research

Microsoft and Research In Motion today said they have signed a patent licensing agreement that gives RIM access to Microsoft file system technology.

That technology is called Extended File Allocation Table -- or "exFAT" for short -- and Microsoft says it optimizes files for use on flash storage, which is overwhelmingly the storage of choice on smartphones and tablets.

"Today's smartphones and tablets require the capacity to display richer images and data than traditional cellular phones," David Kaefer, the general manager of intellectual property licensing at Microsoft said in a statement. "This agreement with … Read more

Researchers do sometimes concoct the most marvelous hypotheses.

However, some large heads at Keele University in the U.K. have managed to entice me into a piece of research that truly lifts the spirits.

For reasons that may or may not be related to Britain's own repressed but violent nature, these psychologists decided to inflict pain on gamers.

They wanted to see whether those who played violent games tolerated real, physical anguish better than those who played sissy games like EA's Tiger Woods mullarkey.

One wonders whether the participants knew that they would be subjected to waterboarding.… Read more

With everyone's nerve-endings needing massage by Valium in anticipation of Wednesday's new iPhone announcement, this is hardly the time for sobering thoughts.

Still, if you can't be sobering in the morning, when can you?

I have therefore dug deep into the annals of the anodyne to unearth a piece of, um, research that suggests Apple is becoming ugly -- even to its own fanpersons.

This research, performed by a company called Media Measurement, attempted to place a gentle, caring finger upon the pulses of enthusiasts, after Apple had defeated Samsung in the recent patent trial.

As Forbes tells it, … Read more

Learning how to cook can be a frustrating experience. This should not be the case. Aside from an occasional overcooked steak, the process should be an enjoyable one. And considering that one gets to eat the results of one's labor, the aftermath isn't too bad either. (Unless that steak is really overdone.) Understanding that learning how to cook can be thought of as a game, a research team at the Tokyo Institute of Technology has created a cooking simulator designed to give novice cooks instantaneous feedback.

As a novel approach to culinary education, the system is composed of … Read more

Some people just cannot stop buying.

They wander into stores during their lunch hour, they're constantly attuned to online shopping. Who can wonder that the wise people at Amazon decided to name their online clothing store MyHabit?

And yet, as everything goes mobile, is it really quite as easy to shop through your phone, as it is on your cute little PC or iPad? Everything is a little smaller, for example. It's harder to zoom out and imagine.

However, new research has entered my laptop that offers a far more rational perspective on mobile shopping. Apparently, a substantial … Read more

You know all those people who use the phrase "iPhone killer" on Twitter? They're probably psychopaths.

So are, very likely, those who wanted Apple to "bury" Samsung.

How do I know this? Well, I am privy to new scientific information that indicates something very powerful about the language used while expressing one's feelings in social media.

Swearing or using words of high aggression is an apparent indicator that one is not necessarily well in the head.

I am grateful to the Daily Mail for not killing the story of the boffins at Florida Atlantic … Read more

Research In Motion said today that the next iteration of its BlackBerry Enterprise Server will be able to handle both past and future BlackBerrys, assuaging concerns about compatibility issues and the need for companies to run multiple servers -- sort of.

RIM said it would launch BlackBerry Enterprise Server 10 at the same time as the launch of the first BlackBerry 10 phone early next year. Existing BES customers will get an upgrade to BES 10 to ensure they'll be able to handle both new and legacy devices.

The comments answer a concern that RIM would move on to … Read more

Technological futurism to Intel's Brian David Johnson is a lot more than engineering. He combines ethnography, science fiction literature, and consumer research to help the company know where things are going in the future just beyond the average geek's grasp.

I caught up with Brian at an Intel event where their engineering teams basically hold a science fair -- a really impressive science fair. In addition to what's in the video, I also assembled a slide show of a few more things that caught my eye. Check it out below.

One of the most interesting things I … Read more

Science can be rather disheartening.

You sidle up to a potential lover and you're told there's no chemistry. You want to make yourself beautiful for the next potential lover and physics makes your eyes resemble pig buttocks.

And yet, just occasionally, scientific exploration of our biology can turn up a helpful hint that lifts us from our daily pall.

Indeed, my all-too-rare reading of Science magazine has turned up something that for you will be peace of mind and for Amazon will surely be the next great business segment.

For instead of shoving your data onto a hard … Read more