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The "Green Brain Project" aims to create an insectobot (a robotic insect) with the brain of a honey bee. It's not as crazy or difficult as it sounds though, the researchers working on this project are not directly copying a bees brain but trying to recreate it. More specifically they are recreating bees two most important senses- sight and smell. They will then upload this fake brain into a small insect like robot so it can act somewhat like a real honey bee. This is important, as it would be a huge step forward in robotics and also because scientists say they could use robotic bees to artificially pollinate. This could help  with the reduced number of honeybees. Bees are very important to the whole environment so this project could possibly be revolutionary. I chose the tag "environment" because scientist are trying to recreate a natural animal that not only comes from Earth but greatly impacts it. Plants need bees pollination to grow, and animals need plants to eat so with a lack of bees, the whole food web would take a major hit. This project aims to try to fix this. To me, it seems like it would be extremely expensive and difficult to create as many bees as the earth would need. Maybe in the distant future though, this may be realized.

This article discusses that soon, video cameras will be able to predict your next move.  By using technology similar to that used in Microsoft's Kinect and Google's self-driving cars, the cameras are getting better and better at spotting and identifying certain objects. The step the researchers are on now is creating a "cognitive engine" so that a computer can decide whether or not those objects are misbehaving and whether or not they are about to. This will defiantly make a thief's/shoplifter's job much harder. This new software can be implemented for not only military purposes, but also civilian situations. For example airports.( if someone is leaving a suspicious package somewhere.) This kind of technology will make our everyday lives much safer because it will prevent things such as theft, terrorism, etc.  This software is not complete yet but it's coming together very swiftly. Prepare everyone, Skynet is coming.

this article is about a company called The Defense Advanced Research Priojects Agency who is asking anyone who can help them help make their already impressive robots even better. They've made robots that can walk, crouch, climb up stairs, and even robots that can do push ups. i found this very interesting and it relates to this class because we need to learn more about how we can use our computers to make advanced technology and make our lives just a bit easier.  

This article notifies readers that Google has boosted the speed and their browser's hardware acceleration with the launch of Google Chrome, version 18. Google paid more than $210,000 to outside researchers to identify and prevent a number of bugs, flaws, and hacking challenges from this past year so these same problems wouldn't be involved in this new update. This interests me because I am a Google Chrome user both at home and school and when I hear that another version is offered that speeds up Web applications, various software's such as Adobe Flash Player, games, internet, etc, I am more than pleased to get on my computer to update my browser to overall experience a better and more efficient use while on my computer that Google has to offer. But in my opinion, the most intriguing part of this article is how even with Google constantly updating and improving their web browser, Google Chrome, in the month of February, Google's browser is only third with 18.9% of users, next to Firefox with 20.9% of users, and in first, Microsoft Internet Explorer with more than half of users at 52.8%. People are least invested in Google's web browser and this largely adds to the reason to why they are constantly changing their Google Chrome design to attract but also to maintain their users. My thoughts are how I think it be interesting to see what Google has next up their sleeve because they have the money, technology, and resources to develop a browser that has enough features and limited problems to double and almost triple their amount of web users in hopefully the near future. 

Whether you are thinking of getting the new Ipad or the Ipad 2, yo should do some little bit of research in the internet. In this article, there are lots of advantage and disaventage about the ipad2 and the New Ipad.The foremost argument for the new iPad is its gorgeous, high-resolution display. It's sharper and brighter, and offers more compelling color and detail than the display on the iPad 2. If you appreciate the difference in image quality between standard-definition and high-definition content, you'll want a new iPad.

As the title reads, this article announces scientists discovery to recharge laptops and cell phones with soda pop and vegetable oil. Scientists created the first fuel cell that produces electricity with technology borrowed from natural biological powerhouses. Researchers believe, these innovative biofuel cells can transform sugar and fats into energy for running a variety of machines and devices. When further developed, these devices have the potential for replacing disposable and rechargeable batteries in a wide variety of consumer electronics and other products.This can be a revolutionary discovery if we actually start to use soda pop and vegetable oil as our energy source to run our electronic devices rather than batteries. This has an impact on everybody's life and ultimately the entire world because with so much of our lives consisting of using and working with various technology based devices, it will be significant in the way we save money and resources in helping our environment and lives but also being just as efficient and successful with our products as before. 

This is interesting because it allows for more storage. if we have more storage then it gives us a chance to research and process more information and learn.

This article informs the world of a computer program created by researchers from North Carolina State University, that allows a computer to have the tools to help, guide, and take control of a unpleasant driving experience. A computer with this program installed can understand what a camera is looking at and makes decisions based on what it sees. The program is highly intelligent because it can sort visual data and make decisions related to finding the lanes on a road, detecting how those lanes change as a car is moving, and controlling the car to stay in the correct lane. I find this program extremely fascinating and more importantly is also useful for lazy or bad drivers because if it just so happens you fall asleep at the wheel, this program acts as a lifesaver to prevent you and others from severe harm while you can trust you will be safe and secure with your computer taking over. This computer is essentially driving your car and is designed to notice a pedestrian or a stop sign and is assigned the appropriate action to complete. This could be the start in advances in technology where more computer programs can allow assistance and advisement when someone is struggling or in need of help. Something like this can definitively be cool and if it works effectively at all times, I believe this will be a huge invention that we all look back on one day. 

This article is about an add on that turns your smartphone's camera into a three axis joystick. This was developed by researches from Keio University as an approach to the problem-- getting your screen blocked by your finger when you play. This works by tracking how the markers move as the elastic device deforms. 

Keio University in Japan decided to create something where plants react to you and display a variety of different emotions on your computer etc. (example in the picture) Yes, it is a real actual plant sprouting out of a box, which has sensors and microphones that monitor its surroundings. These plants are "rigged up" and they don't wilt for nearly a year. That's pretty cool! 

The article describes five different ways students abuse technology such as phones and computers to cheat in school through means such as copying and pasting, file sharing, and sharing answers through text. The Internet is a vast collection of information, students will usually use this to obtain research for school projects and properly give credit to sources. However, some students use the Internet to steal information, and pass it as their own so they have to do minimal work and because it's easy. Eventually these students end up failing because they don't know how to write their own pieces of writing. Plagiarism is not only committed by students but even reporters, and writers. This goes to show how easy it is to cheat using technology.

The iWatch, Apple's much speculated piece of future wearable tech, is becoming more viable daily as Apple hires more tech experts with in backgrounds in medical technology. This lends it self to speculation that the iWatch will not only be wearable tech, but also wearable tech with medical uses. Among those hired are Marcelo Malini Lamego, a research and development expert who in the past has developed another piece of wearable medical tech. This in combination with the hiring of algorithm and biosensor developer Nima Ferdosi strongly point to the iWatch being more fact than fiction. Michael O'Reilly is another recent acquisition by Apple, this time a Chief Medical Officer at Masimo medical. This is especially strange because Mr. O'Reilly has a background in medicine, not technology. This, taken into account with Apple's latest grab at wearable medical technology developers suggests that the iWatch may not be far off, and it may be the future of at home medicine.

Many people, especially children my age are addicted to simple games that are frustratingly amusing which makes them even more determined to play it over and over and over again. For example, Flappy Bird. I see so many people investing x amount of precious time into it, just to get a pixelated bird through the most tubes as possible. This usually results in a) anger and humiliation for not getting pass at least 1 tube b) zero attention payed during important class lectures c) less study time and failing courses. However to at least stop more people from failure, neurologists are trying to develop another addictive game for people to play which secretly builds up your brain via subliminal messaging. By knowing the foundation of the addictive power of a game and manipulating it, researchers aim to keep people interested while subconsciously giving them a stronger and healthier brain. This is something that can be really amazing because the mass majority who wastes time on silly games like Flappy Bird might actually be receivers of benefit - gaining knowledge and useful skills without even realizing it.

This article talks about a mobile app that is available on iOS and Android for Major League Baseball Players to help arrange contracts, look into profits and deal with the business side of their careers while on the go. By giving players devices to arrange better contracts or research notoriety administration on online networking, the MLBPA is trusting the application will make the business side of players' professions more transparent. This is great for baseball players because they can control their careers on their phones, and don't have to worry much about scams in their contracts. This app also shows the new evolution of careers and jobs, and how everything is becoming technology based.

This article is about a bio-organic battery by StoreDot, which uses quantum dot technology to charge a phone from flat to full in 30 seconds. There is currently only a prototype and the tech used has not yet been shrinked so that if is small enough to fit inside phones. The battery is famous for its amazing charging speed for a smartphone. The info of this technology is from research being done into Alzheimer's disease. The work is called peptides (amino acids), the company uses these molecules to create nano-crystals. The only disadvantage said by StoreDot is that the ecosystem is not ready because this is a brand new type of material. This creation is great but then it has some risks because of the new type of technology and it may affect the environment negatively.

till not convinced that BlackBerry Messenger for Android is real and possibly showing up next week at BlackBerry DevCon? Let us whet your appetite with a few more images.

Last week a source at Research In Motion (RIM) reached out to us with some images of what they claimed to be BBM for Android.  Said source read the comments on that post and decided to come back with a few more images to explain some of what you were seeing.  These new pictures show off threaded messaging as well as the ability to customize your fonts.  According to what the anonymous source tells us, you'll also be able to change the size as you want for easy reading. All of the accounts shown in the images are test accounts, so don't be thrown by that part.

Nowadays many of us go online believing that we are safe and that we have our own privacy in our own home while we chat with our friends or while we do research, but not in this instance. In some German states authorities admitted to using spyware in the form of a Trojan. These authorities are allowed to use spyware to keep track on criminals but are only allowed to use these to allow for a smooth capture not for pleasure as they were doing. This Trojan takes control over your computer this Trojan gives the creator access to your email, monitor your keystrokes, turn on the microphone, and the webcam. What would your reaction be if you found out that this was going on to you and our computer?

TALK TO THE HAND!! Microsoft launches a new product which is called "OmniTouch." It can be used on really anything, on any surface that sense finger position. you can use the OmniTouch on arms, hands, notebooks, and tables. It uses a picoprojector and a 3D scanner similar to kinect. 

Soon you, too, will be able to talk to the hand. A new interface created jointly by Microsoft and the Carnegie Mellon Human Computer Interaction Institute allows for interfaces to be displayed on any surface, including notebooks, body parts, and tables. The UI is completely multitouch and the "shoulder-worn" system will locate the surface you're working on in 3D space, ensuring the UI is always accessible. It uses a picoprojector and a 3D scanner similar to the Kinect.

Over the weekend, Nokia launched a suite of casual games developed at Nokia Research Center which are meant to demonstrate how NFC can enable new forms of mobile gaming. The three new games include Nokia World Flags, Nokia Shakespeare Shuffle and Nokia Nursery Rhyme Shuffle. All can be played now on any Nokia Symbian NFC-enabled phone including the Nokia C7 Astound, C7-00, 600, 603, 700 and 701.

So the man who made the Artificial Intelligence research possible dies at 84. Thanks to him, we see bots in gaming and Siri actually. He will be missed.