David Sanderson
News Card #4

IBM develop a cognitive computer system

The researchers at IBM have developed a computer system that can mimic the proesses of a cats brain. The researchers say that they are a mere 10 years away from being able to mimic the thought processes of a human brain. This may sound a little sci-fi but the researchers involved assure us that the days of real functioning A.I. are just around the corner.
Daniel Kantor the medical director of Neurologique says “a cognitive computer could quickly and accurately put together the disparate pieces of any complex puzzle and help make good decisions rapidly”
So are we soon to enter the age of true A.I. If the work of I.B.M. is anything to go by it could just be a few years away.


Source: www.technewsworld.com

Bye Bye C.D.

David Sanderson
News Card #3
Death of an inovation that rocked the world?

The CD a format which was first seen commercialy released in october 1982 and seen to be the obvious replacement for vinyl it seems now finds itself unsure of it's future. C.D player and C.D manufacturer Linn will halt production of their C.D. line in the new year as they see the public have become more focused on the medium of M.P.3's and downloading. Gilad Tiefenbrun the managing director of Linn said "our customers have fast recognised the limitations of C.D. players and now want more and better control of their music and where they can play it". Linn will however continue to produce the turn-table, could this mean that our beloved vinyl will out live it's younger brother the C.D., let's hope so. So could one manufacturers decision to halt their production herald the end of the C.D. well will will just have to wait and see.

Source: www.thedailymail.co.uk

Blog: www.davysblogspot.blogspot.com

November 20, 2009 8:06 AM

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Tetris can alter the structure of the brain.

News Card #2
David Sanderson

"Tetris can alter the structure of the brain"

In a recent study, funded by the publishers of the game Tetris and authoured by investigators at the Mind Research Network, it has been claimed that playing the game Tetris can have a visible effect upon the brain.
Playing the game, they claim, has two distinctive effects on the brain. Some areas of the brain they say showed greater efficiency and in different areas they say there is evidence of a thicker cortex (meaning more grey matter).
The scientists who carried out the study say that focusing on a "challenging visuospatial task" like a videogame can actually alter the structure of the brain, not just increase brain activity.
Dr Richard Haier a researcher on the project says that this "demonstrates that a player of Tetris does see lasting effects that generalise to other activities" showing for example that engaging in activities like playing some games might help fight off the mental decline that occurs with ageing.

Source: WWW.WIRED.CO.UK

Solar Sysetm

David Sanderson Google search.I found a great website for teaching about the solar system to primary years students.I searched "interactive solar system"www.kidsastronomy.comThe site contains some nice models of the solar system including animations showing each planets orbit around the sun.

Second Life

David SandersonAssignment #1 News card"A great tool for times of resession"As the present economic climate is pretty bleak companies and organisations are continualy searching for ways to accomodate their drop in budgets. One such tool is the virtual world of online communities. 'Second Life' is one example of a virtual world which is being widly used by many individuals in both a personal and professional capacity. Second life state that more than 1400 organisations including large companies, educational institutions and even government agencies use 'Second Life' to hold meetings and to conduct training. Users may meet online in a variety of environments from auditoriums and collaboration pods to social areas. The tool alows meetings to take place that if conducted in person could be a great strain on both time and financhial resources, meetings can be held accross the globe with very little expenditure in those areas. 'Second Life' are currently working on a tool which will allow companies to hold meetings on their own private networks where 3D avatars may meet and discuss company matters with a higher sense of security. The application of virtual worlds has a great deal of positive aspects which benefit a global community giving movement and opportunity to the most isolated individuals in the most remote parts of our planet.Source: cnn.com tech-news Nov 7 2009

hello all