Mattel's Mindflex

Many products are coming out claiming to move items with the power of the mind. Although these items do not do exactly do as they claim; the Mindflex kind of does.

The Mindflex will activate a fan based upon your thought patterns. Using the technology based on EEGs, sensors are able to pick up your brainwaves. The stronger the impulses generated, the more powerful the fan blows. The fan, in turn, raises a foam ball into the air.

If the sound of raising a foam ball up in the air does not excite you, don't fret. Mindflex has a 9 piece obstacle course that you can alter as you desire.

The more you concentrate the higher the ball will rise. By turning the control knob the fan will blow the ball to the left or ,right. Concentration is required to raise the ball. However, you do not need to think about the ball raising. In fact, this may not work. Think about math equations or other topics that will require your brain to do a little work.

Although the concept of moving things with your mind may be exciting; the game does not have a lot of variations. Going through reviews I have found that many have reported that the game does get boring rather quickly. Others, including a Ph.D. in behavorial psychology, have stated that this game promotes frontal lobe activity. This can aid in concentration and can help to reduce impulsive decision making. There have also been reports by parents that the game has positive effects on children who suffer from autism and ADHD.

Emotiv EPOC Headset

The Emotiv EPOC neuroheadset has not had an easy conception. Creating a mind reading device in today's age can be a bit of a problem. Finding the financing to create a mind reading device is even harder.

Emotiv has not let either of these 'small' obstacles stop them from moving forward. Originally, the headset was due to premier during the holidays, 2008, but that time has been pushed back. There is no set time but rumors are circulating that July 2009 is going to be a possibility.

Measuring brain waves isn't a new technology. Electroencephalography, or EEG, machines that track the brain's electrical activity at the scalp have been around for almost a hundre. But the best EEG machines cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and for all that, they generally haven't been used for much more than measuring relaxation levels or detecting signs of life.

The first EEG was published 1912 by Russian physiologist Vladimir Vladimirovich Pravdich-Neminsky. Hans Berger, a German physiologist and psychiatrist gave the EEG its name in 1920.

Emotiv's software program breaks brainwaves down into 90,000 components. A single 10-second brain wave reading took six computers two days to process. In late 2004 the Emotiv team knew they had finally found the holy grail, they were able to read a person's level of excitement in real time.

WHAT ABOUT GAMING?

“We've created a brain computer interface that reads electrical impulses in the brain and translates them into commands that a videogame can accept [in order to] control the game dynamically,” added Tan Le in a BBC report. “It allows the user to manipulate a game or virtual environment naturally and intuitively.”

“If you laughed or felt happy after killing a character in a game then your virtual buddy could admonish you for being callous,” explained Tan Le.

Players will be able to command the movement of in-game objects by merely thinking of the action they wish to carry out. Factor in an onboard motion-sensing gyroscope, wireless connectivity, and the capacity to transfer more than 30 different types of in-game actions, expressions and emotions, and the Emotiv EPOC headset looks like a steal at just $299 USD

Here is an inserpt from Emotiv about their game.

"Soon you can experience the fantasy of having supernatural powers and controlling the world with your mind. Your journey will take you through beautiful forests, mysterious valleys, and fantastical temples - and this dramatic landscape will adjust itself based on how you feel. Destiny, through the magic of your mind, will be yours to command."

Features Include:

• Manipulate and control objects by thought
• Wield amazing supernatural powers just by thinking of them
• Creatures in the game react to your facial expressions
• Environments change according to your emotional state

A word from Emotiv about technology:
The brain is made up of approximately 100 billion nerve cells, which are called neurons. With the billions of active neurons, the brain tissue contains a myriad of active current sources that cause the local electrical potential to endlessly fluctuate with a great deal of variability.
Each human brain is unique, both physically and functionally. The folding of the cortex of the human brain is also highly individual, meaning the way in which the external surface of the brain is folded individualizes the potentials, regardless of how functionality is mapped in each brain. Using non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG), it is possible to observe each person's individual electrical brain activity.
At Emotiv, we've created a robust system and methodology for detecting and classifying both human conscious thoughts and non-conscious emotions. This revolutionary patent pending neural processing technology makes it possible for computers to interact directly with the human brain.
By the detection of thoughts and feelings, our technology now makes it possible for applications to be controlled and influenced by the user's mind.

Battling the Red Ring of Death

The Xbox 360 gaming console hit the world by storm, but like many Microsoft products, we must ask ourselves, was it ready? The three flashing red lights, the Red Ring of Death (I seem to remember the Blue Screen of Death in older Microsoft operating systems), is the most infamous of the technical problems the Xbox has brought into our homes.

The Red Ring of Death swoops down upon its victims because of "general hardware" failure or "core digital" failure. The dreaded Red Ring of Death sends signs that is coming. These signs are usually in the form of freeze ups. Frozen sound, having to shut the console off to get a response, and checkerboard video are just some of the signs sent to us by the Red Ring of Death. Take note, however, the Red Ring of Death does not always give notice.

In February of 2008 a warranty provider repaired 1040 Xbox 360s. Of these, 40% were no longer under warranty. How angry is the consumer? In October 2008 a class action lawsuit was filed against Microsoft specifically because of the Red Ring of Death.

So, what to do, what to do. You have that dreaded Red Ring of Death leering at you, taunting you. Well, there is a temporary fix out there. Take two towels and wrap them around your Xbox. Leave it running for about 20 minutes. Shut it off, uncover it, and voila. This seems to overheat the processor and causes it to reset. The bad news is, it may only work for a couple of hours. Then you must repeat the process. This may work, but I would not recommend doing this very often. Intentionally overheating an electronic device isn't good.

I have done a quick review of the 3 following repair kits that promise to fix the Red Ring of Death permanently. I have tried the Xbox 360 Red Light Fix and it worked perfect. Instead of just promoting a single product I figured I would run this blog, so you can make the choice. Each of these programs seem to work fine, are easy to use, and are very inexpensive; especially when you consider the possibility of getting your Xbox up and running right away.

Simple Instructions	Yes	Yes	Yes
Includes Videos	Yes	Yes	Yes
PDF Guide with pics	Yes	Yes	Yes
Includes Membership	Yes	No	No
Full Online Support	Yes	No	Yes
Money Back Guarantee	Yes	Yes	Yes
Free Bonuses	No	Yes	Yes

Now that we have you up and running again, it is time for some advertisements.