Technology, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 31, 2008

Video Game Violence Not Why Most Play

Contrary to popular belief, violence does not make video games more enjoyable, a new study suggests. For many game players, gore actually detracts from the experience, decreasing players' interest and desire to purchase a game, the scientists conclude. For the vast majority of players, even those who regularly play and...

Dec 31, 2008

New RoboCop Operated by Cell Phone

Paul Blart, step aside. The fat, bungling mall cop may succeed in Hollywood, going after bad guys on his oh-so-yesterday Segway. But in real life the future of mall enforcement could lie with a new robotic cop that can be operated remotely from a cell phone and can — it's...

Dec 31, 2008

Lies Take Longer Than Truths

A new technique that separates truth from lies finds it takes about 30 percent longer to fib. The computer-based analysis, reported in The Times of London, showed that British test subjects took 1.2 seconds on average to speak reality in recent tests, while prevarications took 1.8 seconds. The timed antagonistic...

Dec 31, 2008

Who Says Green Can't Be Mean?

It generates an incredible 1,000 horsepower. Goes zero to 60 mph in a hair-raising 2.5 seconds. Top speed is 208 mph. Now hold on to your seat for the real news: The Ultimate Aero EV is electric. Manufacturer Shelby SuperCars aims for it to be the world's fastest electric car...

Oct 31, 2010

New Airplane Design Mimics a Seagull

An attempt to redesign the airplane resulted in a surprising craft, one that mimicked a familiar, if much smaller, flyer: a seagull. In a bid to increase the energy efficiency of the familiar tube-with-wings architecture, Joachim Huyssen, of Northwest University in South Africa, began by thinking about the basic principles...

Aug 31, 2010

How Is Crowd Size Estimated?

Reports of the number of people who attended Glenn Beck's Aug. 28 rally have varied wildly – from 78,000 to 800,000 people. How is crowd size estimated – and who does the counting? For large outdoor events, whether they're political gatherings, benefit marathons or just massive crowds watching firework displays...

May 31, 2010

Why Do Computers Crash?

It turns out that humans are to blame for computer crashes. These involuntary shutdowns typically result from glitches in software code written by human programmers. This code can contain many, many bugs, and these bugs can manifest themselves every now and then to cause program crashes, said Junfeng Yang, professor...

Apr 30, 2010

Was the Stock Market Drop A Human Error or a Computer Error?

The Dow Jones had a wild ride on Thursday, dropping almost 1,000 points before starting to rally back. Although human error caused the drop, it exposed problems in a computer program that was used to make a trade, and in the entire computer trading system at large. The drop began...

Mar 31, 2010

Crowds Wait to be First in Country to Buy iPad

NEW YORK CITY – Hundreds of people descended on New York’s flagship Apple store here on Fifth Avenue early Saturday morning, eager to get their hands on the brand new iPad tablet computer. Excited shoppers waited in line in the crisp morning temperature for the store to open at 9...

Mar 31, 2010

13 Glaring iPad Shortcomings

The iPad shows great promise. It's thin and sleek and not like any other gadget out there. It was also more hyped than any new device in recent memory. But is it worth buying? Given the cost, and a slew of drawbacks, the answer boils down to how much you're...

Mar 31, 2010

TSA: iPad, Netbooks Can Remain in Carry-On

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has confirmed a screening policy in the wake of the iPad release that will make airport security screening easier for many people. The TSA will allow passengers to leave netbooks, e-book readers such as Amazon's Kindle, and other small gadgets in their carry-on bags when...

Mar 31, 2010

How Does The Government Design New Currency?

This morning the Treasury Department unveiled its new $100 bill, which incorporates the latest in anti-counterfeiting technology. The bill also sports some of the most detailed art ever to appear on U.S. currency. Altogether, the note represents 14 years of work by the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, and the...

Mar 31, 2010

Why Does It Say 'In God We Trust' on Our Money?

The words In God We Trust, a controversial phrase that some argue should be kept off of our currency, has appeared on all forms of U.S. money since 1963, although the history behind the motto dates back much further. In 1861, Rev. M. R. Watkinson, a Pennsylvania minister, wrote to...

Mar 31, 2010

What to Do After You've Lost Your Cell Phone

Losing a cell phone can be devastating, especially if you haven't taken steps to prepare for the loss like backing up the data in your phone. But the after effects can be even worse. Much like losing a credit card, losing a phone can result in unauthorized charges and even...

Mar 31, 2010

McAfee Offers to Pay for PC Repairs After Bad Update

Antivirus software maker McAfee says it will reimburse reasonable expenses associated with a bad update last Wednesday that crashed computers worldwide. The reimbursement will be offered to impacted home or home office customers who have incurred costs to repair PCs as a result of the security update issue, McAfee said...