3 posts and columns on curator

The Steam-Punk Dream Computer: Watch the Babbage Difference Engine in Action

in News on December 4, 2010 at 6:00 am PT

Here’s a very special something for the steam-geeks out there: Video of the famed Babbage Difference Engine, widely regarded as the first complex mechanical computer. There are only two in the world, and we captured one in action.

The My-Fill-In-the-Space Reset Is Here, as Struggling Social Network Morphs Into Entertainment Hub

in News on October 26, 2010 at 10:56 pm PT

Empty bracket or no empty bracket: Will it work? That’s pretty much the big question at News Corp. tonight, as its much beleaguered social networking site, Myspace, rolls out a new beta version aimed at shifting its fortunes. And how will it do that? By moving dramatically away from its roots as a social networking site–and far, far away from powerhouse Facebook–and becoming a “social entertainment” hub aimed directly at the Gen Y audience.

A Data Deluge Swamps Science Historians

in News on August 28, 2009 at 9:42 am PT

In a vault beneath the British Library here, Jeremy Leighton John grapples with a formidable challenge in digital life. Dr. John, the library’s first curator of eManuscripts, is working on ways to archive the deluge of computer data swamping scientists so that future generations can authenticate today’s discoveries and better understand the people who made them.