Thinking Tech

Archive: 03-2012

• School uniform alerts parents when students skip class

  Thousands of students in Brazil are now required to wear a shirt that text messages their parents when they don’t show up for class.

  March 28, 2012, 5:00 AM PDT | By Tuan C. Nguyen

• Super adhesive holds the weight of four adults

  A research team has produced one of the stickiest materials in the world, inspired by a specific quirk of gecko’s feet.

  March 27, 2012, 6:14 AM PDT | By Christie Nicholson

• Mysterious geological site spotted from space

  A massive structure known as the “Eye of the Sahara” has spawned some wild theories over its origins.

  March 27, 2012, 5:00 AM PDT | By Tuan C. Nguyen

• Tracking students with smartphones and NFC tech

  ScholarChip adds NFC support to electronic student tracking system. In the near term, NFC tech may be better suited to student check-ins than the check-out counter.

  March 26, 2012, 10:07 AM PDT | By Mari Silbey

• Watch the world’s biggest paper airplane fly 100 mph

  A 45-foot long, 800-pound paper aircraft was tossed over the desert in Arizona.

  March 26, 2012, 5:00 AM PDT | By Tuan C. Nguyen

• World-class innovation: A conversation with a leader in the race to achieve the $1000 genome

  SmartPlanet has a conversation with the CEO of Complete Genomics, Cliff Reid, a leader in the pursuit for low-cost human genome sequencing. A technology that promises to have a profound impact on...

  March 25, 2012, 12:39 PM PDT | By Christie Nicholson

• FCC and Online Trust Alliance step up attacks on botnets

  Malicious computer programs called bots infect more than one in ten computers in the U.S., but the FCC and the Online Trust Alliance have a new counterattack planned.

  March 23, 2012, 7:17 AM PDT | By Mari Silbey

• Google patents ads based on environmental conditions

  Such technology would allow the company to choose which ads to deliver to smartphone users based on the weather.

  March 23, 2012, 6:27 AM PDT | By Jenny Wilson

• Study: Carrying a gun can make you more paranoid

  Just picking up a gun suddenly make the world appear more violent, research suggests.

  March 23, 2012, 5:15 AM PDT | By Tuan C. Nguyen

• Should companies be allowed to ask for your Facebook password?

  A U.S. Senator plans to introduce a bill that would prohibit employers from demanding access to an applicant’s Facebook account.

  March 23, 2012, 5:10 AM PDT | By Tuan C. Nguyen