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Study: iPads improve Kindergarten literacy scores
Apple is pushing for iPad use in education, and several schools have taken up the charge. Now, a study of kindergarteners in Auburn, Maine has shown that students who use iPads score better in every literacy test than those who don't. The study focused on 266 children whose instruction featured the iPad. Those who used the device scored higher on the literacy tests, were more interested in learning and excited to be there. There are caveats to these results. Many schools don't have the budget to distribute iPads to all of their students (Apple has education programs, however, and third-party programs are getting better all the time). Additionally, the students' excitement could be attributed to access to an iPad. When I was a kid, our school boasted brand new Apple IIes, which fostered a lifetime's worth of interest in computers, technology, and the written word for me. But that's likely because they played Oregon Trail and Prince of Persia. Still, the iPad can be a powerful tool for learning and comprehension, especially for literacy. Interactivity can make for a very engaging experience, definitely at a young age. It's reat to see these kindergarteners doing better in school no matter what the reason, and hopefully we'll hear more stories of Apple's technology benefiting students.
Study: Just over half of Japanese developers turn a profit
The last couple of years have been tough on Japanese game developers, according to a recently released study (PDF). The study, compiled by one Mirko Ernkvist, used consolidated financial data and revealed that just over half of Japanese developers actually manage to turn a profit. Specifically, in the last reported fiscal year for Japanese developers, 54.8 percent of companies reported a positive profit.Obviously, that means that nearly half of developers either broke even or saw a financial loss. The study attributes these issues to a decrease in both domestic and international demand, increasing production costs and other factors like a strong Japanese Yen and "unfavorable demographic development in Japan and the challenging development of domestic consumption."The data collected refers mostly to larger, publicly held companies, while financial data regarding smaller studios is harder to come by. Still, the study paints something of a bleak picture. With several Japan-focused panels planned for GDC next month -- notably a panel with Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune -- you can bet we'll be hearing plenty about how Japanese developers plan to reinvigorate their industry.
Yale Physicists develop quantum computing error correction, are a qubit pleased with themselves
We're big fans of quantum computing, and hopefully it's about to get a lot more reliable. Researchers at Yale have demonstrated quantum error correction in a solid state system for the first time. Quantum bits were created from "artificial" atoms using superconducting circuits, these qubits are then given either of the typical bit states of "1" or "0," or the quantum state of both simultaneously. The researchers developed a technique that identifies each qubit's initial state, so any erroneous changes can be reversed on the fly. Until now, errors have been a barrier in quantum computing, accumulating and ultimately causing computational failure. A reliable means of fixing these state changes is essential to developing a computer with an exponential speed-up, and fully realizing the quantum dream. The team at Yale hopes that this research might mean its platform of superconducting circuits becomes the one upon which quantum computing is ultimately built. We, on the other hand, just want our parallel universe.
Online gaming linked with marital dissatisfaction
Good news, gamers! You can now blame another dysfunction (if you have it, and I'm sure you don't) on the games you play! It's not enough that those nasty ol' video games are making you violent and antisocial -- a new survey put out by Brigham Young University is linking online gaming with a decrease in marital satisfaction. The survey states that "gaming widows," whose spouses neglect them to focus on gaming, are dissatisfied with the states of their marriage. How that differs from corporate widows, football widows, or any other neglected spouse without a catchy title isn't really specified. Another conclusion pointed out by the survey is that when spouses play together, the marriage tends to be in pretty good shape. Who'd have ever thought that spending time bonding over a shared interest would be healthy for a relationship? While we're all in agreement that your level 80 Paladin probably doesn't deserve as much of your love and affection as your spouse, if you hadn't figured that out on your own, gaming probably isn't the root of your problems. Just a thought.
Biological computer can decode images stored in DNA chips, applications remain unclear
Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute and Technion–Israel Institute of Technology have taken biological computing one step further, with a new molecular machine capable of decoding images stored on a DNA chip. Though it's referred to as a "biological computer," the researchers' machine isn't much like a CPU at all -- unless your CPU was manufactured in a test tube filled with a smoothie of DNA molecules, enzymes and ATP. Once they found the right mix, the team proceeded to encrypt images on a DNA chip and used their Turing machine-like creation to decode them, with fluorescent stains helping to track its progress. The above image, read from left to right, gives a more literal idea of what the system can do -- basically, it takes a hidden image and extracts a given sequence. Storing data on DNA isn't anything new, but decrypting said data in this fashion apparently is. The applications for this kind of organic computing remain a bit fuzzy, but it's pretty clear that whatever follows probably won't look anything like a typical computer. The team's findings were recently published in a paper for the journal Angewandte Chemie, the abstract for which is linked below. For a slightly more readable explanation, check out the full press release after the break.
Researchers get CPUs and GPUs talking, boost PC performance by 20 percent
How do you fancy a 20 percent boost to your processor's performance? Research from the North Carolina State University claims to offer just that. Despite the emergence of fused architecture SoCs, the CPU and GPU cores typically still work independently. The University hoped that by assigning tasks based on each processor's abilities, performance efficiency would be increased. As the CPU and GPU can fetch data at comparable speeds, the researchers set the GPUs to execute the computational functions, while the CPUs did the prefetching. With that data ready in advance, the graphics processor unit has more resources free, yielding an average performance boost of 21.4 percent though it's unclear what metrics the researchers were using. Incidentally, the research was funded by AMD, so no prizes for guessing which chips we might see using the technique first.
Study: 'App Economy' has created 500,000 jobs since 2007
It's no secret that the rise of smartphones, tablets and social networking has fostered an entirely new market for app developers, but a freshly released study has now attempted to quantify this impact, in terms of real jobs. According to TechNet, a bipartisan network of tech execs, the so-called "App Economy" has created an estimated 466,000 jobs since 2007, when the iPhone was first unveiled. The report specifies that this estimate includes all jobs at Facebook-focused companies like Zynga, as well as dev gigs at Amazon, AT&T and Electronic Arts, in addition to the obvious heavyweights, Apple and Google. As far as geography goes, California leads the way as the most app-friendly state, though New York City tops the list of metropolitan areas. It's not an entirely bi-coastal affair, though, with some two-thirds of all app-related jobs located outside of California and New York. TechNet acknowledges that the App Economy "is only four years old and extremely fluid," so it's likely that these numbers will fluctuate in the years to come, though the organization says these numbers underscore a fundamental principle: "Innovation creates jobs, and in this case, lots of them." Read the full report at the source link below.
Study links MMOs to 'problem' game-playing
Despite the fact that video game addiction lacks both a definition and a diagnosis, "researchers around the world continue to investigate methods of determining, treating, and preventing" it, according to Gamespot. The American Psychiatric Association recently rejected a movement to incorporate game addiction into its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but that hasn't stopped folks at the National Development and Research Institute from publishing the findings from a survey conducted with 3,380 adult gamers. The study found that five percent of participants reported "moderate to extreme problem game-playing." Commonly reported problem titles included Call of Duty, the Grand Theft Auto series, online poker games, and World of Warcraft. The team concluded that "there is evidence to suggest that problem game-playing is linked to particular kinds of game genres" and that further research is needed.
German scientists shoot world's fastest movie: gone in 50 femtoseconds
No, it's not another Fast & Furious sequel, it's something much quicker -- 800 billion times quicker, to be precise. Scientists at DESY (Germany's largest particle physics center) are premiering the Guinness World Record-holding fastest "movie" to a select audience at its light sources users' meeting. The film was shot using an X-ray Laser, and splitting the light in two. By firing one beam off on a minuscule detour (0.015 millimeters) and delaying its arrival by 50 femtoseconds, two separate images are captured. Okay, so two frames isn't exactly Lord of the Rings, but it's still the smallest interval ever recorded. This technique won't be popping up in Hollywood any time soon -- instead, it's actually used for snapping subatomic glimpses of ultra-fast molecular processes and chemical reactions. Despite the brevity of this record-breaking flick, the plot is apparently still more complex than Tokyo Drift.
Chegg's online textbooks hope to captivate minds, market share (video)
Someone's about to get schooled, and if it's not the youth of America, then it'll be one of the companies rushing to release educational products this week. While Kno takes the interactive approach, and Apple typically keeps us guessing, Chegg hopes its new online reader will capture students' imaginations. The HTML5, cloud-based platform clearly thinks it's portability the kids want, working on almost any connected device. There are interactive features, such as an "Always on Q&A" where questions about material can be answered by the community and -- for the lazy -- a "Key Highlights" option, which uses crowd-sourced data to spotlight the popular sections -- much like on Amazon's Kindle. We all know, however, that the tech-ucation battle was convincingly won some time ago. Hit the PR after the break for the full rundown.
Kno adds new smart textbook capabilities: Kno Me, gets to know you (video)
Remember those iPad textbooks from Kno? Well, conveniently in advance of that other education announcement this week, the company has added two new features to the edu-party: Kno Me and Kno Flashcards. The former is an interactive graphical dashboard that details your learning habits, such as time spent in a book, understanding of key terms and test grades -- perfect for nosey moms. Kno Flashcards, on the other hand, puts a new spin on the classic analog memory-jogger. Key points are automagically drawn from the book and compiled into cards, the software then uses metacognition, spaced repetition and episodic memory -- three terms that need flashcards right there -- to help you learn. Both are detailed in the video and PR after the break. Yes, there will be a quiz later.
Arieso study: iPhone 4S data use is nearly double that of the of iPhone 4
So, first things first. Arieso, the ouftit that conducted this here study, is a company that makes ends meet by "optimizing mobile networks." In other words, there's just a bit of motivation to find results such as these in studies like this. Now that we've got that cleared up, you may be interested in knowing that Apple's iPhone 4S users are consuming around "twice as much data as the previous iPhone model, and even more than iPad tablets due to increasing use of online services like the virtual personal assistant Siri."Of course, this relates only to those sampled, but there's no question that the inclusion of Siri gives users one more reason to tap into their data plan. According to prior studies, the iPhone 4 used only 1.6x more data than the iPhone 3G, while the iPad 2 consumed 2.5x more data than the iPhone 3G. As time marches on, more and more websites are tailoring themselves for mobile use, and there's obviously no stopping the proliferation of data-sucking apps. Whatever the case, we'd just encourage you to mind that data tier (if you're in one) -- wouldn't want to have to ask Siri how to raise money to cover overages, no would you?
Flawed study decides iPhone is for games, Android for apps
Trumpeting in its headline that "iPhone is for games, Android is for apps," Xyologic has managed to pull a singular feat: it's undermined 5/8 of its own name with the analysis that follows. Xyologic compares the entire US Android Market against just the free iPhone offerings in the App Store, which is the first warning that its data and analysis is going to be skewed. Comparing the top 150 downloads between these weirdly disparate markets yields the following results: Entire Android Market: 85 of top 150 downloads are apps, with 91.5 million downloads 65 of top 150 downloads are games, with 33.4 million downloads Free iPhone Apps: 50 of top 150 downloads are apps, with 25.6 million downloads 100 of top 150 downloads are games, with 71.6 million downloads If you didn't know any better, you could easily look at the numbers Xyologic came up with and reach the same conclusion they do: Android users certainly appear to be downloading more apps than games compared to iPhone users. But the fact that Xyologic only chose to analyze the numbers for free iPhone apps skews the numbers so far that the study is essentially meaningless. Without including the download numbers for paid iPhone apps, or the download numbers for any type of iPad apps at all, Xyologic's study neglects the huge sales numbers of paid apps such as Camera+, Instapaper, Tweetbot, Snapseed, Apple's own iWork apps, iMovie, and GarageBand. None of those apps offer a "lite" or freemium version, while most of the App Store's most popular games do, which is another reason the free iPhone downloads tend to skew more toward games. Looking through the current top paid downloads for both devices still shows a lot of games scattered throughout the category -- something you'd expect to see after the recent massive sales on games and many young users getting new devices for Christmas -- but that's a far cry from Xyologic's claim that Android users are downloading more non-game apps than iPhone users. In the end, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Xyologic's claim actually is correct and that iOS users are indeed downloading far more games, both as a percentage of apps downloaded and in total number of downloads, compared to Android users. Apple's own marketing touts the superior gaming performance of the iPhone 4S and iPad 2. Game developers are consistently targeting the App Store more than the Android Market for a variety of reasons, and you won't find high-end titles like Infinity Blade II on the Android Market any time soon. However, Xyologic's methodology in reaching that conclusion is badly flawed; to make a true apps-to-apps comparison between the Android Market and the App Store, you have to compare the entirety of both stores if you want valid results. Because of deep discounts on games and the general focus on games during the holiday season, December will probably skew even more heavily toward game downloads than in the download numbers Xyologic obtained for November. If Xyologic or another analysis firm takes a look at the app download numbers for January 2012 and compares the Android Market against the entire App Store instead of just one segment of it, we'll have a far better idea whether "iPhone is for games, Android is for apps" rings true or not.
People more likely to lie when texting, according to UBC research
It's so much easier to be deceitful when you don't have to actually look into somebody's eyes, right? That's what a study conducted by the University of British Columbia figured out. Here's how it was done: 170 students were brought in to perform mock stock transactions using one of four methods -- face-to-face, text, video or audio. Brokers were promised higher monetary compensation for more stock sales, while buyers were told their reward would all depend on the value of the stock. The brokers were given inside information that the stock was rigged to lose half of its value, while buyers were only told after the transaction was over and were asked to report on whether or not the brokers were deceitful when selling this stock to them. The study analyzed which method produced the most lies and found that buyers who used texts were much more likely to report deception, while video chatting was the least. Skeptical about your significant other's text that says they're just at their friend's house or washing their hair? See if you can Skype them instead. Check out the full results of the study after the break.
Gamers spending more time streaming video to their consoles, Nielsen finds
Nielsen, the purveyor of all things statistical and demographic, published a new study this week on game console usage within the US. According to the report, released on Wednesday, gamers this year spent notably more time streaming video to their consoles than they did in 2010, due in large part to the growing availability of services like Netflix, Hulu, MLB Network and ESPN3. Xbox 360 users spent 14 percent of their console time streaming video this year (compared with ten percent last year), PlayStation 3 owners devoted 15 percent (nine percent in 2010), and Nintendo Wii users spent a whopping 33 percent -- a 13 percent increase over last year's study. Each console, moreover, seems to appeal to different functions. Xbox 360 users, for example, devoted 34 percent of their time to online gaming, Wii owners spent 55 percent of their console time on offline gaming, and the PS3 was the device of choice for DVD and Blu-Ray viewing, comprising 22 percent of usage. Overall, Nielsen found that usage increased by seven percent over the last year across all three platforms, which suggests that streaming may be keeping us glued to our consoles for even longer. Read more at the source link below.
Microsoft Kinect used to map asteroids, glaciers, other scary things
Ken Mankoff is a PhD student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he studies ice and ocean interactions. He also counts himself among a growing legion of environmental scientists who have begun using Microsoft's Kinect to create detailed, 3D maps of caves, glaciers and even asteroids. As Wired reports, the Kinect has garnered something of a cult following within the scientific community, especially among those who, until now, have relied upon comparatively more expensive and complicated technologies to gather detailed 3D data. The approach du jour for most researchers is something known as Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) -- a laser-based technology capable of creating precise maps over relatively large areas. The Kinect, by contrast, can only see up to 16 feet in front of itself, but at just $120, it's significantly cheaper than the average LIDAR system, which can run for anywhere between $10,000 and $200,000. It's also surprisingly accurate, capable of capturing up to 9 million data points per second. Mankoff, for one, has already used the device to map a small cavern underneath a glacier in Norway, while Marco Tedesco, a hydrologist at the City College of New York, is looking to attach a Kinect to a remote-controlled helicopter, in the hopes of measuring so-called meltwater lakes found on glaciers during the summer. Then there's Naor Movshovitz, also a PhD student at UC Santa Cruz, who's more interested in using the Kinect and its image processing software to figure out how asteroids behave when broken up by a projectile. There are limitations, of course, since the device still has trouble performing amidst severe environmental conditions, though its supporters seem confident they'll find a solution. Read more at the source link below.
Pando Networks studies growth of F2P MMOs, makes infographic
Pando Networks, creator of the ubiquitous Pando Media Booster, has done a study on the growth of the F2P MMO industry. The data, which can be viewed in a handy infographic after the cut, shows that the number of people downloading free-to-play online games grew by 450% between 2009 and 2011. According to the study, the increase in players has come from a number of large titles -- such as Lord of the Rings Online -- making the switch to a F2P model. Also mentioned is the ever-popular MOBA, League of Legends. The study also notes that this huge growth isn't just happening in the United States or Europe; it's a worldwide phenomenon. In Latin America, the number of people downloading F2P titles rose by 595%, while the number of people downloading free-to-play titles in Japan and Australia rose by 392% and 234%, respectively. For the full infographic, just click on past the cut and have a look. [Source: Pando Networks press release]
Researchers create spinal cord connectors from human stem cells, heralding breakthrough
It's taken many years and more than a bit of brainpower, but researchers at the University of Central Florida have finally found a way to create neuromuscular connectors between muscle and spinal cord cells, using only stem cells. Led by bioengineer James Hickman, the team pulled off the feat with help from Brown University Professor Emeritus Herman Vandenburgh, who collected muscle stem cell samples from adult volunteers. After close examination, they then discovered that under the right conditions, these samples could be combined with spinal cord cells to form connectors, or neuromuscular junctions, which the brain uses to control the body's muscles. UCF's engineers say the technique, described in the December issue of the journal Biomaterials, marks a major breakthrough for the development of "human-on-a-chip" models -- systems that simulate organ functions and have the potential to drastically accelerate medical research and drug development. These junctions could also pay dividends for research on Lou Gehrig's disease or spinal cord injuries, though it remains unclear whether we can expect to see these benefits anytime soon.
New computer system can read your emotions, will probably be annoying about it (video)
It's bad enough listening to your therapist drone on about the hatred you harbor toward your father. Pretty soon, you may have to put up with a hyper-insightful computer, as well. That's what researchers from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid have begun developing, with a new system capable of reading human emotions. As explained in their study, published in the Journal on Advances in Signal Processing, the computer has been designed to intelligently engage with people, and to adjust its dialogue according to a user's emotional state. To gauge this, researchers looked at a total of 60 acoustic parameters, including the tenor of a user's voice, the speed at which one speaks, and the length of any pauses. They also implemented controls to account for any endogenous reactions (e.g., if a user gets frustrated with the computer's speech), and enabled the adaptable device to modify its speech accordingly, based on predictions of where the conversation may lead. In the end, they found that users responded more positively whenever the computer spoke in "objective terms" (i.e., with more succinct dialogue). The same could probably be said for most bloggers, as well. Teleport past the break for the full PR, along with a demo video (in Spanish).
STHoldings withdraws more than 200 record labels from Spotify, does so with gusto
STHoldings stormed its way out of Spotify this week, leaving only a trail of choice words in its wake. On Wednesday, the distributor boldly withdrew more than 200 of its record labels from Spotify, Rdio, Simfy and Napster, following the release of a study that cast the music subscription industry in a rather unfavorable light. According to the research, carried out by NPD Group and NARM, cloud-based services like Spotify and Rdio deter consumers from purchasing music via other channels. Amid concerns that these companies may "cannibalise the revenues of more traditional digital services," STHoldings decided to withdraw its catalogue of more than 200 labels. In fact, of the 238 labels consulted on the decision, just four expressed a desire to remain with Spotify, et al. "As a distributor we have to do what is best for our labels," STHoldings explained, in a statement. "The majority of which do not want their music on such services because of the poor revenues and the detrimental affect on sales. Add to that the feeling that their music loses its specialness by its exploitation as a low value/free commodity." The distributor went on to quote one of its labels with a line that rhymes with "duck modify." In comparatively subdued response, Spotify said it respects STHoldings' decision, but still hopes that the labels "will change their minds." The Swedish company also contested STHoldings' study-backed arguments against it, claiming that it has "already convinced millions of consumers to pay for music again," and assuring that artists' revenue streams will "continue to grow." Read more about the study, the stats and the spat at the links below.
