Computing Now's News Podcast

Researchers Launch Full-Court Press to Find Problems with Industrial-Control Systems

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:17:45 -0700

Hackers and security researchers are increasing efforts to find problems with the control systems that run factories, nuclear-power plants, and other critical facilities.

Braille Writer Promises to Help the Blind Communicate

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:03:41 -0700

A research team has developed a relatively inexpensive device for writing Braille that solves the problem of blind users having to find keys on a virtual keyboard that appears on a flat glass touchscreen.

Serious Security Flaws Identified in Cloud Systems

Tue, 1 May 2012 17:09:50 -0700

German researchers have found serious security problems with two cloud systems and say these flaws probably exist in other cloud architectures.

Securing Implanted Medical Devices from Hacking

Tue, 1 May 2012 17:06:16 -0700

Researchers have developed a system designed to prevent hackers from attacking implantable medical devices such as heart pacemakers..

New Transistor Could Let Devices Interact Directly with Living Things

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:28:49 -0700

University of Washington scientists have built a transistor that uses protons to send information, potentially enabling devices that could communicate with living things.

Scientists Unveil Haptic Pedestrian Navigation System

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:27:12 -0700

Japanese researchers have developed a pedestrian navigation system that uses haptics so that users can watch where they’re going and not have to look at maps or a device.

New Technique Doubles Mobile-Network Throughput

Fri, 2 Mar 2012 15:32:13 -0800

Rice University researchers have developed a full-duplex wireless technology that could double network throughput inexpensively without requiring new hardware.

System Identifies User Location without GPS or Wi-Fi

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:26:01 -0800

A Swiss semiconductor vendor has developed a system for mobile devices that determines a user’s location when neither GPS nor Wi-Fi is available.

Researchers Develop Electronic ‘Tattoo’ for Health Monitoring

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:23:33 -0800

Engineers have developed flexible circuitry that can be mounted on a user’s skin to perform tasks such as health monitoring.

IBM and 3M Will Develop Adhesives for Building Powerful Multilayer Chips

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:53:08 -0800

IBM and 3M have announced plans to jointly design adhesives that could enable the stacking of 100 chips, thereby enabling ultrafast processors.

MIT Microchips Could Revolutionize Healthcare

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:55:49 -0800

MIT researchers are developing energy-efficient microchips that could operate within wearable or implantable devices that monitor medical patient for health problems.

First Smart Grid Standards Approved

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:40:12 -0700

A group representing companies and government agencies has approved the first smart grid standards.

Antennas Use Plasma to Make Wireless Networks Faster

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:55:38 -0700

A new type of antenna uses plasma to focus radio waves and enable ultrafast wireless networks.

MIT Develops Network-Intrusion Recovery System

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:27:17 -0700

MIT researchers have developed a system that promises to make it easier for systems to recover from security breaches.

Simplifying Mobile Recommendation Technology with AI

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:43:35 -0700

A company has developed a recommendation engine that uses AI to anticipate what users want even before they have a chance to ask.

Dual-Core Processors to Improve Smartphone Performance

Thu, 4 Aug 2011 14:15:20 -0700

As more people use smartphones as mobile computers, manufacturers are increasingly placing powerful, energy-efficient dual-core chips in the devices.

Flying Robots Designed to Form Emergency Network

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:56:57 -0700

European academic researchers have developed a constellation of sturdy, lightweight flying robots using wireless communications that could be employed in mapping, remote sensing, ground searches, and other similar operations.

Accessing the Internet via Overhead Lights

Thu, 7 Jul 2011 15:59:43 -0700

A company has designed a lighting-fixture-based system that offers an access point to the Internet or any backbone network to which a user can connect.

Testing Tool Finds Software Bugs Efficiently

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:18:36 -0700

US National Institute of Standards and Technology has released a testing tool designed to cut costs by finding software flaws more efficiently than similar approaches.

Electronic Paintbrush Captures Colors and Textures from Objects for Use in Creating Art

Tue, 24 May 2011 13:10:18 -0700

Researchers have developed a high-tech brush that lets users create art by picking up images, video, audio, colors, and textures from objects and painting them onto a touch-screen canvas.

Wireless Devices Provide Users with Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspots

Tue, 24 May 2011 13:06:00 -0700

Personal mobile hotspots let users wirelessly access network services even when no traditional Wi-Fi hotspots are nearby.

How Safe are Secure Websites

Tue, 9 Nov 2010 15:37:15 -0800

Concerned organizations say basic flaws in Web-security design may be causing many websites that display padlock icons-designed to show that they're secure-to be unsafe.

Project Generates Energy by Harvesting Radio Waves

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:10:16 -0700

Two scientists have developed a system that uses ambient radio waves to generate energy, potentially eliminating the need for batteries in mobile devices. Article link: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2010.263

System Takes Efficient Approach to Object Recognition

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 10:43:48 -0700

Academic researchers have developed an approach that promises to make object-recognition systems efficient users of system memory and thus also of computational resources. Article link: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2010.263

New Service Promises to Improve Online Search

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:53:59 -0700

A new product promises to help users determine the most relevant results of their online searches. Article link: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2010.263

Application Uses Visualization Technology to Fight Disease

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:31:27 -0700

A researcher has developed visualization techniques and a toolkit that let users comb through disease-related statistics in otherwise unexamined sources - such as patient records and newspaper articles - to discover geographic trends that could help control the spread of illnesses. Article link: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2010.236

Device Could Eliminate Wires in Home and Office Communications

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:42:15 -0700

Purdue University researchers are working on a small device that converts laser pulses into radio signals, which could enable high-speed wireless communications in place of many of the wired transmissions currently used in home and office systems. Article link: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2010.236

Project Converts Arms and Hands into Input Devices

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 10:23:13 -0700

A Carnegie Mellon University doctoral student has developed a prototype system that could let users turn their arms or hands into keyboards or display screens via acoustic vibrations produced by tapping their skin. Article link: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2010.236

New Approach Combines TV and Social Networking

Thu, 5 Aug 2010 09:58:49 -0700

Researchers are beginning to work on an approach they call social TV, which seamlessly combines social networks and traditional television viewing. Article link: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC

Project Tackles RFID Security

Thu, 5 Aug 2010 09:57:34 -0700

A Canadian university researcher is working on ways to provide security for RFID technology. His approach would let users know when a reader is accessing information on an RFID tag or enable them to control access to the data. Article link: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2010.204

Standard Promises Rich Web Typography

Fri, 9 Jul 2010 16:15:58 -0700

A proposed specification that would standardize Web-based fonts promises to enable rich typography on the Web. Article link: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2010.178

Steganography Development Offers Promise

Fri, 9 Jul 2010 16:14:49 -0700

Researchers have developed a new approach to steganography that could conceal information on CDs in a way that makes it unreadable by conventional CD players but detectable by specially designed devices. Article link: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2010.178

New Bluetooth Version Offers High Speeds and More

Fri, 9 Jul 2010 16:13:52 -0700

A standards organization has finished work on Bluetooth 4.0, which will offer high data rates and work with low-power devices such as medical and physical-fitness sensors. Article link: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2010.178

Libraries Face the Challenge of Archiving Digital Material

Fri, 9 Jul 2010 16:02:14 -0700

For centuries, academic libraries have faced challenges in preserving and storing important written documents. Now, they face a new set of hurdles in preserving and storing born-digital material. Article link: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2010.141