Grid Computing Good for Business
January 17, 2003
Grid computing is taking off in the corporate world, bouyed by the release this week of a pre-beta version of the next enhancement of the standard grid software, Global Toolkit 3.0.
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Who Says Science Can’t Be Fun?
January 17, 2003
Commercial applications have come from the fertile imagination of MIT Media Lab researchers, such as composer Tod Machover, whose Etch-A-Sketch-like device lets children compose by drawing lines on a computer screen and is due to be released as a toy.
Cal Tech announces Turing Tournament
January 16, 2003
Cal Tech has announced the “Turing Tournament,” designed to “find the best computer programs to mimic human behavior … and the best computer programs to detect the difference between machine and human behavior.”
Two types of submissions will be accepted: an emulator, which generates a dataset that mimics human behavior, and a detector, which detects the difference between datasets generated by human and machine behavior.
“The… read more
The Internet takes to the air
January 15, 2003
On Jan. 15, Lufthansa will give travelers access to the net and let them send and receive e-mails in real time. Boeing has signed up 15 airlines to the in-flight service, which uses satellite links.
Microsoft eyes global radio network to support smart devices
January 15, 2003
Microsoft plans to send personalized data via a network of FM radio stations using a 12 Kbps subcarrier data stream to support smart watches and other devices based on its just-introduced Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT).
Microsoft will use two FM stations in each of the top 100 U.S. markets and 14 Canadian cities initially and then expand globally.
Researchers create novel life form
January 14, 2003
Researchers have manipulated an organism to make it produce an unnatural amino acid (not one of the known 20 amino acids). The research could lead to the manipulation of other amino acids to manufacture antibiotics, enzymes or other compounds for human use.
Successfully creating unnatural bacteria demonstrates that the organisms could have arisen naturally through evolution. The researchers are asking why it hasn’t.
Future Combat: Part 1
January 14, 2003
The U.S. Army is planning a transformation based on “Future Combat Systems.” New technologies will include hybrid electric vehicles, robotics, lasers, mobile network communications, and an array of smart weapons and sensors based on enabling technologies such as micromechanical systems (MEMS), biotechnology and nanotechnology.
Kurzweil awarded ‘Best Individual Presentation’ by Conferenza
January 13, 2003
Conferenza gave Ray Kurzweil its “Best Individual Presentation” award for his Pop!Tech presentation in Conferenza’s Best and Worst Conference Awards for 2002.
Kurzweil “argued persuasively at Pop!Tech that if you live to the year 2010, biology and technology innovations could carry you on until 2810,” according to a Conferenza announcement today.
Pop!Tech tied for Best Conference with IDG’s DemoMobile. The Best Host award went… read more
At Big Consumer Electronics Show, the Buzz Is All About Connections
January 13, 2003
The digital evolution of consumer electronics has changed expectations for home entertainment devices. Now, people need media hubs and computer servers to store and organize photos, music and video; wired and wireless networks to move them around their houses; and portable gizmos to keep all the content in their pockets wherever they go.
Computer Animation Techniques
January 13, 2003
Some companies have developed a newer type of animation that requires less processing power.
Internet helps write the book of life
January 13, 2003
A hugely ambitious project to find and name every species on Earth within the next 25 years has been launched by scientists.
The secret: combine the power of the Internet with the development of DNA sequencing.
The stealth revolution: digital power technologies
January 13, 2003
“Photon-power technologies are now undergoing the kinds of breathtaking performance improvements that define highly disruptive industries and presage very rapid growth across a wide variety of formerly discrete markets,” advises The Friday Letter from Gilder Publishing.
The report recommends the Digital Power Report, which tracks investment opportunities in digital power technologies.
“The stealth revolution in power is centered on the rising power levels… read more
Now Playing: Reality Without the Downside
January 10, 2003
“The first online getaway,” called “There,” is an multiplayer online service that features 3-D computer-generated environments, AI-based avatars, real-world physics, natural scenery and sounds, and the ability to interact freely with people and objects.
Robots for the masses
January 10, 2003
Evolution Robotics announced a robot for industrial and consumer uses that can determine its position relative to its environment based on wheel sensors and a Webcam that cost less than $50. The robot uses a “visual simultaneous localization and mapping” system that creates a map of a space from the distance and direction that its wheels travel and from objects it recognizes with its camera and software.