Technology & Society
Are you fed up with Match.com? If so, there’s a new service out there that will help you find your “perfect chemistry” mate. The Scientist this week reports that a new site called ScientificMatch.com “uses DNA samples from customers to
Here’s the NYT piece on it. At first glance, this seems like a pretty cool idea to me.
The Independent reports that “Scientists have set a new record in sending information through thin air using the revolutionary technology of quantum teleportation – although Mr Spock may have to wait a little longer for a Scotty to beam him
This is an event hosted by Lead21 to launch my new book “Digital Dialog.” It’s a compilation of my columns on various topics including privacy, broadband, and — yes — longevity. Most of my friends are aware that I’m now
I have no idea how long this site has been around, but it is *awesome*. I was at a Renissance weekend over New Years and a bunch of folks were talking about it. It is the coolest tool I have
I met Anousheh Ansari last Friday before she gave a lecture to an audience at Stanford University. She was the first woman to go into space on a private exploration. She was also the first person to blog from space.
Scientists have figured out how to rebuild bladders, a sign that more complex organs can be grown in the future. This is great news for those of us who are still healthy and hoping that when we’re old, it will
Frequent readers of my blog will know that I’m a huge fan of robots and this past year seems to have been epic for their evolution. Check out this new one showcased at the recent Demo conference: the Pleo. The
If you do an image search for Tiananmen on Google’s new China site, everything looks happy. But spell the ill fated square wrong as in: Tianenmen, Tienanmen and Tiananman, and it’s all tanks, baby. Gotta love it. Thanks to Paul
This is cool, but I’m looking forward to the future when phones will be able to seamlessly switch between cellular and WiFi networks without me noticing.
Oh yeah – I want one of these. Honda’s second-generation Asimo robot can run 6KM and hour (that’s 3.7 miles) and can carry drinks on a tray. Soon, it might be possible to feel as though you just landed in
There’s a company called Riya that offers software to search personal photos using face recognition technology. Jennifer Granick of Stanford law school wrote a piece about it and its privacy implications, but her take is old and doesn’t see the
A new book by Carnegie Mellon University roboticist Daniel H. Wilson makes fun of all the silly scenarios people come up with about how robots could go bad. Apparently, it’s also being made into a hollywood film — this is
I was at a fundraiser last night for the charity Best Buddies — a group that aims to help mentally disabled people by providing opportunities for friendship and employment. The group is run by Anthony Shriver, the brother of California’s
China is not exactly a place where trademarks are effective, but nevertheless a Chinese bioscience company has registered trademarks for the new condoms it will make and sell. The names of the two condoms? Clinton and Lewinsky. Priceless.
The world’s oldest person is 115 years old, and while that might seem impressive, it’s only the beginning. Advances in technology are poised to usher in longer and better life spans, a reality the general public has been slow to
This is a neat tool to estimate how long you will live based on your habits and family history. And if you take into account the fact that it makes its predictions based on *today’s* technology, things are really looking
This week, a group of legal scholars, high government officials, Nobel prize recipients and economic experts gathered for the Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, to discuss e-government , telecommunications and intellectual property, among other issues. One of
Directly after the Senator Ensign meeting, I went to the airport, hopped on a plane, and 8 hours later I was in Iceland. The main city here, Reykjavik, reminds me of Edmonton, Canada (same type of trees and look of
This is a fascinating radio interview with inventor Ray Kurzweil. I’m currently reviewing his upcoming book and so far it’s a great read. When I write my column, I’ll post it here.