CNET News - Cutting Edge

'60 Minutes' video: Tech that reads your mind

CBS Interactive staff — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:45:38 GMT

Editor's note: This is a transcript of a segment of 60 Minutes that aired Sunday. You can also view the video directly using the embedded player.

How often have you wondered what ...

Obama considers linking Defense Dept. with NASA

Jennifer Guevin — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 22:14:32 GMT

This is an artist's rendition of Ares I in the assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center. Ares I is a two-stage rocket configuration topped by the Orion crew vehicle and its launch abort system. It is designed to carry crews of four to six astronauts and has ...

A computer revolution through a child's eyes

Stephen Shankland — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:00 GMT

I have proof from an expert that the iPhone interface really is better. Who's the expert? My 3-year-old son.

Over the years, I've seen countless newbies struggle to use the latest gadget, computer, or software. I like new technology, but it's been work hauling myself up learning ...

What good are Steve Jobs and Bill Gates without Josh Silver?

Chris Matyszczyk — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:05:00 GMT

So this is Christmas. A time that we all take our gifts for granted. iPods, laptops, Wiis and other manifestations of our comfortably numb self-indulgence.

While Josh Silver, a retired physics professor from Oxford University, tries to find a way for the world's poor to see as clearly as ...

Prototype goes 'see-through' with touch screen

Steven Musil — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 04:20:00 GMT

There may finally be a compromise between the world of ever-shrinking electronic devices and our ever-expanding fingers.

A prototype device called the NanoTouch features a 2.4-inch screen and a touch-sensitive pad of the same size on the back, according to a video demonstration on NewScientist.

Using the touch pad ...

Survey: Keyboards, DRM to become scarce in 2012

Declan McCullagh — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 03:00:00 GMT

Step aside, keyboards, laptops, and 9-to-5 jobs. A survey of more than 1,000 Internet activists, journalists, and technologists released Sunday speculates that by 2012, those quaint relics of 20th century life will fade away.

It's not a formal survey of the sort that, say, political pollsters use. Nor ...

Photos: The damage that halted the LHC

Tom Espiner — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:04:00 GMT

On Friday, the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) released photos of damage to the Large Hadron Collider, CERN's flagship particle accelerator. The particle accelerator was damaged by a liquid helium leak in September, nine days into an experiment to test fundamental theories of physics ...

Next-gen Mars rover mission delayed until 2011

Steven Musil — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:30:00 GMT

NASA will delay the launch of the next-generation Mars rover two years due to technical difficulties and cost overruns.

The mission, which was originally scheduled for late next year, is now slated for 2011, officials said Thursday, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. ...

Lunar satellite mission on track for 2014 launch

Natasha Lomas — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:41:00 GMT

A United Kingdom-led mission to put a satellite in orbit around the moon, potentially enabling lunar colonists to use mobile phones to communicate with each other, has inched a step closer to blastoff.

The British National Space Centre has announced that it will undertake a technical-feasibility study of the MoonLITE, or Moon Lightweight Interior and Telecom Experiment, mission, ...

Ta ta, Tesla

Jon Oltsik — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:20:00 GMT

Tesla Motors, a start-up focused on high-performance electric cars, appears to be in a bit of trouble.

Although Tesla just raised an additional $40 million, it is asking for $400 million in low-interest loans from the federal government as part of the $25 billion ...