Off-Topic

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, is demonstrating at Computex a reworked desktop image of Ubuntu built specifically for a new category of portable Internet-centric devices -- netbooks.

We've seen these before from Nokia, but the Ubuntu brand and mass distribution might be the thing that pushes this netbook idea into the mainstream.

As described by Canonical--These affordable, power-efficient, small screen devices, based on the ground breaking low-power micro-architecture of the Intel Atom processor, and Ubuntu allow consumers to enjoy email, instant messaging, Internet surfing and on-line access to photos, videos or music with an affordable, reliable device.

Via Gizmodo… Read more

Unlike irony which ruins everything, sarcasm is not only fun, it's also scientific! As reported in the NY Times, a new study explains where sarcasm resides in your brain.

What you may not have realized is that perceiving sarcasm, the smirking put-down that buries its barb by stating the opposite, requires a nifty mental trick that lies at the heart of social relations: figuring out what others are thinking. Those who lose the ability, whether through a head injury or the frontotemporal dementias afflicting the patients in Dr. Rankin's study, just do not get it when someone says … Read more

Original post Gizmodo article

CORONADO, Calif.--This probably doesn't come as a surprise to most parents, but plopping a computer down in front of a student doesn't necessarily translate into academic success.

We've heard a lot in recent years about the One Laptop Per Child initiative, and similar competing programs, which aim to improve educational standards in various parts of the world through computing power. But according to a panel discussion at the Future in Review conference, the computer itself isn't the issue; educators need to find meaningful ways to introduce computers into their day-to-day instructional process.

More than two-thirds … Read more

Correction, May 25, 12:15 PM PDT: This post initially misreported the number of tuna that Hawaii Oceanic Technology aims to produce and the depth at which its Aquaspheres would be located. It has now been corrected.

Every year at the Future in Review conference, organizer Mark Anderson and his staff pick 10 start-up companies as "FIRestarters," companies that are tackling problems in line with the conference's theme, but still require some kindling. Here's a look at three of them.

Hawaii Oceanic Technology

The pitch: Fish farming gets a bad rap from most seafood connoisseurs, but … Read more

CORONADO, Calif.--There's more than one kind of "green" in the eyes of the world's corporations.

More and more companies are starting to realize that they can enjoy the PR benefits of turning "green," by reducing their carbon footprint through energy savings or changes to their products. But every CEO always has another shade of green somewhere in the back of his or her mind. Companies need to reduce their impact on the environment, but that doesn't mean they can afford to implement every single green idea, or that they even know where … Read more

CORONADO, Calif.--The secret to tech industry success might just be Larry Brilliant's favorite ashram in India.

The director of Google's philanthropic efforts told attendees of the Future in Review conference here that during the 10 years he spent in India, he lived in an ashram that has hosted some of the tech industry's luminaries.

Apple's Steve Jobs heads the list, but in recent years, Brilliant has taken Larry Page, eBay founder Jeff Skoll, and the most recent visitor, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, to the ashram.

While he took many interesting detours in a 30-minute session, … Read more

CORONADO, Calif.--Reducing greenhouse gases isn't enough for EcoVerdance and Accelegrow Technologies; why not tackle world hunger, too?

This year's Future in Review conference has chosen to spotlight a company called EcoVerdance, which is using a product developed by Accelegrow to promote carbon trading by using the proceeds from selling carbon offsets to purchase a chemical called Accele-Gro-M that dramatically improves the yields of existing farms and makes it possible to grow plants in places previously thought impossible.

I have to admit, the first time Future in Review organizer Mark Anderson described the scheme, two things popped into … Read more