Unless you've been living underneath a Zune, you're likely aware that Steve Jobs and his Apple empire held a music-centric event in San Francisco today in which the company's best-selling line of portable musical devices received yet another refresh (the holidays are coming up, you know). And while some of the updates were the usual benign, tech trickle-down one might expect, Jobs did break some new ground with an Apple TV do-over and an iTunes update that's more social network than music store.

First, Apple TV: It seems everyone has levied an opinion on Jobs' move into the set-top box space, and few opinions have been laudatory (Jobs' defense: our product hasn't been a huge hit, but "nor has any competitive product." Fair enough). However, this year's "one more thing" is pretty slick. Read more »

Plenty of human-gadget interfaces can let you control a robot or a computer with your mind. But these communications are command-based -- your PR2 still can't tell whether you're asking it for a beer to celebrate, or to drink away your sorrows. An EEG-based affective computing system allows you to communicate your emotions, adding a new layer to human-computer interactions. Read more »

In some ways, Facebook is very good for friendship. Via Facebook, I’ve managed to get back in contact with various childhood and school friends, which has been lovely. I am the kind of person who takes friendships seriously. I’m still friends with three people from Primary School, for goodness sakes, let alone numerous people from High School. I love the capacity to keep in touch. The nicest aspect of Facebook is seeing people’s lives change for the better – when they get new jobs, when they have babies, when they finish their studies, when they get married. Read more »

They are road signs for your daily rituals-the instantly recognized symbols and icons you press, click, and ogle countless times a day when you interact with your computer. But how much do you know about their origins?

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For years, particle physicists and computer scientists have been promising us vastly improved memory chips based on the spin of individual electrons, but concrete advances have been awfully elusive. Now a team at Ohio State has put together a working device to test spintronic memory, and used it successfully. Read more »