Technology Review Feed - Mims's Bits

5 Transformative Uses for Disney's Touch-Sensitive Technology

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:52:00 GMT

Wearable computing, the end of keyboards, enhanced security and sex could all benefit from Touché.

Joi Ito's Near-Perfect Explanation of the Next 100 Years

Sun, 13 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

"One hundred years from now, the role of science and technology will be about becoming part of nature rather than trying to control it."

Path Dependence and the Stupidity of LED Light Bulbs

Thu, 10 May 2012 21:17:00 GMT

Why are we cramming 21st century technology into a socket designed by Edison?

Moore's Law Over, Supercomputing "In Triage," Says Expert

Wed, 09 May 2012 16:47:00 GMT

A dean of high performance computing says silicon is at the end of the line.

How Users Are App-ifying The Web, With or Without Publishers

Tue, 08 May 2012 22:53:00 GMT

Magazine apps failed, and their unexpected replacements could threaten revenue.

Jason Pontin, editor in chief and publisher of Technology Review, which (full disclosure!) is the publication you are reading now, recently penned an intriguing takedown of the idea that apps are the future of publishing. He's way too classy to point out that it's a direct and concrete rebuttal of WIRED editor in chief Chris Anderson's "The Web is Dead" feature of 2010, but I guess that's why he keeps thugs like me on the payroll.

Grief in the Time of Facebook

Sat, 05 May 2012 11:29:00 GMT

Is mourning what social media does best?

Is Automation the Handmaiden of Inequality?

Thu, 03 May 2012 19:14:00 GMT

The odd coincidence of stagnating wages and a measure of productivity that excludes machines.

We've all heard it before: Americans are more productive than ever, but hourly compensation has stagnated for decades.

Five Reasons Robot Sex Partners Won't End Human Trafficking

Wed, 02 May 2012 01:06:00 GMT

Power, economics and the Uncanny Valley.

If You Have a Smart Phone, Anyone Can Now Track Your Every Move

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:29:00 GMT

Navizon I.T.S. makes it easy to pinpoint Wi-Fi devices anywhere its listening nodes are installed.

Location services company Navizon has a new system, called Navizon I.T.S., that could allow tracking of visitors in malls, museums, offices, factories, secured areas and just about any other indoor space. It could be used to examine patterns of foot traffic in retail spaces, assure that a museum is empty of visitors at closing time, or even to pinpoint the location of any individual registered with the system. But let's set all that aside for a minute while we freak out about the privacy implications.

Are Ross Perot Jr. and Google's Founders Launching a New Asteroid Mining Operation?

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:53:00 GMT

An impressive array of backers are behind the new firm Planetary Resources.

How Publishers Will Beat Amazon

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:33:00 GMT

Companies that have existed for centuries could be gone in a generation unless they make a single radical change.

Patent Hints at iPad-Powered Portable Ultrasound Machine

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:27:00 GMT

Sonosite appears to be contemplating replacing custom hardware with a tablet computer

Who Cares If Amazon Becomes an E-book Monopoly?

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:16:00 GMT

It's not as if the Kindle and its store aren't also vulnerable to disruption.

AT&T's Text Messaging Plans Are a Regressive Tax

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 21:07:00 GMT

The unexpected connection between carrier pricing schemes and payday loans.

The most active senders and receivers of texts are nonwhite, earn incomes below $30,000, and do not have a high school education, says a 2011 study conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

Is Skyhook's Location Services Business Doomed?

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:47:00 GMT

Broadcom executives think they have a superior solution.

Skyhook Wireless provides a software layer that allows for precise geolocation on 100 million devices, including the Sony Playstation Vita and, through apps, the Kindle Fire. But according to executives at hardware manufacturer Broadcom, maker of the GPS chips in the iPhone and countless other mobile devices, long term, Skyhook may not have a business at all.

Why Google is Diving into Augmented Reality Now

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Three insurmountable barriers have held back consumer AR - until now

Android Device Makers Are Mutinying, Says Insider

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:33:00 GMT

Amazon showed device makers that they don't need Google to succeed.

Solar Cell Thinner Than Spider Silk Could Power Internet of Things

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:07:00 GMT

Will ephemeral plastic solar cells make ubiquitous sensor networks a reality?

In a 3-D Printed Future, Do Toymakers Have a Business Model?

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:29:00 GMT

What's to stop kids from pirating LEGO sets as readily as they pirate music?

RFID Enables Study of Chicken Pessimism

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:54:00 GMT

The smaller tracking devices become, the more applications they find.