Tech
Net Neutrality Prevails in Contentious FCC Vote
Broadband Internet access will be reclassified as a telecom service under a modified set of rules. Court battles and more Congressional hearings to follow
Stories by Larry Greenemeier
Environment
NYC's East River Ice Floes Are a Throwback to the 1800s
More than a century ago, New York City's East River would freeze over every few decades, creating major issues for commuters who relied on ferries for access to Manhattan from the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens...
Tech
Contact Lens Binoculars Are in Sight
Researchers revealed their latest prototype contact lenses that magnify vision almost three times with the wink of an eye. Larry Greenemeier reports
How Will the Fight over Public ISPs and Net Neutrality Play Out?
The FCC will soon vote on the spread of high-speed municipal broadband services and ISPs’ rights to discriminate against certain Web traffic
Tech
Keurig Coffee Drinkers Hack Back
Users of the K-cup coffee company’s products have counterattacked against its efforts to restrict the brands that their new machines can brew. Larry Greenemeier reports
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Tech
Nanotech Pioneer Langer Wins Award by Thinking Small
M.I.T.’s Robert Langer is being recognized for his efforts to fight cancer and other diseases by melding nanoscale engineering with science and medicine
Tech
Scientific American Exclusive: DARPA Memex Data Maps
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing a new set of search tools called Memex that peer into the “deep Web” to reveal human trafficking and other illegal activity...
Tech
Radar Makes All Houses Glass
Law enforcement agencies have handheld radar that can “see” through walls via RF signals, raising Fourth Amendment concerns. Larry Greenemeier reports
Tech
Smart Keyboard Gets a Charge out of You
Researchers have made a secure, waterproof wireless keyboard that gets charged by the action of your fingertips as you type. Larry Greenemeier reports
Tech
Shopping Habits Reveal Personal Details in "Anonymized" Data
Details about where and when you use your credit card could help reveal your identity to data thieves—even if they don't know your name, address and other personal information.
Tech
Rival Space Internets Vie for Sky Pie
SpaceX’s Elon Musk and fellow tech mogel Greg Wyler both have plans for low Earth orbit satellite networks that could fill in many of the world's current gaps in Internet coverage...
Tech
Gestures and Eye Movements Will Control Cars
Carmakers are working on ways to let drivers interact with their cars using presumably safer hand gestures and eye movement in addition to voice controls and touch screens. Larry Greenemeier reports
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Tech
Facebook Puts Its Money Where Your Mouth Is
The social media behemoth buys voice-recognition start-up Wit.ai to prepare for the impending Internet of Things. Larry Greenemeier reports
Tech
Curved TV and Smartphones: Gimmick or Gadget Godsend?
Moviegoers have long been familiar with the benefits of viewing content on a curved screen. The screen's curvature equalizes the distance that light from the projector must travel, enhancing resolution and brightness while eliminating distortion...
Tech
Teen Inventors Connect DVR to Your Zzzs
British students made a wrist monitor that senses if you nod off and sends a signal to your DVR to record whatever you were watching. Future such devices could control additional household functions...
Tech
Scientific American Editor's Picks for the Top Tech Stories of 2014
Wallets, wreckage and digital coin. Before the new year appears, let's look at some of the most important technology stories Scientific American covered over the past 12 months.
Tech
Future Smartphone Could Fall Smartly, Too
Apple got a patent for a system to adjust your falling device in flight to minimize the damage on landing. Larry Greenemeier reports
Will Cuba Now Embrace U.S. Technology?
The president is offering Cuba something the Castro government never asked for: access to U.S.-backed telecommunications services and gadgets
Tech
Recycled Laptop Batteries Bring Light to Power Poor
IBM scientists in India developed an experimental power supply from reusable lithium ion cells salvaged from three-year-old laptop battery packs. Larry Greenemeier reports
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Brain-Hacking Software Can Decode Your Knowledge and Dreams
New technologies are extracting detailed data from our brains that reveal what we know, have seen or have dreamed. Some of the signals could even fly a plane
