technology

Google wants to build the Star Trek computer

"Singhal predicted that will happen in three years’ time—by then, he says, Google’s Star Trek machine will be so good that you’ll ask it a question and expect a correct answer at least twice a day. 'And in five years you won’t believe you ever lived without it. You’ll look back at today’s search engine and you’ll say, is that really how we searched?' Singhal says. He adds: 'These are the best times we’ve ever had in search. I have done this for 22 years, and I've been at Google for 12 years, so I should know. This is the most exciting time—every morning I come into work more excited than ever. Strap in. It's all happening in our lifetimes.'" Continue reading →

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Will Google Glass Change the World?

"In a sense, we entered a sort of cyborg state over 20 years ago, when the combination of exploding computer power and the rise of the Internet gave us an enhanced perception that streamed the whole world into our heads. At first, we could only experience that at our desks. But in the blink of an eye, we jumped from there to being able to carry our computers around with us in ever smaller packages. Today, the Net is there any time we want it, right at our fingertips." Continue reading →

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Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo makes first powered flight

"The spaceplane being developed by UK billionaire Sir Richard Branson has made its first powered flight. The vehicle was dropped from a carrier aircraft high above California's Mojave Desert and ignited its rocket engine to go supersonic for a few seconds. Sir Richard's intention is to use the spaceship to carry fare-paying passengers on short pleasure rides above the Earth's atmosphere. His company Virgin Galactic has already taken hundreds of deposits." Continue reading →

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Kenya’s new cellphone money model could disrupt global banking industry

"M-Shwari is a new banking platform that allows subscribers of Kenya’s biggest mobile network, Safaricom, to operate savings accounts, earn interest on deposits, and borrow money using their mobile phones. It expands on Kenya’s revolutionary use of sending money by mobile phone — known as M-Pesa, 'mobile money' in Swahili — launched in 2007 and now widely used across the east African nation, where some 70 percent of people have mobile phones. With a minimum transfer of cash set at five shillings — around five US cents — the application revolutionised day-to-day banking for millions left out of the formal system." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKenya’s new cellphone money model could disrupt global banking industry

Google shows requests for censorship have reached new highs

"Google on Thursday released data showing that requests by governments to censor the Internet giant’s content have hit new heights, with Brazil and the United States leading the way. Google received 2,285 government requests to remove content from it properties, including YouTube and search pages, in the second half of last year as compared to 1,811 requests in the first six months, according to its latest Transparency Report. The requests related to 24,179 pieces of content, up from 18,070 items, the California-based Internet giant said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle shows requests for censorship have reached new highs

3D-Printed Weapons Builder Says He’s Ready to Print Entire Handgun

"For Cody Wilson, the world's most notorious 3D printing gunsmith, it all started with a simple question: 'Can you use a 3D printer to print a gun?' The answer to that question might come sooner than anybody expected, as Wilson says he will 3D-print an entire handgun in just a couple of weeks. The gun will be made of 12 parts, all printed in ABS+, a very sturdy type of thermoplastic. There might be, perhaps, just one small metal part — a firing pin. While Wilson and his team are still designing the weapon, it won't be a reproduction of an existing firearm, but instead a custom design." Continue reading →

Continue Reading3D-Printed Weapons Builder Says He’s Ready to Print Entire Handgun

Shedding New Light On Basement Marijuana Technology

"I've known GGL for years, and I knew that even when it was illegal, he used marijuana for medical reasons. The whole grow-your-own was a new thing for him -- and me. Gardening is generally pretty low-tech. Growing plants in one's basement in order to maximize output while minimizing input is not, and it satisfies GGL's inner tech geek in ways that just cultivating plants would not. He gets the same way about brewing beer, about hunting for razor clams, and about re-engineering instruments for RockBand. GGL is a man after PopSci's geeky heart and brain if there ever was one." Continue reading →

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Ebay: Tell your Members of Congress How New Internet Taxes Will Impact You

"An Internet Sales Tax bill could greatly reduce selection and competitive prices by putting new tax burdens on small businesses. The bills proposed require very small businesses that use the Internet to collect sales taxes from out-of-state customers, increasing their cost of doing business and reducing their ability to compete with giant retail chains. Very small businesses, often with only a handful of employees, could actually be threatened and sued by out-of-state tax collectors, even from states thousands of miles away. All of these new costs may not only harm small businesses that use the Internet, but could also harm shoppers like you by reducing competition and choice." Continue reading →

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White House: Internet sales tax ‘will level the playing field’

"'We believe that the Marketplace Fairness Act will level the playing field for local small-business retailers, who are undercut every day by out-of-state online companies,' said White House spokesman Jay Carney. The Act would require Internet and remote retailers to collect state sales taxes no matter where they are located when a transaction takes place, and advocates hope it would ease budget problems in many cash-strapped states. Opponents of the Act say it would still be unfair because retailers in a state which has no sales tax would still be liable to collect tax on purchases made in distant states which do have sales taxes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhite House: Internet sales tax ‘will level the playing field’