Congress sends Google a list of questions about privacy & Glass

Be sure to check the reader comments.  Lots of interesting ideas.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/05/congress-sends-google-a-list-of-questions-about-privacy-and-glass/ / Google camera spectacles glasses interface smart smartphone Bluetooth display prototype explorer congressional bipartisan Congressional privacy caucus letter eight questions protected Google Glass headsets headset photos photo video discreet manner smartphone camera pointing direction subject advances advance facial recognition technology data collected increasingly consolidated user accounts access considerable data about you Co-Chairman incorporate privacy protections device consent information collected by Glass facial recognition would factor into Glass store any personal information limit technology protect user non-user privacy collect privacy policy collect device-specific information response product director Steve Lee addressed social implications people wearing Glass /

Google Glass "prescription edition" makes a cameo at Google I/O

Credit: Engadget

Obvious next step.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/17/google-glass-prescription-edition-makes-a-cameo-at-google-i-o/ / Google camera spectacles glasses interface smart smartphone Bluetooth display prototype explorer /

Would you prefer your MacBook to fall on the floor?

Credit: The Gadgeteer

Apple laptops have a magnetic connector for their charging cable, called MagSafe.  Idea is that if the charge cable is kicked, the connector will disconnect & the laptop won't be damaged by a fall to the floor.

But relief is at hand for those MacBook owners who don't understand that a fall to the floor is not compatible with continued operation of their computer: MagStay Power Connection Lock.

Problem solved?

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/05/13/keep-the-power-cord-connected-to-your-mac-laptop-with-the-magstay-ms-01/ / charge recharge connect connector battery /

Brain creates circuits to bypass areas of damage

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/-2jivi.html     / scientists brain respond damage forming complex new circuits another brain region away injure injury injured site research team Sydney scientists found damage memory forming centre center brain hippocampus circuits front region brain prefrontal cortex rats damage rodent rodent's memories memory extensive training animals relearn tasks results new methods treating brain-damaged brain damage damaged patients novel drug targets enhance recovery findings published ipublish journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences multiple independent circuits perform specific tasks case cases research shows brain recruit completely different pathways in the brain were thought to have other functions learning memory study co-author Bryce Vissel head neuroscience research program Garvan Institute of Medical Research previous studies humans rats showed loss damage hippocampus devastating memory scientists believed recovery would occur close injured region laboratory studies conducted colleagues Michael Fanselow University of California team found rats damage hippocampi needed training could relearn tasks after injury Alzheimer's specialist disease interferes new treatments brain-damaged brain damage damaged  patient patients /

Why digital zoom may not be completely evil after all

Cropped after the event on the left, digital zoom on the right.
Credit: appstorm

We've all heard it: "Digital zoom is useless. It doesn't give you anything you can't get by cropping in an image editor later." You may have said it yourself. I have.

appstorm makes the case that it's not always so simple.

http://android.appstorm.net/general/opinion/why-digital-zoom-may-not-be-completely-evil-after-all/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AndroidAppStorm+%28Android+AppStorm%29 / exposure interpolation optical digital artefact camera detail contrast degrade image capture VGA resolution image blocky upsampled upsample megapixels lens lenses optics crisp sharp detail Android iOS iPhone smartphone cropping crop sensor laws physics electronics software save interpolate between data pixels data smooth smoother exposure focus point exposure focus accurate bright dull dim light available /

Whats happening at Tesla? (video)

Credit: Green Car Reports

Is Tesla about to offer battery-pack swapping for Model S?

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1084147_is-tesla-about-to-offer-battery-pack-swapping-for-model-s

And Consumer Reports has just awarded the Model S 99 out of 100. First time since 2007.

http://www.chargedevs.com/content/news-wire/post/consumer-reports-tesla-model-s-best-car-2007-video

Consumer Reports staff discuss the Model S (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXP4Do1xPGk&feature=youtube_gdata_player / Consumer Reports Model S best car tested May 10 filing Securities & Exchange Commission, Tesla Motors factors influence adoption electric vehicles ability rapidly swap out battery pack development specialized public facilities perform swapping plan introduce battery swapping design 10-K filing implementing version technology 2013 information statement battery swaps introduce near future imminent announcement previous discussion battery swaps service centers centre center SEC filing, CEO Elon Musk tweet tweeted faster than you could fill a gas tank mystery announcement Financing Plan Service Plan recently announced lithium ion LiIon lithium-ion battery pack SuperCharger quick-charging quick charging  stations /

Commercial quantum computer available now

And, not surprisingly, it's much faster than conventional computers, but only for a specific type of problem.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23519?cmpid=NLC%7CNSNS%7C2013-GLOBAL%7Cdn23519&utm_medium=NLC&utm_source=NSNS&utm_content=dn23519     / commercially available quantum computer D-Wave company Burnaby Canada spooky action of quantum mechanics non-mainstream method adiabatic quantum computing quantum bits qubits zero one values 0 and 1 at the same time theoretically offering much faster computing speed truly quantum the qubits must be linked via the quantum property of entanglement entangled Catherine McGeoch Amherst College Massachusetts consultant D-Wave hardware is optimisation problem minimising minimizing minimize minimise solution complicated equation variables practical applications image recognition machine learning colleague Cong Wang Simon Fraser University, Burnaby problem D-Wave Two computer 439 qubits superconducting niobium loops solve problem high-end desktop computer 3600 times faster best conventional algorithm problem CPLEX performance problems conventional regular computers McGeoch results ACM International Conference on Computing Frontiers Ischia Italy number-crunching Jeremy O'Brien of the University of Bristol, UK strange but highly optimised way of calculating that does not rely on entanglement repeat experiments confirm quantum effect generic computers perform device dedicated solving specific problem McGeoch step would be to build a conventional processor optimised for this task for a fairer comparison says O'Brien algorithms classical system solutions rapidly improvey slowly converge on the best answer D-Wave's computer best solution almost instantly classical algorithm D-Wave team now convincing customers new kind of device solve problems more efficiently academic benchmarking developing real-world applications Williams /