“New Apple ad says Siri-reliant Santa is a slob”
The ad is funny enough on its own, but this take on it had me laughing aloud.
Archive of posts filed under the Robotics and/or Computing Hardware category.
“US spy drone hijacked with GPS spoof hack, report says”
Ever since I heard the report about the captured US spy-drone earlier this week, I wondered how it could possibly have happened. Well, my curiosity was satisfied today: it was reputedly caught by sending it false GPS signals — a vulnerability that military officials have apparently been aware of since at least 2003, and one …
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“Robo-bear helps snorers snooze more smoothly”
My stepfather has sleep apnea. He’s a really top-notch guy who will put up with a lot, but somehow I doubt he’d take kindly to having a robo-bear tickling his face at night.
“Brainscan breakthrough: Working robot limbs come closer”
This sort of thing will be useful for lots of peaceful purposes too. True telepresence, for instance, a la Surrogates. Fire and rescue workers equipped with something like this will be able to save others without having to risk their own lives. Astronauts could remain safely in orbiting ships, sending down only robotic suits, possibly …
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“New plan: Send humans into space, keep the robots on Earth”
It sounds like a good idea to me. 🙂
“Laser display could mean 3D sans screens”
If anyone is looking for a holiday present for me, one of these would be REALLY appreciated. 😉 Think of the possibilities… this could eventually eliminate the need for a screen entirely! Add a way for the computer to understand subvocalized commands, and you could have a full-powered general-purpose computer and entertainment center with you …
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“Researchers propose simple fix to thwart e-voting attack”
This had better become required by law, and soon, if the government wants people to trust electronic voting machines. Every security expert who’s even glanced at them has been appalled at how easily they can be manipulated. Related and possibly-interesting note: a significant part of one of the Stainless Steel Rat books — written long …
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“iPad baby baffled by paper magazine”
I saw something in a science fiction book once (I don’t recall which one, but it might have been David Brin’s Earth, though I can’t locate my copy of it now to verify that). It described a young man’s first encounter with a printed book, after spending all his life with a World Wide Web …
“Boffins place living creature under control of brain chip”
Hm… could the world of Darrell Bain’s The Pet Plague be far behind? 😉 Or more seriously, the brain enhancements of Peter F. Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn trilogy, or any of a dozen similar science fiction works? Scary stuff, but ooh so exciting, too.
Steve Jobs, 1955-2011
I wasn’t awake ten minutes this morning before I learned that Steve Jobs had died. I was never truly happy with Apple products — too expensive, not expandable enough, not complex enough to satisfy my geek soul — but even long before the iPhone, they had a major if indirect impact on everything I did. …