Daily News Courier

Adventures in Infinite File Storage

Bitcasa’s limitless storage service is a cool idea, but it needs work.

Imagine never having to worry about running out of space on your laptop, tablet, or smartphone for pictures, videos, or documents; or even having to remember where you saved a file. It’s a wonderful idea and we’re getting closer, but we aren’t there just yet.

The Brain is Not Computable

A leading neuroscientist says Kurzweil’s Singularity isn’t going to happen. Instead, humans will assimilate machines.

Miguel Nicolelis, a top neuroscientist at Duke University, says computers will never replicate the human brain and that technological Singularity is “a bunch of hot air.”

Graphene And The EmergingTechnology of Neural Prostheses

Neural implants are set to be revolutionised by a new type of graphene transistor with a liquid gate, say bio-engineers

Ambri’s Better Grid Battery

A tiny startup called Ambri wants to transform our energy system with massive liquid-metal batteries.

Standing next to the Ping-Pong table in the offices of the battery startup Ambri, chief technology officer David Bradwell needs both hands to pick up what he hopes will be a building block for a new type of electricity grid. Made of thick steel, it’s a container shaped like a large round cake pan, 16 inches in diameter. Inside it are two metal pucks and some salt powder; a round plate has been welded to the top to make a 100-pound battery cell.

Second Coming of the Spec: Verizon Now Curates Apps on Technical Merit

The mobile carrier ranks apps not on popularity or “fun,” but on security, data usage, and battery criteria.

When you go to the Editors Picks in the iOS App Store, you assume you’re getting the best. But what qualifies an app to be “best”? Is it sales? Design? Fun factor? Verizon thinks that’s all a bunch of mushy crap that users don’t care about. The mobile carrier has started curating its own best-in-class app lists, using criteria that do matter to its customers: Will this app max out my data plan? Will it kill my battery? Will it get me hacked? 

Nanocapsules Sober Up Drunken Mice

Wrapping alcohol-digesting enzymes in a nanoscale polymer allows them to quickly reduce blood alcohol content.

Researchers have reduced blood alcohol levels in intoxicated mice by injecting them with nanocapsules containing enzymes that are instrumental in alcohol metabolism. The treatment demonstrates a novel drug delivery technology that could have broad medical applications.

Celebrating Moonshot Thinking: Solve for X Honors Innovators Under 35

Who do you think should join the Innovators Under 35 this year?

Jason Pontin’s essay, “Why We Can’t Solve Big Problems” had at its heart a fundamental belief that the solution to most, if not all, of our shared human problems will come from emerging technologies. We are inspired by today’s young technologists who are working to eradicate disease; provide food, water, renewable energy sources, and affordable education to billions; and even ease traffic jams for growing urban populations.

Moshers, Heavy Metal and Emergent Behavior

The collective behavior of moshers at heavy metal concerts is mathematically similar to a disordered 2D gas, say physicists.

Obama: Technology Will Save the Country

Did Obama’s State of the Union speech include more mentions of technology than any other president’s?

The State of the Union address is a set piece. Appeal to the middle class. Rattle sabers at enemies abroad. Toward the end, highlight a few ordinary, courageous Americans by name.

Targeted Hacking Forces a New Reality on Antivirus Companies

An influx of advanced malware will force big antivirus companies to either evolve or cede turf to a crop of startups.

When the New York Times revealed this month that hackers had recently breached its networks, what turned the heads of security experts wasn’t that the attacks had occurred. It was a top antivirus company’s unusually candid admission about the limits of its own technology.

Symantec was put on the defensive because its software only once detected and quarantined any of the 45 pieces of custom malware the hackers had used to target the New York Times and ferret out certain reporters’ e-mails, a heist the newspaper itself reported in a news article. According to a Times spokeswoman, the paper did have the latest antivirus software on all computers on its network; but to guard against so-called advanced persistent threats, “antivirus software alone is not enough,” read Symantec’s statement.