Wall Street Journal reporter Timothy Hay writes about the MIT Hacking Medicine program, a new MIT spin out that aims to examine whether digital technologies have made people healthier. Hay explains that the institute will produce “white papers that offer guidelines on evaluating digital-health programs.”
New York Times reporter Steve Lohr reviews “Strategy Rules,” a book co-authored by Professor Michael Cusumano that draws lessons from the careers of tech pioneers Bill Gates, Andy Grove and Steve Jobs. The authors provide a “a strategic framework to the corporate handiwork of the three, and find common themes.”
MIT researchers have developed a new device that turns your thumb into a miniature wireless track pad, reports Tessa Verenson for TIME Magazine. The device could allow users to “answer the phone while cooking, control their cell phones even when they hands are full or discreetly send a text.”
MIT researchers have developed a thumbnail-mounted sensor that can be used as a wireless track pad, reports Marie Szaniszlo for the Boston Herald. The device, “puts Bluetooth and a battery into a package that you can stick to your fingernail and can send data wirelessly to your phone,” Szaniszlo explains.
A study co-authored by Professor Matt Marx indicates that Silicon Valley’s success may be due California’s prohibition of non-compete clauses, reports Natalie Kitroeff for Bloomberg News. The researchers explain that, “Policymakers who sanction the use of non-competes could be inadvertently creating regional disadvantage as far as retention of knowledge workers is concerned.”
BBC News reports on the “FingerSynth,” a glove created by graduate student Gershon Dublon “that allows you to hear the sounds of objects through touch.” The device allows the wearer to explore the resonance of different physical objects.
Liz Stinson writes for Wired about Cord UIs, a project by graduate students Phillip Schoessler and Sang-won Leigh that transforms electrical cables into responsive interfaces that can influence the output of the devices they are attached to. “Cord UIs does accomplish what the Tangible Media Group is all about: Giving invisible data a physical presence,” Stinson explains.
Kyle Vanhemert writes for Wired about a talk by graduate student Greg Borenstein on the future of camera technology. “The gist of Borenstein’s talk: Cheap cameras are getting better and better, and researchers are finding more and more to do with them,” writes Vanhemert.
Vijee Venkatraman writes for BetaBoston about Kumbhathon, a tech buildathon co-founded by Professor Ramesh Raskar to address problems specific to the Kumbh Mela religious gathering in India. “This is a bottom-up approach to innovation,” says Raskar.
A study by Prof. Thomas Malone found that social perceptiveness can be gained through electronic communications, writes Financial Times reporter Jonathan Moules. “People develop social intelligence skills even when they cannot see into each others’ eyes,” says Malone.
Kristi Hedges writes for Forbes about Professor Sherry Turkle’s research that indicates that technology may be having an adverse effect on our connections to one another. Hedges writes that Turkle’s research suggests that “we’re creating a culture where we prefer an artificial presentation of ourselves through social media and texting."
Alex Davies writes for Wired about a new study by the MIT AgeLab that compared levels of distraction among drivers using Google Glass, voice-recognition technology, and a touchscreen. The study found that while all technology use led to some level of distraction, using a touchscreen was more distracting than using a voice-recognition system.
Nidhi Subbaraman of BetaBoston writes that eyeMITRA, a new system developed by Professor Ramesh Raskar’s Camera Culture group, is a finalist in the Nokia Sensing XChallenge. The system monitors a wide range of health conditions by taking pictures of the retina. “Your eyes are a window into your health,” says Raskar.
Carol Hildebrand writes for Forbes about a new book co-authored by Dr. Andrew McAfee and Dr. George Westerman that examines how well organizations integrate technology into their business strategy. The authors studied more than 500 companies in various industries and found a small number that effectively use digital technology.
Writing for Forbes, Joe McKendrick highlights Dr. Andrew McAfee and Dr. George Westerman’s new book “Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation.” The book offers advice for how manufacturers, service companies and government agencies can master digital technology.