Tag Archives: Microsoft

How high-speed internet is bringing people ‘out of the dark ages’ to reshape work and life in rural America

As Beth Carlson prepared to take her son to a hospital eight hours away for surgery on a benign brain tumor last winter, one major worry aside from the procedure weighed on her mind.

How would the family stay in touch with Xander, 13, while he was away for weeks of treatment afterward? They’d tried video chats during a previous hospital stay, but the internet connection on the farm where they live was too slow. They could talk by phone, but it wasn’t the same as being able to see her boy’s face and look for the signs a mother knows to tell if he was OK. Xander’s two sisters, one older and one younger, were also worried about him. (more…)

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7 shopping prophecies from a retail futurist

Doug Stephens is always thinking about tomorrow. And about next year. And the year 2039.

The founder and president of Retail Prophet – one of the world’s top retail consultancies – has logged more than two decades in the industry, leading brands, authoring two books and offering his advice to numerous companies. As he likes to tell clients: “There’s no such thing as being fashionably late for your future.” (more…)

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How technology can speed help to malnourished children in the effort to end global hunger

When Ebola cut its cruel swath through Sierra Leone in 2014 – ultimately killing thousands – aid workers fled the West Africa nation in droves to escape the outbreak. But the opposite urge overcame Jochen Moninger. He dug in. (more…)

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Microsoft tests a datacenter under the sea

Microsoft is leveraging technology from submarines and working with pioneers in marine energy for the second phase of its moonshot to develop self-sufficient underwater datacenters that can deliver lightning-quick cloud services to coastal cities. An experimental, shipping-container-size prototype is processing workloads on the seafloor near Scotland’s Orkney Islands, Microsoft announced today. (more…)

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Like taking a whole scientific team with you on a walk: iNaturalist helps spawn a generation of citizen scientists

Jennifer Rycenga used to get depressed when she thought about the environment. The impacts of climate change made the avid birdwatcher feel powerless.

Until a rattlesnake appeared in her path on a hike six years ago. (more…)

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Why artificial intelligence needs the human touch

Forget the scare stories: AI is produced by engineers and its creators have the capability to design it in ways that enhance, rather than hinder, peoples’ lives

I propose to consider the question, ‘can machines think?’ This should begin with definitions of the meaning of the word ‘machine’ and ‘think’.” (more…)

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