Technology Review Feed - TR Editors' blog

SXSW: Microsoft Researcher says Privacy Isn't Dead

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:00:00 GMT

danah boyd opens South by Southwest with a keynote on what online privacy should mean.

danah boyd (she prefers no caps) gave a cogent and important keynote this weekend at South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive on the nature of privacy online. Following two privacy missteps--one from Google and one from Facebook--the Microsoft social media researcher presented an impassioned argument for why privacy is not dead, and how it needs to be addressed online.

Here Come the High-Definition 3-D TVs

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Panasonic, Samsung, Sony announced upcoming
3-D HDTVs this week.

Yesterday, Panasonic sold its first 3-D HDTVs at Best Buy in New York. For about $3,000, you can get a 50-inch 3-D plasma TV, a 3-D Blu-ray player and one pair of 3-D glasses (additional ones are available for about $150). Just the day before, Samsung announced that it will be selling three versions of 3-D TVs within the month and Sony stated that it will roll out 3-D TVs this June in Japan.

Software tells Bloggers What Readers Want

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:00:00 GMT

IBM has created a widget that crowd-sources ideas for blog posts.

Blogging often sounds like a great idea: sharing thoughts and expertise, becoming a part of a community, and taking the first few steps to wider recognition as a writer. But many bloggers quickly get disillusioned.

Revealing the Source of Ritalin's Brain Boosting Benefits

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The ADHD drug improves attention by enhancing neural plasticity.

New research in animals sheds light on how Ritalin, the stimulant drug prescribed to millions of children each year in the United States for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sheds light on how the drug works. The molecule appears to boost both attention and enhance the speed of learning by increasing the activity of the chemical messenger dopamine, according to new research in Nature Neuroscience.

Bing Dinged on Arab Sex Censorship

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Report says Microsoft censors even more harshly than Arab nations do.

At a time when Google is promising to end search censorship in China, a new report has now revealed that Microsoft censors its Bing search engine returns in Arab countries even more heavily than the countries themselves do using national Internet filters. The study covered the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Algeria, and Jordan, and found heavy censorship of anything relating to sex.

Putting Virtual Controls on Your Arm

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:00:00 GMT

"Skinput" lets users control a computer by tapping buttons projected onto their body.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Microsoft have developed an acoustic biosensor that turns an arm into a crude touch screen.

Google's New Photo Editor

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:00:00 GMT

Web app Picnik may be integrated with Picasa.

Google announced today that it has acquired Picnik, a company that provides a fully-featured Web-based photo editing application. This is the latest in a recent string of acquisitions that has also seen Google snap up the social search site Aardvark.

Signs of Success in Home Medical Monitoring

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

In a pilot project, technology reduced doctor's visits for patients with chronic illness, but will this work on a broader scale?

Connecting patients and their physicians through the internet might help cut down on office visits, according to results of a pilot project announced today. More than 250 patients with chronic diseases, namely diabetes, heart failure, and hypertension, participated in the study, tracking their health at home with heart rate monitors, glucometers, scales, pedometers or blood pressure monitors. Data from those devices was then uploaded to the patient's HealthVault record, a personal medical record system developed by Microsoft. That data was in turn connected to the electronic medical records used by the Cleveland Clinic, allowing doctors to monitor their patients remotely.

Pacific Biosciences Sequencing Machine Unveiled

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:00:00 GMT

The company showed off its behemoth instrument at a conference in Florida this week.

Pacific Biosciences' highly anticipated new sequencing machine has finally arrived.

Valley Entrepreneurs Vent Frustration at Department of Energy

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Cleantech entrepreneurs urge Washington to make better use of Bay Area intellectual capital.

At an event in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday, a representative of the Obama administration went before a gathering of Silicon Valley cleantech entrepreneurs to spread the good news about what's resulted from the stimulus package, and to get their feedback.

Predicting Smart Phone Attacks

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Researchers perform spying and other tricks.

Though malware is not yet common on mobile phones, experts are taking a hard look at how it could appear down the road, hoping to find solutions before real attacks emerge.

Artificial Skin will use Quantum Tunneling

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:00:00 GMT

Peratech is to develop a novel pressure sensing material for robots.

The UK company Peratech, which last month signed a deal to develop novel pressure-sensing technology for screen maker Nissha, has announced that it will use the same approach to make artificial "skin" for the MIT Media Lab.

Intel to Tackle Energy Storage for the Grid

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The company is exploring nanomaterials for making ultracapacitors.

According to a story posted yesterday on the EE Times Asia website, researchers at Intel are developing materials for use in ultracapacitors, energy storage devices with a high capacity. I contacted the company to find out more, and they say they're not ready to say any more than was in the EE Times story:

Motorola Brings Android
to AT&T

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

How will an Android device fare head-to-head with Apple's iPhone?

AT&T announced today that its first Android device, the Motorola Backflip, will be available on its network starting March 7. In January, AT&T announced big Android plans, promising five devices within the first half of this year.

Two African Men Help Diversify the Human Genome Pool

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The genome sequences of Desmond Tutu and a Kalahari bushman have now been published.

Windows Phone 7 Unveiled

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Microsoft drinks the "integration" Kool-Aid with its new smart-phone OS

Microsoft announced the long-awaited details of its Windows Mobile 7 operating system at a press conference held today at the annual Mobile World Conference in Barcelona. Phones using the OS will be available in time for the 2010 holiday season, CEO Steve Ballmer said. Beyond the timing, three points particularly stood out in the 90-minute presentation by Ballmer and top mobile executives. First, Ballmer emphasized that with Windows Phone 7, Microsoft is taking on more accountability for user experience--a key complaint of many Windows Mobile users. Second, the "premier launch partner" for Windows 7 phones in the United States is none other than Apple iPhone partner AT&T. And third, and perhaps most intriguingly, the new mobile OS will offer full integration with Microsoft's Xbox Live gaming platform.

Outsourcing Genome Sequencing

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

China is poised to become the world's sequencing powerhouse.

In January, the Beijing Genomics Institute, now known just as BGI, announced it had ordered 126 of Illumina's newest sequencing machines. In a column for Science Progress, stem cell scientist Jeanne Loring notes, "This is the largest order of sequencers ever, anywhere. At a retail price of $690,000 each, even if the machines are discounted, the purchase of this instrumentation alone is a phenomenal investment of at least $60 million in a single year. This purchase will bring the total number of sequencers at BGI to 157, nearly twice the number of instruments at the largest sequencing center in the United States, the Broad Institute at MIT, which will bring its total to 89 this year."

Microsoft Adds "Augmented Reality" to Bing Maps

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:30:00 GMT

At the TED conference this week, Microsoft announced a new, AR mapping feature.

Microsoft just added an interesting new feature to Bing Maps--augmented reality. Actually, it's a bit more like augmented reality in reverse.

Google Acquires Social Search Engine Aardvark

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:00:00 GMT

The search giant is aggressively pursuing social features.

Google wants social features very badly, it seems. Damon Horowitz, CTO and co-founder of Aardvark, an interesting search startup that integrates social interaction and artificial intelligence, has today confirmed reports that the company has been acquired by Google.

Ancient Human Genome Sequenced

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:00:00 GMT

Researchers say their subject had brown eyes, thick hair, and dry ear wax.