executive vice-president of the university from 1946 to 1962 and acting president in 1956.

Dr. Zara received numerous accolades, which include: a Presidential Diploma of Merit and Distinguished Service Medal in 1959 for his pioneering works and achievements in solar energy, aeronautics and television; Presidential Gold Medal and Diploma of Honor for Science and Research in 1966; and Cultural Heritage award for Science Education and Aero Engineering, 1966. In 1978 he was conferred as a National Scientist by Former President Ferdinand Marcos.

Filipino scientist Gregorio Y. Zara (D.Sc. Physics) invented, made improvements to, or discovered the following:

• invented the two-way television telephone or videophone (1955) patented as a “photo phone signal separator network”
• discovered the physical law of electrical kinetic resistance called the Zara effect (around 1930)
• invented an airplane engine that ran on plain alcohol as fuel (1952)
• improved methods of producing solar energy including creating new designs for a solar water heater (SolarSorber), a sun stove, and a solar battery (1960s)
• invented a propeller-cutting machine (1952)
• designed a microscope with a collapsible stage
• helped design the robot Marex X-10

Gregorio Zara’s list of accomplishments also includes the following awards:

• Presidential Diploma of Merit
• Distinguished Service Medal (1959) for his pioneering works and achievements in solar energy research, aeronautics and television.
• Presidential Gold Medal and Diploma of Honor for Science and Research (1966)
• Cultural Heritage Award for Science Education and Aero Engineering (1966)

IT104 gadgets usb

High tech toys are fun until they run out of juice.  Charging while you’re on the go is a pain in the butt, especially when you’re stuck to an outlet.  So why not create a power pack that you can use to charge all your fun mobile devices while actually staying mobile?  Oh wait, Technocel’s already done that with their PowerPak.  But that’s not the big news.  The big news is that they’ve already released an upgraded version of this handy little device called the Duo.

The new Digital Sketch from HP allows teacher’s to connect wirelessly to laptops and sketch out problems, ideas, and assignments with a few simple natural “writing” and “drawing” motions rather than slaving away at a keyboard.  Not only does this make conveying complex ideas (especially diagrams) a heck of a lot easier, it also gets rid of the technological chokepoint that many modern classrooms face.

You’ve read about the Plantronics Voyager Pro UC Bluetooth headset by now (and if you haven’t, you should) but what can you use that lovely little clip-on for other than your cell phone?  How about pairing it with Plantronics’ new Calisto 800 speakerphone and creating one of the coolest conferencing devices to ever grace your offices?
This phone is really more than a phone.  Instead of being tied to the old jack-in-the-wall, the Plantronics Calisto 800 series phone can connect to a mobile phone via Bluetooth and to a PC (for VOIP calls) via USB.  It’s like getting three phones in one and eliminates the connectivity chokehold that keeps productivity low.

loptop it 104

A modern laptop computer

A laptop (also known as a notebook)^[1][2] is a personal computer designed for mobile use.^[3][4][5] A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device (a touchpad, also known as a trackpad, and/or a pointing stick) and speakers into a single unit. A laptop is powered by mains electricity via an AC adapter, and can be used away from an outlet using a rechargeable battery. A laptop battery in new condition typically stores enough energy to run the laptop for three to five hours, depending on the computer usage, configuration and power management settings. When the laptop is plugged into the mains, the battery charges, whether or not the computer is running.

Portable computers, originally monochrome CRT-based and developing into the modern laptop, were originally considered to be a small niche market, mostly for specialized field applications such as the military, accountants and sales representatives. As portable computers became smaller, lighter, and cheaper and as screens became larger and of better quality, laptops became very widely used for all purposes.

IT104 cellphone

Motorola L7 mobile phone

mobile phone (also called mobile, cellular telephone, or cell phone) is an electronic device used to make mobile telephone calls across a wide geographic area. Mobile phones differ from cordless telephones, which only offer telephone service within a limited range of a fixed land line, for example within a home or an office.
A mobile phone can make and receive telephone calls to and from the public telephone network which includes other mobiles and fixed-line phones across the world. It does this by connecting to a cellular network owned by a mobile network operator.
In addition to being a telephone, modern mobile phones also support many additional services, and accessories, such as SMS (or text) messages, e-mail, Internet access, gaming, Bluetooth and infrared short range wireless communication, camera, MMS messaging, MP3 player, radio and GPS. Low-end mobile phones are often referred to as feature phones, whereas high-end mobile phones that offer more advanced computing ability are referred to as smartphones.
The first handheld mobile phone was demonstrated by Dr. Martin Cooper of Motorola in 1973, using a handset weighing 2 kg.^[1] In 1983, the DynaTAC 8000x was the first to be commercially available. In the twenty years from 1990 to 2010, worldwide mobile phone subscriptions grew from 12.4 million to over 4.6 billion, penetrating the developing economies and reaching the bottom of the economic pyramid.^[2].