Clipmarks | arifsali's 'technology' clips

What's John McCain's Technology Policy?

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:32:14 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: "Should I double click here?"

No, do a single left click, you [moron].

Washington Dispatch: Surprise—he doesn't have one. And how does that compare to Barack Obama?

Political observers have made much of John McCain's admission that he cannot use a computer without assistance. In a campaign where McCain's opponent is 25 years younger than him, the factoid is potent ammunition for those who argue McCain is out of touch and too old for the presidency. But not knowing your way around a MacBook doesn't mean you can't be president. And McCain's personal Ludditism isn't a deal breaker for tech leaders. "I don't give a damn if McCain ever turns on a computer or not," Michael Arrington, coeditor of the blog TechCrunch wrote in January. "I just want a president who has the right top-down polices to support the information economy."

Tags: united states, politics, technology

Two New Ways to Explore the Virtual Universe, in Vivid 3-D

Tue, 13 May 2008 05:06:45 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The skies may be the next frontier in travel, yet not even the wealthiest space tourist can zoom out to, say, the Crab Nebula, the Trapezium Cluster or Eta Carinae, a star 100 times more massive than the Sun and 7,500 light-years away.

But those galactic destinations and thousands of others can now be toured and explored at the controls of a computer mouse, with the constellations, stars and space dust displayed in vivid detail and animated imagery across the screen. The project, the WorldWide Telescope, is the culmination of years of work by researchers at Microsoft, and the Web site and free downloadable software are available starting on Tuesday, at www.WorldWideTelescope.org.

Tags: virtual, universe, technology

Modern ceramics help advance technology

Thu, 08 May 2008 21:27:22 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

Lausanne, Switzerland – May 8, 2008 – Many important electronic devices used by people today would be impossible without the use of ceramics. A new study published in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society illustrates the use of ceramic materials in the development of technological devices, including mobile communication and ultrasonic imaging.

Researchers led by Paul Muralt of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology reviewed the field of ceramic materials and explored the critical role that piezoelectric materials play in advancing technology.

Piezoelectric materials are functional ceramic materials that play a special role in telecommunication and ultrasonic imaging since they have the ability to efficiently transform electrical signals into mechanical vibrations, and vice versa.

Piezoelectricity refers to the ability of some materials, notably crystals and ceramics, to generate electricity when compressed.

Tags: ceramics, technology

Project goes high-tech to unearth ancient history

Thu, 08 May 2008 17:57:30 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.princeton.edu

There is a small hill in a remote part of Turkey that looms large in the mind of John Haldon, a professor of history at Princeton. It likely is the ruin of an ancient fortress, but for Haldon the site is an inspiration to find new ways to unearth the history of a particular landscape.

A specialist in Byzantine history, Haldon is the director of an archaeological and historical survey project based around the modern village of Beyözü in the north-central Anatolian region of Turkey. The site, originally known as Euchaita, then Avkat in Ottoman times, is a prime example of a provincial setting in Asia Minor. By deploying innovative technologies and multidisciplinary insights, Haldon hopes his study will reveal the big picture of an area that has thus far been unexamined.

John Haldon (seated), a professor of history, consults a map of the Avkat Project in Turkey with Zachary Chitwood

Tags: history, technology, turkey, archealogy

Windows Live

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:44:09 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: I have to confess that I like Live Writer, and I have just installed Live Mail which is pretty sleek. What I like the best is their Family Safety program, I've been playing with it and so far so good, I recommend you try if you have little kids at home.

Clip Source: www.iht.com

Microsoft this week released a suite of free Web services that connect to its Windows operating system, delivering a major element of its strategy to maintain the dominance of its software while extending its reach on the Internet.

The package of "Windows Live" services, which was first released in a test version in September, makes available in a single download updated versions of e-mail, instant messaging, photo gallery, blogging and event planning applications.

Tags: windows, microsoft, technology, computers

Ebay admits to Skype mistake - overpaid $1 billion

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:10:29 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.businessweek.com

The shakeup and $1.43 billion charge confirm eBay's irrational exuberance as well as Skype's struggling Web-calling business model

When eBay (EBAY) bought Skype Technologies for $2.6 billion in late 2005, few could fathom why the online auction company saw so much in a money-losing Internet phone service. Two years later, eBay is admitting it made a mistake.

On Oct. 1, eBay confirmed that it overpaid for Skype—by nearly $1 billion—and that the popular Web-calling business has not performed up to the rosy forecasts set back in 2005. In announcing a $1.43 billion charge against profits, eBay also revealed a broad management reshuffle in which Skype co-founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis will be leaving their posts.

Tags: technology, skype, ebay, investment

Cellulosic Energy: One Molecule Could Cure Our Addiction to Oil

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 10:19:39 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks: The entire series is worth reading. The flow chart is instructive.

Clip Source: www.wired.com

Photo: Dan Winters

Prologue

The Chemistry

On a blackboard, it looks so simple: Take a plant and extract the cellulose. Add some enzymes and convert the cellulose molecules into sugars. Ferment the sugar into alcohol. Then distill the alcohol into fuel. One, two, three, four — and we're powering our cars with lawn cuttings, wood chips, and prairie grasses instead of Middle East oil.

Unfortunately, passing chemistry class doesn't mean acing economics. Scientists have long known how to turn trees into ethanol, but doing it profitably is another matter. We can run our cars on lawn cuttings today; we just can't do it at a price people are willing to pay.

The problem is cellulose. Found in plant cell walls, it's the most abundant naturally occurring organic molecsource of energy. But it's a tough molecule to break down.

FEATURE

The Formula: From Grass to Gas

The Prescription: Switching to Renewables

4 Technologies on the Brink

Silicon Valley Cleans Up: A Wired Flowchart

Tags: cellulosic ethanol, cellulose, ethanol. renewable energy, science, technology, silicon valley

Patch promises painless injection

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:31:26 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Technology from inkjet printer cartridges could be used to inject medicines painlessly through the skin from a patch on the arm.

The device uses a system patented by HP to push drugs through tiny needles, which do not go far enough under the skin to trigger pain receptors.

It could potentially deliver many drugs currently injected or taken daily.

Tags: science, medical, technology, discovery, health

Researchers develop a 360-degree holographic display

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:36:57 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: Cool !!!!!

Clip Source: www.engadget.com

Researchers develop a 360-degree holographic display

Researchers at USC have taken another step towards that holiest of sci-fi dreams: the 3D holographic display. Using a spinning mirror covered with a "holographic diffuser," a special DVI implementation, and a high-speed projector, the team's device can project a three-dimensional image that can be viewed from 360 degrees -- regardless of the viewer's height and distance. That's impressive, but that spinning mirror looks pretty dangerous. Check a video of the system in action after the break.

Tags: display, holografic display, technology

Google's new astronomical search tool: 'Sky'

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 12:45:04 GMT

clipped by: haraya
clipper's remarks: To get Sky, users will have to download the latest version of Google Earth here.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

After turning millions of Internet users into virtual explorers of the world with Google Earth, the Internet search giant is now hoping to turn many of them into virtual stargazers.

Google is unveiling within Google Earth today a new service called Sky that will allow users to view the skies as seen from Earth. Like Google Earth, Sky will let users fly around and zoom in, exposing increasingly detailed imagery of some 100 million stars and 200 million galaxies.

While other programs allow users to explore the skies, they typically combine a mix of representations of stars and galaxies that are overlaid with photographs, Ms. Christian said. “These are really the images of the sky. Everything is real.”

Microsoft has a research project called the World Wide Telescope that offers similar capabilities to Sky. The project was once headed by Jim Gray, the veteran Microsoft researcher who disappeared this year after a sailing trip off San Francisco Bay.

Tags: google, google earth, sky, astronomy, virtual, technology

The Trouble with Anonymity on the Web

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 22:47:21 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Anonymity online is on the rise, allowing people to write, lie and manipulate data without feeling responsible for it. But who's doing all this hiding? Hint: It's not angry, pajama-wearing bloggers.

And now the public can see all if they visit Griffith's Wikiscanner site. Turns out that all the anonymous propaganda and lies on Wikipedia aren't coming from basement dwellers at all -- they're coming from Congress, the CIA, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the American Civil Liberties Union. Somebody at Halliburton deleted key information from an entry on war crimes; Diebold, an electronic-voting machine manufacturer, deleted sections of its entry about a lawsuit filed against it. Someone at Pepsi deleted information about health problems caused by the soft drink. Somebody at The New York Times deleted huge chunks of information from the entry on the Wall Street Journal. And of course, the CIA has been editing the entry on the Iraq war.

Tags: internet, anonymity, web, online, technology

Hindu nationalists work to shut down Orkut.com

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:33:42 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.rediff.com

The voice over the phone greets you with a deep and loud voice, Jai Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena's traditional greeting.

When you enter his office, your name has to be registered mandatorily in Marathi as English is not allowed at Sena Bhavan, the party's headquarters in Dadar, northcentral Mumbai.

As you enter the cabin where Abhijit Panse, president of the Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena, the Sena's student wing, is based, he is party members discussing how to tackle Orkut, the networking site.

Panse was among the Shiv Sena members who ransacked cybercafes in Kalyan, outside Mumbai, for allowing browsers to access Orkut.

Tags: orkut, hindu, india, technology

My Soul, and 10 Other Things that Google Owns

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 15:30:53 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: mashable.com

The headlines just don’t stop for Google. But with the now complete acquisition of Feedburner, are there any parts of our online lives that don’t reside somewhere within the Googleplex? Through acquisitions and a few thousands of the world’s best engineers, the company knows more about you than you might be aware of.

Tags: google, life, technology

Coolest Flash Site Ever

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 15:45:07 GMT

clipped by: sohil
clipper's remarks: Not that.

This http://www.jacksonpollock.org/

I couldn't clip it, so just clipped remarks.

Clip Source: clipmarks.com

Bite-size highlights of the web

Tags: flash, cool, internet, technology, awesome, random

Early baby sex test over the web

Fri, 04 May 2007 17:13:23 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A test is being sold on the internet that enables parents to check the sex of their unborn baby at just six weeks.

The kit, sold by DNA Worldwide for £189, is controversial. Critics claim it may prompt parents to abort if they are unhappy with the test result.

The company rejected these claims, saying the early results, obtained from a finger-prick of blood, allow parents more time to plan for their baby.

It says the test is 99% accurate and offers a refund for wrong predictions.

The concept of an early pregnancy sex test is not new - last year the UK's Institute of Child Health successfully trialled a similar "seven week" test.

Currently, some hospitals will tell a couple the sex of their child, if they want, at their 20 week ultrasound scan.

Many parents want to know the sex of their unborn child

Tags: health, technology, internet, babies, sex, dna, humans