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Wednesday 9 April 2008

Archive for the 'technology' Category

Robots seen doing work of 3.5 million in Japan

Wednesday 9 April 2008 @ 1:12 pm

Robots could fill the jobs of 3.5 million people in graying Japan by 2025, a thinktank says, helping to avert worker shortages as the country’s population shrinks.

Comments (0) | Posted in society, technology

Hydrogen-Powered Plane Takes Flight

Friday 4 April 2008 @ 12:10 pm

“For the first time in the history of aviation, Boeing has flown a manned airplane that was powered by a hydrogen battery,” Boeing chief technology officer John Tracy told a news conference at the firm’s research center in the central Spanish town of Ocana.

Comments (0) | Posted in Energy, Environment, economics, technology

Why the Future Still Needs Us a While Longer

Wednesday 2 April 2008 @ 10:07 am

Eight years ago this month, Internet pioneer Bill Joy led us on a hair-raising intellectual trip from Kurzweil to Kaczynski that left the lifelong technologist terrified of tomorrow. His cover story (”Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us”) pointed to three fast-changing technologies — genetics, nanotech, and robotics — whose potential for uncontrolled self-replication poses a new kind of threat to our survival. It’s time for an update on our undoing.

Comments (0) | Posted in technology

Why the future doesn’t need us

Wednesday 2 April 2008 @ 10:06 am

From the moment I became involved in the creation of new technologies, their ethical dimensions have concerned me, but it was only in the autumn of 1998 that I became anxiously aware of how great are the dangers facing us in the 21st century. I can date the onset of my unease to the day I met Ray Kurzweil, the deservedly famous inventor of the first reading machine for the blind and many other amazing things.

Comments (0) | Posted in technology

Hype Machine: Searching for ZAP’s Fleet of No-Show Green Cars

Wednesday 26 March 2008 @ 10:59 am

Zap promised all-electric environmentally-friendly automobiles for Joe consumer. Unfortunately, they lied.

Comments (0) | Posted in Environment, economics, technology

Bio-fuel company modifies cow intestinal bacteria to produce industrial-strength methane

Thursday 20 March 2008 @ 12:53 pm

“Through genetic manipulation, we’ve changed the naturally occurring bacteria, so they eat and consume biomass a little more efficiently,” he said. “It works. There’s not even any debate that it works. It really is an all-natural, simple process that cows use on a daily basis.”

Comments (0) | Posted in Energy, biology, economics, technology

Apple applies for clamshell iPhone patent

Monday 17 March 2008 @ 10:44 am

Meet the iFliphone…

Comments (0) | Posted in technology

Coming Soon from VW: A 69.9 MPG Diesel Hybrid

Friday 29 February 2008 @ 11:01 am

It’s official - Volkswagen is unveiling a hybrid to challenge the mighty Toyota Prius. And not just any hybrid, but a diesel-electric hybrid it says will deliver 69.9 mpg.

Comments (0) | Posted in economics, technology

Super Microbes Create Better Ethanol

Monday 25 February 2008 @ 12:42 pm

Ethanol is often touted as a promising alternative fuel, but this “biofuel” packs less energy than gasoline.

Comments (0) | Posted in technology

Robot Skin Gets Sensitive

Monday 25 February 2008 @ 12:41 pm

Robots have all the luck. Researchers have been working overtime to make sure that robots will have soft, sensitive skin that feels pain and pressure. Now kindly DARPA researchers are making sure that human beings will also have sensitive artificial skin.

Comments (0) | Posted in technology