Tag Archives: tech

Smartphone as mentor: How tech could change behavior

ANN ARBOR — Funneling a steady stream of diversions straight to your pocket, smartphones are often cast as the ultimate distractors. But a University of Michigan engineering professor sees potential for them to be something quite the opposite.

What if they could act as mentors in mindfulness, helping users stay attentive in order to achieve particular goals? (more…)

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Monitoring Hurricanes: Georgia Tech Engineers Assist NASA with Instrument for Remotely Measuring Storm Intensity

A device designed by engineers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is part of the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD), an experimental airborne system developed by the Earth Science Office at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.

Known as an analog beam-former, the GTRI device is part of the radiometer, which is being tested by NASA on a Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. The radiometer measures microwave radiation emitted by the sea foam that is produced when high winds blow across ocean waves. By measuring the electromagnetic radiation, scientists can remotely assess surface wind speeds at multiple locations within the hurricanes. (more…)

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Steve Ballmer Talks Up Windows 8 and Windows Phone in Europe and Israel

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was in Europe and Israel last week to showcase Microsoft’s wave of newly updated products, including Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and Surface with Windows RT. He reinforced to customers, developers, students and others that the company is moving into a new era.

REDMOND, Wash. – Nov. 13, 2012 – World, meet Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and Surface. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer last week took Microsoft’s wave of new products on the road, visiting Europe and Israel.

He said the launch of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, an upcoming new version Office, and updates to the company’s Xbox platform—all part of the biggest wave of updates in the company’s history—signify that Microsoft has entered a new era. (more…)

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