News
Google demonstrates phone that translates text
February 23, 2010 8:21 am | CommentsStumped by foreign languages when you're traveling? Google Inc. is working on software that translates text captured by a phone camera. At a demonstration Tuesday at Mobile World Congress, a cell phone trade show in Barcelona, an engineer shot a picture of a German dinner menu with a phone running Google Inc.'s Android software.
Digi-Key Corporation Expands Global Distribution Agreement with Altera® to Include Asia Pacific Region
February 23, 2010 8:20 am | by Digi-Key | CommentsThief River Falls, Minnesota, USA — February 23, 2010 — Electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, recognized by design engineers as having the industry's broadest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment, announced today the expansion of its global...
China microbloggers ask: Where has president gone?
February 23, 2010 8:20 am | CommentsWhere is President Hu Jintao? That's the question online supporters were asking Tuesday after a user account for the stiff and formal politician disappeared from a Twitter-like microblogging site two days after it was discovered.
Poor but networked: UN says cell phone use surging
February 23, 2010 8:16 am | CommentsMore than half of the people in the developing world are now cell phone subscribers, a U.N. report said Tuesday, highlighting strong global growth in telecommunications. There were an estimated 4.6 billion mobile phone subscriptions at the end of last year, compared with about 1 billion in 2002...
New Transceiver is Fully-Reconfigurable
February 23, 2010 8:15 am | CommentsThe fully reconfigurable transceiver is compatible with various wireless standards and applications, including the upcoming mobile broadband 3GPP-LTE standard. The trend in wireless communication where terminals give their users ubiquitous access to a multitude of services drives the development of reconfigurable radios in deep-submicron CMOS. This is enhanced with the advent of 3GPP-LTE, a standard that is inherently so flexible that a reconfigurable radio is its most economical implementation. The single-chip reconfigurable transceiver developed by imec, Renesas and M4S provides an answer to this need.
UK movie chain boycotts 'Alice' in DVD dispute
February 23, 2010 7:38 am | CommentsBritish cinema chain Odeon will not show Tim Burton's fantasy adventure "Alice in Wonderland" in Britain, Ireland and Italy because of a dispute over the timing of the film's DVD release, the company said Tuesday. Odeon objects to Walt Disney Pictures' decision to leave only 12 weeks between the film's theatrical and DVD releases in those countries, rather than the usual 17 weeks.
New Breed of Scholars to Tackle Grand Challenges
February 23, 2010 7:20 am | by Duke University | CommentsTwo years ago, a group of Duke University engineering undergrads traveled to Uganda in an Engineers Without Borders project to address some of the most pressing needs of a small community. Among other projects, they planned to help villagers connect to the outside world through the Internet and t
CGI wins contract to provide software to Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences
February 23, 2010 6:30 am | by The Associated Press | CommentsInformation technology firm CGI Group Inc. (TSX:GIB.A) said Tuesday it has won a $2.2-million contract to provide management software to Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.Under the "multi-year" deal, Montreal-based CGI will provide enterprise content management and workflow automation...
How to decline Facebook friends without offence
February 23, 2010 6:03 am | CommentsA colleague I just met at work has invited me to be their friend on Facebook. I don't want to offend them, but nor do I want to share my candid photos and lousy Scrabble scores with someone I hardly know. Can I ignore their invite?
'Clash' of 3-D movies to hit underprepared cinemas
February 23, 2010 5:36 am | CommentsMovies in 3-D are becoming such big moneymakers that Hollywood studios are cramming them into the nation's theaters, even though there aren't enough screens available to give each film its fullest possible run. That will mean an unprecedented number of 3-D movies for film fans to choose from this spring...
Guitarist Frank Vignola to perform at Brookhaven Lab March 27
February 23, 2010 5:22 am | by Brookhaven National Laboratory | CommentsGuitar virtuoso Frank Vignola will perform at Brookhaven Lab on Saturday, March 27, at 8 p.m. in Berkner Hall.
FCC survey shows need to teach broadband basics
February 23, 2010 5:08 am | CommentsThe government's plan to provide fast Internet connections to all Americans will have to include some basic instruction in Web 101, according to a new survey of Internet users and non-users. The Federal Communications Commission's first-ever survey on Internet usage and attitudes concludes that those who aren't connected today need to be taught how to navigate the Web...
News Corp. buys 9 percent of Mideast's Rotana
February 23, 2010 4:30 am | by ADAM SCHRECK - AP Business Writer - Associated Press | CommentsDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. said Tuesday it will spend $70 million for a slice of Arabic media giant Rotana Group, pushing deeper into the growing Middle East market while strengthening ties to a key Saudi shareholder.News Corp., the parent of Fox News Channel and...
bReaders Can Now Print Museum Publications On-Demand Using HP's
February 23, 2010 4:30 am | by The Associated Press | Commentshttp://www.computerhistory.org () —The Computer History Museum (CHM) has given cloud-gazing a whole new meaning: Audiences interested in the Museum's publications will now be able to find and print them on-demand using HP's MagCloud service.By leveraging MagCloud's print-on-demand platform, the...
Fixing Equipment, Saving Lives
February 23, 2010 4:20 am | by Duke University | CommentsWho says you need buckets of cash and huge government bureaucracies to make a profound difference in the standard of living for people in developing countries? A handful of dedicated Duke undergraduate engineering students, with support from the GE Foundation, will later this year initiate
