Net Attack Aimed at Banking Data
July 1, 2004
Computer security experts warned yesterday of another new Internet threat that can steal the passwords and account information of people who bank online — the second such discovery in a week.
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Robots get sensitive
July 1, 2004
An electronic skin as sensitive to touch as our own is being developed for robots by scientists in Japan.
It consists of a sheet of rubbery polymer, impregnated with flakes of electrically conducting graphite. The electrical resistance of the sheet changes when it is squeezed, and this change is detected by an array of transistors beneath the rubber.
The skin could also find applications in sport, security and… read more
Hybrid nano-wires provide link to silicon
July 1, 2004
Nanowires that could be plugged into conventional computer circuits have been developed by Charles Lieber and colleagues at Harvard University.
The nanowires were made highly conductive by blending silicon and nickel together.
The researchers have also shown that the method can be used to create simple nanoscale electronic components, e.g., field-effect transistors. “By extending our approach to crossed nanowires it should become possible to assemble large and dense… read more
Speed of light may have changed recently
July 1, 2004
The speed of light may have been lower as recently as two billion years ago on Earth, based on measurements of the fine structure constant, or alpha, which dictates the strength of the electromagnetic force.
I, Robocop
June 30, 2004
In the forthcoming film “I, Robot,” Actor Will Smith plays a police detective investigating a murder allegedly committed by a robot.
Q: I understand Proyas asked the entire cast to read Ray Kurzweil’s The Age of Spiritual Machines. What did you think of the book?
A: Actually, the Wachowski brothers turned me onto it first. Kurzweil has an interesting, kind of twisted look at the potentiality of the… read more
Fractals show machine intentions
June 29, 2004
Some day machines could build themselves, which means they might not necessarily be designed to communicate with people. This could make interacting with machines difficult.
One solution is to give people a means of interpreting machines that’s similar to the way we read each other’s body language. A team of researchers has proposed a way to do so that combines fractals with algorithms that automatically cluster data.
Fragments boost 3D TV
June 29, 2004
The ultimate in video is a system that renders three-dimensional images in real-time and lets the viewer change viewpoints at will.
It takes a lot of network bandwidth to transmit that much information, however. A system that turns two-dimensional pixels from a camera array into a set of independent points in space promises to lighten the load.
Computing Gets Physical
June 29, 2004
Gadgets that let you control computers with a wave or a nod could offer an escape from keyboards and mice.
Gesture recognition technology aims to become this millennium’s remote control — a fluid, freeing means of interacting with all the digital stuff around us. Think Minority Report.
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News Analysis: The Tera of the Internet
June 29, 2004
The next generation of routers, with speeds approaching 100 terabits/second, will be the foundation for every last digital service we can imagine (and some that we can’t).
Tech Science Out on a Limb
June 29, 2004
From tiny memory chips to fanless cooling systems, cutting-edge researchers are investigating new ways to make computing devices smaller, faster and cheaper.
From organic computer memory cells to super-nanocapacitors, many of the most promising lines of research involve molecular scale technology.
What We Don’t Know Can Hurt Us
June 28, 2004
Privacy advocates are hindering development of sophisticated pattern-analysis and data mining tools for detecting terrorist networks, say some experts.
Corporate Servers Spreading IE Virus [Updated]
June 28, 2004
ZDNet is reporting that corporate web servers are infecting visitors’ PCs.
The combination of two unpatched IE security holes and hacked corporate websites is apparently distributing malware via several high-credibility sites. ZDNet says users have “few options” other than alternative browsers or platforms.”
A reader points out Microsoft’s What You Should Know page. Here’s the short version for avoiding this Critical severity attack: you must install add-on software,… read more
Alzheimer’s: Beyond Stem Cells
June 25, 2004
Embryonic stem cells aren’t the most promising source to find treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, researchers say. Other possibilities, such as treating buildups of protein in the brain, will likely reap rewards faster.
Cancer Drugs Aim at More Targets
June 25, 2004
In a “cluster bomb” approach, drug companies are doing clinical trials of a new generation of cancer drugs that can attack cancer cells on multiple fronts and come in the form of pills, whereas most cancer drugs are delivered intravenously.
But some worry about side effects of the new therapy.
Cingular, Sprint PCS, Verizon in cellular data arms race
June 24, 2004
Widespread national coverage for cellular high-speed data service edged closer to reality as Cingular Wireless and Sprint PCS Group announced broadband deployments over the next two years and Verizon Wireless reaffirmed its plans to offer high-speed data in a third of its networks by year’s end.
Sprint plans average speeds of between 300K and 500Kbit/sec, with peak of 2.4Mbps in select markets; Cingular plans up to 14.4Mbit/sec; and Verizon… read more