http://www.osnews.com/ Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2013, David Adams OSNews version 4 donotreply@osnews.com (Adam Scheinberg) donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Mon, 20 May 2013 02:14:58 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif http://www.osnews.com/ 120 http://www.osnews.com/story/25419/7_Awesome_Bits_of_Tech_That_Just_Freakin_Disappeared/ http://www.osnews.com/story/25419/7_Awesome_Bits_of_Tech_That_Just_Freakin_Disappeared/ Carol Pinchefsky contemplates commercial skipping DVRs, and other tales of really good technology that vanished, in 7 Awesome Bits of Tech That Just Freakin' Disappeared. As Pinchefsky writes: "...It got me thinking about awesome technology that we somehow ditched. The airship? Awesome. Slide rules? Awesome awesome. Mir Space Station? Boss-level awesome. And now just thinking about wristwatches with calculators makes me suffer a sense of short-term nostalgia (as in Douglas Coupland's Generation X). Here are some of the coolest features and products that we’ve lost along the way to 2012. Tue, 13 Dec 2011 02:38:46 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (David Adams) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 24 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News estherschindler http://www.osnews.com/story/24701/Wall_Street_s_Cult_Calculator_Turns_30/ http://www.osnews.com/story/24701/Wall_Street_s_Cult_Calculator_Turns_30/ Matthew Rothman bought an HP 12c financial calculator for his first job out of college in 1989. Years later, he still has the same calculator. And he still uses it constantly, just like thousands of other 12c enthusiasts. "Whenever I switch jobs, I just peel the old business card that is on the back and tape my newest one on," says Mr. Rothman, head of quantitative equity strategies at Barclays Capital in New York. Sales of the device, which debuted in 1981, haven't slipped even after its manufacturer, Hewlett-Packard Co., introduced more-advanced devices or even, two years ago, a 12c iPhone application, which replicates all the calculator's functions, the company says. Thu, 05 May 2011 22:14:05 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 7 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News http://www.osnews.com/story/23839/The_Computers_that_Power_Man_s_Conquest_of_the_Stars/ http://www.osnews.com/story/23839/The_Computers_that_Power_Man_s_Conquest_of_the_Stars/ "Watch a Nasa shuttle burning a path into space or a video of Saturn's rings taken by the Cassini satellite and it's hard not to marvel at man's technological prowess. But the surprising truth is that space exploration is built on IT which lags many years behind that found in today's consumer gadgets and corporate PCs. To this day, Nasa still uses elements of technology that powered the moon landings of the 1960s and 1970s, while the International Space Station - the manned station circling the Earth 250 miles above our heads - relies on processors dating back more than two decades." Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:55:57 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 23 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News http://www.osnews.com/story/22642/Dan_O_Bannon_Dies_at_63/ http://www.osnews.com/story/22642/Dan_O_Bannon_Dies_at_63/ "Dan O'Bannon, the man who gave the world Alien and Total Recall, has died aged 63, the New York Times reports. O'Bannon passed away at his home in Santa Monica, California, last Thursday, as a result of the gastrointestinal disorder Crohn's disease, which he'd suffered for 30 years." Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:46:46 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 0 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News http://www.osnews.com/story/21730/HP_Brings_Classic_Calculators_to_iPhone_Windows/ http://www.osnews.com/story/21730/HP_Brings_Classic_Calculators_to_iPhone_Windows/ I guess the tragic death of Michael Jackson put the internet on hold or something, as the amount of news we can find has come to a grinding halt. I did find something interesting, though: HP has made several of its classic calculator models available as iPhone applications or as Windows applications. I'm personally not particularly versed in the world of mathematics (other than statistics), but I do know the love many geeks have for their calculators. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:15:03 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 30 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News http://www.osnews.com/story/21647/Comedy_Central_Confirms_Futurama_Returns_2010/ http://www.osnews.com/story/21647/Comedy_Central_Confirms_Futurama_Returns_2010/ Futurama is coming back! The animated series, loved by many geeks, is the second show in the history of television to be brought back to life after a cancellation (the other one's Family Guy, also by Fox), mostly due to strong fan demand and very good sales from the series of direct-to-DVD films. Comedy Central ordered 26 new episodes to be made, and airing will start in mid-2010. Matt Groening, one of the two show's creators, said: "We're thrilled 'Futurama' is coming back. We now have only 25,766 episodes to make before we catch up with Bender and Fry in the year 3000." Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:30:48 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 17 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News http://www.osnews.com/story/21452/Warp_Drive_Might_Actually_Not_Be_Impossible/ http://www.osnews.com/story/21452/Warp_Drive_Might_Actually_Not_Be_Impossible/ Today, the new Star Trek film has seen its official premiere here in The Netherlands tonight, and in honour of that, I figured an article on Space.com about the possibility of faster-than-light travel would make a good fit on OSNews. The article is quite technical, so bear with me on this one. I hope I get everything right. Thu, 07 May 2009 22:24:06 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 38 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News http://www.osnews.com/story/21354/Simulated_Brain_Closer_to_Thought/ http://www.osnews.com/story/21354/Simulated_Brain_Closer_to_Thought/ A detailed simulation of a small region of a brain built molecule by molecule has been constructed and has recreated experimental results from real brains. The "Blue Brain" has been put in a virtual body, and observing it gives the first indications of the molecular and neural basis of thought and memory. Scaling the simulation to the human brain is only a matter of money, says the project's head. The work was presented at the European Future Technologies meeting in Prague. Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:14:19 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 40 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News orfanum http://www.osnews.com/story/19596/OSNews_Asks_What_Star_Trek_Race_Would_You_Want_to_Be_/ http://www.osnews.com/story/19596/OSNews_Asks_What_Star_Trek_Race_Would_You_Want_to_Be_/ Due to the success of the previous incarnation, I'd figure we do another 'OSNews Asks' item; it's a nice way to get to know each other a little more on matters that are in itself fairly irrelevant. We'll continue down the path of irrelevance by asking: What Star Trek race would you want to be, given the choice? And, of course, why? I'll start: definitely Betazoid. Reading minds, telepathy, maybe even empathic abilities, no weird ridges or other facial deformations, black eyes - what's not to like? Post your choice in the comments! Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:52:37 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 85 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 Feature http://www.osnews.com/story/19489/Arthur_C_Clarke_Passes_Away/ http://www.osnews.com/story/19489/Arthur_C_Clarke_Passes_Away/ Arthur C. Clarke, who peered into the heavens with a homemade telescope as a boy and grew up to become a visionary titan of science-fiction writing and collaborated with director Stanley Kubrick on the landmark film "2001: A Space Odyssey", has died. He was 90. The knighted British-born writer died early Wednesday in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he had made his home for decades, after experiencing a cardio-respiratory attack, his secretary, Rohan De Silva, told Reuters. May he rest in peace, and I'd like to extend my sincere condolences to his family and friends. The pod-bay doors will open for the last time. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:37:04 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 36 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News Oliver http://www.osnews.com/story/19188/The_Secret_Military_History_of_Silicon_Valley/ http://www.osnews.com/story/19188/The_Secret_Military_History_of_Silicon_Valley/ "When you think about Silicon Valley you think about modern tech giants like Google, Yahoo and others, but did you know that this high-tech center of the Universe owes its existence to secret government cooperation dating back four decades? It certainly seems outlandish, but in a seminar given back on December 18th on the Google campus, entrepreneur and lecturer Steve Blank explained how the valley was born from billions of dollars worth of signals intelligence contracts from World War II and into the 1960s." Sat, 19 Jan 2008 21:13:31 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 17 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News irbis http://www.osnews.com/story/18978/_Futurama_Bender_s_Big_Score_Released/ http://www.osnews.com/story/18978/_Futurama_Bender_s_Big_Score_Released/ Geeks of the world rejoice: Futurama is back. After a long wait, today is the official release date of "Bender's Big Score!", a 90 minute direct-to-DVD film, that will later be chopped up into the first four episodes of the new season. Filled with geek and nerd references, Futurama is a popular American cartoon series, by Simpsons' creater Matt Groening, that sadly got cancelled way before its time by the Fox Network. Now, it's back, and the opening sequence, a big slap in the face of the Fox Network executives, is already a classic. I have already seen the new film, and as a big, big Futurama fan, I can tell you it will not let you down. Three more direct-to-DVD movies are already planned, so go out, buy the DVD, and just like Family Guy, let's get it back on a regular schedule! My personal favourites: Zapp (s03e02): "That young man fills me with hope and some other emotions that are weird and deeply confusing to me." And of course the classic sign over Amy Wong's parents' house (s04e06): "You came to the Wong place." Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:16:13 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 59 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News http://www.osnews.com/story/18590/The_Future_of_Intelligent_Machines/ http://www.osnews.com/story/18590/The_Future_of_Intelligent_Machines/ Technologists and investors gather at the two-day Singularity Summit in San Francisco to discuss the benefits and risks of advancing artificial intelligence--and what to do in the event that machines one day out-think humans. Sun, 09 Sep 2007 21:06:47 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Eugenia Loli) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 46 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News http://www.osnews.com/story/18065/Wireless_Power_Has_Techies_Beaming/ http://www.osnews.com/story/18065/Wireless_Power_Has_Techies_Beaming/ A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology lit a 60 watt light bulb from a power source two meters away and with no physical connections between the source and the appliance. The 'WiTricity' device - the term coined by the MIT team to describe the wireless power phenomenon - uses magnetic fields to deliver power to the gadgets remotely." Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:09:37 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 27 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News Radarz http://www.osnews.com/story/17913/Zenith_Space_Command_Unboxing_a_Mystery/ http://www.osnews.com/story/17913/Zenith_Space_Command_Unboxing_a_Mystery/ "Ever since the remote control's co-inventor Robert Adler passed away [in March], I've wanted to own one of the first remote controls. After trolling through eBay every now and then, I finally have in my hands a piece of the history of the button. But there's a mystery: which piece?" Entertainingly written piece on the world's first remote controls. I totally enjoy the simplicity of the ultrasonic remote: "All these early remotes are purely mechanical. No batteries at all. When you push the button, a small hammer strikes an aluminum rod, triggering a sound above our hearing range that's picked up by the TV. Each rod is a different length, thus a different frequency, thus distinguishable by the TV." Brilliant. Tue, 15 May 2007 17:37:49 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) Geek stuff, sci-fi... 17 http://www.osnews.com/topics/54 News