Blogging the Singularity

Next Stop, the Moon: Seattle Team Wins Space Elevator Competition

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:27:21 +0000

A Seattle team has collected a $900,000 prize in a NASA-backed competition to develop the concept of an elevator to space — an idea spurred by science fiction novels…

Click here for the article found on Fox News.

Singularity University Kicks Off First Executive Program

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:20:46 +0000

The SU Executive Program is scheduled for November 7-15, 2009 at the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif…

Click here for the details found on the Singularity University website.

A Conversaion Between Shimon Peres and Ray Kurzweil

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:42:53 +0000

“Meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Shimon Peres at the recent Israeli Presidential Conference: Facing Tomorrow 2009, Ray Kurzweil proposed several innovations for dealing with the coming energy shortages and bolstering Israel’s growing economy…”

Click here to get to both a brief write-up plus an hour and 10 minute video. The first half of the video shows Ray giving a speech. The second half of the video consists of questions and answers with President Shimon Peres asking Ray questions which Ray then answers.

A Trip into the Secret, Online ‘Cloud’

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:52:14 +0000

When I save an online file, where does it actually go?

Click here to find out. Included are both a video and a written article located on CNN.

Deep Inside DARPA

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:55:08 +0000

Dr. James Hughes interviews Michael Belfiore on his book (The Department of Mad Scientists) about DARPA.

Open University Talks Clouds with MS and Google

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:54:51 +0000

The Open University is in negotiations with Microsoft and Google about cloud computing services for students and staff…

Click here to get to the article found on The Register website.

Microsoft Doesn’t Believe Google Apps Numbers

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:41:20 +0000

Google Apps has been picking up some steam recently — announcing a huge deal with the city of Los Angeles, and revealing numbers that suggest…

Click here for the story found on ZDNet.

Click here for additional information titled “Is Microsoft a dinosaur to Google’s mammal?” also found on ZDNet..

‘The Evolution of Confusion’ by Dan Dennett, AAI 2009

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:20:49 +0000

Dan Dennett talks about purposely-confusing theology and how it’s used. He also describes his new project interviewing clergyman who secretly don’t believe anymore, and introduces a new term: “Deepity.”

Dan Dennett is the author of many excellent books, including “Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon” and “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea”. He is also featured in the video “The Four Horsemen” along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens.

Ray Kurzweil’s second talk at Singularity Summit 2009 — Critics of the Singularity

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:17:42 +0000

Award-winning futurist, inventor, and author Ray Kurzweil on common criticisms of his concept of the Law of Accelerating Returns. Uploaded by Singularity Institute Media Director Michael Anissimov.

Ray Kurzweil’s second talk at Singularity Summit 2009 — Critics of the Singularity from Michael Anissimov on Vimeo.

Google’s Eric Schmidt on What the Web Will Look Like in 5 Years

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:19:29 +0000

Click here for the article.

Larry Smarr - Supercomputing and the Human Brain

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:12:04 +0000

Larry Smarr discusses the state of the art in supercomputing, with a focus on how current computation compares to the human brain and when supercomputers will surpass human processing power. Current supercomputers are estimated to match the human visual cortex and will reach human brain’s computational ability within the next twenty years.

Russia Hopes Nuclear Ship Will Fly Humans to Mars

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:23:46 +0000

Anatoly Perminov first proposed building the ship at a government meeting Wednesday but didn’t explain its purpose. President Dmitry Medvedev backed the project and urged the government to find the money.

Click here for the entire ABC News article.

Has the space race to Mars already started?

I just answered my own question by goolgling “space race to Mars”. Click here for the first item that came up titled “The new space race”.

For me this brings up memories of long ago. I actually worked on the Apollo program at GE for almost 4 years back in the mid-1960s. GE’s Apollo Support Department was located across the street from the Daytona International Speedway - not all that far from both Daytona Beach and the Cape Canaveral Kennedy Space Center. It was an exciting time.

The Genius Brothers Behind Google Wave

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:22:26 +0000

Lars and Jens Rasmussen were broke and jobless…

Click here to read the story found on CNN.

U.S. Newspaper Circulation Falls 10%

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:07:03 +0000

The two-decade erosion in newspaper circulation is looking more like an avalanche…

Click here for the complete article found on the New York Times website.

Future Stock: Young Minds Nurtured

podcast@bloggingthesingularity.com (Chris Williamson) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:51:35 +0000

An article documenting Australian news in the Sydney Morning Herald brings us commentary on this past summer’s first ever Singularity University class.

Click here for some perspective from down under.