technology

Company develops new fiber-reinforced wood, concrete ink for 3D printing

"Emerging Objects has developed a wealth of new materials, such as paper (made from recycled newsprint) as well as a printable salt material. The company has also developed a cement polymer that can be reinforced with fiber, which means the objects can be stronger than standard concrete. Some other materials used for printing are nylon — so you can 3D-print your dog some new bones, presumably — acrylic, and wood (which is made from hard and soft recycled wood) which can also be fiber-reinforced in order to provide it with extra strength." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCompany develops new fiber-reinforced wood, concrete ink for 3D printing

France mulls ‘culture tax’ on smartphones

"The French government is considering creating a new tax on smartphones and tablets in a bid to raise millions to support the creation of digital cultural content inside France. The proposal, handed to President Francois Hollande Monday, outlines a 1 percent tax on the sale of Internet-compatible devices, targeting companies such as Google, Apple and Amazon. The tax would yield about 86 million euros per year. The revenue would help cultural industries create French content such as music, images and videos. The proposal is part of France's 'cultural exception,' a policy that protects French cinema and music industries, and other creative sectors, against competition." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance mulls ‘culture tax’ on smartphones

The Top 3 Things I Learned at the Bitcoin Conference

"This past weekend I attended the Bitcoin 2013 conference in San Jose, where over one thousand enthusiasts, developers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and, yes, lawyers gathered to chart the future of the virtual currency. Bitcoin to date has been the domain of geeks, gold bugs, and cypherpunks, but sensing its disruptive (and profitable) potential, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists are pouring into the space. This transition from ideological enclave to professionalized financial network was on display at the conference’s exhibit hall." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Top 3 Things I Learned at the Bitcoin Conference

Bitcoin Comes To SWIFT

"The dichotomy between EU and U.S. approaches to e-money becomes even more apparent when one looks at the uniformity of the EU e-Money and Payment Services Directives versus the almost hostile FinCEN guidance on virtual currencies and the incomprehensible patchwork of state money transmitter laws. Because of this, I estimate that the EU currently enjoys at least a five-year head start over its U.S. brethren in accommodating evolving payments efforts. The U.S seems content to extinguish innovations like e-Gold in an effort to maintain complete control over money businesses and to project dollar hegemony within its borders." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Comes To SWIFT

Rupert Murdoch: Look Out Facebook!

"Rupert Murdoch, who famously bought MySpace for $580 million in 2005, and sold the company in 2011 for just $35 miilion, tweets that the same early problems that he saw develop at MySpace are now developing at Facebook, namely that Facebook users are spending less time at Facebook. 'Look out Facebook! Hours spent participating per member dropping seriously. First really bad sign as seen by crappy MySpace years ago. — Rupert Murdoch(@rupertmurdoch) May 17, 2013'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRupert Murdoch: Look Out Facebook!

Pentagon approves iPhones, iPads for military use

"The Defense Department said Friday that it has approved Apple devices for use on its networks, meaning that it can issue its employees iPhones and iPads at the office. With the announcement, Apple joins Samsung and BlackBerry on a short list of commercial smartphone makers that the Pentagon says are secure enough for its workers to use. Apple iPhones and iPads running iOS 6 meet that standard, the Defense Department said in a release. Earlier this month, the Pentagon gave its nod to new phones from Samsung that run a business-focused version of Google’s Android mobile operating system and also approved BlackBerry’s latest phones." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon approves iPhones, iPads for military use

Yahoo prepares to buy Tumblr for up to $1.1 billion

"Marissa Mayer, the former Googler who is now chief executive of Yahoo, is poised to create yet another nothing-to-riches tale in the web industry with a rumoured $1.1bn (£720m) acquisition of the blogging site Tumblr. Tumblr was only founded in 2007, by David Karp, then 21, in his bedroom in his mother’s apartment in New York. Within a fortnight it had 75,000 users; by January 2012, there were 42m blogs on the site; today, there are around 110m, and the investors who have poured $125m into the company include Sir Richard Branson." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYahoo prepares to buy Tumblr for up to $1.1 billion

18-year-old’s breakthrough invention can recharge phones in seconds

"An 18-year-old science student has made an astonishing breakthrough that will enable mobile phones and other batteries to be charged within seconds rather than the hours it takes today’s devices to power back up. Saratoga, Calif. resident Eesha Khare made the breakthrough by creating a small supercapacitor that can fit inside a cell phone battery and enable ultra-fast electricity transfer and storage, delivering a full charge in 20-30 seconds instead of several hours. The nano-tech device Khare created can supposedly withstand up to 100,000 charges, a 100-fold increase over current technology, and it’s flexible enough to be used in clothing or displays on any non-flat surface." Continue reading →

Continue Reading18-year-old’s breakthrough invention can recharge phones in seconds

That 3-D Printed Gun? It’s Just the Start

"In 2009, a German hacker going by the name Ray used a 3-D printer to fabricate a plastic key to the handcuffs used by Dutch police. He created the copy using only a photograph of an actual key. Last year, Ray demonstrated how to open even high-security handcuffs. The ability to copy keys isn’t new but, as with many of these dangers, 3-D printing will make it a lot easier. Just think of all the things -- houses, cars, offices -- we still use keys to open. Professor Lee Cronin, at the University of Glasgow, has been experimenting with something he calls 'reactionware,' which he hopes will allow people to print their own medication at home." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThat 3-D Printed Gun? It’s Just the Start

Documentary Film Investigates the (Alleged) Death of Books

"Who killed the printed book—or at least hastened its demise? That’s the question posed in an absorbing new documentary, Out of Print, by director Vivienne Roumani. The primary suspects are e-readers, cell phones, and other gadgets, Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG), sluggishly evolving publishers, Facebook (FB)-addicted teenagers, people who pirate books, and perhaps even the susceptibility of the human brain to various distractions. Out of Print frames one of the central cultural questions of our time: If books are the foundation of society, how does their gradual evolution change the world of ideas—and how does it change us?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDocumentary Film Investigates the (Alleged) Death of Books