All Blog Posts from Tech Talk

On January 20th, President Obama introduced Whitehouse.gov 3.0 (Clinton and Bush had their versions too) and this week UK's Queen Elizabeth is launching a new version of The Official Web Site of the British Monarchy.

I'm not exactly a monarchist but I must admit getting just a little excited about all the pomp and tradition of the royal family. The site, which was first launched in 1997, is the place for all things British royal including pictures of Her Majesty and the rest of the family, art from her various palaces and historical information about the Royals.

New to the site are embedded videos from the official Royal YouTube Channel including one from 1940 that has the sound of young "Princess Elizabeth" speaking on the BBC Children's hour. Other videos cover the coronation of the queen and some show her recent activities.

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Breaking news in the video game world: BioWare, part of Electronic Arts, announced details today on an upcoming massively multiplayer online game based on the "Knights of the Old Republic" (KotOR) title called "Star Wars: The Old Republic." From the BioWare press release: "...players will explore an age thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader when war between the Old Republic and the Sith Empire divides the galaxy. Players can choose to play as Jedi, Sith, or a variety of other classic Star Wars roles, defining their personal story and determining their path down the light or dark side of the Force."

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They're nature's ultimate tough guys; amphibians -- like frogs and salamanders -- have survived for millions of years and even through multiple mass extinctions. But scientists at University of California, Berkeley, and San Francisco State University, say they're seeing frogs die off at an alarming rate, which they believe is sending a clear message about the severity of our climate change and global warming. In other words, in their estimation, because amphibians have endured so much in the past, what's happening now with their declining populations is like the canary in the environmental coal mine.

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Fans of the "Harry Potter" series, "Trekkers," and those who remember Wonder Woman's preferred mode of travel all know the benefits of invisibility. And while real science has lagged behind Hollywood for many years this week a team of researchers at the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center at the University of California, Berkeley, announced they had made a breakthrough when it comes to making three-dimensional objects "invisible."

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Working late tonight as we finish a segment for tomorrow's Early Show. The story is pretty alarming, especially for people with a certain type of epilepsy. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, within the last two weeks hackers broke into its site and planted flashing pornographic images and patterns on some message boards that were clearly designed to trigger headaches or seizures with people who have photosensitive epilepsy. It's a type of epilepsy experienced by about 3-5% of people with the condition. And it may be the first computer attack solely designed to cause physical harm.

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Ingenious. That’s probably the best word to describe computer programmer John Breen. He’s the man behind Freerice.com, a new Web site with a unique, two-pronged approach to tackling literacy and world hunger. A lofty-sounding goal, I know. But Breen is determined to make it happen, one click at a time.

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For many affected by the devastating tragedy in Blacksburg, VA, the Web has become a place to express grief, anger and support.
The virtual world allows students and families to come together no matter where they are in the country or the world, sharing their emotions and thoughts for loved ones. Others are frantically trying to confirm their friends are OK. Sites like Facebook have memorials and tributes, providing a release for some and a chance to reach out to the Virginia Tech community and beyond. One student, Chris, wrote: "Today we are all Hokies," a reference to the Virginia Tech mascot.

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