kansas

Google is ready to start laying fiber-optic lines in Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan., for its Google Fiber project to catalyze the shift toward higher-speed Internet access.

Google announced the project two years ago and announced Kansas City as the lucky recipient of the 1-gigabit-per-second Internet access. It turns out it's not easy to deploy that fast a network for hundreds of thousands of people, though, and as Google works its way through the challenge, faster broadband is gradually arriving elsewhere, too.

Kevin Lo, general manager of Google Access, announced today that Google is done surveying and … Read more

As anyone who has ever pulled a white rabbit out of a black hat will tell you, the art of fooling people depends on doing things right in front of their eyes.

What, then, might one think of the explanations being offered to the poor, frightened people of Cowley County in Kansas? For just a few hours ago, they witnessed what some of them suspected was an extra-terrestrial craft being wheeled through their streets.

It was only last Monday afternoon when a vast shrink-wrapped, saucer-shaped thing was seen being towed down Cowley County's Highway 77.

Street signs had to … Read more

There's some rough news for Topeka, Kan., the city that courted Google's ultra-high-speed municipal broadband project by changing its name to Google. The Mountain View, Calif., tech giant announced Wednesday that the lucky city that gets to be its broadband guinea pig not only isn't Topeka, but it's Kansas City, Kansas--just an hour's drive away. Ouch.

More than 1,100 communities had applied since the call for applicants was announced about a year ago. Kansas City will first see the new developments next year, and Google is already looking for additional communities to join the … Read more

Bird flu, swine flu, anthrax; and now add Hendra--a lethal virus that resides in bat urine and horse spit--to the ever increasing list of barnyard threats.

The U.S. and other countries are investing in Hendra virus research because they fear it may be used in biological warfare, Dr. Peter Reid told horse owners and "bat carers" at the Queensland Horse Council Hendra virus conference last week. And Dr. Reid should know--he was the veterinarian involved in the first known Hendra outbreak, which killed prominent Queensland horse trainer Vic Rail and 14 of his horses in 1994.… Read more

This last Sunday another installment of the Chase for the Championship series for the 2009 Nascar season took place at Kansas Speedway. This event, the "Price Chopper 400," ended with a crucial win by Tony Stewart that keeps him in the thick of the hunt to capture this year's Sprint Cup. But Tony's not the only one who's on-track action at Kansas made the highlight reel from this year's event. Two accidents happened early in the race that affected several of Nascar's most noteworthy stars. This video clip here shows how it all … Read more

There are many fans and journalists who have been more than ready to write off Tony Stewart as a potential Nascar champion, partially due to this year's success of Nascar heavyweights Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin. But this past Sunday, Tony Stewart proved that his love for the Sprint Cup is even bigger than his love for the Whopper by winning the Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway.

This video clip pretty much condenses all the important moves and activity from the Price Chopper 400 in Kansas. One thing I like about this video is that not only do … Read more

Correction on Wednesday at 11:27 a.m. PST: A press release on which this story was partially based misidentified which NASA mission the technology will be used for. This post was updated with correct information. The energy-harvesting sensors are part of research for forthcoming Mars Scout Missions.

Engineers at Kansas State University have developed a radio with sensors and microprocessors that can transmit data and is self-sufficient when it comes to power.

The device, called by the engineers an "energy-harvesting radio," is essentially a wireless sensor with microprocessor and radio that can transfer a flash of data … Read more

As an apparent consolation to fans who still come out to watch their perennially poor home team, baseball's Kansas City Royals will install the largest high-definition LED (light-emitting diode) screen in the world next year, according to the team.

Provided by Daktronics, the screen will measure 100 feet by 85 feet, will feature 1,800 lines of resolution, and will be mounted in the outfield and capped with a golden crown, the team symbol.

The installation will take place prior to the beginning of the 2008 season, instantly putting Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium ahead of former screen size … Read more