CES: Cloudy With A Chance Of Social
[Fast Company] Why are these gadget geeks more excited about web services than the hard, shiny objects that usually arouse nerd desire? It turns out to be a growing trend in the tech world, one that the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is finally paying attention to. [Read the rest of Cloudy With A Chance Of Social]
The Brave New World of Mobile Phone Privacy
Marketers’ plans to track you may not be nefarious. But they sure can feel that way. [PC World, May 20, 2011. See Orignal] When Apple sneezes, the world takes interest in ear-nose-throat medicine. So upon learning that their iPhones have been building a bloated file of location data, consumers started wondering if mobile service also…
Like Lost, with normal people. Oh yeah, and Zombies
I’m clearly not alone in my new guilty addiction, AMC’s The Walking Dead. (I gotta do something while waiting for the next season of True Blood.) But I must admit, my first thought was – ugh, more zombies. Despite the apparent fascination of the entertainment press, this is a very well-worn genre. I Am Legend,…
Is the Web Going Away? Or is It Going All Over the Place?
When Wired hyperbolically declared that “The Web is Dead,” it didn’t challenge my worldview but rather surfaced what I knew subconsciously. The browser is not always (and increasingly less so) the best window to the Internet — especially on mobile gadgets. For years on my iPhone — and now on my Droid – I’ve foregone…
Consumers Put 3D TV to the Test
Do real people think 3D movies, sports, and shows are neat? Sure. But that doesn’t mean they’re ready to plunk down money. [Technologizer. Read Original] We’re hearing a lot about 3D television these days– from TV manufacturers, directors, journalists and pundits. But do consumers like it? And will they pay for it?
Safer Nuclear
Six Generation III+ reactors set for the U.S. [Popular Science. Read Original] The Big Picture: It’s nearly impossible to imagine making meaningful carbon dioxide reductions without designing safer, cleaner reactors and rolling them out immediately — because no one wants to build more of the reactors we have today.
Heart Healer
An artery-fixing tool does its job, then fades away [Popular Science. Read Original] Every year, 800,000 Americans elect to have a tiny metal-mesh tube inserted into their coronary artery to prop it open and improve blood flow to cardiac muscle tissue. It’s an easy choice — the alternative entails cracking open the chest and operating…
Getting Climate Science Right
Denmark calls a global conference, and puts an American in charge [Popular Science. Read Original] Katherine Richardson is atypical. This American oceanographer is thriving at the University of Copenhagen, where she serves as Vice Dean of Science. In the genteel worlds of academia and northern Europe, she’s a straight-talker who doesn’t mince her words–uttered with…
Stevie Wonder: Geek Musician
Tech-savvy artist pushes for gadgets that everyone can use [Popular Science. Read Original] Twenty-two-time Grammy winner Stevie Wonder has created new sounds, even genres, by absorbing and reshaping every musical and audio technology he’s encountered.
Prius in the Sky
A new competition aims to inspire the 100mpg personal plane [Popular Science. Read Original] Imagine a ’57 Chevy cruising through the air, and you get an idea of what single-engine, propeller-driven airplanes do to the environment. The average private plane, such as the popular two-seat Cessna 172, is 30 years old. It carries a four-cylinder…