Computing2333 articles archived since 1845

System Crashes Will Forestall the Robot Apocalypse

If you find yourself being chased by a crazed bipedal robot, simply enter a room and close the door behind you

Inventions: 70 Years That Changed the World, 1845–1915

Should Software Come in Advanced and Beginner Versions?

How four tech companies tried to fight feature bloat—to greater and lesser success

DARPA Verigames Crowdsourced Formal Verification (CSFV) project

Citizen scientists help software developers detect flaws that make their programs vulnerable to hackers

Why the Upgrade Cycle Will Never End

Software and hardware companies push new, feature-bloated versions on us every year. Why do we keep buying?

Power Grid Cyber Attacks Keep the Pentagon Up at Night

A detailed look at why computers running the U.S. electrical infrastructure are so vulnerable to digital threats

Korean Robot Takes Home $2M Prize in DARPA Challenge

The winning team's robot, a humanoid design that could transform into a wheeled kneeling position, finished all eight tasks in less than 45 minutes...

NSA Snooping Includes Hunting for Computer Hackers

The spy agency’s warrantless surveillance program on U.S. soil has been expanded to search for signs of hacking, according to the latest classified document leaks from former contractor Edward Snowden...

"Brainprints" Could Be Future Security ID

We all emit slightly different brain waves in response to stimuli, and researchers say that an individual’s specific "brainprints" could be used to validate our identities...

How to Use a Virtual Machine

What is a virtual machine and how can you use it to boost your computer efficiency? Tech Talker explains

NOVA Evolution Lab

What could you possibly have in common with a mushroom, or a dinosaur, or even a bacterium? More than you might think.

Bionic Arm Taps New Part of Brain for Smooth Moves

Connections to a robotic arm have been wired into a tetraplegic person's brain and enabled him to use his thoughts to execute tasks requiring smooth motor control

Can't Touch This--New Encryption Scheme Targets Transaction Tampering

An Estonia-based cybersecurity firm adopts a “blockchain” public ledger system to verify online transfers of sensitive information

Moore's Law Keeps Going, Defying Expectations

It’s a mystery why Gordon Moore’s “law,” which forecasts processor power will double every two years, still holds true a half century later

Satellite Sensor Reveals Earth’s Nocturnal Secrets

Inventions: 70 Years That Changed the World, 1845–1915 [Slide Show]

Smartphone Lock Pouch Leaves Students to Their Own (Unusable) Devices

One school is trying out a lightweight sack meant to keep devices from being a classroom distraction without forcing students to give up their digital lifelines

Here's What a Cyber Warfare Arsenal Might Look Like

Stuxnet was just the beginning, as malware becomes the new nuclear option

Pop Music Gets Its Fossil Record Analyzed

An investigation of more than 17,000 hit tunes suggests popular music undergoes periods of shifting diversity, and that new styles evolve in bursts. Christopher Intagliata reports

Star Wars Day: May the Fourth Be with You

16-year-old Paul Vermeesch recreate the impossible structures in M.C. Escher's Relativity--but with a Star Wars theme--in LEGO.