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archive: Sep-Oct 2006
Tech-news archive: September-October 2006
'Tower of Babel' translator made
(Oct 27, 2006)
A "Tower of Babel" device that gives the illusion of being bilingual
is being developed by US scientists. Users simply have to silently
mouth a word in their own language for it to be translated and read
out in another. The researchers said the effect was like watching
a television programme that had been dubbed. (Image: Universal translator
from Star Trek.)
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Fun solutions to serious problems
(Oct 15, 2006)
Scientists and researchers from around the world have been exhibiting
their gadgets at New York's WIRED NextFest. And some of these products
have the potential to change lives. Novelty technology is not just
fun and games, it can also save lives. The NextFest exhibition in
New York is a celebration of great ideas.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Warning over 'broken up' internet
(Oct 11, 2006)
The internet could one day be broken up into separate networks around
the world, a leading light in the development of the net has warned.
Nitin Desai, chair of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), set up
by the UN, warned that concerns over the net's future could lead to
separation.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Halo universe expands as fans wait
(Oct 5, 2006)
The announcement of a new videogame spin-off from the popular Halo
franchise has fans buzzing but the developers of a third title in
the series remain tight-lipped. At the end of Microsoft's Xbox event
last week, the lights dimmed and the screen filled with the recognisable
characters and crafts from the Halo games.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Engine on a chip drives laptops
(Sep 28, 2006)
It is one of the most hotly contested and closely watched areas of
research – how to provide the most efficient energy source for
the mobile devices we carry with us. Batteries and fuel cells are
established contenders to power laptops and mobile phones, but now
researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have come
up with a novel approach to the power conundrum – by building
an engine on a chip.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Even on the ground, space elevators may have
uses
(Sep 27, 2006)
Balloon-borne platforms developed as precursors to space elevators
could be used as high-altitude relay stations for wireless communications,
a 60-day field test suggests. The hope is that one day a space elevator,
comprised of a robot that will climb a strong tether about 100,000
kilometres (60,000 miles) long, will be able to send humans or other
cargo cheaply into space.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Roll-up screens 'moving closer'
(Sep 21, 2006)
Roll-up laptop screens may be a step closer, according to scientists.
A Cambridge team have developed metal structures that can morph from
flat screens into tubes and other shapes. They say in the future the
structures could form the basis for electronic displays that could
be rolled-up and placed in a bag or pocket.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
3D TV 'could be three years away'
(Sep 21, 2006)
3D television could be in homes within three years, according to a
European research consortium. Levent Onural, co-ordinator of the multinational
3DTV network, said the technology was already in place for 3D TV and
cinema to become commonplace. The consortium, funded by the European
Commission, consists of about 200 researchers in seven countries,
and is halfway through its four-year duration.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Projector size of sugar cube made
(Sep 20, 2006)
A video projector that is the size of a sugar cube has been created
by researchers. The miniature device could be used to project images
from mobile phones, PDAs or laptops, according to the team. It was
created by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
'Sticky' silicon could speed data
(Sep 19, 2006)
Data speeds inside computers or across continents could get a boost
from Intel research into hybrid processors. Intel researchers have
solved a manufacturing problem that has delayed the creation of devices
that can both generate and route light. The breakthrough could mean
cheaper and higher speed computer networks and help to speed up the
transfer of data inside computers.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Apple targets TV and film market
(Sep 13, 2006)
Computer firm Apple has announced plans it hopes will put it at the
heart of consumers' home entertainment systems. On Tuesday it unveiled
a device which will stream music and video wirelessly between televisons
and computers. The plug-in hardware is due to be released early next
year and has been given the temporary name of iTV.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Fastest supercomputer to be built
(Sep 7, 2006)
Computer giant IBM will build the world's most powerful supercomputer
at a US government laboratory. The machine, codenamed Roadrunner,
could be four times more potent than the current fastest machine,
BlueGene/L [shown here], also built by IBM. The new computer is a
"hybrid" design, using both conventional supercomputer processors
and the new "cell" chip designed for Sony's PlayStation 3.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Nanodoodling shows pipette power
(Sep 6, 2006)
It is highly accurate, but there is something unusual about this image
of the Cambridge University crest. The picture is about the width
of a human hair, and is made up entirely of gently fluorescing DNA.
It is produced by a technique that lets scientists examine the body's
tiniest machinery while it is still working.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
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