deliveries

Traditionally, doctors and midwives have used a technique called pelvimetry to measure the pelvis and try to determine its adequacy for giving birth. But pelvis size is just one factor in how smoothly labor will go, rendering the method largely insufficient.

Scientists in France have been working to take some of the guesswork out of labor predictions. Today, at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting, they are presenting results of a study showing that their newly developed software, called Predibirth, predicts birth outcomes quite accurately.

The researchers used their software to process magnetic resonance images of 24 … Read more

Apple's update to iTunes 10.5.1 brings a new scan-and-match service for music that gives users a way to stream their entire collection across multiple devices in the Apple family.

Even better, Apple will actually fill in the blanks of your files' metadata and replace your "matched" files with high-quality 256k-encoded AAC files--an audiophile's dream!

The three of us are so excited that it sounds like we're hosting an infomercial, but check out today's episode to hear more details about iTunes Match.

Also leaked from today's episode: LivingSocial gets into home food delivery with Room Service, PETA puts Mario and his Tanooki suit in its crosshairs, and more events unravel in the ongoing War Against Infographics!… Read more

Apple's next iPhone doesn't arrive until Friday, but one German customer has already received a unit ahead of time and provided photos of the packaging and the new Siri feature in action.

German site Macerkopf.de (via MacStories) posted photos the buyer shared of the 32GB model. The outside box doesn't bear any notable changes from the iPhone 4's packaging except for the obvious "S" on the side. … Read more

We all have our own fair share of packages and products shipped to us, some more than others, and it can be hectic trying to keep track of all the tracking numbers. Then there is the the repetitive process of checking on the status of a package on a Web site, over and over.

If you own an iPhone, iPad or even a Mac prepare for us to show you how to streamline the process and make the tracking numbers work for you, not the other way around. We present to you--Delivery Status touch [iTunes Link].

… Read more

The little blue pill is getting a high-tech makeover, thanks to Egyptian researchers who used a dose of nanotechnology to address some of Viagra's shortcomings. The result: a transdermal patch for Viagra.

A Viagra patch offers a couple of distinct advantages over the little blue pill: the patch-delivered drug gets into your system faster and more of it is absorbed, making it longer-lasting. This conveniently addresses a pair of common complaints about Viagra: it's not always ready when you are, and it sometimes fades prematurely.

The Alexandria University pharmaceutical researchers overcame hurdles that have previously kept researchers from … Read more

When Kozmo customers ordered snacks or movies from the Internet delivery service via their PCs, the goods weren't teleported, ala "Star Trek." But it almost felt as if they were.

In the late 1990s, an orange-clad Kozmo delivery person would appear at a customer's door typically within an hour after an order was keyed in. The Kozmo man or woman might have cradled a pint of rocky road ice cream, an Al Green CD, a box of Junior Mints, or some other convenience item. The Internet was still new then, and Kozmo's service helped to … Read more

Netflix is handing more content-distribution business to Level 3 and Limelight and less to rival Akamai, but it has nothing to do with Akamai's performance according to a Netflix spokesman.

On Tuesday, Dan Rayburn reported at his blog Businessofvideo.com that Netflix was making the change because of displeasure over Akamai's performance in delivering streaming video to Netflix subscribers. That's not correct, said Steve Swasey, Netflix's spokesman

"Reports of Netflix dissatisfaction are not accurate," Swasey said. "We continue to engage Akamai as a vendor in our multi-vendor strategy for the foreseeable future." … Read more

We've written about microneedles before. For the past few years, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have been working on a patch of tiny needles that can deliver drugs painlessly and easily.

But the molecules of many drugs are too large to be delivered transdermally (through the skin), which is how conventional patches work, and would not fit through these newer microneedles.

Researchers at Purdue University, however, have developed a new type of pump that should exert enough force to squeeze drugs through microneedle patches, thereby reducing the need (at least in some instances) for injection via those … Read more

Ah, the Fourth of July holiday weekend, when we celebrate our freedom by drinking beer. But really, how free are you if you have to get up and get your own beer?

Developer Steve Norris, who has an absolutely fabulous sense of humor, is hard at work on a Beverage Delivery System (BDS), a fully automated inter-home delivery system he hopes will solve the "problem that has plagued mankind since the invention of the canned beverage."

The system comprises two discrete elements working in tandem: Baxter, the transport component, and RoboFridge, a fixed location dispenser robot. You sit … Read more