Computing
Researchers Unveil Large Robotic Jellyfish
March 29, 2013 11:30 am | by Virginia Tech | News | CommentsThe prototype robot, nicknamed Cyro, is a larger model of a robotic jellyfish the same team – headed by Shashank Priya of Blacksburg, Va., and professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech – unveiled in 2012. The earlier robot, dubbed RoboJelly, is roughly the size of a man's hand, and typical of jellyfish found along beaches.
Engineering Update #7: Self-Healing, Laser-Resistant Chips
March 29, 2013 11:09 am | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development | Videos | CommentsIn this episode of Engineering Update, brought to you by Mouser Electronics, we're talking about self-healing, laser resistant chips, New York City's new interactive, touchscreen subway maps, and BMW and Continental's new project into developing "co-pilot" driving technology.
RIM Founder Says Board Asked Him To Stay as CEO
March 29, 2013 10:58 am | by ROB GILLIES, Associated Press | News | CommentsLazaridis and Jim Balsillie stepped down in January 2012 after several quarters of disappointing results. Lazaridis said he stayed on as vice chairman and a board director to help new CEO Thorsten Heins and his team with the launch of the BlackBerry 10 smartphones, an update considered crucial to the company's future.
Engineering Newswire 31: Superdome Fiasco, Relay to Blame
March 28, 2013 10:56 am | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development | Videos | CommentsToday on Engineering Newswire, we’re talking to virtual heads, firing sexists in Silicon Valley, investigating a super-sized power outage, and fishing far flung space garbage from the bottom of the ocean. The University of Cambridge has unveiled Zoe, a virtual talking head that is capable of expressing lifelike facial expressions.
Review: Tablet-PC Hybrids a Study in Trade-Offs
March 28, 2013 9:25 am | by RYAN NAKASHIMA, Associated Press | News | CommentsSince Windows 8's debut in October, there have been a range of hot-looking devices that try to combine elements of tablets and traditional PCs. These hybrids seem as if they would be great both for relaxing with an e-book and for writing stories when I occasionally need to snap back into work mode.
Fingernail Display Technology for Future Touch Screens
March 27, 2013 10:38 am | by Thomas Reuters | Videos | CommentsResearchers in Taiwan are developing a remote control system that will turn finger-nails into mini-display screens. Using wirelessly-enabled, light emitting diodes, the team says the technology could revolutionise the way we control and use devices such as smart phones and tablets. Ben Gruber reports.
States Answer Help Wanted Ad to Be Drone Test Site
March 27, 2013 9:58 am | by ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsBefore that can become reality, the Federal Aviation Administration last month put out a call to test fly drones at half a dozen to-be-determined sites before they can share the same space as commercial jetliners, small aircraft and helicopters.
Google Picks 8,000 Winners of 'Glass' Contest
March 27, 2013 9:54 am | by MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsThe pool selected by Google won a contest conducted last month requiring U.S. residents to submit 50-word applications through Twitter or Google's Plus to explain how they would use a technology that is being hailed as the next breakthrough in mobile computing.
Virtual Choir Live
March 26, 2013 10:37 am | by TED Talk | Videos | CommentsComposer and conductor Eric Whitacre has inspired millions by bringing together "virtual choirs," singers from many countries spliced together on video. Now, for the first time ever, he creates the experience in real time, as 32 singers from around the world Skype in to join an onstage choir.
NASA’s Technical Reports Server Shuts Down
March 26, 2013 9:56 am | by Karl Stephan, Consulting Engineer, Texas State University, San Marcos | Blogs | CommentsFor most of its existence, the U. S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) could be termed the fishbowl agency. Unlike the Department of Defense or nuclear-related branches of the Department of Energy, virtually everything NASA did, built, or planned has been publicly available to anybody who asked.
Dell Drama Takes New Twist with 2 New Buyout Bids
March 26, 2013 9:29 am | by MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsThe two new suitors pursuing Dell have a message for Wall Street: Don't allow Michael Dell to hoard potential gains from the PC maker's expansion into more profitable technology products and services. Competing bidders Carl Icahn and the Blackstone Group LP are wooing Dell shareholder...
The Feminine Pad (A Tablet for Women)
March 25, 2013 11:42 am | by Melissa Fassbender, Associate Editor, PD&D | Blogs | CommentsJust as I was about upgrade to the LeapPad2, Eurostar Group has released the new ePad Femme Tablet for Women. "The Tablet comes preloaded with applications so you can just turn it on and log in to cooking recipes or yoga," says Mani Nair, Associate Vice President for Marketing at Eurostar Group.
Techie Fired After Tweeting About Men's Comments
March 25, 2013 11:30 am | by Martha Mendoza and Sudhin Thanawala, Associated Press | News | CommentsA female developer was fired after tweeting about a group of men she said were making sexual comments at a computer programming conference, fueling an already vigorous debate about gender equality and culture in Silicon Valley. Adria Richards wrote on her blog at http://butyoureagirl.com that she was seated...
Experts: NKorea Training Teams of 'Cyber Warriors'
March 25, 2013 11:24 am | by YOUKYUNG LEE, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsInvestigators have yet to pinpoint the culprit behind a synchronized cyberattack in South Korea last week. But in Seoul, the focus is fixed on North Korea, which South Korean security experts say has been training a team of computer-savvy "cyber warriors" as cyberspace becomes a fertile battleground in the nations' rivalry.
HotSpot Episode 5: Robo Cloud
March 25, 2013 10:55 am | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development | Videos | CommentsThis week on WDD’s HotSpot, brought to you by Memory Protection Devices, Green Peak’s Open Smart Home Framework connects the ZigBee network to the Internet; Rapyuta allows robot’s data-processing functions to be performed in the cloud; Fujitsu and IT/Logistics’ Kidtrack help keep track of kids who take the bus...
Google Exec Urges Myanmar to Embrace Free Speech
March 22, 2013 9:40 am | by ERIKA KINETZ, Associated Press | News | CommentsGoogle on Thursday launched a local homepage, www.google.com.mm, which will allow the tailoring of Myanmar content. On Wednesday it unblocked the Google Apps store to allow access from within Myanmar. The U.S. lifted most sanctions on doing...
SKorea Misidentifies China as Cyberattack Origin
March 22, 2013 9:33 am | by SAM KIM, Associated Press | News | CommentsIn an embarrassing twist to a coordinated cyberattack on six major South Korean companies this week, investigators said Friday they wrongly identified a Chinese Internet Protocol address as the source. A joint team of government and private experts still...
Deal to Sell Dell May Be About to Face Competition
March 22, 2013 9:32 am | by MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsThe answer could come Friday. That's the end of a 45-day period that Dell Inc.'s board of directors set to allow for offers that might top a Feb. 5 deal to sell the personal computer maker to CEO Michael Dell and a group of investors for $24.4 billion.
The Internet Could Crash. We Need a Plan B
March 22, 2013 9:08 am | by TED Talk | Videos | CommentsInternet pioneer Danny Hillis argues that the Internet wasn't designed for this kind of scale, and sounds a clarion call for us to develop a Plan B: a parallel system to fall back on if -- or when -- the Internet crashes.
Engineering Newswire 30: Augmented Reality Recognizes Your Friends
March 21, 2013 10:08 am | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development | Videos | CommentsToday on Engineering Newswire, brought to you by Interpower, the premier supplier of power system components for worldwide markets, we’re testing experimental grasshopper rockets, making smooth jazz on the seaboard, and making the Sphero do everything.
HP Develops Glasses-Free 3D for Mobile Devices
March 21, 2013 9:58 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsResearchers at Hewlett-Packard Co. have developed a way to put glasses-free 3-D video on mobile devices with a viewing angle so wide that viewers can see an object more fully just by tilting the screen.Glasses-free 3-D is not unique. Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s 3DS handheld allows video game play...
QuickLogic’s ArcticLink III VX6 Supports Embedded and External Displays from a Single Processor Display Output
March 20, 2013 5:22 pm | by QuickLogic Corporation | News | CommentsQuickLogic Corporation [NASDAQ: QUIK], the innovator in low-power Customer Specific Standard Products (CSSPs), announced today the immediate availability of its new ArcticLink III VX6 solution platform device.
MIT to Release Documents about Activist Swartz
March 20, 2013 10:30 am | by MARK PRATT, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced Tuesday that the school will voluntarily release public documents related to the prosecution of free-information activist Aaron Swartz, who hanged himself in January as he faced trial on hacking charges.
New U.S. Military Satellite Launched into Orbit
March 20, 2013 10:24 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsAn unmanned rocket has launched a new U.S. military satellite into orbit. The Atlas V (five) rocket lifted off Tuesday afternoon from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the second satellite of four planned in the Space-Based Infrared System.
Report: Bribery Probe tTargets Microsoft Partners
March 20, 2013 10:22 am | News | CommentsCiting anonymous people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal said the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are examining whether kickbacks were paid to foreign officials to help close sale of software. The probe's targets include resellers of Microsoft software...
