Technology

Do you remember the 2002 movie Minority Report, in which police used a synthesized computer system to predict crimes before they happened? Flash forward 9 years later in the year 2011 and detecting pre-crime is now a reality. Police officers in ... Santa Cruz, California have had tremendous success in combating crime this past month. Their good fortune can be attributed to the launch of a new computer program that is able to predict key locations for criminal activity and deploy officers before any actual wrongdoing occurs. The computer program, which is updated daily, generates predictions about ... (view more)

Jodie Foster was the star of Hollywood's 1997 science fiction film 'Contact', but encountering extraterrestrial life forms isn't just made for movies, it seems. Instead, it was recently revealed that the big-name actress is fully behind a project ... that seeks to prove that Earth is not the only planet boasting intelligent life. According to a new report, Foster recently made a donation to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute based in California. It was an important move for the institute, which in recent years has faced steadily increasing funding cuts. Donation Helps ... (view more)

One of the primary reasons people buy a smartphone is for the ability to download all kinds of different mobile applications, otherwise known as "apps." However, a new study finds that many of these programs inevitably lead to the loss of personal ... data. The study comes to us from ViaForensics, a digital forensics and security firm. It tested 100 different applications found on both the Google Android and Apple iOS platforms, and gave each app a rating of either a pass [safe], warn [not-so-safe], or fail [dangerous]. (Source: betanews.com ) Failed Apps Neglect to Protect User ... (view more)

Less than a month after BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) announced it would lay off thousands of employees , Sprint has now revealed that it will not release the RIM's PlayBook 4G tablet, dealing the already hurting firm yet another blow. ... According to Sprint, the decision to not release the PlayBook 4G was reached mutually with RIM, and is related primarily to technical incompatibility. RIM, Sprint Headed in Different Directions "We apologize for any inconvenience but the BlackBerry 4G PlayBook tablet that was announced in January for summer availability will no longer be coming to ... (view more)

Just when you thought that innovations could not get any more compact, a new report out of Rice University is claiming that scientists have been able to construct a working battery that is six times thinner in size than a bacterium. The microscopic ... battery measures 150 nanometers in width, meaning that it is literally hundreds of times thinner than a human hair follicle, and more than 60,000 times smaller than a regular AAA battery. Battery / Supercapacitor Hybrid The diminutive power pack is manufactured by the thousands in dense arrays. It is actually a cross between a battery and a ... (view more)

Social networking has been blamed for helping promote rioting and looting in the United Kingdom. But the culprit is not, as some have assumed, Twitter. Riots broke out in the Tottenham area of London this past Saturday after a protest about the ... shooting of a local man by police two days earlier. The initial riot has been followed by numerous outbreaks of violence and looting in other areas of the city. Twitter Users Ahead of Media in Reporting Violence The events have been discussed extensively on Twitter, with local residents reporting on incidents before they are covered by mainstream media ... (view more)

A new study suggests that computer data centers might not be using as much power as previously estimated. It appears that power use is still rising, but at a slower pace than in the past. The report comes from Jonathon Koomey, a Stanford University ... professor that works at the Lawrence Berkeley National laboratory. He's put together figures on the growth of data centre electricity use around the world between 2005 and 2010, which follows on from a previous report he produced for the period from 2000 to 2005. A data center is a facility that houses special computers known as servers. Rather ... (view more)

According to a new report, the world's population will reach nine billion in just 39 years. The finding is raising new questions about our ability to handle that kind of growth, particularly in regions where population expansion is expected to rise ... fastest. The study comes from Professor David Bloom and can be found in a recent publication from the Harvard School of Public Health. Right now our global population is just under seven billion people. Bloom predicts that the number will increase to nine billion by 2050, and ten billion by the end of the century. (Source: secaucusnewjersey.org ) ... (view more)

Microsoft has released test editions of its next update to the Windows Phone operating system (OS). It should mean some of the changes will be hitting new and existing phones relatively soon. The update has been codenamed 'Mango' and is the largest ... set of changes to the Windows Phone 7 OS yet, though the company hasn't yet decided to officially dub it version 2.0. There are two slightly different versions of the update in circulation at the moment. One has gone to phone manufacturers and is designed to allow them to test it on both existing and forthcoming handsets to spot any potential ... (view more)

Maintaining an active lifestyle remains an ongoing struggle for many people. But a new, hi-tech wristband is looking to keep people motivated to stay fit and make health-conscious decisions throughout the day. Jawbone, a company known for ... manufacturing Bluetooth headsets, has expanded their production to include a lightweight bracelet that monitors an individual's daily physical activity through the use of built-in motion and vibration sensors. Smartphone Pics Reveal Eating Patterns Called "Up," the wrist wear accompanies a smartphone app that enables users to record their eating habits ... (view more)