VOA Technology Report

There are list lesson of VOA Technology Report:

	Technology Report - Company Prepares for Risky Clean Up of Fukushima Reactor
	Technology Report - New Supercomputers Aid Weather Forecasts
	Technology Report - Robo Sally Has Human-Like Hands
	Technology Report - Africa Grows as a Market for Tech Products
	Technology Report - Using Drones to Save Animals
	Technology Report - How Google Glass Works
	Technology Report - Promoting Tornado Safe Rooms in Oklahoma
	Technology Report - Social Media Limits in Vietnam Criticized
	Technology Report - Computer in China Tops List of World's Most Powerful
	Technology Report - A Device That Can Tell If Drivers Are Alert
	Technology Report - World Digital Library Serves Millions
	Technology Report - Goal Line Technology Used at Confederations Cup
	Technology Report - Amazon Launches Shopping Website in India
	Technology Report - Identifying a 'STEMI' Heart Attack With an iPhone App
	Technology Report - A Call for a Ban on 'Killer Robots'
	Technology Report - Persuading You to Buy a PC
	Technology Report - Brck: an Internet Router Designed for Africa
	Technology Report - Smartphones in Space: a Really Long-Distance Call for NASA
	Technology Report - An App for Alzheimer's Caregivers
	Technology Report - California Governor Seeks to Increase Ties with China

Technology Report - California Governor Seeks to Increase Ties with China

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Alzheimer's	Android	People	Pomeranz	Riverdale	That	affected	and	app
are	family	in	is	its	keep	provides	providing	the
time	with

disease is mostly a condition of old age. Today, life expectancy increasing around the world. As a result, the number of people by Alzheimer's is expected to triple in some countries by 2050. with this brain disease often have other medical needs that require services of many health care professionals. Caregivers often have a hard keeping up with all the medical information. More and more often, members are being called on to help care for loved ones Alzheimers'. It is a responsibility for which most people are unprepared. is why the Hebrew Home, a private health care group in , New York, developed an iPhone and iPad application called Balance. The offers caregivers advice on recognizing symptoms and on feeding, bathing and a healthy environment for the patient. It can be bought on Internet for $4. The Hebrew Home is a not-for-profit organization that care to 75,000 patients in New York City. David Pomeranz is program development director. He created ".Balance." Mr. Pomeranz says the Balance is designed to let users organize information so they can easily track of a patient's health. It helps caregivers manage doctor's appointments share information with doctors about the patient's daily emotional changes. Interest the app has not been limited to the United States. David says people in other countries are also using it. Software developers working on a version of Balance for mobile devices using the operating system. For VOA Learning English, I'm Laurel Bowman

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Technology Report - An App for Alzheimer's Caregivers

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In	Jim	Learning	Smartphones	about	and	as	built	each	have
if	in	of	or	satellites	says	serves	system	take
the	when

are small and easy to carry so they are always ready we need them. People use them to get road directions, to pictures or to call friends. But we easily forget the power smartphone microprocessors. Scientists with NASA, the American space agency, have not. April, NASA sent three smartphones into space to operate as low-cost . They were launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in the state Virginia. The launch was the first test flight of the privately Antares rocket. Space agency officials gave names to the three PhoneSats, they are called. The names are ",Alexander," "Graham" and ",Bell," after inventor of the telephone.

All three PhoneSats looked like small cubes boxes. Each one was about the size of a drinking cup weighed a little more than one kilogram. At the heart of was a Google-HTC Nexus One phone. The microprocessor inside the phone as the brain of the mini-satellite-. Jim Cockrell works for NASA California. He says the PhoneSats were an experiment to find out a cellphone can serve as the

avionics for a satellite. NASA the PhoneSats operated for almost a week. They collected pictures of Earth and sent messages to ground stations. The agency says smartphones more than 100 times the computing power of an average satellite. Cockrell notes that they also have high-resolution cameras and global positioning receivers. So, the next time you pick up a smartphone, think the work of the PhoneSats ",Alexander," ""*%Graham"

and ".Bell." For VOA English, I'm Mario Ritter

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Technology Report - Smartphones in Space: a Really Long-Distance Call for NASA

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$125,000.	Alex	Cameroon	Getting	Internet	Mr	Ushahidi	card	company
connection	could	device	in	is	it	make	problem
router	technology	the

and staying connected to the Internet is quickly becoming very important Africa. A team of Americans and Kenyans have developed an Internet made especially for the continent. They say it can keep the available even in areas with undependable electricity and Internet service. The is called Brck. It can plug into an electric outlet, but can also be battery powered. Al Banda is a blogger in . He saw the device for the first time at an information conference in Berlin, Germany. Mr. Banda said Brck could solve a he has experienced. He says in his community in Cameroon electricity not dependable. Also it is very difficult to get access to Internet even with an Internet service provider. Mr. Banda says Brck an African answer to an African problem. The Kenyan-based nonprofit technology Ushahidi developed Brck, after raising money through the funding website Kickstarter. official Erik Hersman says the router is able to move among networks. He says if there is a problem with the Internet , the device will look for a 3G network with its SIM . He says the Brck can be taken anywhere. Erik Hersman says Brck will go into production as soon as the company raises Ushahidi has collected about half that so far. It plans to up to 1,500 devices at first, mainly for Africa and India. . Hersman expects each device to sell for about $100. The Brck be a solution to Internet connection problems in Africa, but it also find uses in developed countries. For VOA Learning English, I'm Villarreal

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Technology Report - Brck: an Internet Router Designed for Africa

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8	2011.	Computer	Fard	October	The	about	as	computers
include	is	its	life	not	of	president	some	started	take
the	worldwide

makers are working on ways to persuade people to buy personal . Companies at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas talked new developments, like touch computers, or laptops that turn into tablets. chip manufacturer Intel made a surprise announcement at the show. Mike says his company is taking steps to reduce power requirements on processors. He says Intel is constantly trying to provide more battery . Yet sales of PCs are slow. Research company IDC reported that sales of PCs dropped 14 percent in the first three months 2013. The company said this was the worst drop since it collecting information in 1994. One possible reason for the slow sales the rise of tablet computers, such as Apple's iPad. Intel and competitors have sought to improve sales by offering new products. These the ultrabook, a thin, lightweight notebook computer, which came out in But they have not lifted sales. Industry experts are also concerned reaction to Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system. It was released last . Bob ODonnell', an IDC vice president, said the Windows 8 launch only failed to increase PC sales, but seemed to have slowed market. He has criticized the company for making "radical changes," such removing the "start" button from the operating system. Windows' corporate vice Julie Larson-Green announced this month that Microsoft will release a Windows update. She expects the first public preview of the update to place in June. For VOA Learning English, I'm Laurel Bowman.

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Technology Report - Persuading You to Buy a PC

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A United Nations special investigator recently called for a ban on production and use of lethal autonomous robotics, known as LARs. Critics these "killer robots" may one day choose and strike targets independently, human direction. UN official Christof Heyns says the lack of human raises many moral and ethical questions about LARs. He spoke in at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, says the taking of any human life deserves a basic level consideration. Mr. Heyns says the deployment of machines to kill people be unacceptable because the world has yet to agree on legal in such cases. He says "killer robots" should not have the of life and death over human beings. He disagrees with people say robots could help reduce the possibility of what they call wars. Mr. Heyns says people make mistakes. They can act out fear or be driven by revenge or cruelty. But, unlike robots, can also act out of compassion. He says humans consider many things in each situation they face. Drone aircraft have also been point of debate in recent years. These vehicles are piloted by person on the ground. Many countries have drone programs. Drone strikes helped the United States in its battle against militants in countries as Afghanistan and Pakistan. In May, President Obama said the use drone strikes must be held to high standards. He called the of drones effective. But he noted that the new technology raises he called "profound questionsFor VOA Learning English, I'm Carolyn Presutti.

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Technology Report - A Call for a Ban on 'Killer Robots'

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India	Laurel	and	as	businesses	compare	currently	for	goods	markets
own	population	profits	research	shopping	such	the
there	third

The world's largest online retail company, Amazon, has launched its first website in IndiaThe Amazon website in India offers seven million books 12,000 movies and television programs. It will soon add more products as cameras and mobile phonesThe American company will not sell its products in India. Indian law does not permit companies that sell from more than one manufacturer to sell directly to people on Internet. Instead the Amazon website serves as a marketplace for local . Last year, Amazon launched a site in India which let users prices online, but not purchase productsShabori Das is with the market company Euromonitor. She says Amazon is entering a market where online is still new, but is expected to grow quickly. She says is expected to be among the 20 fastest growing Internet retailing in the world. Online businesses are interested in India's huge, young . But only about 12 percent of Indians have a connection to Internet. That is far fewer than in countries like China. Still, are 150 million Internet users in India, making its market the largest in the world. And it is expected to grow quickly more people get connected. At this time, the path to big may not be easy for online retail businesses. Online retail is valued at $10 billion, but a large amount of that is air travel. Now, competition to provide retail goods should increase with entry of Amazon into the market. For VOA Learning English, I'm Bowman.

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Technology Report - Identifying a 'STEMI' Heart Attack With an iPhone App

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Brazil	From	Mario	The	call	computer	it	minus	of	on
only	or	says	showed	technology	that	the
use	used

VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report. Many sports competitions cameras to help officials make the right call. Now goal line is being used in international soccer. The move to goal line follows international pressure on football's governing body, FIFA, after a missed in the 2010 World Cup. Video replays of a game clearly that England's Frank Lampard had scored a goal against Germany. However, goal was denied because neither the referee nor the linesman saw ball cross the goal line. The incident caused such an outcry FIFA approved the development of goal line technology. That technology was at the Confederations Cup in Brazil in June. Bjorn Linder is chairman of GoalControl, the German-based company that won the goal line contract for this year's Confederations Cup. His team spent weeks in before the games as part of the FIFA certification process. He the system has 14 cameras connected to a computer. Computers track path of the ball in real time and reconstruct the play. system sends a signal to the referees through their watches when finds that the ball has crossed the goal line. Electronic eyes the goal line may settle arguments, but the data is still a reconstruction of reality. GoalControl claims an accuracy of plus or five millimeters. This is well below FIFA's minimum requirement of plus minus three centimeters. Goal line technology may become a central part the sport. But it is still the referee ---- not the ---- that makes the final call. For VOA Learning English, I'm Ritter.

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Technology Report - Amazon Launches Shopping Website in India

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Brazil	From	Mario	The	call	computer	it	minus	of	on
only	or	says	showed	technology	that	the
use	used

VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report. Many sports competitions cameras to help officials make the right call. Now goal line is being used in international soccer. The move to goal line follows international pressure on football's governing body, FIFA, after a missed in the 2010 World Cup. Video replays of a game clearly that England's Frank Lampard had scored a goal against Germany. However, goal was denied because neither the referee nor the linesman saw ball cross the goal line. The incident caused such an outcry FIFA approved the development of goal line technology. That technology was at the Confederations Cup in Brazil in June. Bjorn Linder is chairman of GoalControl, the German-based company that won the goal line contract for this year's Confederations Cup. His team spent weeks in before the games as part of the FIFA certification process. He the system has 14 cameras connected to a computer. Computers track path of the ball in real time and reconstruct the play. system sends a signal to the referees through their watches when finds that the ball has crossed the goal line. Electronic eyes the goal line may settle arguments, but the data is still a reconstruction of reality. GoalControl claims an accuracy of plus or five millimeters. This is well below FIFA's minimum requirement of plus minus three centimeters. Goal line technology may become a central part the sport. But it is still the referee ---- not the ---- that makes the final call. For VOA Learning English, I'm Ritter.

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Technology Report - Goal Line Technology Used at Confederations Cup

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79	English	For	It	Musa	Name	Oudenaren	States	United	and
available	in	is	it	kind	library	million	or	people
to	website	with

a website where you could find old pictures of camels carrying to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and books about ancient Aztecs in Mexico? is all found in the World Digital Library. Its collection is on the Internet. The library has 8,000 items, from whole books ancient writings to music and photographs. There are 170 partners in countries sending material to the World Digital Library. Partners include national university libraries, museums and other cultural organizations. The librarian of the States Congress, James Billington, launched the WDL in 2009. John Von is the director of the library. He says Mr. Billington wanted to include materials that are both interesting and important. Every item explained in the six official languages of the United Nations ---- , Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and also Portuguese. Since 2009, 25 people have visited the website from 250 places. The greatest number from Spanish-speaking countries. John Von Oudenaren says users include schools, researchers anyone interested. He was especially happy to hear from one teacher New York City. She said it was wonderful to have a that people around the world could find interesting and important items. Murawih is a researcher for the WDL from Sudan. He works all the materials that are in Arabic. Musa Murawih believes the provides tools for understanding especially among Arabs, Muslims and the United . Anyone may search the World Digital Library by subject, time period, of document or area of the world. The website is wwwwdlorg... VOA Learning English, I'm Alex Villarreal.

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Technology Report - World Digital Library Serves Millions

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--	25	Mexico	United	Von	a	books	carrying	in	is
item	items	national	number	period	researchers	teacher	the	wanted
works	wwwwdlorg

Name a website where you could find old pictures of camels people to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and books about ancient Aztecs in ? It is all found in the World Digital Library. Its collection available on the Internet. The library has 8,000 items, from whole to ancient writings to music and photographs. There are 170 partners 79 countries sending material to the World Digital Library. Partners include or university libraries, museums and other cultural organizations. The librarian of United States Congress, James Billington, launched the WDL in 2009. John Oudenaren is the director of the library. He says Mr. Billington it to include materials that are both interesting and important. Every is explained in the six official languages of the United Nations - - English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and also Portuguese. Since 2009, million people have visited the website from 250 places. The greatest is from Spanish-speaking countries. John Von Oudenaren says users include schools, and anyone interested. He was especially happy to hear from one in New York City. She said it was wonderful to have website that people around the world could find interesting and important . Musa Murawih is a researcher for the WDL from Sudan. He with all the materials that are in Arabic. Musa Murawih believes library provides tools for understanding especially among Arabs, Muslims and the States. Anyone may search the World Digital Library by subject, time , kind of document or area of the world. The website is ... For VOA Learning English, I'm Alex Villarreal.

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Technology Report - A Device That Can Tell If Drivers Are Alert

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High-tech	I'm	Labs	The	a	chips	computer	could	flower
help	in	make	new	occupied	on	prevent	simplified	to	turn
us	was

companies are developing the next generation of products that will help drive cars, do our shopping and even care for our children. technology company Intel recently held a demonstration of some of its devices in San Francisco.

One device measured how alert a driver . Sensors connected to the driver's head measured brain activity. Cameras placed the car's dashboard measured eye movement. Justin Rattner works at Intel . He says the devices measure how much of the brain is while the person is driving. Devices like these, he says, will driving safer. Another experimental Intel technology links cars electronically to help crashes. When the driver of the car in front signals a or slows down, an alert message is sent to the car back. There was also a demonstration of a virtual computer. The was projected onto the table from a controller hidden in a pot. Sensors read the movements of the users' hands, so there no need for a mouse or other handheld device. This technology be used in everyday situations. At a market, sensors and computer placed in products could help shoppers find the items they want buy. For example, the technology could help them avoid foods that cause an allergic reaction. Cameras and sensors are already available to parents watch their children. In the future, other equipment will monitor baby's health and mood. And security systems are being improved and , with face-recognition software instead of complicated passwords. For VOA Learning English, Alex Villarreal.

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