The robot that reads your mind to train itself
Posted by Shaimaa Gamal
Rajesh Rao is a man who believes that the best type of robotic helper is one who can read your mind.
In fact, he's more than just an advocate of mind-controlled robots; he believes in training them through the power of thought alone.
His team at the Neural Systems Laboratory, University of Washington, hopes to take brain-computer interface (BCI) technology to the next level by attempting to teach robots new skills directly via brain signals.
Robotic surrogates that offer paralyzed people the freedom to explore their environment, manipulate objects or simply fetch things has been the holy grail of BCI research for a long time.
Vodafone given $2.5bn Indian tax bill deadline
Posted by Randa Fathy
Indian tax authorities have given Vodafone 30 days to pay a 112bn rupee ($2.5bn, £1.6bn) tax bill, as part of an ongoing tax dispute.
The formal demand relates to the mobile phone company's 2007 purchase of the Indian telephone assets of Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa.
Vodafone will appeal against the tax at the Indian supreme court on Monday.
The firm says the $11bn transaction was exempt from tax because it took place between two offshore entities.
Apple will no longer pre-install Flash on Macs
Posted by Shaimaa Gamal
Apple Inc said on Friday it will no longer ship Mac computers with Adobe Systems Inc's Flash player pre-installed, as the company continues to erect barriers to the software.
Apple's decision does not ban Flash software from its computers -- as it has from the iPhone and iPad. Users will still be able to download and install a Flash player, which is widely-used to view videos on the Web.
Apple has been publicly hostile toward Flash and Steve Jobs has criticized it as a buggy battery hog. Adobe has responded by calling Apple overly restrictive.
Skype and KDDI partner in Japan
Posted by Khaled Ali
Japanese cellphone operator KDDI Corp and internet telephone company Skype said on Sunday they would partner to bring Skype's services to KDDI's customers, starting with its mobile offerings.
IBM 3rd-quarter seen strong, helped by new mainframe
Posted by Shaimaa Gamal
A new mainframe computer and a recovery in global tech spending likely buoyed International Business Machines Corp's third quarter, giving its shares room to rise.
The shares climbed to record levels this week, but a stronger outlook, particularly in IT services, could nudge them even higher, analysts and investors said.
