Mar 16 2010
In the beginning, communication was hindered by distance. Now, all that stands in the way of universal communication is language. As computers and their programs grow faster and smarter, even this barrier is falling. Join me as we take a brief snapshot of the budding industry of real-time translation. Online translation went mainstream (in the …
Mar 15 2010
What does it mean to have a passion? The word is thrown around a lot, especially in Twitter bios; “I am passionate about…,” is a common way to let people know what you care about. There are depths to this word, though, that few people think about or really explore. To wit: Art is – …
Mar 14 2010
All good things must go, and that will eventually include Twitter as we know it. Until that time, Twitter has some fundamental qualities and current developments that will help it to weather the storms of Facebook, Google Buzz, and other social media challengers. A double-edged sword that tends to work in Twitter’s favor is the …
Mar 13 2010
NASA has discovered 1.3 trillion pounds of ice across more than forty craters near the moon’s north pole. That sounds great! But what does it mean? The long-awaited discovery actually holds some rather interesting implications for the near future of space exploration and possible colonization. The first, most sensational, and most obvious conclusion to be …
Mar 12 2010
It’s already annoying enough dealing with the Bluetooth People. You know the ones – talking to thin air, sometimes even right at you (ugh), while they’re on the phone. But that’s nothing compared to what’s coming: people having a full phone conversation by silently moving their mouths. Yes, it’s being developed, and here are the …
Mar 11 2010
During World War II, some of the best and brightest minds of the British Royal Navy were hard at work figuring out how to make ice. Well, not just any ice. An ice stronger than ice – in fact, almost as strong as concrete! The material was called pykrete, and although it was successfully invented …
Mar 10 2010
In the age of social media, our identity is all about labels. Every social site is built around profiles, and every profile contains boxes and boxes and boxes of labels. [What are your stats? What are your interests?] Does our love of public labels now extend to our previously private sexuality? Or do gays and …
Mar 09 2010
Who, a decade ago, would have charged fifty cents to a credit card for a newspaper? Or conceived of using said credit to pay a buddy back for a soda? Credit cards and electronic fund transfers, like writing checks, used to be a thing reserved for large payments. No more – enter: the micropayment. Every …
Mar 08 2010
Red tea is technically an herbal tea – which is a broad category and one that is quickly gaining in popularity alongside green and white teas. With its wide range of flavors and profiles and its complete lack of caffeine, herbal tea is an ideal offering for large (and often picky) groups of people. Red …
Mar 07 2010
But soft! What tea in yonder cup darkly brews? It is the West, and the tea is a black! While greens and oolongs rule the East, the West has been dominated by strong, sweet, and fragrant black teas since the 19th century. In fact, black tea currently accounts for over ninety percent of all tea …
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