DNA analysis can generate a picture of your face – unless you’ve been punched in the face

In the future, we will all need to be punched in the face. And not because people in the future are really annoying. From Dvice: The physical structure of your body is defined almost entirely by your genes. There will be some variation, of course, depending on your age, your weight, how well you take …

A Labor Day Question: Will You Be Living Your Passion At 80 Years?

This weekend, I experienced the mellifluous genius of John Williams conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl through a series of scores he has composed over his fifty-plus year career. The man responsible for creating the iconic themes to Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter (the list …

New sci-fi movie from M. Night Shyamalan starring Will Smith and son – After Earth

It wasn’t enough for M. Night Shyamalan and Will Smith to create a sci-fi film. For After Earth, they patterned an entirely new world history (or at least paid some really geeky people to do it for them). The film is set 1,000 years in the future, and most of mankind has moved on to …

Japanese government begins plans for driverless driving by 2020

Japan’s Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry will soon embark on a project to realize an “autopilot system” for automatic driving, a system for guiding motor vehicles on expressways without human assistance. The system is expected to contribute significantly to such goals as alleviating drivers’ fatigue, preventing road accidents and easing traffic congestion. It would be for vehicles …

White House creates – U.S. Ignite program – to make internet 90% cheaper and start building gigabit networks

The President is set to sign an executive order today (June 13, 2012) that aims to cut the cost of broadband construction across federal roadways and properties by up to 90 percent. The White House is also is looking to improve “next-generation applications and (the) digital experience,” running on networks that are a heady 100 …

Yellowstone – new government petascale supercomputer – to attack chaos theory in climate change

This month, on a barren Wyoming landscape dotted with gopher holes and hay bales, the federal government is assembling a supercomputer 10 years in the making, one of the fastest computers ever built and the largest ever devoted to the study of atmospheric science. The National Center for Atmospheric Research’s supercomputer has been dubbed Yellowstone, …

Email in any language – auto-translate now available in Gmail

Did you ever dream about a future where your communications device could transcend language with ease? Well, that day is a lot closer. Over the next few days, everyone who uses Gmail will be getting the convenience of translation added to their email. The next time you receive a message in a language other than …

Get notified when Google Maps updates the satellite imagery for your house

“Love this tip from +Jake Parrillo – I had no idea you could get notified when there was new satellite imagery for your house. Living in the future is pretty great.” – Rick Klau   The full story from Jake: Last night, I received an email from the “Follow Your World” application of Google Maps that alerted …

Trailer for Ridley Scott’s new movie, Prometheus – released as a TED Talk

TED Talk from the future – as envisioned by Prometheus director Ridley Scott “If you will indulge me…I’d like to change the world.”   In the year 2023 Peter Weyland will make a speech in Tokyo about how humanity has become the new gods, with the power to create artificial life that looks like a …