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natural gas exports report

But if the Obama administration approves exports, it might hurt manufacturing and chemical production in the U.S.The U.S. Department of Energy released a long awaited report that estimates the economic impact of allowing natural gas exports. It concluded that while exporting natural gas could marginally increase electricity prices and lead to lower wages, in total the economic benefit of selling...

Made in USA: Your Mac?

That soon could be true, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook.When Apple makes headlines for its manufacturing practices, it’s rarely a headline that makes Cupertino look good. The company has come under fire in the past year for its reliance on the manufacturing giant Foxconn, which had a string of suicides at one of its plants, and where there have occasionally been reports of unsafe working...

Android Takes Off in China, But Google Has Little to Show for It

Google closed its Chinese search service three years ago, just as the mobile market exploded. Now it may be realizing the price.As China edges past the U.S. as the world’s largest smartphone market, the rise of the Android mobile operating system should be a huge success story for Google, which developed and maintains Android. In China, cheaper Android devices have exploded past Apple’s phones...

Curiosity’s Child

Looking forward to a new Mars rover.NASA has its sights on Mars, as the recent landing of the rover Curiosity has already made vibrantly clear (see “Photo Essay: Curiosity’s Mission to Mars”). NASA announced that the “robust Mars exploration program” to which the Obama administration has committed now will include another robotic science rover–Curiosity’s child, call it–that will...

NASA Announces Curiosity’s Child

Looking forward to a new Mars rover.NASA has its sights on Mars, as the recent landing of the rover Curiosity has already made vibrantly clear (see “Photo Essay: Curiosity’s Mission to Mars”). NASA announced that the “robust Mars exploration program” to which the Obama administration has committed now will include another robotic science rover–Curiosity’s child, call it–that will...


WEDNESDAY 5. DECEMBER 2012


Get Ready for Ads that Follow You from One Device to the Next

A former Google advertising scientist is behind a service that matches people across devices to serve more targeted advertisements, while promising to protect their privacy.Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan calls herself an “advertising quant.” Most people with a PhD in her field of information theory are recruited onto Wall Street if they decide to leave the halls of academia, she says.

Custom Chips Could Be the Shovels in a Bitcoin Gold Rush

Devotees of the digital currency are ratcheting up their technology in a race to generate new coins.The digital “crypto-currency” Bitcoin surged into the public eye last year, tantalizing enthusiasts with the promise of money unfettered by any government before falling victim to digital heists (see “Crypto-currency Security under Scrutiny”) and short media attention...

Solar Startup Silevo Scales Up, Even as Others Shut Down

The company thinks its novel solar technology can take on competitors in China.The global solar panel industry is struggling—major manufacturers have posted continued losses this quarter, mainly due to a saturated market that’s left them unable to charge enough for their panels. But one startup, Fremont, California-based Silevo, is bucking the trend of plant closures and bankruptcies by...

Fracking Helps U.S. Crude Production Rises to Highest Point Since 1998

Government numbers reveal a steep increase in monthly production over the past year.The United States produced an average of 6.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in September—the largest monthly average since January 1998, according to the Energy Information Administration. As shown in the chart below, the monthly average has risen by about a million barrels per day since July of of last...


TUESDAY 4. DECEMBER 2012


How Technology Can Reduce Firefighter Injuries

Advances from an unlikely place–Cornell’s clothing researchers.Being a firefighter sounds like a tough job–for obvious reasons, right? You put your life on the line–a building might collapse on you, or you might be engulfed in flames, or inhale a lethal dose of smoke. And doubtless, these things happen, and firefighters are real heroes for risking them. In fact, though, the most common...

Eye on Dubai: Predictions on U.N. Internet Regulations

Substantive issues are on the table, but little change may come from U.N. gatheringAfrican nations will win treaty language on the need for better Internet connectivity—but no funding mechanism to help get it done.  Middle East representatives will argue pointlessly about Palestine. And as 193 national representatives in Dubai weigh whether the U.N. should regulate the Internet,...