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Domain: technologyreview.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to technologyreview.com.
Stories · 1,042
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Why I.T. Matters
Anonymous Coward writes "Technology Review has an interesting story from the inventor of the Ethernet refuting the claim that IT has lost its strategic value." Our earlier story summarizes the original claim: that there's little to be gained by staying at the forefront of technology. -
Cure for Cancer?
Ensign Regis writes "MIT's Technology Review is reporting that an Israeli institute has developed "molecular-sized" computers that can detect and eradicate cancer cells. Right now, it only works in test tubes, but it may soon be developed for humans." -
Cure for Cancer?
Ensign Regis writes "MIT's Technology Review is reporting that an Israeli institute has developed "molecular-sized" computers that can detect and eradicate cancer cells. Right now, it only works in test tubes, but it may soon be developed for humans." -
What Sex is Your Robot?
Ant writes "Technology Review has an article about how the more robots interact with humans, the more important their apparent gender becomes." -
What Sex is Your Robot?
Ant writes "Technology Review has an article about how the more robots interact with humans, the more important their apparent gender becomes." -
Directed Sound
yawningyellowyak writes "Technology Review has an interesting article on directed sound. Ultrasonic 'sound' is sent out from a 'speaker' and the distortion encountered on hitting the air produces hearable sound, but only in certain spots. You could be standing right next to someone and they would hear nothing. One step closer to the cone of silence!" -
U.S. Dept. of Energy Takes A New Look At Cold Fusion
lhouk281 writes "Technology Review is reporting that the U.S. Department of Energy has decided that recent results justify a fresh look at cold fusion. According to Peter Hagelstein, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, experiments performed under properly controlled conditions reliably produce more heat than standard theory predicts, and nuclear products show up in about the right amounts to account for this excess heat. Maybe we'll get those atomic-powered automobiles after all ..." -
Akamai -- The Other Huge Distributed System
Frisky070802 writes "Technology Review, the MIT alumni magazine, has an article by Simson Garfinkel that compares the huge distributed systems run by Google and Akamai and speculates that Google might even consider buying Akamai. It also discusses the flame-out of Akamai after its tremendous IPO." -
Akamai -- The Other Huge Distributed System
Frisky070802 writes "Technology Review, the MIT alumni magazine, has an article by Simson Garfinkel that compares the huge distributed systems run by Google and Akamai and speculates that Google might even consider buying Akamai. It also discusses the flame-out of Akamai after its tremendous IPO." -
The Pure Software Act of 2006
lurker412 writes "The MIT Technology Review features a proposal by Simson Garfinkel to provide honest labels on software in the same way that the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 forced manufacturers of foods and drugs to divulge the contents of their products. The proposal targets adware, spyware and other unsavory practices. It suggests that by requiring software manufacturers to include clear icons for each nasty behavior--rather than hide the disclosures in seldom read or understood click-through SLAs--end users will be better protected. Garfinkel specifically lists eight types of sneaky behavior, but the list is not meant to be exhaustive." -
The Pure Software Act of 2006
lurker412 writes "The MIT Technology Review features a proposal by Simson Garfinkel to provide honest labels on software in the same way that the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 forced manufacturers of foods and drugs to divulge the contents of their products. The proposal targets adware, spyware and other unsavory practices. It suggests that by requiring software manufacturers to include clear icons for each nasty behavior--rather than hide the disclosures in seldom read or understood click-through SLAs--end users will be better protected. Garfinkel specifically lists eight types of sneaky behavior, but the list is not meant to be exhaustive." -
Losing Control of Your TV
sp00 writes "The MPAA is now trying to prevent high quality copies made from TV broadcasts. The latest anti-piracy move will prevent you from making high-quality copies of broadcast TV programs. And the new "broadcast flag" technology enables all manner of other restrictions. In the future, the Motion Picture Association of America will control your television set." -
Search Beyond Google
An anonymous reader writes: "'Search Beyond Google', the cover story of the March issue of Technology Review, is one of the few current Google stories that discusses whether their technology can stay ahead of the competition in the months to come." -
Kids Improve Writing Online
aelfric35 writes "Ben Franklin advised his son not to allow schooling to interfere with his education. Even though many have disparaged the effects of IM on schoolchildrens' prose, some kids are actually becoming better writers by participating in online communities. Henry Jenkins writes in MIT's Technology Review about how some kids are gaining writing and editorial experience far beyond what their schools can offer by participating in Harry Potter fan fiction forums (sorry about the alliteration)." -
Kids Improve Writing Online
aelfric35 writes "Ben Franklin advised his son not to allow schooling to interfere with his education. Even though many have disparaged the effects of IM on schoolchildrens' prose, some kids are actually becoming better writers by participating in online communities. Henry Jenkins writes in MIT's Technology Review about how some kids are gaining writing and editorial experience far beyond what their schools can offer by participating in Harry Potter fan fiction forums (sorry about the alliteration)." -
Ten Technologies That Refuse to Die
kudyadi writes "Technology Review has an interesting article on, as the title suggests, ten technologies that we continue using despite advances made in the same. The best example is that of analog watches, "Compared to today's digital timepieces, old-fashioned, sweep-hand watches are pathetic one-trick ponies. Digital-watch wearers can check temperature, altitude, and the time in Tokyo, play tunes and games, and send messages. Can wristwatch videoconferencing, Web surfing, and tarot readings be far off? But what digital watches can't do, according to sweep-hand proponents, is display the time and context as elegantly and intuitively as an analog model."" Interesting counterpoint to this post from a few years back about technologies that didn't manage to hang on. And Bruce Sterling has a short list of ones he'd like to see go away, too ;) -
MIT Technology Review Slams IPv6
PCM2 writes "In the MIT Technology Review, Simson Garfinkel, noted author of Internet security books, writes that "the next version of the Internet Protocol, IPv6, will supply the world with addresses by the trillions. Too bad it will also make the Net slower and less secure." His article goes on to explain that all IPv6 code is untested and therefore insecure; that IPv6 makes encourages 'peer-to-peer based copyright violation systems'; and of course, that the switch is never going to happen anyway (and yet, somehow, the United States is 'falling behind')." -
Jenkins On War And Videogames
Thanks to the MIT Technology Review for their Henry Jenkins-authored opinion piece on the use of recent wars in videogames. Jenkins, an MIT professor and much-interviewed game-related academic, argues: "If the idea of turning war into games is so intrinsically offensive, why has there been so little public outrage over the use of playing cards as a way of representing the search for and capture of Iraqi leaders?" He concludes: "Given the divisiveness of current sentiments toward the war and the newness of games as a rhetorical medium, it is hardly surprising that these games offend some and disappoint others." -
Technology Review Launches Futures Market
prostoalex writes "MIT Technology Review launched a futures market, allowing people to bet on ideas. A similar concept was at some point introduced by the Pentagon, but later the project was shut down. Currently you can bet on major stock indices, on answers to yes/no questions ('Will Oracle acquire PeopleSoft Inc before March 31st, 2004?') and technological achievements ('When will there be a commercially available electronic device using ultrawideband technology?')" Although the game doesn't use real money, the prizes are pretty swell. I like to think of it as the nerd's version of sportsbook. -
Removing Software Complexity
t482 writes "Charles Simonyi (ex Xerox Parc & Microsoft ) says that Software "has become a field where we focus on incremental improvements in processes. That course is futile, because it can never solve the problem of human imperfection." Even as software collapses under the weight of its own complexity, we've barely begun to exploit its potential to solve problems. The challenge, Simonyi believes, is to find a way to write programs that both programmers and users can actually read and comprehend. Simonyi's solution? To create programming tools that are so simple and powerful that the software nearly writes itself. "Software should be as easy to edit as a PowerPoint presentation," Simonyi asserts." -
More Complaints About Yucca Mountain
AstroAce writes "I saw this article about the Yucca Mountain Nuclear waste dump, and was doubly intrigued. Not only did I do lab tech work on a YM grant as an undergrad, but my science advisor said the best thing I could do for science would be to become a Congressman, and get hold of the purse strings (remember SSC, the Super-conducting Super Collider?) I think geeks would be the best representatives of other citizens, making detailed, objective analysis of the issues, arriving at rational conclusions and actions. However, they don't seem to be gregarious enough to be politicians. Are there examples of both?" -
ElectAura-Net, a 10-Mbit/second Body Network
Roland Piquepaille writes "In 'Human Body Network Gets Fast,' Technology Research News tells us that NTT Docomo researchers in Japan have created a 10-Mbit/second indoor network by using human bodies as Ethernet cables. 'The network, dubbed ElectAura-Net, is wireless, but instead of using radio waves, infrared light, or microwaves to transmit information it uses a combination of the electric field that emanates from humans and a similar field emanating from special floor tiles.' ElectAura-Net is faster than the Bluetooth radio wave system and provides a solution for indoor networks. The researchers think that this is a solution for "ubiquitous" communication, using GPS outdoor and our bodies indoor. This summary contains more details." -
Responses to Clay Shirky on Micropayments
FrnkMit writes "Others besides Slashdotters have responded to Clay Shirky's latest article on Micropayments, including long-time micropayment booster Scott McCloud and the MIT Technology Review." -
Nanothermometer Withstands Heat
StyleChief writes "Technology Review reports that researchers from the Japanese National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) have fashioned nano thermometers from a magnesium oxide nanotube filled with liquid gallium. The tiny thermometers are between 20 and 60 nanometers thick, or about one hundredth the diameter of a red blood cell." -
MIT Roofnet
prostoalex writes "MIT Technology Review runs a story about MIT Computer science students building their own mesh network for Internet access: 'A few weeks ago, MIT graduate student Shan Sinha canceled his broadband Internet service. Now his Net connection comes through the chimney. From a computer in the living room of his Cambridge, MA, apartment, a few blocks from the MIT campus, a cable goes into the fireplace up to the roof, where it is attached to an antenna. From there, data packets hop to another roof-mounted antenna at a nearby student's apartment. That way, from roof to roof in multiple hops, Sinha's data packets finally reach a gateway--a computer connected to the fixed Internet--at MIT's computer science building.'" -
MIT Roofnet
prostoalex writes "MIT Technology Review runs a story about MIT Computer science students building their own mesh network for Internet access: 'A few weeks ago, MIT graduate student Shan Sinha canceled his broadband Internet service. Now his Net connection comes through the chimney. From a computer in the living room of his Cambridge, MA, apartment, a few blocks from the MIT campus, a cable goes into the fireplace up to the roof, where it is attached to an antenna. From there, data packets hop to another roof-mounted antenna at a nearby student's apartment. That way, from roof to roof in multiple hops, Sinha's data packets finally reach a gateway--a computer connected to the fixed Internet--at MIT's computer science building.'" -
Games As A Multitasking Aid?
Thanks to the MIT Technology Review for their article discussing the value of videogames in teaching multitasking skills. The opening paragraph posits: "Playing computer games doesn't shorten kids' attention spans - it helps them to manage competing demands in the new era of 'continuous partial attention.'", and goes on to suggest that "...much as earlier civilizations used play to sharpen their hunting skills, we use computer games to exercise and enhance our information processing capabilities", although the article's author, Dr.Henry Jenkins, warns that these new skills "...should not come at the expense of older forms of literacy." -
Tim Brown On Current Design Challenges
prostoalex writes "Tim Brown is the CEO of IDEO, design company that is quite famous for its work on designing office chairs, Palm computers, Microsoft mice, Nike shoes, etc. MIT Technology Review interviewed Tim Brown on current challenges in the design world, exciting fields for a designer to be in, current annoyances in the user interface design." -
The Secret of the Simplex Algorithm Discovered
prostoalex writes "While the Simplex algorithm is considered to be one of the most widely used algorithms in complex networks, the reason for its efficiency has been so far not too clear. Daniel Spielman and Shanghua Teng discovered the secret of why the Simplex algorithm works so well by introducing imprecision into the worst-case scenario analysis. Their article will be published in Journal of ACM, although MIT Technology Review at the aforementioned link quotes Spielman expressing his doubts whether anyone will be able to make it through 80-page document filled with equations and formal explanations of the method." -
Searching Sound
Technology Review has one of their few stories that's not registration-required describing searching audio files for any specified set of sounds. All sorts of interesting applications become possible if you can turn analog audio into a digitally-useful product without massive human intervention. -
Creating A Global Patent System
prostoalex writes "May issue of MIT Technology Review discussed the implications of a globalized patent system. For small inventors, it argues, the cost of globalizing the rights for their invention are just unbearable. For example, in Europe it costs about $7,000 per country to file a patent application. As an article bonus, some people might like to take a look at the list of the largest patent holders per industry in PDF format." -
Creating A Global Patent System
prostoalex writes "May issue of MIT Technology Review discussed the implications of a globalized patent system. For small inventors, it argues, the cost of globalizing the rights for their invention are just unbearable. For example, in Europe it costs about $7,000 per country to file a patent application. As an article bonus, some people might like to take a look at the list of the largest patent holders per industry in PDF format." -
LEDs vs. Lightbulbs
zymano writes "www.technologyreview.com has this nice article on LEDs vs lightbulbs" Follows the exploits of one Shuji Nakamura, the same man who brought you the practical violet laser. -
LEDs vs. Lightbulbs
zymano writes "www.technologyreview.com has this nice article on LEDs vs lightbulbs" Follows the exploits of one Shuji Nakamura, the same man who brought you the practical violet laser. -
Gas Goes Solid
Roland Piquepaille writes "This innovation from Japanese researchers can potentially revolutionize the energy distribution sector. Instead of transporting liquid gas, they changed gas into a solid material which is easier, safer and cheaper to distribute. Technology Review has the story. "Rather than extracting methane from hydrates, they want to turn methane into hydrates -- essentially, transforming the colorless and odorless gas into small pellets that can be easily stored, transported, and eventually turned back into natural gas. A few months ago Mitsui, in partnership with Osaka University, opened a demonstration plant near Tokyo to promote the concept and show that it works." Check this column for an analysis." -
Alcohol-powered Fuel Cells
prostoalex writes "Researchers have developed a fuel cell that can be recharged with few milliliters of alcohol. MIT's Tech Review quotes the researchers claiming that those 'cells could eventually be used as a replacement for any rechargeable power source, including laptop and PDA batteries'. I suppose the scientists still have to explain all those bills from liquour store that say 'research material' on them." -
Life Made to Order
Roland Piquepaille writes "When he was president of Celera Genomics, Craig Venter was the leader of the private project which deciphered the human genome. Now, he has another goal: create custom-made organisms -- one DNA letter at a time. 'Venter's objective is not merely to tweak existing life forms by inserting genes that confer specific traits -- the main tactic in conventional genetic engineering. Instead he wants to assemble an entire genome, DNA letter by DNA letter, putting together only the genes he wants: those necessary for an organism's survival and those that will allow it to carry out a desired task.' If successful, maybe in a decade, this could yield new sources of energy or novel drugs. Venter is not alone in this quest. Other institutions, private companies or universities, have similar efforts under development. Check this column for a summary of this eye-opening -- but quite long -- Technology Review article." -
Microsoft To Teach Undergrads About Secure Computing
gcondon writes "The Register is reporting that Microsoft is teaming up with the University of Leeds to teach students how to write secure code. Given the sheer number of programming errors that can lead to security vulnerabilities, it probably makes sense to learn from the company that has tried them all." UndercoverBrotha points out that University of Leeds is one of several venues: "Microsoft is planning to offer 11-week courses at Universities around the world."Update: 03/24 18:00 GMT by J : Another report worth reading is Writing Software Right, which requires a free but annoying registration at Technology Review. This regards automated methods of finding software errors (not security specifically). Sun's "Jackpot" is discussed, a lint that also "identifies general instances of good or bad programming."
And Microsoft's efforts in this field are explained as well -- the company "paid more than $60 million in 1999 to acquire Intrinsa, maker of a bug-finding tool called Prefix. The program, which sifts through huge swaths of code searching for patterns that match a defined list of common semantic errors, helped find thousands of mistakes in Windows and other Microsoft products." As a Microsoft QA person says, "Our challenge is to get our software to the point that people expect it to work instead of expecting it to fail."
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The Future of Video Surveillance
An anonymous reader writes ""In heavily monitored London, England...the average person is filmed by more than 300 cameras each day." Technology Review outlines what we can expect from the eye in the sky in the near future." -
Science Fiction and Smart Mobs
Roland Piquepaille writes "Henry Jenkins is director of the Program in Comparative Media Studies at the MIT. In this article, he compares the new science fiction comic book from Warren Ellis, Global Frequency and the more serious book from Howard Rheingold, Smart Mobs. 'It is almost as though Ellis was illustrating arguments that Howard Rheingold makes in his new book, Smart Mobs.' As Rheingold explains, 'Smart mobs consist of people who are able to act in concert even if they don't know each other. The people who make up smart mobs cooperate in ways never before possible because they carry devices that possess both communication and computing capabilities.... Groups of people using these tools will gain new forms of social power.' Check this column for some excerpts or read the original article for more details. More information about topics discussed in Howard Rheingold's last book can be found at the Smart Mobs weblog." T. adds: Here's Curtis Frye's review of Smart Mobs . -
iRobot Moves Into Your House
MacAndrew writes "An NYT article today expands beyond an earlier /. and annoying futurism to a multiplying line of robots from iRobot, founded by some tinkering MIT grads in Somerville, MA. The robots have found applications ranging from chasing dust bunnies ($200) to exploring the Great Pyramid to bumping around Afghan caves for mines (a war reporter is another possibility), and so appear to be moving beyond the gee whiz Rosie Jetson stage of technology. I'm intrigued that their company name so bluntly builds off of Apple and Asimov symbols, and the prospect that a product with such a chummy name will doubtless soon be sporting lethal force (cf. Predator's recent adventures. So -- anyone get one for Xmas? Chanukah? Or just fun?" -
MIT Develops New, Different Rat-Brained Robot
MImeKillEr writes "Here's an article that explains that MIT has developed a coffee-cup sized robot that uses neurons from rat embryos embedded in silicon. It's the first instance in which cultured neurons have been used to control a robotic mechanism. This was made possible by placing a droplet of solution containing thousands of rat neuron cells onto a silicon chip that's embedded with 60 electrodes connected to an amplifier. The electrical signals that the cells fire at one another are picked up by the electrodes which then send the amplified signal into a computer. The computer, in turn, wirelessly relays the data to the robot." -
Clothes Make the Network
Roland Piquepaille writes "Howard Rheingold is looking at how "wearable computers create ad-hoc wireless communities." Here is the main idea, introduced by Gerd Kortuem, a 38-year-old assistant professor, who recently moved to Lancaster University in England from the University of Oregon's Wearable Computing Lab. "As he sees it, the crowds who surround us every day constitute a huge waste of social capital. If you live in a city for instance, there are many who pass within a few yards of you each day who could give you a ride home, buy an item you're trying to sell, or consider you as dating material. Dynamic networking makes it possible to tap those resources through a momentary alliance among transient interest groups." Check this column for a summary or the full article if you have more time." -
National Virtual Observatory
scubacuda writes "According to this Technology Review article, U.S. astronomers (compliments of a $10M grant from the National Science Foundation) are building a National Virtual Observatory to make accessible terabytes of astrononomical data to a web browser. One interesting challenge is how the scientists are going to query so many *different* distributed databases (which they're leaving in their respective places to avoiding clogging network bandwidth)." -
Holograms - The Future Without The Funny Glasses
hopbine writes "MIT Technology Review has an interesting article on the latest trends in holograms. I like the NYU's NY3D system. It puts an LCD display in front of a normal CRT and by monitoring the viewers eye movement it can flash on and off parts of the LCD screen showing each eye a different image through the gaps, producing a 3D image. Another research project shows how researchers can "feel" the hologram. Maybe the holodeck is not that far away !" -
Holograms - The Future Without The Funny Glasses
hopbine writes "MIT Technology Review has an interesting article on the latest trends in holograms. I like the NYU's NY3D system. It puts an LCD display in front of a normal CRT and by monitoring the viewers eye movement it can flash on and off parts of the LCD screen showing each eye a different image through the gaps, producing a 3D image. Another research project shows how researchers can "feel" the hologram. Maybe the holodeck is not that far away !" -
Holograms - The Future Without The Funny Glasses
hopbine writes "MIT Technology Review has an interesting article on the latest trends in holograms. I like the NYU's NY3D system. It puts an LCD display in front of a normal CRT and by monitoring the viewers eye movement it can flash on and off parts of the LCD screen showing each eye a different image through the gaps, producing a 3D image. Another research project shows how researchers can "feel" the hologram. Maybe the holodeck is not that far away !" -
Next Generation of Holographic Images
suman28 writes "Imagine being able to view an image from all sides and have it interact with you. Scenes or images pop-out at you and change on the fly and are viewable in full color. Best of all, you don't need head-gear or any wearable device to make this possible. They are generated by a computer with two cameras that track your eye movement and there is a transparent LCD screen between you and the display that makes the pictures come alive. Though it may be a while before this becomes part of our daily lives, it is interesting to see what the kind of research being done on this. " -
Mining Metals Using Plants and Trees?
elroySF writes "An MIT Technology Review article says "...Scientists reported Monday that they have bioengineered a plant capable of absorbing arsenic from soil and sequenced the complete set of genes for a microbe that can remove heavy metals from water." It goes on to say "...Some scientists even see the day when trees and grasses will be used to mine metals and minerals without disturbing the soil." " We had a story about this a while back. -
Gas/Electric Hybrids, Air Cars in the News
hackshack writes "eCycle is developing a hybrid diesel / electric motorcycle designed to get 180 miles per gallon. The small diesel engine kicks in at speeds over 12mph, and the electric motor handles acceleration. Target retail price is $5,500. They've got a beta test program going as well. Now I can laugh at all those "gas-guzzling" Insight drivers as I zoom by!" Reader clen writes in about the Toyota Prius doing well in a road rally, and fishdan sent in a note about a pure-electric concept car called the Tango. And the air-powered car is getting a little more media attention, too.