Technology

Computing: Having One's Head In The Cloud

Computer trends are interesting to follow [1]; they keep changing, and, as with clothing, the chic trends this year soon become passé, replaced by newer ones. It often seems that it’s really the words that change, while the actual trends continue pretty m ...

Article - Barry Leiba - Jul 29 2009 - 1:35pm

Asimov Redux- Robots Get Three New Rules

Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics were immortalized in the short story "Runaround" in 1942.   In it he formalized the rules that all positronic robots must obey. Two engineers think Asimov's laws need an update. ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 29 2009 - 3:58pm

The New Yorker Versus The Kindle

If you live in New York and like to feel a part of the local intelligentsia, you simply  have to read The New Yorker. Which I do, regularly, every week. ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Jul 29 2009 - 6:04pm

A Little "spray Paint" Goes Along Way Toward Insulating Circuits

Ever since graphene was discovered in 2004, this one-atom thick, super strong, carbon-based electrical conductor has been billed as a "wonder material" that some physicists think could one day replace silicon in computer chips. But graphene, whi ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 31 2009 - 6:05pm

How Ripe Is Your Pineapple?

Like Goldilocks and her porridge, people today want their food to be perfect.   But when you look at something like a pineapple in a supermarket, how do you know what's 'just ripe' and what is spoiled, or not ripe yet?  They all look the sam ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 3 2009 - 10:48am

Subscribe To Our Facebook Page, Make Your Significant Other Jealous!

A study of college students found that the more time they spent on Facebook, the more likely they or their squeeze got jealous about the information posted there, leading to more time spent on Facebook and further fueling jealousy. Facebook could tank your ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 6 2009 - 11:03pm

Origami Provides Inspiration For DNA Engineering

When the ancient Japanese art of origami first came about, it consisted of one piece of paper folded to form cranes, flowers, and other shapes. Now, however origami has been revised and resized a bit. All the way down to the nanometer (1/1000000000 meters ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 6 2009 - 3:56pm

On Twitter, Hacking And Denial Of Service Attacks

If you’re a Twit... [um, no...] if you like Tweety... [still no...] if you’re a Twitter user [there, that works] you might have been frustrated on Thursday, when Twitter had service problems. So, apparently, did Facebook and LiveJournal, all three hit wit ...

Article - Barry Leiba - Aug 7 2009 - 7:28pm

Coolerado: Building A Better Air Conditioner

Air conditioning technology hasn't changed much in the last 50 years and though different climates have different optimal air conditioning requirements, economies of scale force companies into a one-size-fits-all method. Many western states are hot an ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 14 2009 - 11:48am

Open Up And Say "Zap'': Dentists Use Lasers For Oral Exams

How's this for something new: instead of a steel dental pick poking and prodding around your teeth at you next dentist appointment, imagine a laser doing all that work pain-free. Thanks to a group of researchers in Australia and Taiwan, this may be p ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 18 2009 - 4:08pm