Kevin Lepton

IBM Watson Kicks Snot Out of Jeopardy Contestants

Feb 172011

For three days Jeopardy contestants on the TV show took a beating at the hands (or voice) of IBM’s new supercomputer Watson. “Watson, come here I need you!” was not the call the contestants were making. Rather, it was more like, “Not again. Go away.”

Yes, Watson (not to be confused with Hal) time and again kicked the snot out of the other contestants by answering the questions correctly in his quirky voice. If you happened to have caught the Conan O’Brien spoof of Watson it was pretty entertaining and Watson sucked up to Conan and got personal with his sidekick Andy Richter.

IBM Watson

Watson told a few “Yo Mama” jokes followed by a few “I did your wife” jokes after which Richter dismembered Watson with a baseball bat.

Even though Watson showed the superior intellect on Jeopardy, the higher-than-thou voice needs to be retooled. I guess you can’t expect a great amount of social skills from a computer especially one programmed by a bunch of geeks who probably don’t themselves have an overabundance of social skills.

Perhaps giving Watson the voice of comedian Bobcat Goldthwait would have enlisted a bit more empathy towards the supercomputer with a chip on its shoulder (as well as many inside the box). The outside the box thinking by the IBM programmers has to be admired though. In addition, the willingness to put their money where their mouths are in such a public forum was an act of bravery.

But, I have to end this blog quickly now, as my laptop has just started talking back to me and I can’t let this go on too long. Heaven only knows what could happen next. I’m grabbing my baseball bat just in case.

Nanolasers on Silicon Chips Pave Pathway to Supercomputers

Future Computers Comments Off

Feb 142011

Quantum computing isn’t here yet as computers based upon silicon chips are still today’s standard. Bridging the pathway however may be nanolasers on silicon chips developed by researchers at UC Berkeley in Northern California.

The engineers at the university are using III-V materials to create LED’s and lasers. The process they are using is also scalable for mass production since similar technology is already being used to produce thin film solar cells and LED’s.

Nanolasers

With the use of nanotechnology the scientists are creating nanopillars upon the silicon chips to help quickly distribute the near infrared light. According to UC Berkeley, “Once the nanopillar was made, the researchers showed that it could generate near infrared laser light – a wavelength of about 950 nanometers – at room temperature. The hexagonal geometry dictated by the crystal structure of the nanopillars creates a new, efficient, light-trapping optical cavity. Light circulates up and down the structure in a helical fashion and amplifies via this optical feedback mechanism.

“The unique approach of growing nanolasers directly onto silicon could lead to highly efficient silicon photonics, the researchers said. They noted that the miniscule dimensions of the nanopillars – smaller than one wavelength on each side, in some cases – make it possible to pack them into small spaces with the added benefit of consuming very little energy.”

This breakthrough could create an optoelectronics revolution within the industry leading to disruptive technology not only in supercomputer and super-networking and super-telecommunications as well.

If you would like to see how future computers will change your life check out this page.

Future Airplane Pictures Images and Photos

Future Airplanes 4 Responses »

Feb 102011

This is a picture page of future airplanes. Of course future airplanes will come in many varieties from commercial to military to leisure aircraft. The pictures, photos and images on this page of future airplanes represent all three varieties.

The propulsion methods of these future planes will be of a great variety including JP-8 jet fuel mixtures especially with biofuels, hydrogen, hydrogen peroxide, plug-in battery electric hybrids, multi-fuel hybrids, magnetic energy, nuclear and those carrying plasma reactors.

This just gives a glimpse of what future airplanes will look like in the years ahead. Of course, there will be must development between now and 5, 10, 20 or 50 years in the future so we’ll just have to wait and see what the scientists and engineers of tomorrow offer.

NASA Supersonic Green Machine

This is a NASA concept supersonic aircraft that uses green fuel and is manufactured with little or no carbon footprint.

Future Commercial Travel

The concept behind these future planes is that the large one will circle the earth above many large cities and the smaller airplane will deplane the passengers in the sky then shuttle them to the airports saving time and fuel.

NASA Blended Wing Airplane Concept

The NASA Blended-Wing-Body aircraft concept co-developed with the help of UC Irvine, CA shows how design in the future will help reduce fuel consumption.

NASA Futuristic Planes

Now, this may be a stretch given current technology and a bit on the science fiction edge for some tastes, but this is what NASA is predicting are travel will look like within the next 50 years. Could happen.

Mars Airplane

To take NASA’s future vision one step farther, this is the depiction of what an airplane will look like on Mars. Of course, this most likely would be categorized as a spacecraft but they are calling it an airplane so I will do so as well.

These future airplane pictures, images and photos represent a small sample of what the years ahead have in store for us. The pictures of future airplanes are based upon current and emerging technology. This is not science fiction but rather projections and predictions based upon what we know today to be true.

For more detailed info see the future airplanes section of this website and see what is in store in just a few short years.

Credits: NASA, Boeing, UC Irvine

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