Technology

Wikipedia is a go-to source for medical information, but much of it is inaccurate.

Dr. Wikipedia: The 'Double-Edged Sword' Of Crowdsourced Medicine

1:17pm February 10, 2014

by NPR Staff

A report on health and social media finds that Wikipedia is the "single leading source of medical information" for patients and health care professionals. But not all of the articles are accurate. To address that issue, Dr. Amin Azzam requires his fourth-year medical students to revise and publish medical articles on the site.

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Chris Wasil, a forest area supervisor for Palm Beach County, demonstrates how satellite maps depict the location and movement of fire equipment.

National

Technology Tracks Crews Through The Fog Of Wildfire

9:04pm February 07, 2014

by Greg Allen

Communication breakdowns can be fatal for firefighters, but are all too easy when crews are shrouded in smoke and a blaze is moving fast. Florida, with its millions of acres of forest and grassland, has rolled out a new system that can pinpoint crews without relying on voice communication.

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Susan Crawford says that in cities like Seoul and Stockholm, high-speed, high-capacity networks are taken for granted. "It really is astonishing what's going on in America," she says. "We're falling way behind in the pack of developed nations when it come

National

Author: When It Comes To High-Speed Internet, U.S. 'Falling Way Behind'

12:41pm February 07, 2014

The U.S. needs to start treating the Internet like electricity or railroads, law professor and author Susan Crawford says. "We can't create a level playing field for all Americans or indeed compete on the world stage without having some form of government involvement," she says.

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As Satya Nadella becomes the new CEO of Microsoft, company founder Bill Gates is moving from chairman to

What Bill Gates' New Role Could Mean For Microsoft

10:23pm February 05, 2014

by Laura Sydell

In recent years, the Microsoft co-founder has pulled back from his work at the company to focus on his foundation — improving global health and reducing poverty. But his hands-on days at Microsoft are not over. Gates is stepping down as chairman but moving into a part-time role as technology adviser.

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'Jeopardy' Legend Picks Up A Smartphone Quiz App

7:33pm February 03, 2014

by Ken Jennings

Ken Jennings, who has the longest winning streak in the history of the television quiz show Jeopardy, reviews the trivia smartphone app, QuizUp.

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New York Looks To Bring Bitcoin Out Of The Shadows

2:58pm January 31, 2014

by Ilya Marritz

Bitcoin has been tied to the dark side of the Internet, where it's been linked to drug trafficking. But New York's financial regulators say they want to foster innovation and are looking to legitimize the virtual currency by licensing it.

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The Roxie Theater in San Francisco still has two 35 millimeter projectors, but the switch to digital is inevitable.

Arts

Small Cinemas Struggle As Film Fades Out Of The Picture

8:00pm January 30, 2014

by Laura Sydell

Paramount became the first big studio to distribute a major film in the U.S. only in digital, and others will probably follow. Small cinemas are struggling to raise money for the transition. Despite resistance from some major directors, the end of film is almost upon us.

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In their effort to make their animations seem more realistic, the Next Media team models various facial expressions it will use in a piece. These are models of singer Leslie Cheung.

Arts

For Taiwanese News Animators, Funny Videos Are Serious Work

1:17pm January 29, 2014

by Elise Hu

The studio responsible for bizarre viral videos featuring 3-D animations of the news is more serious than you'd think. Go behind the scenes at the Taipei-based Next Media Animation to find out why this fast-moving — and controversial — company says it's charting the future of news.

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The oPhone was on display at Wired's annual conference in London in October.

You've Got Mail, And It Smells Like 18th Century Paris

1:17pm January 29, 2014

by NPR Staff

The oPhone device (the "o" is for olfactory) will be able to send and receive whiffs of preprogrammed aromas remotely. Created by a Harvard professor, it's intended to add the sense of smell to the way we communicate.

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A Gem From The Archives: We Revisit A Mac Doubter

7:29pm January 24, 2014

To mark the 30-year anniversary of Apple's introduction of the Macintosh computer, we dug into our archives for our interview with Peter McWilliams about the new device. Back in 1984, McWilliams, author of The Personal Computer Book, doubted that the Mac would catch on with a wide audience.

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