TheMachine

"Fab labs are a global network of local labs, enabling invention by providing access to tools for digital fabrication" Bruce Sterling has some comments on Beyond the Beyond http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2012/09/the-fab-charter-draft/

"As technology evolves to make the office more obsolete, it's going to result in massive changes--and massive opportunities." But the process is sometimes painstakingly slow, as it conflicts with traditions, the desire for 'real face time' and office politics. 

A new generation of tools has been improved over the last five years, changing the entire financial world, thanks to the unprecedented levels reached by technology - impossible to conceive some years ago. Velocity, liquidity, price efficiency and systemic risks: the HFT (High-Frequency Trading) era has started.

"Unlike the jerry-built contraptions of the past, the Replicator 2s are sleek, metal, and stylish: MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis likens the design to "Darth Vader driving Knight Rider's KITT car while being airlifted by a Nighthawk spy plane." There is also the lighting. Oh, the lighting. "LEDs are part of our core values as a company," Pettis jokes. "

"Links, thoughts and research into using drones, UAVs or remotely piloted vehicles for journalism at the Drone Journalism Lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Journalism and Mass Communications.   "

"The acquisition could be read as a signal to the world that China is determined to be a major competitor in the future genome sequencing market."

"The Eurobarometer poll shows that a surprising 70% of Europeans have a "fairly positive" or "very positive" view of robots. This is great news for human-robot relations." Fascinating. As the post explains, only 6 procent of Europeans ever used a robot. But then again, maybe it's about time to discuss robotics in society at large? 

"Britain plans to make it easier for technology firms to list their shares in London, the government said on Thursday, in an attempt to stem the flow of high-growth companies heading across the Atlantic in search of capital." Interesting. Countries in a competition to keep their tech wizards at home. But how important are stock markets for innovation? And nation-states? Don't think too fast stocks and nation-states are something of the past... 

"The idea that AI must mimic the thinking process of humans has dropped away. "Creating artificial intelligences that are like humans is, at the end of the day, paving the cow paths," Mr. Saffo argues. "It's using the new technology to imitate some old thing.""

"Is there a new political philosophy emerging from things like open source software development; massive community sharing hubs like Wikipedia, Kickstarter, and Reddit; peer-to-peer social networking; experiments in "Liquid Democracy," and the rapid spread of resource sharing tools like ZipCar, AirBnb and Car2go? Is it time to start talking about replacing the "welfare state" with the "partner state"? On Monday September 24 at 7:30pm at the New York Law School, we're looking forward to exploring all those questions and more with noted author Steven Johnson, whose new book Future, Perfect is must-reading for people who believe in the power of open, collaborative peer-to-peer networking to achieve real social progress."

"Need an artery for bypass surgery or custom cartilage for that worn-out knee? Hit print."

"CyberSim Game: ECE 6570 combines Virtual Worlds, Augmented Reality, and Classroom Lectures in a serious game, which is based on principles of Cyber Security (virtual world), Physical Security (augmented reality), and Social Engineering (reality/class lectures). "

"Most journals have not yet published papers submitted to them last November while in the meantime, NASA have managed to send a rocket to Mars and beam back images. "

"Nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego have developed a novel technology that can fabricate, in mere seconds, microscale three dimensional (3D) structures out of soft, biocompatible hydrogels."

"By way of introduction, we turn to Vivek Wadhwa over at Forbes last month. The technology entrepreneur explained eloquently why China stands to lose so much more than anyone else if automation keeps advancing. Indeed, forget about real estate bubbles and mis-allocated capital, the rise of automation could be the greatest Chinese black swan of all."

"We've noted on more than one occasion that economists may be missing a trick when it comes to how technology is changing the global economy. More so, that developments like 3D printing, could even pose a black-swan risk for Asia in their own right."

"WHAT could well be the next great technological disruption is fermenting away, out of sight, in small workshops, college labs, garages and basements. Tinkerers with machines that turn binary digits into molecules are pioneering a whole new way of making things-one that could well rewrite the rules of manufacturing in much the same way as the PC trashed the traditional world of computing."