Information Technology

In a joint project between the Technology Foundation STW and the energy agency Novem at Utrecht University, researchers have developed new silicon layers which are more stable and cheaper than the present amorphous silicon layers. The electronic properties of the present layers in laptop screens and solar cells deteriorate if the material is under ‘stress’, for example due to sunshine or a voltage.

Flat-panel displays and solar cells have a substrate of glass or plastic, which is coated with

+++ EURESCOM for the first time demonstrates seamless access with a PDA. +++

Premiere at the EURESCOM workshop `Wireless Access` in Heidelberg on 12 March: The EURESCOM project on `Bluetooth Access` presented the first PDA, which can seamlessly connect to different access networks, like LAN, Bluetooth, Wireless LAN, and GPRS.

In co-operation with the software company Birdstep from Norway and access point supplier Patria Ailon from Finland, the European project team implement

New algorithm exploits community structure of the web.

The web has spontaneously organized itself into communities. A new search algorithm that pinpoints these could help surfers find what they want and avoid offensive content.

Page builders can link anywhere. But they don’t, Gary Flake, of the NEC Research Institute in Princeton, and his colleagues have found. Instead, pages congregate into social groups that focus most of their attention on each other.

Web dir

The research group Multimedia Lab of the Ghent University (Belgium) succeeded in putting the first MPEG-21 application online. MPEG-21 technology is the most recently developed technology for multimedia applications. After the MPEG-1, -2, -4, and MPEG-7 standards, MPEG-21 is currently considered to be one of the most promising new standard in the field of multimedia systems and applications.

The research activities of Multimedia Lab at Ghent University, Belgium (Department of Electron

Community and Member Feedback Shapes New Royalty-Free Draft

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) today published a revised Patent Policy Working Draft which is based on strong, explicit commitments to producing Royalty-Free (RF) specifications. To achieve the goal of producing Royalty-Free specifications, the draft requires all who participate in the development of W3C Recommendations to make any essential patents they hold available for free.

The option which would have permi

Light-sensitive ’plastic’ magnets could replace your hard drive.

A ’plastic’ magnet that responds to light could lead to new ways of storing and reading large amounts of computer data. Light would be used to store information in cheap, fast and high-capacity ’magneto-optic’ memories.

The light-switchable magnet is the first to be made from organic (carbon-based) molecules. This means its discoverers, Arthur Epstein of Ohio State University in Columbus and Joel Miller of the