Sayan’s BlogWorld

RED HERRING | Give me Firefox, or give me death

Marketing maverick Rob Davis hit pay dirt with his idea of a consumer-sponsored ad for the open-source browser. Call it Mozilla�s October Revolution.

20Q.net

20Q.net is an experiment in artificial intelligence. The program is very simple but its behavior is complex. Everything that it knows and all questions that it asks were entered by people playing this game. 20Q.net is a learning system; the more it is played, the smarter it gets.

AMDboard.com | AMD Personal Internet Communicator (PIC)

AMD’s President & CEO Dr. Hector Ruiz, is passionate about the pivotal role that technology can play as an instrument for social change, growth, and economic development. At the 2004 World Economic Forum in Davos, he announced AMD’s ambitious 50X15 initiative, a global commitment to empower 50% of the world’s population with basic Internet service and computing access by the year 2015. This computer based on the AMD Geode processor costs $185 without monitor.

I am really glad that AMD is at the forefront of extending the reach of the IT revolution to the 5 billion people in low-income countries.

PhysOrg | Global air pollution map

This page has a pretty picture with a dark undertone.

Wired | A MacGyver for the Third World

This is an write-up on the remarkable winner of this year’s MacArthur prize in the US.
Mechanical engineer Amy Smith, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology instructor, joined the MacArthur fellowship fold last week, receiving the so-called “genius award” and a colossal cash prize. Her award-winning feat? Using old technology in fresh ways to improve the lives of entire communities.

Science Daily | Supernova Is Imminent

After Trio Of Explosions, Scientists Say Supernova Is Imminent.

Even though I was a kid at that time, I clearly remember the vivid red skies during one night in late January 1987.

The PBS Nova program on the String Theory: The Elegant Universe (available in streaming media here) was really very interesting. What if the easier way to find a graviton is to detect the ones which are leaking from another dimension/ universe to our own?