The Atlantic goes full speed ahead on digital, internet – gives up on print, magazines

Only a few print magazines understand the internet – and The Atlantic is one of them. Now in their third year of profit, after spending a decade losing millions, the magazine is ready to expand. And the next step is to let the print magazine die and expand with more websites. From the N.Y. Times: “It’s …

Pocket microscope – turn a cellphone into a microscope for $10

The #1 innovation of 2011 – the pocket microscope – is a marvel of the cellphone age. For $10 a phone can be turned into a laboratory and offer poor areas – with no hospital – access to sophisticated medical tests. From The Scientist: Diagnosing malaria or other blood-borne illnesses used to require analyzing cell slides under …

To build the artificial river for the Olympics, designers used large lego-like blocks

Did you have a chance to see the white water sports at the Olympics, like kayaking and canoeing? If so, you probably noticed that the entire venue was artificial. The Lee Valley White Water Centre in the north of London was created out of a vast expanse of flat land. The designers, including a firm …

ARPA-E – a new federal agency created to fund research of promising, but unproven, energy technologies

ARPA-E: A Good Beginning for U.S. Energy Innovation By Bill Gates Clean energy and innovation are two areas that I’m passionate about, so I’ve been looking forward to investigating some interesting new energy technologies at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit this week. ARPA-E is a new federal agency—the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy—created in 2009 to fund …

The Innovation Whiteboard – get your idea published in the New York Times

What innovations have you made in your daily life? Whether it’s a gadget you’ve fashioned, or something less tangible, we want to hear about it. Your submissions will be published on nytimes.com and may be featured in the New York Times Magazine if our judges — Martha Stewart, James Dyson, Paola Antonelli and Ben Kaufman …

United Nations has gone mobile – so many apps for world peace and development

The United Nations has gone mobile…in a big way. In just a few clicks I found more than 10 iPhone apps covering everything from news to statistics to global photos. Plus, a very cool short video about the apps from Jess3:   I’ve just downloaded all these apps and haven’t yet played with them, so …

“Everything is connected” – Ban Ki-moon urges the developed world to innovate sustainably

Speaking at Davos this year: The Secretary General of the UN has told industrial leaders they have a social and moral duty to innovate, in the drive to turn around the global financial crisis. Ban Ki-moon said that many countries were calling for the economy to be revitalised, social inequality to be addressed and the …

"Everything is connected" – Ban Ki-moon urges the developed world to innovate sustainably

Speaking at Davos this year: The Secretary General of the UN has told industrial leaders they have a social and moral duty to innovate, in the drive to turn around the global financial crisis. Ban Ki-moon said that many countries were calling for the economy to be revitalised, social inequality to be addressed and the …

And the Oscar goes to…Researchers, computer scientists, and photographers

Just a few days ago the Academy Awards for Scientific and Technical Achievements were announced. The 8 awards go to a wide range of professionals in areas such as computer software, high-speed cameras, aerial cameras, and laser film preservation. In many ways these descriptions are beyond our understanding, but they do, at the very least, …

The Steve Jobs washing machine from Miele – innovator approved!

In the biography of Steve Jobs from Walter Isaacson, a few pages are dedicated to Steve’s habits at home. One of them was the desire to discuss and research every decision to make sure it was perfect. This happened on everything ranging from baby names to the type of washing machine they use. When they …