What is Wolfram?

Wolfram Alpha is backed by Stephen Wolfram, the noted scientist and author behind the Mathematica computational software and the book, A New Kind Of Science. The service bills itself as a “computational knowledge engine,” which is a mouthful. I’d call it a “fact search engine” or perhaps an “answer search engine,” a term that’s been used in the past for services designed to provide you with direct answers, rather than point you at pages that in turn may hold those answers.

Do a search on Wolfram Alpha, and if it has matching data, it presents a ton of information on a single page, from figures to charts. For example, a search for “newport beach” not only shows the current temperature and forecast but also provides easy access to historical temperatures, which also get charted:

Will this be revolutionary? Is this just hype that will go nowhere? We'll see. Hopefully Wolfram will send me an invite so I can check it out

Read more and chek out some screenshots:
http://searchengineland.com/...

Wolfram:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/

Video: Sixth Sense Machine

Another great TED talk. Watch this and then check out the other TED talks.

Google uncloaks once-secret server

Google's big surprise: each server has its own 12-volt battery to supply power if there's a problem with the main source of electricity. The company also revealed for the first time that since 2005, its data centers have been composed of standard shipping containers--each with 1,160 servers and a power consumption that can reach 250 kilowatts.

They show the inside of a Google module data-center - very smart designing.

Link:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10209580-92.html

Win an OLED-Info Kodak Photo frame

OLED-Info is a comprehensive resource for OLED professionals, and for people who want to learn more about this exciting new technology.

OLED Info are giving away an OLED-Info Kodak Photo frame (valued around $800) just for spreading to word about their website or following them on Twitter.

I have talked with the owner of the site for many years and always loved an application he wrote called AdsenseLog. I wish him luck with another great website which should become the leading resource for OLED information.

So, pass the word and get entered to win a very cool prize.

Link:
http://www.oled-info.com

The contest:
http://www.oled-info.com/oled-info-...

Video: Deep inside Window 7 with Mark Russinovich

Video: Microsoft Office Labs vision 2019

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-GB&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:a517b260-bb6b-48b9-87ac-8e2743a28ec5&showPlaylist=true&from=shared" target="_new" title="Future Vision Montage">Video: Future Vision Montage</a>

Skype call recorder

This is a free Skype recording program which automatically recorders all your Skype conversations and conferences. It saves Skype conversations in compact and widely used format - mp3 files. This tool records P2P Skype calls, SkypeOut calls, as well as calls to Skype Online number . This program seats in the system tray and monitors skype calls and start the recording automatically when you start conversation. It can record several simultaneous calls (eg. one active while others on hold) in separate files for easy and convenient access. Very simple interface requires virtually no tuning or setup. Just install it, allow access to the Skype client and that's it.

I just started using Skype to help reduce the minutes used on my cell phone. The calls are clear, no lagging, very cheap and its dead easy to get up and running. This software seems like a good utility to have when those situations popup and you want to record the call.

Link:
http://voipcallrecording.com/

A phone that scans business cards to a contact

The Samsung Omnia has a feature I have not seen, or even heard about, in any other cell phone - business card scanning with OCR. What is does is allow you to take a picture of a business card and it reads the information into a contact by pre-filling in information.

Thanx to Erb for showing me this phone and the feature. It just tells me that my cell phone is a dinosaur and needs to be upgraded.

Link:
http://www.samsung.com/au/omnia/

Free Computer Science Classes from Stanford

For the first time in its history, Stanford is offering some of its most popular engineering classes free of charge to students and educators around the world. Stanford Engineering Everywhere (SEE) expands the Stanford experience to students and educators online. A computer and an Internet connection are all you need. View lecture videos, access reading lists and other course handouts, take quizzes and tests, and communicate with other SEE students, all at your convenience.

SEE programming includes one of Stanford’s most popular sequences: the three-course Introduction to Computer Science taken by the majority of Stanford’s undergraduates and seven more advanced courses in artificial intelligence and electrical engineering.

Also, if you didn't know MIT opened up over 1800 of their courses through a program called OpenCourseWare

Link:
http://see.stanford.edu/

2,000 year old computer boots up

A dictionary-size assemblage of 37 interlocking dials crafted with the precision and complexity of a 19th-century Swiss clock, the Antikythera mechanism was used for modeling and predicting the movements of the heavenly bodies as well as the dates and locations of upcoming Olympic games.

Link:
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/12/...

Early YouTube Engineer Tells All

When we recently heard about the history of YouTube’s growth strategy from CEO Chad Hurley’s point of view, he described it as “hanging onto a rocket.” But an engineer’s take is always going to be a bit less rose-colored and a bit more about the terrifying situations you brained your way out of. So we were particularly interested to tune in to a talk...

Link:
http://gigaom.com/2008/07/11/early-youtube-engineer-tells-all/

Did you see the CNN holographic interview?

CNN's holographic election coverage is fancy pantsy, but how did they manage to send 3D 360 degree footage of virtual correspondent Jessica Yellin from Chicago all the way to the station's election center in NY? As Arthur C. Clarke says, Magic. A magic made possible from technology Vizrt and SportVu with the help of forty-four HD cameras and twenty computers. Here are the details.

Link:
http://gizmodo.com/5076663/...

Unicycle-Riding Robot - Murata Girl

Do you Jott?

Jott makes sure you stay on top of everything. With a simple phone call to 866-JOTT-123, you can capture notes, set reminders and calendar appointments, stay in touch with friends and family, and interact with your favorite web sites and services...all with your voice! Simply call Jott and tell us where you want your message to go. We capture your voice, turn it into text, and send it to the destination you chose.

Link:
http://jott.com

Best Buy to buy Napster....why?

A filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday confirms that retailer Best Buy has entered into a deal to completely purchase online music service Napster, for $121 million including $54 million up front.

Why? Where is Best Buy going with this? Are the brick and mortar companies as we know it on the way out the door?

Link:
http://www.betanews.com/...

Model helps computers sort data more like humans

Humans have a natural tendency to find order in sets of information, a skill that has proven difficult to replicate in computers. Faced with a large set of data, computers don't know where to begin -- unless they're programmed to look for a specific structure, such as a hierarchy, linear order, or a set of clusters.

Now, in an advance that may impact the field of artificial intelligence, a new model developed at MIT can help computers recognize patterns the same way that humans do.

Link:
http://www.physorg.com/news138893926.html

Teenager hacks together hardware for controlling your car via phone

Using little more than book knowledge, experience from previous projects, and a healthy shot of elbow grease, a Kenyan kid has constructed a nifty (and perhaps just a little scary) box that attaches to your car to provide a number of unique remote-control features that you're not going to find on your average OnStar setup. The flagship function seems to be the real-time lockout, which can call you as the car is being started; only if you confirm that it's not some baddie trying to jack your ride will the ignition request be granted. That's not all, though -- it'll also let you dial into the car and listen in on any conversations going on within.

Link:
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/.../

CitySense tells you where the people are

Like a Doppler weather map with red blotches tracking the paths of major storms, a new tracking software service co-developed by Columbia University computer science professor Tony Jebara instantly shows people where the hottest clubs or hangouts are, in real time.

Link:
http://www.physorg.com/news133192373.html

Automate Your Home

For the DIY home automator, the most popular solution is the X10 network protocol. X10 is communications protocol and network address system not unlike the TCP/IP protocol that powers the internet.

Using X10 and some Open-source software.

Link:
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/...

Set Up a Pirate Radio Station

Having a general concept for the content you're going to broadcast is not only important for sanity's sake. Knowing whether you'll be broadcasting voice or music can have a bearing on how you develop your studio. Want to run a music-heavy show? You're probably going to want to broadcast in stereo and on the FM band.

Link:
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/...

Microsoft Seadragon

Seadragon is an incubation project resulting from the acquisition of Seadragon Software in February. Its aim is nothing less than to change the way we use screens, from wall-sized displays to mobile devices, so that visual information can be smoothly browsed regardless of the amount of data involved or the bandwidth of the network.

If you missed the seadragon/photosynth demo then make sure you check out how cool this technology actually is or could be.

This goes on the list with Microsoft Surface as some very cool technologies being developed by Microsoft.

Link:
http://labs.live.com/Seadragon.aspx

10 broken technology ideas

Sometimes a technology idea is too good to be true. A flexible keyboard, Internet voting and watching feature films on your smart phone are examples. Today, these concepts are still evolving, but they're broken right now. I'll tell you why and what could be done to fix them once and for all.

Link:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/...

Amazing Photosynth Demo built on Seadragon

Computer simulation of shooting down the satellite

Link:
http://www.space.com/php/video/...

Toshiba quits HD DVD business

Toshiba said Tuesday it will no longer develop, make or market HD DVD players and recorders, handing a victory to rival Blu-ray disc technology in the format battle for next-generation video.

"We concluded that a swift decision would be best," Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida told reporters at his company's Tokyo offices.

It's over. All you Playstation 3 owners rejoice.

Link:
http://money.cnn.com/...

Mysteries of computer from 65BC are solved

A 2,000-year-old mechanical computer salvaged from a Roman shipwreck has astounded scientists who have finally unravelled the secrets of how the sophisticated device works.

Link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2006/nov/30/uknews

Another reason to get a Playstation 3

With the upcoming 2.0 player profile requiring Blu-ray players to be networked, Sony finally gets to play its trump card: the PlayStation 3, which has clearly emerged as one of the best Blu-ray players on the market—and is likely to remain so for some time. Why? Because the first player now becomes the most versatile, sporting a future-proof Blu-ray setup.

Link:
http://...ps3-the-most-future-proof-player

Cussing to get to the operator?

That's one way to do it.

Many IVR (interactive voice response) systems are programmed to recognize key words. Among those keywords are frequently a list of swear words, like the FCC's dirty 7. When asked to respond, use on of those epithets and you will likely be transferred directly to a live human being.

Link:
http://.../skip-straight-to-the-operator-with-your-dirty-mouth

A look back at the technology of Wolfenstein 3D

Raycasting is a rendering technique to create a 3D perspective in a 2D map. Back when computers were slower it wasn't possible to run real 3D engines in realtime, and raycasting was the first solution. Raycasting can go very fast, because only a calculation has to be done for every vertical line of the screen. The most well known game that used this technique, is of course Wolfenstein 3D.

If you're into gaming and want to see the game that started the first-person revolution then this is a pretty interesting read.

Link:
http://student.kuleuven.be/~m0216922/CG/raycasting.html

What type of TVs can be found at CES 2008

Bigger sets? Sure, we'll have those in spades at CES come January, with another record-breaker undoubtedly being unveiled on day one. But more excitement is actually churning in the realm of core technologies. Here's a sneak peek at what to expect from TV tech.

Link:
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/61004

Get your brain on at MIT

MIT is committed to advancing education and discovery through knowledge open to everyone.

OCW shares free lecture notes, exams, and other resources from more than 1800 courses spanning MIT's entire curriculum.

How cool is this. You can access the course information for more than 1800 MIT courses.

Link:
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

Bombshell: Google and Facebook Join DataPortability.org

The DataPortability Workgroup announced this morning that representatives from both Google and Facebook are joining its ranks. The group is working on a variety of projects to foster an era of Data Portability - where users can take their data from the websites they use to reuse elsewhere and where vendors can leverage safe cross-site data exchange for a whole new level of innovation. Good bye customer lock-in, hello to new privacy challenges. If things go right, today could be a very important day in the history of the internet.

Link:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/goog-fb-data.php

Microsoft co-founder on 700 MHz bidders list, Verizon Wireless not

Thus far, the preliminary list of bidders in the US Federal Communications Commission's 700 MHz auction is a veritable cavalcade of small telecom companies, plus small and large companies alike looking to become telecom companies. Google Airwaves, Inc. is the least surprising, and perhaps most spotlighted member of the group thus far.

Link:
http://.../Microsoft_cofounder_on_700_MHz_bidders_list

The list of bidders:
http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/default.htm?job=auctions_home

Webserver On Stick (WOS)

WOS Portable: "WOS stands for the three letter abbreviation Webserver On Stick and makes it possible, to run a webserver based on Apache, MySQL and PHP from an USB Stick or any other writable media (harddrive, flash cards etc.) without installation under Windows (98 to Vista). There are three different versions of WOS:"

This is a great way to showcase a PHP website when you have no control over the location. Simply place the website on a USB drive, carry to the location, showcase your work and accept pat on the back.

Link:
http://www.chsoftware.net/en/useware/wos/wos.htm

Where the Web 2.0 stars were born

Every year thousands visit the garages where Hewlett-Packard and Apple were hatched. But the hottest tech companies out there weren't all started in a car lot.

Link:
http://money.cnn.com/.../gallery.web2_0_stars

Google Likely Bidder in 700MHz Auction

After lobbying the FCC to ensure open access stipulations for the upcoming auction of 700MHz spectrum last month, Google indicated at a conference in Colorado late Tuesday that it would likely submit a $4.6 billion bid for a portion of the spectrum to be auctioned off. The frequencies would be made available following the successful transition of television signals from analog to digital.

Link:
http://.../Google_Likely_Bidder_in_700MHz_Auction/

A beginner's guide to BitTorrent

Despite the fact that BitTorrent has been around for a good 6 years now, the lightning fast file sharing protocol hasn't completely taken off in the mainstream. Since we post a decent amount about BitTorrent around here, we figured it was just time we put out a beginner's guide to BitTorrent. This is the guide you can send to your friend next time he gets that glassy look in his eyes when you mention BitTorrent and how quick and easy it makes downloading albums educational, public domain videos and other large files.

Without going into too much detail, here's a crash course in the file sharing protocol that is BitTorrent (feel free to skip to the How to find and download a file with BitTorrent section if you're not all that interested in the details).

Link:
http://lifehacker.com/.../a-beginners-guide-to-bittorrent-285489.php

SideJacking: Stealing information when you connect to someone else's WiFi

Users may think that their personal data is safe when they use a secure login page online, but that's quite far from the truth. In fact, everything from the contents of your e-mail, who your friends and acquaintances are, and almost anything else you can think of could be easily exposed by hackers if browsed via WiFi network, security firm Errata Security pointed out in a recent paper presented at this year's Black Hat 2007 and seen by Ars Technica.

Link:
http://...-report-sidejacking-session-information-over-wifi-easy-as-pie

LogMeIn Hamachi

LogMeIn Hamachi is a VPN service that easily sets up in 10 minutes, and enables secure remote access to your business network, anywhere there's an Internet connection.

It works with your existing firewall, and requires no additional configuration. Hamachi is the first networking application to deliver an unprecedented level of direct peer-to-peer connectivity. It is simple, secure, and cost-effective.

Link:
https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/vpn.asp

Difference between the free and premium version:
https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/advantages.asp

Google.......Whatcha upto?

It [Google] has reportedly approached the Federal Communications Commission recently about obtaining wireless spectrum, the base upon which mobile-phone networks are built, in the U.S. agency's next auction.

What are they doing? What is the future with Google? Will we all be connecting through a Google ISP / Network someday? Why do I keep asking all these questions?

Link:
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/...

Most entertaining IT ads from four decades of Computerworld

Here's a few of the copy from the ads:

"You say you don't know your process from your loop? Or your CASE from your GOTO? No doubt, you're suffering from COBOLitis,"
---
These modems are "all performers," this ad not-so-subtly boasts -- from 1,200 bit/sec. all the way up to 4,800 bit/sec.
---
"MultiSpeed is multi-talented. It's small. Light. And gives you the option of running at a clock speed of either 9.54 or 4.77 MHz," boasts this ad from NEC showing what a laptop of its day was like. It weighed in at 11.2 lb. with 640K of memory, dual 720K drives and five built-in programs.

See all:
http://www.computerworld.com/...

Top tech support forum helps in all areas.

Tech Support Guy is one buzzing forum with lots of groups and 100K's of posts. If you need some help with anything computer than check this forum out. Even if you don't want to ask a questions just using their search feature can probably yield a discussion going on.

Link:
http://forums.techguy.org/

Kodak says camera sensor may eliminate flash

Kodak says camera sensor may eliminate flash: "it has developed digital camera technology that nearly eliminates the need for flash photography, part of the company's effort to make money from its deep patent portfolio.

The world's biggest maker of photographic film says its proprietary sensor technology significantly increases sensitivity to light. Image sensors act as a digital camera's eyes by converting light into an electric charge to begin the capture process."

Gotta love technology...

Link:
http://.../tc_nm/kodak_sensors_dc_1

How Much Does The Internet Weigh?

How heavy is information? Most of us know that computers represent all types of information—e-mails, documents, video clips, Web pages, everything—as streams of binary digits, 1s and 0s. These digits are mathematical entities, but they are also tangible ones: They are embodied and manipulated as voltages in electronic circuits. Therefore, every bit of data must have some mass, albeit minuscule. This prompted DISCOVER to ask the question: How much would all the data sent through the Internet on an average day weigh?

Link:
http://.../jun/how-much-does-the-internet-weigh/

(as found through DonationCoder.com)

Things missed while I was away

Google Bonding With ISPs: "On Friday of last week, Google announced that they would now begin offering their Google Apps for Your Domain to ISPs, making the popular web apps available to, potentially, thousands of ISP subscribers as ISP-branded services."

Google Announces Purge Of Ad-heavy Web Sites: "Google is trying to clean up its search results by cracking down on dubious Web sites that contain little content but lots of ads."

Wal-Mart to begin selling Dell PCs: "Dell plans to begin selling desktop PCs in Wal-Mart Stores in the next few weeks, the first move in a major departure from its decades-long sales strategy."

Google Lauches Hot Trends: A almost real-time view of what people are searching for. Minus the porn and Britney Spears results.

Seems Google has been busy.

Six Must-Know HDTV Facts

Disappointed by how fuzzy CNN looks on your new HDTV? Wondering why Jack Bauer looks so soft and plump on your new flat-screen? Maybe it's because you're not really watching HD on your high-def TV.

According to Audioholics, almost half of the 24 million homes with HDTVs lack an HD cable or satellite feed, and about a quarter of those surveyed didn't even know they were still watching non-HD signals. Why such big numbers? Actually, it's not hard to understand; I can't tell you how many times I've watched salespeople at TV stores push HDTVs on hapless shoppers, going on and on about the razor-sharp picture and surround sound, but not bothering to tell them how to get HD signals into their living rooms.

Link:
http://tech.yahoo.com/blog/patterson/578

Fotowoosh Will Turn Any Picture Into A 3D Image

Fotowoosh Will Turn Any Picture Into A 3D Image: "Fotowoosh, a new service from Maryland-based startup Freewebs, will turn any image (preferably an outdoor image) into a 3D model. They went live on Friday. Examples of what the service can do are above (along with the original 2D images. A video is here which shows more examples."

Link:
http://.../fotowoosh-will-turn-any-picture-into-3d-image/

The top 5 new features in Flash CS3

The top 5 new features in Flash CS3: "After digging into Flash CS3 a bit and talking with Richard Galvan, the new technical product manager for Flash, I've come up with 5 new features that will help both developers and designers who are new to the CS3 version. Flash gained a lot from the Adobe-Macromedia merger, and this first version should give people using Flash a lot of things to cheer about. I've also got some screenshots of the new features in the Flash CS3 Features Gallery."

Link:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Stewart/?p=336

Teleflip launches new service

Teleflip has a service called flipMail that allows you to get your e-mail on your cell phone for free. Not really much to say about it since there's no FAQ or much information on their website. Sign up for the beta and see if you can get it.

Link:
http://www.teleflip.com

3D Desktop is simply amazing and probably the future

If you haven't seen any of the video of the 3D Desktops that are floating around, boy are you missing out. You have to check the videos out and see how amazing a 3D Desktop can be.

Link:
http://crave.cnet.com/...

Request Delivery Intercept from UPS

A new feature from UPS that will have most saying "Finally!". Basically the new intercept features lets you:

• Return to Sender: Return the package to the shipper
• Deliver to Another Address: Reroute the package to a new address
• Reschedule Delivery: Hold the package for delivery on a future date
• Will Call: Hold the package for pickup by the consignee

Good Job UPS. FedEx. Hello, you there?

Link:
http://www.ups.com/.../delivery_intercept.html

Crossloop makes connecting two PC's easy as pie

"CrossLoop is a FREE secure screen sharing utility designed for people of all technical skill levels. CrossLoop extends the boundaries of VNC’s traditional screen sharing by enabling non-technical users to get connected from anywhere on the Internet in seconds without changing any firewall or router settings. It only takes a few minutes to setup and no signup is required."

Link:
http://www.crossloop.com/

1-800-Free-411 Has 6% Market Share of U.S. 411 Market

That's huge for a service that most people, that I talk to at least, have never heard of. I blogged about 1-800-Free-411 a while back and looks like there are going strong.

Read on:
http://.../1-800-free-411-has-6-market-share-of-us-411-market/

Find out where that email came from

Email messages, as in the case of their non-electronic cousins, have "envelopes" of a sort. In the case of email the envelope is composed of a series of "Headers". These are just a series of lines of characters which precede the actual email message. Email programs such as Outlook do not normally display these Headers when displaying a message. From these Headers however, the email program is able to extract important information about the message, such as the message encoding method, the creation date, the message subject, the sender and receiver, etc.

Read on:
http://www.johnru.com/active-whois/trace-email.html

Just how big is Amazon's database

42 Terabytes and growing. Read about that and 9 other huge database's...

Link:
http://.../2007/02/top_10_largest_.html

Are you concerned about RFID powder?

You should be. RFID Powder is down right scary what this can be used for.

• Imagine walking into Walmart and having the 'powder' stick to your shoes so they can track how you walk around the store. Couple that with what you buy they could better setup stores to maximize what you will purchase.
• What about placing the powder inside of purchases where a retailer or small time business owner could drive through a neighborhood and determine who is using their product.
• Just so many ideas of how this could be used.

It just worries me what and how someone could use this.

Link:
http://.../hitachis-rfid-powder-freaks-us-the-heck-out/