2012 – Page 80 – Impact Lab

The way you type could be your computer’s password

March 19, 2012

Experts are trying several approaches to determine users’ identities solely through their computer behavior.

Imagine sitting down at your work keyboard, typing in your user name and starting work right away – no password needed. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, part of the defense department, wants to turn that vision into a reality. It will distribute research funds to develop software that determines, just by the way you type, that you are indeed the person you say you are.

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Analysis, Historical Perspectives, Latest Trend

More words dropped and fewer words added to languages in digital age: Study

March 19, 2012

Words are being dropped from languages faster and new ones added at a slower rate.

Adding new words or dropping old ones to an existing language is something people have always done. As new things or ideas are discovered, new words crop up to describe them. But now, in the digital age, that process appears to be slowing despite the increased pace of new things arriving on the scene.

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Animals, Art, Crazy Photos, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Humor, Photo Perspectives

Top 10 Photos of the Week

March 19, 2012

It was all fun and games until he had to start eating giant regurgitated worms.

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Quote of the Day: “I’m a heroine addict. I need to have sex with women who have saved someone’s life. Hmmm, I’m gonna fix that last joke by taking out all the words and adding new ones.” – – Mitch Hedberg

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Current Events, Global Warming, Globalism, Latest News

Chevron execs to face charges of environmental crimes in Brazil

March 18, 2012

It’s been less than a week since news went public of Chevron’s latest oil spill off the coast of Brazil, its second in less than 6 months, but troubles for the oil company and the environment are clearly escalating. Although early reports from Chevron sought to downplay the severity of the deepwater leak as an infrequent drip, a recent flyover of site by the Brazilian officials shows that the oil slick has already reached about 1 kilometer in length…

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Economy, Money Talk

How Startups are key to the economic recovery

March 18, 2012

Despite the promise brought by the latest round of successful IPOs and rallying public markets, the news continues to be filled with headlines around the possibility of a “false recovery.” Europe’s continent-wide recession and expanding debt issues, rising oil and gasoline prices, an only-modest improvement in the unemployment rate, and the “moderate” growth predicted by the Fed continue to leave people feeling uneasy about the state of the economy. With the underlying and systemic issues still present in the financial sector, some even believe that we could see something akin to the recession of 2008 happen all over again.

But there is one segment that remains very bullish about the future of the economy and where signs of improved growth and economic stability can be found. This “hope” for our economy is in the entrepreneurs who start small businesses — the innovators and dreamers who believe that against all odds they can build something better — create something from nothing, and drive change in the world…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Historical Perspectives, New Viewpoints

How a particle accelerator works: Explained with donuts and chocolate bars

March 18, 2012

Using a fried dough and Kit Kat stop-motion animation, the folks over at Elementsexplain how a synchroton particle accelerator—like the Large Hadron Collider—accelerate particles up to the speed of light…

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Science & Technology News

Scientists develop a laser ‘un-printer’

March 18, 2012

In the future, printers may be able to remove ink from paper, too.

University of Cambridge scientists have determined that as long as you are using the right type of laser, it is possible to remove toner from paper.

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Great New Product, Science & Technology News

NEC’s ultra-thin organic battery is just 0.3mm thick

March 18, 2012

NEC’s organic radical battery (ORB)

NEC has been working on the “organic radical battery” (ORB) technology for some years, but has now announced its latest ORB breakthrough, the 0.3mm thick ORB. The output rated as 5kW/L with a capacity of 3mAh, according to Geek.com. On a full charge, the new battery prototype can refresh a screen 2,000 times. A recharge takes under a minute, about 30 seconds. The new batteries maintain 75 percent of their charge-discharge after 500 charges.

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Analysis, Economy, Latest Trend

Middle class in Mexico becoming its majority

March 18, 2012

Customers look at laptops at a Wal-Mart store in Mexico City.

The middle class is fast becoming the majority in Mexico, breaking down the rich-poor divide in a profound demographic transformation that has far-reaching implications here and in the United States.

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Analysis, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Education, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, New Viewpoints

Midnight Climax: CIA’s MK-ULTRA LSD experiments in San Francisco

March 17, 2012

The CIA’s notorious MK-ULTRA program got huge quantities of LSD distributed throughout the US.

Newly released documents shed light on the San Francisco edition of the CIA’s notorious MK-ULTRA program (through which people were unwittingly given massive doses of LSD to see if the drug would be useful for brainwashing), which ran from 1953-1964. There’s lots of detail about MK-ULTRA’s work in NYC and Montreal, but the San Francisco operation has been shrouded in mystery. The newly declassified documents form the springboard for a good investigative piece in SF Weekly, in which Troy Hooper speaks to Wayne Ritchie, one of the survivors of MK-ULTRA’s San Francisco operation…

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Animals, Crazy Stuff, Food, Great Videos, Latest Trend, Photo Perspectives

Glow in the dark sushi the latest food craze to hit America

March 17, 2012

The genetically modified fish were originally bred to help detect environmental pollutants.

The latest must try food craze to hit America is sushi that glows in the dark. The sushi was inspired by genetically modified fish first bred for scientific research, a video showing how to make the glowing sushi has become a huge hit online. (Pics and video)

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Big Problems, Crazy Stuff, Health & Fitness, Latest Trend

Cinnamon Challenge YouTube craze could be harmful to your health, warn health experts

March 17, 2012

Health experts are cautioning people not to attempt a dare that is catching on due to a viral video.

Don’t expect any great culinary creation when your kids go digging into the spice drawer. They may be looking for the cinnamon, which they want to attempt to swallow, without water.

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