technology

Beam me over, Scotty? A quantum leap in quantum teleportation.

"Recently, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) used entanglement to teleport information across a quarter inch. That sounds easy. After all, the internet sends information thousands of miles in fractions of a second. But this time, the information wasn't carried through the intervening space. Quantum computers are still only theoretical, but if engineering catches up with theory, then they could process enormously large datasets with blinding speed. This could make extraordinary things possible – even time travel, at least according to one hypothesis." Continue reading →

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Scientists emerge after 4 months of space-cooking for simulated Mars mission

"The team lived in a mock-up of a Mars vehicle that was positioned on the side of a Hawaiian volcano, where they experimented with different instant foods and other provisions. For 118 days, Vermeulen and his five team members experimented with a variety of non-perishable ingredients and kept detailed journals of their health, well-being, weight and body mass to determine what foods would be best for a manned Mars mission. NASA recently awarded a $125,000 grant to a researcher who is exploring the possibilities of 3-D printing as a means of producing nutritious, non-perishable foods." Continue reading →

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Window coating electrically regulates heat and light passing through

"Scientists have created a window coating that can be switched electrically to regulate the amount of heat and light that enters a building. A team of molecular and material scientists from the United States and Spain created a transparent film using nanocrystals — microscopic clusters of atoms that can change the wavelength of light. The window is an electrochemical cell with two glass panes separated by an electrically conductive electrolyte liquid. But several issues must be fixed before the material can be used in windows — including replacing the highly flammable lithium metal used as a counter-electrode, and finding a solid electrolyte." Continue reading →

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Solar power to trump shale, helped by US military

"US marines go to war in Afghanistan with solar cells embedded in their rucksacks, efficient enough to recharge lithium-ion batteries for radios and greatly lighten loads. Field patrols will soon have almost weightless solar blankets as well. The US Naval Air Weapons Station already relies on a 14 megawatt array of solar panels in California's Mojave desert for a thrid of its power.The US Navy will derive half its energy supply from renewables by the end of this decade, according to a report. It may be a stretch to say that the US Naval Research Laboratory is the vanguard of the world's green revolution, but not a big stretch." Continue reading →

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Inside the Hyperloop: the pneumatic travel system faster than the speed of sound

"Mr Musk will not be patenting the design and it will be 'open source'. His motivation for the project came from disillusionment with the Golden State’s high speed rail project, which has been dubbed the 'bullet train to nowhere' after a series of setbacks. He believes the Hyperloop could be built for a tenth of the cost and deliver passengers between the two cities in just 30 minutes, compared to three hours for the bullet train. The bullet train is currently estimated to be costing $68 billion and may not be completed until 2028. It would reach top speeds of only around 130mph. In a survey seven in 10 people said they would 'never or hardly ever' use it anyway." Continue reading →

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San Francisco split by Silicon Valley’s wealth

"Heated bidding wars — especially in a half-mile radius of shuttle bus stops — have broken out, causing rents to soar, even double in some cases. Along shuttle routes, trendy new restaurants that serve high-end food and spirits have taken the place of corner stores and mom-and-pop businesses. Anti-Google graffiti has turned up here, and activists recently held a small anti-gentrification rally at which they smashed a Google bus piñata. Ted Gullicksen, executive director of the San Francisco Tenants Union, said he fears that the techies are permanently inheriting the city and won't pack up and leave as they did after the 2000 dot-com crash." Continue reading →

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Google to challenge telecoms with fleet of solar-powered balloons

"In recent months, Google Inc has announced plans to bring free wireless Internet access to 7,000 Starbucks cafes across America, eventually displacing AT&T Inc; it has asked U.S. regulators for broader access to wireless airwaves; and it has launched 30 solar-powered balloons over the South Pacific ocean, designed to beam the Internet to remote regions. Then there is Google Fiber, the high-speed cable TV and Internet service that was introduced in Kansas City late last year and that will be expanded soon to Austin and Provo, Utah. Fiber delivers Internet speeds at 1 gigabit per second, as much as 100 times faster than the average U.S. network." Continue reading →

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How Gamers Could Save the (Real) World

"Three years ago, game designer and author Jane McGonigal argued that saving the human race is going to require a major time investment—in playing video games. 'If we want to solve problems like hunger, poverty, climate change, global conflict, obesity, I believe that we need to aspire to play games online for at least 21 billion hours a week [up from 3 billion today], by the end of the next decade,' she said in a TED talk. Her message was not ignored—and it has indirectly contributed to the formation of something called the Internet Response League (IRL). The small group has a big goal: to harness gamers’ time and use it to save lives after disasters, natural or otherwise." Continue reading →

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Startups destroy more jobs than they create – unless they’re tech companies

"While private sector business creation fell 9 percent between 1980 and 2011, the birth rate of new tech businesses was 69 percent higher in 2011 than it was in 1980, according to the report. Over the same period of time, the job-creation rate of those young tech firms – aged between 1 and 5 years old – was twice as robust as the average rate for firms in the rest of the private sector. That’s partly due to what the report cites as the 'up-or-out' dynamic: tech startups tend to either fail quickly or grow rapidly." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStartups destroy more jobs than they create – unless they’re tech companies

It’s Up to You, Entrepreneurs: Brad Feld on the Rise of Global Startup Communities

"It’s a practically a social movement, and a movement needs a theorist. That’s Brad Feld. In his by-the-bootstraps guide, the 2012 book Startup Communities, Feld laid out a guru-ish, four-point plan for how to create a growing mass of startup companies. But his rules boil down to just one: entrepreneurs must be the 'leaders.' Everyone else—universities, governments, investors—are 'feeders' that, though important, can’t kick-start a startup community on their own. Feld says if even fewer than a dozen established entrepreneurs team up and get serious that nearly any city from Detroit to Cape Town can create a meaningful startup sector." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt’s Up to You, Entrepreneurs: Brad Feld on the Rise of Global Startup Communities