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archive: Jan-Feb 2006
Tech-news archive: January-February 2006
Scaled Composites hiring spaceship builders
(Feb 27, 2006)
If you’re looking to get your hands dirty and be on the ground floor
of public space travel, you might touch base with one of the leading
spaceline builders. Scaled Composites in Mojave, California is in
the deep design stage of a fleet of commercial suborbital spaceships
and launch aircraft. They are also in recruitment mode to find the
right talent to build the commercial spaceships for the new industry
of private spaceflight.
Read
more. Source: space.com |
Enzyme computer could live inside you
(Feb 24, 2006)
A molecular computer that uses enzymes to perform calculations has
been built by researchers in Israel. Itamar Willner, who constructed
the molecular calculator with colleagues at the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem in Israel, believes enzyme-powered computers could eventually
be implanted into the human body and used to, for example, tailor
the release of drugs to a specific person's metabolism.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Quantum computer works best switched off
(Feb 23, 2006)
Even for the crazy world of quantum mechanics, this one is twisted.
A quantum computer program has produced an answer without actually
running. The idea behind the feat, first proposed in 1998, is to put
a quantum computer into a “superposition”, a state in which it is
both running and not running. It is as if you asked Schrödinger's
cat to hit "Run". With the right set-up, the theory suggested, the
computer would sometimes get an answer out of the computer even though
the program did not run.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Launch of Sony’s PlayStation 3 could be delayed
(Feb 21, 2006)
Sony Corp.’s launch of its next-generation PlayStation 3 video game
console could be delayed if industry specifications for some of its
technology are not finalized soon, although it is still aiming for
a spring rollout, it said on Monday. The launch of PlayStation 3 (PS3)
has been the subject of heavy speculation in the industry as expectations
are high for the powerful machine, which will feature cutting-edge
technology in its DVD player, processors and graphics.
Read
more. Source: MSNBC/Reuters |
The laser that lets you see through solid objects
(Feb 20, 2006)
Comic book fantasies of being able to see through concrete walls and
locked doors may have taken a step closer to becoming reality after
it emerged that British and Swiss scientists have developed a way
of seeing through solid objects. At the moment the "X-ray specs effect",
as Chris Phillips at Imperial College London calls it, is restricted
to the lab, but it could in theory work on any material. His set-up,
which he describes in the journal Nature Materials today, involves
shining a laser at a specially designed solid. "The material goes
from being opaque to being completely transparent.
Read
more. Source: Guardian |
Poll: Web a fun place to hang out
(Feb 18, 2006)
Nearly one-third of American Internet users surveyed said they go
online just for fun rather than to check e-mail, read news or use
a search engine, a sharp increase from a year ago, the Pew Internet
& American Life Project said on Wednesday. "This tells us the Internet
is another place where people increasingly go to while away their
time or just to hang out," said Deborah Fallows, senior research fellow
at the nonpartisan research group which examines the social impact
of the Internet.
Source: Reuters |
How to be a rock star, virtually
(Feb 13, 2006)
There are usually only two things that stop most adolescent males
from being guitar "rock gods" – lack of a guitar and a total
lack of talent. Now a group of young Finnish scientists have found
a way to overcome these little obstacles. The Virtual Air Guitar can
be mastered in just a few seconds. You simply put on a pair of orange
gloves, stand in front of a camera which is attached to a computer
and the software reads your hand movements to create music, of a sort.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Driving the car of the future
(Feb 11, 2006)
There are few landscapes more dramatic than Yakushima, and few places
with more weather; within seconds we were being pelted by our 12th
rainstorm of the day. But none of this bothered Sachito Fujimoto,
one of Honda's top engineers. "It's the perfect climate for us," he
said with a grin, and we climbed into the dumpy little blue car he
was testing. The Honda FCX isn't much to look at, but it's the closest
thing to a genuine car of the future you can drive on public roads.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Self-cleaning bathroom on the way
(Feb 10, 2006)
Nanotechnology may yet rescue us from the drudgery of the weekly ritual
of blitzing the bathroom. Scientists in Australia have developed an
environmentally friendly coating containing special nanoparticles
that could do the job of cleaning and disinfecting for us.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Fossett distance quest under way
(Feb 9, 2006)
After a white-knuckle takeoff, millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett
soared out over the Atlantic in a bony-looking experimental airplane
Wednesday on a quest to break the 25,000-mile record for the world's
longest aircraft flight. Fossett squeezed into the tiny cockpit, kissed
his wife goodbye and set out on the planned, 3 1/2-day nonstop journey,
taking off from the Kennedy Space Center on a nearly three-mile runway.
Source: Reuters |
The future of today's technology
(Feb 7, 2006)
Ian Hardy checks out the gadgets that will be making an appearance
in shops in the near future. Commercial robots are becoming increasingly
sophisticated Imagine it. A fold-out futon with built in iPod dock
and surround-sound speakers. For $1200 (£680) Robonova-1 will come
and live with you, cartwheeling the day away, along with some push-ups
and back flips. This is the latest, greatest in robotics.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Giant robot rescues cars from deep snow
(Feb 3, 2006)
Enryu's 15-foot arms are powerful enough to lift a small passenger
car, and its hands are almost as dexterous as a human being's. And
the 5-ton, 11.5-foot robot may soon be helping communities across
Japan reach avalanche sites and clear snow, as the nation struggles
to deal with its snowiest winter in decades, said Japanese company
Tmsuk Co.
Read
more. Source: MSNBC/AP |
Next X Prizes target genes and gas mileage
(Jan 31, 2006)
The people behind the X Prize that kick-started personal space travel
are planning prizes in a variety of non-space fields, from automobile
technology and genome research to nanotechnology and education. The
goal is to cut through red tape, jump-start progress and allow genius
to shine. In 2004, a $10 million X Prize purse was won by back-to-back
flights of a piloted SpaceShipOne rocket plane from Mojave, Calif.,
to the edge of space.
Read
more. Source: MSNBC |
What happened to the Robot Age?
(Jan 28, 2006)
Sony's decision to ditch its Aibo robotic dog, along with its entire
robot development team, is a reminder that we are still a long way
from the age of automated domestic servants. Architects of the Robot
Age have been busy rethinking the future. In the 1980s you could hardly
move for suggestions that the Robot Age was upon us.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Internet serves as 'social glue'
(Jan 26, 2006)
The internet has played an important role in the life decisions of
60 million Americans, research shows. Whether it be career advice,
helping people through an illness or finding a new house, 45% of Americans
turn to the web for help, a survey by US-based Pew Internet think-tank
has found. It set out to find out whether the web and e-mail strengthen
social ties. The answer seems to be yes, especially in times of crisis
when people use it to mobilise their social networks.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Dextrous mini-robots to aid ops
(Jan 26, 2006)
Scientists are developing a new generation of dextrous mini-robots
for use in minimally invasive surgery. New Scientist magazine reports
that several prototypes of the radio-controlled robots are being tested
in animal models. They have been used to help perform gall bladder
and prostate removal in pig experiments. The University of Nebraska
team believe they could potentially revolutionise minimally invasive
keyhole surgery.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Mobiles 'don't raise cancer risk'
(Jan 22, 2006)
Mobile phone use does not lead to a greater risk of brain tumour,
the largest study on the issue has said. The study of 2,782 people
across the UK found no link between the risk of glioma – the
most common type of brain tumour – and length of mobile use.
Among cancer sufferers the tumours were more likely to be reported
on the side of the head where they held the phone. But the British
Medical Journal study said people over-reported phone use on the side
their cancer developed.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Nanoscale magnets promise more-shrinkable chips
(Jan 13, 2006)
Nanoscale magnets can be cajoled into performing the same digital
arithmetic as the transistor-based logic gates in computer chips,
according to a new study. The research suggests that today’s transistors,
which will approach their limits of miniaturisation sometime in the
next couple of decades, could eventually be replaced by more shrinkable
nanomagnet technology – allowing ever more powerful, faster processors
to continue to be constructed.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Levi makes iPod controlling jeans
(Jan 12, 2006)
Denim giant Levi Strauss has designed a pair of jeans able to control
a wearer's Apple iPod music player. The RedWire DLX Jeans will have
an iPod remote control and docking station fitted in its pockets,
and comes complete with attached headphones. To be launched in August,
the jeans will cost approximately $200 (£114).
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Game firms face challenges ahead
(Jan 9, 2006)
Plans for gaming consoles to become media centres and for gaming itself
to engage a new mass market could be being overplayed by the industry.
That is one of the conclusions of a new report from research firm
Forrester. The study finds that a gradual evolution in the gaming
industry is more likely than a revolution in the way people play games
and use consoles. Although gaming is a huge industry, the report warned
that turning a profit will become increasingly difficult.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Intel eyes entertainment market
(Jan 6, 2006)
The chip giant Intel has made its pitch to be at the heart of digital
entertainment with its Viiv technology. Viiv is Intel's bid to convert
PCs into home entertainment hubs and make it easier to play video,
music and other content on a variety of gadgets. At the Consumer Electronics
Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Intel unveiled deals to provide content for
the new Viiv PCs. These include one with Google that will allow people
to watch video stored on the search giant's video service.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
The year of the digital citizen
(Jan 2, 2006)
Twelve months ago, it was clear the mass consumer was going to have
at his or her disposal many more gadgets with greater capacity to
record, store and share content. It was going to be a year in which
people started to challenge those who traditionally provide us with
content, be it news, music, or movies. Crucially, what 2005 proved
was that far from these techno tools being purely dumb funnels for
the same paid-for content from mainstream media, they had the chance
to become powerful tools for political expression and reportage.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
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