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IBM

Software Backs Up Human Memory 172

Posted by timothy from the where'd-I-put-my-pda dept.
CWmike writes "Ever try to remember who you bumped into at the store a few days back? Well, you're not alone. And IBM researchers are working on software that just may help you better recollect all the forgotten pieces of your life. This week, the company unveiled Pensieve, software that stores images, sounds, and text on everyday mobile devices, then allows the user extract them later on, to help them recall names, faces, conversations and events. IBM's project is akin to one that Gordon Bell and other scientists at Microsoft Research have been working on for the past nine years."
Technology

The First Paper-Based Transistors 177

Posted by kdawson from the bend-me-shape-me dept.
Roland Piquepaille found news of research out of Portugal that has resulted in the first paper-based transistors (the original article is less informative than Roland's blog). More precisely, they've made the first field effect transistors (FET) with a paper interstrate layer. According to the research team, such transistors offer the same level of performance as 'state-of-the-art, oxide-based thin film transistors produced on glass or crystalline silicon substrates.' Possible applications include disposable electronics devices, such as paper displays, smart labels, bio-applications or RFID tags. The research will be published in IEEE Electron Device Letters in September.
Earth

Supplies of Rare Earth Elements Exhausted By 2017 958

Posted by kdawson from the they-don't-call-them-rare-for-nothing dept.
tomhudson writes "While we bemoan the current oil crisis, I ran across an editorial that led me to research a more immediate threat. Ramped-up production of flat-panel displays means the material to make them will be 'extinct' by 2017. This goes for other electronics as well. Quoting: 'The element gallium is in very short supply and the world may well run out of it in just a few years. Indium is threatened too, says Armin Reller, a materials chemist at Germany's University of Augsburg. He estimates that our planet's stock of indium will last no more than another decade. All the hafnium will be gone by 2017 also, and another twenty years will see the extinction of zinc. Even copper is an endangered item, since worldwide demand for it is likely to exceed available supplies by the end of the present century.' More links at the journal entry."
Microsoft

Bill Gates Chews Out Microsoft 836

Posted by samzenpus from the you-wouldn't-like-him-when-he's-angry dept.
s31523 writes "All of us have one time or another been completely frustrated by certain Windows usability issues, and in many cases our experiences have driven us over to Linux, or kept us there. For anyone that has ever been frustrated, you will be happy to know you aren't the only one. After reading this leaked Microsoft memo from Bill Gates back in 2003, you will surely have more insight into why Vista is a complete disaster due to Microsoft not learning anything from their experiences from XP."

Comment Re:antecdote alert! (Score 1) 1114

by bchociej (#23855735) Attached to: Helping Some Students May Harm High Achievers
My high school did the same dual-credit thing. I spent plenty of good money paying the (reduced) tuition for these college courses only to find that my university would not accept them since too many high schools were watering down the college courses that they offered.

As a more general comment, the point is that schools are forcing the lower achievers to be more equal to the higher achievers. Even though the higher achievers may be gaining ground, the lower ones are gaining it faster thanks to NCLB-esque policies. Thus we are just shrinking the standard deviation of academic achievement into singularity -- a point at which public academics become irrelevant because schools aren't making a lick of difference.
Robotics

Robotic Aircraft To Supply Troops 111

Posted by samzenpus from the battle-platform-soon-to-come dept.
Cowards Anonymous writes "PC World reports on a prototype driverless aircraft designed to shuttle hundreds of pounds of supplies to soldiers in war zones. Dubbed a flying Humvee by Frontline Aerospace's CEO, the robotic vehicle can fly 600 to 1,000 miles carrying a full cargo of 400 pounds. It's about the size of a large SUV, weighing in at 2,400 pounds and measuring 21 feet long and up to 26 feet wide."
The Military

Why Are the Best and Brightest Not Flooding DARPA? 597

Posted by samzenpus from the getting-paid-in-the-private-sector dept.
David W. White writes "Wired mag's Danger Room carried an article today that highlighted how desperate the US Military's DARPA has become in its attempts to bring in additional brain power. The tactics include filmed testimonials, folders and even playing cards all screaming join DARPA! Where are all the Einsteins who want to be on the cutting edge for the Government?"
The Internet

IP Traffic To 'Double' Every Two Years 128

Posted by CmdrTaco from the toil-and-trouble dept.
Stony Stevenson writes "Web traffic volumes will almost double every two years from 2007 to 2012, driven by video and web 2.0 applications, according to a report from Cisco Systems. Cisco's Visual Networking Index (PDF) predicts that visual networking will account for 90 percent of the traffic coursing through the world's IP networks by 2012. The upward trend is not only driven by consumer demand for YouTube clips and IPTV, according to the report, as business use of video conferencing will grow at 35 percent CAGR over the same period." I left the apostrophes around the word "double" in the title because the linked site has them, but for the life of me I can't figure out why.
The Media

BBC's iPlayer's Prospects Looking Bleak 369

Posted by kdawson from the kick-their-dog-while-you're-at-it dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The future of iPlayer, the BBC's new online on-demand system for delivering content, is continuing to look bleaker. With ISPs threatening to throttle the content delivered through the iPlayer, consumers petitioning the UK government and the BBC to drop the DRM and Microsoft-only technology, and threatened legal action from the OSC, the last thing the BBC wanted to see today was street protests at their office and at the BBC Media Complex accompanied by a report issued by DefectiveByDesign about their association with Microsoft."
User Journal

Journal Journal: HIV is a 'double hit' to the brain

Journal by stemceller
New evidence reported in the August issue of Cell Stem Cell, a publication of Cell Press, offers a novel perspective on how the HIV/AIDS virus leads to learning and memory deficits, a condition known as HIV-associated dementia. A protein found on the surface of the virus not only kills some mature brain cells, as earlier studies had shown, but it also prevents the birth of new brain cells by crippling "adult neural pro
Biotech

MIT Team Creates Cancer Stem Cells 124

Posted by kdawson from the keep-those-babies-under-glass-please dept.
MIT scientists and colleagues have found a way in the lab to create large amounts of cancer stem cells, the cells that can initiate tumors. The work, reported in the August 13 issue of Cancer Cell, could be a boon to researchers who study these elusive cells. Labs could easily grow them for use in experiments.

Comment Now Apple must play catch-up (Score 1, Interesting) 472

by socratic method (#16107865) Attached to: Microsoft Launches the Zune
I'm an huge fan of Apple's products. I'm typing on a MacBook Pro and I love my 1G Nano. But after Apple's disappointing announcement this week, I have to say that Microsoft is now the technology leader in the portable player market.

Ad-hoc wireless is a huge feature. The widescreen looks great. I have to admit that this Apple fan has, for the first time in years, a little bit of Microsoft envy.

I know, I know. It is yet to be shown that the Zune + Windows delivers a great user experience like the iPod + Mac. iTunes and its store make the whole process seamless. The Airport Express and AirTunes are great features.

But, like I said, while other /.ers put MS down today, I have to congratulate them. Nice design, nice features, great competition. Hopefully this will push Apple that much harder.

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