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Technology BLOG |
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Municipal Wi-Fi is a No-Go in Sacramento
By: Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D
10.27.2007
An article in the Sacramento Bee reports this week that plans to blanket Sacramento with free municipal Wi-Fi appear to be on the verge of collapse. This new setback comes only four months after city officials partnered with Metro Connect, a formidable coalition of experts in wireless implementation which includes industry heavyweights Cisco Systems and Intel. While coalition members have been generous with promises and hype, nobody has stepped forward to provide the $7-9 million required to build the network.
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A Conversation About Cryonics
By: Sonia Arrison
10.12.2007 11:28:00 AM
Last weekend, 150 people attended the Alcor life extension conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. The main subject was cryonics, the use of technology to cool and preserve the human body with the aim of future revival. The technology, still speculative, raises many present-world issues. In 2003, a daughter of Ted Williams attempted to stop the cryonic suspension of the Hall of Fame baseball player. Williams had signed a “family pact” asking to be preserved, but delays and a media circus ensued. He is not the only one that Alcor, the nation’s leading cryonics organization, has had to fight to preserve.
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Nobel Prize Rewards Biotechnology Breakthrough
By: Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D.
10.8.2007
The Nobel Prize committee announced this morning that three scientists will share the 2007 award in Medicine or Physiology "for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells." This may sound like a mouthful, but the basic idea is straightforward: Mario Capecchi, Oliver Smithies, and Martin Evans devised a technique to create designer mice. Scientists can learn about human disorders by studying mice customized to develop similar conditions, such as atherosclerosis, cancer, high blood pressure, and cystic fibrosis. Some oddities have also been created using this technology, resulting in fearless mice, "Schwarzenegger mice" with enormous muscles, or mice which glow in the dark.
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AT&T Demands Satisfaction
By: Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D.
10.1.2007
Don't you love AT&T? If your answer is ‘no,' you'll be happy to learn about the company's revolutionary new plan to achieve 100% customer satisfaction. According to recently updated Terms of Service, it seems that dissatisfaction is now strictly prohibited. AT&T has reserved the right to terminate your DSL service "without notice, for conduct that AT&T believes...tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T." In other words, if you want to live under Ma Bell's roof, you need to treat her with respect.
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