Sunday, April 30, 2006
eHub
Emily Chang's eHub "is a constantly updated list of web applications, services, resources, blogs or sites with a focus on next generation web (web 2.0), social software, blogging, Ajax, Ruby on Rails, location mapping, open source, folksonomy, design and digital media sharing." /eHub/
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Merging Machine and Man
"We already augment our intelligence by using computers: A quick Internet search helps us find information faster than ever before. Perhaps in the not so distant future, we'll be augmenting our intelligent directly, through implants or other direct connections between your brain and machines, something envisioned for decades in science fiction, from William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel 'Neuromancer' to the film 'The Matrix.'
Ray Kurzweil envisions a future where there are no sharp distinctions between human and machine. 'You're not going to be able to walk into a room in 2035 and say humans on the left side of the room, machines on the right. You'll have a hard time finding a human who doesn't have extensive amounts of technology inside them in the form of nanobots and other systems that are keeping them healthy and also extending their range of experiences and their intelligence.'" /CNN.com/
Ray Kurzweil envisions a future where there are no sharp distinctions between human and machine. 'You're not going to be able to walk into a room in 2035 and say humans on the left side of the room, machines on the right. You'll have a hard time finding a human who doesn't have extensive amounts of technology inside them in the form of nanobots and other systems that are keeping them healthy and also extending their range of experiences and their intelligence.'" /CNN.com/
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
What Is The Virtual World Coming To?
A truly amazing set of shorts from BusinessWeek to promote this week's cover story on Virtual Worlds: "A journey into a place in cyberspace where thousands of people have imaginary lives. Some even make a good living. Big advertisers are taking notice..." Check out the wild slideshow called Inside The World of Second Life for brief bios of eight cyberpreneurs. /Business News/
Monday, April 24, 2006
Neurons of Choice
"Researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston have... found neurons involved in assigning values that help people to make choices." /Scotsman.com/
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Two Timothy Leary Biopics in the Works
Here is some news regarding the Timothy Leary biopics by way of Bruce Eisner and Michael Shields:
"Winona Ryder and Leonardo DiCaprio are battling it out with Darren Aronofsky to make the first biopic of counter-culture icon Timothy Leary. Ryder, Leary's god-daughter, and her father Michael Horowitz, Leary's best friend, have signed to be creative consultants for a forthcoming project by DiCaprio's production company Appian Way. DiCaprio's father, comic book writer George DiCaprio, was also a friend of the Harvard University professor and LSD pioneer." /Starpulse News Blog/
"The competition stems from director Darren Aronofsky (whose Oscar-winning girlfriend, Rachel Weisz, is pregnant with his child), who is also said to be working on a Leary-inspired film. Aronofsky's past work includes the sci-fi thriller 'Pi' and the drug-themed 'Requiem for a Dream.'" /Inside Online/
"Winona Ryder and Leonardo DiCaprio are battling it out with Darren Aronofsky to make the first biopic of counter-culture icon Timothy Leary. Ryder, Leary's god-daughter, and her father Michael Horowitz, Leary's best friend, have signed to be creative consultants for a forthcoming project by DiCaprio's production company Appian Way. DiCaprio's father, comic book writer George DiCaprio, was also a friend of the Harvard University professor and LSD pioneer." /Starpulse News Blog/
"The competition stems from director Darren Aronofsky (whose Oscar-winning girlfriend, Rachel Weisz, is pregnant with his child), who is also said to be working on a Leary-inspired film. Aronofsky's past work includes the sci-fi thriller 'Pi' and the drug-themed 'Requiem for a Dream.'" /Inside Online/
Friday, April 21, 2006
Games for Brains
"Developed in partnership with Japanese neuroscientist Ryuta Kawashima, (Brain Age software for the Nintendo DS) promises to help you keep your brain in tip-top shape through daily exercise. As you complete the exercises, the game charts your daily progress and calculates how 'old' your brain is according to the results." /Wired News/
Thursday, April 20, 2006
William Gibson's Idoru as Anime
"You probably haven’t heard of Alex Steyermark’s films Prey for Rock N’ Roll or One Last Thing, but if he’s the guy who finally cracks the William Gibson movie, he’ll be our hero. One of his next projects is an adaptation of Idoru, which will be a Japanese anime film." /Now Playing Magazine/
Monday, April 17, 2006
List of Google Services and Tools
Here is a fantastic Wikipedia: entry on the major "Google services and tools besides its basic web search."
PocketMod: The Free Disposable Personal Organizer
The PocketMod is "a new way to keep yourself organized... With the PocketMod, you can carry around the days notes, keep them organized in any way you wish, then easily transfer the notes to your PDA, spreadsheet, or planner."
Office 2.0 Database
The Office 2.0 Database is a great resource for web-based alternatives to MS Office. Definitely worth checking out!
State of the Blogosphere
"The blogosphere is over 60 times bigger than it was only 3 years ago.
"New blog creation continues to grow... (O)n average, a new weblog is created every second of every day - and 19.4 million bloggers (55%) are still posting 3 months after their blogs are created." /Sifry's Alerts/
"New blog creation continues to grow... (O)n average, a new weblog is created every second of every day - and 19.4 million bloggers (55%) are still posting 3 months after their blogs are created." /Sifry's Alerts/
BrainFu
"There's no smart pill to ward off that age-related decline, but experts increasingly say that lifestyle factors such as physical activity, challenging hobbies and lots of friends or social engagements might help keep the brain more nimble and fit as it ages...
"Research on animals and humans suggests mentally challenging activities such as playing bridge, learning a new language or even blogging might help build new connections in the brain, says Molly Wagster at the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health." /USATODAY.com/
"Research on animals and humans suggests mentally challenging activities such as playing bridge, learning a new language or even blogging might help build new connections in the brain, says Molly Wagster at the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health." /USATODAY.com/
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Bionic Reality
"The 1970s gave us the six-million-dollar man. Thirty years and quite a bit of inflation later we have the six-billion-dollar human: not a physical cyborg as such, instead an umbrella term for the latest developments in the growing field of technology for human enhancement.
"Helping the blind to see again, being able to carry enormous loads without the prospect of backache and a prosthetic robotic hand that works (almost) like a real one were some of the ideas presented at a recent meeting of engineers, physicists, biologists and computer scientists organised by the American Association of Anatomists." /Guardian Unlimited/
"Helping the blind to see again, being able to carry enormous loads without the prospect of backache and a prosthetic robotic hand that works (almost) like a real one were some of the ideas presented at a recent meeting of engineers, physicists, biologists and computer scientists organised by the American Association of Anatomists." /Guardian Unlimited/
