In The News

Google Invests in Cycle-Powered Monorail

Holger Dambeck October 26, 2010
As the world’s largest search engine, Google could have an edge in detecting newest trends and technologies. The company hosts occasional contests in search of innovative ideas that improve the world – allowing users to select among the finalists, then issuing prizes and investing in the projects. The latest award for a cycle-powered monorail by the name of Schweeb anticipates declining fossil...

Online Technology Challenges Censors – Part II

Bruce Judson October 25, 2010
More goes online in a day than one person could read in a lifetime, and that includes some of the million books released each year by publishers around the globe. This YaleGlobal series explores the challenges for authoritarian regimes in monitoring the internet’s new levels of information overload. In the second article of the series, author Bruce Judson describes how digital technology...

Internet Users to Exceed 2 Billion by the End of 2010

October 22, 2010
One of three people on earth now accesses the internet, and the bulk of new users are based in developing nations, reports the International Telecommunications Union in a BBC report. The developing world, with 20 percent users online, still has far to go in catching up with developed nations, where 70 percent are online. In some parts of Africa, the price of connecting far exceeds monthly wages....

Online Technology Challenges Censors – Part I

Johan Lagerkvist October 22, 2010
When the internet arrived, China eagerly grasped the tool for joining global business, connecting its citizens and influencing attitudes. But China now finds that it’s impossible for any nation to both use the internet to influence the globe and restrict messages to a single ideology. This two-part YaleGlobal series examines the challenges awaiting those who strive for censorship. In the first...

Regulations and Security Concerns Hinder Asia’s Move to Cloud Computing

Wayne Arnold October 15, 2010
Rather than invest in expensive equipment for a specific event, businesses and governments can lease computer services for a limited time. Singapore has emerged as a regional center for such operations, and the Youth Olympic Games – managing more than 20,000 participants and 350,000 spectators – served as “a showcase for cloud computing in Asia: software, data storage, networking and even...

China’s Chokehold On Rare-Earth Minerals Raises Concerns

Michael Richardson October 8, 2010
Following a boating mishap in the East China Sea, China swiftly banned exports to Japan of rare-earth materials, essential in high-tech manufacturing. China holds the largest reserves of the minerals required to manufacture cell phones, smart bombs, wind turbines and other high-tech products. In recent months, industries reliant on rare earths have encountered increasing delays, quotas and price...

Extremist Websites Booming, But Hard to Police

Michael Holden October 6, 2010
The internet is a double-edged sword for militant extremists – the websites propaganda and chats stir hate and recruitment, but also leave trails for law-enforcement agencies. Like the internet itself, extremist sites expand their content and reach. A seven-person counterterrorism unit in London relies on tips on sites that pose threats from the public and other police agencies for investigations...