10/03/2012 Click

expelled from the party. Now it is time for our luck at the

online world in Click. -- whole look.

If this did it ever happen again, could we cope any better? -- did

Is there anything technology can do about this? One year on, Click

reports from Japan on its desire to invent new ways to deal with a

feature disaster before it happens. Enter the kitchen set up that comes

with Wi-Fi baked in. A multi- million-dollar bet on the future of

your cuisine. Plus the latest tech news and the

app that allows you to keep an eye on your phone from your laptop.

Welcome to Click. It is incredible to think that it is now one year

since eastern Japan suffered its worst natural disaster in decades.

The earthquake and tsunami that followed devastated the country,

cutting off power and communications from those who need

it the most. But this technology loving nation made good use of its

unique innovations and social networks to help in the aftermath.

On a basic level for those who simply had access to a phone,

Japanese operator NTT DOCOMO's emergency message board that

survivor's leave was messages which could then be accessed by anyone

searching their phone number. -- voice messages. We reported on how

some of the social networks unique to Japan help people find each

other in the aftermath. difference between Facebook and

Mixi is we do not use it to connect with friends. Posting pictures and

updating information. We use it to communicate with people who we do

not know it. Recreate community through it. A man had a restaurant

in an area hit by an earthquake but he still had food and water and can

cook at his restaurant. He would like to serve three fit for the

people who escaped and had no place to cope. All the information from

many different social networks could be scanned and mapped out,

hopping rescuers and the public determine what was happening and

where in real time. You would want to find a way to charge your

cellphone, which backs are open, which grocery stores are open.

These are all pieces of new information that happened after a

disaster. What to put on your map is up to you. Honda has fitted its

cars with GPS Sat Nav. After the quake, it opened up that data base

to show real time car movements, hopping anyone with an internet

connection see which roads are still open and how fast traffic is

moving. Then, there was a third disaster to deal with. The for Abu

Bakar Bashir nuclear power plant threatened widespread contamination

after being badly damaged in the tsunami. -- Fukushima power plant.

Robots were deployed in two areas too dangerous for people to go,

sending back images of people buried under rubble.

Dan Simmons's last March summon up how technology lent a hand in the

hours and days following the quake. So since then he has been back to

Tokyo to see what has happened since and has discovered some

innovations which should help out if this ever happens again.

Your phone can tell you a lot of things after a disaster. It was the

one piece of technology most Japanese turned to. This map shows

usage levels. This one shows one operator's ability to maintain a

mobile data network, partly through the fast deployment of microwave

stations. Give any specific threat of a nuclear meltdown here,

operator NTT DOCOMO showed off a new prototype cover for smartphones

that measures radiation levels. Some low level radiation balls we

used to demonstrate it, sending readings of the handsets to 20

times higher than background levels. Long after the nuclear disaster of

the consumer, it could allow nuclear -- ordinary people to

decide which areas they could return to or check whether food and

water has been contaminated. It was data networks that held up much

more successfully than voice services, which saw a 50 fold

increase in demand in the hours after the quake struck. It is one

of the reasons cited for the surge in the sale of smartphones. There

is a renewed interest in not relying on another type of network

to. The power grid. Been green can it mean being self-sufficient with

larger personal wind up her Bines going on sale this year, cheaper

solar panels and in home batteries to stop how you do not use. My son

thinks the move towards electric cars might be useful also. Nissan.

One source of power we may have in the future of might be our electric

car. Typically, we would drive it home, plug it in and it chews up

the battery. But in the event of a disaster, Nissan have turned at the

idea on its head. You can plug your That charge has just changed the

pride and Voltage that the car needs to that which the appliances

need inside the home. How much energy are we using typically

inside this apartment? This tablet application shows us the LED lights

are not taking very much but the TV screen is 300 watts and these air

conditioning units are taking some power also. The car can provide up

to 6,000 watts per hour to an apartment or house. Mason think

that typically we would use about 1,200. The car has enough power

were on a full charge to last around two days of what it

describes as normal use. By this time it is hoped the electricity

can be restored. After an earthquake, the amount for this

type of energy independent system has been very strong. -- the demand.

The speed of this system has been accelerated. At its extreme, the

drive towards self-reliance is embodied in this mission. Whole

cities used to design and less power and topped with solar panels.

This is Fujisawa. It is a model now, but the City is being built and

hopes to be entirely self- sufficient by 2015. You may think

this looks like an I saw. One company is trying to help us see

through that. These solar panels are clearly helpful. 3m has shown

that he can capture the energy from the sun without blocking all of its

light. The see-through photovoltaic panels are designed to be stuck on

to large windows of office buildings and homes without

blocking the view. Here, under artificial light, about two square

metres produces about 13 bolts. It converts the Alnwick -- energy from

the light hitting both sides of the flexible panels. It is hoped the

added benefits of making glass windows less vulnerable to

shattering will -- and keep pure -- keeping your home call means they

will be a big hit when they go on sale. -- cool. This radio frequency

sensor detects movement. My fingers register on the screen as peaks and

troughs. It can listen for heart beats. This technology is seen as a

significant -- has seen a significant reduction in size. It

is hope it can be integrated into a phone. This solar-powered take on a

segway both built in defibrillator is designed to aid and ferry the

injured or -- injured to safety. These technological developments

show how the earthquake and tsunami has steered research, development

and marketing. But a big -- visit to Japan shows something different.

The national mindset has shifted, with many families keen not to be

left helpless as they were last March.

A look at this week's tech news. Seven hackers alleged to have

masterminded last year's attacks by media groups have been arrested.

The FBI says five were in for it -- involved in the group will sap. Its

leader as pleaded guilty to 12 criminal charges. He is thought to

ha haated with the FBI. Since its launch at the end of last

month, Raspberry Pi is selling like hot cakes. Made by a Dave Braben,

the device plugs into your TV and keyboard and can do everything from

word-processing to plain high- definition video. Its main aim is

to be in the great demand amongst schoolkids for learning how to

programme. A new reaction to Apple's latest

iPad will launch. There is no fault Siri support or haptic feedback but

the tablet does feature 4G connectivity, a faster processor

and a super high res screen, which means a sharper images and high def

video playback. A battle but dubbed Cheetah has set

a new world speed record. It runs faster than you or I am is one

third quicker than its predecessor. The American defence agency behind

the project of them are the aims to deliver a war-zone robot which

Until a few years ago at each here had wi-fi in your home you could

probably and only use it to connect your laptop to the internet. These

days there are more devices around your house which can talk your

router. Televisions, radios, smart phones and tablets. There has been

one room which has remained off line until now. Ian Harvey reports

on some of the latest gadgets for your kitchen. Beauty is so

forgettable. Americans throw out 25% of everything they bite because

it gets lost in the refrigerator. Electronics companies are once

again trying to convince us that the fridge door is an ideal

location for a screen, wi-fi enabled and multi- touch. The idea

is that as to it is placed in the fridge it is scanned along with its

expiry date. That information forms a data base in the cloud. You can

always a research a recipe with your mobile device basdevice bas

ingredients you have available. From your expiration dates and

reminders you can access a shopping app and three partnerships with a

shopping chains bought your groceries from the kitchen.

Currently the Samsung screen comes with a predetermined list of apps,

but there is no reason why developers could not contribute

their own in the future. Electronics manufacturers believe

it will assist us to eat more healthily. Each member of the

household can have their own profile. The consumption of fresh

fruit, drains etc will be monitored. These appliances could talk to each

other but will usually be controlled directly by an Android

device. You can download recipes on your throne and sent them to your

smart oven. Another example is the washer dryer. You can loaded at any

time but commenced the cycle when it is convenient. When smart

kitchens were first thought of the television was pitched as the

control hub, but now the tablet and smart and have taken over that role.

Panasonic hopes that every household world one day run its

appliances using home-made energy. They see a future where every piece

of equipment in the House can communicate with the inside and

outside power sources. You can generate your electricity using a

r later if you make more than in need.

The entire system will work more efficiently and smarter as well.

This hear the word Smartie is being applied to a generation of products.

-- smart. We want everything to get smarter. On some Panasonic air

conditioners can sense where the people are in the RIM and divert

the air it so it does not have to work as hard. It is worth noting

that in many cases the smart technology cannot be retroactively

fitted, so it probably means upgrading most of the appliances.

And be wary of the ongoing cost. Smart devices present the

opportunity to package services wheeze subscriptions. Not

appetising. At the moment I am sending and receiving text messages

on this. It is thanks to an app I have on these. A message from Kate

Russell telling me not to muscle in on Webscape. Thank you Spencer -

stick to what you know best, please four-strong when I work at home I

miss some telephone calls or text messages. Perhaps because I am in

the kitchen. Not any more with Mighty Text for Android. On down

led the app and install the Chrome browser plug-in and you will access

it through a Google account. On you can send and receive text messages

even if your telephone is at home, as long as it is turned on. The

application still uses your handset to send the message does so you

will still be charged whatever you pay foreign SMS. On on top of these,

they sink messages from your handset to be stored in your

computer. And there will be a missed call alert. That should be

helpful if you spend their days split between your computer and

your phone. Video blogging has been growing in popularity. Some are

better than others. If you want a head start to professionalism on

your own video blog checkout cueprompter.com. This is ideal if

you have a camera mounted on top of your monitor. You perfect your

words in a word processor, put them in a queue prompter. You can change

the size and colour of your text. Just adjust the speed of scrolling

to suit your voice. Remembering your lines made easy. Are my TV

music in the Webscape studio. -- I might even use it in the Webscape

studio. Talking of talking, do you fancy learning Spanish? It is one

The Web site harnesses the power of the crowd to translate online text

into languages as you learn them. The concept is clever. You are

given words to translate and exercises to help them sinking.

Behind the scenes you are translating a passage of text

somewhere on the internet. To put this in perspective if one million

people used Duolingo .com to learn Spanish they could translate

Wikipedia in eight hours. You will have to apply for invitation. I can

see these having an impact on the nature of the Web it in years to

come. The Search for extra- terrestrial life goes into

overdrive this week with the launch of city life which asks netizens to

classify radio frequencies. -- city Laden. On. This Romanian person for

in a stunt which would make Buzz Lightyear envious. Finally, and an

inventor. Many of you were sad when Google Labs pulled it this tool out

of the toy box, but it has been relaunched this week by MIT. It was

Webscape. If he missed any of those thinks they are all up on our