Quick, efficient chip cleans up common flaws in amateur photographs. Your smartphone snapshots could be instantly converted into professional-looking photographs with just the touch of a button, thanks to a processor chip developed at MIT. The chip, built by a team at MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratory, can perform tasks such as creating more realistic or […]
Artificial intelligence
Arms Vendors Turn to Cyber Security as Sales Drop
The world’s largest arms vendors are expanding in the cybersecurity sector as austerity measures weigh on sales of traditional weapons, a Swedish peace research institute said Monday. Sales by the 100 largest arms producing companies, excluding Chinese companies, fell by 5 percent to $410 billion in 2011, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in […]
Facebook Says It was Hacked, No Data Compromised
Facebook Inc. says it was the target of hackers but no user information was compromised during the attack. The social media giant said Friday on its security blog that the company discovered in January that its system had been targeted in a sophisticated attack. A handful of the company’s employees visited a developer’s website that […]
Forget About Leprechauns, Engineers Are Catching Rainbows
University at Buffalo engineers have created a more efficient way to catch rainbows, an advancement in photonics that could lead to technological breakthroughs in solar energy, stealth technology and other areas of research. Qiaoqiang Gan, PhD, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at UB, and a team of graduate students described their work in a […]
This Device Punishes You for Skipping a Workout
We’ve all done it. You come home from a long day at the office. Sit down on the couch to watch a little Walking Dead. You feel a little guilty that you haven’t hit the gym or gone for a run, but you figure no one will know. But then your television set turns itself […]
The Global State of Information Security
Information security has always been a high-stakes game. One that demands a smart strategy, the right technology moves, and an unblinking eye on adversaries. For many businesses, however, it has become a pursuit that is almost impossible to win. That’s because the rules have changed, and opponents—old and new—are armed with expert technology skills. As […]
Equipment Autopsy: Under-Cabinet Television
In this teardown video, Chris takes apart an old under cabinet TV to see what’s inside. He explains how ferrite beads work, how audio speakers are specified, and the basic RF circuit board layout of a TV. Chris covers how ferrite is used to tune parts of the circuit and antenna and then salvages some […]
Kickstarter of the Week: A Life-Size, Walk-In Camera
When Daimler-Benz commissioned German physicist and inventor Werner Krause to develop a camera capable of recording the ignition process of the Wankel engine in the 70s, they had no idea it would result in a technological wonder. The standard optical lens systems of the time were incapable of capturing the ultra-fast processes within automobile […]
Researchers Invent “Acoustic-Assisted” Magnetic Information Storage
Electrical engineers at Oregon State University have discovered a way to use high- frequency sound waves to enhance the magnetic storage of data, offering a new approach to improve the data storage capabilities of a multitude of electronic devices around the world. The technology, called acoustic-assisted magnetic recording, has been presented at a professional conference, […]
Proposed $24.4B Sale Looms Over Dell’s Earnings
Dell’s fiscal fourth-quarter report is expected to show why the struggling personal computer maker wants to end its 25-year history as a public company. WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The results, due out after the stock market closes Tuesday, are being released two weeks after Dell Inc. announced it plans to sell itself for $24.4 billion […]