Researchers progress in creating a brain on a chip

Mimicking the human brain has long been near the top of the list of dream projects for many a sci-fi-inspired scientist, and it looks like one team involved in the EU-supported FACETS initiative is now making some real, if still preliminary progress in the field. Apparently, they've built upon some recent mapping and modeling research and created an actual chip (or, more specifically a 20cm wafer), which could eventually contain a network of 200,000 neurons and 50 million synapses. That, the researchers say, will allow for them to take on larger scale neural computing work than has previously been possible, and could even lead to "practical neural computers" in as little as five years, which they say could be particularly helpful for things like internet search -- or, you know, commanding a massive robot army.

Acer A1 touchscreen Android phone to arrive in September?

Acer Inc., the world’s third-largest personal-computer vendor, will introduce a mobile phone in September that runs on Google Inc.’s Android operating system, an official at the Taiwanese company said.

The A1, equipped with a touch screen, is among four handset models that Acer plans to debut that month, the person said, asking not to be identified because he’s not authorized to comment on the matter. Henry Wang, a spokesman at Taipei-based Acer, declined to comment. Marsha Wang, a spokesman at Google in Beijing, declined to immediately comment.

Acer would join HTC Corp., Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc. and Motorola Inc. in adopting Google’s mobile operating system to meet rising demand for so-called smartphones that allow users to view videos and business documents. The Android software will run 5 percent of the world’s smartphones by next year, according to CLSA Ltd. estimates.

Acer last month unveiled four handsets using Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system, the first models released since its acquisition of phone maker E-Ten Information Systems Co. last year. The Taiwanese company projected in April last year that handsets will account for 10 percent of sales by 2011.

Google, based in Mountain View, California, started Android in 2007 as part of an industry effort to create a free software system for phones. Based on the Linux operating system, Android is open to any programmer who wants to develop features for it. HTC last year became the first phone vendor to offer an Android-equipped handset. (Bloomberg)

Man files $1 million lawsuit against US Airways for lost Xbox 360

A Yale student is suing US Airways for $1 million in compensation for his lost Xbox 360 and the emotional toll of attempting to recover it. He claims he had an Xbox 360 with a "specialized hard drive" and other fancy components worth more than $1,000 (is that the kind with the really, really loud drive noise?) in his checked luggage, and when he went to pick up his luggage it was considerably lighter than before, with the Xbox 360 and components found as the only thing missing. Sounds like no-fun-at-all, and the "run-around" he got with speaking to five different airline employees sounds equally painful, but we're not sure how that all adds up to $1,000,000 -- the maximum allowable by law in his state. US Airways says that not only does the federal limit of liability for lost luggage top out at $3,300, but that electronics checked in luggage are specifically excluded from liability. How kind.