Technology and Science News

We used to think it was pretty sweet that we had two flavor options in each package of Nerds candy, so the idea of a customizable soda with an almost infinite combination of fragrances, flavors, and colors has us understandably excited. Massachusetts-based IPIFINI (the bold is part of the branding) has exceeded our wildest dreams with their Programmable Liquid Container, which contains small, flavor additive-filled (or paint-filled, for the home improvement set) "buttons" around the periphery of the plastic container. Consumers press the appropriate buttons to create different flavors from a common base, such as cherry vanilla cola or raspberry tangerine lemonade, or get even wilder with aroma and food coloring options. IPIFINI claims to already be licensing the technology around various industries, so don't be surprised to see sodas and coffees (and probably some alcopops too) in the near future that let you choose your level of buzz.

LEGO Mindstorms NXT kit available for pre-order April 1st

2006-03-26T12:06:00.000-08:00

Rabid LEGO Mindstorms fans finally have a date to circle on their calendars for hitting the company's website and breaking out their credit cards -- April 1st has been announced as the start of pre-orders for the highly-anticipated new NXT robotics set. We first spotted the revamped kit, which had extensive design-phase input from select members of the Mindstorms community, back at CES, where we managed to capture a video of one of the many possible creations doing its thing. As you'll recall from our past coverage, NXT bots use non-traditional stud-less LEGOs, Bluetooth-enabled 32-bit controllers, and three precision servo motors for a much more powerful and flexible tool set than previous offerings. Despite their steep price compared to regular packages, LEGO obviously expects NXT kits to develop a devoted following similar to their predecessors -- buyers are limited to five of the $250 sets during the initial pre-order.

Magic Block: voice recorder with speech recognition

2006-03-21T11:53:00.001-08:00

If IBM is ever able to manufacture its Magic Block voice recorder, it'll make just about every other recorder obsolete overnight. The Magic Block is a concept for a digital voice recorder that includes a few handy features -- such as biometric security and an intriguing design that limits accidental recordings -- and one function that makes it unique: built-in voice recognition software that can recognize both spoken words and the actual speaker, allowing a user to search for text as well as for comments from specific speakers. Since IBM already makes speech recognition software, we assume this is something that may be more than just some pie-in-the-sky design. Then again, given that a top IBM exec recently declared that there's "no such thing as the next big thing," maybe the company has already given up on actually bringing new products like this to market -- though we really hope not.

Gigabyte's GN-BT06T Bluetooth Media Adapter

2006-03-21T11:53:00.000-08:00

We spied this little GN-BT06T device from Gigabyte while browsing the FCC today and like what it has to offer. Basically it's a Bluetooth media receiver, but it works both ways. Not only does it take music from your audio player and pump it to your Bluetooth headphones, but it can also use music from your computer and jack into your stereo. We're not sure when this will be available or what it'll go for, but we like where it's headed.

Synthesize plastic suitable for printing electronics

2006-03-21T11:50:00.000-08:00

A team composed of academic and corporate scientists from the US and UK have succeeded in creating a conductive plastic that could soon lead to the cheap printable electronics that we're often promised but have yet to see. Researchers from Merck, PARC, and Stanfords University and Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory were able to tweak the structure of a regular organic polymer to create a so-called "semi-conducting polythiopene," which improves upon standard silicon in that it can be laid down using simple inkjet printing techniques while at the same time producing less waste. Although the new material will never replace silicon as the choice for hardcore computing applications, the fact that this team has already created transistors with the new technology may mean that the promised land of ubiquitous, disposable e-paper is closer than we think.

Nanotech helps blind hamsters see

2006-03-14T13:14:00.000-08:00

Nerve growth (shown in green) occurred after the injections

Nanotechnology has restored the sight of blind rodents, a new study shows.

Scientists mimicked the effect of a traumatic brain injury by severing the optical nerve tract in hamsters, causing the animals to lose vision.

After injecting the hamsters with a solution containing nanoparticles, the nerves re-grew and sight returned.

Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team hopes this technique could be used in future reconstructive brain surgery.

World's smallest WiFi module

2006-03-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

Is there a reason for Sharp to boast that its DC2J1DZ115 is the world's smallest WiFi module? After all, unlike the world's smallest MP3 player, this isn't a product consumers can actually buy. However, smaller WiFi modules mean smaller, cheaper (we hope), lower-power WiFi devices, so as far as we're concerned, the smaller the better. Now let's get these modules into cameras, phones, PDAs and DAPs ASAP!

US issues first RFID passports

2006-03-14T13:01:00.000-08:00

After an on-again, off-again review process that finally culminated with full State Department approval last year, the US government has finally issued its first passports containing RFID chips. The embedded chips in the new passports -- which are being issued to a group of diplomats as part of a pilot program -- contain the same information that's in the printed document, including a photo of the passport holder. Government officials have said that the use of the RFID chip allows passports to be scanned and cross-referenced with security databases more easily, while privacy advocates have argued they'll make it easier for identity thieves and terrorists to extract information -- especially after a security firm successfully demonstrated that they were able to crack the encryption used on prototype Dutch RFID passports. Despite such concerns, the new passports are scheduled to be rolled out nationally in October.

USB adapter VoIPs your old analog phones

2006-03-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

Almost everyone has an old phone or ten laying around the basement/attic, gathering dust and drawing snickers from the younger cellphone-toting generation. Well USRobotics is sick of the dust and the laughter, and they've enlisted their most talented engineers in a Manhattan Project of telephony that has resulted in a USB adapter which allows you to use corded or cordless phones as VoIP handsets. The USR9620 was being shown off at CeBIT, where crowds apparently gathered 'round as USRobotics technicians wowed onlookers by making several Skype calls using one of Alexander Graham Bell's original telephones borrowed from the Smithsonian. Although Bell's model chintzed out on the Caller ID, the 9620 allows your CID-enabled handsets to display Skype names as well as dial SkypeOut numbers directly from the phonebook or keypad. Currently no price or release date has been set for this handy adapter, which is a shame, because we're just itching to break out an old 1.7MHz cordless handset and add fluroscent light and passing car interference to the already sketchy sound quality we've come to know and love from VoIP.

Evidence for String Theory?

2006-01-28T12:50:00.000-08:00

Researchers at Northeastern University and the University of California, Irvine say that scientists might soon have evidence for extra dimensions and other exotic predictions of string theory. Early results from a neutrino detector at the South Pole, called AMANDA, show that ghostlike particles from space could serve as probes to a world beyond our familiar three dimensions, the research team says.

IceCube will occupy a volume of one cubic kilometer. Here we depict one of the 80 strings of opctical modules (number and size not to scale). IceTop located at the surface, comprises an array of sensors to detect air showers. It will be used to calibrate IceCube and to conduct research on high-energy cosmic rays. Author: Steve Yunck, Credit: NSF

Researchers developing transparent OLEDs

2006-01-28T12:48:00.000-08:00

by Marc Perton

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany are working on the next generation of OLED technology, including the ability to create displays that can become completely transparent and be turned on and off at will. Uses envisioned for the displays include OLED overlays on top of LCDs that could be used to display specific information without interfering with the main picture and automobile windshields with built-in displays that can display information as needed and turn off when not in use. Of course, what we really want is a transparent window that turns into an HD display when we flick a switch, but that may just be a little too much to ask for at this point.

Ethanol Fuel More Advantageous Than Thought

2006-01-27T13:17:00.000-08:00

By Bjorn Carey

Producing a gallon of ethanol gas from corn requires 95 percent less petroleum than producing a gallon from fossil fuels, a new study finds.This method might also slightly reduce the production of greenhouse gases that speed up global warming, but the results on that point are not certain.It is better to use various inputs to grow corn and make ethanol and use that in your cars than it is to use the gasoline and fossil fuels directly," said Daniel Kammen of the University of California, Berkeley.Ethanol could be even more energy efficient and 95 percent free of greenhouse gas emissions, Kammen said, if produced from woody plants instead of corn.

The study is detailed in the Jan. 27 issue of the journal Science.

Batteries not necessary

2006-01-27T13:14:00.000-08:00

By Clayton Collins

The moment the power goes out is no time to start pawing through drawers for batteries. One solution: flashlights that use a hand-crank generator to light the night.

Several companies carry a throwback Russian Army-style flashlight that works (noisily) with the continuous pumping of a lever. South African firm Freeplay has long sold a radio powered by a carbon-steel spring. Hand-powered cellphone chargers have been emerging.

A new player on the scene is RotoGlo (two for $20 at rotoglo.com), which resembles a "Star Trek" phaser and runs one hour for each minute the user turns its retractable crank. It's multitasking sibling RotoRadio (pictured, $20) delivers clear audio, even without antenna extension, though the signal fades with motion. (You get a half hour of both light and sound per minute of cranking.)

oldius golf bags solar-charge cellphones, iPods

2006-01-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

Because heaven forbid you miss a phone call during your two to four hours on the course, Soldius has introduced a line of golf bags that feature solar panels for charging cellphones and iPods. The Soldius comes with different tips for use with most popular phones, but the iPod adapter will cost you extra. Seems like the perfect addition to our game day must-haves along with the Segway GT golf cart, Quartz Gyrosensor Putter with LCD, nanomaterial golf balls, and stupid talking Hook/Slice swing meter. The Soldius bags cost from $200 for what must be little more than a paper sack to $800 for luxurious, smartphone-worthy leather.

Stick it to the man with your very own RFID-Zapper

2006-01-27T13:11:00.000-08:00

Look, we're not so hot about making our mula an RFID free-for-all, but that doesn't mean we're necessarily sure the little chips mark the coming of the Antichrist either. Nevertheless, it's fun to see some of the more paranoid types take matters into their own hands and kill those privacy invaders dead with the RFID-Zapper, a hacked up disposable camera that delivers an EMP of sorts to unsuspecting RFID tags, sending them to that great inventory management system in the sky. Doesn't look like the hardest DIY project, but we'll stick with our current methods of tin-foil hat wearing and off key humming -- it's gotten us this far.

Pioneer's AS-PS55 waterproof speakers

2006-01-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

by Ryan Block

You may have to buy a diving case for your MP3 player if you want to rock out while you rub a dub dub, but at least Pioneer's got you covered on the portable speaker part. We're not sure exactly how waterproof their AS-PS55 speakers really are, but anything that facilitates complete aqueous submersion while listening to a 10 minute Neu! sesh is fine by us.

Amazon.com bringing video downloads in April?

2006-01-27T13:09:00.000-08:00

It looks like Amazon.com is getting ready to jump into the video download biz, but with their own "sell more stuff" flair. The word is that they're after those plentiful DVD dollars, hoping to nab some impulse buyers with a few possible scenarios, including a free stream of a movie with a hard copy purchase, or a try before you buy option for a one time stream that acts as a credit towards a DVD purchase. However they do it, they've got a bit of heft to throw around, and they're already rumored to have two major studios signed up as content partners, with a projected launch of April. Doesn't sound like Amazon.com plans to step on Apple's TV offerings -- except, of course, for shows made available on DVD -- and they're steering clear of Google's Charlie Rose/MacGyver market domination, but hopefully they'll clear a path for those and other providers to get us more of the DVD good stuff in a timely fashion.

Swissbit bumps their knives to 2GB

2006-01-24T16:08:00.000-08:00

We've run these Swissbit Swiss Army Knife drives by you before, along with their snazzed up "Prestige" counterparts and s.beat MP3 playing friends, but Swissbit is bumping their original version up to 2GB, and the geek factor on these units is still alive and well. They're including the usual scissors, knife, nail file, and screw driver on the rubyRED and retroALOX versions, while the rubyRED version -- which is looking a tad chubby these days -- also adds a ballpoint pen and an LED light for extra geek cred. You can even pop out the drive part for flying, since the TSA isn't so hot on knives these days, or just make a run for it at the security gate and see how far you get.

How to undervolt your laptop for longer, cooler performance

2006-01-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

Most of the PC hacks that you come across are usually in the realm of overclocking or case modding, so it's nice to find an easily-implemented, software-based performance tweak once in awhile that delivers some real results. Well NordicHardware has an article that describes just such a procedure, where Fredrik Andersson steps you through the process of undervolting your laptop. Although as Andresson points out, the terminology is not an accurate reflection of the adjustment being performed, undervolting refers to stepping down the voltage that your CPU requires by several fractions of a volt. The end result of the tweaks that NH guides you through is up to ten minutes more running time and several degrees less heat dispersion, all without effecting the notebook's performance. As with all of the helpful hints that we pass along, this modification is done at your own risk (i.e. don't come crying to us if you break your lappie).

Axbo alarm clock wakes you when you're ready

2006-01-24T12:18:00.000-08:00

Remember the Sleeptracker, the digital watch that could purportedly track your sleep rhythms and wake you only when you're likely to be optimally refreshed (i.e., not when you're in the middle of a deep sleep or heavy-duty REM cycle)? Well, it's got a stylish big brother now, in the form of the aXbo, a sleek alarm clock that communicates wirelessly with a wristband that does basically the same thing as the Sleeptracker: it keeps track of your movements throughout the night, gauging how deeply you're sleeping by how much you're thrashing. You set a window during which it can wake you, and it waits for the right moment within that space. Of course, the aXbo won't help you sleep better, but it could help you wake up feeling a little more refreshed -- if you don't mind shelling out €200 ($241) for the privilege.

Internet Explorer 7 leaks onto Internet

2006-01-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

Microsoft had promised to go public on Internet Explorer 7 in the first quarter of this year. But as a part of Microsoft's eternally-delayed Windows Vista, one might have thought IE7 would suffer the same setbacks.

However, some Windows fans took matters into their own hands when last Friday it was revealed that a build of the new browser - version 5299 - along with numerous screenshots, was available online.

Not that Microsoft had anything to do with the leak. Its involvement was limited to taking down the link to the code where it was posted on Windows techie forum JCXP.net. But that was not before several thousand expectant fans had got their browsers pointed at it.

Of equal concern to Microsoft may be the number of times the patch, which allows the IE7 build to be installed on pirate copies of Windows, has been downloaded - currently running at more than 12,000 times.

The screenshots certainly seem to show off the many new features expected of IE 7, with items such as tabbed browsing clearly visible. Likewise a number of the under-the-bonnet changes are also shown on some screenshots, such as the ability to delete browsing history.

This, coupled with Microsoft's actions, gives credulity to the belief that the release is genuine, although Redmond has yet to officially respond to the event.

Linksys' Power over Ethernet wireless network extenders

2006-01-24T12:13:00.000-08:00

Linksys has released a pair of Power over Ethernet wireless network extenders that need only be tethered to a router with networking cables to receive both data and juice. While not quite as convenient as the AuraGrid that we saw at CES (which works over existing cable wiring), the WAP54GP and outdoor WAP54GPE (pictured) seem like good solutions for small offices, larger buildings, or cable-less homes with dead spots. Security is solid on these devices, with WEP, WPA, and upcoming WPA2 support via a firmware upgrade, along with MAC Address Filtering. Available immediately for what Pocket-lint claims is a pretty steep $332 for the WAP54GP and $648 for the WAP54GPE, although we saw them on Newegg for $200 and $400, respectively.

Sanyo Virus Washer wipe bugs out of the air?

2006-01-24T12:11:00.000-08:00

If you've already taken your flu shot and want a little extra power to keep those pesky viruses at bay, you may be tempted to check out Sanyo's Virus Washer, which the company claims kills airborne bugs via an "alpha electrolytic water disinfectant system." However, we can't help but be a little dubious of such claims. As near as we can tell, it's basically a humidifier coupled with an ionizer. Even if the device is able to kill viruses in the air over a limited space, it's still not going to stop you from getting sick via more common causes like getting sneezed on at close range or just shaking hands or touching a contaminated object. We think you'd do better following your mom's advice and washing your hands frequently and keeping them away from your face during the flu season. But we're still sure Sanyo's going to sell a lot of these; after all, Sharper Image has proven that an air-cleaning system doesn't need to be effective to be a big seller. And as much as we'd like to think otherwise, we suspect that Japanese consumers will be as gullible as their American counterparts.

Whale Swims through Downtown London

2006-01-20T12:26:00.000-08:00

By Erika Pennington

LONDON (AP)—It's a whale of a tale—a bottle-nosed whale swimming up the River Thames past Big Ben and Parliament as rows of worried spectators looked on Friday.The northern bottle-nosed whale was spotted in the afternoon—the first sighting in the river since 1913—as it flailed around the murky waters of the Thames, stirring up patches of what looked like blood as seagulls hovered above and rescue boats stood on the ready.Witnesses reported seeing a second whale in another part of the river Friday, and marine experts spotted two disoriented whales in northeastern Scotland last week, suggesting there was something causing the bottle-nosed whales to become disoriented."It is a race against time to save the animal,'' said Alison Shaw, marine and freshwater conservation program manager at the Zoological Society of London.

World Traker Track Anyone Using a Cell Phone

2006-01-20T12:22:00.000-08:00

by Marc Perton

Forget those piddly wiretaps. The next frontier in warrant-free surveillance is upon us, and it's open to everyone. A UK service called World Tracker apparently uses cell tower data (or GPS, when available) to track the location of just about any GSM cellphone. Just enter the number you want to track into the service's handy Google Maps-based interface, and you'll be able to zoom in on the device's location, with accuracy somewhere between 50 and 500 meters. The first time you try to track a phone, a text message is sent to the owner, who must reply in order to enable tracking (we'll leave it to you to figure out how to work around this if you need to track a spouse, kid or employee). The service is currently compatible with O2, Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile in the UK, and has plans to expand to other markets including Germany, Spain, Norway and the US. If, that is, privacy advocates don't shut it down first.

Space Junk Cleanup Needed, NASA Experts Warn

2006-01-20T11:29:00.000-08:00

Stefan Lovgren

for National Geographic News

Space is filling up with trash, and it's time to clean it up, NASA experts warn.A growing amount of human-made debris—from rocket stages and obsolete satellites to blown-off hatches and insulation—is circling the Earth. Scientists say the orbital debris, better known as space junk, poses an increasing threat to space activities, including robotic missions and human space flight. "This is a growing environmental problem," said Nicholas Johnson, the chief scientist and program manager for orbital debris at NASA in Houston, Texas. Johnson and his team have devised a computer model capable of simulating past and future amounts of space junk. The model predicts that even without future rocket or satellite launches, the amount of debris in low orbit around Earth will remain steady through 2055, after which it will increase.

How to clean up water-damaged electronics

2006-01-19T14:59:00.000-08:00

by Evan Blass

Those of you who read our CES coverage as obsessively as we covered the show may remember a brief mention of an unfortunate incident involving a laptop and some spilled coffee (it was actually hot cocoa). Even though we got the lappy pretty clean with just a few paper towels, a more severe spill might have really blown up our spot, which is why we wish we'd seen this "how-to" a little earlier. Chris J. over at Grynx helpfully recounts the tale of his friend's water-damaged router and the steps he took to get it working again, if not perfectly. We'll leave the deets to Grynx, but basically this rescue mission involves complete disassembly of the affected device, rather counterintuitively running the circuit boards under more water, and using an alcohol-based cleaning agent (not gasoline, warn several commenters) to brush the remaining rust/calcium residue from the guts. Money quote from the article: "If the substance is already dry, as it was for me, then use your wife’s toothbrush (you don’t want to use your own, right?) to brush off as much as possible."

Use your cellphone as a movie ticket

2006-01-19T14:57:00.000-08:00

by Evan Blass

A movie theater in a suburb of America's technology capital has begun trial-running a payment method that allows customers to not only purchase tickets from their cellphones but actually present an on-screen barcode to the tickettaker. The Emagine Entertainment theater in suburban Detroit is the first US theater to implement pay-by-cell technology from Mobile Box Office, which is currently restricted to Internet-enabled phones with color screens. Moviegoers need only go to the MBO site, buy a ticket, wait for a text message with a link back to MBO, and follow the link to a webpage with a unique barcode representing the purchase. Emagine has installed scanners that read the barcode off of the phone's screen and grant access to the theater. Unfortunately, just like with Nokia's kidnapphone, this system seem contingent on being able to get a signal in the vicinity of the theater, so members of the T-MOB will need to continue purchasing their tickets the old-fashioned way.

Lock that USB port to stop casual data theft

2006-01-19T12:41:00.000-08:00

Posted Jan 19th 2006 2:45PM by Marc Perton

We've come across another USB lock, and unlike the half-baked USB Port Security Lock, which attempts to use your USB port as a substitute for a Kensington lock port, Lindy's USB Port goes after the simpler and more practical goal of securing the USB port itself. The device consists of two pieces: a lock that snaps into your port, and a key that you use to pull it out. The idea, of course, is that locking your USB ports will stop casual data theft, and we could see this coming in handy for, say, offices with lots of open cubicles or college data centers. Realistically, though, this probably provides only minimal protection, since you'll still be open to network-based attacks (not to mention CD-burner data theft) -- and we suspect that a brute force attempt to rip this out could totally trash your USB port, forcing fairly expensive repairs. Still, if you want to give it a try, you can get a pack of four in your choice of blue, green, pink, orange or white for just £14.99 ($26.45).

Terrorist Backhoe Attack

2006-01-19T12:35:00.000-08:00

By Kevin Poulsen

In 2004, Department of Homeland Security officials became fearful that terrorists might start using accidental dig-ups as a road map for deliberate attacks, and convinced the FCC to begin locking up previously public data on outages. In a commission filing, DHS argued successfully that revealing the details of "even a single event may present a grave risk to the infrastructure."

"We see people talking about the digital Pearl Harbor from the worms and Trojans and viruses," says Howard Schmidt, former White House cybersecurity adviser. "But in all probability, there's more likelihood of what we call the 'backhoe attack' that would have more impact on a region then a Code Red, or anything we've seen so far."

Sysgration's "mouse" VoIP phone

2006-01-18T12:35:00.000-08:00

Sure, Sony managed to apply some high-style to the mouse/VoIP phone the company showed off at CES. But little did they know that Taiwanese manufacturer Sysgration was already upping the ante in the highly competitive phone-mouse market with its own version. And, unlike the Sony, which lacks a keypad, the Sysgration model allows direct entry of phone numbers and sports a retro aqua finish. Actually, we're still not sure whether the Sysgration phone is an actual working mouse, or just a wireless VoIP phone that just looks like a badly designed mouse. Regardless, we can't imagine using it for any purpose

E-passport Trial Run at SFO Airport

2006-01-18T12:31:00.000-08:00

By: Melanie Tan

The Department of Homeland Security has started testing its e-Passport system as of January 15 at Terminal G of the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The e-Passports feature embedded contactless chips embedded with the holder’s biographic and biometric data. They are also equipped with the security feature called Basic Access Control or BAC, which aids in the prevention of the unauthorized reading or skimming of information from e-Passports. The readers capable of reading these e-Passports will also be tested thoroughly during the trial run.

Participants in the test, which will run through April 15, include citizens of Australia and New Zealand, who are holders of new e-Passports, Singapore Airlines crew and officials, who are holding trial e-Passports, and U.S. diplomatic and official e-Passport holders. The test will be carried out in different locations too as the e-Passport holders will of course need to present them as they arrive at the SFO airport in the US, at the Changi Airport in Singapore or at Sydney Airport in Australia.

All that e-Passports participants have to do is present their e-Passports for a scan. Regular security measures, however, would not be dispensed with. That is, holders still have to go through regular security checks.

Cellular-enabled iPod?

2006-01-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

By: Melanie Tan

Apple has filed not just one, but FOUR trademark applications which mentions terms such as digital music, communications and cellular for the phrase "Mobile Me". This development has the whole industry abuzz with speculation that Apple is preparing to launch a cellular-enabled iPod. For one, Shaw Wu and Albert Lin of the American Technology Research predict that an iTunes phone similar to the Motorola Rokr will be coming soon.

So is Apple really planning to be a cellular reseller buying bulk minutes from carriers and then reselling them to its loyal consumers? Not everybody believes it. Jupiter Research's Julie Ask states that "Apple sells hardware and software... They don't have an existing subscriber base like cable companies, and they don't have content like ESPN that people have an affinity to." Furthermore, for Apple to launch an iPod mobile phone with such technology, the device would have to have enough browsing capabilities to handle secure micropayments.

That's a good argument but will it be reason enough for Apple not to venture into the cellular business anyway? We'll see

Woodpecker Search Sheds Light on Bigfoot

2006-01-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

By Benjamin Radford

As reported around the world, the ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis), last known to exist in 1944, was sighted in eastern Arkansas in 2004. The sighting prompted a massive (and secret) follow-up search in 2005 of a sixteen-square-mile area of Arkansas forest. When the bird was confirmed to exist, the discovery spawned international headlines, an article in the journal Science, and a book titled The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

While the search for additional evidence of the woodpecker continues, the investigation is instructive for what it did not find: the alleged and elusive Bigfoot. The search for the woodpecker took months of intensive research in the woods of rural Arkansas. Bigfoot believers try to explain away the lack of evidence by suggesting that Bigfoot are out there in remote areas, but few people are out actively looking or listening.

Freecycle Network

2006-01-18T12:19:00.000-08:00

If you just want to give something away, like your old laptop, you have any number of outlets. Your local newspaper probably has a free section in the classifieds; you can post it on Craig's List; you can drop it off at a thrift store or donate it to a charity that will refurbish and resell it. But if you want to give away your old laptop and be part of a potential revolution in the process, you might turn to Freecycle.org. The Freecycle Network hopes to encourage a "worldwide gift economy" -- one old laptop, bottle of nail polish, gas stove or People magazine at a time.

Carbon gets more hydrogen

2006-01-17T18:45:00.000-08:00

Hydrogen is a clean-burning fuel, but using it as an environmentally friendly energy source requires finding clean ways to produce it. One of the most promising approaches is solar water-splitting, a scheme to use sunlight to drive the chemical separation of hydrogen and oxygen from water.

The catalyst is the key to splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen. Much recent research has focused on titanium dioxide catalysts, and last year researchers found that nanotubes made of titanium dioxide are more effective than bulk titanium dioxide. The catch is pure titanium dioxide only works with ultraviolet light, which makes up only a small portion of sunlight.

Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have found a way to add carbon to the titanium dioxide nanotubes in order to shift their catalytic activity from ultraviolet to visible light. They also found that the length of the nanotubes plays a key role; 3.3 microns is optimum.

The carbon-infused titanium dioxide nanotubes generated more hydrogen from sunlight than pure titanium dioxide nanotubes.

(Novel Carbon-Doped TiO2 Nanotube Arrays with High Aspect Ratios for Efficient Solar Water Splitting, Nano Letters, January 11, 2006)

Magnetic logic advances

2006-01-17T18:42:00.000-08:00

Magnetic memory chips, which retain data after the power is turned off, are becoming available and could eventually supplement or even replace disk drives in computers. Several research teams are looking to take this technology beyond simply storing data by using it in computer chips that process data.

Researchers from the University of Notre Dame and the Technical University of Munich in Germany have taken a step toward magnetic logic chips with a prototype device that carries out the basic binary logic operations necessary for computing. The device uses nanoscale magnets in a quantum dot cellular automata architecture that was previously developed at Notre Dame.

Fujitec eases bottlenecks

2006-01-17T14:21:00.000-08:00

By Anna Guido

A new elevator system developed by Fujitec America Inc. alleviates passenger bottlenecks in lobbies and in other high-traffic areas.

The Destination Floor Guidance System - which was put into operation Friday in the Metropolitan Park West Tower in downtown Seattle - minimizes stops by grouping together passengers with common destinations

Bored meetings

2006-01-17T14:20:00.000-08:00

By Marc Abrahams
The Guardian

Do you believe, as someone somewhere perhaps does, that meetings, meetings, meetings, followed by more meetings are altogether a good thing? If so, Alexandra Luong and Steven G Rogelberg think you should think again. In a newly published study, they say: "We propose that despite the fact that meetings may help to achieve work-related goals, having too many meetings and spending too much time in meetings per day may have negative effects on the individual."

PowerFilm solar charger - it's foldable

2006-01-17T14:16:00.000-08:00

By: T.O. Whenham

We have seen lots of solar chargers for your gadgets over the last few months. The PowerFilm F-15 600 by PowerFilm Solar isn’t the cheapest one by any means, but it also definitely isn’t the heaviest or least portable. It’s a foldable solar charger, so it rolls up into a small bundle you can slide into a backpack when you aren’t using it, or it can roll out to soak up plenty of rays. When it is folded up it measures 10.3” x 3.5”, but it folds out to 20.5” x 23” and it only weighs just a hair over half a pound.

The PowerFilm F-15 600 provides 10 watts (you can get one in 20 watts, too) and operates at 15.4 volts. It can be used to charge electronic devices, to charge or power 12V systems or you can use the battery charger pack to charge your batteries. You can even daisy chain them if you need more power.

This charger will let you take your devices anywhere where there is sun. It has a 3 year warranty, so it must be pretty durable. It better be for the price. You will have to drop $299 to get one of your own

Destination Pluto: NASA begins a 10-year voyage

2006-01-16T17:51:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON – NASA's first mission to the solar system's last planet is now in a race against time.

Tuesday, the clock starts as the New Horizons spacecraft prepares to hurtle from its Florida launchpad on a 10-year, 3 billion-mile journey to where the roan world of Pluto tracks a frigid course through the borders of the solar system.

Anonymity on a Disc

2006-01-16T15:56:00.000-08:00

By Quinn Norton

To many privacy geeks, it's the holy grail -- a totally anonymous and secure computer so easy to use you can hand it to your grandmother and send her off on her own to the local Starbucks.

That was the guiding principle for the members of kaos.theory security research when they set out to put a secure crypto-heavy operating systems on a bootable CD: a disc that would offer the masses the same level of privacy available to security professionals, but with an easy user interface.

New RFID Blocking Wallet

2006-01-16T15:53:00.000-08:00

Posted by Hemos

If, like me, you're more than a little concerned about the privacy aspects of RFID there's a useful enthusiast's web page on making your own RFID-blocking wallet. OK, it's never going to win any prizes for beauty or garner fashion awards but should be effective and seems perfectly practical.

New consumer fuel cell is close to market

2006-01-16T15:50:00.000-08:00

By: T.O. Whenham

There has been a lot of buzz in the last couple of weeks about Direct Methanol Fuel Cells. Panasonic was one of the companies with a prototype to show off and smaller, consumer-ready items in the works. Well, it turns out that DMFCs aren’t the only item on the horizon. In fact, one alternative will be ready for us well before the DMFCs. Medis Technology is readying for market a disposable fuel cell powered by a borohydride alkaline solution instead of methanol.

The Medis fuel cells will be able to provide you with 30 hours of talk time for your mobile phone or 60 hours for your MP3 player. When all the juice has been sucked out of the cell it looks like you just chuck it and buy a new one. It might sound like it would hurt to throw something like that away, but it will cost less than $20, so it won’t be too bad. You’ll have to wait until the end of the year to get one (or several) of your own, though.

Mainstream calibration with $89 huey

2006-01-16T15:41:00.000-08:00

Photographers, graphic designers and other pros have long used color-calibration tools like the ColorVision Spyder to make sure that what they see on their display matches their final output as closely as possible. Now, Pantone hopes to bring the calibration experience to mainstream consumers, with the huey, an $89 device that the company says is targeted at "digital photo enthusiasts, gamers and any computer user wanting absolute color and clarity." While we can see prosumer digicam users showing some interest in this, point-and-shooters who print at CVS are unlikely to fall for the pitch. And we really don't see the gaming connection; gamers are likely to push their own gamut, and not worry about what color Pantone tells them that blood on their screen needs to be in order to match a print profile.

Snap&Send digital postcard

2006-01-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

Why send someone a generic postcard with a cheesy canned photo when you can break them off a 'card containing a set of your very own (but also cheesy) vacation photos? Australian University of NSW student Stuart Calvey thinks folks would gladly shell out $25 for what is basically a disposable digicam in a thin, mailable, cardboard housing. His Snap Send digital postcard concept is making the rounds on the web, which may help the already-accomplished inventor (he won a Packaging Council of Australia award in 2003 for another product) find a backer for his innovative idea. Calvey envisions commercial Snap Sends as bare-bones two megapixel cameras (sorry folks, you don't even get a "delete" option here) with decent LCDs that can be propped up by the recipient for a slideshow or taken to a photo lab for developing prints. We know that someone who's reading this has the clout to make this project happen, so here's your chance to grab this kid's idea for a song before he loses his youthful naivete and goes all Apple with the lawyers and the patents and stuff.

New spacecraft ion engine tested

2006-01-15T11:32:00.000-08:00

The European Space Agency and the Australian National University have successfully tested a new design of spacecraft ion engine that dramatically improves performance over present thrusters and marks a major step forward in space propulsion capability.

15 Tech Concepts for 2006

2006-01-15T11:28:00.000-08:00

Predicting the future is kind of like predicting the weather. Weather men pretty much know what's going to happen tomorrow but after that it gets a little fuzzy. Popular Mechanics has put out a good article about what they think this next year will hold. The article covers the top fifteen predictions in the categories of auto, communications, energy, computing, and science.

First Galileo signals received

2006-01-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

The pioneer spacecraft in Europe's satellite-navigation system, Galileo, has taken a major step towards securing the network's allocated frequencies. Giove-A transmitted the first of its navigational signals to ground stations in the UK and Belgium on Thursday. The UK-built satellite was launched on 28 December from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It is a demonstrator for the network that will give Europe its own version of the US Global Positioning System.

Wikipedia Plagiarism Ends Journalist's Career

2006-01-15T10:59:00.000-08:00

Tim Ryan, a 21 year veteran entertainment columnist for the Honolulu Star Bulletin, was fired yesterday after an investigation revealed multiple instances of his incorporating unattributed paragraphs from other sources. This case is unique in that it was first revealed by Wikipedia after an attentive Wikipedia editor noted similarities between a Wikipedia article and one of Ryan's columns. However he wasn't fired until after other news outlets started to run the story. Sadly, though the Star-Bulletin has admitted to the plagiarism, they failed to publicly acknowledge that Wikipedia was responsible for bringing this situation to light.

NASA capsule returns to Earth

2006-01-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

By ALICIA CHANG

A space capsule ferrying the first comet dust samples to Earth parachuted onto a remote stretch of desert before dawn Sunday, drawing cheers from elated scientists.

The touchdown capped a seven-year journey by NASA's Stardust spacecraft, which zipped past a comet in 2004 to capture minute dust particles and store them in the capsule.

"It's an absolutely fantastic end to the mission," said Carlton Allen, a scientist with NASA's

802.11n standard is closer

2006-01-13T16:09:00.000-08:00

By: T.O. Whenham

If you struggle to keep track of WiFi standards, it is only going to get worse. The 802.11n standard has moved one step closer to deployment after the Enhanced Wireless Consortium passed a joint proposal by a 40-0 vote. The proposal will now go to the IEEE, which meets next week, for adoption.

The 802.11n standard is estimated to be 5 times faster than 802.11g and therefore as much as 50 times faster than 802.11b. The point of bigger interest for this standard, though, is that the range it can achieve is far greater than any predecessor, owing to some advanced coding and the ability to work with multiple antennas. That means that providers can offer a wider coverage area ad more consistent speeds. This will be particularly significant as cities look to build wireless networks that cover their whole cities.

By the time the new standard umps through all the hoops placed before it, it is unlikely that it will be in use much before the end of the yea

Dogster Turns Two

2006-01-13T16:06:00.000-08:00

Dogster, led by founder and CEO Ted Rheingold, turned two years old yesterday. The company is located in San Francisco.

Dogster is a home page site just for dogs. You can see the page for my dog, Laguna, here as an example. A key part of the site is social interaction among dogs, and Laguna has a number of “friends” that are linked on the page. Dogster also allows tagging of photos, and has just launched a Groups feature (there are already 239 Groups) In general, humans do not interact and you do not know who the dogs’ owners are. For a lot of dog-crazy owners, this is perfect.

Needless to say, Dogster has some pretty loyal users, and the site statistics reflect this:

Posted by Michael Arrington

SDIO TV Tuner brings analog TV to your PDA

2006-01-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

By: T.O. Whenham

If you can’t get enough TV time in during the day, but don’t want to give up your PDA in favor of a mobile TV phone, Eopstech may have just the ticket for you. Their SDIO TV Tuner is an add-on that will provide analog TV to your PDA. It is compatible with both NTSC and PAL, meaning you can take it with you on the road. It will work with Windows Mobile devices. It comes with a lanyard style antenna with built-in signal booster. The tuner is powered by its own rechargeable lithium polymer battery which provides up to 2.5 hours of life on one charge. A USB DC power cable is also included. Audio output comes through stereo earphones, which are included.

The target for this device is either people who don’t have access to a cheap mobile data plan, or people in countries where digital mobile TV service is not yet available. The tuner will be available in March. No word yet on the price.

Vita Craft RFIQ cookware uses RFID to control temps

2006-01-13T15:50:00.000-08:00

We'll forgive Vita Craft for calling their RFIQ cookware "robotic." After all, it doesn't exactly do the dicing, slicing and cooking for you. Nevertheless, it's a pretty unique product: Each pan's handle contains and RFID chip that communicates with recipe cards which, in turn, regulate Vita Craft's induction cooktop's temperature throughout a dish's cooking cycle to avoid burned or undercooked meals. Of course you've got to handle the rest of the preparation yourself, which leds us to wonder: Any chance Vita Craft has an RFID recipe card for leftover pizza?

The VOCO Voice Commander "personal voice assistant"

2006-01-13T11:57:00.000-08:00

If you're ready to enter that snazz 21st century we keep on hearing about and start using your voice to control your entertainment, VOCO has your back with their handheld "personal voice assistant," the VOCO Voice Commander. When bundled with a Vzone player, which can hook up to a stereo, you create a "Vzone" which can pump out the music you request with your Voice Commander, Sonos style. You can also get news, stocks, and sports info on your screen, with everything flowing over WiFi. You could of course be boring and just use the buttons to get the same results about twice as fast, but what's the fun in that?

New Zealand's Rakon develops world's smallest GPS

2006-01-12T20:49:00.000-08:00