A recent study conducted by the Poytner Institute found that people who read the news online have a greater attention span than those who read the news in the traditional paper-based format.  Why exactly are people more apt to read all of the text on a newspaper's website as opposed to the paper version?  Is it because the text is easier to read online (i.e. larger fonts)?   Maybe the web version is simply more appealing with its color scheme and page layout?  Or is it due to the fact that when reading a webpage, a smaller portion of the article …

This past weekend I attended the MMFX [ Manufacturing Material Effects ] symposium in Indianapolis, IN. This conference presented ideas about how developing digital technologies have and will impact the development of design and thinking, specifically, but not limited to, architecture. At the conference it was suggested, not for the first time, that [...]

A small taste of reality came two weeks ago with all the rain. At my rented house we got 18 inches of water in the basement. Washer, dryer, deep freeze, furnace all broken and needed to be replaced. All cardboard boxes icky and wet, had to be thrown away to the trash [...]

Lewd comments and paternity tests seem to be on every media pundit's mind this week. Reading around in the various blogs and watching commentary/news shows, the talk is all about whether the media spends too much time covering these seemingly worthless events. Celebrity weight loss/gains. Rosie v. Trump. Anna Nicole sexual exploits. These events are [...]

Bioscrypt, a Toronto-based company who has pioneered the field of visual recognition and authentication, has developed a new product to use a users' face as the access control tool.  This new webcam-type device utilizes 3D face recognition technology to authenticate users.  So in order to access someone else's computer, I simply need to make a rubber mask of their face, right?Maybe it's not quite that easy.  Bioscrypt has developed their system to use 40,000 points of recognition in a 3D mesh.  It will also accommodate varying head positions and a wide range of lighting conditions.  But just how …

I think that the fact that YouTube might be the new face of the political scene, is just a statement about American culture and how far we are willing to push the envelope. We are constantly looking for a new way to put out an old message from the incessant amount of song re-makes, to [...]

I give only kudos to Apple Computer and EMI Group for their announced deal Monday. Although I know the discussion of dropping DRM protection stems back Apple CEO Steve Jobs' suggestion earlier this year, I'm truly excited to see that a major label has signed on to the idea. Finally, the big daddies heard the people [...]

Definitely agree with you. As a foreigner living in NYC, I think I can pinpoint a few discrepancies between American media and international outlets: - American media is subjective. You should have noticed on your trip that even British media, although deeply involved in the Iraqi conflict, always report from a third person point of view. They [...]

In the past three months, I've had the privilege of watching the news in 22 different countries. Right now, for example, I just got back to my hotel room in Vienna and turned on BBC World. In every country, from Egypt to the U.A.E. to Malaysia to Cambodia to Russia, I've been [...]