By Rob Knies, Managing Editor, Microsoft Research Kids of all ages love cartoons. They appeal because of their vivid colors, their fluid motion, their whimsical world view, their idealized parallel universe. In a cartoon, a coyote that falls off a…
By Rob Knies, Managing Editor, Microsoft Research It’s a familiar cliché: The best offense is a good defense. You hear it all the time in a sporting context. But, as it turns out, that hoary truism applies to Web surfing,…
By Rob Knies, Managing Editor, Microsoft Research Have you seen the one about …? From time immemorial, mankind has maximized its ability to share information orally. Whether it is passing along a recounting of a movie, recapping last night’s sporting…
By Rob Knies, Managing Editor, Microsoft Research You’re in pre-movie limbo. It’s 6 p.m., and the film you want to see starts at 7. You’ve got enough time to grab a quick dinner—if you don’t have to wait for a…
By Rob Knies, Managing Editor, Microsoft Research Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder. The subtext of that hoary proverb, of course, is that sometimes the beholder’s eye doesn’t see things quite the same way that the…
By Rob Knies, Managing Editor, Microsoft Research It was just past dusk when we ventured into the heart of the Nakalabande slum in the Jayanagar area of south-central Bangalore. We were seven in number—Kentaro, Udai, Vidya, Indrani, and me, accompanied…
By Rob Knies, Managing Editor, Microsoft Research Moises Goldszmidt, well known for his research in machine learning, joined Microsoft Research’s Silicon Valley lab as a principal researcher in January 2006 after spending four years with the Utility Infrastructure Management Department…
By Rob Knies, Managing Editor, Microsoft Research There’s a new restaurant in town. Wonder what people are saying about it? Take a photo. That handy gadget you’ve been coveting is on sale at the mall. How does its price compare…
By Rob Knies, Managing Editor, Microsoft Research Technology has revolutionized the developed world in recent years. The way we work, the way we play, the way we communicate—all have been transformed by the advent of the PC and the wave…