engineering

Google redesigns the display of its search results page

If you searched for something on Google today, you may have noticed something different, such as a new drop-down menu of search tools. This is the latest in Google's changes to how query results are displayed and how its search engine works.

Google's redesign was first noticed by TechCrunch, which noted that the major difference is the results are now vertical. Rather than having the search tools taking up space on a sidebar, they are now located directly under the search field.

The search engine has already started showing an automatic text box in the right side bar … Read more

Facebook opens engineering office in London

It seems that everyone is going to London lately, so why should the world's largest social network be left out?

Facebook announced today it has opened an engineering office in the U.K. capital, its first engineering office outside the U.S. Calling London "a perfect fit" for Facebook engineering, Facebook software engineer and London team leader Philip Su touted the city's advantages in a Facebook post this evening.

"It's a global hub, and it has a vibrant local startup community with lots of great technical talent," Su said. "Our team in … Read more

Small Japan village goes all solar

Japan's nuclear spring didn't last long. Though the country's nuclear power plants were taken offline following the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, the government restarted a reactor earlier this month.

But that hasn't stopped a small village some 50 miles from the Oi plant from ditching conventional electricity from the grid and going solar.

Sanno in Hyogo Prefecture, population 42, has become the first municipality to rely on solar power.

Residents of the 11 households have an average age over 60, and the village, like many in rural Japan, is suffering depopulation. Costs for maintaining shared … Read more

San Diego's own Mystery Spot: 'Fallen Star'

LA JOLLA, Calif.--Cottages shouldn't stick out way over the edge of buildings, but when they've been picked up by mysterious forces and dropped out of the sky, that's exactly what can happen.

Welcome to Korean artist Do Ho Suh's "Fallen Star," a small, New England-style house that was unveiled in June atop -- and well out beyond the roof of -- the Jacobs Engineering School building at the University of California at San Diego here.

I've come to explore "Fallen Star" as part of Road Trip 2012, and though I'… Read more

Agree on which movie to watch with Foundd

I am holding out hope that Foundd means I will watch fewer episodes of "NCIS" or "Leverage" on Friday nights. After a week of work and finally getting the kids to sleep, the wife and I seldom venture into the world of cinema on the eve of the weekend because it takes too long to find something we both want to watch. So, I grab the iPad to watch baseball while my wife fires up an "NCIS: LA" or similar on demand. (She has a surprising affinity for procedural crime dramas, finding them unparalleled … Read more

Rolls-Royce revs up giant Lego jet engine

Gentlemen, start your Lego jet engine. Created by Rolls-Royce and unveiled at the Farnborough International Airshow in England yesterday, the engine uses 152,455 bricks and reaches an overall size of 4.9 feet long and 6.5 feet wide. All of those Legos together stack up to an astounding 676 pounds. … Read more

Purported iPhone 5, iPad Mini 'engineering samples' crop up

They may or may not be the real deal, but somebody has gone to the trouble of creating purported "engineering samples" of Apple's next iPhone, as well as a smaller version of the iPad.

In a pair of reports today, tech site GottaBeMobile offers photos and speculation about both sample devices, which the outlet says come courtesy of "a trusted source inside the Apple supply chain."

Of note, neither of these units is functional or looks anything like a finished product. Instead, the iPhone looks to be nothing more than milled aluminum, while the iPad-like … Read more

Roominate: Techy dollhouse for future lady scientists

Recently, the European Commission was roundly criticized for launching an ill-conceived ad aimed at getting girls interested in science. Lego has also stirred up some commentary for coming out with girly toys featuring hair salons and cafes.

If these attempts are off the mark when it comes to interesting girls in science, architecture, and design, then what is it going to take to really reach them? How about a dollhouse? A DIY dollhouse with build-your-own-furniture and working circuits. … Read more

Google launches alleged Amazon Web Services killer

Google launched Compute Engine Infrastructure as a Service in a bid to offer cloud infrastructure much like Amazon Web Services. However, the effort, which is in a "limited preview," lacks the depth and options provided by Amazon.

In a nutshell, Google is allowing users to spin up virtual machines. Coupled with Google's App Engine, Google Apps, and Drive the company is building out its cloud stack.

Google's promise is that it'll provide all the access to its computing power to companies.

The idea of a cloud stack isn't exactly original. Amazon has focused on … Read more