Author Archive

A new study from Tufts University shows that while the “digital divide” may be narrowing in terms of access to the Internet, a significant “digital skills divide” is emerging.
“Parents’ access to childrearing information appears to be on the rise, in large measure because of the Web,” said Professor Fred Rothbaum from the Eliot-Pearson Department of [...]

photo credit: syawal.lokman
ONE of the oldest barriers to innovation is “Not Invented Here,” a persistent bias of even the most creative people toward their own creations and against those of people who work for other companies. And the problem of N.I.H. isn’t limited to business; it can also infect the military and government research [...]

photo credit: justinwdavis
Google is pressing the US government to allow the unlicensed frequencies of TV “white space” to be used for wi-fi.
The firm has written an open letter to regulators saying the US spectrum was a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.

White space is unused blocks of frequencies in-between channels broadcast on analogue airwaves.
“The vast [...]

photo credit: mdezemery
More inconvenient truths about energy efficiency.
ENERGY efficiency, policy wonks like to say, is the forgotten fuel. It can get us half-way to stabilising the climate, in the opinion of the International Energy Agency, a think-tank-cum-watchdog for big energy-consuming countries. Better yet, it pays for itself. If you consider the cost not just [...]

photo credit: Ethan Hein
ScienceDaily (Mar. 21, 2008) — Researchers at Boston College and MIT have used nanotechnology to achieve a major increase in thermoelectric efficiency, a milestone that paves the way for a new generation of products — from semiconductors and air conditioners to car exhaust systems and solar power technology — that run [...]