"Physorg.com is reporting on the University of Delaware and Cambridge NanoTech's experiments regarding 'spintronics,' or the ability to use information about electron spin in atoms of silicon to encode information, much like we use information about an electron's charge state in computers today. 'Spintronics' research hopes to usher in a new age of computer speed and performance by measuring and even controlling the angular momentum displayed by all electrons, and using this information to encode data. Researchers for the first time have successfully conducted the spin of electrons in a custom-made silicon chip, a process known as 'spin transport.'"

ScienceDaily is has a report about a remarkable invention that could soon transform the whole world economy. A Purdue University engineer has developed a method that uses an aluminum alloy to extract hydrogen from water for running fuel cells or internal combustion engines, and the technique could be used to replace gasoline.The method makes it unnecessary to store or transport hydrogen - two major challenges in creating a hydrogen economy, said Jerry Woodall, a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue who invented the process.

"Physicists at the University of Pittsburgh have demonstrated a new form of matter that melds the characteristics of lasers and superconductors. The work introduces a new method of moving energy from one point to another as well as a low-energy means of producing a light beam like that from a laser. The new state is a solid filled with a collection of energy particles known as 'polaritons' that have been trapped and slowed using a technique similar to that used to produce a Bose-Einstein condensate.

Seems like java is becoming more and more popular among robot programmers.

"Is Linux's less than impressive market share an indication that the movement is out of touch with the average computer user? ZDNet examines five reasons that could explain why people are still willing to pay for (or pirate) an operating system when free alternatives exist. One of the reasons seems to be that despite what many Linux advocates claim, Windows users aren't on the whole dissatisfied with their OS: 'Despite what you read on websites and blogs, newspapers and magazines, people on the whole aren't all that dissatisfied with Windows. There are millions of users out there who just get on and use their PCs without any real difficulty.'"