computers

Economy

Ukraine Cyberattack Wasn't Really About Ransom, Security Experts Say

4:12pm June 30, 2017

by Kathy Goldgeier

Although the virus that spread through government and commercial computers Tuesday looked like ransomware, cyber experts say it was a "wiper" intended to erase data and disrupt business.

With Women 'Computers' In Spotlight, UNCG Explores Its Own History

2:56pm January 25, 2017

by Eddie Garcia

The Oscar nominated film

Queue Listen Now

An Intel advertisement on a Hewlett-Packard desktop computer in 2012.

California Is First State To Set Energy-Efficiency Limits For Computers

5:25pm December 16, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

The California Energy Commission approved standards for the amount of energy computers and small servers can use when they are on, off, idling or asleep. The rules will roll out between 2018 and 2021.

Workers at the Department of Homeland Security's National Operations Center in 2015. The Obama administration proposes $3.1 billion in upgrades to federal computer systems.

Obama Urges A Boost In IT Spending To Secure Federal Computers

5:39pm October 27, 2016

by Brian Naylor

Protecting decades-old systems from hackers is like "trying to put air bags into an old car," the government's chief information officer says. The administration proposes $3.1 billion in upgrades.

The Dartmouth College Turing test competition challenged participants to design a computer program that could write poems indistinguishable from human-written sonnets.

Human Or Machine: Can You Tell Who Wrote These Poems?

6:30pm June 27, 2016

by NPR Staff

Can a computer write a sonnet that's indistinguishable from what a person can produce? A contest at Dartmouth attempted to find out. With our online quiz, you too can give it a try.

Queue Listen Now

This 2005 silicon wafer with Pentium 4 processors was signed by Gordon Moore for the 40th anniversary of Moore's law.

Science

After Moore's Law: Predicting The Future Beyond Silicon Chips

12:45pm May 05, 2016

by Alina Selyukh

Scientists are preparing for the day when powerful computing can no longer rely on chips getting smaller and faster. One of them offers a sneak peek at some of the new/old ideas that may save the day.

In the game Go, players use white or black stones to attempt to fence off territory.

Science

Forget Chess. A.I. Masters Wickedly Complex, Chinese Game Of 'Go'

4:15pm January 27, 2016

by Geoff Brumfiel

In a milestone for computers, a machine learned to play and has now beaten the European champion of the game.

Dave Rauchwerk is CEO of Next Thing Co., which makes the CHIP computer.

Can A $9 Computer Spark A New Wave Of Tinkering And Innovation?

2:01pm January 21, 2016

by Laura Sydell

It fits in your hand, can connect to Wi-Fi and has Bluetooth. The $9 CHIP promises to be a teaching tool that's also fun to play with. It's just one of several low-cost computers hitting the market.

Queue Listen Now

American Airlines planes sit on the tarmac last month at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

National

'Computer Issue' Grounds American Airlines Flights

2:54pm September 17, 2015

by Scott Neuman

Flights have resumed after what the airline called connectivity issues caused ground stops in Dallas, Chicago and Miami.

Vint Cerf in a photo from last year. Cerf is warning of a possible "digital Dark Ages" if the world's data isn't permanently preserved.

Internet Pioneer Warns Our Era Could Become The 'Digital Dark Ages'

3:15pm August 07, 2015

by Scott Neuman

Google Vice President Vint Cerf says that our complete reliance on digital information that is often not preserved could result in an information "black hole" for future historians.