Future tech

When Apple turns over part of its oh-so-important Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address to an unknown startup, you can be sure Tim Cook and Co. think they're dealing with some very cool technology.

That was very much the case with Anki, which was handpicked for a coveted slot as the poster child for what unknown developers can do with iOS. During its time onstage, Anki showed off what at first appears to be a simple toy car racing game, but what in reality might be the most advanced intersection of consumer-grade artificial intelligence and robotics ever.… Read more

Nowadays breathalyzers are being used to detect far more than just how much alcohol one has imbibed. Researchers in Sweden are working on one that can spot marijuana and cocaine. Scientists in Germany are exploring one that can sniff out heart failure. And researchers in the U.S. are hard at work on one that can detect diseases such as diabetes.

And now, a group of chemists at the University of Pittsburgh is unveiling new sensor technology that could lead to a breathalyzer for not just the detection of diabetes, but the ongoing monitoring of it as well.… Read more

This week, experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats will install the world's first "Quantum ATM" in New York City.

Part art installation, part science experiment, and part social commentary, the new not-so-automated teller machine at 20 Rockefeller Center will take deposits and transfer them to a so-called quantum superposition, allowing the real-world cash to proliferate itself into seven billion accounts in the Quantum Bank.… Read more

Last month, NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft suffered a potentially mission-ending malfunction, prompting the eyes of many astronomers and space geeks to grow a little misty. The crippling blow came just as data from Kepler had begun to identify more distant Earth-like planets within the habitable zone.

What's not as widely known, however, is that Kepler data isn't used just to hunt for planets that could potentially support life, it's also been tapped by some intrepid explorers to search for stellar and planetary megastructures created by far-flung advanced societies. Since we've yet to send anything into … Read more

Comedian and self-appointed judge John Hodgman reveals the secrets to surviving the apocalypse and answers your questions about National Doughnut Day, the proper way to grow a mustache, and how to deal with Internet whiners.

If you like what you hear, subscribe to Netflix and check out John's stand-up special "Ragnarok" on June 20, push play, and walk away. John's also performing in Chicago on June 13 at the Just For Laughs comedy festival. Details on all his tours can be found here and on John's Twitter!… Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Weird Al Yankovic says next album will be his last.

- Australian scientists uncover "God's bathtub."

- These Blu-ray discs will last 1,000 years.

- You guys, Xanga is about to shut down unless we give them $60k.

- This teenager would rather go to jail than play his Xbox 360.… Read more

It's only a matter of time, really. Google Glass, Epson's Movierio, the Oculus Rift, and similar technologies are at the cutting edge of wearable technologies. Sci-fi has certainly given us a glimpse at the potential future: internal links to the Internet, augmented eyesight and hearing, perhaps even full cybernetic bodies to house our minds.

We'll have the technology, we will build it. The question is, presuming it's safe, would you embed yourself with technology?… Read more

In 2012, 83 firefighters died in the line of duty in the U.S. alone, and another 37 fatalities have been reported thus far in 2013. But, with better scouting tools, these numbers could be lowered.

Thank goodness for robots.

A new one out of the University of California, San Diego, may soon help first responders survey a fiery scene with its ability to enter a burning building and immediately transmit data on the state and location of the fire, the building's structural integrity, and the presence of any volatile gases -- all while on the lookout for survivors.… Read more

Porn is easy to find on the Web through a simple Google search, but as I reported this week, the company's policies make it clear that explicit content is not welcome on Google Glass.

That perceived paradox had Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert wagging his finger at Google on Tuesday.

"Now the only way you can see porn on Google, is by typing 'porn' into Google...or really anything into Google," ranted the comedian on his satirical show, "The Colbert Report."… Read more