T
ake out your tinfoil hats. MIT Assistant Professor Marin
Soljacic’s research into wireless energy transfer bor-
rows a page from Nikola Tesla’s playbook—minus the giant
Command and Conquer –style tower.
While energy can already be transmitted through space,
the waves dissipate as the distance between the two points
increases. Soljacic’s solution is fairly simple in its design:
When an antenna emits electromagnetic waves by resonat-
ing at a particular frequency, any other antennas that reso-
nate at a similar frequency will pick up the electricity.
The transfer range currently hovers around three-to-
fi ve meters, but if you’re a cord-hater, that’s all the space
in the world.MIND YOUR MATTER
In December,
Berkeley, CA became
the first city to
adopt an ordinance
regulating work with
nanomaterials. It’s
a risky move, as it
could make Berkeley
less attractive to the
growing nanotech-
nology sector. But the city council felt it
was more important to guard against the
potential health hazards posed by the
microscopic particles and fibers if inhaled
or exposed to the skin. (Sim Bella Goth
approved of the action, stating, “Cherrah
frow shoolooma prash!”)OOH LA LINUX
The French parliament is saying au
revoir to Windows. Beginning June 2007,
the government insti-
tution’s 1,154 worksta-
tions will be running
Linux, the OpenOffice.
org productivity suite,
the Firefox web brows-
er, and an open-source
email client.THE LARGE AND
SMALL OF IT
Toshiba has announced plans to start
mass producing 1.8-inch drives that hold
100GB of data, a significant leap over the
80GB maximum of today’s portable drives.
The tiny drives won’t be sold directly to
consumers but are sure to appear in the
next generation of handheld music and
media players, so don’t buy that new iPod
just yet.THE BLAME GAME
German lawmakers are calling for a ban
on all violent video games (as well as
aggressive offline activities such as paint-
ball and laser tag) after an 18-year-old
open fired on students and teachers at
his former secondary school. Many were
injured in the attack, but only the shooter
was killed, by a self-inflicted gunshot
wound. His known fondness for violent
computer games and simulated war
games is what has officials calling for
the crackdown.Making Friends FUNSIZENEWS
and Influencing
People—Online
Edition
The 2007 Digital Future
Report, part of the USC
Annenberg School’s ongoing
study of Americans’ online
use, shows the Internet is
having an increasing impact
on social engagement.
Key fi ndings include:43 percent of Internet users
who are members of online
communities say they feel as
strongly about their virtual
community as they do about
their real-world community.56.6 percent of members
of online communities log in
to their community at least
once a day.70.4 percent of online
community members say they
sometimes or always interact
with other members of their
community while logged in.20.3 percent of online
community members take
actions offl ine at least once a
year that are related to their
online community.64.9 percent of community
members say they are involved
in causes that were new to
them when they began partici-
pating on the Internet.40 percent of online com-
munity members say they par-
ticipate more in social activism
since they started participating
in online communities.Internet users report hav-
ing met an average of 4.
friends online whom they have
never met in person.Internet users report an
average of 1.6 friends met in
person whom they originally
met online—more than double
the number when the Digital
Future Project began in 2000.Wireless Power on the Way
Google Earth around the Globe
How the mapping app’s satellite imagery can make a
difference, or notA
Bahraini businessman is hoping Google Earth can bring
about social change in his country. Via his popular blog,
http://mahmood.tv , Mahmood Al-Yasif is exposing his fellow
citizens to overhead views of Bahrain, which illustrate the
royal family’s vast land holdings—much of which were once
public property—in relation to the cramped villages of the
poor majority.
Indians in the Brazilian Amazon are using Google’s
mapping program to remotely monitor their ancestral lands,
which have become prey to illegal gold miners.
Even U.S. President George Bush is known to use “the
Google” in the course of governance: “I kinda like to look at
the ranch. It reminds me of where I wanna be sometimes.”quick start THE BEGINNING OF THE MAGAZINE, WHERE ARTICLES ARE SMALL
Satellite images of the Amazon can reveal
areas of river-water discoloration—often a
sign of nearby mining activity.12 MAXIMUMPC FEBRUARY 2007