Digital

Modern life is digital, and a lot of gift-giving is, too. Handing someone a small envelope with a gift card in it is, to most people, a very practical and perfectly acceptable thing. There's an art to giving away digital gifts, though; do it too casually and you risk coming across as uncaring. Deliver it in the wrong way to the wrong person, and you may just confuse and frustrate them...or worse, risk having your gift disappear into a spam or trash folder.

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Researchers have built a piece of a rat brain over the past 10 years and this week they're ready to show it off. Partially. What you're seeing here is a photo of a virtual brain slice, part of the Blue Brain Project as hosted at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL). This chunk has been created digitally, mapping a section of juvenile rat brain for starters. Eventually the group hopes to show the whole brain - then move on to other animals.

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Over a year ago, we heard about the state of Iowa's initiative to develop digital driver’s licenses that could eventually replace the plastic cards used through the US. The digital licenses would feature the same information as the physical versions — photo, address, date of birth, etc. — but be stored on a user's smartphone. Well, Iowa has now announced that it's beginning a test program, known as the Mobile Driver License (mDL), for a number of different situations, but limited to employees of the states' Department of Transportation.

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The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has brought a previously hidden iPhone feature to light. Almost all smartphones have an FM receiver chip built into their hardware. It's actually the same chip that is used for WiFi and Bluetooth functionality. In the iPhone 6, it's the Murata 339S0228, and the FM utility is completely switched off. According to the NAB, the FM chip could be an invaluable feature for the public to utilize in an emergency situation, especially considering how cellular and data networks can become overloaded in the case of an emergency.

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FM radio has been around for decades and it has always been the type of broadcast you wanted for the highest quality music. Many countries are now working on switching from FM broadcasts over to digital radio. The first country in the world to cease all broadcasting of FM radio signals will be Norway.

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If you've ever wanted a GoPro but couldn't part with the cash, then this may be your chance. Chinese company Xiaomi just unveiled their newest action-ready camera at MWC2015. Xiaomi's Yi camera will retail for only $64 USD, which is less than half the price of GoPro's basic Hero model which sells for $130 USD. It offers better technical specs than the GoPro Hero, but it is lacking in other respects. We'll take a look at they compare, and if we can even get our hands on a Yi cam stateside.

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To get things straight immediately, Ecuador isn't making Bitcoin its official currency. In fact, the cryptocurrency, which is just one form of such digital currency, is banned in the country. Instead, Ecuador will be implementing its own electronic money system, formally known as "Sistema de Dinero Electrónico". The digital payment system, according to government officials, will simply be an addition to its own US dollar-based physical money system, but some experts seem to think that the move might have other motives as well.

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Today, Iowa announced that digital ID “cards” would be officially allowed for use. An “official” app housing your driver’s license is being released by the Department of Transportation in Iowa, and protected with a PIN. The move is lauded by many as our first official move into a digital realm, where we can finally shed ourselves of those pesky wallets we’ve dreaded for decades. Digital ID cards are fun, but major glaring issues persist. When you weigh the benefits against the potential problems, digital isn’t (yet) all it’s cracked up to be.

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State officials in Iowa have a plan that will allow drivers to have a digital version of their driver's license rather than having to keep up with a physical card as states have now. These digital licenses would be on the driver's smartphone as an app. The logistics of the plan are now in question as state officials wonder if these digital licenses are something that motorists want.

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This week the digital tattoo - temporary tattoo, that is to say - has been made a real product by the folks at Motorola, Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group, and VivaLnk Inc. This is not the firs time we’ve heard of such a product - Motorola first showed a prototype off at D11 last year. Now Regina Dugan’s Motorola digital tattoo demonstration is here - digital tattoos in packs of 10!

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This week the folks at Microsoft responsible for keeping Office at the head of every office’s mind have made clear their intent to move forward with signatures. In this case, this means that they’ve signed a deal with DocuSign so that their reputable electronic signature authorization - eSignature - will work with Office 365.

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It is a shift that is expected to happen soon but one that no one really knows when. It seems, however, that Paramount Pictures will be the one to get the ball rolling as sources say the studio will no longer be distributing its major movies on 35 mm film, starting with the Oscar-nominated "The Wolf of Wall Street".

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