Geek News & Questions from Listeners

The Geeks discuss poor Internet connectivity in rural areas, magic tricks helping user interface design, the latest Craigslist debacle, Googlepedia, and breaking the new iPhone 2.0. The geeks also take calls from listeners.

Boys and Girls Equal in Math Ability

Overall, the researchers found “no gender difference” in scores among children in grades two through 11. Among students with the highest test scores, the team did find that white boys outnumbered white girls by about two to one. Among Asians, however, that result was nearly reversed. Hyde says that suggests that cultural and social factors, not gender alone, influence how well students perform on tests.

Craigslist Must Reveal Identity of Seller

An attorney for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences said Wednesday that the organization has learned the identity of a person who posted an ad on Craigslist, claiming to have two tickets available for this year’s Academy Awards.

Google Pedia - plugin

Googlepedia is a Firefox add-on that splits the Google search results page in two. It keeps the Google search results on the left, and adds the Wikipedia entry on the right.

Breakthough makes OLEDs bright enough for lighting

A recent breakthrough has made OLEDs much brighter. In fact, they may replace both florescent and incandescent lights. Typically, OLEDs produce only 20 percent of the light generated by the device, making it inferior to LEDs, and a poor choice for lighting. Researchers at the University of Michigan and Princeton University have now solved the issue by developing an OLED/microlense material that boosts illumination by over 60 percent.

Low-Cost, Bright LED Lighting

Purdue University researchers looking to bring LED home lighting costs down.

REDISKME - Data Recovery Service Located in Santa Cruz, CA

REDISKME is a local Santa Cruz company specializing in data recovery from a number of sources, including hard drives and memory cards.

Windows XP won't Shut Down

Any suggestions for making Windows XP shutdown when you tell it to?

Telecoms Suing Communities Instead of Offering Access

Telecommunications companies are suing cities around the nation to stop the construction of publicly owned fiber optic systems to bring high-speed Internet, telephone and cable television to communities far from metropolitan centers.

Microsoft shows off 'Mojave' OS

Microsoft is trying to change the opinion of Vista by hiding the name and showing it off to Windows XP users.

iPhone 3G tethering possible with jailbreak and proxy app

Apple doesn’t allow you to use your iPhone as a modem with your laptop, but now you can with 3Proxy and a hacked iPhone.

Magic tricks reveal inner-workings of brain and vision

Classic sleight-of-hand tricks can reveal a lot about how we perceive the world around us, even if you’re watching out for it. Researchers from Canada and the UK are studying misdirection tricks to learn what our eyes pay attention to and why. This information can be used to improve computer interfaces, to understand where drivers focus their attention, and determine how people are easily distracted.


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