Tech News

In its early years, information theory was dominated by research on error-correcting codes: How do you encode information so as to guarantee its faithful transmission, even in the presence of the corrupting influences engineers call "noise"? Recently, one of the most intriguing developments in information theory has been a different kind of coding, called network coding, in which the question is how to encode information in order to maximize the capacity of a network as a whole. For information theorists, it was natural to ask how these two types of coding might be combined: If you want to both minimize error and maximize capacity, which kind of coding do you apply where, and when do you do the decoding?

The millions of "check-ins" generated by Foursquare, the location-based social networking site, can be used to create a dynamic view of a city's workings and character, researchers say. In contrast to static neighborhood boundaries and dated census figures, these "Livehoods" reflect the ever-changing patterns of city life.

Quest Software could give Dell the software boost it needs to diversify away from PCs.

The situation at HP is putting a nail in the coffin of webOS, effectively killing it off yet again.

Two Asian Android-based micro-PCs offer users an alternative to the British-designed project.

Researchers from MIT have developed a special coating that will help get that last drop of ketchup out of the bottle - and other technology news stories.

Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant. - Mitchell Kapor

I think it is inevitable that people program poorly. Training will not substantially help matters. We have to learn to live with it. - Alan Perlis