Mental block: brain-computer interfaces
IEEE Spectrum – Jan 4, 2009 – Controlling objects with just your thoughts has been a dream of sci-fi from “Star Trek” to Star Wars, but in the past few years that dream has inched closer to reality.
Patent fights are a legacy of the tangled origins of MP3
The New York Times – March 4, 2007 – Until now, the most prominent holder of MP3 patents has been the Fraunhofer Society of Germany. But other companies, including Thomson, Philips and Alcatel-Lucent, are increasingly being backed up by aggressive enforcement efforts.
The Superbus mixes rail and road
The Economist – Sep 21, 2006 – Maglev trains are expensive; buses are cheap. The Superbus, a high-tech road vehicle, is a compromise between the two. It is an electric bus designed to be able to switch seamlessly between ordinary roads and dedicated “supertracks”, on which it can reach speeds of 250kph.
Computerized decision making on the rise
The New York Times – July 18, 2006 – Mathematical models generally make more accurate predictions than humans do. Studies have shown that models can better predict, for example, the success or failure of a business start-up, the likelihood of recidivism and parole violation, and future performance in graduate school.
Green ship-breaking making waves
The Economist – Dec 8, 2005 – The low-tech graveyards where ships are picked apart by hand could give way to a greener, more high-tech alternative.
Fingerprints for car parts
The Economist – Dec 8, 2005 – Microdots are tiny polyester particles that can be sprayed on to valuable items such as car parts. Under ultraviolet light and a magnifying glass, any one of these dots can reveal the host vehicle’s unique identity number.
Geeks meet at “What the Hack” conference
Associated Press – July 28, 2005 – Borrowing heavily from Woodstock, the three-day “What The Hack” convention is a self-styled computer-security conference dealing such issues as digital passports, biometrics and cryptography.
Flash drives: always on the go, without moving parts
The New York Times – Feb 17, 2005 – From humble origins as geeky novelties, thumb-size U.S.B. flash drives have grown into a billion-dollar market.
Virtual volunteers listen, then reach out
The New York Times – Jan 27, 2005 – Virtual volunteers at an aid network known as Nabuur give people in the developing world advice on projects like how to start a youth computer-training center, improve local water quality, or better integrate the village’s disabled people. The assumption is that small communities can carry out many public-works projects by themselves if provided with the right information.
QR codes connect paper and online worlds by cellphone camera
The New York Times – Oct 4, 2004 – Focusing your camera phone on a code and then clicking any button launches a wireless service — for example, the ability to buy a train ticket, check an airplane’s departure time, or download a ring tone from a store display.
The lie detector test: could your voice betray you?
The New York Times – July 1, 2004 – Beyond their applications in law enforcement, lie-detector tests are being used in everything from telemarketing to matchmaking. But the technology’s reliability is still a matter of debate.
Authenticating art: a computer that has an eye for Van Gogh
The New York Times – Jun 13, 2004 – Now a team of researchers in the Netherlands have developed a computer system that quickly examines hundreds of paintings for telltale patterns. The results, they say, can lend credence to existing attributions or help dismiss them.
