As computing power increases and we all rely increasingly on cloud computing and storage, the environmental demands of information technology are growing significantly. Earth Day 2011 marks a moment when, by some estimates, the carbon footprint of data centers exceeds [See the full post…]

One of the next frontiers of computing is to create systems that understand the user. Context aware devices of the near future might recommend restaurants, monitor a user’s health, or screen phone calls—all based on information collected from device sensors [See the full post…]

The technology to make a connected home probably exists. With diverse platforms and network configurations, as well as manufacturers’ unique characteristics built into computing gear, audio and video equipment and appliances, the task of getting them to work together usually [See the full post…]

Artists have often been proponents and leading users of technology. In computing, gaming has presented a challenge to hardware and software developers as artists create images that push the boundaries of compute performance. In this edition of Future Lab on [See the full post…]

A seamless and ubiquitous computing experience on the Internet also requires the user to take on a certain amount of risk that personal information would get into the wrong hands. Computer scientists are developing tools that protect a user’s privacy. [See the full post…]

Data network bandwidth requirements are currently shifting from 1Gb to 10Gb. But 100Gb is not far away – optical networking becomes essentially mandatory to carry large amounts of data. Researchers are investigating not only materials and equipment, but also novel [See the full post…]

As computer and network use becomes more widespread, more people are faced with the problem of making meaning out of large data sets. Big data presents not just technical challenges but time and cost challenges as well. In this episode [See the full post…]

Brain trauma affects more than 2 million people in the U.S. each year because of accidents and participation in sports. But little is understood about the connections within the brain that can be broken but not detected. Using MRI scans, [See the full post…]

Open Cirrus, a test bed for cloud computing (spearheaded by the companies HP, Intel and Yahoo, and including research partners such as Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Illinois) recently announced its expansion. An Internet service such [See the full post…]

A coming major advance in computer technology is a form of context awareness known as Socially Enabled Services or SENS, which refers to mobile devices that can anticipate user needs, such as advising the best routes to take on [See the full post…]

We have Isaac Asimov to thank for thinking about robots as a science when he coined the term “robotics” in the 1940s. Originally, the term came from the word “robota” from Czech (possessing a similar meaning in other [See the full post…]

When Intel Labs established its Interactions and Experience Research Lab, known as IXR, this past summer, it was a sign that the making of technology has profoundly changed. It is one thing to invent a machine or a process, it [See the full post…]

In 2009 the Irish rock band U2 experienced the realities of space communication when they connected in a live 2-way video conference between Bono on the concert stage in front of stadium audiences and astronauts in the International Space Station. [See the full post…]

The concept of “stemness” refers to the capacity within a stem cell to create different kinds of cells. It promises to revolutionize medicine. Isolated in the petri dish, stem cells exhibit interesting behaviors that scientists are just beginning [See the full post…]