The Week of Tech (According to Me)

July 25, 2008

July 18 / New Scientist
People Power is New Weapon Against Olympic Terrorism
Q: How many people does it take to protect the Olympics from a terrorist attack? A: 15 million. Well, that's probably overkill. But if you can heighten the awareness of millions of people, you may get more leads on possible terrorists. Or you may just work up a big crowd into a paranoid frenzy.

July 18 / Wired
The Dark Knight: 'Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?'
Batman is a gadget freakazoid. He's got every high-tech gizmo you could ever hope to by on E-Bay. I'm gonna wait until the prices comes down.

July 19 / The New York Times
Sweeping Panoramas, Courtesy of a Robot
This robot repeatedly clicks a camera shutter in order to take hundreds of overlapping images from a variety of different angles. When combined into one big panoramic image, the high-res result is a one gigapixel shot. The benefit? Useful detail without the finger cramps.

July 21 / Discovery News
Could A Contact Lens Save Your Vision?
Now contact lenses correct eyesight. But soon, they fix medical problems such as glaucoma by administering medication.

July 21 / Guardian
Solve It
How to chat to people with different instant messaging applications.

July 21 / Xconomy
30 Startup Ideas from Y Combinator
From the category of "tech that hasn't been invented yet," here's a list of technologies that fill a need. If only they existed.

July 22 / The New York Times
If You Have a Problem, Ask Everyone
This web site capitalizes on the human nature to give advice. Only this place pays dividends.

July 22 / IEEE Specturm
Why Microwave Auditory Effect Crowd-Control Gun Won't Work
Well, now here's a way to control a big crowd (maybe those paranoid Olympic attendees?): fry 'em with a microwave auditory gun.

July 22 / Technology Trends
First Paper-Based Transistors
Portuguese researchers have created the first paper-based transistors. The advance could lead to disposable electronics devices, such as paper displays, smart labels and RFID tags.

July 23 / Guardian
Solar Power from Saharan Sun Could Provide Europe's Electricity, Says EU
Africa has so many natural resources: gold, diamonds, oil. And now scientist are saying that just a small part of the continent could generate enough solar energy to supply Europe with electricity.

July 23 / Technology Review
A Concrete Fix to Global Warming
A new process stores carbon dioxide in precast concrete.

July 23 / Wired
Intel CEO Calls for 10 Million Plug-In Conversions within Four Years
Andy Grove's called for 10 million vehicles to be converted to plug-in hybrids within four years and laid out some ideas to help get us there.

July 24 / Discovery News
Power From Poop: Putting Manure to Use
Methane from manure could supply more than 2 percent of the country's electricity needs.