Technology – Page 63 – Things Are Good

Japanese May Make Better Biodiesel

oil Japanese researchers have found a more efficient way to produce biodiesel by using common place sugars. The sugars used are cheaper to purchase and do just as good a job of turning fatty acids into a badly-needed liquid as the currently used chemicals.

Cheaper production of biodiesel could lead to a greater adoption of the fuel since it takes little (or nothing) to make diesel cars run on the fuel. About 40% of cars in Europe consume diesel, with the market in the United States of America expected to grow as a result of rising gas prices.

Black Box Voting tests Diebold Machines

Black Box Voting, the activist group who trained a chimpanzee to crack the Diebold voting machines back in 2004, have been hired by the libertarian party and the Secretary of State for California to test the very same voting machines.

The Diebold company became infamous in 2004 when they’re head, ‘Wally’ O’Dell was quoted saying he was “committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year.”

Cheaper, Faster DNA ID process developed

Physorg.com is reporting that a New York technology start-up has developed a much cheaper and faster device to perform the PCR (polymerase chain reaction). PCR is a process used to amplify small bits of DNA so that it can be used for DNA fingerprinting and other important projects. The new device is able to cycle the temperature of the DNA much faster than traditional PCR, and this reduces the wait time for a successful amplification dramatically.

FEC advises bloggers have press exemption

The US Federal Election Commission has issued an advisory opinion stating that the blog network Fired Up! should qualify for the press exemption. This exemption allows the bloggers unfettered access to information regarding the federal election process in the US. Now that one group of bloggers are considered journalists, will the rest gain the same status as well?

$100 laptop for developing nations nearer to reality

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that MIT Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte’s $100 laptop for children in the developing world is one step closer to reality. The laptop is designed to aide in education. Steve Jobs of Apple Computer has offered to license Mac OS X for free on the machines, but the project refused because it is not a Free/Open Source operating system. Several companies are bidding to make the laptops