Monthly Archives: March 2007

A Patently Good Idea

Over at Slashdot there is an interesting discussion about a not for profits wanting comapnies to give them access to the companies unused patents. Even state governments (in the USA) support this.

I think this is a great idea because having patents just sitting around stifles the economy and creative development; all the patent holders get out of this is a lack of competition.

Countless patents — including the one used to start up Kotecha’s company, Yokit — sit unused when companies decide not to develop them into products. Now, not-for-profit groups and state governments are asking companies to donate dormant patents so they can be passed to local entrepreneurs who try to build businesses out of them.

Using Google Earth to Spot Destruction

It’s easy to read about how humans are destroying the planet; it’s hard to visualize this though. Google Earth can be used to help people understand what is happening and see the damage themselves. This is good because it allows for people to better understand that things they do have an impact on the environment.

Environmental advocacy group Appalachian Voices has joined to Google to deliver a special interactive layer for Google Earth that tells the stories of over 470 mountains that have been destroyed from coal mining, and its impact on nearby ecosystems. Separately, the World Wildlife Fund has added the ability to visit its 150 project sites using Google Earth.

Remember you can reduce, reuse, and recycle. The saying is in that order for a reason.

New Leopard Spotted

spottedI find it entertaining when researchers find something “new” that has been in front of them the entire time. It doesn’t mean that the discovery is any less important though. In this case it is a “new” breed of leopard; and the uniqueness of this animal is in it’s genes.

The new cat, now dubbed the Bornean clouded leopard and given the species name Neofelis diardi, is darker than the mainland clouded leopard, Neofelis nebulosa. It also has slightly different markings on its pelt. But the real differences between the two species are in their genes.

Britian Banshes Bad Air

Great news from merry ol’ England. They have introduced legislation that will set legally binding limits on CO2 emissions by 2020 and then lower limits by 2050.

Under the Climate Change Bill, carbon dioxide emissions must be cut by at least 60 percent by 2050. It also sets a legally-binding interim target for carbon cuts of 26 to 32 percent by 2020. Failure to meet targets could land the government in court says environment minister David Milliband who is behind the draft.

Tinman smiles….ethics for robots

You’ve seen/read I, Robot …well everyone talks about doing it, but now someone’s actually doing something about it. Our robots, in the future, are going to have ethics! There’s something very “Star Trek” about this story – very “Data”. Or in this case Alex Hubo.

” South Korea is drawing up a code of ethics to stop humans misusing robots — or vice versa.”