computer – News Stories About computer - Page 2

Researchers to Build Computer Designed in 1830s

Nov 8, 2011 12:30 PM CST

Researchers to Build Computer Designed in 1830s

The world shall at last know if the Babbage Analytical Engine would have worked

(Newser) - Quick when was the first programmable computer designed? If you said the early 19th century … well, you probably looked at the headline. But you might be right, and researchers in Britain are currently planning to test that theory. They’re about to spend 10 years and millions of dollars...

Tech Mogul, Tax Fugitive Found in Cayman Islands

$100M Tax Fugitive
Turns Up in Caymans

Sep 10, 2011 4:55 PM CDT

$100M Tax Fugitive Turns Up in Caymans

Tycoon started massive Computerland retail chain

(Newser) - A charming entrepreneur may have to give up his globe-trotting ways and pay an outstanding $100 million tax bill, the Wall Street Journal reports. Investigators have tracked down William H. Millard, the California tech mogul who founded the once-massive computer retailing chain ComputerLand, in the Grand Cayman Islands. Authorities of...

This 'Tattoo' Is
a Computer

Aug 12, 2011 4:46 AM CDT

This 'Tattoo' Is a Computer

Skin-like device could revolutionize medicine, gaming

(Newser) - Scientists have blurred the line between man and machine with a revolutionary new device. The "electronic tattoo" sticks to the skin like a temporary tattoo, moving and wrinkling like skin does. The device, created by researchers seeking to create less obtrusive medical monitors for premature babies, monitors vital signs,...

Japanese Supercomputer Is World's Fastest

Japanese
Supercomputer
Now No. 1 in World

Jun 20, 2011 8:21 AM CDT

Japanese Supercomputer Now No. 1 in World

Japan knocks China out of top spot

(Newser) - Japan is at the top of the computer heap for the first time in seven years, now that Fujitsu Co.’s supercomputer has bested that of a Chinese competitor . The “K Computer,” funded by the Japanese government, is the best-performing machine in the world, capable of handling...

How Much Is
Your Computer
Really Worth?

Apr 3, 2011 9:51 AM CDT

How Much Is Your Computer Really Worth?

Economists try to put a value on PCs in America

(Newser) - You can scope out the price tag of a Mac or PC at any given electronics hawker, but how much are computers really worth to us? Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta actually tried tackling that question, and they came up with $500 billion—or, on average about...

Watson's Win a
Victory ... for Humans

ken jennings

Feb 17, 2011 12:32 PM CST

Watson's Win a Victory ... for Humans

Jeopardy ! king discusses his epic battle with the computer

(Newser) - Going into his Jeopardy! match against IBM’s Watson supercomputer, champ Ken Jennings saw himself as humanity’s representative, "the Great Carbon-Based Hope against a new generation of thinking machines," he writes for Slate . But victory wasn’t to be: Watson played Jeopardy much like a top-ranked human....

Why Watson Will (or Won't)
Beat Jeopardy's Kings

game No. 1 tonight

Feb 14, 2011 11:43 AM CST

Why Watson Will (or Won't) Beat Jeopardy's Kings

Face-off airs tonight with Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter

(Newser) - Tonight, IBM’s Watson computer will go head-to-head with Jeopardy legends Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter in the first of three matches. Do they stand a chance against the machine? Definitely, writes Greg Lindsay for Fast Company . He’s an actual human who’s beaten the computer three times, thanks...

Computer Squashes Men
in Jeopardy Test Match

Jan 14, 2011 7:36 AM CST

Computer Squashes Men in Jeopardy Test Match

Not surprisingly, a few Terminator jokes were made

(Newser) - First, computers took all the fun out of Sudoku —could Jeopardy be next? Watson, a computer designed by IBM specifically to compete on the game show, beat two legendary champs yesterday in its first public test: Ken Jennings, who won a record number of games, and Brad Rutter, who...

24 States Now Ban
Tossing Electronics

Jan 4, 2011 3:04 PM CST

24 States Now Ban Tossing Electronics

Those old TVs and computers have to be recycled instead

(Newser) - Nearly half the states in the US now have laws requiring that most electronic equipment be recycled instead of dumped in the trash, the AP reports. Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina are the most recent states to ban simply tossing out old TVs, computers, video game consoles, stereo...

Guys, Beware Laptops'
'Scrotal Hyperthermia'

Nov 9, 2010 5:56 PM CST

Guys, Beware Laptops' 'Scrotal Hyperthermia'

If it's on your lap, it's heating things up

(Newser) - This study involves the phrases "scrotal temperature elevation" and "scrotal hyperthermia," so you know it can't end well. SUNY researchers found that using a laptop on the lap for only 10 or 15 minutes heats up men's testicles—figure about 1-degree Celsius in 15 minutes if sitting...

'Weapon Worm'
Infects Iran
Nuke Plant

Sep 27, 2010 2:06 AM CDT

'Weapon Worm' Infects Iran Nuke Plant

But out-of-control malware is exacting 'collateral damage' in digital battle

(Newser) - What may be the world's first major "weapon worm" has already infected workers' personal computers at Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility just weeks before the power station is set to go online, officials have confirmed. Experts believe the damaging Stuxnet worm is the work of engineers so organized and well-funded...

Your Computer Is
Spying on You—a Lot

investigation

Jul 31, 2010 11:28 AM CDT

Your Computer Is Spying on You—a Lot

It's now a booming Internet business

(Newser) - Maybe Mark Zuckerberg is right about this end-of-privacy business. A Wall Street Journal investigation (stories here and here ) makes clear that whatever you do online, you can rest assured that some advertiser somewhere knows about it. It's not that tracking cookies exist that's so troubling, it's that there's so ...

Hackers Launch Highway Hate

May 26, 2010 3:38 AM CDT

Hackers Launch Highway Hate

Digital road signs altered in Florida

(Newser) - Hackers added their bit to mounting US tensions over immigrant rights by switching a digital highway sign in Florida to flash "no Latinos" and "no tacos." The flashing messages greeted drivers on the Palmetto Expressway near Miami until police and a highway crew turned the signs around...

Web-Worthy Computers
Coming to Your Dashboard

DISTRACTED DRIVING dept.

Jan 7, 2010 10:51 AM CST

Web-Worthy Computers Coming to Your Dashboard

Some block web surfing in motion, but some don't

(Newser) - Advances in computer chip technology have finally made web-connected dashboard computers possible in cars, to the delight of automakers and the horror of safety advocates. Chips used to draw too much power to make state-of-the-art car setups viable, but that’s changed, and this year’s CES has seen a...

Dell's Tweets Bring
$6.5M in Sales

twitter land

Dec 8, 2009 5:58 PM CST

Dell's Tweets Bring $6.5M in Sales

Company now has 1.5M followers on Twitter

(Newser) - Twitter has proved to be a bit of a gold mine for Dell—the computer maker said promotions over the social-networking site directly resulted in more than $6.5 million in sales this year. The number of subscribers to Dell's Tweets has risen 23% over the last three months, to...

Ultrathin Laptops
Solid Performers

WALT MOSSBERG

Nov 12, 2009 4:08 PM CST

Ultrathin Laptops Solid Performers

Walt Mossberg reviews 3 cutting-edge laptops

(Newser) - Cheap netbooks aren't profitable for PC makers, so it’s logical they're trying to lure consumers toward laptops that are just as thin, but have bigger screens, more features—and a heftier price tag. Walt Mossberg reviews three such models for the Wall Street Journal, and finds pros and cons...

Virus 'Scareware'
Scams Millions

Oct 19, 2009 5:07 AM CDT

Virus 'Scareware' Scams Millions

Alarming virus warnings part of major rip off

(Newser) - Alarming warnings that internet surfers' computers are being invaded by a devastating virus are almost always scams used to either hack into computers or rip off consumers for phony protective software. More than 40 million people have fallen victim to the "scareware" scam in the past year. Experts have...

Pick an OS:
Uncool Robots
or Snooty Evangelists?

tech showdown

Sep 28, 2009 2:59 PM CDT

Pick an OS: Uncool Robots or Snooty Evangelists?

New Microsoft ads go for Mac-esque buzz—and fail laughably

(Newser) - Anyone who wants a computer faces an unpleasant choice: Mac OS or Windows. Now, Windows is “awful”— buggy, at times barely functional. But one expert would rather assign himself to Microsoft purgatory than join the club of snooty, self-satisfied cooler-than-thou Mac users. “Stop showing me your iPhone,...

Computer Whiz
Records Life
as 'E-Memory'

Sep 25, 2009 4:26 PM CDT

Computer Whiz Records Life as 'E-Memory'

Microsoft researcher saves audio, video experiences on hard drive

(Newser) - Philip K. Dick, eat your heart out. Microsoft researcher Gordon Bell is recording his entire life with video and audio equipment and storing it on a hard drive to keep it safe, CNN reports. The 350 gigabytes of data—which include scans of receipts and PDFs of every Web site...

Microsoft Pinching Apple
Employees to Staff Stores

Sep 22, 2009 2:54 PM CDT

Microsoft Pinching Apple Employees to Staff Stores

Managers enticed with higher salaries and sent back to poach sales people

(Newser) - Microsoft’s planned expansion into the brick-and-mortar retail sector will be staffed at least in part by…Apple Store employees, reports the Loop. The software giant is hiring away Apple managers with higher salaries, sources tell the tech blog. Those managers in turn are trying to bring aboard Apple's top...