Computing2328 articles archived since 1845

Sharing Economy Sites That Don't Exist Yet—but Should

Why aren't we renting out our pools, cameras or cooking skills yet?

How Many Cell Phones Does It Take to Arouse a Supreme Court Justice’s Suspicion?

Do you promise to tell the truth on however many phones you carry?

Did Facebook's Mood Experiment Violate Research Ethics?

You can read the study itself here, plus a very comprehensive discussion of reactions to the study here. 1. If you intend to publish your research in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, you are expected to have conducted that research with the appropriate ethical oversight...

Software Finds Best Parts of Boring Video

Machine-learning researchers are developing software that automatically searches through long videos to create edited summaries, or personalized trailers. Larry Greenemeier reports

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How to Disappear from the Web

If you've ever been the victim of identity theft, or a stalker, or you just value your privacy, Tech Talker has the tools to help you ditch the digital age and remove your presence from the web...

How You Can Hide Your Smartphone Data from Thieves—and the Cops

A new software technique thwarts forensic software by making indiscernible changes in a handset’s operating system

Heartbleed Shows Government Must Lead on Internet Security

The U.S. government must step in to fill the leadership vacuum

Starbucks to Offer Wireless Caffeine for Smartphones

The coffee chain is putting wireless mobile device charging on the menu, a harbinger of cable-free communications and computing

Being There: Fun with a Remote Sensor Data Browser

Quantum Computer Fails Speed Test

How hard can it be to determine whether a computer works as promised? Step one: turn it on. Step two: Try to solve some problems. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

How a Sensor-Filled World Will Change Human Consciousness

How a world filled with sensors will change the way we see, hear, think and live

161 Bird-Watcher Apps for the iPhone--and They're All for the Birds [Slide Show]

Mobile devices promise to give bird-watchers new tools for their fieldwork, but smartphone apps for identifying these aviators are not quite ready to leave the nest

161 Bird-Watcher Apps for the iPhone—and They’re All for the Birds [Slide Show]

Mobile devices promise to give bird-watchers new tools for their fieldwork, but smartphone apps for identifying these aviators are not quite ready to leave the nest

Squiggly Lines Secure Smartphones

To protect your financial and personal data, most mobiles come with PIN-based security, biometrics or number grids that require you to retrace a particular pattern to access your device...

Physics Week in Review: June 14, 2014

Just a reminder for those of you in the Chicago area: I’ll be speaking Monday July 16th, 6 PM, at the Harold Washington Library Center.

Update: EyeWire

Help researchers make the scientific leaps necessary to understand the brain’s higher functions

Book Review: Virtual Unreality

Books and recommendations from Scientific American

Wikipedia Dicey as Medical Info Source

Researchers who compared peer-reviewed articles to the Wikipedia pages for the 10 most costly medical conditions in the U.S. discovered incorrect information on nine out of 10 pages. Dina Fine Maron reports

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Time Travel: Installing an Atomic Clock at 15,000 Feet

A few months ago I went to Cambridge, Mass. to check in with the Event Horizon Telescope crew and found Shep Doeleman, the project leader, fresh off the completion of a major purchase.

Google Invests Billions on Satellites to Expand Internet Access

The company's plan to buy 180 small, high-capacity satellites complements its other ventures to expand Internet access to remote and underserved areas