Discovered in an academic archive in the former East Germany, the elaborately bound volume of gold and green brocade paper holds 75,000 characters, a perplexing mix of mysterious symbols and Roman letters. The name comes from one of only two non-coded inscriptions in the document.

Kevin Knight, a computer scientist at the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California, collaborated with Beata Megyesi and Christiane … Read More → "How revolutionary tools cracked a 1700s code"

The American scientist invented the computer language LISP.

It went on to become the programming language of choice for the AI community, and is still used today.

Professor McCarthy is also credited with coining the term “Artificial Intelligence” in 1955 when he detailed plans for the first Dartmouth conference. The brainstorming sessions helped focus early AI research. via BBC

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Can gorgeous design, learning algorithms and millions in venture capital funding make a simple home thermostat as coveted as the iPhone? If anyone can achieve such a lofty goal it’s Tony Fadell, the former chief architect at Apple, who led the development of the iPod and the first three versions of the iPhone, and who left Apple two years ago to start connected thermostat company Nest Labs.

While Palo Alto, Calif.-based Nest has been … Read More → "The thermostat that learns"

Fifty-year-old Brit Trevor Prideaux is an ordinary man with an extraordinary idea that could make it easier for others who are missing limbs to use smartphones–embed a phone dock right into your prosthetic.

It’s worked for him. via crave

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We all dream of having the revolutionary idea that makes us successful. In fact, the number of patents filed each year almost doubles every ten years to almost half a million in 2010 alone. Unfortunately, being first to market with a new technology product, even a great product, doesn’t necessarily guarantee success. via Dvice

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We’re used to tapping away at flat, glass-covered touchscreen devices like smartphones and tablets. A group of Stanford researchers have taken that capacitive touch concept and applied it to a completely new form factor, which could have wide-ranging applications in consumer technology, robotics and beyond.

The team created a transparent, super-stretchy sensor that can be used repeatedly without getting deformed, snapping back into shape after each use. The team hopes that their sensor could be used in medical applications like pressure-sensitive bandages, or even as an outer, skin-like layer to create touch-sensitive limbs or … Read More → "Skin-Like sensors could bring tactile sensations to robots, humans"

Current industry-standard oil recovery equipment pulls roughly 1,000 gallons a minute but, as the Deep Water Horizon incident showed, that simply isn’t good enough. So Wendy Schmidt—as in wife of ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt—put up a $1.4 million purse for any team that could extract 2,500 gallons a minute. Here’s the winning design. via Gizmodo

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… Read More → "A 4,600 gallon per minute oil skimmer just won the $1.4 million X Challenge"

Just what you need.

There was a time when all a man needed for a good snowball fight was dry gloves and some fresh powder. These days you need to step up your game, with weapons specifically engineered for winter warfare like this crossbow designed to hurl balls of snow instead of arrows. via Gizmodo

Continue reading</ … Read More → "A snowball-launching crossbow"

O, first world problems! Of all your dreadful variants, the Wi-Fi Dead Zone has to be among the worst—how am I going to finish this Netflix stream now? If only my wireless network stretched for miles. It can.

Or at least Amped Wireless says it can, with their new SR600EX Pro Smart Repeater, boasting a 600mW they say pushes your range up by 1.5 miles. That’s almost 8,000 feet. So, yeah, … Read More → "Wanna boost your wireless network by…1.5 miles?"

I hate to argue with an authority such as “Geekologie,” but I’m told that the correct term should be “Trekker” and not “Trekkie”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trekkie#Trekkie_vs._Trekker