For a while now, commuters in Seoul, South Korea have been able to do their grocery shopping virtually as they wait for the subway. Now Chicago’s “L” commuters are getting in on the action.
Rolled out as a pilot program in the …
Innovation
Verizon to Let Customers Text 911 During Emergencies
We’ve all seen movies where a terrified homeowner hides under the bed or in the closet, afraid to call 911 because of menacing home invaders. Well, worry no more, hypothetical crime victim: Verizon has announced plans to let …
When I Think About My Computer, I Touch Myself
No, eww, I don’t mean in the Divinyls sense — I’m talking about touching real-world objects like chairs or doorknobs, or even parts of your own body, say your ears, to signal your computer or other computing devices. A team at …
Videoconference like a Sith Lord with 3D Hologram Telepods
Skype? That’s so 21st Century. In the future, we’ll all communicate like Darth Sidious, ordering our minions around in the form of three-dimensional holograms.
The technology is called TeleHuman and it’s being developed by the …
Sharks with Laser Beams Attached to Their Heads: Dr. Evil’s Dream Comes True
Dr. Evil had one simple request to properly arm his lair – he wanted “sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads.” While his right-hand man Number Two couldn’t deliver on this rather simple setup (instead, …
Meet HERB, the Robot Butler That Knows How to Use a Microwave
People, we’ve been microwaving our own Hot Pockets for too long. It’s about time we delegated that responsibility to machines, so that we might spend our time doing more important things like watching re-runs of Wings and …
The Collapse of Moore’s Law: Physicist Says It’s Already Happening
Moore’s Law is finally breaking down, according to theoretical physicist Michio Kaku. He’s talking about the so-called law that says the number of transistors that can be fit on a computer chip will double every two years, …
HomeOS: Microsoft Works on Bringing Smart Homes to the Masses
Pop quiz: What’s the easiest way to wire up your entire home for smartphone and tablet controls? Unless you’re quite tech-savvy, chances are you haven’t the slightest idea.
It’s a problem that Microsoft Research wants to solve …
Is Apple CEO Tim Cook Right? Are Laptop-Tablet Hybrids Dead in the Water?
Apple CEO Tim Cook says the idea of a laptop-tablet hybrid is tantamount to shoving a toaster into a refrigerator. It’s a clever, sound-bite-y analogy. It’s also wrongheaded. But before we go there, let’s give Cook’s comments the …
Giant 3.2 Billion-Pixel Digital Camera Gets a Step Closer to Construction
The 22.3-megapixel CMOS sensor on Canon’s new EOS 5D Mark III is no joke — except when compared to the hardware in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) camera. The 3.2 billion-pixel digital camera is meant to “capture the …
Can James Cameron — or Anyone — Really Mine Asteroids?
Time was, incredibly rich guys bought sports teams. It was fun, it was affordable (by incredibly rich guy standards, at least) and it kept them off the streets. But going to the Super Bowl isn’t enough anymore. For today’s …
New Study Asks Who’s to Blame When Robots Harm Us
I admit it; sometimes I yell at inanimate objects. My computer has, on several occasions, borne the brunt of my rage while spinning the dreaded pinwheel of lost productivity.
It isn’t logical to get mad at a machine, but you’d …
