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26 Jul 2009 10:58

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Tech: We’re living the plot of a movie where robots overtake humans

  • Something new has taken place in the past five to eight years. Technologists are replacing religion, and their ideas are resonating in some ways with the same idea of the Rapture.
  • Eric Horvitz • A Microsoft researcher who is also president of Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. Horvitz is talking like one of those crazy scientists who eventually gets killed by a robot in a bad science-fiction movie, which explains why he’s heading up a conference on whether humans should limit artificial intelligence for robots so that the robots don’t overtake their masters. Our friends at Inevitable Rise of the Machines have long been warning us of this fact. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Jul 2009 12:57

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Tech: We’re convinced USA Today is trying to run us out of business

newsdeck0715
  • This shot of brilliance was put together by USA Today as a way to present all the headlines of the day like a deck of cards. Flip them over, and it reorders them. Our management isn’t going to like this, guys.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jul 2009 01:32

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Tech: Next on Google’s list? A new operating system based on Chrome

  • Windows is screwed. Tonight, Google announced to the world that they’re launching a new Web-leaning OS that will lean on netbooks at first but is also targeted towards desktop PCs. The idea is that it’s a simple OS for people who largely live on the Web. They plan to open-source the software later this year and hope to have something to show for their hard work by the middle of next year. source
  • Windows is screwed. Tonight, Google announced to the world that they’re launching a new Web-leaning OS that will lean on netbooks at first but is also targeted towards desktop PCs. The idea is that it’s a simple OS for people who largely live on the Web. They plan to open-source the software later this year and hope to have something to show for their hard work by the middle of next year.
  • What about Android? We know you’re thinking – doesn’t Google have Android already? Well, yeah. But Google doesn’t mind. “While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap,” writes VP Sundar Pichai, “we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.” So yeah. We expect Windows to go the way of IE’s market share in about five years. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

06 Jul 2009 09:59

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Tech: Let there be new, more energy-efficient, light bulbs

The innards of the light bulb on the left? Kinda junky. The innards of the one on the right? Energy efficient. Ooh, incandescent. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jun 2009 22:30

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Tech: Firefox 3.5 is out. Is it quality or junk? Ars Technica weighs in.

  • The Firefox 3.5 release builds on the browser’s existing strengths to offer a high-quality user experience with a lot of rich new functionality.
  • Ars Technica writer Ryan Paul • Explaining why Firefox 3.5 is a major step forward for not only the browser itself but the Web in general. Simply put, it doesn’t suck. Less simply put, it offers significant speed increases, private browsing, HTML 5 video standards, drop shadows, interface upgrades and other awesome stuff. But you STILL can’t drag JPG files into Photoshop without a big error box coming up. What the heck, Mozilla? That’s a big problem. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jun 2009 00:15

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Tech: Tesla Motors gets some killer $$$$ behind it from the Feds

  • $465 million to build the kind of cars Detroit couldn’t source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

19 Jun 2009 16:13

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Tech: We owe AT&T an apology for that iPhone tethering thing

  • There are a lot of reports out there, but wanted you guys to know that rumors of $55 tethering plan on top of an unlimited data plan are false. We’ll have more news to share when the iPhone tethering option is closer to launch.
  • AT&T • In a statement on their Facebook page. They claim that the iPhone won’t have a super-expensive tethering plan, as some sites (uh, us) reported. However, in case anyone’s wondering, the simple tethering-enabling hack works – and well, too, with speeds that compare favorably to wi-fi connections. It’s freaking fast. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

15 Jun 2009 00:50

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Tech: Google SEEMS calm about MS’ Bing, but are they really freaking out?

  • The New York Post sez yes. The Post, in their usual overwrought style, claimed that Google was so surprised that Bing was actually good that co-founder Sergey Brin is actually taking a desperate hands-on approach to making improvements to the engine. Yeah. Sure. source
  • The New York Post sez yes. The Post, in their usual overwrought style, claimed that Google was so surprised that Bing was actually good that co-founder Sergey Brin is actually taking a desperate hands-on approach to making improvements to the engine. Yeah. Sure.
  • But is it just marketing? Despite Bing’s solid search, really, it may just have killer marketing. Larry Dignan of ZDNet argues that Google is just search when sites like Bing and Wolfram|Alpha are actively offering more than that. A new branding approach may be key for Google. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 May 2009 19:14

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Tech: We’re convinced Google is showing off again with Google Wave

Google Wave screenshot
  • Look, Google, we get it. You’re better than us. In fact, unbelievably so. So stop rubbing stuff like Wave into our faces, OK?source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2009 23:05

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Biz, Tech: From DaimlerChrysler to DaimlerTesla: Daimler goes electric

  • 10% Daimler’s stake in fledgling electric automaker Tesla source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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