Computers are commonly used as tools to design and manipulate three-dimensional objects but soon they may provide people with a way to sense the texture of those objects or feel how they fit together, says the creator of a haptic, or touch-based, interface at Carnegie Mellon University.

Most haptic interfaces rely on motors and mechanical linkages to provide some sense of touch or force feedback but the device developed by Ralph Hollis, research professor in Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute, uses magnetic levitation and a single moving part to give users a highly realistic experience. Users can perceive textures, feel hard contacts and notice even slight changes in position while using an interface that responds rapidly to movements.

WIGAN, England, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- London is bidding to become the cleanest city on earth in the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games. Two British stars from Olympic past and future are urging Londoners to join them in the Capital Clean-up campaign.

Exciting Beijing medal hope Jessica Ennis and 1992 Olympic gold winner Sally Gunnell will wear vests bearing the slogan "London Needs You!" as they urge residents to get the city in tip-top condition for 2012 and beyond.

Launch Details

Photo opportunity: Jessica and Sally will don special "London Needs You" kit as they join volunteers cleaning up the foreshore of the Thames. Sally will be available for interviews as are spokespeople from Capital Clean-up. This will take place on:

ALKMAAR, The Netherlands, March 4 /PRNewswire/ --

- The Development of Two New Filters Completes the Full Package

The quality of indoor air is a theme that is gaining importance worldwide. A poor indoor environment is experienced as being stale and stuffy, and can be the cause of health complaints. Euromate, the specialist in air purification, has recently introduced two new main filters for the VisionAir air cleaner in order to tackle the problems of polluted indoor air.

Happiness in life is as much down to having the right genetic mix as it is to personal circumstances according to a recent study.

Psychologists at the University of Edinburgh working with researchers at Queensland Institute for Medical Research in Australia found that happiness is partly determined by personality traits and that both personality and happiness are largely hereditary.

GENEVA, March 4 /PRNewswire/ --

As another key element in its overall global strategy to improve fuel economy and reduce oil consumption and CO2 emissions, General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner announced today that GM will introduce a second-generation version of the GM Hybrid System with a new, more powerful lithium-ion battery.

Hitachi Vehicle Energy Ltd., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Hitachi Ltd., will supply an advanced lithium-ion battery, which will help make the next-generation GM Hybrid System nearly three times more powerful than the system it replaces. Overall fuel economy improvements for cars and trucks using the system are expected to be up to 20 percent, depending on engine and vehicle application.

IRVINE, California and LONDON, March 4 /PRNewswire/ --

- Cambodia Advance Communication Company Chooses AppExpress to Provide Internal Users with On-Demand Access to Applications

Endeavors Technologies, the pioneer in application streaming and virtualization technology, and its parent company, Tadpole Technology plc, today announced that Cambodia Advance Communication Company (CADCOMMS) has chosen AppExpress to provide its employees with application access.

CADCOMMS recently completed a successful proof-of-concept project and is now deploying AppExpress to provide employees with on-demand access to Microsoft Project, Visio and other productivity applications.

LONDON, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- ICIS, the commodity market information business of Reed Business Information UK Ltd, has today announced its acquisition of Heren Energy Ltd.

Heren Energy is Europe's leading gas, power and carbon market information provider and this acquisition provides ICIS with the opportunity for greater geographic coverage of international energy markets and additional sales points for Heren products through the global network of ICIS offices. The acquisition also provides the opportunity to broaden the spread of markets currently covered by Heren, as well as providing support for entry into new vertical energy markets.

My observations:

1. The first task I used to measure my mental function at frequent intervals (e.g., every 30 minutes) resembled an typical cognitive psych task. It wasn’t fun and I had to push myself to do it.

2. I made another test to do the same thing based on the lessons I drew from bilboquet. It consisted of tracking circles around the screen. It was mildly fun.

CHICAGO, March 4 /PRNewswire/ --

- Improved functionality for list trading, options and forex and new market data display top the list

Townsend Analytics (http://www.townsendanalytics.com), a leading provider of global multi-broker, cross-asset electronic trading solutions, will demonstrate the latest round of enhancements to its RealTick Execution Management System (EMS) at TradeTech USA, March 3-5, at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City.

SAN JOSE and MILPITAS, California, March 4 /PRNewswire/ --

Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) and Phoenix Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTEC), announced today the integration of Atmel's FingerChip(R) biometric security solutions in Phoenix's FailSafe(TM) and SecureCore Pre-boot Authentication (PBA) products.