Trend News

Today's Vision of Tomorrow: Tiny Robots Doing Your House Chores BY Kit EatonFri Feb 12, 2010 Forget the robocalypse: Remember the robot-laden utopian home of the future, as portrayed in the Jetsons and a thousand sci-fi shows? It's on its way, and surprisingly soon you'll find many a household task in the hands (claws?) of a robot. At CES this year, Evolution Robotics wowed many a person in the crowd with its unbelievable cute little Mint robot. This diminutive machine, which is now available on pre-order, takes a leaf out of the Roomba's product manual, but instead of zig-zagging its way across your apartment's floors vacuuming-up crud, the Mint is actually a sweeperbot. And it's built around simplicity: There are only three buttons on the thing, and all you have to do to kick it off is stick either a new wet or dry Swiffer pad on its bottom and select the corresponding mode by button. Despite its simple UI, it's got inertial measurement systems,...

Highlights from TED 2010, Friday: "Using nuclear waste to power next generation's reactors" By Mark Frauenfelder at 5:02 PM February 12, 2010 Here's my round up of highlights from the second day of the TED 2010 presentations. I especially enjoyed Bill Gates' talk about a zero-carbon future, and Temple Grandin's talk about the valuable contributions autistic people make. (Here's Thursday's round up. Here's Wednesday's round up) Bill Gates at TED2010, Session 8, "Boldness," Friday, February 12, 2010, in Long Beach, California. Credit: TED / James Duncan Davidson Bill Gates said a changing climate is especially bad for developing nations, mainly because it hurts crop yields. Temperature increase has effects on weather, ecosystems can't adjust and collapse. There is uncertainty about how bad the effects of increases in atmospheric CO2 are but they will be bad. Until we get to near zero, the temperature will go up. "W...

Jamie Oliver is transforming the way we feed ourselves, and our children. Jamie Oliver has been drawn to the kitchen since he was a child working in his father's pub-restaurant. He showed not only a precocious culinary talent but also a passion for creating (and talking about) fresh, honest, delicious food. In the past decade, the shaggy-haired "Naked Chef" of late-'90s BBC2 has built a worldwide media conglomerate of TV shows, books, cookware and magazines, all based on a formula of simple, unpretentious food that invites everyone to get busy in the kitchen. And as much as his cooking is generous, so is his business model -- his Fifteen Foundation, for instance, trains young chefs from challenged backgrounds to run four of his restaurants. Now, Oliver is using his fame and charm to bring attention to the changes that Brits and Americans need to make in their lifestyles and diet. Campaigns such as Jamie's School Dinner, Ministry of Food and Food Revolution USA c...

http://www1.voanews.com/zimbabwe/news/special-reports/71595102.html