Computer Science

Personal computers in enterprise environments save energy and money by "sleep-working", thanks to new software called SleepServer created by computer scientists from the University of California, San Diego. Sleep-working enterprise PCs are accessible via remote connections and maintain their presence on voice over IP, instant messaging, and peer-to-peer networks even though the PCs are in low-power sleep mode. SleepServer can reduce energy consumption on enterprise PCs previously running 24/7 by an average of 60 percent,...

From its heyday in the 1950s to its current resurgence, 3-D technology has gone from a cinematic gimmick to a box-office gold mine. James Cameron’s Avatar, heralded for its creation of a three-dimensional fantasy world, is now the highest grossing movie ever. It seems audiences are keen on three-dimensional media productions, but do they really like it better than 2-D, and what do they like about it? According to one Ryerson University researcher, the truth behind...

Whether it's an exploding fireball in Star Wars: Episode 3, a swirling maelstrom in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, or beguiling rats turning out gourmet food in Ratatouille, computer-generated effects have opened a whole new world of enchantment in cinema. All such effects are ultimately grounded in mathematics, which provides a critical translation from the physical world to computer simulations. The use of mathematics in cinematic special effects is described in the article Crashing...

Yep, one day you too might be able to own a device with its electronic display sprayed atop it like tech-in-a-can. Bend it, fold it, jiggle it ... makes for a much more sturdy product with a lower cost. A multidisciplinary research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has found that an organic semiconductor may be a viable candidate for creating large-area electronics, such as solar cells and displays that can be...

As schools gear up for statewide testing of mathematics skills this spring, some students will be helping to fine-tune a computer-based, emotionally perceptive math tutoring software developed by University of Massachusetts Amherst computer scientist Beverly Woolf, Ivon Arroyo and colleagues, which can help certain students improve standardized test scores. Yes, because the girls WANT the computer program to UNDERSTAND why they just don't understand. It needs to feel their pain...so they can cry together...sniff.

Building microscopic materials known as superlattices on the surface of gold may lead to a treasure for researchers interested in faster, smaller, and more energy efficient computing devices, say researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). Dr. Jay A. Switzer and his colleagues at Missouri S&T report in the Journal of the American Chemical Society that they have constructed a type of superlattice that shows "unique low-to-high and high-to-low resistance switching that may...