engineering

Twitter has hired the team behind RestEngine, a 2.5-year-old company that focuses on e-mail marketing.

RestEngine describes itself as a "social marketing automation solution" aimed at app developers and publishers. The company serves up personalized marketing e-mails. Some of its customers include RockYou, UStream, and CrowdStar.

TechCrunch first reported news of the deal, which the outlet says was completed in late April. RestEngine alerted users about the move in a note on its Web site today: … Read more

Google seems to be eking out a major new tweak to its search results.

Reportedly spotted by several users, the search pages are now displaying semantic data nestled to the right of the regular results. Such information tries to tie in relevant facts related to the subject of your search rather than just providing links to external Web sites.

For example, run a search for "Howard Carter," the archaeologist who discovered the tomb of King Tut and is the focus of today's Google Doodle. In return, you'll see an entry on the right displaying key facts and a photo … Read more

President Obama today made a campaign stop at a major chip research and manufacturing in hub in New York to reemphasize his made-in-America theme.

Obama visited the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany, State University of New York. CNSE is an education and research facility centered on nanotechnology.

The visit was intended to highlight "insourcing" and the connection between education, innovation, and manufacturing in supporting investment and bringing jobs back to the U.S.

The region is home to chipmakers IBM and Globalfoundries, the latter is in the final stages of constructing … Read more

President Obama will visit a chipmaking region in New York that includes a just-completed Globalfoundries manufacturing facility, one of the most advanced in the world.

Globalfoundries (GF) announced that it will take part in hosting a visit by President Obama on May 8 at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering's (CNSE) NanoTech Complex at the State University of New York in Albany. The President's visit was originally planned to be held at Globalfoundries new Fab 8 facility but was moved to CNSE for logistical reasons, according to the chipmaker.

Fab 8 -- located in Malta, N.Y. … Read more

Bing is now taking a "less is more" approach with the latest redesign of its search results page.

Microsoft's new tweaks to its search results have eliminated all of the information previously squeezed on the "left rail," offering a less-cluttered look and feel. The search results themselves take center stage, so you're not distracted by peripheral information.

In a nod to social networking, certain results now might sport a thumbs-up icon next to them, indicating that one or more of your Facebook friends likes that result. Hovering over the thumbnail of your friend's … Read more

I can't imagine what it's like wafting to Berkeley to study something vaguely scientific. Though I do know a couple of people who went there and they have very peculiar personalities and certain troubles with dating.

I mention this because of the extraordinary ingenuity and possible slight strangeness of freshman Derek Low. He clearly isn't being sufficiently challenged by his curriculum. So he thought he'd see how much he could automate his dorm room.

He uploaded the results of his travails to YouTube and they make for quite mesmerizing viewing.

I am grateful to TechCrunch for … Read more

There have been recurrent calls among some on Wall Street, some shareholders -- and apparently some execs inside Microsoft -- for Microsoft to dump Bing.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer seems to be dead-set against the idea. The official Microsoft stance is Bing search is "a pretty strategic asset for the company" with benefits that "can be leveraged across our whole product set."

But privately it seems that some of Microsoft's key negotiators have floated the idea of offloading Bing to Facebook as a possible strategy. That's according to a New York Times report on April 23 … Read more

I recently chatted with mastering engineer Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound in NYC. He mastered Beyonce's "Live at Roseland: Elements of 4," Iron Maiden's "Flight 666" DVD, and James Taylor's "One Man Band," so you can see he's a pretty versatile engineer. When he was a kid the sound of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" turned him around, and the first Guns 'n' Roses album made a big impression.

My first question was simply this, "Does the process start as soon as you hear the album for the … Read more

Random strangers can change your life. So can ear, nose, and throat specialists who trained as engineers at MIT.

This is something 52-year-old Jan Christian discovered when she was in a supermarket and someone heard her attempts to talk. The stranger suggested she visit Dr. Sid M. Khosla.

"I sure wish I could remember what she looked like and knew who she is," Christian told WXIX in Cincinnati.

Khosla studied engineering at MIT and when he came to the University of Cincinnati, he received a grant to study flow in the voice box. In another random occurrence that characterizes this extraordinary story, one of the finest experts in jet noise happened to be at the same university. … Read more