Spanish Port To Get Robo-fish To Detect Pollution

The Spanish port of Gijon is about to get a school of robotic fish who's mandate will be to detect pollutants from ships and outflows of sewers and industries. The robots are designed to swim like fish because the motion uses less energy than propeller drives “The design of fish which nature has produced is a very energy-efficient one,” says Rory Doyle, a researcher working on the project. “The fish's efficiency is created by hundreds of millions of years' of evolution. Submarines come nowhere near it.” The 1.5 metre long robots will be manufactured by the University of Essex and are expected to be deployed within 18 months.

Source: Globe and Mail

Google Unwraps Chrome Experiments

Over the past few months Google has enlisted the help of a number of JavaScript gurus to demonstrate the power of Chromes V8 JavaScript engine. The result is Chrome Experiments a collection of fun and interesting projects that push the boundaries of the browser. Check out the video and the link above:

Source: Official Google Blog

iPhone OS 3.0 - With Cut and Paste

Much to the delight of all and surprise of few, Apple at it's OS 3.0 event has announced the inclusion of a cut and paste functionality that many had pondered the exclusion of since the first devices hit the street. According to the New York Times:

"Among the new tricks of the updated software are features that will allow developers to create multiplayer games that work over a phone-to-phone wireless connection, and ways for iPhone applications to push messages to users even when they are not running.

That last improvement could unleash a new wave of creativity on the iPhone. Companies like ESPN can send scores to sports fans, and instant messaging can now become far more practical on the device."

Students Returning To Computer Science

A couple of recent reports/surveys of American and Canadian Colleges and Universities have indicated that students are starting to get interested in computer science again after an 8 year slump in enrollment.

“We’re seeing amazing increases in enrollment,” Eric Roberts, a computer scientist at Stanford University is quoted in the New York Times as saying. “It’s not that people have forgotten about the offshoring of jobs, but our competition isn’t what it was. There are fewer places to go, and we don’t have Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns and Citibank to compete with.”

While Peter Harsha, director of government affairs at the Computing Research Association says “The most compelling story for our community is that interest in computer science appears to have turned the corner,”

For some reason those banking jobs just don't seem all that appealing any more...

Talk About Second Generation Surface At South By South West

The BBC is reporting that developers are talking about a second generation Microsoft Surface which has been dubbed Second Light and builds upon the original by having a second projector inside the device that can project images onto a layer above the surface of the screen. This modification will allow Second Light to overlay secondary images above those on the screen. It is rumored that the second generation will interpret gestures and movements without having to touch the screen through the use of infrared sensors and that it will employ high definition cameras for better detail.

"Everything is moving to touch and multi-touch so you had better jump on that bandwagon," Erik Klimczak, creative director of Clarity Consulting who develops for the surface told the conference of web developers.

20 Years Since Web Invisioned By Berners-Lee

20 years ago today Tim Berners-Lee published his "Information Management: A proposal" and the rest is history. Here is an interesting snip from his modest conclusions:

"We should work toward a universal linked information system, in which generality and portability are more important than fancy graphics techniques and complex extra facilities."

"The aim would be to allow a place to be found for any information or reference which one felt was important, and a way of finding it afterwards. The result should be sufficiently attractive to use that it the information contained would grow past a critical threshold, so that the usefulness the scheme would in turn encourage its increased use."

I think he's more than achieved his goal!

Apple Unveils New iPod Shuffle - Smaller And Talkative

Apple has taken the wraps off of a new iPod Shuffle that half the size of it's predecessor, has 4 GB of storage for up to 1000 songs, and introduces a new feature called VoiceOver. VoiceOver tells you what song is playing and who’s performing it at the press of a button and can tell you the names of your playlists, giving you a new way to navigate your music especially handy during workouts. Perhaps the only drawback, though Apple will argue it is a feature, is that the controls are located on the earbud cord. While this may be a convient spot it necessitates the purchase of new ear buds from Apple, at least at the moment.

Wal-Mart Throughs Hat Into The Digital Health Record Ring

Wal-Mart has made its intentions known regarding digital health records announcing that it will be partnering its Sam’s Club division with Dell for hardware and eClinicalWorks, for software, to offer physicians in small offices an affordable solution. “We’re a high-volume, low-cost company,” said Marcus Osborne, senior director for health care business development at Wal-Mart. “And I would argue that mentality is sorely lacking in the health care industry.” According to the New York Times "Dell will be responsible for installation of the computers, while eClinicalWorks will handle software installation, training and maintenance. Wal-Mart is using its buying power for discounts on both the hardware and software."

Baseball Cards Come To Life With Augmented Reality

Baseball collector card maker Topps is unveiling a new card using "augmented reality". According to the New York Times "Beginning Monday, collectors who hold a special Topps 3D Live baseball card in front of a webcam will see a three-dimensional avatar of the player on the computer screen. Rotate the card, and the figure rotates in full perspective." The baseball card industry has been struggling in the internet age, going from a billion dollar industry to about 200 million is revenues today. These new cards promise to reconnect people with cards by offering an engaging new experience, at least for now. You really should follow the link above and check out the video...

Kepler Telescope Launched - In Search Of Earth-like Planets

NASA launched the Kepler telescope aboard a Delta II rocket on Friday night from Cape Canaveral. The telescope, named after 17th-century German astrophysicist Johannes Kepler, is on a mission to seek potentially habitable planets by staring at approximately 100,000 stars some 600 to 3,000 light years away in the so-called habitable zone. "If one of them has a planet like the Earth going around it and if that planet happens to pass in front of that star, the star will get just a little dimmer, then a little brighter for a while as the planet eclipses it," according to CBC's science correspondent Bob McDonald. Over the past 10 years 300 or so planets have been identified to be orbiting stars outside our solar system, but they are largely gaseous planets like Jupiter. Kepler's mission is to look for smaller Earth-like planets.