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Technology & Science

Using satellites to find skeletons

Sometimes when you're looking for something, and you really want to find it, the best thing you can do is step back from the situation a bit.

That's kind of what happened recently for scientists in South Africa, who announced Thursday that they found a new and important link in the human family tree. The University of the Witwatersrand archeologists didn't find the skeletal remains of a new hominid species, Australopithecus sediba, just by trudging around on foot.

 

They used satellite images from Google Earth.
 

NASA unveils sweeping new programs

One week before President Obama is scheduled to attend a major "space summit" in Florida, NASA unveiled sweeping new programs designed to implement the administration's proposed shift to commercial manned rockets and development of new technologies to enable eventual deep space exploration.

The president's fiscal 2011 budget request, which would cancel the Bush administration's Constellation moon program, does not specify a long-range target for manned exploration or a timetable for moving beyond low-Earth orbit, factors that have generated widespread criticism.

But NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, a former shuttle commander, defended the agency's new direction Thursday, saying the president's controversial "vision" is, unlike past programs, affordable and sustainable.
 

Protect your identity during census season

 Your best bet at keeping your personal census information safe is through the lick of an envelope, not the click of a mouse.

The U.S. Postal Service began delivery of 2010 U.S. census questionnaires in mid-March, with follow-up visits to start this month. One important note to consider: No federal agency, including the U.S. Census Bureau, will initiate contact with you via the Internet. If you receive an e-mail claiming to be from the census, it's probably a scam.

The Better Business Bureau warned consumers last month of an e-mail claiming to be from the BBB, providing false information about what to expect from the census.

It's important to be mindful of the types of questions you answer on census forms; scammers and con artists use the census as an opportunity to collect sensitive and private information from consumers.

 
 

Why games will take over our lives

If you think an electric toothbrush is high-tech, wait until you hear about the Internet-enabled version.

 

Jesse Schell, a game designer and Carnegie Mellon University professor, says toothbrushes will be hooked-up with Wi-Fi Internet connections within five years.

 

The point? If the entire Internet knows how often you brush your teeth and for how long, there's an incentive to brush more often.

 

Toothbrush makers could offer rewards for frequent brushers, too. Say you brush your teeth twice each day for three months. A company like Crest or Procter & Gamble could reward you with coupons for more toothbrushes, since your well-used bristles would probably be frayed by then.

 

Schell says dental hygiene -- and, really, just about everything else -- will become a game. He thinks the "gamepocalypse," the moment when everything in our lives becomes a game, is coming soon -- if it's not already here.

 

The Web-connected toothbrush is just one example Schell touched on during a recent interview. Here's an edited transcript.
 

Google: People need info to save energy

A coalition of tech companies, telecoms and environmental groups on Monday sent a letter to President Obama (PDF) on the subject of home energy efficiency.

The groups, which include Google, AT&T and 45 others, essentially make two points:

In order for people to save energy, they need to know more about how much energy they're currently using.

The U.S. government should, in some way, require that "timely, useful and actionable" data about energy use and pricing be made available to consumers over the Internet or mobile phone.

As for the info consumers should have access to, the groups say that to make smart decisions about how much energy to use and when to use it, people need to know the following:

How much energy their individual appliances use, in near-real-time

How much electricity costs at any given time ?

How the electricity is being generated (ie, by turning wind turbines or burning coal)

With all of this information, people could save an average of $360 per person per year on energy bills, the group says.

Google and The Climate Group will co-host a talk on this subject on Tuesday at 1 p.m. in Washington. A Google blog post says the White House energy adviser, Carol Browner, will give a keynote address.

For people to be able to get data about how much energy they're using at any given time, what appliances are sucking it in, and how much the electricity costs at the moment, the U.S. will have to deploy a "smart" electricity grid, capable of tracking and transmitting all of this information.

The White House has promised a $4 billion investment in the smart grid, but it has faced delays.
 

First iPad buyers excited, curious

Thousands of people emerged from stores across the United States on Saturday clutching newly purchased iPads, the tabletlike computer that's Apple's most-awaited product since the first iPhone launched three years ago.

Some buyers said they wanted a lightweight computer they could carry around easily or use from their couch, while others were diehard Apple fans who said they were eager to possess the company's latest gadget -- even if they're not sure what they'll use it for.

"I don't know what it is -- I just think it's going to be something that's really cool," said Mark Bowling outside an Apple store at Lenox Square mall in Atlanta, Georgia. "I can't figure out how to use it if I don't have one."

 
 
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