Computing2294 articles archived since 1845

YouTube's Rock Stars of Science Make a Splash a VidCon

With hundreds of millions of video views, the new faces of science communication are lighting up the web and reaching more young people than Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson combined

Recall Shows That a Hack Attack on Car Controls Is a Credible Threat

After years of downplaying threats, carmakers are forced to admit that their vehicles are vulnerable to serious cybersecurity attacks

In Defense of Big Data

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor makes the case that critics of big data are wrong—abundant information and our ability to process it really is leading to a revolution...

Search Engine Plants Trees as It Finds Your Info

How Much Information Can Earth Hold?

What is the information storage capacity of Earth, and how full is it today? The answer tells us surprising things about the growth of order in the universe

SpaceX Rocket Explosion Likely Caused by Faulty Strut, Musk Says

Steel strut holding down a bottle of high-pressure helium snapped during ascent, though Dragon capsule would have survived if not for software glitch

Decoding the Remarkable Algorithms of Ants

The biologist Deborah Gordon has uncovered how ant colonies search efficiently without central organization, an insight that might improve computer networks

Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Nets Historic Cash Infusion

With a $100-million donation, billionaire Yuri Milner plans to revolutionize the astronomical quest to find alien life

Alien Intelligence Search Gets Major New Push

Entrepreneur and former physicist Yuri Milner talks about the just-announced $100-million Breakthrough Listen Project to search for extraterrestrial technological civilizations  ...

AI Software Teaches Itself Video Games

Artificial intelligence is coming of age and challenging our belief that being smart and being conscious go hand-in-hand

Stephen Hawking and Yuri Milner Announce $100M Initiative to Seek ET

Milner, a tech start-up entrepreneur and philanthropist, is partnering with scientists around the world to search for life among the stars

How Does Wi-Fi Work?

Have you ever stopped to consider exactly how e-mail or streaming video gets into your smartphone or tablet so quickly, seamlessly, and in real time? That's wi-fi in action. This week, Tech Talker delves into the technology behind wireless devices...

Pluto, Ready for Your Close-Up!

At just before 7:50 A.M. today, July 14, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft made its closest approach to Pluto. After a 9.5-year, three-billion-mile voyage, the ship got within about 7,750 miles from the surface...

A Computer's Heat Could Divulge Top Secrets

Like smoke signals, puffs of warm air given off by a computer’s processors can reveal information

Smartwatch Makers Finally Design Devices for Women

Despite a wide selection of smartwatches for men, smaller, fashionable versions designed for women have only recently become available—and their choices are limited

Screen Time Linked to Weaker Bones in Teen Boys

Teenaged boys who spend too many hours in front of the computer or television without participating in enough weight-bearing exercise could develop weaker bones as they age, a small study suggests...

Smartphone Battery Drains a Lot Even with Dark Screen

Background app updates, cell tower pings and other hidden activity accounts for almost half the battery drain on Android phones. Christopher Intagliata reports

What Is the Big Secret Surrounding Stingray Surveillance?

State and local law enforcement agencies across the U.S. are setting up fake cell towers to gather mobile data, but few will admit it

Will Millimeter Waves Maximize 5G Wireless?

Wireless companies want next-generation gadgets to download at rates of gigabits per second. The question is how to make it happen

Tricorder XPRIZE Competition Heats Up

The race to make a medical diagnostic device inspired by Star Trek enters the final stage this month, as consumers put competing designs to the test