Google hopes that its slow rollout will encourage a steady momentum, and in the early stages Google+ will provide enough value to keep the early adopters engaged, and that it will motivate them to invite their contacts. No one expects an instant success. But even if this week's launch evokes snark or yawns, Google will keep at it. Google+ is not a product like Buzz or Wave where the company's leaders can chalk off a failure to laudable ambition and then move on. "We're in this for the long run," says Ben-Yair. "This isn't like an experiment. We're betting on this, so if obstacles arise, we'll adapt." "I don't really see what Google's alternative is," says Smarr. "People are going to be a fundamental layer of the internet. There's no going back."

Overview of the many features in Google+.  Circles, Huddles, Sparks, Hangouts and more.  

Organizers of NASA's first Open Source Summit have released a summary of its proceedings that could serve as a model for other federal agencies wanting to conduct similar conferences for their own open source developer communities. The 85-page report documents how the event was organized, collaboration tools used, user statistics, attendee list, schedule and media coverage.

And while the Eguchi Aimi phenomenon may be just anecdotical, the fact that a synthetic creation has been able to make their fans to have crushes and feelings without them never realizing she was a figment of someone's imagination, a digital mutant mix, is not a simple anecdote. That's very real. When people perceive such a being as real, and that being causes an emotive response in them, then that makes that character part of reality.

Good background and references on Nevada's new law allowing autonomous vehicles. 

This guide is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Pioneer Portfolio, which supports bold ideas at the cutting edge of health and health care, in partnership with Institute for the Future. Our goal is to gather and organize the world's collective self-tracking resources in one place, in a way that is useful and encourages collaboration between self-tracking experts and beginners who are just starting out.

Today we are publishing a report of the statistical results from the Panopticlick experiment on web browser fingerprintability. The results show that the overwhelming majority of Internet users could be uniquely fingerprinted and tracked using only the configuration and version information that their browsers make available to websites. These types of system information should be regarded as identifying, in much the same way that cookies, IP addresses, and supercookies are.

The N12 bikini is the world's first ready-to-wear, completely 3D-printed article of clothing. All of the pieces, closures included, are made directly by 3D printing and snap together without any sewing. N12 represents the beginning of what is possible for the near future. The same process can be used to make shirts, dresses and suits that are custom fitted using body scanning. It is 0.7 millimeters (1/36th of a inch) thick nylon. 

We have a multi-year process to re-license based on advice from multiple sources that Creative Commons is not applicable to data. We wish it were, and it probably will be in the future but it wasn't clear when we began. Until that happens we have a process to move to the Open Database License, which explicitly covers data and not just creative works like photographs or text. The ODbL was in fact started as a result of investigations around the needs of Science Commons and we just helped it to its conclusion. At some point down the line I personally expect the ODbL and CC to be compatible and we will be able to cross-pollinate once more.

Spammers don't fit the life patterns of regular users.  "[Microsoft researchers]  are using studies of legitimate and malicious social networks to spot bogus email accounts that are used to push spam, malware, and otherwise malicious links."

A series of 12 episodes are made available from Michael Sandel's innovative lecture series on morality and law.   Now anyone can essentially attend this highly sought-after class at Harvard. 

Samsung want to introduce smartphones, wrist watch with these flexible displays in 2012. To reach that goal Samsung Mobile Display sets up a joint venture with Ube Kosan.