Archives
COMPUTERS 
July 14, 2017 Scrap dealer finds Apollo-era NASA computers in dead engineer’s basement
A pair of Apollo-era NASA computers and hundreds of mysterious tape reels have been discovered in a deceased engineer’s basement in Pittsburgh, according to a NASA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report released in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Most of the tapes are unmarked, but the majority of the rest […]
NEWS 
July 14, 2017 I-T identifies another 5.56 lakh under Operation Clean Money
The Income Tax Department has identified another 5.56 lakh individuals whose tax profiles are found inconsistent with the money deposited by them post demonetisation. In the second phase of ‘Operation Clean Money’ launched in April with an aim to detect black money generation post demonetisation, the I-T department has used information received under the Statement […]
CLOTHING July 13, 2017 Where many of the clothes you throw away end up
Ever wonder where your clothes go after you discard them? In Western countries, when you donate clothing to charities via shops, collection bags, or clothing banks many are given to those in need or sold in charity shops to raise funds. But what happens to torn or damaged clothes, or items that no one wants […]
COMPUTERS July 13, 2017 Computers are getting more expensive, and here’s why
Prices for memory chips have jumped during the past year, and those increases are starting to make their way to consumers. The world-wide personal computer industry saw another quarterly decline in sales during the second quarter, as price hikes caused by memory chip scarcity scared some consumers away. According to data for the second quarter […]
ELECTRONICS 
July 13, 2017 GST issues hit shelves at grocery chains, kiranas & electronics retailers
MUMBAI | KOLKATA: Several foods and grocery chains, kirana shops and electronics retailers are struggling to stock even half their retail shelves because of issues arising out of the transition to the new Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime. Deliveries have been impacted because of delays in system upgradation across the supply chain, reduction in […]
COUPONS July 12, 2017 Coping with patients who come bearing coupons
Insurance companies are increasingly emphasizing value-based plans to align consumer spending with the value generated by a service or drug. However, pharmaceutical makers are seriously undermining these efforts by issuing “copayment coupons.” With coupons, the consumer’s cost for a higher-tier brand-name drug may actually be less than it would be for a lower-tier generic. In fact, experts […]
ELECTRONICS July 12, 2017 Harmless elements can replace toxic lead in electronics
Henrik Soensteby holds a silicon wafer covered with a thin film consisting of sodium, potassium, niobium and oxygen. The colors are caused by unintentional thickness variations. Credit: Bjarne Roesjoe/UiO Most smartphones and other electrical or electronic products contain small amounts of lead, which doesn’t sound like a big problem on its own. But when there […]
HOME & GARDEN July 12, 2017 Garden in a bottle
Anjana Nair is designing terrariums for your homes So you have no space for a garden. Yet your green fingers are itching to nurture a garden or you could be yearning for a patch of green on your table, bookshelf…. Then your solution is a terrarium, a garden in a container, the perfect match for […]
ELECTRONICS July 11, 2017 Why Most Battery Life Tests Are a Useless Indicator of Real World Usage
HIGHLIGHTS Recently, Consumer Reports’ MacBook Pro tests were in the news Lab tests almost never can be correlated to real world usage Standardised tests are only useful for rough comparisons Apple’s new MacBook Pros received a fair amount of criticism for making life difficult for professionals by removing useful features like an SD card slot or prioritising thinness over […]
NEWS July 11, 2017 Poker-Winning Machine Is No Threat to Humans
I didn’t worry too much when computers beat humans at checkers, chess, or Go. It was, after all, only a matter of time before someone built a powerful computer with a vast database of known game situations. But now that machines are beating professionals at poker – a game of imperfect information – a question must […]
ALL DEALS July 11, 2017 Indian Tech Was on the Brink Even Before Trump’s Shove
India’s technology outsourcing industry was facing peak pessimism even before Donald Trump. But if the new president signs into law a draft executive order to tighten the US guest-worker regime, the moment of reckoning for the likes of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Infosys Ltd. could arrive much sooner than shareholders anticipate. Since investors know very […]
ELECTRONICS July 10, 2017 Consumer electronics co Jawbone’s demise a case of ‘death by overfunding’ in Silicon Valley
Consumer electronics company Jawbone had more than enough money to take on Fitbit and other health-tracking devices in the “wearables” market. (File Photo) Consumer electronics company Jawbone had more than enough money to take on Fitbit and other health-tracking devices in the “wearables” market. That may have ended up being its biggest problem. Top-tier venture […]
