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U.S. Postal Service executives are looking into what is known as blockchain technology, and, after a cursory examination conducted with the help of a consultant, they have decided to look further.Blockchain’s main function is to serve as a way to transfer value … or pay for things. It would support bitcoin, the new super currency that could come in handy with global wire transfers, a substantial side business for the Postal Service.But it also could be used to block identity theft, verify and sign small contracts and assist with inventory management and other business functions. A recent inspector general’s report...

Opportunities for producing and assembling products and their components have spread worldwide, making it is easier for countries to climb the production value ladder. States at the bottom, extracting raw materials, can gradually move up, first making low-value components and then progressing to higher-value ones or basic assembly. But just as technology spurred globalization and the shifts in international trade that followed, so, too, will it revolutionize how countries again do business with one another. Compounded by the economic and demographic changes taking place today, automation, advanced robotics and software-driven technologies are ushering in a new era — one of...

Technology can’t solve all of our problems, but maybe there’s a technological solution that can help with a tragedy that has affected parents of all walks of life: leaving small children in hot cars to overheat and die. The happens to an average of 38 kids every year, and car seat maker Evenflo responded to safety advocates by making a seat and harness that integrates with your car’s electronics. Before you insist that this could never happen to you because you’re a good parent, review the Pulitzer-Prize-winning article on the subject from the Washington Post that explains the mechanism in...

The first step in inventing something shouldn't be waiting for government approval. What would ever get done? "Regulators like to see new types of law and regulation imposed upon the internet and emerging technologies," warns Adam Thierer, author of "Permissionless Innovation." "From drones to driverless cars to the 'internet of things' ... they want to put the genie back in the bottle of all this wonderful innovation that's out there." "Think about 20 years ago. If Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, if Steve Jobs of Apple or anybody from Google had to come to the government, say, the Federal Communications Commission...

A new concept for a flow battery functions like an old hourglass or egg timer, with particles (in this case carried as a slurry) flowing through a narrow opening from one tank to another. The flow can then be reversed by turning the device over. Credit: Image courtesy of the researchers ================================================================================================================== A new approach to the design of a liquid battery, using a passive, gravity-fed arrangement similar to an old-fashioned hourglass, could offer great advantages due to the system's low cost and the simplicity of its design and operation, says a team of MIT researchers who have made a...

UAE is an incubator of innovation and future technology: MohammedHis Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, stated that the UAE has emerged as one of the major incubators of innovation and future technology in the world today, and its focused initiatives to shape the future have become global models that can be emulated in all sectors. "We implement what we plan, and we pursue actions not theories. The rapidly changing world requires us to accelerate our pace of development, for history does not recognize our plans but...

It’s been an exciting week for the 3D printing industry, with HP Inc. unveiling its very first 3D printer, the Jet Fusion, and 3D model website Sketchfab integrating VR viewing into its platform. In another exciting development for the additive manufacturing industry, what could be the world’s cheapest 3D printer, the 101Hero, has just launched on Kickstarter. The 101Hero 3D printer, which has been in development for the past two years, is an easy-to-use plug and play machine that is ideal for beginners and more experienced makers alike. What is most notable about the printer is that it can be...

South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Group has unveiled a wearable robot that can be applied in many areas including military and production lines, the company announced on Friday. "This wearable robot that we are developing for commercial purposes will be used in diverse areas," a company official said. ... The wearable robot under development is known to help the controller by enhancing overall physical strength, making it possible to lift an object weighing over 60 kg and assist him or her walk and go up stairs. It can be used in assisting people with disabilities and the elderly to...

Which was a more important innovation: indoor plumbing, jet air travel or mobile phones?We’re in the golden age of innovation, an era in which digital technology is transforming the underpinnings of human existence. Or so a techno-optimist might argue. We’re in a depressing era in which innovation has slowed and living standards are barely rising. That’s what some skeptical economists believe. The truth is, this isn’t a debate that can be settled objectively. Which was a more important innovation: indoor plumbing, jet air travel or mobile phones? You could argue for any of them, and data can tell plenty...

Over the past couple of weeks, Time Warner high speed here around Columbia has been randomly dropping out due to DNS getting lost. An outage can be a few minutes to pushing half an hour. I've changed DNS to some of the open ones, found a firmware update for the router and applied it just to rule out things at home. I was looking to see if anyone else was experiencing the frustration. If I posted this incorrectly, I'm sure the mods will handle it.

I now Understand... What’s so enticing about the (just-around-the corner) self-driving cars? In view of my slightly advanced age, I may be forgiven to be a bit slow in learning—but now I understand: It’s all about what happens in the back seat! Special: Do You Like Entering Contests & Big Prize Sweepstakes? As the Globe and Mail reports, Kirk, of the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence, told the Canadian Press on Monday that “… once computers are doing the driving, there will be a lot more sex in cars.” Another (biased ?) pundit, Sergio Marchionne, is claimed to have...

At the end of the first week in April, a mysterious box was spotted on a Phoenix utility pole that aroused the suspicions of a homeowner in the area who believed the box had surveillance cameras inside. After the homeowner involved the media, several days later the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives came forward, admitting that the box reported belonged to them, and that it was part of an ongoing investigation. Apparently the box was part of what has come to be known as a typical "Top Secret Obama" investigation, because neither local law enforcement, nor the...

"Hang up the phone." comes from one specific kind of land-line phone that had a kind of hook you'd hang the handset from when you were done. Doing so would pull down the hook that was connected to a switch inside the phone that would disconnect the line. And lots of nautical stuff: Groggy - In 1740, British Admiral Vernon (whose nickname was "Old Grogram" for the cloak of grogram which he wore) ordered that the sailors' daily ration of rum be diluted with water. The men called the mixture "grog". A sailor who drank too much grog was "groggy"....

With yet another push from President Obama to revive initiatives to develop “smart gun” technology, it looks like it’s time to revisit the issue once again. The most common question I got in response to my previous piece on the many problems with smart guns is, “even if you’re correct that smart guns are a bad idea, why is the NRA so opposed to letting the market even try to get it right?” The NRA’s official position is that they don’t care one way or the other about smart gun tech, and that the market should decide, but we all...

The Tech that forever changed the way we live, work, and play. Think of the gear you can’t live without: The smartphone you constantly check. The camera that goes with you on every vacation. The TV that serves as a portal to binge-watching and -gaming. Each owes its influence to one model that changed the course of technology for good. It’s those devices we’re recognizing in this list of the 50 most influential gadgets of all time. Think of the gear you can’t live without: The smartphone you constantly check. The camera that goes with you on every vacation. The...

In the tech industry, one day a skill is hot, the next it's not. IT professionals spend a lot of their career learning, training, and trying to keep up. Job hunting site Dice prides itself on helping IT pros navigate which skills to pursue. It just concluded an analysis of its database of 80,000+ tech jobs from April 2015 through April 2016 to determine the fastest-growing skills based on job openings. We then cross-checked those skills against Dice's annual salary survey, published in February, which offered the average salary for jobs using those particular skills in 2015. The good news?...

A little while back we told you about how the CEO of Hardees/Carl’s Jr. was thinking about replacing employees with machines thanks to the ridiculous minimum wage hike to $15.Well, it appears he has done it.It was only a matter of time before this started to happen and you can expect to see more of this in the future.

Using Technology to stay safe in the woods.Hunter safety is something we bring up a lot because it’s something that is way too often overlooked. It's sometimes easy to get caught up in the excitement of the hunt and forget about some of the fundamental safety rules of hunting. That's where the Safety Shot app comes in, it's an app that works easily with your cell phone or tablet to keep you and all of your fellow hunting buddies up to date on exactly what's going on in the woods. The app is really easy to set up and it...

It took the team three years to complete the robot, which can speak, show micro-expressions, move its lips and body, yet seems to hold its head in a submissive manner. The humanoid is programmed to recognize human/machine interaction, has autonomous position and navigation and offers services based on cloud technology. This humanoid has natural eye movement, speech that is in sync with its lip movement and refers to its male creators as 'lords'.

Lighter Cheaper More Powerful Battery Changes Renewable EconomicsGuest essay by Roger E. Sowell, Esq. Marina del Rey, CaliforniaIt is not often on SLB that I use the phrase “game-changer.”  Most things progress, if they progress at all, in small increments.  This time, though, is one of those that deserves the phrase game-changer.The innovation is the low-cost, light-weight but powerful battery developed by Nobel prize-winner Alan Heeger, PhD of the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB).  The company is Biosolar .  see link to http://www.biosolar.comThe battery is suitable for mobile and stationary applications such as cars, trucks, grid stabilization, home...