Tag: Technology

The Takeaway

The Premiere of The Global Jukebox

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Twenty years ago American folklorist and ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax designed "The Global Jukebox," a database that used descriptive tools to identify and link archival music and dance footage. The Global Jukebox was essentially Pandora — but conceived long before technology that could realize it existed. Ten years after his death, Lomax's dream may finally be realized: all of his recordings have been put online, but it will take at least another year to get his collection of dance film into the database.

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The Takeaway

President Obama Encourages Technology-Driven Innovations in Education

Friday, January 27, 2012

Along with income inequality, the president also touched on his plans to reform education in his state of the union address on Tuesday. Specifically, he mentioned how technology can make learners have more meaningful and impactful educational experiences. Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic institute joins the program to gauge the feasibility and effectiveness of such innovative uses of technology at all levels of education.

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The Takeaway

The Implications of Internet Shutdowns

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Wikipedia and several other websites participated in an online "blackout" on Wednesday in protest over SOPA and PIPA, anti-piracy bills that would allow the government to fine or blacklist sites accused of copyright violations. The message of the blackouts have come across not just to the online community, but with members of Congress — some who, like Republican Senator Marco Rubio, withdrew their support of the bill. But the blackouts bring up broader questions about the implications of shutting down the Internet as a form of protest.

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The Takeaway

Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian on SOPA Shutdown

Thursday, January 19, 2012

More than 7,000 websites shut themselves down on Wednesday in a one-day protest of the anti-piracy bills now in Congress. The blackout has some U.S. lawmakers thinking twice about voting for the bills. The Protect IP Act, or PIPA, lost support from two former co-sponsors, Republican Senators Marco Rubio and John Cornyn. Reddit.com's co-founder, Alexis Ohanian, talks about why his website joined in on the blackout and if he thinks it was a success.

 

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The Takeaway

Buffett Invests $10.7 Billion in IBM

Monday, November 14, 2011

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett announced on CNBC Monday morning that his Berkshire Hathaway holding company has bought $10.7 billion of stock in IBM. Buffett said the company began investing in March, and now owns 64 million share of IBM, or 5.5 percent of the computer and technology company. The buy is a bit of a shift for Buffett, who has in the past avoided purchasing tech stocks. Erik Holm of The Wall Street Journal reports on the latest.

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The Takeaway

Steve Jobs: An Enemy of Nostalgia?

Friday, October 14, 2011

This past week saw an outpouring of grief around the country for Apple founder Steve Jobs, who died of pancreatic cancer last Wednesday. Jobs is remembered as a visionary who changed how we use technology every day. That commercial announcing the launch of Apple's Macintosh played off of George Orwell's "1984" and presented Apple as an iconoclast. But in recent New York Times Op-Ed argues that today there's no company that looks more like the Big Brother of that commercial than Apple itself.

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The Takeaway

BlackBerry Service Disruption Continues for Third Day

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

For the third day, millions of BlackBerry users around the world have been unable to use messaging and browsing services. Users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India lost access to their devices' most essential service. American users, who had initially been sparred from the outage, have also reported service issues. All this bad news for BlackBerry's manufacturer, Canadian firm Research in Motion, comes on top of the blockbuster success of Apple's new iPhone 4S, which was released on Friday. The BBC's Rory Clellan Jones has the latest on the story.

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The Takeaway

US and Other Countries Rely More on Drones

Monday, October 10, 2011

The United States military is increasingly relying upon remotely piloted drones to carry out tactical missions in the war in Afghanistan. Other countries, such as Pakistan and Yemen, are also using drones in battle more often. A drone killed the American-born, Yemen-based al-Qaida leader Anwar al-Awlaki last month, and before that the United States used them to gather intelligence on Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad compound. With the increasing prevelance of drones, and the fact that they have killed both militants and civilians, some people are worried that a dangerous global drone arms race may be beginning.

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The Takeaway

Flash Forward: The Future of Innovation in a Post-Steve Jobs Era

Friday, October 07, 2011

After Steve Jobs died on Wednesday, many reflected on his innovations, and how they changed what the world has come to expect from technology. His intuitive understanding of design and human psychology helped him to create a user-friendly approach to high-tech computing which, in turn, made Apple one of the most popular brands in the world.

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The Takeaway

Remembering Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs

Thursday, October 06, 2011

Heads of state, business and technology leaders, and throngs of consumers, who were touched by his products, are mourning the loss of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who died Wednesday at age 56. The news comes little over a month after Jobs stepped down as CEO of the company, on August 24, due to his declining health. Jobs was battling pancreatic cancer. New Yorker writer Ken Auletta wrote an obituary for Jobs last night, saying Jobs' creations "changed our lives." "The Macintosh, the iTunes store that induced people to pay for music and other content, Pixar, which forever changed animation, the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. These were more than technological feats. Apple products were beautifully designed, as well," Auletta wrote.

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The Takeaway

Steve Jobs, Co-Founder of Apple, Dies at 56

Thursday, October 06, 2011

Steve Jobs, Apple's iconic co-founder, died Wednesday at age 56 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Widely credited with transforming the way people use computers, listen to music, and communicate, Jobs's influence and vision shaped each of Apple's popular devices. Jobs, a college dropout inspired by the spirit of the 60s, founded Apple in a garage with Steve Wozniak in 1976. In a statement on its website, Apple wrote, "Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives."

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The Takeaway

Flash Forward: The Risky Business of Innovation

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

For decades, Microsoft Research's Bill Buxton has been tracking innovation through history — online, Buxton maintains an archive of interactive devices, tracking how technology evolves. He's a firm believer that the seeds of our most innovative ideas and products have been around for years, just waiting for the perfect storm of conditions that can turn a good idea into something more potent.

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The Takeaway

Twitter Study Tracks the World's Mood Swings

Friday, September 30, 2011

Two Cornell researchers used a large-scale study of posts on Twitter to track the world's mood shifts, and the discovered a pattern that transcends nationalities and climate. The study focused on Tweets from two million people, in 84 countries, posted at all times of day, month, and year. They found some fascinatingly similar patterns. Might their study have any implications for the way people do research going forward?

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The Takeaway

Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Google Antitrust Hearings

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

A Senate panel will open an antitrust inquiry into the business practices of Google today. The search giant's executive chairman Eric Schmidt is expected to testify. Federal authorities are accusing the company of playing favorites with its own businesses in search results. Microsoft endured a similar antitrust case, which took nearly a year to resolve.

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The Takeaway

NASA Announces New Rocket Design

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Just a few months ago, the future of NASA seemed in doubt. But the space agency announced on Wednesday a new rocket design that it says will be the centerpiece of a deep-space exploration program for decades to come. The Space Launch System could lift astronauts farther than ever before, making it eventually possible to journey to Mars.

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The Takeaway

West Virginia Provides Haven for People 'Allergic' to WIFI

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

For some Americans, WIFI is more than just an annoyance — it's a source of health problems. Electromagnetic hypersensitivity is a term for a range of symptoms that sufferers feel when they are exposed to electromagnetic fields, including acute headaches, skin irritation and chronic pain. It’s as if they are allergic to wireless technology. For some, the only solution has been to move to the U.S. Radio Quiet Zone in West Virginia, where no WIFI signal is allowed because it interferes with radio telescopes in the area.

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The Takeaway

Angry With An Airline? Try Tweeting

Thursday, September 01, 2011

In the days after Hurricane Irene, many travelers find themselves stranded after cancelled flights or suspended train service kept them from going where they wanted to go. Even without extreme weather conditions complicating travel, most travelers have an an airline horror story or two, and many times the source of the problem is not the cancelled trip or lost bag, but inadequate customer service or lack of information from the airline. Several airlines are seeking to remedy this problem by using social networking for customer relations — a tactic many different types of companies are employing nowadays.

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The Takeaway

Rethinking American Infrastructure

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Within a week, the northeastern United States was hit by both an earthquake and hurricane. Following Hurricane Irene, four million homes and businesses lost electricity. According to experts like Dan Genest of Dominion Virginia Power, turning the lights back on will be no easy task. He told the AP that "one broken pole can take six to seven hours to repair."

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The Takeaway

Without Steve Jobs, What's Next for Apple?

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Apple announced last night that Steve Jobs, co-founder and chief executive of the company, would immediately resign from his position. Tim Cook, chief operating officer there, will replace him. In a public letter, Jobs said "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come." Jobs will stay on at Apple as chairman of the board. Shortly after the news broke, Apple shares fell seven percent. 

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The Takeaway

Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Apple announced last night that Steve Jobs, co-founder and chief executive of the company, would immediately resign from his position. Tim Cook, chief operating officer there, will replace him. In a public letter, Jobs said "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come." Jobs will stay on at Apple as chairman of the board. Shortly after the news broke, Apple shares fell seven percent. 

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