[tt] [Fwd: KurzweilAI.net Daily Newsletter]

Mon Jan 7 18:46:42 UTC 2008

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: KurzweilAI.net Daily Newsletter
Date: Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:35:39 -0500
From: KurzweilAI.net <news-admin at kurzweilai.net>
Reply-To: news at kurzweilai.net
To: brian at posthuman.com

KURZWEILAI.NET NEWSLETTER

NEWS
====

*************************
GM Envisions Driverless Cars on
Horizon
AP Jan. 7, 2008
*************************
Cars that drive themselve--even
parking at their destination--could
be ready for sale within a decade,
General Motors Corp. executives say.
GM plans to use an inexpensive
computer chip and an antenna to link
vehicles equipped with driverless
technologies. The first use likely
would be on highways; people would
have the option to choose a...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=7759&m=405

*************************
Microsoft patents
frustration-detecting help system
ars technica Jan. 3, 2008
*************************
A new Microsoft patent describes a
system that monitors certain
behaviors tied to frustration (such
as elevated heart rate or taking an
abnormally long time to complete a
task), then triggers a routine that
asks other users for help....
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=7758&m=405

*************************
Napkin PC Enables High-Tech
Doodling
PhysOrg.com Jan. 5, 2008
*************************
Designer Avery Holleman has
developed the concept of a Napkin
PC, a device that uses e-paper and
radio frequency (RF) technology to
enable creative groups to
collaborate more effectively. The
technology includes a "napkin"
holder filled with rewritable
e-paper napkins, as well as a place
for colored pens. When someone gets
an inspiration,...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=7757&m=405

*************************
Scientists Use Sunlight to Make
Fuel From CO2
WIRED Jan. 4, 2008
*************************
Researchers at Sandia National
Laboratories in New Mexico have
found a way of using sunlight to
recycle carbon dioxide and produce
fuels like methanol or gasoline.
(Randy Montoya/Sandia) The Sunlight
to Petrol, or S2P, project
essentially reverses the combustion
process, recovering the building
blocks of hydrocarbons. The Sandia
team...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=7756&m=405

*************************
An Interface of One's Own
New York Times Jan. 6, 2008
*************************
New writing programs offer creative
alternates to Microsoft...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=7755&m=405

*************************
Next Steps for Stem Cells
Technology Review Jan. 7, 2008
*************************
Recently developed new methods to
reprogram adult cells into
embryonic-like stem cells could also
create cells that are genetically
matched to an individual, meaning
that it's now possible to create
novel cell models that capture and
study all the genetic quirks of
complex diseases....
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=7754&m=405

*************************
Pocket Printer
Technology Review Jan. 7, 2008
*************************
Polaroid spinoff Zink Imaging has
unveiled the "digital instant mobile
photo printer," a Bluetooth-coupled
color printer available by the
summer for less than $150. Polaroid
printer prints photos on
two-inch-by-three-inch sheets of
paper, without using ink or toner,
using a novel type of
thermal-printing technology: a
special paper contains...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=7753&m=405

*************************
New Sling Products Clip, Catch, and
Receive TV
PC Magazine Jan. 7, 2008
*************************
Sling Media's Player 2.0 PC video
streaming software will let users
"clip and sling"--or clip chunks of
TV video that can then be shared
with friends in streaming Flash
format on a Web page....
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=7751&m=405

*************************
Intel Quits Effort to Get Computers
to Children
New York Times Jan. 5, 2008
*************************
A partnership between Intel and the
One Laptop Per Child educational
computing group has dissolved in a
conflict between Intel's $350
Classmate PC and One Laptop's $200
XO...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=7750&m=405

*************************
Scientists restore walking after
spinal cord injury
PhysOrg.com Jan. 6, 2008
*************************
A UCLA study shows that the central
nervous system can reorganize itself
after spinal cord damage and follow
new pathways to restore the cellular
communication required for...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=7749&m=405

*************************
Scientists find key to avian flu in
humans
PhysOrg.com Jan. 6, 2008
*************************
MIT researchers have uncovered a
critical difference between flu
viruses that infect birds and
humans--it can bind to one specific
shape of receptor on the surface of
human respiratory cells. The
discovery could help scientists
monitor the evolution of avian flu
strains and aid in the development
of vaccines against a deadly flu...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=7748&m=405

*************************
Wikia Wants to Shake Up Search
Business Week Jan. 7, 2008
*************************
Wikia Search, launching Jan. 7,
will encourage users to rate the
effectiveness of search results and
favor the most helpful results.
Users can build Facebook-esque
profiles to forge ties to people
with common interests. The engine
will also use wikis to publish brief
Wikipedia-like articles along with
search...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=7747&m=405

*************************
Boron nanotubes could outperform
carbon
NewScientist.com news service Jan. 4, 2008
*************************
Boron nanotubes could have many of
the same properties as carbon
nanotubes, but should be better
conductors than carbon, and be
superconducting at higher
temperatures, Tsinghua University
researchers believe. (Tsinghua
University) Boron nanotubes should
also have variable electrical
properties--some as conductors and
some as...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=7746&m=405

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<------------------------->

-- 
Brian Atkins
Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
http://www.singinst.org/