technology

Albany App Targets Graffiti

Dave Lucas — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 19:07:19 +0000

A decades-old problem that plagues large cities is about to meet a new, digital foe.

The city of Albany is turning to smartphone technology in the fight against urban blight: Mayor Jerry Jennings announced the activation of The Graffiti Buster. The free app was about a year in the making, the brainchild of Tim Varney, a partner at Troy Web Consulting. Albany's Department of General Services cleans up hundreds of incidents of graffiti every year.

"Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now" by Douglas Rushkoff

Joe Donahue — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:12:00 +0000

This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, explains award-winning media theorist Douglas Rushkoff, but we don’t seem to have any time in which to live it. Instead we remain poised and frozen, overwhelmed by an always-on, live-streamed reality that our human bodies and minds can never truly inhabit. And our failure to do so has had wide-ranging effects on every aspect of our lives.

Well, the future’s arrived. We live in a continuous now enabled by Twitter, email, and a so-called real-time technological shift. Yet this “now” is an elusive goal that we can never quite reach. And the dissonance between our digital selves and our analog bodies has thrown us into a new state of anxiety: present shock.

Douglas Rushkoff brings together seemingly disparate events and trends into a rich, nuanced portrait of how life in the eternal present has affected our biology, behavior, politics, and culture.

3/26/13 - Panel

Joe Donahue — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Today's panelists are WAMC’s Alan Chartock, Newsman Ray Graf and Times-Union Associate editor, Mike Spain. Joe Donahue moderates.

This morning our discussion topics include:
Hillary Clinton and Rand Paul 2016 Presidential talk
Why are many of us slaves to technology
As Supreme Court considers gay marriage, abortion comparisons rise
Senators blast NRA for robocalls in Newtown

What holds energy tech back? The infernal battery

Associated Press — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:42:49 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As 21st century technology strains to become ever faster, cleaner and cheaper, an invention from more than 200 years ago keeps holding it back. It's why electric cars aren't clogging the roads and why Boeing's new ultra-efficient 787 Dreamliners aren't flying high.

And chances are you have this little invention next to you right now and probably have cursed it recently: the infernal battery.

tw telecom and Inovation Economy

Joe Donahue — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:35:00 +0000

tw telecom is one of the top three Business Ethernet providers in the U.S. and have a heavy presence in our region. They manage the high-speed fiber optic network that is contributing to the growth in semiconductor manufacturing we are seeing at the Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta.

Jesse Feiler - 2013 Tech Predictions

Joe Donahue — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:35:00 +0000

It is the end of a calendar year and that time when the media makes lists. Best of the year, worst of the year and the, ever fun, predictions for the New Year. The 2013 tech predictions are already in and our Jesse Feiler is here to help us handicap the future.

Michael Tucker - The Center for Economic Growth

Brian Shields — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 23:08:00 +0000

Education and business officials came together today in Saratoga County with the high tech future in mind. GlobalFoundries and the Center for Economic Growth organized the meeting at the Saratoga Technology and Energy Park to develop a regional 13 county laboratory to promote the future of an educational system that must meet the needs of a growing technology sector. Michael Tucker is the CEO and executive director of the Center for Economic Growth. He spoke with WAMC’s Brian Shields.

Jesse Feiler - Smartphone Ownership

Joe Donahue — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:35:00 +0000

With the release this week of Apple’s iPhone 5, the Pew Research Center reports 45% of American adults own smartphones. They are particularly popular with young adults and those living in relatively higher income households; 66% of those ages 18-29 own smartphones, and 68% of those living in households earning $75,000 also own them. Duh, right?

Our tech guru Jesse Feiler says there is more to the story.

Jesse Feiler - Technology and the Political Conventions

Joe Donahue — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 15:35:00 +0000

Jesse joins us to talk about technology use at the national political conventions.

Dan D'Ambrosio - Burlington Free Press

Brian Shields — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:20:00 +0000

A computer virus named Stuxnet has drawn the attention of security and utility experts around the globe over the past two years or so. The experts say the virus has the potential to knock out power grids, leaving millions in the dark. It has already been used against the Iranians to slow down their nuclear development programs. Dan D’Ambrosio, a business reporter for the Burlington Free Press has been researching the story of Stuxnet. He spoke with WAMC’s Brian Shields.