Sticky Film Makes Nonslip Ladders, Wall-Climbing Robots
MENLO PARK, California — Scientists at SRI International have figured out how to make a plastic film that can stick to walls when you apply a small electric current — then peel off effortlessly when...
View ArticleVending Machine for Geeks Stocks USB Cables, LEDs, Arduinos
Visitors to Metrix Create:Space in Seattle can avail themselves of the hacker space’s many amenities: 3-D printers, work benches, hand tools, power tools, oscilloscopes, and 50 Mbps internet. If you...
View ArticleGoogle Conference Swag Already Selling for $1,000 on eBay
Google gave everyone attending its developer conference a free Android tablet. Now, a couple enterprising attendees have already listed the swag on eBay, where the tablets are nearing a bid price of...
View ArticleBallmer to Skype Fans: You Can Trust Us
SAN FRANCISCO — Trust us. We’re not going to screw up Skype. That was the message Microsoft delivered Tuesday, hours after formally announcing that it was buying the internet telephony pioneer for a...
View ArticleFire Artist Mixes Propane, High Voltage
SEATTLE — Rusty Oliver sets things on fire. During our visit to his workspace, the aptly-named Hazardfactory, he demonstrated how two long propane-filled tubes can act as a kind of fiery audio EQ...
View ArticleDIY Lasers Are Irresistibly Dangerous
See Also: New Use for Lasers: Blinding Pirates NASA Considers Shooting Space Junk With Lasers Video: Navy Laser Sets Ship on Fire Making Rain Clouds With Lasers Army Turns to Lasers for Copter Defense...
View ArticlePatent Firm Explains Why It Targets Developers, Not Apple
After threatening last week to sue several iPhone app programmers for implementing a new iOS feature, a patent firm touched off a storm of controversy and even received death threats. Now the company...
View ArticleMay 25, 1945: Sci-Fi Author Predicts Future by Inventing It
1945: Arthur C. Clarke begins privately circulating copies of a paper that proposes using space satellites for global communications. It was a bold suggestion for 1945, as the war was just winding down...
View ArticleHow to Make a Clock Run for 10,000 Years
High on a rocky ridge in the desert, nestled among the brush, is the topmost part of a clock that has been ticking for thousands of years. It looks out over the ruins of a spaceport, built by a rich...
View ArticleHow Microsoft Researchers Might Invent a Holodeck
Wired recently toured Microsoft's R&D buildings to see some of the work the firm's scientists and engineers are doing to invent the computer interfaces of the future. The post How Microsoft...
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