The Kindle should be a pretty straight forward proposition, but this just goes to show you how sometimes folks can stir up controversy even with something as innocuous as an e-book reader. First there was the hassle with the Writers Guild over text-to-speech, and then Amazon threatened MobileRead ...

by Joseph L. Flatley on Apr 16th 2009 9:00PM

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After JAXA's announcement of space-based solar power for Japan, we've been keeping our eyes peeled for some news of similar projects Stateside. Lo and behold, California's largest energy utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, has agreed to do just that, inking a deal with solar power startup Solaren ...

by Joseph L. Flatley on Apr 15th 2009 1:07AM

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You know how it is: Amazon refreshes the Kindle, makes some upgrades, and everybody's happy. Almost. It seems that a small but vocal minority is really, really not into the way that fonts are rendered on the new device. For real. Y'see, the newest iteration of the e-reader sports font smoothing ...

by Joseph L. Flatley on Apr 14th 2009 7:11AM

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Sometimes it seems like the worlds of science and marketing are in a constant struggle to present us with the future described in science fiction. Whether its flying cars, the OS from Minority Report, or robots that play "rock, paper, scissors," the old saw is true: you can't fight progress. And ...

by Joseph L. Flatley on Apr 13th 2009 6:11AM

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Researchers at Aberystwyth University in Wales have developed a robot that is being heralded as the first machine to have discovered new scientific knowledge independently of a human operator. Named Adam, the device has already identified the role of several genes in yeast cells, and has the ...

by Joseph L. Flatley on Apr 4th 2009 1:20PM

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Usually when we cover the baked goods beat 'round here it's in the form of a gadget-themed confection, so anything that actually empowers our sweet tooth is not only brilliant, it's dangerous! That's why we were really excited (and a little scared) to come across BakerTweet, a Wi-Fi-enabled, ...

by Joseph L. Flatley on Apr 3rd 2009 2:59PM

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digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gadgets/Researchers_develop_braille_for_vibrating_touchscreen_device'; In braille, a character is made up of six dots laid out on a two by three matrix -- not something that can really be conveyed using capacitive touchscreen technology. Working with a Nokia 770 Internet ...

by Joseph L. Flatley on Apr 1st 2009 12:46PM

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If you've ever thought that the iPhone might be a lawsuit magnet, we now have even more proof for you. It looks like a company called MONEC Holding Ltd., based in Berne, is suing Apple for patent infringement, unfair trade practices, monopolization, and tortious interference (whatever that means). ...

by Joseph L. Flatley on Mar 26th 2009 6:05AM

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On the environmental tip, Mayor Bloomberg has announced that New York City will install 826,000 wireless water meters by 2011. Under the new system, readings will be sent to a network of rooftop receivers throughout the city every six hours, enabling the Department of Environmental Protection ...

by Joseph L. Flatley on Mar 25th 2009 4:43PM

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We've had a lot of fun with Terrafugia over the last year or so, but we weren't exactly holding our breath in anticipation of the Transition's maiden flight. That said, we're definitely psyched to hear that the "roadable aircraft" went airborne in a super-secret test flight that took place in the ...

by Joseph L. Flatley on Mar 19th 2009 2:26PM

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