February 26, 2017 by Lisa Rathke

Maple syrup doesn't get that rich flavor and color in an instant. It's a long process from tree to bottle.

But an improved technology could keep maple sugarers from working late into the night boiling sap into syrup.

The new machine removes more water from sap, leaving it with higher sugar content. The concentrated sap takes half the time to boil into syrup.

"For commercial maple producers, time is money and energy is money. It all comes down to how efficient you can be to make syrup, and this is just the next big step to save time," said Timothy Perkins, director of the University of Vermont's Proctor Maple Research Center.

The center produced its first batch of syrup with a new machine last week. "It definitely processed syrup very, very fast," Perkins said.

Most large maple operations already use the traditional reverse osmosis systems that have a membrane that separate water from sugar. The new reverse osmosis technology removes even more water.

Producing maple syrup is an old New England cottage industry based on tradition, so some maple sugarers are wondering if faster is actually better. They worry it could impact the quality.

"We're questioning it," said Eric Randall, president of the North American Maple Syrup Council. "We're looking to see that we're doing the right thing."

Perkins said the flavor of the syrup produced with the new machine is so far acceptable as the center continues to research the technology.

Parker Family Maple Farm, in West Chazee, New York, expects a new machine to arrive Wednesday that may double its syrup production. "We're anticipating making 300 gallons of syrup an hour" with the new machine, Michael Parker said.

Dozens of producers in Vermont, New York, Maine and Wisconsin are now using the machines, which are made by a handful of companies. It's an investment of tens of thousands of dollars depending on the size of the maple operation and how much equipment is needed. Industry officials say the cost is about 15 to 20 percent higher than the cost of the current technology.

Parker said the time savings will be welcome. "There's only so many hours in a day and we're using all of them," he said.

Explore further: How fresh is your maple syrup?

2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Improved technology saves maple syrup producers time, energy - Phys.Org

Multiple sclerosis is a debilitating neurological disease that affects tens of thousands of Americans. While there is yet no cure for the illness, researchers are working hard to understand its causes and mitigate its symptoms. New research investigates the effects of cutting-edge cognitive training technology on people with multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an often disabling neurological disease that affects one's muscles, vision, mood, and concentration.

MS is estimated to affect anywhere between 250,000-350,000 people in the United States, and 200 new cases of MS are diagnosed each week.

While there is currently no cure for the condition, treatment options are available for reducing the symptoms. The most common therapy consists of steroid drugs, which have been shown to speed up recovery.

A new technology called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been recently shown to improve some of the symptoms of MS. The tDCS device was created by Marom Bikson, Ph.D., a professor of biomedical engineering at The City College of New York, in collaboration and Abhishek Datta, Ph.D., the chief technology officer of Soterix Medical.

Researchers from New York University's (NYU) Langone's Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care Center conducted a feasibility study for tDCS, and the results were published in the journal Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface.

The team was led by Leigh E. Charvet, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology and director of research at Langone's Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care Center.

During the tDCS procedure, a low-amplitude current that travels through a set of electrodes is placed on the scalp of the participants.

The electric current stimulates the brain's cortex, thus enabling neurons to signal to each other more easily. This, in turn, improves neural connectivity and hastens the learning process that occurs during MS rehabilitation.

For the study, 25 participants used tDCS while playing computer games as part of their brain-training program. The aim of the games was to improve cognitive skills, such as problem-solving abilities, attention, information processing, response time, and other working memory skills.

The tDCS training targeted the brain's dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This brain region has been associated with fatigue, depression, and cognition - areas that are affected by MS.

The participants underwent the training at home, where they completed 10 sessions of cognitive training while being supervised remotely. A study technician would check in with each participant via online video conferencing, and they were able to control the tDCS dosage remotely. Each session lasted for 20 minutes.

The study also included a control group of 20 participants who also underwent cognitive training, but without tDCS.

The cognitive outcomes were assessed using composite scores that measured performance on standard cognition tests, basic and complex attention tests, as well as response variability.

Overall, the tDCS group scored higher on the cognitive scores than those who just played the brain-training computer games.

Sensitive, computerized measurements of complex attention showed the tDCS group had much greater improvements compared with the control group. The tDCS-trained participants also showed significantly greater response time, and these improvements all increased with the number of sessions. The earliest signs of improvement were observed in complex attention and response time.

The study found no differences in basic attention or standard cognitive measures. According to Charvet, this suggests more treatment sessions may be needed for improvements to show in the patients' day-to-day activities.

"Our research adds evidence that tDCS, while done remotely under a supervised treatment protocol, may provide an exciting new treatment option for patients with multiple sclerosis who cannot get relief for some of their cognitive symptoms.

Many MS medications are aimed at preventing disease flares, but those drugs do not help with daily symptom management, especially cognitive problems. We hope tDCS will fill this crucial gap and help improve quality of life for people with MS."

Leigh E. Charvet

The authors also note this technology could replace hospital visits, which often proves challenging for those living with MS and especially for those whose disease is advancing. However, they also caution against several tDCS products on the market which are available directly to the consumer.

These products, Charvet says, are not backed by clinical research, so he strongly recommends that anyone wishing to try out this technology consult with their physician.

Read how stem cell transplantation may halt MS progression.

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Multiple sclerosis: New technology improves cognition - Medical News Today

China's Huawei Battles to Own the Next Generation of Wireless Technology Wall Street Journal (subscription) As the global telecommunications industry determines the parameters of its next-generation network of superfast connections, one company is playing an outsize role: China's Huawei Technologies Co. The modern concept of a mobile-phone network was ...

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China's Huawei Battles to Own the Next Generation of Wireless Technology - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

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Date published: Monday 27th February 2017 9:40

Claude Puel called for the introduction of video technology after his Southampton side were beaten 3-2 by Manchester United in the EFL Cup final.

Southampton were beaten by an 87th-minute Zlatan Ibrahimovic header at Wembley, having recovered from two goals down.

Manolo Gabbiadini struck twice to cancel out goals from Ibrahimovic and Jesse Lingard, but the Italian had an earlier strike unfairly ruled out for offside.

Saints legend Matt Le Tissier described the call as disgusting as documented in 16 Conclusions and manager Puel led claims for video technology to be introduced.

I would like of course the video for the future, for this situation for example, the Frenchman said.

For the moment in football without video, and just sometimes (there is) a bad decision and (its) against us for the team.

Its important to accept this but I am disappointed for the players and for the fans.

Its very hard when we see this game to lose this game but its football.

Before the third goal we had the best situation, the best opportunities (to win).

It is a big disappointment with the quality of this game. (And a) Frustration of course for all my players.

On that man Zlatan, great Gabbiadini, poor Pogba, Redmond, Lingard, Forster, Shaw and plenty more.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's late goal secured Manchester United the 2017 League Cup.

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A wonderful start to life in England for Manolo Gabbiadini. But the obvious question: Why not last summer?

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'Frustrated' Saints boss Puel wants video technology - Football365.com

Even as fanatic customers can be counted on to line up outside the Apple store for the latest iPhone, there are still millions of Americans who dont use a smartphone at all. For that matter, there are still plenty of happy owners of tube televisions, rotary dial telephones, film cameras, fax machines, typewriters and cassette tape players.

The accelerating pace of disruption means more and more products are facing an early retirement. But even as computers, electronics and health products move quickly from must-haves to museum artifacts, a small but loyal following often carries a torch for the old stuff, sometimes out of nostalgia, sometimes from sheer stubbornness. For them, familiar and functioning technologies are good enough.

My Big Bang Disruption co-author Paul Nunes and I refer to these have-wonts as legacy customers, users who simply refuse to migrate to disruptive innovations even after theyve become both better and cheaper, and even after almost everyone else has made the shift.

Legacy customers are a niche market, although not necessarily a bad one. Much of Brooklyn, it seems, has been turned over to rediscovering handmade goods which, ironically, are sold over the Internet.

But in some cases the devotion of the laggards can cause major headaches. When the market for outmoded products shrinks, most manufacturers just stop making them. By law, however, some technologies cant be put to sleep until regulators give permission usually long after the dying market has become unprofitable.

Car manufacturers must keep up to a decades worth of spare parts, for example, even for discontinued models. And the U.S. Postal Service, teetering on bankruptcy for over a decade, still has to deliver mail to 155 million households, even as first-class volume continues to decline precipitously.

As the post office has learned, the cost of keeping old technologies on life support skyrockets when expensive networks of equipment and people must be spread over a dwindling number of users.

Although the vast majority of consumers have long since abandoned the analog telephone network for better and cheaper Internet voice, to take another example, 5 to 10 million households still rely solely on the old system. But as equipment manufacturers exit and older workers retire, maintenance costs now far exceed what the remaining customers pay. Yet carriers cant junk the old technology without approval from the FCC and state regulators.

No surprise, our research found legacy customers are largely older consumers who long ago gave up trying to keep up with the latest and greatest. Many are perfectly happy with worse and more expensive products; perhaps even take pride in still knowing how to use them. I was slow to embrace smartphone technology myself, and I still resist upgrading to the newest models even when its clear they offer better value and more features that Id likely use.

But like me, legacy customers are often wrong about both the costs and benefits of embracing disruptive new products and services. As recently as 2010, 80 percent of profits at AOL came from subscribers, many of them older, paying $25 a month for dial-up service they no longer used, but who thought the fee paid for (free) email service.

Worse, data recently issued by the Commerce Department finds that 13 percent of Americans still dont use the Internet at all, even though its now available nearly everywhere. (More homes have access to Internet service than indoor plumbing.)

You might think the holdouts just cant afford it, which certainly remains an important factor despite programs that subsidize both wired and wireless broadband. But the real holdup is that non-adopters mostly older, rural and less-educated just arent interested in Internet access, at any price. As other factors such as price and usability fall, a perceived lack of relevance now dominates.

Public and private efforts to overcome that perception are crucial for two important reasons. The first is that the resisters are wrong the Internet has become the starting point for government services, news, employment, entertainment and, increasingly, health care and education. Life without it is increasingly and unnecessarily isolated.

The second is that non-adopters ultimately cost more to serve. Printing information is increasingly a waste of scarce resources as digital alternatives continue to get better and cheaper. And all of us pay for the waste. A few consumers may prefer standing in line at the bank branchto using an ATM or banking app, but the higher cost is spread over all customers.

To overcome the inertia of legacy customers, it may be appropriate for governments to step in. The United States has long had programs aimed at making broadband more affordable for lower-income Americans and more accessible for those living in sparsely populated areas. On Thursday, the FCC unanimously approved the allocation of up to $2 billion in additional taxpayer funds for rural broadband build-out in areas where private investment cannot be cost-justified. Total support for rural broadband could reach $20 billion over the next decade. (The devil, however, will be in the details. A government audit found that an earlier Agriculture Department effort to expand rural broadband wasted $3 billion of stimulus money.)

At the other end of the life cycle, some technology dinosaurs need help being euthanized. Here, regulators can serve as a catalyst, providing the final nudge for legacy customers. Once it was clear that smart LEDs would become better and cheaper than inefficient incandescent lightbulbs, for example, governments around the world began passing laws banning production of the older technology.

And while things got a little messy at the end, in 2009 Congress succeeded in turning off analog TV, switching the few remaining holdouts over to digital. To ensure no one had to go without Lets Make a Deal, lower-income families were given converter boxes for older tube TVs.

As a bonus, the more efficient digital signals have made it possible for the FCC to reclaim and auction prized radio frequencies to feed exploding demand for mobile services. So far, the auctions have deposited nearly $20 billion in the treasury, with additional auctions going on right now that will soon bring in much more.

Retirement rarely pays so well.

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Listen, technology holdouts: Enough is enough - The Washington Post - Washington Post

Sprint Corporation has teamed with TBCASoft, Inc. and SoftBank to develop blockchain technology for telecommunication carriers.

TBCASoft, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., develops consortium-based blockchain technology for telecommunication carriers.

SoftBank Corp. is a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp. that provides Internet connection services, mobile communication and fixed-line communication to customers in Japan.

The three companies will promote research and development to build a cross-carrier blockchain platform for a variety of services, including IoT applications, secured clearing and settlement, personal authentication and other services telecommunication carriers provide.

In June 2017, the companies will begin a technical trial to connect TBCASofts blockchain platform to telecommunication carriers systems. The parties will collaborate on issues related to technology, business and regulations of different jurisdictions.

Sprint developed the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States.

A recent Deloitte survey found blockchain technology is being adopted across industries, including telecommunications, consumer products, manufacturing, technology and media.

In technology, media and telecom, 27% of executives said their companies will invest $5 million or more next calendar year. Twenty-three percent of responding financial services report such investments planned for 2017.

Thus, telecom, technology and media industries are possibly the most aggressive investors in blockchain technology, according to the survey. Thirty percent of respondents in those industries say their companies are done with blockchain research and development and have moved on to production.

Also read: Tech, media & telecom more aggressive blockchain investors than financial services

Blockchains may be able deliver a broad variety of applications across the telecom industry, according to a report by Deloitte and the Blockchain Institute. The report noted the technology has the potential to significantly impact communication services provides (CSPs) operating models.

The impact depends on how actively the adoption of use cases is driven by CSPs. Companies such as Orange and Verizon, amongst others, have invested in startups in the blockchain area to explore synergies and potential use cases. More players are researching use cases in-house.

Image from Shutterstock.

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Sprint Explores Blockchain Technology For Communication Carriers - CryptoCoinsNews

DETROIT (AP) Car shopping isnt just about kicking the tires anymore. Its also about testing the technology.

The rapidly evolving in-car infotainment and navigation systems can be bewildering for all but the most tech-savvy car buyers. The average vehicle on U.S. roads is 11 years old; that means many people last went car shopping before iPhones were invented.

Car buyers should make sure they can pair their phone with a car, play music from their phone, make a hands-free call and use the navigation system before they leave the dealer lot, experts say. They should make sure volume knobs, climate controls and other technology is intuitive and displayed the way they like. Some drivers want volume controls on the steering wheel, for example, while others prefer a knob on the dashboard.

Safety technology is also changing rapidly, and buyers should familiarize themselves with what the car can and cant do. Some vehicles will brake automatically to avoid a collision, while others flash a warning and help the driver pump the brakes but wont bring the car to a full stop.

Spend some time in the parking lot sitting in the car and just messing with it, says Ron Montoya, senior consumer advice editor for the car shopping site Edmunds.com.

The issue is a serious one for the auto industry. Consumers complaints about phone connectivity, navigation and infotainment systems have lowered vehicle dependability scores in annual rankings from J.D. Power and Consumer Reports. Poor showings in such rankings can put a dent in sales. Car shopping site Autotrader.com has found that as many as one-third of buyers will choose a different brand if they think a vehicles tech features are too hard to use.

To combat that, some brands are setting up technology help desks at dealerships and boosting employee training. In 2013, General Motors Co. formed a staff of 50 tech specialists to help deal with an increase in questions from customers about new technology. Those specialists train U.S. dealers to pair customers phones, set up in-car Wi-Fi and set preferences like radio stations.

When he takes customers for test drives, Paul Makowski pairs his own phone with the car and has customers make a call, stream music and do other tasks. He uses his own phone so customers dont worry that their data will be shared with the dealership.

Some people fear the technology and decline it all, but we still go over it. They dont leave here not knowing what their car has to offer, says Makowski, the sales manager for Ed Rinke Chevrolet Buick GMC in Center Line, Michigan.

Here are some tips for taking a tech test drive:

TAKE YOUR TIME: Test driving the technology should take at least 45 minutes, says Brian Moody, the executive editor at AutoTrader.com. Find out whether your phone is compatible with the car and learn how to pair it. Call a friend and ask if the sound is clear. Make sure the car understands your voice commands. Enter an address into the navigation system or, if the car has the capability, download an address to the car from your phone. Moody says its better to learn all these tasks at the dealership than on the road.

UPDATE YOUR PHONE: Make sure your phone has the latest operating system when you go shopping. New cars will be most compatible with updated phones.

DECIDE WHAT YOU LIKE: Six percent of new cars sold last year had Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which display many of your phones apps on the touchscreen. Thats expected to rise to 50 percent by 2020, according to IHS Markit. The familiar interface of those systems can make it easier to transition to in-car technology. But Montoya says there are some shortcomings. Apple CarPlay doesnt support the Waze traffic app or Google maps, for example, and if you want to change a radio station, you have to scroll out of Apple CarPlay and back to your cars radio. You should decide what system is best for you.

SHOP AROUND: Even if youve settled on a vehicle, it never hurts to test drive something else. You may find, for example, that you prefer climate controls on a touchscreen instead of on dashboard knobs, or that one vehicle has easier-to-use buttons on the steering wheel for making calls or adjusting volume. It might expose you to something better, Montoya says.

DONT FORGET SAFETY: Lane departure warning systems, backup cameras and blind-spot detection systems work differently depending on the car. Some lane departure systems buzz the seat if you drift out of your lane, for example, while others beep loudly. Thats something you might hear or feel a lot, so choose the technology you prefer.

BUY WHAT YOU NEED: Not everyone wants to stream Spotify and chat with Siri while theyre driving. If youre in that category, choose a stripped-down model so youre not paying for features you dont need, Montoya says. For example, a Toyota Camry starts at $23,050, but the EnTune infotainment package, which includes hands-free calling and other features, costs $775 extra.

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When test-driving a new car, take the technology for a spin - WTHITV.com

Knoxville News Sentinel consumer brand manager Angie Howell talks about everything that is going on at the 29th annual Knoxville News Sentinel Auto Show in the Knoxville Convention Center Andrew Capps

Visitors browse Honda and Lincoln automobiles at the annual Knoxville News Sentinel Auto Show at the Knoxville Convention Center in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday, February 25, 2017. (Photo: Calvin Mattheis, Knoxville News Sentinel)Buy Photo

The 29th Annual Knoxville News Sentinel Auto Show has gathered more than 20 brands and hundreds of cars at the Knoxville Convention Center in an automotive technology exhibition.

The show will continue noon-6 p.m. Sunday, hosting a variety of makes and models at the Convention Center.

This years show features vehicles such as Lexus, Fiat, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz. Dealerships from around the area brought their 2017 models to the show for the public to see.

Angie Howell, consumer brand manager for the Knoxville News Sentinel, helped organize theshow. According to Howell, the show is the perfect chance for those interested in cars, families and people shopping for a new vehicle to see what the industry has to offer.

This is a great opportunity families to get out for the day, but also a great opportunity for car enthusiasts or anyone in the market for a vehicle, she said.

Its a great event that brings together over 20 manufacturers under one roof. Its a prime opportunity to come check out hundreds of cars at one place.

John Fox, who works as a sales and leasing consultant for Lexus of Knoxville, was excited to have the opportunity to introduce so many people to the brands 2017 lineup and give them a chance to experience the vehicles through the shows Ride and Drive program.

Its a good way for us to us to connect with the community and show our cars, Fox said. We have three cars that were doing for the Ride and Drive, so if you see a car that you like here, we have three that you can ride and drive.

He added that Lexus brought in technology specialists to help showcase the brands luxury technology features during test drives.

We have technology specialists who will go in-depth to show you how everything works, he added. You can take a drive around the block and get a great feel for the car.

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The Knoxville Electric Vehicle Association joined the dealerships and manufacturers at the auto show with a couple of Tesla models put on display by their members. Gary Bulmer, a KEVA member, saidthe group came to the show to inspire people to consider buying electric cars.

Were here to promote electric vehicles. Thats what the club is all about, Bulmer said. People are very interested in Teslas, but were just as happy tointerest people in something like a Chevy Volt.

He added that the Teslas were getting quite a lot of attention compared to other cars at the show, a trend he credited to increased interest in electric vehicles.

Theres a lot of nice cars here and I think a lot of people use this to help get focused if theyre in the market for a car, he said. People are starting to develop an interest, and by talking to us they get a better idea since that these cars arent so hard to live with.

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News Sentinel Auto Show showcases new car technology and more - Knoxville News Sentinel

Photo: Stephanie Kim / Hearst Connecticut Media

Larry Mauer learning how to transfer his music files to his MP3 player with help from Wilton High School junior Erin Sweeney at the Senior center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Larry Mauer learning how to transfer his music files to his MP3 player with help from Wilton High School junior Erin Sweeney at the Senior center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Linda Gortz uploads photos unto Shutterfly with help from Debbie McClelland at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Linda Gortz uploads photos unto Shutterfly with help from Debbie McClelland at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Alec Favarolo helps Barabara Sage with using her iPhone at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Alec Favarolo helps Barabara Sage with using her iPhone at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Ann Byrne receives email help from Shelby Connor, junior at Wilton High School, at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Ann Byrne receives email help from Shelby Connor, junior at Wilton High School, at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Luke Terradista, junior at Wilton High School, helps Gierdra Troncone at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Luke Terradista, junior at Wilton High School, helps Gierdra Troncone at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

NoraNol Nolan, senior at Wilton High School and founder of Candy Stripers, helps Anne Richards navigate her new iPhone at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

NoraNol Nolan, senior at Wilton High School and founder of Candy Stripers, helps Anne Richards navigate her new iPhone at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

High schoolers teaching seniors in the community how to use their tech devices at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

High schoolers teaching seniors in the community how to use their tech devices at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

High schoolers teach seniors how to use technology

WILTON Larry Mauer came to the Senior Center Wednesday afternoon for help with transferring his music to his SanDisk MP3 player. He also needed help creating an email account.

In a matter of minutes, his problem was solved after a one-on-one session with Wilton High School junior Erin Sweeney.

Shes really great, Mauer said.

I can lend her, but I wont easily lend her, he laughed.

Sweeney is part of the Candy Stripers, a group of Wilton High Schoolers who find ways to connect with and serve the senior community.

The club partnered with Stay at Home in Wilton to launch the tech class this year, meeting in the senior technology room twice a month for one-on-one sessions with seniors. The sessions last about an hour.

Those of us who live in Wilton are fortunate to have very capable students who enjoy working with seniors in the community in technology instruction, said Peter Dodds, president of Stay at Home in Wilton.

The program also allows for the building of inter-generational relationships. Conversations about growing up in Wilton and life stories were shared between seniors and the high-schoolers, in the midst of tips on how to use the latest technology devices and platforms.

NoraNol Nolan, a Wilton High School senior who founded the club last year, said she started the Candy Stripers for this very reason: to add enriched experiences and interactions in the lives of seniors who live in Wilton.

The clubs name was inspired by the original Candy Stripers, started by a group of female junior high and high-schoolers who volunteered at hospitals in the 1940s.

All of the members of our club, we all have an elderly member of our family who has been lonely or has needed help or been in a home, Nolan said. So we just go around the homes in the community and throw events for them.

Nolan said the best part of the tech class so far is helping seniors connect to friends and loved ones, and to the world, overall.

I know that my grandpa says that technologys left him behind, like everythings moving so quickly, she said. So its good for them just to sit down with us, and we go step by step.

Giedra Troncone, who needed help removing closed captioning on a foreign film, agreed.

Its the best thing you could have ever imagined, she said. These are answers to specific questions, and this way, we get the undivided attention.

For more information about the program, contact Stay at Home in Wilton at info@shwil.org or 203-423-3225.

SKim@hearstmediact.com; 203-354-1044; @stephaniehnkim

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High schoolers teach seniors how to use technology - Thehour.com

Alphabet Incs Waymo self-driving carunit sued Uber Technologies and its autonomous trucking subsidiary Otto on Thursday over allegations of theft of its confidential and proprietary sensor technology.

Waymo accused Uber and Otto, acquired by the ride services company in August, with stealing confidential information on Waymos Lidar sensor technology to help speed its own efforts in autonomous technology.

Ubers LiDAR technology is actually Waymos LiDAR technology, said Waymos complaint in the Northern District of California.

Uber said it took the allegations made against Otto and Uber employees seriously and we will review this matter carefully.

Lidar, which uses light pulses reflected off objects to gauge their position on or near the road, is a crucial component of autonomous driving systems. Previous systems have been prohibitively expensive and Waymo sought to design one over 90 percent cheaper, making its Lidar technology among the companys most valuable assets, Waymo said.

Brendan McDermid / Reuters

Waymo is seeking an unspecified amount of damages and a court order preventing Uber from using its proprietary information.

Otto launched with much fanfare in May, due in part to the high profile of one of its co-founders, Anthony Levandowski, who had been an executive on Googles self-driving project. Uber acquired the company in August for what Waymo said in the lawsuit was $680 million.

Waymo said that before Levandowskis resignation in January 2016 from Google, whose self-driving unit was renamed Waymo in December, he downloaded over 14,000 confidential files, including Lidar circuit board designs, thereby allowing Uber and Otto to fast-track its self-driving technology.

Waymo accused Levandowski of attempting to erase any forensic fingerprints via a reformat of his laptop.

While Waymo developed its custom LiDAR systems with sustained effort over many years, defendants leveraged stolen information to shortcut the process and purportedly build a comparable LiDAR system in only nine months, the complaint said.

Last month, Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) electric car company sued the former head of its Autopilot system. It said he tried to recruit Tesla engineers for his new venture with the former head of Googles self-driving program while still working there, and said he stole proprietary data belonging to Tesla.

Waymos lawsuit said it learned of this use of trade secrets and patent infringement after it was inadvertently copied on an email from a component vendor that included a design of Ubers Lidar circuit board, which bore a striking resemblance to Waymos design.

Waymo noted that Google devoted over seven years to self-driving cars and said Ubers forays into the technology through a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University had stalled by early 2016.

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Waymo Says Uber Stole Critical Self-Driving Technology, Files Suit - Huffington Post

Forbes

Why Do We Resist Technology In The Workplace? Forbes Technology is great isn't it? Thirty years ago if you wanted portable music, for example, you had to stuff your pockets with cassettes and load them into a Walkman which promptly knotted the tape into an unravelable mess. Whereas now you can instantly ...

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Why Do We Resist Technology In The Workplace? - Forbes

Lets saybenefit of the doubt and allthat the tools and systems you put in place when you launched your startup were the best choices you could have made at the time. That day, though, was probably a while ago. For many founders, that means years or even a decade or two ago.

Startups don't stay startups forever. New organizations become not-so-new ones. But just because time passes doesn't mean these ventures scale. And the more time that does pass, the less the technology is likely to stay up to par. Just because something wasnt broken at one point doesnt mean it wont need to be fixed later. And the longer you wait to fix it, the harder time you'll have trying to grow and move forward.

Here's how to know whether your scaling troubles have to do with technologies that aren't keeping up.

Technology changes. But we all know that. So much of your organization changes, too, and those changes have real impact on whether your systems are still working for you.

Take a look at your org chart. Notice anything different today, compared to whenever you adopted that CRM system or website or project management tool? Chances are the main difference is that there are now more people using those tools than there were originally.

Whatever system you're relying on can probably accommodate some extra users or licenses. The impact of adding more people to the company, though, isn't that you need more people using the same tools. It's that you now need people using the same tools for things that they just aren't built for.

As companies expand, the business areas and specialties covered by staff also expand. And as employees take on more and different work, the tools and systems they rely on to do that work have to change to meet those needs. But they very often don't. Regardless of what kind of technology you're using, there's nothing that's great at everything.

Add to this mismatch the fact that new staff also bring with them different skills and proficiencies. So you may try to hire folks who have experience with certain systems, but it's probably better for your company to hire people with the best overall job skills, regardless of whether they've worked with X invoicing system or Y database. Successful professionals always find a way, which can be a double-edged sword: If your company-wide tools dont work for them, they'll eventually use something else, creating data silos, process breakdowns, and worse.

Staff come and go, but the work stays the same, right? Not in 2017. As customers cycle in and out, market needs evolve, and organizations' roles in their sectors and communities change, their products and services have to either expand or adapt. That isnt a bad thing. But it means you need a smart tech-evaluation process to make sure your tools are keeping pace. These five questions can get you started:

1. What other systems do we use? It isnt likely that you'll adopt a tool for all of or even some of your staff that's intended to stand alone entirely. What other tools are you using simultaneously? Think about how it all works togetherand where it currently doesn't. What are the integration options? What options will you have for integrating tools in the future?

2. What are employees' top technical needs? Beware of the shiny-object syndromedon't get sidetracked by a great pitch from a seasoned sales rep highlighting bells and whistles. Stay focused on the technical tools your employees actually tell you they need. If a given system does more than what's needed at a given time, that can be a bonus; if it does other things that seem great without meeting your team's core needs, youll end up buying something they'll have to find their own workarounds for.

3. What's the technical skill level of the people who'll use it? Adoption is key. If the system is too cumbersome or technical for everyone on your team to useeven if it can do all the things you're looking forthey won't. Always ask for a sandbox, and have your employees (not just the tech staff, but folks all across the company) test it and give feedback.

4. What level of support is available? Unless you plan to have every question and support request go to someone on staff (good luck to them!), you've got to ask about support from the get-go. This includes far more than the paid customer-service phone support, by the way; consider things like active contributors or a community of users.

5. What does my community think? Is there an aspect of this system that customers and people outside your organization will interact with? If so, you need to involve those users in the evaluation, too. Whether you already have a community user group established for ongoing engagement or not, invite them to play around and weigh in on any tech tool you're considering.

From small projects to a massive system overhaul, it's all about keeping your humans and the tools they use in close alignment. That isn't easy, but when the gap between them widens, your whole organization's growth slows down. Sometimes scaling troubles aren't about anything wrong with your business modelthey come from smaller, peskier issues that you're writing off as livable annoyances. Because chances are they won't be for long.

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Startup Not Scaling? Maybe It's Your Technology - Fast Company

PRINCETON, Mass. -- The highly-specialized DNA technology that investigators used to create a profile of a person of interest in the killing of Vanessa Marcotte could mean the difference between solving a crime and a cold case, CBS Boston reports.

Marcotte, a New York City Google employee, was 27 when she was killed while jogging near her parents Princeton home on August 7, 2016.

The technology has the potential to show police the killers face and give them desperately needed clues.

Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said Thursday that investigators used a combination of witness statements and a DNA profile developed with the help of scientists at private lab Parabon NanoLab to develop a description of a person of interest in the case. The person of interest is described as a Hispanic or Latino man, about 30 years old, with an athletic build, light or medium skin, and a shaved head or very short hair.

He added that the person of interest would have had scratches on his face, neck, hands and arms after the Aug. 7 attack, the Associated Press reports.

Early wouldnt say where investigators collected the DNA. When asked by a reporter whether the DNA was recovered from Marcottes fingernails, Early said, I cant speak to that, but he did have a lot of scratches.

Using a small amount of DNA, scientists at the Parabon NanoLab are able to predict certain physical features and develop a forensic profile of the person.

We focus on things that dont change with the environment, so we do pigmentation which is eye, hair, and skin color, as well as freckling, Dr. Ellen McRae Greytak, director of the Parabon NanoLab, told CBS Boston.

She added that the lab also focuses on the face and persons ancestry.

When investigators run out of options, Greytak said they contact her lab, oftentimes for help generating new leads on cold cases.

And what we do is we tell them of those 400 people in the area, you can eliminate 90-95 percent because they dont match this profile, Greytak said. And now you can focus on a manageable number of people.

From there, the investigators have more information to work with and become more hopeful of solving the case.

It is not yet possible to predict height and weight using the technology.

Anyone with information about the Vanessa Marcotte case is asked to call the Massachusetts State Police tipline at 508-453-7589.

2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Forbes

IBM And Apple: The Truth About Buffett's Technology Buys Forbes So far this year, the Nasdaq composite has been the best performer out of the three major indices. Investors seem to be warming up to tech, particularly some of the larger players in the technology space, and while it might seem like a disconnect to ... and more »

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IBM And Apple: The Truth About Buffett's Technology Buys - Forbes

Do you know someone who is doing extraordinary work in the field of marketing technology?

Ad Age is seeking the digital transformers, data scientists and stack stars that fuel the world of marketing technology. Our new Marketing Tech Trailblazers list, publishing April 17, will recognize industry movers who are creating, collecting and harnessing data to create smart marketing. And we are seeking your help for nominations for this influential list.

You may nominate someone at a technology vendor who is offering cool new products and showing the industry how to use it in new ways; the digital technologist at a marketer who is doing outstanding work applying digital tools of the trade to smartly manage and grow the company's business; the data and insights strategist at an ad or marketing agency who is applying those learnings to business and winning.

Successful candidates will not be limited to those categories; however, people on our list will be actively working in and helping to advance marketing technology.

Please be as specific as you can as to what accomplishments this person has achieved in the subject area within the past year. Nominate here. Submissions end Monday April 3.

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Calling All Marketing Technology Trailblazers - AdAge.com (blog)

Do all lemurs look the same? Not to LemurFaceID, the new facial-recognition software customized to identify unique features in lemurs faces.

Crouse et al BMC Zoology 2017

When observing wildlife behavior in a natural setting, researchers typically need to keep their distance, making it challenging to identify individual animals and track their movements and activity over time.

One new method recently developed for observingred-bellied lemurstakes a high-tech approach to long-distance identification, using modified facial-recognition software.

Biologists collaborated with computer engineers to adapt software designed to recognize human faces, creating a new program dubbed LemurFaceID, which they described in a new study. The software detects unique features in lemur faces so that researchers can pinpoint individuals even in the absence of features such as scars or injuries, and without causing the lemurs undue stress that comes with capture. [Wild Madagascar: Photos Reveal Islands Amazing Lemurs]

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Five lemurs from Madagascar are now living at the San Diego Zoo. The ring-tailed and wide-eyed creatures live in a free-range exhibit called "Lem...

Previously, the most accurate means of identifying individual lemurs involved trapping and tagging the animals. But LemurFaceID only requires a frontal-view photo of a lemurs face a lemur mug shot which is then uploaded to a database and analyzed by algorithms tailored to work onlemur faces, evaluating variability in facial hair patterns and in other unique facial features.

Using LemurFaceID, scientists assembled a database from 462 photographs of 80 known red-bellied lemurs living in Madagascars Ranomafana National Park. In 100 trials, the software correctly identified individual lemurs from images with nearly 98 percent accuracy, the researchers reported.

We demonstrate that the LemurFaceID system identifies individual lemurs with a level of accuracy that suggestsfacial-recognition technologyis a potential useful tool for long-term research on wild lemur populations, the study authors wrote online Feb. 17 in the journalBioMed Central Zoology.

Red-bellied lemurs in Madagascar male (left) and female (right). Males have distinctive white coloration around their eyes, and the unique patterns help biologists to identify individual animals.

Joseph Falinomenjanahary

LemurFaceID offers a means for scientists to quickly determine if newly sighted lemurs are unique, and could help scientists track long-term individuals over the long term. The software could even track lemurs that have been poached and sold illegally, study co-author Rachel Jacobs, a biological anthropologist with the Center for the Advanced Study of Paleobiology at The George Washington University,said in a statement.

Facial-recognition softwaresuch as LemurFaceID could also be applied to other species that have similar variations in the patterns of their facial hair and skin -- for example, red pandas, sloths, bears and raccoons -- and could reduce the risk of injury that animals face from traditional capture and collar methods, the researchers wrote in their journal article.

We see lots of different potential applications for this, study co-author Stacey Tecot, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona School of Anthropology, said in the statement. This is just the first step for us in taking this in many directions.

Original article onLive Science.

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New technology detects unique features in lemur faces - CBS News - CBS News

New York Times

Google Self-Driving Car Unit Accuses Uber of Using Stolen Technology New York Times Otto and Uber have taken Waymo's intellectual property so that they could avoid incurring the risk, time, and expense of independently developing their own technology, the company said in the filing. Ultimately, this calculated theft reportedly ... Google and Uber Are Fighting Over Lidar Technology. What Is It?Bloomberg Uber using stolen Google technology for self-driving cars, lawsuit allegesChicago Tribune Uber accused of 'calculated theft' of Google's self-driving car technologyThe Guardian Waco Tribune-Herald -Business Insider -Vox all 103 news articles »

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Google Self-Driving Car Unit Accuses Uber of Using Stolen Technology - New York Times

New York Times

Google Cousin Develops Technology to Flag Toxic Online Comments New York Times Jared Cohen, president of Jigsaw, formerly known as Google Ideas, in 2015. Jigsaw said it had developed a tool for web publishers to identify comments that ... Google and Jigsaw create Perspective technology to identify abusive commentsBetaNews Google technology tackles abusive commentsRTE.ie Google's new innovative technology aims to combat online trollsAndroid Authority (blog) Google Blog -Data & Society -WIRED all 66 news articles »

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Google Cousin Develops Technology to Flag Toxic Online Comments - New York Times

The original Oscar statue was hand carved by Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley. For decades the statuettes have been made by a Chicago trophy company and gold-plated.

But last year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided they wanted to return to the original bronze figure made using the lost wax process. The Academy chose Polich Tallix as the foundry to cast the bronze figures.

3-D Scans Merge Previous Versions

They started by scanning a classic Oscar from 1928 and the 2015 model and entering the information into a 3-D printer.

"We have the three different versions," said Daniel Plonski, the 3-D artist and the head of production. "We have the classic statue, the recent 2015 version and the third version which we created."

The new design is then 3-D printed in wax and a mold of that statue is made to make another wax figurine for each statuette.

Plonski says the 3-D printing makes the process much quicker, but just as faithful to the Art Deco original.

So before it required a great deal of hand-sculpting and carving," hei said. "And now all of that can be done completely with a digital environment. Once we have our design created we can send it to our 3-D printer which produces the 3-D wax patterns.

Lost Wax-casting Process

The new Oscar is then dipped in a ceramic slurry, and once it is cured, fired in an oven at 871 degrees Celsius. Molten bronze is then poured into the ceramic mold and allowed to cool.

Production manager Paul Pisoni says the molds are not reused that each Oscar is a brand new casting.

"One mold is only good for one Oscar and then it gets cracked and destroyed so therefore we have to make one of these molds for every piece of metal that we cast in the foundry," he said.

After some cleanup, the bronze statuettes are polished to a mirror finish and electroplated with 24 karat gold at another firm in Brooklyn, New York. The base of each Oscar is also cast in bronze, and is given a smooth, black finish.

Pisoni says since they dont know who wins, they have to engrave a bronze plate with all the nominees names.

And the Oscar Goes to...

When the actual winner is announced, the correct plate is attached in the center of the base.

The whole process takes about three months. The final product stands about 34 centimeters tall and weighs about 3.9 kilograms. And the gleaming statues will be on full display at Sundays ceremony in Los Angeles.

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New York Firm Makes New Oscars Using 3-D Technology - Voice of America