minipost – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Bing Maps adds 270TB worth of Bird’s Eye imagery, its largest update yet

If you thought the 215TB of satellite imagery Bing Maps added last year was hefty, think again. In what is the largest installment of Bird’s Eye shots yet, the mapping folks in Redmond piled on a whopping 270TB of high-res flyover images to their database yesterday. Some of the more notable (read: gorgeous) additions include overviews of Rome and Milan in Italy, Stavanger in Norway and Kaanapali in Hawaii. Aside from the new visuals, Bing also added a couple of improvements to its Venue Maps with an expanded points of interest list and a new “Report a problem” system so users can inform Bing if a location is marked incorrectly. So go on, head over to the source, select any of the amazing locales and take a little free trip to the other side of the world. Comments Source: Bing Maps blog

University of Georgia stops plant photosynthesis to generate solar power

There’s a more efficient way to harvest energy from the backyard than by wiring up hapless critters . Researchers at the University of Georgia have proof: they’ve discovered a way to generate electricity from plants through hijacking the photosynthesis process. By altering the proteins inside a plant cell’s thylakoids, which store solar energy, scientists can intercept electrons through a carbon nanotube backing that draws them away before they’re used to make sugar . While the resulting power isn’t phenomenal, it’s still two orders of magnitude better than previous methods, according to the university. The protein modification method may have a rosier future, as well: the team believes that it could eventually compete with solar cells, producing green energy in a very literal sense. Filed under: Science , Alt Comments Via: Gizmag Source: RSC Publishing , University of Georgia

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University of Georgia stops plant photosynthesis to generate solar power

Los Alamos National Lab has had quantum-encrypted internet for over two years

Nothing locks down data better than a laser-based quantum-encrypted network, where the mere act of looking at your data causes it to irrevocably change. Although such systems already exist, they’re limited to point-to-point data transfers since a router would kill the message it’s trying to pass along just by reading it. However, Los Alamos National Labs has been testing an in-house quantum network, complete with a hub and spoke system that gets around the problem thanks to a type of quantum router at each node. Messages are converted at those junctures to conventional bits, then reconverted into a new encrypted message, which can be securely sent to the next node, and so on. The researchers say it’s been running in the lab for the last two and a half years with few issues, though there’s still a security hole — it lacks quantum integrity at the central hub where the data’s reconverted, unlike a pure quantum network. However, the hardware would be relatively simple to integrate into any fiber-connected device, like a TV set-top box, and is still more secure than any current system — and infinitely better than the 8-character WiFi code you’re using now. Filed under: Science , Internet , Alt Comments Source: Cornell University Library

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Los Alamos National Lab has had quantum-encrypted internet for over two years

Universities inject neuron-sized LEDs to stimulate brains without a burden (video)

Existing methods for controlling brain activity tend to skew the results by their very nature — it’s difficult to behave normally with a wad of optical fibers or electrical wires in your head. The University of Illinois and Washington University have developed a much subtler approach to optogenetics that could lift that weight from the mind in a very literal sense. Their approach inserts an extra-thin ribbon into the brain with LEDs that are about as big as the neurons they target, stimulating deeper parts of the mind with high precision and minimal intrusion; test mice could act as if the ribbon weren’t there. The solution also lets researchers detach the wireless transceiver and power from the ribbon to lighten the load when experiments are over. Practical use of these tiny LEDs is still a long ways off, but it could lead to both gentler testing as well as better treatment for mental conditions that we don’t fully understand today. Filed under: Science , Alt Comments Via: Mobile Magazine Source: University of Illinois

Netflix signs up The Matrix, Babylon 5 creators to develop a new sci-fi series: Sense8

Continuing its quest to sate subscribers’ appetites with a flow of original content, Netflix has announced a new original series, Sense8 . Due in late 2014, it’s being developed by the Wachowskis of The Matrix , V for Vendetta , Cloud Atlas and Speed Racer fame, as well as J. Michael Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5 . Details are thin, but the press release promises a gripping global tale of minds linked and souls hunted with a ten episode run for its first season. As it did with House of Cards , Arrested Development and other productions, Netflix is relying heavily on data from viewers to decide which programs to support. According to chief content officer Ted Sarandos, ” Andy and Lana Wachowski and Joe Straczynski are among the most imaginative writers and gifted visual storytellers of our time,” whose creations are very frequently viewed on the service. According to the creators themselves, they’ve sought to work together for a decade, and this idea started from a late night conversation about “the ways technology simultaneously unites and divides us.” If that’s not enough for now, then t here are a few more details and quotes in the press release, which is included after the break. Filed under: Home Entertainment , HD Comments

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Netflix signs up The Matrix, Babylon 5 creators to develop a new sci-fi series: Sense8

Corsair pops the question, acquires Scotland-based Simple Audio

Scotland-based Simple Audio announced today that it has been acquired by American computer component maker Corsair . T he five-year-old audio firm is best known in Europe for its networked set-top receivers, which are capable of sharing music from PCs, Macs, TVs, iPods and MP3 players . In an effort to expand its reach, Simple Audio hopes that this multi-million dollar deal will help bring its products stateside sometime this year. While there’s no word how many doubloons Corsair shelled out, the company stated that it had been eyeing Simple Audio since 2010 and felt that it was the right time to make a move. To take a closer look at this acquisition, click through to the press release after the break. Filed under: Home Entertainment , Networking Comments Source: Simple Audio

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Corsair pops the question, acquires Scotland-based Simple Audio

MIT crafts genetic circuits that remember their work through DNA

It’s easy to find work on gene-based storage ; finding genes that will do any of the heavy lifting is another matter. MIT believes it has a genetic circuit that will finally get to work, and then some. In using recombinase enzymes to alter DNA sequences serving as logic gates, researchers have developed a cellular circuit that not only mimics its silicon cousins, but has its own built-in memory. As the gate activation makes permanent changes to a given DNA sequence, any gate actions stay in memory for up to 90 generations — and will hang around even if the cell’s life is cut short. MIT sees its technique as having ultimate uses for areas where longer-term memory is important, such as environmental sensors, but could also see varying output values helping with digital-to-analog converters and other devices where there’s a need for more precision. While there’s no word on imminent plans for real-world use, the development raises the possibility of processors that could skip the traditional memory cache as they pass info down the family tree. Filed under: Science , Alt Comments Via: SciTechDaily Source: MIT

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MIT crafts genetic circuits that remember their work through DNA

Pandora cranked out over 13 billion hours of music in 2012

Springing into the new year, internet radio heavyweight Pandora has released some of its major statistics from 2012. The company states that 1.6 billion personalized radio stations were created and that it played over 13 billion hours of music. These hefty stats translate to the service’s users listening to over one million different songs from more than 100,000 artists. Wrapping up last year’s scorecard, around 10,000 artists reached about 250,000 unique listeners. While these numbers are impressive, we can’t help but wonder how many audio commercials had to be endured so people could continue listening to countless hours of One Direction. In any case, we’re sure it was worth it. Filed under: Internet , Software Comments Via: The Next Web Source: Pandora

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Pandora cranked out over 13 billion hours of music in 2012

First Ultra HD channel goes live in Europe

Eutelsat Communications launched the first dedicated demonstration Ultra HD channel in Europe on January 8th. Delivered via satellite with the resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 ( 4K ) at 50 frames per second — the European equivalent to 60p — the stream is encoded in MPEG-4 with help from video compression solution provider, ATEME, and transmitted at 40 Mbps. This is over twice the bandwidth used by most 1080i broadcasts, but not necessarily an indication of future Ultra HD broadcasts utilization, as they’re expected to use the more efficient HEVC codec — depending on color space and other factors, Ultra HD broadcasts might use less throughput than 1080i does now. With only three very expensive Ultra HD TVs on the market, there aren’t many who can take advantage of this. Hopefully if you are one of the lucky few, you’re in a position to take advantage of this native content on your latest prized possession. Continue reading First Ultra HD channel goes live in Europe Filed under: Home Entertainment , HD Comments

Magnetically lifted graphite moves by laser, may lead to light-based maglev vehicles (video)

Magnetic levitation is central to the fastest trains we know today, but it’s that dependence on electromagnets and rails that limits how and where it’s used for transportation. Aoyama Gakuin University has a unique alternative: changing the material properties themselves. By floating graphite over a bed of circular magnets, taking advantage of its tendency to generate an opposing magnetic field, researchers can move the graphite just by blasting its edge with a laser. The heat skews the magnetic behavior of that area enough to unbalance the graphite, either in a specific direction or a spin. The research team believes it could lead to maglev transportation or even energy converting turbines that are steered solely by light, with no contact or outside guides: maglev vehicle pilots could have much more control over where they go. Getting to that point will require a much larger scale, but successful development could give technology a very literal lift. Continue reading Magnetically lifted graphite moves by laser, may lead to light-based maglev vehicles (video) Filed under: Transportation , Science , Alt Comments Via: Phys.org Source: JACS

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Magnetically lifted graphite moves by laser, may lead to light-based maglev vehicles (video)