Technology Tuesday: April 3rd
Welcome to Technology Tuesday! Every week The Job Shop Blog will bring you our 5 top science and technology news stories from around the web.
This week: Autonomous robot bees, super local broadband access, video games as museums, a newly discovered human organ, and decentralizing the cloud.
WALMART FILES PATENT FOR AUTONOMOUS POLLINATION DRONES
Walmart has just filed a patent for autonomous, robot bees. Yes, that Walmart — and no, you didn’t slip into another, stranger dimension. The mega-corporation’s patent specifically covers “pollination drones.” These tiny robots could act just like bees, pollinating crops autonomously.
The robot bees would operate using sensors and cameras to help them navigate to crops. Flying around autonomously, these drones could potentially pollinate as effectively as the real thing
THE ACLU WANTS LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO PROVIDE PUBLIC BROADBAND
Water, electricity, internet: Three things that Americans can increasingly not live without.
Recently, though, that last item has seemed under threat. Earlier this year the FCC repealed net neutrality, allowing U.S. internet service providers (ISPs) to control the price of broadband speed and threatening equal access to information, education and other essential online services.
The battle may seem lost. But the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has a plan to fight back
ASSASSIN’S CREED MAY HAVE JUST CREATED THE FUTURE OF MUSEUMS
A crimson red sun peeks out behind the pyramids of Giza. You’re standing in the middle of an ancient bazaar, that is suddenly shrouded in the glowing particles of a fierce sandstorm. A young girl grabs your hand, pulling you towards a tall overhang made of giant slabs of limestone.
This is what it’s like to play one of Ubisoft’s blockbuster Assassin’s Creed games. There’s staggering attention to detail, loyalty to historical accuracy, plus a dash of creative freedom. Ubisoft’s development team has been reconstructing ancient worlds — from Italy’s 15th century Renaissance to the Ptolemaic period of ancient Egypt — since 2007.
THIS PREVIOUSLY UNDISCOVERED ORGAN IN YOUR BODY COULD EXPLAIN HOW CANCER SPREADS
Ever heard of the interstitium?
No? That’s OK, you’re not alone — scientists hadn’t either. Until recently.
And, hey, guess what — you’ve got one! The interstitium is your newest organ. Scientists identified it for the first time because they are better able to observe living tissues at a microscopic scale, according to a recent study published in Scientific Reports,
THIS STARTUP IS TRYING TO DECENTRALIZE THE CLOUD
The history of cloud computing is unfolding before our eyes. Advances in cloud computing have already changed the way we live, work, and play, and the global cloud computing market is growing at a rapid pace. Experts estimate that in 2018, more than half of all global enterprises will have adopted cloud services, unlocking even more possibilities for consumers.
People across the world have widely benefited from advances in cloud computing. New and efficient ways of sharing, collaborating, and storing data has made it easy for people to get their job done no matter where they are—whether it’s editing a document from an airplane or making notes on a spreadsheet from the kitchen. They are no longer tethered to their desk on a 9-to-5 schedule. Instead, innovative ideas can easily come in from around the globe, around the clock. We’re turning to our devices to do things we never thought possible even a decade ago: Logging on to social networks, grocery shopping, watching movies, managing bills, getting prescriptions.