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Computer AI works towards shattering language barrier
The Internet got smarter this week with the release of a semantic map that teaches computers the meanings behind words -- and gives the machines a vocabulary far larger than that of a typical US college graduate.
Cognition Technologies began licensing the map Tuesday to software creators interested in having programs "understand" words based on tenses and sentence context -- in much the same way as the human brain does.
"We have taught the computer virtually all the meanings of words and phrases in the English language," Cognition chief executive Scott Jarus told AFP.
"This is clearly a building block for Web 3.0, or what is known as the Semantic Web. It has taken 30 years; it is a labor of love," Jarus said.
The semantic map is reportedly the world's largest, and gives computers a vocabulary more than 10 times as extensive as that of a typical US college graduate.
The coming third generation of life online is predicted to feature intuitive artificial intelligence applications that work swiftly across broadband Internet connections.
When applied to Internet searches, semantic technology delivers results oriented to what people seem to be seeking instead of simply matching words used to online content.
For example, a semantic online search for "melancholy songs with birds" would know to link sadness in lyrics with various species of birds.
Cognition's semantic map is already used in a LexisNexis Concordance "e-discovery" software to sift through documents amassed during evidence phases of trials.
"We help them find the needle in a haystack," Jarus said.
"It used to be boxes and boxes of paper and now 80 percent of it is digital. Lawyers can search for a smoking gun within that discovery material."
Cognition's Caselaw program uses the technology to mine more than a half-century of US federal court decisions for legal precedents, according to the company.
The semantic map is also employed in a widely-used medical database.
Cognition says it has also "semantically enabled" globally popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia.
A Web 3.0 target is to develop artificial intelligence "agents" that mine mountains of information on the Internet for material that suit the interests of the people they serve.
"It would be a software application constantly looking for things you might be interested in while accurately understanding the concepts of what you are looking for," Jarus said.
He described it as "artificial intelligence agents working for you on a push basis instead of a pull basis."
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Yes! The Internet got smarter this week with the release of a semantic map that teaches computers the meanings behind words -- and gives th... more -
Windows 7 details to be released
Microsoft has said that engineering information about Windows 7 will be shared with attendees at two technical conferences it runs in October.
Windows 7 developers will show off their work at both the Professional Developers Conference and the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference.
Based on Vista, Windows 7 is expected to be released in January 2010.
Now here's the thing, after what Bill said a few months ago about windows 7 coming out next year, and the slow uptake and very negative response to Vista, will Windows 7 launch a lot sooner than we think and be xp to vista's Me?
The thing with Vista is, well there doesn't seem to be any reason to upgrade.
most people find xp a lot more user friendly, the only reason is to step up I can think off is because some games are designed for vista only. (to try force uptake of the system)
I'm more than happy with xp clunking along.... though I'm open to the idea of a new OS it would want to be something that adds real new functionality and user friendliness to computing.
But it seems the future is not in OSes but web based apps ... Microsoft has said that engineering information about Windows 7 will be shared with attendees at two technical conferences it runs in ... more -
New Intel 'WiMax' chip to enable city-wide wireless
The new Intel 'Centrino 2' (inventive) processer will feature the next-generation of wireless chips, designed for use in laptops and other portable computing devices.
The chips, along with the standard 'Wi-Fi', will also pioneer new 'WiMax' technology, which promises faster data transmission, and over distances which could connect entire cities. The new Intel 'Centrino 2' (inventive) processer will feature the next-generation of wireless chips, designed for use in lap... more -
Goodbye, Bill Gates!
The software titan leaves Microsoft on June 27. Here's a look back at his career and what lies ahead.
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U.S. unveils world's fastest supercomputer
The U.S. Department of Energy announced Monday that its new supercomputer "Roadrunner" had successfully performed 1,000 trillion calculations per second -- the fastest in the world.
Roadrunner will be used by the DoE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to perform calculations that vastly improve the ability to certify that the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile is reliable without conducting underground nuclear tests.
Roadrunner will be housed at NNSA's Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The laboratory worked with manufacturer IBM for six years to develop the super machine, which can meet "the nation's evolving national security needs."
The 100-million-dollar machine has redefined the frontier of supercomputing by crossing the one petaflop threshold. A "flop" is an acronym meaning floating-point operations per second. One petaflop is 1,000 trillion operations per second.
If each of the 6 billion people on earth had a hand calculator and worked together on a calculation 24 hours per day, 365 days a year, it would take 46 years to do what Roadrunner would do in one day. The U.S. Department of Energy announced Monday that its new supercomputer "Roadrunner" had successfully performed 1,000 tril... more -
Chip Company Unveils Open Source PC Design
Call it the Tom Sawyer approach to selling CPUs.
VIA Technologies, the self-proclaimed No. 3 maker of Intel-compatible processors, has unveiled a new "reference design" for ultra-portable computers based on the company's own low-power chips.
Making a reference design is common fare in the high-tech industry. Chipmakers like Intel have been doing it for years as a way of proving the technical viability of a product concept. What sets VIA's approach apart is that the company is posting the computer-aided design (CAD) files for its OpenBook PC under a Creative Commons license. Anyone with design skills and a burning desire to get into the PC business can download the files, modify the design and go into business selling ultra portables.
Taiwan-based VIA will even help aspiring Michael Dells find Asian manufacturers to do the hard work of turning those CAD files into real, plastic-and-silicon products.
VIA's design is on the commercial end of a growing spectrum of "open source" hardware. On the other, more noncommercial end are hackable hardware kits like the Arduino platform, which was used by many exhibitors at the recent Maker Faire in San Mateo, California. Open source aficionados were also buzzing last week about the release of the OGD1, a development kit that could be used to create open-source graphics cards.
If VIA's idea takes off, it could help add more juice to the already-humming market for ultra portables. That market, which had long foundered on the impractical aspirations of a tiny minority of mobility-obsessed hardware geeks, took off in earnest last year with the success of the Eee PC, Asus' $400, Linux-based ultra portable.
For industrial designer Scott Summit, VIA's move is part of a gradual shift toward more highly-customized manufacturing, in which small companies and even individuals are able to design and build their own products, thanks to the decreasing costs of fabrication.
"The idea of open source manufacture is taking shape, and we're going to see more of it because the barriers (to highly customized production) are really starting to evaporate," says Summit.
VIA's design calls for a 2.2-pound PC with an 8.9-inch screen, a webcam, up to 2GB of RAM, an 80GB or larger hard drive, and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (or, optionally, WiMax or 3G cellular data). It's not wanting for ports, either, with an Ethernet jack, three USB ports and an SD card slot.
The design is aimed at smaller design-manufacturers and upstart PC companies rather than big PC manufacturers like HP or Dell, who create their own designs (like HP's new MiniNote) from scratch.
"When we look at reference designs, they're helpful, they're insightful, they give us an optimal layout from an engineering perspective -- but they don't target what we're aiming for," says Stacy Wolff, a notebook design director for HP.
VIA's hope is that its design will encourage new designers to make ultra portables that are a little less ugly than the usual fare. It's a bet that the PC market will soon follow in the footsteps of the cellphone market, where what's under the hood is less important than how it looks.
"It's not really about the components inside at all," says VIA vice president Richard Brown. "It's personal jewelry."
Almost makes the idea of starting your own computer brand sound a little sexy, doesn't it? And for the chipmaker, it's not far from the notion that if you want to get a fence painted, start painting it yourself and try to make it look fun. Call it the Tom Sawyer approach to selling CPUs. ... more -
Cuba puts first computers on sale to the public
HAVANA (AP) — Cubans are getting wired. The island's communist government put desktop computers on sale to the public for the first time Friday, ending a ban on PC sales as another despised restriction on daily life fell away under new President Raul Castro.
A tower-style QTECH PC and monitor costs nearly US$780 (euro505). While few Cubans can afford that, dozens still gawked outside a tiny Havana electronics store, crowding every inch of its large glass windows and leaving finger and nose prints behind.
Inside, four clerks tore open boxes, hastily assembling display computers. By the time a sign went up listing the PCs specifications, more than a dozen shoppers were lined up to get in.
"Look at that!" murmured Armando Batista as he pressed against the window. Although he can't afford to buy one, he said, "these are good for a start."
The gray and black QTECHs, complete with DVD players, bulky CRT monitors and standard-issue black mice and keyboards, are the only model available.
The Cuban PCs have Intel Celeron processors with 80 gigabytes of memory and 512 RAM and are equipped with Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. Both could be violations of a U.S. trade embargo, but not something Washington can do anything about in the absence of diplomatic relations with Havana.
Clerks said the PCs were assembled by Cuban companies using parts imported from China. For about $80 (euro52) less, buyers in the U.S. can get a desktop with more than twice the memory, a 80GB SATA hard drive and 22-inch LCD flat screen monitor.
The crowded store in central Havana's Carlos III shopping center is the only outlet in the country now selling the PCs. Clerks at a few other government-run stores — where Cubans must buy everything — said they expect to receive deliveries sometime after next week. HAVANA (AP) — Cubans are getting wired. The island's communist government put desktop computers on sale to the public for the fir... more -
Hacking: the hunt for idiots...
Podcast made by students at Ex'pression College for Digital Arts about hacking. For the tech people of the world, this pod will nerd out on the world of computer hacking, featuring a cop, a normal computer user, and an ex-hacker, who talks about video games, cell phones, and of course, credit card fraud. Tune in for a little comedy and information about the risks of loving technology, and of course, the hunt for idiots... Podcast made by students at Ex'pression College for Digital Arts about hacking. For the tech people of the world, this pod will ... more
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Car mayhem
I don't know what the point of this is, but somehow it's really quite nice to watch. Let me know what you think.
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Windows Vista Aero VS Ubuntu Linux Beryl
"Damn now i wanna Getta linux"
--yellerbelly123456
and...YOU will too!!! when you see this.
eat your heart out Microsoft capitalist pigs (they don't share the profits with YOU!) it's funny too I personally know more than a few friends who're on their third or fourth 360z cuz they just DON'T work =P lol what else CAN you expect from monopolistic companies like Microshaft???
stop buying crap people! exorcize yer brainz for BETTER solutionz! They're OUT THERE!
=D~ "Damn now i wanna Getta linux" --yellerbelly123456 and...YOU will too!!! when you see this. ... more -
Apple is a cult
...come join our happy family. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzU0eya6vyk
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Happy Birthday TCP/IP!
Thanks to all those who decided to standardize computer communications, thus making "the internet" as we know it today.
Personally, I would not have moved to California had it not been for the internet boom in the mid-90's. Relatives of mine would not have found their spouse had it not been for the internet. There are many who would not be as wealthy today had the internet revolution never happened. What's your internet story? Thanks to all those who decided to standardize computer communications, thus making "the internet" as we know it today. ... more -
Bye-bye Mouse, Hello Glove
Let your fingers do the ... browsing?
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this is when the computers take over...
a big step for our inevitable successors to inherit the earth. blessed are the meek...
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