Innovations: Positive computing: The tech buzzword you need to know for 2015

It's all about what's next  •  Sat., Jan. 31, 2015 View in your Web browser

Positive computing: The tech buzzword you need to know for 2015 We usually think about technology making us smarter, more productive or more social – but not always more compassionate, wiser or happier. The “positive computing” movement, championed by Rafael Calvo and Dorian Peters of the University of Sydney, hopes to change all that. Supporters of positive computing make the case that technology should contribute to …  Read full article »

The case for not banning drone flights in the Washington area

The irony of living in the District of Columbia just keeps getting richer. Residents of the capital of the world’s leading democracy already have no voting representatives in Congress. Now their ability to fly drones — restricted to a level unmatched across the United States — is about to get even more limited. On Wednesday, DJI — the manufacturer …  Read full article »

Associated Press looks to expand its automated stories program following successful launch

In the last three months of 2014, the Associated Press published 3,000 articles on the earning reports of U.S. companies. Previously it could publish only 300. The AP did that not by adding manpower to work on earnings reports, but actually shifting its reporters to more high-end enterprise journalism. With the exception of big banks, …  Read full article »

5 amazing ways 3-D-printed food will change the way we eat

Journey to the frontier of food and you’ll find a 3-D printer, spewing out chocolate. While traditional cooking isn’t going anywhere, you can count on 3-D-printed foods eventually finding a place in our world. Researchers around the world are fiddling with ways to use 3-D printers to make food. Their efforts could one day aid …  Read full article »

Five ways technology can help us cope with blizzards

There has been innovation in every aspect of how individuals prepare for major snow storms – everything from funky new snow removal devices to new ways of pre-treating road surfaces for anti-icing before the onset of a major storm. Now, the real promise is in taking some of Silicon Valley’s hottest technologies — the Internet of Things, …  Read full article »

The exciting potential for sensors and drones to combat global hunger

In 2013, I made my first trip to Ethiopia. Knowing a bit about the country’s economic circumstances, I fully expected the grim poverty that I’d later encounter. After all, like millions of Americans, I watched the devastating famine there unfold on television in the 1980s. At the same time, Ethiopia has made great strides since …  Read full article »

Too big to innovate: Get excited for the coming disruption of banks

Don’t worry, banks. Video stores, newspapers and film cameras can offer a shoulder to cry on. They know how you are about to feel. Welcome to the world of disruption, where businesses get upended. The race is now on to chip away at banks’ businesses with cheaper and superior services that customers love. As the full impact … Read full article »

Looking for an exotic vacation? Here’s why moon travel may be only 20 years away

Five teams competing for the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize have just been awarded a combined $5.25 million for meeting significant milestones in developing a robot that can safely land on the surface of the moon, travel 500 meters over the lunar surface, and send mooncasts back to the Earth. A tiny start-up from … Read full article »