| |
| |
| Acknowledgments | |
| |
| |
| |
| Introduction | |
| |
| |
| |
| Home | |
| |
| |
| Digital Cameras Where a chip replaces film | |
| |
| |
| Infrared Thermometers Seeing the heat | |
| |
| |
| Hearing Aids Sounds get sharper | |
| |
| |
| Camcorders Help for the jitters and shakes | |
| |
| |
| The TV Remote Don't touch that dial | |
| |
| |
| The V-chip Watching what gets watched | |
| |
| |
| Surround Sound Music gets real | |
| |
| |
| Stud Finders Electronic hide-and-seek | |
| |
| |
| Metal Detectors Treasure-hunting without a map | |
| |
| |
| Holiday Lighting A touch of Times Square at home | |
| |
| |
| Robotic Lawnmowers Taking over the yard | |
| |
| |
| Light-up Sneakers A surprise in every step | |
| |
| |
| Electronic Fences Keeping Rover at home | |
| |
| |
| Robotic Pets Man's new best friend | |
| |
| |
| The Singing Fish A gift that's more than skin deep | |
| |
| |
| Musical Greetings Cards with some smarts | |
| |
| |
| Computers and the Internet | |
| |
| |
| Digital vs. Analog Two ways to look at information | |
| |
| |
| The Chip In the heart of the computer | |
| |
| |
| Processor Speed A look at how fast is fast | |
| |
| |
| PC Crashes When bad things happen to good chips | |
| |
| |
| LCD Screens Getting all your crystals in a row | |
| |
| |
| Touch Screens A layered approach | |
| |
| |
| Retinal Displays Sending data straight to the eye | |
| |
| |
| The Mouse From hand to screen | |
| |
| |
| Touch Pads Control at your fingertips | |
| |
| |
| Modems Linking computers to the world | |
| |
| |
| Finding Web Addresses A numbers game | |
| |
| |
| Sending Data Coming and going in bunches | |
| |
| |
| Cookies Tempting tidbits for your computer | |
| |
| |
| Compressing Data How much is just enough? | |
| |
| |
| Compressing Music A wealth of formats | |
| |
| |
| Encryption The key to unlocking messages | |
| |
| |
| Flatbed Scanners Where analog turns to digital | |
| |
| |
| Inkjet Printers Building images, puff by puff | |
| |
| |
| Recordable CDs Burning with laser light | |
| |
| |
| Pagers Simple messages, complicated delivery | |
| |
| |
| Digital Pen A new way to write data | |
| |
| |
| Entertainment and Sports | |
| |
| |
| Bike Computers Counting each stroke | |
| |
| |
| Tennis Monitors The line judge that never blinks | |
| |
| |
| Snow-making Coming to the aid of nature | |
| |
| |
| The Virtual First-Down Stripe On-screen magic | |
| |
| |
| Bowling Alleys Beyond the pin spotter | |
| |
| |
| Sailboat Racing Technology at the tiller | |
| |
| |
| Laser Tag Old game, new approach | |
| |
| |
| Betting Systems Keeping track of all the action | |
| |
| |
| Pinball Machines The comfort of old technology | |
| |
| |
| Music Kiosks Custom CDs while you wait | |
| |
| |
| MIDI Music boiled down to the basics | |
| |
| |
| Concert Hall Acoustics Applying science to art | |
| |
| |
| Capturing Motion Cartoons get more lifelike | |
| |
| |
| 3-D Movies More than just funny glasses | |
| |
| |
| Laser Shows Melding music and light | |
| |
| |
| Personal Tracking Device Keeping tabs on the kids | |
| |
| |
| Business and Industry | |
| |
| |
| The Global Positioning System Help from on high | |
| |
| |
| Wind Generators Air power | |
| |
| |
| Fuel Cells A battery that won't die | |
| |
| |
| The Power Grid Getting electrons from here to there | |
| |
| |
| Oil Drilling A kinder and gentler industry | |
| |
| |
| Fast Food Tracking everything from soup to nuts | |
| |
| |
| Sewer Robots Stringing cable down under | |
| |
| |
| Surveying Tools Accuracy gets an upgrade | |
| |
| |
| Machine Vision A watch on the line | |
| |
| |
| Face Recognition Feature-by-feature comparisons | |
| |
| |
| Postal Technology Computers help move the mail | |
| |
| |
| Bill readers Telling real from counterfeit | |
| |
| |
| A.T.M.'s Money from a machine | |
| |
| |
| Smart Elevators A smoother, quicker ride | |
| |
| |
| Smart Plumbing Look, Ma, no hands | |
| |
| |
| Bar Codes The symbols of commerce | |
| |
| |
| Scanners Adding it up at the supermarket | |
| |
| |
| Moving Images It's all in the lens | |
| |
| |
| Electronic Ink Displays that are paper-thin | |
| |
| |
| Recycling Tools for sorting the trash | |
| |
| |
| The Radio Spectrum Crowded airspace | |
| |
| |
| Transportation | |
| |
| |
| Driving Simulator Virtual thrills and spills | |
| |
| |
| Night Vision Military technology for the car | |
| |
| |
| Stronger Headlights A clear look at the road ahead | |
| |
| |
| Electronic Tolls Paying as you go, wirelessly | |
| |
| |
| Synchronized Lights Coordinating the flow of traffic | |
| |
| |
| Speeding Up Mass Transit Express buses roll on | |
| |
| |
| Flight Recorders Offering clues when things go wrong | |
| |
| |
| Emergency Beacon Watch A panic button for pilots | |
| |
| |
| Science and Health | |
| |
| |
| Earth-Observing Satellites A view from above | |
| |
| |
| Radar Mapping Bouncing signals off the ground | |
| |
| |
| A Space Dust Collector Bringing it back home | |
| |
| |
| Ion Propulsion From science fiction to fact | |
| |
| |
| Weather Radar An eye on troubled skies | |
| |
| |
| Sensor Fish Bumped and battered in the name of science | |
| |
| |
| Satellite Tracking Finding out when the cows come home | |
| |
| |
| A Camera in a Pill A fantastic voyage through the body | |
| |
| |
| Remote-Control Surgery At work in tight spots | |
| |
| |
| Laser Vision Correction Better sight for tired eyes | |