DAVID BOWIE, WHO died Sunday at the age of 69, released more than 20 studio albums (and dozens of singles) during a decades-long career that found him infatuated with everything from starry-eyed space-folk to guitar-hero glam-rock to gurgling electronica. Reducing that output to a single best-of list is impossible, but here are 10 tunes that, at the very least, display his verve, his vigor, and his ongoing love of the new:
In the heart of the most tech-obsessed corner of the planet, Steve Hilton hasn’t had a phone in years. He’s relaxed, carefree, happier. His wife on the other hand ...
Before you read on, I want to make one thing clear: I’m not trying to convert you. I’m not trying to lecture you or judge you. Honestly, I’m not. It may come over like that here and there, but believe me, that’s not my intent. In this piece, I’m just trying to ... explain.
People who knew me in a previous life as a policy adviser to the British prime minister are mildly surprised that I’m now the co-founder and CEO of a tech startup . And those who know that I’ve barely read a book since school are surprised that I have now actually written one.
CSN Editor: Yes .... it is possible that you can do a Silicon Valley start-up without owning a cellphone (I have done it myself). But you will need email (and a land-line).
David Bowie is best remembered for his music - but he was also groundbreaking in his use of technology, not least his internet service, BowieNet, which launched in September 1998.
In a time before Instagram, YouTube, Twitter or even MySpace, most artists provided little if any online material to their followers.
But Bowie's platform not only offered a wide variety of exclusive content, but also several ways to interact with the singer himself.
"In my view, BowieNet had to be the most groundbreaking reachout to fans that I have ever seen any artist ever do," Craig Carrington, one of its users, says.
"He just had the attitude that if he was going to do it, he was going to do it right."
From TED: Suspicious emails: unclaimed insurance bonds, diamond-encrusted safe deposit boxes, close friends marooned in a foreign country. They pop up in our inboxes, and standard procedure is to delete on sight. But what happens when you reply? Follow along as writer and comedian James Veitch narrates a hilarious, weeks-long exchange with a spammer who offered to cut him in on a hot deal.
If CES 2016 is anything to go by, the future of how we enjoy home entertainment is here.
From the new wave of High Dynamic Range (HDR) televisions to the arrival of virtual reality, the floor of the consumer electronics and technology trade show in Las Vegas has been filled with examples of how home entertainment is changing. CNET reporter Kara Tsuboi was on hand to take a look at the screens of the future and the new ways people will be viewing them in their living rooms.
Nine countries are known to possess nuclear weapons.
The United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea have among them approximately 15,850 nuclear weapons — 4,300 of them deployed with operational forces, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The institute, an independent organization whose research centers on global security, said 1,800 of those weapons are kept in a state of high operational alert.
The number of nuclear weapons in the world is declining, mainly because Russia and the United States are reducing their stockpiles. The two countries' arsenals make up more than 90% of nuclear weapons globally, according to the institute.
* Hillary Clinton reportedly made the promise when speaking with The Conway Daily Sun in New Hampshire
* Clinton had previously interviewed with the same reporter in 2007
* In 2014, Bill Clinton told late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel that he wouldn't be surprised if aliens visited Earth
* Hillary Clinton appeared to agree with her husband's comments last week
* She said she would 'get to the bottom' of questions over what the government knows about UFOs and aliens
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has said that if she is elected, she will 'get to the bottom' of questions over what the government knows about UFOs and aliens.
She made the promise when speaking with Daymond Steer of The Conway Daily Sun in New Hampshire. She had previously interviewed with the same reporter in 2007.
When asked if she would support UFO disclosure group efforts, she enthusiastically said 'yes'.
In 2007, Clinton said the most common freedom-of-information requests her husband Bill Clinton received at his library were about UFOs.
While gold is undoubtedly one of the most traded substances on earth, it also happens to be one of the most valuable substances by weight. Although prices fluctuate, one gram of gold will cost you on average around $35. This got us thinking about how much other primarily naturally occurring substances out there cost.
This new infographic, via ValueWalk, explores how much you would pay for a gram of everything from saffron, widely recognised as the world’s most expensive spice, to platinum and rhodium. While the market for these goods can’t match the sizeable gold market, whose depth and liquidity is unparalleled, the trading prices of these substances can widely surpass that of gold; though like gold, the prices of these substances are subject to fluctuations.
Read more....
CSN Editor: For more information on Californium (the world's most expensive substance by weight),go here.
* Mathematical proposal aims to unlock new era of experimental gravity
* Researcher says current technologies could let humans to control gravity
* Experiment could put Einstein's theory of relativity to the ultimate test
A significant amount of well-known brands are produced by just ten food companies. Between these ten largest food and drink manufacturers, which control most of the world’s food production, it is estimated that they make 1 billion US dollars per day.
The dots in the picture are immune cells called microglia (highlighted with a black stain), which are more prevalent in brains affected by Alzheimer’s. Photograph: Carol Colton lab, Duke Universit/PA
Study shows inflammation-reducing chemical prevents memory and behavioural problems in diseased mice, raising hopes for human treatment
Scientists have fresh hopes for an Alzheimer’s treatment after experiments to reduce inflammation in diseased mouse brains prevented memory and behavioural problems in the animals.
Alzheimer’s disease has long been linked to disruption in the brain’s immune system, but the latest research adds to evidence that inflammation in the brain is not so much caused by the disease, but is a driver of the disorder.
Researchers at Southampton University studied tissues from healthy human brains and others affected by Alzheimer’s disease. They found that Alzheimer’s brains had more immune cells, known as microglia, than healthy brains.
‘Dinosaur foreplay’ was a ritual, bird-like dance, according to paleontologists who studied huge scrape marks left behind by the animals in western Colorado
Predatory dinosaurs performed a ritual, bird-like dance to woo their mates, according to paleontologists who have studied huge scrape marks left behind by the animals in western Colorado.
Paleobiologists have long speculated that dinosaurs had mating rituals like those of their descendants, modern birds, but the scrapes would be the first physical evidence of “dinosaur foreplay”, lead scientist Martin Lockley said.
Editor: These scrapes could have been caused by dinosaurs clipping their long nails ... bottom lone is that we do not know. But the mating ritual theory is definitely more interesting.
Using a brain scanner (stock image), scientists have found memories can be recovered in a tenth of a second - around a third of the time needed to blink. The study also found retrieval can be obstructed by the use of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), in which a magnetic coil is placed on their head
* Events can be recalled in 100 milliseconds, compared to 300 for a blink
* Mechanism of memory recovery starts with activation of sensory areas
* The process can be interfered with by placing magnetic coils on the head
The blink of an eye is one of the fastest reactions the human body can make - but is a slow process compared to the recovery of memory.
Using a brain scanner, scientists have discovered that memories can be recovered in just a tenth of a second - around a third of the time needed to blink.
Previous research had estimated this at around five tenths of a second.
The researchers also found retrieval can be obstructed if the person is subjected to repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), in which a magnetic coil is placed on their head.
* Algorithm originally designed to analyse responses to ads
* Can sort through and analyse thousands of images a day to track emotion
* Has been user to spot angry drivers and disgruntled shoppers
Apple has bought an artificial intelligence firm developing software that can tell a person's emotion from their facial expression.
The software was originally developed by Emotient to help assess viewer reactions to their ads, but has also been used to look for signs of pain in patients, and even monitor shopper's facial expressions.
However, it is unclear what Apple plans to use the technology for.
I've tried a lot of different virtual reality experiences. Some good, some extraordinarily amazing, and some terrible. But mostly good.
I've never, however, tried VR porn. So when Naughty America, one of the U.S.'s largest pornography production companies, invited me to try out VR porn for myself at CES, I wasn't sure what to expect.
Would I merely be a spectator in a room watching people get freaky? Or would I actually be having VR sex?
I got my answer as soon as I slipped on a Samsung Gear VR headset and hit play on a VR porn video.
As the Naughty America title screen faded away, I found myself transported into a bedroom. Kneeling before me was a female porn star who was seductively talking dirty to me. I looked down and saw some guy's muscular body. Well, that's not mine, I thought to myself. I was confused. Whose body was this? Then I realized, I was now this guy.
CSN Editor: Here is an easy prediction .... the porn industry is probably going to make a lot of money from this, and the manufacturers of these headsets even more..
