Techno-News Blog

by Vint Cerf, Technology Review

Perhaps the most profound observation made about the early Internet was that it was unlikely to spread across the globe. And yet, slowly at first, and faster with the advent of the World Wide Web, the Internet has found purchase on every continent–even Antarctica. This penetration is a consequence of the independent decisions made by hundreds of thousands of Internet operators whose business models range from nonprofit to for-profit to government operated and every other variation you can imagine. But a meeting of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), taking place in Dubai this week, threatens to stifle further Internet expansion and innovation.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/508201/the-internets-future-depends-on-maintaining-its-free-spirit/

By Megan Scudellari, Technology Review

Current retinal prostheses, such as Second Sight’s Argus II, restore only limited and fuzzy vision to individuals blinded by degenerative eye disease. Wearers can typically distinguish light from dark and make out shapes and outlines of objects, but not much more. The Argus II, the first “bionic eye” to reach commercial markets, contains an array of 60 electrodes, akin to 60 pixels, that are implanted behind the retina to stimulate the remaining healthy cells. The implant is connected to a camera, worn on the side of the head, that relays a video feed.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/508041/vision-restoring-implants-that-fit-inside-the-eye/

By Jessica Leber, Technology Review

As consumers fragment their attention across many devices, businesses will need to deliver more effective mobile advertising to bring in revenue. Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan calls herself an “advertising quant.” Most people with a PhD in her field of information theory are recruited onto Wall Street if they decide to leave the halls of academia, she says. She chose to go into advertising instead, and, with her startup, Drawbridge, is applying her expertise to a problem central to the bottom line of a wide swath of digital companies: how to make advertising pay as audiences move over to mobile devices. Founded in 2010, Drawbridge is using statistical methods that rely on anonymous data to track people as they move between their smartphones, tablets, and PCs.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/508176/get-ready-for-ads-that-follow-you-from-one-device-to-the-next/

By Jessica Leber, Technology Review

Tactus Technology, a startup in Fremont, California, is prototyping touch-screen hardware with buttons that emerge when you need the feel of a physical keyboard and disappear when you don’t. The approach, in which a fluid-filled plastic panel and cylindrical fluid reservoir replace the usual top layer of glass, is among a crop of emerging technologies aimed at adding tactile feedback to make screens feel like old-fashioned keyboards.

http://www.technologyreview.com/demo/508106/a-shape-shifting-smartphone-touch-screen/

By Rachel Metz, Technology Review

Typing a password into your smartphone might be a reasonable way to access the sensitive information it holds, but a startup called EyeVerify thinks it would be easier—and more secure—to just look into the phone’s camera lens and move your eyes to the side. EyeVerify’s software identifies you by your “eyeprints,” the pattern of veins in the whites of your eyes. Everybody has four eyeprints, two in each eye on either side of the iris. The company claims that its method is as accurate as a fingerprint or iris scan, without requiring any special hardware.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/507901/instead-of-a-password-security-software-just-checks-your-eyes/

By Tom Simonite, Technology Review

Fingertip control: Responsive gesture control can be used for exsiting software such as this game, or enable new applications altogether. A trip to any big electronics store this fall will tell you that computer makers from Samsung to Microsoft think laptop and desktop computers need touch screens. But that notion could seem outdated by early next year—thanks to the launch of a matchbox-sized device that adds intuitive gesture control to any computer. The technology, which is also being adapted for mobile devices, could even leave the beloved pocket touch screen looking outmoded. Leap Motion has racked up millions of views with a demo video of its gesture-control technology and is taking orders for the $70 device, due to ship in early 2013. A demo of the technology at the startup’s offices last week showed how mid-air swipes, pokes, and grabs could control 3-D environments and existing software such as the game Fruit Ninja.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/507956/leaping-into-the-gesture-control-era/

By STEVE LOHR, NY Times

The research comes more from observing the health results of people’s behavior than from discovering the biological and genetic triggers that may be associated with extended sitting. Still, scientists have determined that after an hour or more of sitting, the production of enzymes that burn fat in the body declines by as much as 90 percent. Extended sitting, they add, slows the body’s metabolism of glucose and lowers the levels of good (HDL) cholesterol in the blood. Those are risk factors toward developing heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. “The science is still evolving, but we believe that sitting is harmful in itself,” says Dr. Toni Yancey, a professor of health services at the University of California, Los Angeles. Yet many of us still spend long hours each day sitting in front of a computer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/business/stand-up-desks-gaining-favor-in-the-workplace.html

by INGRID LUNDEN & ALEXIA TSOTSIS, TechCrunch

Whatsapp, the multiplatform mobile messaging app that has been one of the runaway success stories for ad-free, paid services, has been in talks to be acquired by Facebook, according to sources close to the matter. We’re still digging around on potential price and other details about how advanced the deal is. But as mobile becomes the latest battleground in the Internet’s game of thrones, you can see how such a deal could make sense. For starters, it would be another way for Facebook to continue extending its touchpoints with mobile consumers, an area Mark Zuckerberg asserted, on the occasion of reaching 1 billion monthly active users on Facebook, would be crucial to Facebook reaching the “next billion.” “The big thing is obviously going to be mobile,” Zuckerberg told BusinessWeek. “There are 5 billion people in the world who have phones.”

http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/02/whats-up-with-whatsapp-facebook-might-want-to-buy-it-thats-what/

by MATT BURNS, TechCrunch

Your next Mac could be assembled in America. Apple is assembling at least some of the new, ultra-thin iMacs within the USA. The backside stamp containing the serial code and FCC logo generally says “Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China.” But several owners of the new model quickly discovered their machine was made in the good ol’ US of A.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/03/the-new-imac-designed-by-apple-in-california-assembled-in-usa/

by The Physics arXiv Blog

The Twittersphere is a remarkable lens through which to examine the activities of humankind. Indeed, there is intense interest in studying the way information flows through the Twitter network. Various groups have looked at how they can use this information to measure and even predict public opinion about everything from movies to the stock market. But all this work shares a common problem: the sheer volume of data that Twitter generates. It’s simply not possible to follow what everybody is doing all the time. Today, Manuel Garcia-Herranz at the Autonomous University of Madrid in Spain and a few pals say there’s a better way to track the spread of information on Twitter that is much more powerful.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/508091/how-to-use-twitter-friends-as-sensors-to-detect-disease-outbreaks/

By Tom Simonite, Technology Review

Adding hands-on interactivity to any surface in a home or office could expand the way computers are used. Desk toy: A computer with a camera and projector fits into a light bulb socket, and can make any surface interactive. Powerful computers are becoming small and cheap enough to cram into all sorts of everyday objects. Natan Linder, a student at MIT’s Media Lab, thinks that fitting one inside a light bulb socket, together with a camera and projector, could provide a revolutionary new kind of interface—by turning any table or desk into a simple touch screen.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/507836/augmented-light-bulb-turns-a-desk-into-a-touch-screen/

By Jessica Leber, Technology Review

Sensors, software, and new data interfaces could help industry operate more efficiently. Things that spin: General Electric power turbines like the one shown in this rendering could transmit valuable data about electricity usage. General Electric has a new name for where it thinks its business is headed: the “industrial Internet.” The term, coined inside GE’s R&D division, reflects the company’s hope that adding more sensors to machinery will result in a deluge of data that will in turn let companies squeeze more efficiency out of locomotives, jet engines, MRI machines, and other equipment GE sells. GE says it is investing $1.5 billion in the idea over a three-year period. Some of that money is being spent on research at a large new software R&D center the company has created in San Ramon, California.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/507831/general-electric-pitches-an-industrial-internet/

By David Talbot, Technology Review

The Internet has thrived without international oversight. Now a UN agency could try to assert more control. A United Nations agency opens debate on Monday over whether it should begin to regulate the Internet. The most hotly contested proposals come from European telecommunications providers and African and Arab countries that want big content providers to pay to send data across their networks. The concept—known as “sender pays”—would radically alter today’s Internet economics. Some countries say their networks are groaning under video and other content provided in large part by U.S. companies such as Facebook, Netflix, and Google. These countries suggest that fees on content providers would help defray local infrastructure costs.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/507906/a-budding-war-over-internet-economics/

By Rachel Metz, Technology Review

Language-translation apps could make it much easier for us to interact with other people. When I was 16, I spent a summer studying Spanish in Spain. Armed with a pocket-sized Spanish-English electronic dictionary—high-tech at the time— I stumbled through the country. Now language translation apps for smartphones can do much, much more than that old plastic device with the rubbery buttons and one-line display. Many of them let you speak or type a question in English and have that instantly translated into a foreign tongue, which the app can speak out loud or display on the phone’s screen.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/506771/review-apps-that-keep-you-from-getting-lost-in-translation/

By Courtney Humphries, Technology Review

Accurately controlling neurons with light could revolutionize the study and treatment of the brain. Light control: This optical micrograph shows a three-dimensional array of optical probes illuminated in an arbitrary pattern using a laser and tiny mirrors. The optogenetic device can activate brain cells in predetermined patterns. Optogenetics, which pairs light-sensitive genes with a light source to selectively switch brain cells on or off, has shown promise as a research tool and a potential therapy. But the technology mostly delivers light to one spot, whereas brain activity usually involves complex sequences of activation in different locations. A new device takes optogenetics into three dimensions, with the ability to send patterns of light to neurons at various coördinates in the brain.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/507841/3-d-chip-promises-better-brain-control/

By Rachel Metz, Technology Review

A device that can accurately track vital signs would make it easier to detect and treat illnesses and make doctor visits less necessary. Point and scan: A non-working model of Scanadu’s Scout, expected to go on sale by the end of next year for about $150, can scan for a number of vital signs, including temperature and heart rate. For most of us, checking our health or diagnosing an illness means a trip to the doctor’s office. For Walter De Brouwer, it involves holding a little square up to his temple or spitting onto the edge of a blue plastic square, snapping a photo with his iPhone, and then reading his diagnosis on the small, glowing screen.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/507886/a-gadget-that-makes-you-the-doctor/

by the BBC

Microsoft has revealed it will charge $899 (£560) for the basic version of its Surface with Windows Pro tablet. The device will be released in January and features an Intel chip allowing it to run the full version of the Windows 8 operating system. The price is $400 more than the existing Surface with Windows RT tablet, which is less powerful and does not run programs such as Photoshop. The devices are intended to challenge the iPad and Android-based tablets.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20539993#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

by the BBC

The internet has been cut off and mobile phones have been disrupted in Syria, monitoring firms have said. Networking firm Renesys said the country’s connection protocols were unreachable, “effectively removing the country from the internet”. Local reports suggested that the internet had been down since early afternoon, and that telephone lines were only working intermittently. The Syrian government has blamed “terrorists” for the disconnection.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20546302#

by the BBC

The father of a child accused of illegally downloading music in Finland has paid a 300 euros (£243; $390) fine to a Finnish anti-piracy group. He had refused to pay the original settlement of 600 euros and sign a non-disclosure agreement. A police warrant was then issued to confiscate the laptop of the girl, who was aged nine at the time. The anti-piracy group said it was acting “within the boundaries of Finnish legislation”. The girl had searched blocked torrent site The Pirate Bay for an album by Finnish popstar Chisu. Her father claims they were unable to download the album and purchased it legitimately the following day.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20554442#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

By Todd R. Weiss, eWeek

The global sales gap between the Apple and Android app stores is “shrinking every month,” according to a new study by analyst firm App Annie. Global Apple App Store sales revenue in October totaled four times the revenue brought in by Google’s Android Play Store for the same period, but the Play Store scored a huge 311 percent growth rate since January, setting the stage for interesting competition between the two vendors. Those results come from a new research study from analyst firm App Annie, which has been following the app store marketplace for the past 18 months and sees Apple and Google ultimately reaching equilibrium at some point in the future.

http://www.eweek.com/cloud/apple-app-store-revenue-dwarfs-android-app-store-sales-report/

By Lucas Laursen, Technology Review

Sentry duty is a tough assignment. Most of the time there’s nothing to see, and when a threat does pop up, it can be hard to spot. In some military studies, humans are shown to detect only 47 percent of visible dangers. A project run by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) suggests that combining the abilities of human sentries with those of machine-vision systems could be a better way to identify danger. It also uses electroencephalography to identify spikes in brain activity that can correspond to subconscious recognition of an object.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/507826/sentry-system-combines-a-human-brain-with-computer-vision/