ignite

Harnessing a star's power for clean energy

LIVERMORE, Calif.--Think clean energy is a fantasy? What if the power of a star was applied to the problem?

That's the approach being explored at the National Ignition Facility, a huge-scale experiment in laser fusion based at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory here. Scientists are looking at NIF as a potential key to producing large amounts of carbon-free power.

It's not known if the system will ever bear the kind of fruit the scientists and administrators who run NIF would like. Still, the facility is a scientific wonder that can transform a single laser beam no wider … Read more

iPad LogMeIn app: Coolest way to run Windows 7

If you have ever wondered how Windows 7--or any version of Windows, for that matter--would look on the iPad, there's indeed an app for that. It's called LogMeIn Ignition. The app has been available for the iPhone for a long time and just got a major upgrade to version 1.1.138 earlier this month to fully support the iPad's larger screen.

LogMeIn is not a new service but is arguably one of the most popular among existing remote access solutions on the market. LogMeIn Free allows users to securely control a remote PC computer via the … Read more

Remote access with a catch

LogMeIn's 'Ignition' app for the iPhone and iPod Touch is one way for corporate wanderers and home users to manipulate content on the computers within their control. To do so, there are a few catches. The LogMeIn desktop application must be installed so that Ignition can tunnel into the computer through LogMeIn's servers. Second, the computer in question must be unlocked an on, with a desktop version of LogMeIn running. You'll also need a strong enough data or WiFi connection on the mobile device to keep LogMeIn Ignition working smoothly.

Once you've signed in, LogMeIn Ignition … Read more

Report: Bing adding little to Microsoft ad dollars so far

Bing may be catching on as a new search engine, but it has yet to generate growth in ad dollars for Microsoft, according to a report released Tuesday.

Microsoft's share of search engine ad spending for the second quarter stayed flat at less than 6 percent, according to the report by research firm SearchIgnite. That's the same level it's been for the past several years.

"Microsoft appears to be focusing its efforts on driving consumer interest and capturing increased search query share," said Roger Barnette, president of SearchIgnite. "We have not yet seen this … Read more

Audio Slideshow: Livermore Labs unveils super laser

A correction was made to this story. See below for details.

LIVERMORE, Calif.--The National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a blast--literally.

I was lucky enough to join the few thousand people who were allowed Saturday to tour the world's largest laser system, which is located in this bucolic valley about an hour's drive from San Francisco.

The $3.5 billion facility was dedicated Friday by a host of dignitaries, including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But family members and friends of lab employees were allowed to tour the NIF last weekend, many of whom started … Read more

GM's new engine to make its hybrids and plug-ins even more efficient

GM announced its development of a new, more efficient internal combustion engine that will eventually be used to power its lineup of hybrid and extended-range plug-in vehicles.

In the homogenous charge compression ignition engine (HCCI), the air and fuel mixture is compressed to ignite rather than using a spark. When combined with other advanced technologies, the HCCI engine provides up to 15 percent better fuel economy, according to GM. … Read more

LogMeIn to come to iPhone

UPDATED: Corrected LogMeIn spelling.

It's great to be able to log in your computer remotely. It's convenient, it saves gas, hassle, and most importantly, time. Personally I've used LogMeIn for a long time and loved it.

The company has actually been cooking up an application for the iPhone (and iPod Touch), too, called LogMeIn Ignition. I tried out the preview version of the app on my iPhone 3G and was impressed overall.

First off, it works! I was able to log in to any Windows machine where I have the Logmein client installed and view its desktop … Read more

Where you don't mess with the Yu-Tang Clan

YU-TANG CLAN AIN'T NOTHING TO BUCK WITH! Founding members the Yza, Method Man, and Ghostface Killah (aka Tony Starks) keep it cutty and explore tech's first format war; skyrocketing Wii Fit prices; losing water on film; and our culture's lousy obsession with movie remakes. McLovin and Sr. Sean Connery also stop in to discuss Mr. BAKalar's questionable fashion choices. EPISODE 104 Download today's podcast

Web 2.0 Expo Ignite wrap-up: Session two

Ignite finished strong with presentations from Justin.tv, RobotReplay, and Omnidrive.

Justin Kan of Justin.tv talked about how easy it is to promote your site or product with the right strategy. It also doesn't hurt to have a camera hooked to a laptop, with an EV-DO connection streaming every second of your life. Our previous Justin.tv coverage here and here. Surreal moment of the talk? Checking Justin.tv and seeing him talking to us. Creepy

Andre Charland discussed the difficulty of launching his new site RobotReplay, which lets Web site owners keep track of where their visitors … Read more

Web 2.0 Expo Ignite wrap-up: Session one

I'm at O'Reilly's Web 2.0 Expo kick-off, called Ignite--which is what most speakers are doing to the microphone. The premise is simple, you've got 20 slides, and each one automatically advances every 15 seconds.The result? Speakers sound like they're running a live auction.

Notably, ZDNet's Ryan Stewart gave us a brief overview of his blog, Advancing User Experience with Rich Internet Applications, and told the audience we should keep our eyes on Adobe's Apollo (previous coverage).

Christy Canida of Instructables talked about how user-submitted designs for toys have been so successful … Read more