Monday, December 25, 2006

Economic View: Goodbye, Production (and Maybe Innovation). Over the long run, can invention and design be separated from production? By LOUIS UCHITELLE. [NYT > Technology] 8:34:14 PM      Google It!.

Inhabited Island Vanishes Forever Underwater. PhreakOfTime writes "For the first time the rising ocean levels have washed away an inhabited island. Lohachara island was at one point home to some 10,000 people. It, along with several other spits of land near the Indian mainland, is now permanently underwater. From the article: ' As the seas continue to swell, they will swallow whole island nations, from the Maldives to the Marshall Islands, inundate vast areas of countries from Bangladesh to Egypt, and submerge parts of scores of coastal cities. Eight years ago ... the first uninhabited islands - in the Pacific atoll nation of Kiribati - vanished beneath the waves. The people of low-lying islands in Vanuatu, also in the Pacific, have been evacuated as a precaution, but the land still juts above the sea. The disappearance of Lohachara, once home to 10,000 people, is unprecedented.'"[Slashdot] 8:26:57 PM      Google It!.

10 Web Operating Systems Reviewed. Stan Schroeder writes "Waiting for GoogleOS? Why not try some of the WebOS applications that are already available? Believe it or not, there's already over 15 of them, and here you can find a review of the 10 most promising WebOSes. Most of them might not make you want to ditch your desktop OS just yet, but some are very good and can be used on a day-to-day basis. Highlights include DesktopTwo, Goowy, YouOS, EyeOS and Glide. You can find the whole bunch here." Note: for the purposes of this article, "WebOS" is defined as "a set of applications running in a web browser that together mimic, replace or largely supplement a desktop OS environment."[Slashdot] 8:20:23 PM      Google It!.

Snake-Robots To Assist Surgeons in Tight Spots. ferd_farkle writes "Science Daily has an article about engineering advances meant to help steady the hands of surgeons working in really cramped spaces like eyes and throats. From the article: 'The tools include a snakelike robot that could enable surgeons, operating in the narrow throat region, to make incisions and tie sutures with greater dexterity and precision. Another robot, the steady-hand, may curb a surgeon's natural tremor and allow the doctor to inject drugs into tiny blood vessels in the eye, dissolving clots that can damage vision."[Slashdot] 8:16:59 PM      Google It!.

Japanese Robot Awards 2006 Announced. PreacherTom writes to mention that this past Thursday many robots were honored at the government-sponsored Robot Awards 2006 in Japan. Winners include a feeding machine, a theraputic seal, and a giant automated vacuum cleaner. From the article: "Examples among the winners were MySpoon, which is a robot that helps to feed people who are paralyzed, and Paro, a furry robotic seal that responds to human touch and is designed for nursing home and hospital therapy."[Slashdot]Japanese Robot Awards 2006 Announced. PreacherTom writes to mention that this past Thursday many robots were honored at the government-sponsored Robot Awards 2006 in Japan. Winners include a feeding machine, a theraputic seal, and a giant automated vacuum cleaner. From the article: "Examples among the winners were MySpoon, which is a robot that helps to feed people who are paralyzed, and Paro, a furry robotic seal that responds to human touch and is designed for nursing home and hospital therapy."[Slashdot] 8:15:00 PM      Google It!.

Japanese Robot Awards 2006 Announced. PreacherTom writes to mention that this past Thursday many robots were honored at the government-sponsored Robot Awards 2006 in Japan. Winners include a feeding machine, a theraputic seal, and a giant automated vacuum cleaner. From the article: "Examples among the winners were MySpoon, which is a robot that helps to feed people who are paralyzed, and Paro, a furry robotic seal that responds to human touch and is designed for nursing home and hospital therapy."[Slashdot] 8:14:46 PM      Google It!.

Drilling Down: DVD Player Tops VCR as Household Item. For the first time, more U.S. households have a DVD player than have a VCR, according to a survey by Nielsen Media Research. By ALEX MINDLIN. [NYT > Technology] 8:10:41 PM      Google It!.

Flaws Are Detected in Microsoft[base ']s Vista. Researchers and hackers have found potentially serious flaws in Microsoft[base ']s new Windows Vista operating system. By JOHN MARKOFF. [NYT > Technology] 8:09:03 PM      Google It!.

Google teams up with NASA - Associated Press. Google Inc. and NASA Ames Research Center said Monday that they have finalized an agreement to deliver more of the space agency's imagery and information through the Internet's leading search engine. The collaboration marks another step in a partnership a Educational Technology, December 25, 2006. [Conversation] [Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ Edu_RSS Most Recent - RSS old] 8:05:53 PM      Google It!.

Social Influence for Perceived Usefulness and Ease of Use of Course Delivery Systems - Demei Shen, et al; JIOL. This study explores the extent to which subjective norm beliefs of online learners shape perceptions of ease-of-use and usefulness for the use of course delivery systems. Subjective norm beliefs represent the influence that instructors, mentors, and peers Online Learning Update, December 25, 2006. [Conversation] [Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ Edu_RSS Most Recent - RSS old] 8:04:07 PM      Google It!.

Effects of Concreteness and Contiguity on Learning from Computer-based Reference Maps - S. Srinivasan, D. Lewis, S. Crooks, JIOL. Todayâo[dot accent]s technology has reached new heights that have not been fully implemented. One of the areas where technology has not yet reached its full potential is in education. This study examined the effects of concreteness of location names and contiguity of Online Learning Update, December 25, 2006. [Conversation] [Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ Edu_RSS Most Recent - RSS old] 8:02:49 PM      Google It!.