The technique, spearheaded by Bo Albinsson at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, encodes DNA in a way that, when mixed with light-receptive molecules called chromophores, self-engineer themselves into a natural photo-sensitive wire that can accurately transmit light—similar to those found in some algaes. The technique may also someday be used for artificial photosynthesis systems that may power next-gen solar cells. [New Scientist, Image: DNA visualized in a cDNA microarray from Wiki Commons]

The Turing Test states that to be considered "sentient," an artificial intelligence must achieve a 30% success rate. That means Elbot's accomplishment, while noteworthy, does not an AI make.

Organizer Kevin Warwick from the University of Reading's School of Systems Engineering was excited anyway, and readily compared today's events to the time in the 1997 when IBM's Big Blue defeated chess master Gary Kasparov. "This has been a very exciting day with two of the machines getting very close to passing the Turing Test for the first time," he said.

Perhaps even more impressive was just how believable the computers were, even if the human speaking with them knew they were speaking with a machine.

"Today's results actually show a more complex story than a straight pass or fail by one machine. Where the machines were identified correctly by the human interrogators as machines, the conversational abilities of each machine was scored at 80 and 90%. This demonstrates how close machines are getting to reaching the milestone of communicating with us in a way in which we are comfortable. That eventual day will herald a new phase in our relationship with machines, bringing closer the time in which robots start to play an active role in our daily lives."

Note to Warnick: Read anything on robots written by Isaac Asimov, then get back to me. [Telegraph]

It's a much better store than it used to be, full of components, motherboards, and lots of actually _helpful_ people who know computers.

ControlThink Introduces Z-Wave Enabled Platform for Mass Market Windows SideShow Enabled Remote Controls

ControlThink's ThinkRemote Platform to Speed Time-to-Market for CE Manufacturers; PiTech and CWTek are First Hardware Partners

CEDIA 2007 - September 5, 2007 - ControlThink today announced its new ThinkRemote platform, providing PC and accessory manufacturers the ability to create mass-market Microsoft Windows SideShow-enabled remote controls using Z-Wave, the industry-standard wireless technology for home control and automation.

PC and accessory manufacturers can now create affordable Windows Media Center remote controls as well as other Windows SideShow-enabled devices—while leveraging Z-Wave wireless mesh technology to deliver personalized information such as weather and stock quotes to anywhere in the home.

"We're excited that ControlThink and the Z-Wave Alliance are bringing to market a platform that will help CE manufacturers around the world take advantage of Windows SideShow technology while enabling a new price point for devices," said Bill Mitchell, Corporate Vice President of the PC|3 Division of Microsoft.

Benefits of the Z-Wave enabled ThinkRemote platform include:

•Manufacturers can create affordable, mass-market Windows SideShow-enabled remotes, including built-in support for Windows Media Center
•Any Z-Wave device with a display can integrate with the ThinkRemote platform and display Windows SideShow content using standard Z-Wave profiles
•Remotes can also communicate with any other Z-Wave enabled devices, such as lights, blinds, thermostats, and security and entertainment devices
•Reliable Z-Wave technology removes the need for line-of-sight, allowing the remote to be used anywhere in home by utilizing Z-Wave's mesh network repeater functionality
•Two-way Z-Wave technology allows interactive displays in wireless remotes and other devices, such as fridge magnets
•Supports all Windows SideShow gadgets including weather, stock quotes, email, and third-party gadgets
•Content can be customized per user or shared with the whole family
•Provides for optional control of Windows Media Player or other software, and allows OEMs to integrate their own custom screens, menus, and other functionality
•Works with simpler non-display remotes as an alternative to infrared PC remote controls
•Z-Wave to IR bridge (using IR emitters on the PC) will be available as an optional add-on for OEMs wanting to make their PCs the hub of the entertainment center, allowing a Z-Wave enabled remote to send commands to a cable box, amplifier, or other equipment via the PC
•Initial release supports full Windows SideShow experience for text-based remotes, including both glance data and regular content

"This is another example where Z-Wave technology and its rich ecosystem of interoperable products is enabling new and exciting applications," said Mark Walters, chairman of the Z-Wave Alliance. "By integrating with Windows Vista we're extending the reach of home control."

"Our goal was to create a low-cost way for manufacturers to create PC-based remote controls and Windows SideShow-enabled hardware devices using Z-Wave," said Chris Walker, President of ControlThink. "And while we accomplished that, we also transformed the PC from a single-room computer to a whole-home entertainment solution and information hub. This is really exciting, and opens significant new opportunities for PC and accessory manufacturers."

As part of the initial launch, two hardware partners - PiTech and CWTek - are developing remote controls and other devices that take advantage of Windows SideShow and Z-Wave technology. These products are expected to be available for consumers in late 2007 or early 2008.

The slowest processor on the mini is now the 1.83 Intel Core 2 Duo, where that was the fastest available on that machine before. Now the top processor for the tiny Mac is a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. Looking at the Apple Store, the Mac mini is priced at $599 for the 1.83GHz machine with 1GB of memory and a 80GB hard drive, while the 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo box with 1GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive will sell for $799.