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Discusses the 21st Century Strategic Plan, a program of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) designed to manage its backlog of patent applications. Background on the backlog; Adoption of patent-handling techniques used by patent agencies in Europe.

This summer, a video game became available by prescription in the United States. This first-ever FDA-approved digital treatment builds on a tradition of gaming as a therapeutic tool that extends back more than a decade. Its game play gets good reviews, too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on issues and topics related to the management of medical information systems in the U.S. Efforts have long been undertaken to create a comprehensive system of electronic medical records. According to its supporters, the use of electronic systems to store and retrieve valuable medical records could save lives and cut health care costs. The endeavor is primarily a private sector effort that has the support of and some funding from the federal government. Once completed, it will replace paper-based files with a digital record containing the complete medical history of a patient.

The article focuses on the database problems of Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) which requires election officials in the U.S. to replace old paper-based voting machines with new electronic equipment. HAVA does not require the state to keep registrants off the rolls if the registration information and data of the voter is different from other data. Also, the study made by the Board of Elections in New York City found that 20 percent of the records failed to match due to typographical errors created by election officials. In March 2006, the Brennan Center for Justice published a study stating that the new HAVA-required databases holds the names of all registrants, however, mismatch problems were found on new voters and those who have changed their name and relocated.

The article provides an account on the history of the concept of memristor. Leon Chua, an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) fellow in the U.S., found a missing link in pairwise mathematical equations, which relate the circuit quantities such as charge, current, voltage and magnetic flux to one another. It is noted that his memristor was a mathematical construct that had more than one physical realization. He depicted mathematically that his hypothetical device would provide a relationship between flux and charge, similar to what a nonlinear resistor provides between voltage and current. INSET: Bow Ties.

The article discusses career path in academics. Academic tenures in the United States require combination of research, teaching and service in administrative committees. In getting tenure, most young professors get to know about writing research grant proposals, publishing conference papers and journals, teaching multiple courses, advising graduate students and joining school committees and organizations. Richard J. Radke of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York points out that the process can be very stressful and intimidating, but it offers flexibility and has its rewards.

Focuses on the controversy with regard to the implementation and enforcement of the United States Digital Millenium Copyright Act. Implications of the act for free inquiry and fair use of copyrighted materials; Challenge posed by a technical paper that circumvent copyright protection measures; Lawsuit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Last December, a glitch in the crew-scheduling system for American Airlines threatened to disrupt thousands of flights over the holiday season. The error allowed pilots to drop flights without requiring another pilot to cover for them, imperiling as many as 15,000 trips. And while the airline managed to spot the problem and staff the flights, the snafu was a reminder of how much we depend on computers to schedule the vast array of services and functions on which our societies have become completely dependent. All major airlines, for example, use sophisticated scheduling-optimization algorithms to assign crews to planes. And while the American Airlines incident was not caused directly by the failure of one of these algorithms, the end result was much the same. Such a failure would make it likely that hundreds of thousands of people would be stranded or seriously inconvenienced while the airline sought a solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on major developments in the history of Kodak camera and the company Eastman Kodak. Topics mentioned include the awarding of the U.S. Patent Number 388,850 for the Kodak camera on September 4, 1988, the introduction of safety film made of cellulose acetate in 1908, the sales success of the Kodak Instamatic in 1970, and the company's filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012.

The article reports on the release of the Climate Change Technology Strategic Program Plan by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE paper evaluates prospects for all relevant greenhouse-gas mitigation technologies and identifies the various sources of government support for development of the technologies. The climate technology plan represents the first time that federal spending on greenhouse-mitigation technology has been detailed and compiled into a complete plan. Stephen Eule, director of the DOE program, said that the plan is intended to fulfill U.S. President George W. Bush's goal to reduce greenhouse gas intensity. Representative Sherwood Boehlert stated that the plan provides thoughtful and comprehensive review of existing programs and of possible aims for the future.

In January 2012, Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, having succumbed to a digital revolution in photography that it had helped to start. But the company's managers still hoped to escape from bankruptcy and have another shot at greatness by selling part of a portfolio of patents that experts valued as high as US $4.5 billion. Eleven months later, those roughly 1700 patents (together with 655 patent applications) sold for just $94 million-less than the licensing fees Kodak had collected in its worstever year in recent history. What's more, the company licensed its remaining 20 000 patents to a dozen leading technology companies for only $433 million, severely restricting future earnings from them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hackers who unplugged 225,000 people from the Ukrainian electricity grid in December–the first confirmed cyber-takedown of a power system–have lent credence to calls by cybersecurity experts for greater vigilance by utilities. "It's really brought the whole thing to a head and made people aware that this isn't just chatter about the sky falling," says Eric Byres, a security consultant who commercialized one of the first firewalls for industrial control systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the development of various airborne laser weapons for the improvement of the U.S. military system. It mentions that the U.S. military aims to manifest laser weapons that can be use over long distant targets. It cites laser weapons including the airborne laser that exemplified 1 milli watts that can generate 10% efficiency, the tactical high energy laser (THEL) that generates 100 kilowatts class flowing gas laser, and joint high power solid state laser (JHPSSL).

The article focuses on the technological innovations of the U.S. army on laser weapons to improve military defense in their battle against insurgency. It states that lasers for fighter jets and for ship defense against attacks are needed by the U.S. Air Force and Navy. It notes that despite the 10% efficiency of laser weapons based on cynical observations, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency still created Airborne Laser (ABL). However, it asserts that solid-state lasers are more practical than ABL.

The article features the StarCAVE, a virtual reality enclosure of Mars at the University of California in San Diego, California. It mentions that the 360-degree panorama used five projectors to transform a room to view the basin of the large Gusev Crater, one of the images captured on Mars. It also relates that NASA gathered all the 1,400 pictures which was captured by the Mars Rover Spirit at a hill during the Martian winter in 2006 and stitched the images into a single 130-megapixel image.

The article provides information on the effectiveness of Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) format in providing channels for television (TV) users in the U.S. The ATSC's advertising campaign is asserting the TV users in the country to acquire signals through alternative signal equipment such as digital converter box and ATSC tuner. In addition, television users will also be needing new antennas for better display of TV programs. Meanwhile, some of TV users are complaining about their connections they obtained from their satellite and cable providers due to signal-related problems.

The article provides information on the construction plan of the Million-Server Data Centers by Internet companies in the U.S. The Internet companies include Amazon, Google Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Yahoo! Inc. The article cites the plan of Internet companies in constructing the state-of-the-art and advanced computer facilities in the U.S. The facilities will be the biggest Internet data centers in the planet. It will be featuring innovative several servers for various Internet applications. Moreover, the data centers will be countering cloud computing demand. The features of the data centers are presented.

The article reports that billions of dollars spent by U.S. government on defeating improvised explosive device (IED) in south of Baghdad, Iraq. It notes that Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) is emphasizing a holistic approach, incorporating such nontechnical aspects as training troops in countering IED tactics and technology and using law enforcement techniques, forensics, and intelligence to break the networks that build and deploy IEDs. According to the report, $2.57 billion from JIEDDO's from $4.38 billion budget were devoted to developing counter-IED technologies. The chart depicting the rate of attacks in Iraq from 2003 to 2008 is also presented.

FOR GENERATIONS, beef was the United States' dominant meat, followed by pork. When annual beef consumption peaked in 1976 at about 40 kilograms (boneless weight) per capita, it accounted for nearly half of all meat. Chicken had just a 20 percent share. But chicken caught up by 2010, and in 2018 chicken's share came to 36 percent of the total, nearly 20 percentage points higher than beef. The average American now eats 30 kg of boneless chicken every year, bought overwhelmingly as cut-up or processed parts (from boneless breast to Chicken McNuggets). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a guide to the acronyms and abbreviations used in the electronics industry in the U.S. According to experts, the vast majority of what we call acronyms are really another type of abbreviation. Technically, if an acronym is pronounceable as a word such as radar, which stands for radio detection and ranging, it can be classified as an initialism. Engineers, who tend to be adamant about technical standards and specifications, are pretty ambivalent about consistent capitalization, Thus end up with the indecisive VoIP, which stands for voice over Internet Protocol and QoS, which stands for quality of service.

Reports on how the U.S. Army new satellite-based tracking unit helped avert friendly fire and lift the fog of war in Iraq. Features of the global positioning system (GPS); Functions of GPS devices; Use of FBCB2 system for sending messages.

Suggests steps on how necessary changes should be made in order to improve the engineering aspects of the International Space Station. Need to establish that supporting human space exploration and not science is the primary priority of the space station; Requirement for astronaust to stay on board long enough to find out how to keep them sufficiently fit to explore Mars even after a long interplanetary exploration; Nee to finish the stations with enough crew members to accomplish some set goals. INSET: Chinese Competition?.

Reports on the final plan of the United States Department of Commerce to remove itself from the process of assigning numbers and domain names for the Internet. Controversy of some contents of its Green Paper proposal; Web site for those who wish to join a domain-name summit.

Reports on the US National Research Council's summary of the main conclusions of its reports on science and technology policies. Issues addressed at the papers; Information on the availability of the summaries.

Describes the involvement of industries in the United States (US) in school reforms. Information on the report titled `A Nation At Risk,' by the National Commission on Excellence in Education; US industries' usual style of contributing to a public school before `A Nation At Risk' was published; Discussion on business and school partnerships. INSET: Bringing technology to the classroom.

Provides information on the nuclear waste disposal in New Mexico and Nevada. Organization that introduced the idea of burying radioactive wastes; Areas considered as dumping sites for radioactive waste in the country; Shipping and packing of wastes. INSETS: Radiation basics.;Defining geological terms..

Provides information on the experiences of five Stanford University engineering students during their stay in start-up companies in Silicon Valley. Christopher Gori; Stephanie Hannon; Allison Hu; Benjamin Jun; Diana Yan Fu.

Provides information on the proposed United States ballistic missile defenses ranging from tiers of hit-to-kill missiles to novel laser weapons and satellites. Types of threats faced by the country and its allies; Methods available to protect U.S. forces; Basic ballistics; U.S. plans for Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD); Other approaches to BMD. INSETS: Treaty constraints and complaints.;Costs and competition..

Discusses the need for a full integration of electric power substation. Survey of substation automation by Newton-Evans Research Co.; Principal obstacle to greater interoperability; Integration of intelligent electronic devices. INSET: Standardizing interfaces and protocols..

Discusses the efforts to upgrade the United States air traffic control system. Technical enhancements to the terminal environment; Information on Center Tracon Automation System program; Global Positioning System (GPS)-based surveillance. INSETS: Defining terms.;Air traffic control upgrades around the world..

Discusses how the Internet and other communications technologies are changing the way financial markets operate. Role of the communication technologies in security trading; How trading is facilitated by electronic proprietary trading systems; Analysis on United States regulation on market structure.

Discusses the impact of introducing home banking in the United States. Three main models of electronic banking; How customers can benefit from Internet banks; How the network bank is protected from intruders.

Presents several technological changes in the telecommunication industry in the United States. Benefits of wireless local area networks; Information on high-speed digital data; Special problem posed by the Web; Plans of cable television providers regarding technological changes in the industry. INSETS: Viewpoint: Self-similarity upsets..., by William Stallings.;Viewpoint: Broadband ISDN..., by W. David Sincoskie.;Viewpoint: Price and quality..., by Gail Garfield..

Comments on the rejection by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the proposed merger between satellite television broadcasters EchoStar and DirecTV. Details of the proposed merger deal; Company background; Basis of the FCC for rejecting the merger deal; Implications for the satellite television industry.

Comments on the antitrust case of U.S.-based computer software firm, Microsoft Corp. Case background; Need of U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to rule on the validity of the agreement between Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Justice; Implications for the computer industry.

U.S. nuclear power plant operators are fighting a war on two fronts: Crashing prices for natural gas and accelerating market penetration of renewable energy have both contributed to dramatic drops in wholesale power price levels- in some states, they've fallen by more than two-thirds over the past decade. This has left nuclear power, whose operating costs are pretty much fixed, with few options other than surrender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on whether China could accelerate its progress in space flight and become the first people to go to Mars. It states that China might succeed in sending teams of astronauts to Mars and other space destinations if it departs from the top-down decision making that prevails. It compares China's space achievements and space program to U.S. and Russia and talks on the space mission Shenzhou 7 in September 2008. Details on the country's technology and future plan are also offered.

Discusses the importance for electric utilities in the United States (U.S.) to provide consumers with reliable, universal electric service priced at a reasonable rate. Effect of electric retail competition; Information on the electric industry restructuring in California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania; Risks faced by electricity consumers in a deregulated electricity market.

Opinion. Presents the author's view that the new means of financing and conducting research and development are urgently needed for power systems in United States. Emerging energy technologies; Prospect of electric power system innovations; Event which caused the emergence of Electric Power Research Institute.

Death by spinach : They're not words you'd expect to read in an obituary. Yet in 2006, five Americans died and more than 200 others fell ill from eating the salad greens, which were contaminated with a virulent strain of E. coli bacteria [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the development of an optical-data transfer system or bus which is built right to the circuit board by International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) in the U.S. It discusses the role of optical interconnects in supercomputing which will unveil faster computer systems. Also, the development of optochips which shoots data through optical interconnects at the speed of light enables scientists to visualize things such as how climate change react to greenhouse gases.

This article discusses the announcement by "Wired News" copy chief Tony Long that his publication would henceforth use "internet" instead of "Internet." Editors across the United States argued that the Internet is a distinct entity and as such deserved its initial cap as a reward. The Internet seems like something pretty important, and important things need to be recognized as such. One way that is done in the English language is to capitalize the first letter. People are becoming more used to the Internet's existence, but it still seems different. The Internet is a specific, human-made thing with a unique place in our world.

Focuses on a legislation considered by the United States (U.S.) Congress that would extend law enforcement's electronic surveillance powers through the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's DCS1000 installations. Objective of the legislation; Reason for law enforcement's interest in e-mail headers.

Focuses on the digital watermarking technology developed by Edward W. Felden and his colleagues from Princeton and Rice Universities for the recording industry in the United States. Function of the digital watermarks; Provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; Actions taken by the Secure Digital Music Initiative against the digital watermarking technology.