What if every radio station was searchable and you could look up a song you wanted to listen to, pick one of the stations it was currently playing on, and listen? Radio Search Engine, a new venture by entrepreneur Michael Robertson, allows just that. The site indexes around 40,000 radio stations in real-time and allows users to tune in from the Web. Currently in beta mode, Radio Search Engine essentially turns thousands of radio stations into a searchable music jukebox. Continue reading New Search Engine Gets Its Streaming Music from Live Radio

In December, Google made its IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service) Google Compute Engine (GCE) available as a full-fledged commercial service, after testing it in preview mode for more than a year. Last week, the company introduced its new Billing API as an easier way for developers to monitor and analyze how much running an application on the Cloud Platform costs. According to Google, the Billing Export offers a new means of accessing usage data, and is available in preview. Continue reading Google Gets Serious About Public Cloud: Previews New API

Florida-based Redstone is claiming that it can deliver fast, gigabit wireless Internet access that will be cheap, fast and revolutionary. Using technology developed for the military and NASA, the company claims its single wireless switch can deliver Internet connectivity with a three-mile radius, which may soon make it possible to provide connectivity to entire cities. Some experts are doubtful, however, because the company has no public patents for any such technology. Continue reading Redstone Boldly Promises to Provide Gigabit Wireless Internet

Entertainment media execs met with President Obama this week to discuss including copyright protections in new trade agreements and help in facilitating improved relations between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. During the meeting, the president offered his administration’s assistance in bridging the divide between the two industries. A priority in Hollywood is to stop search engines from linking to websites that stream pirated content. Continue reading Hollywood Executives Discuss Piracy with President Obama

Hshtags is a new search engine from developer Kim Goulbourne that is designed to help users easily navigate the mass onslaught of hashtags, which have become a nearly ubiquitous utility of the social Web. The universal hashtag search client, launched in September, provides access to all the content posted with a specific hashtag from an array of social platforms including Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Vimeo and YouTube (support for Vine and Google+ is expected soon). Continue reading Hshtags Search Engine: The Google Search of Social Media

The European Space Agency plans to apply 3D printing to metal in order to build parts for jets, spacecraft and fusion projects. ESA and the EU, together with industrial and academic partners, are developing the first large-scale 3D production methods to create metal parts that are lighter and more affordable than conventional parts. While 3D printing is already being used to produce plastic products, applying the process to metal parts for rockets and planes would save money and be more efficient. Continue reading The AMAZE Project: Space Agency Brings 3D Printing to Metal

Google announced that it is changing its search engine to handle more complex queries. This change has required one of the greatest modifications to the company’s search algorithm since 2000. Google will now focus on comprehending the meanings of searches as well as the relationships of words, as opposed to simply matching keywords. One reason for the change relates to the fact that users are asking longer and more complex questions. Continue reading Google Updates Search Engine to Handle Greater Complexity

Lucasfilm is developing real-time motion capture technology used in video game development that it believes it can combine with film production. In the long term, these combined technologies could eliminate the need for much of the post-production process as most of the work can be done in real-time. In addition, the potential exchange of elements in video games and films will allow viewers to tailor their movies while they watch. Continue reading Lucasfilm Combines Video Game Making and Film Production

The Motion Picture Association of America released a report yesterday that criticizes the impact of Google and other search engines on the piracy of movies and television shows. The report determined that between 2010 and 2012, search engines influenced 20 percent of sessions that resulted in acts of piracy. The largest share of search queries (82 percent) that led to infringing film and TV content URLs originated from Google, according to the study. Continue reading MPAA Study Highlights Role of Google Search in Online Piracy

Facebook has partnered with game engine Unity to infiltrate the world of Web and mobile 3D games. The social network is releasing a software development kit with Unity that will allow game makers to incorporate Facebook tie-ins into games. Game developers for Unity will be able to create Facebook hooks for Web, iOS and Android. The ultimate goal is to attract more developers to build a wider array of games for the Facebook platform. Continue reading Facebook Partners with Unity to Attract Core Game Developers

Last week, Facebook officially unveiled hashtags to its social platform, following months of speculation. Hashtags are immensely popular on Twitter, while gaining momentum on other social services such as Google+ and Instagram. The move could have significant implications regarding advertising potential and search engine optimization. Facebook is already encouraging brands to start including hashtags in their Facebook ads.  Continue reading Facebook Borrows from Twitter Ad Playbook with Hashtags