Today’s Tech Sightings: Scientists Create Million-Year Data Storage With DNA Floppy disks may be dead and hard drives may not be far behind. In an effort to save digital human knowledge from eventual extinction, researchers at ETH Zurich have found a way to use DNA as a storage medium to hold data possibly for more […]
Biohacking; Bionic Hands; CLAMs; Million-Year Storage
Cortana’s Super Bowl Pick; the Wearable Future; the Dreaded AI
Today’s Tech Sightings: Beware Rise of the Machines, Warns Bill Gates Adding his voice to physicist Stephen Hawking and Tesla Motors’ CEO Elon Musk on the dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Microsoft founder Bill Gates said AI could pose a serious threat to humanity unless it is kept under control. Mozilla Puts Old Hardware to […]
Wikipedia Denies Purging Feminists; 3-D-Printed Food; the Linux ‘Ghost’
Today’s Tech Sightings: Wikipedia Denies ‘Purging’ Feminist Editors Over Gamergate Debate Wikipedia has been under fire since The Guardian and others reported last week that five editors opposed to Gamergate were banned from editing gender or sexuality pages. But according to The Verge, a Wikipedia statement today said that “press stories have mistakenly claimed that […]
Cuba’s Secret Internet; Wickr’s Cats; Twitter New Features
Today’s Tech Sightings: How Sensors and Drones Can Combat Global Hunger Author Shawn DuBravac argues that sensors, which have revolutionized mobile devices and are now empowering wearable technology, could potentially help alleviate world hunger. He suggests equipping food-supply wares and storehouses with sensors that raise the alarm once a shortage begins, rather than having a person […]
A Gates’ Look at the Future; Microsoft’s HoloLens; WhatsApp
Bill and Melinda Gates Bet Big on the Future Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda paint a rosy future for the world’s poorest in their foundation’s 2015 annual letter. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s outlook foresees mobile banking transforming lives and software advances revolutionizing learning, among other things. Gaming to Death: What […]
Ebola Internet Access; Internet in Space; League of Legends Trojan
Tech Firms Extend Internet Access to Help Ebola Treatment in Africa San Francisco-based non-profit, Inveneo, has launched a three-month initiative to connect 100 West African locations to the Internet to help fight the spread of Ebola. The group teamed up with Facebook’s data-science team to determine how to deploy its equipment in Sierra Leone, Guinea […]
Uganda’s Robotics Generation; 3D-Printed Buildings; Apple; Windows 10
Robotics Revolution Hits Ugandan Classrooms Fundi Bots founder Solomon King Benge is betting that a new generation of Ugandans can develop creative skills and learn from robots how to solve real-world problems. His company offers robotics training in 15 schools in Kampala and Gulu in the north that let kids tinker with robotics parts and […]
3D-Printed Cars; iKubu; Kensington Palace Hops on Twitter
Today’s Tech Sightings: South Africa Launches Tablet Pilot With Slates for Schools in Gauteng South Africa’s Gauteng province has formally launched a pilot program to give tablets to school children to further their education, along with a plan to upgrade IT infrastructure and connectivity in public schools. Garmin Acquires South African Radar Startup iKubu Garmin, […]