marshall

Sometimes real science sounds more like science fiction. Just the phrase "bionic bees" sounds like something out of an old paperback.

But that's the goal of a new project from two U.K. universities, the University of Sheffield and the University of Sussex. Engineers from the schools are planning to scan the brains of bees and upload the data into flying robots with the hope that the machines will fly and act like the real thing.

The goal of the project is to create the first robots able to act on instinct. Researchers hope to implant a honey bee's sense of smell and sight into the flying machines, allowing the robots to act as autonomously as an insect rather than relying on preprogrammed instructions.… Read more

Why are gay men worth more to advertisers on Facebook? We'll begin today's show with a story on PC Pro that clarifies how social networks sell your information as part of a package demographic that advertisers can use to target specific markets.

We'll also highlight the similarities between Android phones and condoms, notably the criteria they share for nomenclature that includes seven characteristics -- "distinctive," "short," "appropriate," "easy to spell and pronounce," "likable," "extendable," and "protectable."

Other stories of the day include a high school senior getting expelled for dropping several F-words in a Twitter post supposedly crafted on campus, HBO Go hitting Xbox Live tomorrow, another chapter in the "Ninja Turtles" saga, and The Weinstein Company refusing the MPAA's R Rating for the movie "Bully."… Read more

Sometimes blogging about startups makes the blogger want to start one.

Marshall Kirkpatrick, a tech writer with ReadWriteWeb whose work is often cited by other outlets, is setting out to turn his ability to sort through the noise on the Web into a product and company called Plexus Engine.

Kirkpatrick describes Plexus Engine as an application and tool to help customers discover key information before their competitors do. His target customers are those in marketing and public relations firms.

He's been trying it out with a handful of trial customers and plans to launch officially in three months.

Kirkpatrick … Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--If there's one thing that late night TV hosts like David Letterman and Jay Leno are said to hate, it's when a star books both their shows back to back.

The tech industry doesn't have its own Letterman and Leno rivalry, but one could say that this week's head-to-head TechCrunch Disrupt and Demo Fall shows are a pretty good analogy.

So it was a bit strange to go to both shows this week and see the same high-profile kick-off speaker at each, LinkedIn founder and Graylock Partners principal Reid Hoffman. And both presentations … Read more

Investing in an aftermarket pair of headphones is a quick and easy solution to improve the music listening experience on a mobile music player, but plenty of people feel uncomfortable jamming a tiny ear bud deep into their ear canals. Of course, a tight seal and close proximity to the eardrums offer the potential for the highest-resolution sound quality, but earpad and full-size headphones are also suitable for acoustic isolation and don't require minute fit adjustments the way in-ear-canal headphones do.

Here we've listed a handful of our favorite on-ear headphones that constitute the ideal marriage of lightweight … Read more

Six U.S. senators delivered a sharp rebuke to the U.S. Marshals Service on Thursday, saying that they were "disturbed" to learn that thousands of images produced by full-body scanners at security checkpoints were surreptitiously recorded.

The bipartisan group of senators demanded a detailed explanation from the Marshals Service, which installed the millimeter wave system at the security checkpoint of at a Florida courthouse. (See CNET's earlier article about the Marshals Service admitting the recording took place.)

A letter the politicians sent to Marshals Service director John Clark asks him to "identify any other locations … Read more

SAN DIEGO--The Demo community--an august group of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and technology reporters--gave a fond farewell Wednesday afternoon here to longtime Demo managing director Chris Shipley.

As is well known, Shipley is leaving the helm of Demo, having now officially handed off the reins to VentureBeat founder Matt Marshall.

But as just about the last official act of DemoFall 09, Pat McGovern, the founder and chairman of IDG, which owns the Demo conferences, led the audience in a standing ovation for Shipley.

Prior to that sentimental moment, meanwhile, seven Demo God winners were announced, as well as the two winners … Read more

Over the last 13 years, Chris Shipley has been the primary gatekeeper of the twice-a-year Demo conferences, evaluating more than 20,000 applications from companies wishing to present in front of a roomful of reporters, venture capitalists, and analysts.

Now, with DemoFall 2009 beginning Tuesday morning, Shipley is marking the last of 24 Demos she has overseen as she prepares the formal hand-off of the show to VentureBeat founder Matt Marshall.

For each Demo, Shipley and her team have selected a few dozen companies, giving each a chance to make a name for themselves during a 6-minute presentation in a … Read more

Jim Marshall was one of the chief photographers at the Monterey Pop Festival and the original Woodstock. He took historic backstage shots of The Beatles' last concert. And he chronicled San Francisco's acid rock heyday.

Marshall was everywhere.

He shot more than 500 album covers over his 50-year career.

MarshallPhoto.com, his new Web site, offers 160 fine art images for sale. Sure, the prints are expensive. But if you have the bucks, I'm sure they'll be a great investment. Or try to find his terrific out-of-print book, "Not Fade Away: The Rock and Roll Photography of Jim Marshall.&… Read more