IT Trends :: Thursday, March 30, 2006
Opinion
Yummy Thoughts: Cyberware and Cultured Meat
By Terry Calhoun
In the past week, two of my favorite technology trends have shown up in the news: cyberware and cultured meat. In the case of cyberware, research is heating up around the science-fiction-like possibility of someday connecting human neural tissue directly to computing hardware. That’s something I very much look forward to.
Cultured meat is meat that is grown in vitro, which I read about a long, long time ago in the novel, The Space Merchants by Frederick Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth. In that story, “Chicken Little” was a slab of chicken meat, which was grown in vitro. The characters in the novel just sliced off bits of meat when they wanted some, and didn’t have to actually raise or kill living animals to eat meat.
Q: What do these two concepts have in common? A: Technology meets meat.
This is science fiction, right? Yes, it is and was. But, in case you hadn’t noticed, we’re living science fiction these days. These are not trends to be disregarded, no matter how disgusting some people may find them...
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IT News
Law Professor Bans Laptops in Class Over Student Protest
A University of Memphis law professor has forbidden laptops during lectures, concerned that students are 'focusing on trying to transcribe every word that [he] was saying, rather than thinking and analyzing.'...
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Online Classes: Bane or Boon?
The University of Central Florida finds a balance between campus and online classes by offering mixed-mode courses that take place in both places...
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IT Spending to Increase 6.3% in 2006, IDC Says
The IDC believes the largest purchases will probably include equipment, outsourcing, and software...
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Apple is 30 Years Old on April Fools' Day
They’ve gone from a garage to a sprawling campus in three decades...
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Deals, Contracts, Awards
Microsoft, Brown University Launch Center for Pen-Based Computing
Microsoft pledged $1.2 million to develop the Microsoft Center for Research on Pen-Centric Computing at Brown University's campus...
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College Wireless Network Pondered
The state of Wisconsin is considering a partnership with private vendors to create a wireless network that would cover the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Madison Area Technical College...
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New Technology
Classroom Technology Kind of Neat, But Also Expensive
Students are paying out of pocket to earn participation points using Einstruction Corporation's clicker technology. The remote-based classroom tool is most useful for professors, so who should really pay for this service? (The Pitt News)
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Microsoft Delays Consumer Office Software to 2007
IT professionals may have to reschedule their 2006 upgrades because Microsoft will not release the new Office package until January, when Vista is scheduled to arrive. Vista is the first major overhaul of Windows since Microsoft rolled out Windows XP nearly five years ago. The company's last major update to Office came in 2003. (New York Times)
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Digital Microscope is also a Webcam
The Dino Digital Microscope-Webcam is a great addition to any science classroom or lab. The device is equipped with both USB and TV outputs that let users see what’s on the microscope on a computer or TV screen...
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Projector Offers ‘Sharp’ Image in Any Lighting
Sharp's new full-featured, 8.6-pound XG-MB50X DLP projector has built-in RS-232C network connectivity for remote monitoring and operation so that support departments can check lamp life or assist a user from anywhere...
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