The HRP-4 humanoid robot unveiled

Kawada Industries and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have unveiled their new humanoid robot HRP-4 which is an upgrade on their older robots. The new humanoid stands 151cm tall and is much thinner than its predecessors. For Japan, HRP-4 is another step forward towards creating useful mechanical worker to combat a forthcoming shortage in the labor force and care for a fast aging population.

Other than terrestrial uses, let me remind you that the Japanese also plan on developing humanoid robots for exploring the Moon.

Going back to HRP-4, we should note that it is not a machine developed just for nice demos. Its creators are serious about making it available commercially to universities and other research institutes that can afford its $300,000 price tag. According to the recent press release, HRP-4 will go on sale as early as January 2011. I should mention that the HRP-4 will sell for $100,000 less than Willow Garage’s PR2. However, the price difference probably reflects that other than the obvious difference between the two robot, i.e., legs versus wheels, there are many differences in the number and types of sensors, overall hardware, and software.

Time will tell if the humanoid HRP-4 will be a success or not. In the meantime, we can all marvel at its slim design and skills in the video found here

The HRP-4 humanoid robot unveiled

Intel Reveals Sandy Bridge Processor Details

Intel says laptops and desktops powered by the company's next-generation microarchitecture, which merges graphics and x86 cores on a single die, will be available early next year.

Codenamed Sandy Bridge, the 32-nanometer processor, which goes into production later this year, will also be the first to support new vector graphics. Details of Sandy Bridge were released Monday at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco.

read it all here

Intel Reveals Sandy Bridge Processor Details

Mobile Football Madness: Best Apps For The Gridiron

College football season is in the first quarter and the NFL season about to kickoff. Take your football experience mobile this fall by arming yourself with the best mobile apps for following your team, be it fantasy or real, and staying in the game no matter where you roam. Here's 20 of the best.

hat tip Information Week

Mobile Football Madness: Best Apps For The Gridiron

Epic failures: 11 infamous software bugs

Mark your calendars! Sept. 9 is hereby declared Debugging Day. It's been associated with removing bugs for more than 50 years now but is rarely formally celebrated. So let's start the tradition this year.

It all began with a log entry from 1947 by Harvard University's Mark II technical team. The now-classic entry features a moth taped to the page, time-stamped 15:45, with the caption "Relay #70 Panel F (moth) in relay" and the proud boast, "First actual case of bug being found."

make sure you read the whole thing. any major bugs not listed can be posted in the comments section.

Epic failures: 11 infamous software bugs

Hot Tech Jobs 2010: Look to Mobile and the Cloud

After analyzing research reports from Gartner and IDC, eWeek concludes that this year's hottest job titles will be mobile application developer and cloud computing software engineer. More

Hot Tech Jobs 2010: Look to Mobile and the Cloud

IT Certification Becoming More Specific as Economy Recovers

5 hot IT certification picks for 2010

Certifications have always been beneficial to IT job seekers, but lately there's increased emphasis on vendor- and technology-specific training as the economy begins to recover and companies look to plug talent holes in their IT organizations.

"There are great opportunities in technology, but there is increased competition for jobs," says Ray Kelly, CEO of certification provider Certiport. "I have never seen a time like today where there is such a focus on certifications. More

IT Certification Becoming More Specific as Economy Recovers

Seven Hot Tech Skills That Employers Need

Constant buzz surrounds some of the hottest areas of IT, especially as newer technologies and strategies such as radio-frequency identification (RFID), software as a service (SaaS) and virtualization continue to emerge. The savviest IT professionals, however, understand that it’s not just the headline-grabbing specialties that can provide solid career prospects. Wireless administration, networking, and other core specialties are equally hot, and consistent demand exists for those experienced in these areas.

Here are a few areas of IT that should remain bright for the foreseeable future:more

Seven Hot Tech Skills That Employers Need

The Best Websites to Find a Job in Your 30s and 40s

The Best Websites to Find a Job in Your 30s and 40s

The Best Websites to Find a Job in Your 30s and 40s

Should You Search Social Media Sites for Job Candidate Information?

Aug 31, 2010 -

Social media is becoming a great way for recruiters to announce job openings and find qualified candidates. The conversational nature of social media allows you to interact with potential applicants and learn more about their professional backgrounds, experiences, and goals. That being said, it also opens the door to learning a lot about applicants that you might not discover during a traditional interview. Read More

Should You Search Social Media Sites for Job Candidate Information?